When Su Feiling saw the man point to the silver jade, she subconsciously looked at Zhong Shi.
Mother asked Yinyu to buy tung oil? How could Yinyu be so careless?
When Zhong saw that Yinyu had been recognized, she was stunned and almost forgot to cry. She unconsciously loosened her grip on Su Linyuan's hand.
Yinyu was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground: "I'm innocent!"
Seeing Yin Yu plead her innocence, the man panicked and immediately kowtowed to Xuan Yuanpeng: "I did not, I have no grudge against them, I would never wrong them. Moreover, to deceive the Emperor is to have one's entire family executed, I would never dare to deceive the Emperor, it really was this woman who asked me to buy the tung oil."
"Oh, I remember now." The man suddenly remembered something and hurriedly proved it: "When this woman gave me the silver, I saw a black mole on the back of her hand."
Immediately, a eunuch stepped forward, grabbed Yinyu's hand, and exposed the back of her hand, where there was indeed a black mole.
Upon seeing the mole, the onlookers immediately erupted in a frenzy.
"It really was her who bought the tung oil!"
"She seems to be Madam Su's personal maid. If that's the case, then the fire at Lingxiao Pavilion is indeed related to the second branch of the Su family."
"The mother set fire to her younger brother, the daughter set fire to her older sister, and the son even tried to take liberties with her. This family is worse than animals!"
Xuanyuan Peng was also furious, and shouted: "You audacious lowly servant, how dare you deceive the emperor!"
Yinyu was already terrified, but seeing Xuanyuan Peng's furious expression, she was even more frightened and immediately prostrated herself on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably: "This servant is guilty..."
Xuanyuan Peng angrily shouted, "Who instructed you to buy tung oil and burn down Lingxiao Pavilion?"
Zhong suddenly gripped the hem of her dress tightly, her face turning deathly pale with anxiety.
Su Feiling and Su Muyao were also sweating profusely, and even Su Renyi was so nervous that he didn't dare to breathe.
"yes……"
Just as Yin Yu was about to answer, Su Fei, who was sitting next to Xuan Yuanpeng, spoke coldly: "Don't be nervous, think it through before you answer."
Su Fei spoke calmly, but anyone could hear the threat in her words.
Xuanyuan Peng frowned and glanced at Su Fei, but ultimately remained silent.
Upon hearing Consort Su's words, Yin Yu trembled slightly and replied, "No one instructed me. I bought the tung oil myself, and I was the one who burned the Lingxiao Pavilion."
Upon hearing Yin Yu's answer, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
This Consort Su is truly remarkable!
Zhong Shi, Su Feiling, Su Muyao, Su Renyi and others all breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Consort Su immediately relaxed, a look of satisfaction appearing on her face.
"Why did you burn down Lingxiao Pavilion? What grudge do you have against Su Yun'an?" Xuan Yuanpeng asked again.
Yinyu's mind raced: "This servant admires the eldest young master and is afraid that the young master will steal the eldest young master's title, so I came up with this idea. This is all my own decision and has nothing to do with anyone else."
Xuanyuan Peng stared at Yinyu with a stern face. His inscrutable demeanor left everyone wondering about his attitude toward the matter.
Upon hearing Yinyu's absurd reason, Bai suddenly chuckled softly.
Bai's smile instantly attracted everyone's attention.
"I didn't see anything else, but the Su family women seem to have inherited the same talent for making their maids take the blame!"
Bai's blunt words immediately made Consort Su's face darken: "The Holy King's Dowager Consort has had enough of this show today. You don't need to worry about the Su family's affairs."
Bai Shi wasn't angry. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Miss Su has already filed a complaint with the Emperor, so this is no longer a matter for the Su family. Since I've encountered such a shameless act, how can I not come and see for myself?"
Consort Su was once again furious with Bai Shi, but with Xuan Yuanpeng there, she was powerless to do anything about it.
Su Xuening glanced at Bai Shi in surprise.
How many times has she helped her today? Why is she helping her? And what is her purpose?
"Ahem!" Seeing that Consort Su and Madam Bai were choking again, Xuan Yuanpeng coughed lightly and made his final judgment: "These two maids committed arson and murdered their master. They shall be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison and be beheaded at the Meridian Gate at noon tomorrow as a warning to others!"
At Xuanyuan Peng's command, Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Bai Qin and Yin Yu away.
"Your Majesty, spare my life!"
The two people's desperate cries grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer be heard by anyone.
Xuan Yuanpeng then looked at Su Linyuan: "Su Linyuan attempted to harm Su Xuening. He is worse than a beast. He should be tattooed and exiled soon!"
"Your Majesty, no!" Zhong Shi cried out in alarm, immediately grabbing Su Linyuan.
Consort Su, seeing that Su Linyuan still seemed drunk, pleaded with Xuan Yuanpeng, "Your Majesty, Su Linyuan failed in his mission and has already been punished. Please spare his life."
Before Xuanyuan Peng could speak, Bai Shi coldly rebuked, "Does the crime absolve you of your guilt just because the plan failed? If Su Linyuan were to commit treason in the future, would he also be innocent as long as the plan failed?"
Su Xuening looked at Bai Shi with surprise again, and then she said what she wanted to say.
Xuanyuan Peng, his face dark, glared unhappily at the two imperial guards who were dragging Su Linyuan away: "Why don't you take him away from me right now!"
The Imperial Guards dared not delay any longer and immediately pulled Su Linyuan away from Zhong Shi, then carried him away.
"Yuan'er, Yuan'er..." Madam Zhong rushed over to grab Su Linyuan, but missed.
Lady Zhong then tearfully pleaded with Xuan Yuanpeng, "Your Majesty, please spare our Yuan'er! His legs are completely broken; if he's exiled like this, he'll surely die."
Su Linyuan finally seemed to come to his senses, struggling and shouting, "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"
Watching Su Linyuan being dragged away, Consort Su couldn't bear it and wanted to speak again: "Your Majesty..."
Before Consort Su could finish pleading, Xuanyuan Peng said sternly, "Anyone who pleads for Su Linyuan again will be punished the same as him. My word is law!"
When Xuanyuan Peng got angry, Consort Su immediately fell silent, and Madam Zhong dared not shout anymore; all her cries were choked back.
Xuanyuan Peng looked at Su Xuening: "Do you have any objections to my decision today?"
"This humble woman dares not." Su Xuening knew that today's decision was already the best outcome. As long as Consort Su was around, she would never be able to truly bring down the second branch of the family.
Moreover, she understood Xuan Yuanpeng's purpose in keeping Su Renyi alive, so she was willing to accept this outcome. Getting rid of Su Linyuan was equivalent to severing the roots of the second branch of the family, or at least severing the roots of the Zhong family mother and daughter.
However, this result was not Su Xuening's ultimate goal.
"I have one more request to make."
"you say."
Su Xuening kowtowed to Xuan Yuanpeng before speaking, "The Yong'an Marquis's Mansion was bestowed upon my father by His Majesty. Jingxue Pavilion and Lingxiao Pavilion were also personally designed and built by my father for my brother and me. Although my brother and I have deep feelings for the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion, now that Jingxue Pavilion and Lingxiao Pavilion are destroyed, too many people in the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion want our lives. My brother and I can no longer stay in the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion. I want to separate from the second branch of the Su family in the name of the eldest branch of the Su family."
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