Chapter 321 Sheng Xiyue's Utter Defeat

Sheng Xiyue's face flushed red. "You, you're making false accusations!"

Dou Wenyi looked calmly at Sheng Shuzhen and said, "I carry a handkerchief with me to poison people. Do you think I would want to poison myself? When Xue Tuan attacked Consort Shu just now, the Sheng family girl took advantage of the chaos to hide my handkerchief."

Her face was deathly pale, and she shook her head desperately, trembling uncontrollably. "No, it wasn't me!"

Sheng Xiyue's face was extremely ugly. She thought that Dou Wenyi would not notice these trivial matters at all, but she had been paying attention to the movements of the two of them.

Dou Wenyi continued, "Standing next to Sheng Xiyue at the time was a palace maid in a green palace dress, with a small black mole the size of a grain of rice under her right eye. The two of them thought they were blocking my view."

"She is also highly suspicious."

Manager Chen frowned slightly, his eyes filled with astonishment. "It's Yu'e?"

Pei Siyan ordered sternly, "Someone, find that palace maid named Yu'e for me!"

Dou Wenyi gave Pei Siyan a look, "Let the palace maids investigate. The innocent will be proven innocent."

When the palace maids check, they mean they will search the body.

Pei Siyan immediately understood and nodded slightly, "Someone come here."

Palace servants immediately stepped forward and detained the two Sheng sisters.

Sheng Shuzhen trembled, a look of horror flashing in her eyes.

Sheng Xiyue's expression was solemn as she gritted her teeth and said, "Clearly, the Crown Princess is the one who should be investigated, so why are we being dragged into this? The Crown Prince is far too biased towards the Crown Princess!"

Sheng Chunfang hurriedly tried to stop her, "Your Highness, Shuzhen... is not yet married. A young lady's reputation is important. She would never get involved in such matters. The Crown Princess has probably misjudged her. Consort Zhang's health is the most important thing. Let's discuss other matters later."

Dou Wenyi looked up and stared at him. He had no intention of pleading for his biological daughter, Sheng Xiyue, but instead wanted to protect Sheng Shuzhen. That could only mean that Sheng Xiyue was already a useless pawn.

"What, is my Crown Princess less precious than your Sheng family's daughter? They can suspect the Crown Princess, but they dare not investigate?" Pei Siyan's voice was cold and deep, each word clear to ensure that everyone present could hear him clearly.

"This old minister dares not." Sheng Chunfang felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her eyes filled with suppressed and complex emotions, and she no longer tried to stop him.

Immediately afterwards, Dou Wenyi went to the side hall with the two Sheng sisters, the imperial physicians, and the nannies.

Before an incense stick had burned, Dou Wenyi and the others came back in. "This handkerchief was indeed poisoned by Jing Kuning."

The imperial physicians found traces of poison on the hands and fingernails of the Sheng sisters, and also found a small crumpled piece of paper on Sheng Xiyue's body, which was yellow paper that had been used to wrap poison.

On the contrary, Dou Wenyi gained nothing. Fortunately, when Consort Zhang returned the handkerchief to her, she was not able to touch the handkerchief because of the snowball's attack.

The two Sheng sisters were caught red-handed, with irrefutable evidence.

Pei Siyan looked at the two Sheng sisters with a half-smile, "Sheng Xiyue, I can save you once by saving your life, but who can save you this time?"

Zhang Chengxian, unaware that she was a repeat offender, was furious. "This is outrageous! Does the Sheng family think the Zhang family has no one to rely on? My aunt has always treated her kindly, yet she repays kindness with enmity. This kind of venomous woman, Your Highness, should you not punish her severely, or allow her to continue harming people?"

Sheng Shuzhen cried bitterly, "It wasn't me, it really wasn't me, Uncle. It was my sister who told me to help her, to hide the Crown Princess's handkerchief for her, and to leave the rest to me..."

In fact, she also concealed the truth.

Because the Sheng family wanted Sheng Shuzhen to replace Sheng Xiyue as a concubine in the palace, Sheng Xiyue told her that as long as Dou Wenyi was eliminated, she would have a chance to become empress, so she agreed to cooperate with Sheng Xiyue.

The poison had actually been hidden in Sheng Xiyue's underwear all along. Just now, when Dou Wenyi was changing clothes, she went to the bathroom and smeared the poison on a handkerchief.

She washed her hands, but upon returning to the palace, under Sheng Shuzhen's cover, she discreetly tossed the silk handkerchief back onto the table.

Sheng Xiyue then deliberately drew Consort Zhang's attention to the silk handkerchief.

Exhausted, Sheng Chunfang raised her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling that if she didn't abandon her daughter Sheng Xiyue, there would be no way to end this situation.

But she is, after all, his own biological daughter!

The Sheng family originally planned to send Sheng Xiyue to the Jiangnan area after a while and marry her off to a wealthy family. Unexpectedly, she still harbored wicked intentions.

Sheng Xiyue's face was deathly pale, her breathing was disordered, and her voice was sharp and shrill, "It wasn't me. The Crown Princess also said that it was that palace maid named Yu'e who poisoned Consort Shu!"

She looked at Sheng Chunfang pleadingly, "Father, this time it really wasn't your daughter, you have to believe me!"

Sheng Chunfang trembled upon hearing her weak plea.

He clenched his teeth, agonizing for a moment, then suddenly threw back his robes, knelt on the ground, and pleaded,

“Your Highness, Sheng Xiyue is vicious and incorrigible. She is not worthy of being a daughter of the Sheng family. Last time, the Sheng family already expelled her from the family. Whether to send her to the Imperial City Guard or the Dali Temple, Your Highness may decide how to deal with her.”

"It's just that Sheng Shuzhen is young and ignorant and has been deceived by her sister. I hope you won't implicate her. The Sheng family is loyal to you. I hope Your Highness will show mercy."

Sheng Xiyue felt as if she had been stabbed hard in the chest. Her body swayed precariously, and she lunged forward, grabbing Sheng Chunfang's clothes and bursting into tears.

“Father, look at your daughter. You’ve loved me for over ten years. How can you just abandon me like this? Father, you’re lying to me, aren’t you? You’ve kicked me out of the house. How come I didn’t know? Father…”

Sheng Chunfang knelt on the ground blankly, her gaze darting away, turning her face away and refusing to look at her.

Sheng Xiyue wept uncontrollably, crying her heart out, "Father, the real culprit is Yu'e! She put the poison in the teacup, not me. She gave me the poison too; I just smeared it on my handkerchief. She's the real culprit; if anyone should be held accountable, it should be her..."

Actually, the mastermind behind this incident wasn't Sheng Xiyue. It was Yu'e who approached Sheng Xiyue and prepared the deadly poison of peacock gall for her. She was also the one who poisoned Consort Zhang's teacup.

If it weren't for her being an inside agent, Sheng Xiyue would never have dared to take the risk again.

In front of everyone, she didn't dare to go into too much detail, hoping that her father would give her a chance to confess in private.

Even so, these words are enough to prove that she deliberately framed the Crown Princess.

This made Sheng Chunfang extremely embarrassed, as if she had never given birth to this daughter.

Seeing this, Pei Siyan laughed, "Then tell me, why did you conspire with your sister to put poison on the silk handkerchief?"

Sheng Xiyue stared resentfully at Dou Wenyi, who was standing beside Pei Siyan, her expression quiet and innocent.

Why is it that she can receive the Crown Prince's favor and escape unscathed no matter what dire situation she is in, while she has to face imprisonment?

But she knew even more clearly that when the time came for her to speak out, she would fight with everything she had, even if it meant ruining her reputation, to survive.

"Dou Wenyi is neither talented nor virtuous and is unworthy to be empress! All the noble ladies of Tianning City are more qualified than her. My sister wants to be empress, and I am merely trying to remove obstacles for her..."

She was clearly driven by jealousy and hatred, and she insisted on doing evil, even using the Crown Princess as an excuse.

She also wants to drag Sheng Shuzhen and the Sheng family down with her!

Sheng Chunfang couldn't stand it anymore. Veins bulged on her forehead, and she slapped him hard across the face.

Just then, Chi Yan entered the hall and whispered in Pei Siyan's ear, "Your Highness, the person has been found. The Imperial City Guard found the body of the palace maid Yu'e in the well."