Everyone in the clan was furious.
Empress Dowager Xu waved her hand: "Eighth Prince is not a bad person, but I don't know if he has been bewitched. He is like a possessed person and can't even distinguish right from wrong."
"On the second day after their marriage, she came to serve tea, but what happened? She wronged Princess Guangjia and even dared to talk back to me. But instead of teaching her a lesson, the Eighth Prince protected her at every turn. Luckily, it was Princess Guangjia who had a bad temper and insisted on finding out the truth. If it had been someone else, they would have been bullied to death."
Some clan members were unaware of this matter, and upon hearing it, they immediately showed expressions of surprise: "There's such a thing?"
Those who knew the truth recounted in detail what happened that day.
"This, this, isn't this ridiculous?!"
"Sigh, how could the Eighth Prince be bewitched by that vixen? That peasant girl really has some tricks up her sleeve." Someone scoffed.
At this moment, a palace maid came to report: "Empress Dowager, the Eighth Prince is outside requesting an audience."
Upon hearing who it was, Empress Dowager Xu recalled the tragic state of Lingxi in the box. She swayed precariously, clutching the Buddhist prayer beads tightly in her hand, looking terrified.
"Empress Dowager, you are the elder, and the Eighth Prince is the junior. With us all here, how dare he disrespect you?" someone said angrily, puffing out his beard and glaring.
Empress Dowager Xu looked at the newcomer and said, "Your Highness, you may not know the truth. The Eighth Prince is a practical person. Perhaps that peasant girl has caused some trouble again."
The old prince sneered, "If his father knew how reckless the Eighth Prince was in the underworld, he would be furious. I want to see what kind of trouble he can cause!"
After hearing the old prince's words, Empress Dowager Xu ordered someone to invite the Eighth Prince in.
The room was filled with relatives and elders, among whom the old prince was an elder of the founding emperor, holding a very high seniority and being highly respected.
Zhao Zhiyan entered the hall, glanced at the person who came, and frowned slightly.
Empress Dowager Xu sat on the couch with a smile playing on her lips, a fleeting hint of mockery in her eyes, and asked, "Eighth Prince, what brings you here?"
"What else could it be? He must be here to apologize to his elders," the old prince snorted.
With the old prince speaking, Zhao Zhiyan cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings to the Empress Dowager, Your Highness."
After Zhao Zhiyan bowed once, Empress Dowager Xu did not make things difficult for him. Instead, she humbly asked someone to bring him a chair to sit down. Zhao Zhiyan said, "Thank you for the seat. I have come today to ask for the antidote. Lingxi poisoned the Eighth Princess Consort, and now the Eighth Princess Consort is in critical condition and may die at any time. I beg Your Majesty to be merciful and grant me the antidote."
"Poisoning?" The old prince was surprised, but then he realized it must be the peasant girl's doing, and immediately scoffed.
Empress Dowager Xu feigned innocence: "Eighth Prince, what do you mean by this? When did I order Lingxi to poison you?"
She's already dead; she won't admit it.
Zhao Zhiyan produced a written statement, which clearly stated that Lingxi had been ordered by the Empress Dowager to poison Xu Lingqing.
Empress Dowager Xu was not flustered at all when she saw the document: "On the day the Eighth Princess Consort served tea, Lingxi publicly slandered the Princess Consort of Guangjia. After being tortured, she changed her story and admitted that she was instigated by a maid named Su Jing. This is enough to show that Lingxi's words are not credible at all."
This wasn't something Empress Xu made up on a whim. When Lingxi was punished, it was the Imperial Household Department who did it. If they were summoned and questioned, the truth would be revealed.
"What do you want from torture?" Empress Dowager Xu looked at Zhao Zhiyan with disappointment: "If you don't like Lingxi being given to you as a concubine, why did you agree? Torturing her to death is just an insult to me for severely punishing the Eighth Prince's Consort back then."
Zhao Zhiyan was surprised by Empress Dowager Xu's vehement denial. He frowned, and the document in his hand became a joke.
Empress Dowager Xu looked at the old prince: "I... have truly never used any Western Region Illusionary Face."
His voice was choked with sobs and filled with helplessness.
The old prince's tiger-like eyes widened: "Eighth Prince, how can you speak to your elders like that? It's outrageous!"
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