The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly fell silent. Song Yue stared at Zhao Zhiyan with an open and honest expression.
Zhao Zhiyan remained silent, the anger in his dark pupils having quietly dissipated.
His little girl wouldn't stoop to using such despicable means to bully people.
Xu Lingqing looked up at Zhao Zhiyan, her lips pressed tightly together, her fingers secretly gripping the hem of his clothes: "Your Highness, since Sister Yue insists on investigating, then please investigate thoroughly. But no matter the result, I will not hold it against Sister Yue. This is what we owe Sister Yue."
Xu Lingqing's swollen face was expressionless, and she blinked her innocent eyes: "I'll just consider today's humiliation a misunderstanding."
Zhao Zhiyan lowered his eyes.
What a joke! Things have already escalated to this point, how can you still have the nerve to say you won't pursue the matter?
Song Yue scoffed: "Don't speak too soon. What if things aren't as you think? If you're wrong, you should be punished."
She turned to look at Empress Dowager Xu: "What does Your Majesty think? Lingxi is your personal maid, and it was you who ordered the Eighth Imperial Aunt to be severely punished."
Empress Dowager Xu frowned when she was suddenly called out by name.
All eyes were on Empress Dowager Xu.
This included the Emperor of Northern Chu.
With a face full of doubt and displeasure, it was very clear that Empress Dowager Xu wanted to stay out of it. She nodded: "What Princess Consort of Guangjia said is very true. If we are going to investigate, we should investigate thoroughly."
"Empress Dowager..." Xu Lingqing hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
After a long silence, Zhao Zhiyan finally spoke: "Then investigate!"
During this time, the Northern Chu Emperor remained silent, as Song Yue repeatedly signaled to him not to speak, lest he be labeled as biased.
There are some things she can handle on her own.
Song Yue was always extremely wary of Xu Lingqing.
“Go and invite Princess Ningxin,” Zhao Zhiyan said.
Soon Princess Ningxin was summoned. After hearing the whole story, she raised an eyebrow and asked Su Jing, "Where did you see Princess Guangjia and Lingxi whispering to each other?"
Su Jingdao said, "It's the only way to the Imperial Garden, outside the Liuli Palace."
Princess Ningxin chuckled: "You mean that after Princess Guangjia walked with me along the palace path outside the Liuli Palace, she turned back to see Lingxi?"
Su Jing never expected that Song Yue had entered the palace with Princess Ningxin today. Her face was full of panic, and her fingertips clenched slightly: "This servant, this servant did not know."
Princess Ningxin shook her head and looked helplessly at Zhao Zhiyan: "My carriage broke down halfway. Fortunately, Princess Guangjia gave me a ride. From the palace gate to the Imperial Garden, the two of us were together the whole time. I did not see Princess Guangjia talking to Lingxi, but I did hear the Eighth Princess kneeling in the Imperial Garden spouting nonsense, saying that the Empress Dowager was of humble origin and had only risen to power through means, and was no more honorable than her. She also said that the Eighth Prince would not forgive the Empress Dowager and other such things."
"At that time, I thought to myself, the Eighth Princess Consort is really quite shrewd. She contradicted me in public and didn't care about the rules at all!"
Xu Lingqing's heart sank, and she subconsciously looked up at Zhao Zhiyan. She saw that his face was tense, his lips were pressed into a straight line, and his dark pupils were like an abyss.
"Eighth Princess Consort, have you ever said these words?" Princess Ningxin pressed.
Tears welled up in Xu Lingqing's eyes as she said aggrievedly, "The princess and the Princess Consort of Guangjia have a good relationship, so she can say whatever she wants. It was my fault for contradicting the Empress Dowager and for letting the maid identify the Princess Consort of Guangjia, which made a big fuss about this matter."
Princess Ningxin frowned.
"You mean the Empress Dowager, Aunt Ningxin, and the three of us are all framing you?" Song Yue asked.
Xu Lingqing looked at Song Yue innocently and shook her head: "I, I didn't mean that."
Song Yue took a deep breath and looked at Xu Lingqing with a complicated expression.
Is this the kind of person Zhao Zhiyan likes?
When she first met Xu Lingqing, she thought she was quite poised and elegant, with a delicate and pretty appearance like a lotus flower. Now, however, she is becoming increasingly unpresentable.
Xu Lingqing could easily see the disdain in Song Yue's eyes. She clenched her fists tightly, the pain forcing her to remain even calmer.
"Bring Lingxi up," Empress Dowager Xu demanded.
Soon, Lingxi was dragged up by two palace maids. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Empress Dowager Xu: "Empress Dowager, this servant deserves to die. It was all Princess Guangjia who forced this servant."
"Shut up!" Empress Dowager Xu snapped, then asked, "Where did you see Princess Guangjia? Were there any other people with her, and how long did you talk?"
Lingxi was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Su Jing.
"Go back to the Queen Mother..."
"Smack!"
Song Yue rushed over, raised her hand, and slapped Su Jing hard across the face: "You think you can change your testimony in public?"
Su Jing was beaten and then had her mouth covered by Yun Dong, making her tremble with fear.
"Sister Yue, why are you doing this? Su Jing is my maid." Xu Lingqing was anxious and stepped forward, but her wrist was grabbed by Zhao Zhiyan.
Looking up, she met a pair of dark eyes. Xu Lingqing opened her mouth and said, "Your Highness."
"Listen to what she has to say." Zhao Zhiyan pointed to Lingxi.
All eyes fell on Lingxi. Lingxi trembled slightly, lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, when I spoke with Princess Guangjia, there was no one else besides Yun Dong. We only talked for a short time. Your Majesty, I am sorry for what happened. Princess Guangjia threatened me, saying that if I did not comply, she would beat me to death with sticks. She also said that the Emperor had already been bewitched by Princess Jiahua and could not distinguish right from wrong. She said that as long as the princess spoke, everyone would die."
As soon as he finished speaking, anger flashed across the face of the Northern Chu Emperor.
Song Yue took a deep breath and expanded the fire. She looked at Empress Dowager Xu, whose face was trembling, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.
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