After giving her orders, the Empress stormed into Hongyu's room.
Hongyu felt dizzy and weak all over. She could only stand up by supporting herself on the round table, and bowed with her hands clasped. "What brings the Empress here so late at night?"
Snap!
The Empress slapped Hongyu across the face. "Back in the courtyard in the south of the city, you promised me that you would never let Prince Yan touch any male concubines again. That's why I allowed you to enter Prince Yan's residence. I never expected you to still be so obsequious and secretly offer male concubines to Prince Yan. What is your punishment...?"
Hongyu covered her face but did not kneel. Instead, she retorted sharply, "Hongyu did not deceive the Empress! The Empress is too rash to convict Hongyu before the guards have finished their search."
"You... how dare you defy me..."
The Empress pointed at Hongyu, her lips trembling with anger, and her arms shaking.
Just then, an old nanny rushed in, carrying a bundle of white cloth in her arms. "Your Majesty, it's an incredibly joyous occasion..."
"explain!"
"Prince Yan favored four maids in one night and is now fast asleep. This is a red cloth..."
Did the Prince of Yan favor a maid?
Hongyu was greatly shocked, then gasped, "No, he doesn't like women..."
She pushed aside the Empress and rushed into the Prince Yan's bedroom. There was a layer of clothes on the floor. When she got closer to the bed, she saw that the Prince Yan was fast asleep, completely naked, with four women lying on their sides beside him.
She felt as if her heart was being torn apart, as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking. Her legs went weak, and she grabbed the tent flap to support herself.
Lianxiang said... The Empress drugged Prince Yan multiple times, but Prince Yan never favored any woman.
Lianxiang also said... Consort Yu used four fake young masters to trick Prince Yan into returning to the manor. To get away with it, they had to drug Prince Yan. While Prince Yan was under the influence of the drug, Lianxiang would take the other three maids back to the servants' quarters. The next day, Prince Yan would be unaware of what had happened.
But... right now, four maids were sleeping beside Prince Yan.
And... who laid out the fallen blood cloth in advance?
How ridiculous! She was actually deceived by those lowly maids! She personally handed over Prince Yan to four treacherous and wicked maids!
Unable to contain her anger, she ripped at the curtain and roared, "Get down here, all of you!"
The four maids remained completely still.
Actually, when the old nanny pulled away the white cloth, the four maids had already woken up. Now they were pretending to be asleep and attached to Prince Yan, just wanting a title.
Seeing that no one answered, Hongyu was furious. She went closer to look for Lianxiang, but everyone had their eyes closed and were not dressed, so she could not recognize which one was Lianxiang.
Already furious, she flew into a rage and shouted, "Guards! Drag these vile maids who are spreading heresy and deceiving me out of here and beat them to death!"
"It is only natural for Prince Yan to favor his personal maids. As a concubine, Hongyu should think of the entire Prince Yan's mansion. She must not compete for favor and make a mess of the mansion!"
At this moment, the Empress was sitting in the outer room. Although she sternly reprimanded Hongyu, her face was radiant and she had a smile on her lips.
"Granny, take four maids to have their bodies examined. Whoever wins the Prince Yan's favor will be richly rewarded by me."
"Yes! This old servant will go right away."
The old nanny arrived at the bedroom door. "Four incense sticks, get dressed, and come out quickly."
The maids immediately woke up, not caring that they were naked, and one by one they brushed past Hongyu, picked up their clothes from the ground and began to dress.
Three have passed, one is still missing.
Hongyu looked at the bed, where Yan Wang was holding a maid in his arms.
The maid blinked her peach blossom eyes and nestled in Yan Wang's arms, her upturned lips seemingly showing off to Hong Yu.
Hongyu was overcome with jealousy, and her eyes welled up with tears. She knew she couldn't let the lowly maid see, so she hurriedly turned to the side and used the curtain to cover herself.
Last night, she abandoned all pretense of dignity, stripping herself naked and presenting herself to Prince Yan, but he wouldn't even glance at her, much less touch her. She believed Prince Yan was truly indifferent to women, but now… Prince Yan was actually sleeping with a maid in his arms?
Her thin lips drooped involuntarily, unable to suppress the jealousy in her heart, and she asked in a choked voice, "What's your name?"
"Your Highness, my name is Lianxiang."
Lotus fragrance?
Hongyu looked closely and saw that the maid who had given her the advice yesterday was just as petite and exquisite, with a pair of alluring peach blossom eyes.
She felt nauseous, as if she had swallowed a fly; she had been tricked by this lowly servant!
Last night, she planned to wait until the four maids left Yan Wang's bedroom before going to sleep.
Unexpectedly, Lianxiang brought her a bowl of beauty soup. After drinking it, she fell asleep on the round table. When she opened her eyes, she saw the Empress.
She was instantly enraged, wishing she could beat this cunning and insubordinate maid to death with a stick. However, the Empress was in the outer room, and Lianxiang had just been favored by Prince Yan. Wouldn't taking action now prove that she was vying for favor and was belligerent?
Just then, the old nanny came over and pulled Lianxiang off the bed. "Don't keep the Empress waiting. Hurry up and get dressed to have your body examined."
After saying this, the old nanny left with her three maids.
Hongyu was about to leave when she was grabbed by the sleeve. Turning her head, she saw Lianxiang whispering in her ear.
Five years ago, a maidservant drugged Prince Yan and was executed by the Empress. Consort Yu was the second person to drug Prince Yan.
Hongyu was shocked and stood frozen in place, not daring to look at Lianxiang. Could it be that Lianxiang was going to kill her?
Shen Yu said she was cunning and ruthless, but it turns out that the maid in the Yan Prince's mansion was even more insidious and vicious than her!
Suddenly, the old nanny pushed open the door, and Hongyu was startled and slightly frightened.
[Consort Yu, it's already past 9 AM, and Prince Yan is still drowsy. The Empress suspects someone has used underhanded methods and wants Consort Yu to help interrogate these maids.]
Hongyu was terrified. The Empress truly wouldn't tolerate anyone drugging Prince Yan. Come to think of it, if the Empress were as willing as Madam Bai to drug her own son, Prince Yan would have had children long ago.
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