Chapter 33 I'll Kill You
Seeing that her scheme had been exposed, the palace maid hurriedly kowtowed and confessed, revealing what had happened.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me—Your Highness, please forgive me! This servant...this servant was only following Consort Shuyi's orders to throw this thing into the pond. This servant knew nothing about it—"
Chu Mingheng finally spoke: "Bring Liu Shi here."
Lan Wu found it strange.
Liu Shuyi wanted to poison her, but she left behind this crucial piece of evidence, only ordering someone to throw it far away into the pond in the Imperial Garden today.
By sheer coincidence, we ran into them here.
Chu Mingheng did this on purpose, didn't he...? How did he know that Liu Shuyi would have someone throw the things away at this time?
If it were Lan Wu herself, she would definitely have poured a basin of water in her palace to drown the evidence, and then buried the rest underground. She would never have gone to such lengths to find a pond.
It was already dark when Liu Shuyi was brought over.
As spring draws to a close, there are more mosquitoes in the Imperial Garden, and flying insects can always be seen in places with light at night.
Lanwu hates flying insects the most.
But Chu Mingheng clearly intended to interrogate people in the Imperial Garden, so she could only pretend not to see the small insects flying around as the palace servants carried palace lanterns.
When Liu Shuyi was brought in, she still hoped that there might be a mistake, or that the matter might not have been discovered. But when she knelt before the emperor and saw Lan Wu sitting beside him, smiling at her, she realized that it was all over.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings." As she knelt, her gaze fell upon the white powder on the table beside her, and her heart pounded like a drum.
Chu Mingheng ordered his men to bring the palace maid over.
Before he could even speak, the palace maid had already crawled over, trembling, and was clinging to Liu Shuyi's clothes, begging for help from her lord.
Liu Shuyi's expression changed drastically, and she pushed the person away violently.
"You! You're slandering me—I didn't ask you to do anything!" Liu Shuyi said, crawling forward two steps, filled with fear and panic, proclaiming her innocence.
"Your Majesty, please investigate! Your Majesty—this palace maid is from my palace, but I know nothing of what she did or why she is here! Your Majesty, please do not believe the lies of petty people and wrong me!"
Liu Shuyi's words were completely illogical, which made Lan Wu laugh uncontrollably.
The mocking laugh was noticed.
Liu Shuyi's attention immediately shifted to Lan Wu.
She seemed to feel cold, her whole body was trembling, and although she controlled her expression, the hatred in her eyes could not be hidden.
Lan Wu saw her gaze, met it calmly, and silently said, "I'll kill you."
Just then, a fluttering moth flew by not far away. As soon as Lan Wu finished speaking, she immediately shrank back and leaned towards Chu Mingheng.
Although she was sitting next to Chu Mingheng, she wasn't pressed close to him. Until now, it seemed as if she was throwing herself into his arms.
Chu Mingheng gently touched her waist, glanced at her discreetly, and then ordered a palace servant to bring her the cloak.
"Go light some more incense."
His voice was calm and even, showing no anger at Liu Shuyi or displeasure at Lan Wu's actions; it was simply the calm and authoritative tone that came with habit of giving orders.
Liu Shuyi naturally saw Lan Wu's lip movements. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she wished she could tear Lan Wu's face apart.
Incense was lit, and Lan Wu was also covered by a cloak.
"Your Majesty is wise. I am innocent. Perhaps this palace maid was instigated by someone to slander me," Consort Liu said, covering her face in fear.
Listening to her nonsensical words, Lan Wu finally understood who the person she was referring to as the instigator was.
This is implying that she spoke recklessly in front of His Majesty.
"Your Highness, this palace maid hasn't said a word yet, and you're already accusing her of slandering you. Do you know what she did?" Lan Wu asked suspiciously.
Liu Shuyi met her gaze, paused for a moment, and immediately retorted, "Of course I don't know—"
“Yes, if Consort Shuyi doesn’t know anything, why would you slander her? Isn’t this…” Lan Wu bit her lip lightly, lowered her voice and looked at Chu Mingheng, asking him softly, “Your Majesty, isn’t this an admission of guilt?”
"You!" Liu Shuyi was so angry at her two-faced act that her hands trembled. Just as she was about to say something, she saw the emperor staring at her with deep eyes.
A gust of cold wind, seemingly from nowhere, swept over her body, as if taking away all the warmth and leaving only a sense of death. She immediately lowered her head, unable to look at anyone.
As night deepened and darkness fell everywhere, only this area of the Imperial Garden remained brightly lit, illuminating even the expressions on people's faces.
Chu Mingheng had just let Lan Wu ask the question herself, but that was asking a servant. Now that she's facing Liu Shuyi, she's no less capable and speaks quite fluently.
"Will you tell me yourself, or will I order someone to take everyone in your palace to the Censorate for questioning?"
In the inner palace, all sorts of intrigues and schemes are commonplace. Consort Liu followed Consort Shu and did a lot of dirty work for her. If all of Consort Shu's palace staff were interrogated, it's hard to guarantee that other things wouldn't be discovered.
The chill in Liu Shuyi's heart never dissipated. Her palms were pressed tightly to the ground, and she was so frightened by the emperor's words that she could not speak, but sweat broke out on her forehead.
To speak or not to speak!?
If she tells His Majesty the truth, His Majesty can't possibly kill her because of a moment of confusion, can he?
The thought flashed into his mind, and the next instant, the face of Lan Wu silently uttering the words "I'll kill you" appeared in his mind.
She shuddered violently, desperately swallowing the almost nonexistent saliva in her dry, coughing throat.
Just then, Luo Yun suddenly took a few steps closer, bowed, and addressed the emperor at the head of the table: "Your Majesty, Consort Shu has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Lan Wu looked towards the shadows outside the pavilion and indeed saw a figure gradually approaching.
Liu Shuyi visibly relaxed a little, thinking that Consort Shu had come to help her.
Lan Wu felt a momentary worry, but quickly dismissed it. The fact that Consort Shu and Consort Rou shared the power to manage the six palaces was a power granted to them by Chu Mingheng, demonstrating his high regard for them.
But Chu Mingheng had promised her that if he was going to slap Liu Shuyi to death, he meant to slap her to death, and no other way of killing her would do.
"Let her come over." No one could guess what Chu Mingheng was thinking.
Upon hearing this, Lan Wu stood up. Although she also wanted to sit there and provoke Consort Shu, the difference in their ranks was significant, and she still had to pay her respects to Consort Shu.
As she slowly stood up, Consort Shu also came closer and entered the pavilion.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Consort Shu said, squatting down, and coughed lightly after speaking. She was wearing light-colored clothes, and her hair was not adorned with any fancy hairpins. Her face appeared somewhat pale under the palace lanterns, and her lips were also bloodless. She really did look like she was ill.
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