She took the clothes from Song Ting, found a hole in the back of the clothes, and showed it to the Empress Dowager.
“I noticed the hole right away, near the shoulder blade, as if it had been caught on a branch. The person probably didn’t even notice it.”
Ruyi is the Empress Dowager's person. She has been by the Empress Dowager's side since she was a Noble Lady and has been with her for more than ten years. She is the Empress Dowager's confidante.
She is the least likely to lie to the Empress Dowager, and she would never show favoritism towards Huaiyue for no reason.
At this point in the story, there is ample evidence and witness testimony. While the reason for the princess's fall into the water remains suspicious, Huaiyue's suspicion can be largely ruled out.
Ruyi's testimony confirms that Chu Mingshu's two maids were lying, and that the princess had already met Huaiyue.
Song Ting: "Does the Grand Secretary have anything else to say?"
Zhang Bingzhi's previous smugness had vanished, and his face even looked somewhat ashen.
"It was all to clear Young Master Huaiyue's name, and this old minister has nothing to say."
“In that case,” Song Ting turned her gaze to the Empress Dowager and slowly knelt down before her, “may I ask the Empress Dowager to allow Huaiyue to step down?”
He said, "As for my previous misconduct, I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
Over the years, Song Ting's power has grown, and the young emperor and empress dowager rely on him, so they have exempted him from many formalities, and even such kowtows are rare.
So much so that the Empress Dowager instinctively reached out to help, but Song Ting instead grabbed her arm.
He gripped her hand firmly and tightly, causing the Empress Dowager to wince and try to pull her hand back, but Song Ting wouldn't let her, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager..."
The Empress Dowager awoke with a start, her heart leaping in her chest, and she nearly lost her composure:
"Now that the matter has been clarified, please get up. However, the prayer ceremony is of great importance and cannot be allowed to go wrong."
"Therefore, the matter of the princess should not be spread for now. We will investigate it carefully after the ceremony."
"As for the Commander, although his actions were somewhat impulsive, they are understandable. I will spare you from severe punishment and instead deduct half a year's salary. Does the Commander have any objections?"
Song Ting pressed his forehead to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I know my crime and thank you."
"Then let's leave it at that for now. Minister Song, make the arrangements to send the princess back to the capital as soon as possible. His Majesty should also be informed of this matter as soon as possible."
Song Ting replied, "Your subject obeys the decree."
The Empress Dowager sighed, and her eyes involuntarily reddened again.
"I still can't accept this, and it's giving me a headache."
"The rest can be handled by the Commander and the Grand Secretary. I will take my leave now—"
Zhang Bingzhi stepped forward: "Your Majesty, please wait a moment—"
The Empress Dowager, who had already stood up, sat back down upon hearing this, looking listless: "Is there anything else, Grand Secretary?"
"This old minister is simply wondering why Young Master Huaiyue insists on wearing a mask all day long."
Zhang Bingzhi's gaze fell on Huaiyue, scrutinizing her discreetly: "Even in front of the Empress Dowager, you're unwilling to take off your mask?"
The conversation circled back to the issue that Song Ting least wanted to face.
His heart tightened, and he glared fiercely at Zhang Bingzhi.
The latter, however, only addressed Huaiyue.
Huaiyue had been kneeling ever since she entered the hall, but now she straightened up.
He gazed at Zhang Bingzhi with a deep, enigmatic look, his words tinged with a smile:
"If you want to know, sir, you may come and remove my mask yourself."
Zhang Bingzhi: "..."
Empress Dowager and others: "..."
These words were already suggestive, and given Huaiyue's previous identity, they were even more ambiguous.
Zhang Bing's family didn't even have a concubine, so how could he tolerate Huaiyue's insolence? He was so angry that his face turned pale instantly.
"You...you...what kind of behavior is this?!"
"My lord, I am but a prostitute. What rules and etiquette do you expect a prostitute to follow?"
Huaiyue not only did not restrain herself, but her words became even more outrageous.
"You may not know, but my face is very valuable. You have to pay money to see me."
He seemed quite pleased with himself, his eyes slightly narrowed, "It will cost a lot of money."
"Seeing that you are of advanced age, I will give you a discount. If you can come up with a hundred taels of silver, I will remove my mask and meet you. What do you think?"
Officials in Dayan only receive a monthly salary of a hundred taels of silver, yet he asks for so much as soon as he opens his mouth.
What's even more outrageous is that he actually compared Zhang Bingzhi to those lecherous scoundrels from the streets.
Zhang Bingzhi had never been treated with such humiliation before, and his face darkened even further: "This is outrageous! Outrageous!"
Huaiyue, however, seemed oblivious to his anger, and continued speaking to herself:
"I don't understand anything about family, country, society, or the common people. I only know that whatever you want to do in this world, you have to exchange it for something of equal value."
"For example, food costs money, and even seeing my face costs money. As long as you can afford it, I would be happy to let you spend the night with me, let alone just see my face."
"..." Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, and even the Empress Dowager looked at Zhang Bingzhi with some embarrassment.
The latter was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and almost fainted.
Song Ting clenched her fists, her face ashen.
Even though she knew Huaiyue was deliberately trying to anger Zhang Bingzhi, Song Ting couldn't help but feel annoyed.
He didn't like hearing Chu Huaixu belittle himself like that, and he didn't want him to put himself in the same category as anyone else except him.
Especially something like that.
Chu Huaixu can only be his. Anyone who covets Chu Huaixu or can interest Chu Huaixu must die.
His murderous aura was so strong that it was uncertain whether others noticed it or not, but he certainly did.
While looking at Zhang Bingzhi, Chu Huaixu's eyes glanced at Song Ting out of the corner of his eye.
Their eyes met, and an undisguised malice emanated from the eyes beneath the mask.
—Being able to disgust two people at once made him so happy he could laugh in his dreams.
"What does this gentleman think?" He lightly tapped his fingertips on the mask, a gesture that seemed to suggest lifting it but wasn't quite right. "Would you like to see me again?"
His mouth is unforgiving, whether he's right or wrong; it can really drive a person crazy with anger.
Song Ting was already used to it, but Zhang Bingzhi couldn't handle it and had no chance to talk back.
How could a high-ranking official, who was always spouting benevolence and morality, tolerate such foul language?
"Why isn't the official speaking?" Huaiyue chuckled softly. "The official looks like a clean and honest person. Is it that you can't afford that much money?"
"But there's nothing we can do. That's how it is in our line of work. Look at the commander, he can't afford to pay, so he simply kidnapped the slave."
"That's fine too. If you don't have money, having a high-ranking official position is also good. It's good to have someone powerful backing you up."
Zhang Bingzhi pointed at him with a trembling finger: "What kind of behavior is this! How dare you humiliate me like this, you brat! Shut your mouth!"
Huaiyue was not afraid of his threat at all, and walked towards him step by step, saying half-truthfully:
"How about you fight the Commander, my lord? I'll go with whoever wins. I really admire the strong. What do you think, my lord?"
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