To Princess Jia Hua's utter surprise, Miss Xu spent seven or eight days working tirelessly in Fengyi Palace to finish embroidering the Guanyin statue. As soon as she stepped out of the palace gate, she knelt down at the palace entrance, her body ramrod straight.
"You...Miss Xu, what are you doing?" The palace maid was bewildered.
Miss Xu remained silent, but anyone could see that her complexion was extremely poor, frighteningly pale.
Many people were watching as they came and went at the palace gate.
"Isn't this the eldest daughter of Imperial Censor Xu?"
"It's her. Why does she look so pale?"
"Could it be that he made a mistake in the palace and was punished?"
The palace maid panicked and quickly reached out to help Miss Xu up, whispering in her ear, "Miss Xu, there are people coming and going here. Don't let people laugh at you and tarnish Lord Xu's reputation."
As soon as Miss Xu looked up, her eyes flashed with a fierce light as she stared straight at the palace maid. The maid was so frightened by her sharp gaze that she retreated repeatedly.
Suddenly, Miss Xu raised her hands.
Her once fair and tender palms were now red and swollen, and her ten fingers were covered in bloodstains and scabs.
“I spent eight days embroidering a Guanyin image in the Fengyi Palace when I was suddenly enlightened. Today I thank Your Majesty the Empress for allowing me to awaken.”
"Miss Xu!" The palace maid sensed something was wrong, her expression changed slightly, and she tried to stop them, but found that there were more and more people.
She clutched her handkerchief tightly in her anxiety and ordered the palace servant beside her, "Quickly, go and fetch Lord Xu! Miss Xu has gone mad!"
Miss Xu didn't care at all. She kowtowed heavily towards the direction of the palace, shouting, "This subject is guilty. This subject should not have coveted what does not belong to me."
Before long, the master was invited over.
The palace maid scolded Lord Xu, "Lord Xu, why don't you take Miss Xu back at once?"
Lord Xu was completely bewildered. He only knew that his daughter had been summoned by the Empress and had not returned home for seven or eight days. He never expected that their reunion would be like this.
Miss Xu looked at Lord Xu with clear eyes: "Father, it is your daughter who is unfilial. I have tarnished the reputation of the Xu family for so many years. I deserve to die."
A rebuke was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back. With tears in his eyes, Lord Xu supported Miss Xu, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? You haven't disgraced the Xu family."
"Father, I shouldn't be thinking about the Seventh Prince..."
The topic of the Seventh Prince came up again, and Lord Xu instinctively felt that something was amiss, so he frowned. The palace maid became anxious: "Lord Xu, how can an unmarried young lady speak so carelessly? Is this the upbringing of the Xu family? Hurry up and take her back!"
Lord Xu glanced coldly at the arrogant palace maid: "How dare you! Who do you think you are, to presume to point fingers at me?"
"You!" The palace maid blurted out, "This servant is the Empress's personal maid."
The palace maid regretted it as soon as she finished speaking.
"The Empress?" Lord Xu had already recognized the palace maid's identity and deliberately lured her into saying it. He sneered, "So, it was Her Majesty the Empress who ordered you to reprimand the officials?"
The palace maid moved her lips, but dared not continue speaking.
Lord Xu has been an official for many years, and he holds the position of supervising all officials. He deals with those old foxes on a daily basis and is very good at reading people's hearts.
It was immediately clear that something was wrong.
Lord Xu also has a bad habit of being overly protective of his own, especially his eldest daughter, whom he dotes on. Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Miss Xu to stay at home even though she's in her twenties.
He even said he would support them for life.
“My daughter must have suffered a great injustice, otherwise she would never have been forced to kneel at the palace gate.” Lord Xu’s rough voice rose: “Speak freely, and I will definitely seek justice for you!”
Miss Xu was moved to tears, biting her lip tightly.
Seeing that things were not going well, the palace maid secretly turned around and left to go back and report the news.
"What?!" Empress Yan could no longer sit still, unable to believe her ears: "She actually dared to kneel at the palace gate?"
"Your Highness, Lord Xu is even backing Miss Xu up."
Empress Yan frowned: "After all these years, her temper is still so impatient. I have tolerated her all this time because of Lord Xu, but I never expected her to take advantage of me!"
"Your Majesty, you must hurry, lest Miss Xu say something wrong and deliberately slander you!"
Empress Yan nodded: "Someone, bring Miss Xu back to me."
"yes."
At this moment, at the palace gate, Miss Xu raised her voice: "A month ago, I met Your Highness by chance in a restaurant. The next day, I was summoned to the palace and forced to stand for three hours in wooden clogs. A few days ago, I found some black iron and gave it to Your Highness. The Empress summoned me to the palace again and punished me to stab a Guanyin statue for eight days without sleep. In the end, the Guanyin statue was thrown into the furnace and burned. Before leaving, she threatened me that if I dared to approach Your Highness again, she would make me die and have my entire Xu family executed."
Miss Xu cried with snot and tears streaming down her face; "Father, I have no other choice. I'm really afraid of bringing trouble to the Xu family."
Lord Xu was so angry that he trembled all over.
"This is utter nonsense! Her Majesty the Empress is so magnanimous, why would she target you?" Someone in the crowd stood up and slandered Miss Xu: "But you, in front of everyone, slandered Her Majesty the Empress. What should your punishment be?"
Miss Xu straightened her chest: "I personally heard Her Majesty the Empress talking to her personal maid. No woman is allowed to appear by the Seventh Prince's side. Six years ago, the Zhuang family intended to propose marriage to the Seventh Prince, but they were kidnapped by thieves not long after. Five years ago, at the Spring Banquet, Miss Lin was startled by a horse, and the Seventh Prince came to her rescue. The next day, Miss Lin was exposed for having an affair. Miss Lin proved her innocence with a white silk ribbon, and the Lin family moved away."
"And then there's Vice General Yu, who risked his life alongside the Seventh Prince. She could have become his concubine, but instead, the Emperor forcibly took her as a Noble Lady that very day, and she died on his bed..."
Miss Xu went all out and recounted all the people who had been connected to the Seventh Prince over the years, one by one.
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