Bai Hua's voice startled Su Xiaoning. She hesitated before picking up the paper that had been slammed on the table. After reading its contents, her face paled, and she knew she could no longer hide it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you..." Su Xiaoning lowered her head, not knowing how to explain.
Bai Hua stared intently at Su Xiaoning, pressing her for an answer: "Is there any illness in this world that the Crane Elder can't cure? You said you were cured back then, so how could there be a possibility of relapse?"
Su Xiaonuan bit her lip, a wave of inexplicable sorrow washing over her. She explained in a calm voice:
“My illness… is not an ordinary one. The old crane told me that I was actually under a forbidden spell. This forbidden spell can remove my koi fish mark and transfer it to Qin Yunyun by sacrificing a child. If I don’t find the child to be sacrificed, I will face endless trouble.”
Previously, in order not to worry Su Qingcai and Bai Hua, she deliberately concealed this matter and wanted to investigate it herself, but now it seems that she still couldn't keep it a secret.
Bai Hua was naturally shocked. He pulled Su Xiaoning aside to take her pulse and examined her carefully. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, he couldn't wait to go and discuss it with Su Qingcai.
Su Xiaoning grabbed Bai Hua, who was running away, and said, "Don't go! Pearl is still waiting for you to save her!"
"But your matter is more important!" Bai Hua stamped her foot, her heart filled with anxiety. "Although you're fine now, there's no guarantee that Qin Yunyun won't use the same method on you again! This is a forbidden technique; what if you lose your life? This matter must be told to the Prince!"
Su Xiaoning panicked and dragged Bai Hua to Pearl, who was still suffering in pain.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine now. You should focus on healing Pearl first. As for the Prince... I'll talk to him when the time is right. Don't make any rash moves."
"Are you really sure?" Bai Hua frowned, both anxious and angry at Su Xiaoning's stubbornness.
Su Xiaoning nodded silently. Bai Hua had no choice but to give up the idea of finding Su Qingcai and instead began to treat Pearl.
...
The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.
Su Qinghe was talking with the emperor when suddenly a young eunuch rushed in from outside the door.
"Seventh Prince, something terrible has happened! Madam Qin was bumped into while distributing porridge today, and now she says she has a stomachache. I'm afraid the baby is in danger!"
"What?!" Su Qinghe exclaimed in surprise, immediately slamming his hand on the table and standing up.
He now cherishes Qin Yunyun like a precious treasure, prioritizing her above all else. Upon hearing that she was in danger, Su Qinghe immediately turned and left, displaying a lack of decorum before the emperor.
Seeing Su Qinghe hurriedly walk away, the little eunuch quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please don't blame the Seventh Prince. It's just that he and Madam Qin are deeply in love. Now that Madam is in trouble, it's really hard to predict!"
"Madam Qin? You mean the concubine in the Seventh Prince's residence?" The Emperor frowned slightly, recalling Qin Yunyun's recent pregnancy. "What happened to her?"
The little eunuch didn't dare to raise his head, and prostrated himself on the ground, saying:
"Today, Madam Qin went to distribute porridge on the street. Who knew that Su Xiaoning from the Ninth Prince's mansion would become jealous and deliberately release her dog to bump into Madam Qin. Madam Qin was so frightened that she couldn't dodge in time and fell to the ground, which caused her pregnancy problems! Now Su Xiaoning has aroused public anger, but the Ninth Prince refuses to hand her over. We beg Your Majesty to do justice for the Seventh Prince and Madam Qin!"
The young eunuch was Su Qinghe's man, and everything he said was in Su Qinghe's favor, which naturally led the emperor astray.
The emperor was shocked, a surge of anger rising within him. Although he disliked Qin Yunyun, she was, after all, a member of the royal family!
However, it wouldn't be good to believe only one side of the story, so the emperor hesitated slightly before waving the eunuch away. He summoned Shen Jun, intending to have him investigate the matter, but suddenly a report came that a group of ministers had come to him.
"Your Majesty, that Su Xiaoning is truly outrageous! She actually plotted to harm a royal heir out of jealousy. She must be severely punished!"
"Your Majesty, Su Xiaoning is currently in the Ninth Prince's residence. However, the Ninth Prince is so inconsiderate that he refuses to hand her over. Although the Ninth Prince is a prince, the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners. His protection of his own is a blatant disregard for the law!"
"We beg Your Majesty to uphold justice and punish Su Xiaoning!"
...
A circle of ministers knelt in the imperial study, all talking about Su Qingcai protecting Su Xiaoning and demanding that Su Xiaoning be severely punished.
At the Ninth Prince's residence, seeing that Su Qingcai refused to hand over the person, the people blocked the entrance, creating a chaotic scene. Naturally, this matter reached the ears of some ministers. Now that Qin Yunyun was recognized as a "saintly woman" by the people of the capital, while Su Xiaoning's reputation was already ruined, no one bothered to verify the facts. They all made arbitrary judgments and ran to the emperor to complain.
The emperor was naturally furious. He slammed his fist on the table and pointed at a kneeling minister, saying, "Outrageous! If this wicked woman is not eliminated, where is the dignity of the law? Go to the Ninth Prince's residence and bring Su Xiaoning back!"
The person named was Minister Cao of the Ministry of Justice. He immediately agreed and went to the Ninth Prince's residence with his men.
At this moment, the Ninth Prince's mansion was in chaos. The people blocked the gate of the mansion, and they were indignant, shouting that Su Xiaoning must be punished.
Such a grand occasion naturally reached Su Xiaoning's ears.
Hearing those offensive words, Su Xiaoning couldn't sit still any longer. She knew that Su Qingcai was under tremendous pressure outside, so she ignored Bai Hua's attempts to stop her and ran outside.
"Why are you out here!" Su Qingcai was taken aback when he saw Su Xiaoning suddenly appear. He used his body to block the view of the rioting crowd outside and pushed Su Xiaoning, trying to make her go back. "You've seen how bad the situation is. Go back and don't show yourself!"
Su Xiaoning grabbed Su Qingcai's hands that were pushing her away. Looking into Su Qingcai's eyes, she said firmly, "No, I won't go back! This whole thing was caused by me, so I should take responsibility for it. Don't worry, I'll go with them right now!"
"Are you crazy! You want to go with them? I don't agree!" Su Qingcai's forehead veins throbbed as he dragged Su Xiaoning into the mansion.
Su Xiaoning struggled and shouted, "Let me go! I can't be so selfish as to let you bear this pressure. I'll handle these things!"
"No! You have to trust me even more. I'm capable of handling this situation!" Su Qingcai's attitude was very firm, resolutely refusing to allow Su Xiaoning to take responsibility for this matter.
As the two were arguing, a dignified voice suddenly rang out.
"I have come here on the Emperor's orders to apprehend the wicked woman, Su Xiaoning!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a team of well-trained palace guards broke through the palace's defenses, snatched Su Xiaoning, whom Su Qingcai was clinging to, tied her hands behind her back, and forcibly took her away.
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