As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, many ladies who did not recognize Song Xizhi looked at Siqin with disgust: "Your words are foul and disturb our peace."
"Women who do not uphold traditional virtues, regardless of whether it is the Fengshan ceremony or not, should be drowned in a pig cage!"
But Siqin smiled, took a step back, and cupped her hands in a respectful gesture to Song Xizhi: "Master, this eunuch does not recognize you."
"He mistook me for you."
Everyone present, including Consort Li, was stunned.
After Siqin finished speaking, Song Xizhi stepped forward, bowed and greeted Consort Li, ignoring Consort Liang: "Your subject Song Xizhi greets Your Highness Consort Li. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Upon hearing her words, the young eunuch, who had been looking at her with deep affection, suddenly narrowed his eyes, and Zhao Qianlan and Song Ruoan also turned pale in an instant.
They were trying so hard to keep the handkerchiefs in their hands from being torn to shreds.
Consort Li then realized: "You are Song Xizhi? Was that your maid who spoke just now?"
Song Xizhi nodded: "That's exactly right."
"Your Majesty, I have never seen you before, let alone be interested in a eunuch. We are completely unrelated. In fact, that little eunuch could mistake me for someone else. Someone must be deliberately framing me. I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
The ladies who had just spoken stared wide-eyed at the sudden reversal, their faces filled with questions.
Anyone with eyes can see that the eunuch mistook someone for someone else; this matter is suspicious.
Consort Li was delighted to hear this: "You are right. If someone is deliberately framing me, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and see who is stirring up trouble."
Consort Liang suddenly spoke up: "You are indeed clever, but I find something suspicious about this matter."
"If you hadn't done this, how could you have been prepared beforehand?"
"And since your lover likes you and is even willing to take such a big risk for you, it's possible that he might deliberately put on a show in front of everyone and say that he doesn't know you."
Zhao Qianlan also cried out at this moment: "Zhizhi, you have never been proper since you were a child, going in and out of brothels. I had to drag you back every day. I thought you would change your ways, but who knew..."
"Wouldn't it be better to be as well-behaved as your sister? You actually had an affair with a eunuch, and during the Fengshan ceremony no less! What a disgrace to the family!"
Zhao Qianlan, with tears streaming down her face, revealed that Song Xizhi had been of questionable character since he was very young and frequented brothels.
Upon hearing this, the ladies realized that they had heard of Song Xizhi's bad reputation a long, long time ago.
Consort Liang's voice was cool: "Otherwise, why would he be a fake eunuch, yet still wearing your undergarment? Such intimate items worn by women are probably not easy for ordinary people to obtain, are they?"
"What's more, he even knows you have a small mole on your back, which is something that probably no one except your closest family members would know."
Song Xizhi laughed: "Who doesn't have a few moles on their body? Besides, how can those clothes prove they're mine?"
As she spoke, she turned her head again, looking at Zhao Qianlan with amusement in her eyes: "Stepmother, have the marks from the binding on your wrists disappeared now?"
Zhao Qianlan's face stiffened, her eyes narrowed sharply, and she looked up at Song Xizhi in disbelief, her expression full of horror.
She quickly covered her wrist with her sleeve.
Seeing the change in Zhao Qianlan's expression, Consort Li knew that Song Xizhi was right. She looked at Song Xizhi with great curiosity: "So you knew that your stepmother had binding marks on her hands?"
Song Xizhi shook his head and shrugged, looking relaxed: "My relationship with my stepmother has been bad since childhood, and my relationship with my stepsister is even worse. We used to have a lot of trouble, which you ladies may have heard about."
"So I haven't spoken a word to my stepmother since we came to Heyan Mountain, and I don't know what marks she has on her hands."
"I was just catching a blind cat stumble upon a dead mouse, and I just said it offhand. Who knew that I would be right about it?"
Her calm and composed demeanor, so poised and graceful, didn't seem like the kind of person who would do something so shameful.
Moreover, her words just now proved that these things were indeed accidental.
Consort Li nodded, her tone finally softening: "You're right. If your stepmother and stepsister don't get along with you, and the eunuch's reaction is also wrong, then it can't really be considered evidence."
Madam Xin, who had just been with Song Xizhi, also snorted coldly, finally finding her chance to speak:
"This matter is highly suspicious, and the words of Zhao Qianlan and Song Ruoan are suspected of being misleading. It is no wonder that Your Highness is suspicious. However, I would like to ask you to thoroughly investigate this matter and eliminate the villains."
Both Lady Xin and Song Xizhi kept explaining to Consort Li, pleading with her to uphold justice, as if Consort Li were the true mistress of the six palaces.
Consort Liang looked terrible, while Song Ruoan and Zhao Qianlan gritted their teeth.
What was thought to be a foregone conclusion turned into a completely different story when Song Xizhi arrived and used a little trick to change the situation.
That bastard! She's almost demonically intelligent!
Song Xizhi's methods made Consort Liang realize that things were not going well. If she could not eliminate her now, she would definitely become a major threat in the future!
But at that very moment, the gate opened wide and a figure walked out from afar into the courtyard.
Then, the woman's somewhat fragile voice rang out: "You say there is no evidence, but I can prove it."
“I lived in the same courtyard as Song Xizhi, and I can testify that Song Xizhi had secret meetings with men every night.”
Upon hearing the woman's words, the scene fell silent for a moment. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Madam Zhao's figure.
On a winter night, she was wrapped in a thick cloak and wore a veil, her steps unsteady from hunger.
Everyone was taken aback by her sudden words, and Consort Li frowned: "You say you can prove that Song Xizhi had an affair with a man?"
Only Zhao Qianlan breathed a sigh of relief, and Consort Liang's complexion gradually improved.
Madam Zhao paused, and when she remembered her husband's instructions, her nod became firm.
She stopped in front of Song Xizhi, her voice filled with anger at his lack of ambition and sorrow for his misfortune:
"You're promiscuous. Your husband is bedridden, and you can't stand the loneliness, so you go looking for other men."
"General He was still fighting on the battlefield when he was unfortunately wounded. He was a great hero, but you didn't appreciate it at all. You did such a thing in the pure Buddhist temple. You have let down the country and your family."
When Madam Zhao said this, she was quite emotional, and those present could even hear the sob in her voice.
Because of her own background, she truly hates those who are promiscuous, especially those who betray their families.
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