"You've never even left the palace, so who would know? Consort Shu, don't waste everyone's time here. Confess quickly, and I'll beg the Empress to be lenient with you," the Empress said coldly.
"Your Majesty, I have not done such a thing," Consort Shu said firmly.
"Your Majesty, Consort Shu just appeared in my palace wearing this cloak. Everyone in Yikun Palace can attest to that." The Empress said calmly, "She was seen by a maid from Yikun Palace and in her haste to escape, her cloak was torn off. Your Majesty can ask anyone in Yikun Palace."
"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. Your Majesty, everyone in Qiluan Garden can testify for me. Tonight, I truly did not leave Qiluan Garden even for a moment." Consort Shu seemed to have suffered a great injustice, and every word she spoke was tinged with tears.
"Consort Shu, you really have a lot of scheming. The people in Qiluan Garden are all your servants. Even if they see you leave the palace, who would dare to stand up and say anything?" The Empress sneered and turned to kneel beside the Empress Dowager: "Mother, please issue an order to take Xiao Shunzi and Bin'er, who are by Consort Shu's side, away for severe interrogation right now."
"Empress Dowager!" Consort Shu was extremely aggrieved: "Please, Empress Dowager, also interrogate Aunt Wenhui, who serves the Empress, severely to find out if she really saw me in Yikun Palace tonight. I am innocent!"
"Consort Shu, you..." The Empress's lips trembled with anger: "Don't stand here spouting nonsense and deliberately stalling for time. I advise you to admit it sooner rather than later, so that your people in the palace won't suffer."
"I did not do it, so how can I admit it?" Consort Shu argued, "Your Majesty, I have a clear conscience. Please take the people from the Empress's palace to interrogate her first."
The Empress almost laughed in anger: "You, Consort Shu, are you trying to make your mother believe only your and your people's side of the story?"
“What we’re saying is true, so why can’t we believe it?” Consort Shu retorted.
The Empress sneered, "I'd like to see how you can prove it."
"Can I prove it?" Emperor Yuanwu walked in from outside, carrying Mu Qianqian in his arms.
"Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!"
Emperor Yuanwu gestured for the concubines to rise.
When the Empress saw Emperor Yuanwu, her face turned pale.
When she saw the baby he was holding, her already pale face turned even paler.
Consort Qing was just granted a title today.
Emperor Yuanwu also chose her.
Shouldn't he be resting in Yunyan Pavilion right now?
Why would he be holding Consort Shu's daughter in the middle of the night?
"Greetings to the Empress Dowager." Emperor Yuanwu walked up to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was having a headache from the arguing between the Empress and Consort Shu. When she saw Emperor Yuanwu, she felt like she had seen a savior.
"Why is the Emperor arriving so late?" the Empress Dowager asked gently.
"This Consort Shu is really capable; she managed to invite the Emperor over in the middle of the night."
"How do you know it was Consort Shu who invited them? Couldn't it have been the Empress who invited them?"
"Didn't you see the baby the Emperor is holding? That's Consort Shu's daughter."
"I heard that the Emperor values this Seventh Princess very much. He takes her with him every day when he goes to the Imperial Study to handle official business. No prince has ever had such an honor."
"That's right, this is what it means to be a mother who gains status through her son. Consort Shu is good at giving birth."
"I heard that the Emperor chose Qingyan tonight."
"Do you think Consort Shu set this fire?"
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