Chapter 213 Li Nian'er, you went to great lengths to set up this poisonous trap, yet you were incredibly stupid.
After saying that, she lifted her skirt, turned around and ran towards Jinxia Garden. Her charming figure quickly disappeared at the end of the winding palace road.
Silence reigned all around.
Lu Zhaoruo slowly straightened up, the pain and helplessness she had just shown faded, and her face returned to a calm indifference.
She looked down, her gaze falling on her slightly swollen and throbbing right ankle.
In her haste, she did strain herself and genuinely injured herself.
A cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips.
Li Nian'er, you went to great lengths to set up this poisonous trap, but you were incredibly stupid.
Today you want to ruin my reputation by having the emperor's brother-in-law defile me. Now, you will taste the bitterness for yourself.
She gently moved her injured ankle, and the stinging pain made her frown slightly.
He straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and hair, and sat calmly on the rock.
Princess Yongfu jogged back to Jinxia Garden, where everyone was still laughing and chatting.
Disregarding etiquette, she went straight to the Empress's side, gently tugged at her phoenix sleeve, and said in a voice filled with barely suppressed anxiety, "Sister-in-law, Yongfu has something extremely important to report to me immediately."
Seeing that Yongfu looked flustered and unlike his usual playful self, the Empress narrowed her eyes slightly and said to the ladies with a smile, "Please enjoy yourselves first. I'll be right back."
After saying that, he took Yongfu's hand and quietly moved to a secluded waterside pavilion.
"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?"
The Empress asked in a low voice.
Yongfu tiptoed and whispered in the Empress's ear what he had seen and heard in the Bamboo Green Pavilion—how the Imperial Uncle had gone mad, how Li Nian'er was in danger, and how Lu Zhaoruo was injured and waiting.
Upon hearing this, the Empress's face drained of color instantly, and a flash of shock and anger appeared in her eyes!
But having risen from Crown Princess to Empress, she had long since developed the ability to remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses before her.
Seeing that several ladies were looking over curiously, she immediately took a deep breath, her face regaining its graceful smile, and said in a loud voice, "Yongfu has discovered a novel insect and insists on taking me to see it. Please don't stand on ceremony, I'll be right back."
After speaking, she rose gracefully, her gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping across the table, landing precisely on Madam Jiang, who was exchanging pleasantries with others.
She walked calmly to her side, her voice neither too loud nor too soft: "Lady Qi, come with me to take a look."
Jiang bowed and replied "Yes," but her heart inexplicably tightened.
She quietly searched around with her eyes, but could not find her niece Li Nian'er, and felt uneasy.
The Empress said no more, and, holding the hand of the female official Chen Shanggong, quickly left Jinxia Garden with Yongfu and the uneasy Jiang Shi.
Not far from Jinxia Garden, they saw Lu Zhaoruo waiting for them on a rock by the pond.
She sat alone on the cold stone, her figure thin, her hair slightly disheveled, and her skirt even had some dust on it, making her look rather disheveled.
Upon seeing the Empress's carriage, Lu Zhaoruo immediately struggled to rise and pay her respects, her face showing both pain and subservience: "This commoner greets Your Majesty the Empress..."
"Madam Lu!"
Yongfu quickly stepped forward and took her arm, his voice full of concern, "How's your foot injury? Does it still hurt?"
With Yongfu's help, Lu Zhaoruo cast a grateful yet ashamed glance at the Empress: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine and would not dare to delay important matters."
This scene was witnessed by Madam Jiang.
Why is she here?
What exactly happened?
Why did the Empress specifically summon only him?
Jiang's unease reached its peak in an instant.
She subconsciously glanced up, trying to glean some clues from Lu Zhaoruo's face.
Just then, Lu Zhaoruo casually glanced over.
Their eyes met, and in an instant...
Lu Zhaoruo's lips twitched upwards, forming a faint smile that seemed to be both pity and mockery.
The smile vanished in a flash, so quickly that Jiang almost thought it was an illusion.
But that one smile sent a chill down Jiang's spine!
At this moment, the Empress spoke up: "It's good that you can walk. There's no time to lose, go to Zhuqing Pavilion immediately."
Outside the Bamboo Green Pavilion, the courtyard gate was ajar, unguarded, and eerily quiet.
The Empress glanced at them with her phoenix eyes, her face darkening.
The palace maid Chen, who was standing beside her, immediately stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Brother-in-law usually does not like palace servants to disturb him when he comes to the palace to rest. This has always been the arrangement."
The Empress remained silent, quickly walked into the courtyard, and arrived at the door of the side room.
She noticed that the door to the side room was bolted shut from the outside by a horizontal wooden bar.
Her authoritative gaze swept over Lu Zhaoruo.
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her eyes and stood silently.
Yongfu, still shaken, tugged at the Empress's sleeve and hurriedly explained, "Sister-in-law! Uncle looked terrifying at the time, like he was about to devour people! I... I was afraid he would rush out, and if others saw him, Uncle and the royal family's reputation would be... would be completely ruined!"
The Empress gave Yongfu a deep look, but said nothing, only nodding slightly to Consort Chen.
Chen Shanggong understood, stepped forward, deftly removed the door latch, and slowly pushed open the door.
The moment the door opened, a strong smell of alcohol mixed with a lewd atmosphere rushed out, making one want to vomit.
Chen Shanggong remained expressionless and stepped into the inner room alone.
He quickly withdrew, a rare hint of seriousness flashing across his usually composed face.
She approached the Empress and reported in a very low voice, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Uncle and... Lady Li from Lady Qi's household are both on the bed. Lady Li seems dazed, and there are... many marks on her body. The Imperial Uncle is still fast asleep."
Jiang, who had been trying to remain calm, had her mind go blank when she heard the name "Li Niangzi"!
She no longer cared about etiquette and staggered into the inner room!
The sight before her made her dizzy.
Her niece, Li Nian'er, was huddled in the corner of the bed, her clothes torn, her hair disheveled, and her exposed skin covered with purplish-blue pinch marks and ambiguous bite marks. She was sobbing. Her eyes were vacant.
Meanwhile, the emperor's brother-in-law lay naked beside him, snoring loudly.
"Nian'er! You! How did you get here?!"
Jiang, who was always composed and dignified, let out a scream.
Upon hearing the sound, Li Nian'er abruptly raised her head, her unfocused gaze following the sound to find her aunt's figure. Her previously lifeless face instantly contorted, and she burst into a wail.
"aunt!"
Ignoring her naked and disheveled body, she scrambled off the bed and lunged at Jiang, grabbing Jiang's leg tightly.
"……aunt……"
Tears streamed down her face, her hair plastered to her pale complexion. She screamed and cried, "It was Lu Zhaoruo! That bitch killed me! She pushed me in here! She locked the door!"
She seemed to recall the most terrifying thing, her whole body trembling violently: "The...the Imperial Uncle has defiled me, Aunt! Save me! I'm in so much pain...I'm so dirty!"
Her cries were a mixture of extreme fear, humiliation, and resentment.
Jiang was held so tightly by her that she couldn't move. Looking at the person in her arms, who looked neither human nor ghost, her heart was broken. Apart from shedding tears, she couldn't utter a single word.
"What kind of behavior is this!"
From outside the screen came the Empress's stern shout.
Chen Shanggong immediately strode into the inner room, her gaze sweeping over the mess on the bed, her brows furrowing.
Without hesitation, she pulled off another brocade quilt from beside the bed, flicked her wrist, and precisely covered the exposed body of the emperor's brother-in-law.
He then turned to Li Nian'er, who was curled up on the ground and barely clothed, and said, "Madam Li, please have some self-respect! Quickly straighten your clothes."
Madam Jiang immediately replied, "Quickly, put your clothes on, Her Majesty the Empress is here."
After Li Nian'er had tidied up her torn clothes and barely covered her exposed skin, the Empress, with her phoenix eyes filled with arrogance and her face covered with frost, slowly stepped into the room.
She glanced at the imperial brother-in-law under the bedding on the bed and at Li Nian'er, who was shivering, her eyes showing no surprise, only anger and disgust.
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