Chapter 656 Self-protection
As the wind and snow grew stronger, the atmosphere in Shoukang Palace became colder.
The empress dowager had changed her clothes, with only a gorgeous phoenix hairpin in her bun, and her face was solemn.
"Tell me, what happened? Who discovered what happened today?"
"Replying to the Queen Mother, she is a maid from Cuiwei Palace."
Cuiwei Palace?
The virtuous concubine, who arrived a step late, heard these words as soon as she arrived at the door. She hurried in and looked at the group of people on the ground. She saw that the one kneeling at the head of the group of palace servants was actually her personal maid.
Her expression suddenly changed: "Yun'er?!"
"Empress..." Yun'er's face was pale.
Xian Fei asked anxiously, "Why are you here?"
She had clearly told Yun'er to go back to Cuiwei Palace, so why was she still in Shoukang Palace?!
Liu Tong'en spoke up, "To answer the question, Her Majesty, it was Yun'er and a palace guard in Shoukang Palace who witnessed the attempt by Miss Qian from the rear palace to murder the Crown Prince. They alerted the patrolling imperial guards and were able to apprehend Miss Qian."
The Concubine Xian's expression changed instantly. Impossible, how could it be Yun'er? Clearly...
Feeling that everyone present was looking at Consort Xian, the Queen Mother said in a deep voice, "Yun'er, right? Tell me what you saw."
Yun'er, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled and said, "Today, the Empress Dowager is hosting a banquet for all the princesses and ladies in Shoukang Palace. I accompanied the virtuous concubine to the banquet. After the Empress Dowager entered the palace, I accidentally fell outside and knocked over the Empress Dowager's hand warmer."
"My queen has been suffering from chills lately and needs a hand warmer constantly. I wanted to ask Sister Cai'an from Shoukang Palace to refill the hand warmer with charcoal, but when I followed her to the back room, I saw a eunuch walking out in a panic."
"At that time, the eunuch bumped into me. Sister Cai'an yelled in anger, but he didn't stop. Instead, he turned around and ran away in panic, as if he had done something wrong."
"My servant and Sister Cai'an sensed something was amiss, so we headed in the direction he was coming from. But when we reached the side hall at the back, we heard shouting and cursing coming from inside."
Yun'er trembled slightly, looked at Qian Qiyue with fear, and said in a trembling voice:
"I vaguely heard the Crown Prince and a woman scolding. I was just thinking of asking Sister Cai'an to find Nanny Ran before coming over, when a loud noise came from the room, and then... then someone broke through the door and flew out."
The palace maiden named Cai'an, who was kneeling beside her, continued, "My servant Yun'er and I were both frightened at the time. The person who flew out was covered in blood when he landed on the steps. He then got up and tried to run away. Miss Qian from the porch chased him out with a candlestick in her hand."
"When that man began to beg for mercy, I recognized him as the Crown Prince. He ran while begging for mercy from Miss Qian, but Miss Qian refused to give up. After chasing him, she smashed the Crown Prince's head with a candlestick."
The prince fell to the ground with a bloody head, and they were also shocked.
When Miss Fu's scream woke Miss Qian up, the candlestick in her hand fell to the ground. The palace maids in Shoukang Palace were in a commotion, and the thing that screamed "murder" also attracted the guards patrolling outside to rush over.
"Miss Qian immediately returned to the porch. The two servants didn't dare approach her and could only guard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Fortunately, someone nearby rushed over and was able to take Miss Qian down."
After listening to the two palace maids, the Queen Mother said in a deep voice, "You mean to say that the Crown Prince was in the same room with them at the time?"
The two palace maids nodded, and Cai An said, "Yes, except for Miss Qian, Miss Zhou and Miss Fu are here."
Yu Yanfeng saw something was wrong and quickly said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, when the guards arrived at the annex, in addition to the three women, they also found the unconscious wife of Marquis Wenxin. In addition to them, there were three eunuchs who had been knocked unconscious inside and outside the annex."
The Queen Mother looked grim: "How is the wife of Marquis Wenxin?"
Yu Yanfeng said: "He is injured and unconscious."
The Queen Mother frowned even more tightly, and lowered her eyes to look at Cai An: "You just said that the Crown Prince begged for mercy from Miss Qian before. Why did he beg for mercy, and what did he say?"
Cai An said, "I didn't hear it clearly. The Crown Prince was staggering and his words were a little unclear. I only vaguely heard His Royal Highness say that he didn't mean it and that he could make amends. He also mentioned Miss Fu."
Yun'er also said in a trembling voice, "Your servant, your servant didn't hear it clearly. I just saw that the Crown Prince seemed to say something that angered Miss Qian. Miss Qian was furious and directly hit the Crown Prince with a candlestick. Then His Highness the Crown Prince fell to the ground and lost consciousness."
Everyone in the hall couldn't help but look at Qian Qiyue and the other two, vaguely guessing something.
Let’s not talk about why the prince was in the same room with several girls. When the prince begged for mercy, what he said was nothing but compensation. If it was compensation, he must have done something wrong.
A man and a woman were in the same room, and Qian Qiyue was so angry that she almost killed the prince. It was definitely not a trivial matter. Everyone had some vague guesses in their hearts, and when they looked at Qian Qiyue and the other two who were in a rather embarrassed state, their eyes were filled with suspicion.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Qian Qiyue subconsciously stood in front of Zhou Yuchang. She whimpered twice and struggled a few times in her bound body.
Concubine Zhao said, "Your Majesty, Miss Qian seems to have something to say."
The Queen Mother said in a deep voice, "Take what's in her mouth."
A palace maid came forward and pulled out the gag in Qian Qiyue's mouth. Qian Qiyue was kneeling on the ground with her hands tied behind her back.
The Queen Mother asked, "Why did you hurt the prince?"
Qian Qiyue's face turned pale, but she spoke firmly: "This servant did not do it on purpose. I was only trying to save myself."
"presumptuous!"
The Queen Mother shouted, "Cai An said it herself that you had an argument with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince clearly begged for mercy, yet you still attacked and severely injured him. And you still dare to say it was not intentional?!"
Qian Qiyue straightened her back and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Every word I said is true. I have no intention of offending my superiors. I was forced to do so."
Her mouth had been blocked for a long time, and the corners of her mouth were torn, and it hurt when she spoke.
After taking a deep breath, Qian Qiyue continued:
"The Crown Prince forced Sister Fu to insult her innocence, forced her to commit adultery in Shoukang Palace, and even injured the wife of Marquis Wenxin. In a moment of desperation, I wanted to force the Crown Prince to retreat, but he shamelessly attempted to insult me."
"I was forced to do this, and the two maids misheard. The Crown Prince didn't beg for mercy from me. Instead, he used this incident to threaten me, forcing me to marry into the Crown Prince's palace with the Fu family sister, and forcing the Qian and Fu families to rely on the Crown Prince. Otherwise, he would ruin our reputations. I lost my mind in a fit of rage."
“Wow—”
Everyone in the hall was in an uproar, their faces filled with disbelief.
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