Just then, Bai Yusheng spoke up: "When Consort Shu went missing today, Consort Jing was indeed away for a while. Consort Yuan and I were talking about looking for Consort Jing, but we couldn't find her."
"Bai Yusheng, was it you? You framed me on purpose!" Yu Yan looked at Bai Yusheng, her expression murderous.
“Jing Cai Ren, don’t talk nonsense without any evidence. I’m just stating the facts.” Bai Yusheng remained calm.
"You!" Consort Jing was speechless, choked by Bai Yusheng's words. She then turned back to Yu Jingchen: "Your Majesty, I really didn't do it. Someone is trying to frame me!"
Yu Jingchen didn't react much after hearing this. He was in a bad mood, and what these people were doing was simply jumping into his minefield.
“Jingcai is vicious and plotted to harm a palace concubine. Take her away and give her fifty strokes of the cane, then demote her to the rank of Lady of the Palace.” Yu Jingchen had no intention of continuing the argument. Whether it was her or not was irrelevant. He was well aware of her feelings for Nan Zhiyun. Even having such thoughts was a capital offense. This punishment was already quite lenient.
Yu Yan kept begging for mercy, but her mouth was gagged. Fifty strokes of the cane were not something an ordinary person could endure, but Yu Jingchen clearly did not intend to kill her, so the executioners were also careful.
"And this person too, take him away. He was negligent in his duties and failed in his duty, which led to this tragedy. He shall be beaten to death!" Yu Jingchen continued to issue the decree. Nan Zhiyun was somewhat frightened when she heard these punishments in his arms, but she dared not say anything.
"Those who served Consort Shu today failed to protect her properly; each of them shall be given twenty strokes of the cane as punishment." Yu Jingchen was venting his anger on these people.
"Your Majesty?" Nan Zhiyun couldn't hold back this time. No matter what, Qianxia and the others were innocent...
"No pleading allowed, or the punishment will be doubled!" Yu Jingchen gave Nan Zhiyun no chance to beg for mercy. Nan Zhiyun was frightened by Yu Jingchen's eyes. She knew that Yu Jingchen was really angry this time.
"Drag that horse down and behead it too!" Yu Jingchen hadn't forgotten the culprit behind this. It was his fault; if he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have taken Nan Zhiyun to learn horseback riding in the first place.
"Have you found out where that arrow came from?" Yu Jingchen hadn't finished dealing with the matter yet.
"Not yet, but the arrowhead seems a bit unusual." Fortunately, he didn't say it outright, and Yu Jingchen frowned. After a moment of silence, he stopped dwelling on the matter.
"How could someone have set traps in the hunting grounds? And in this weather, how could snakes appear? Have you investigated thoroughly?" Yu Jingchen continued to ask.
"It hasn't been determined yet," Xing Lai lowered his head. Yu Jingchen glanced at him, and that glance made Xing Lai break out in a cold sweat.
"Didn't the people patrolling the hunting grounds discover this beforehand? What are you doing?" Yu Jingchen looked at the person in charge of this hunting ground, who, coincidentally, was Yu Jiangyan (Yu Yan's brother).
"It is my fault for failing to detect this factor in advance. I beg Your Majesty for punishment." Yu Jiangyan did not argue.
Yu Jiangyan has been making quite a splash lately. He took over a portion of the military power that Nan Su had previously handed over, and he is now fully responsible for the security of the hunting grounds. He can be considered a rising star in the court.
Everyone was initially envious, but unexpectedly, such a mishap occurred. Who doesn't know how much the Emperor favors Consort Shu?
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