The old nanny brought over a bowl, first showing it to the Empress, then moving it to Hongyu and softly asking, "Consort Yu, is this the bowl you used last night?"
Hongyu didn't rush to reply. She knew... last night, Lianxiang had given her a sleeping potion, causing her to fall into a deep sleep, which prevented her from stopping Prince Yan from favoring the four maids.
She was puzzled. If Lianxiang knew that the small bowl used by Prince Yan had been buried, why did she deliberately keep the small bowl that she had used? With the evidence right in front of her, she dared not testify against Lianxiang, for fear that Lianxiang would accuse her of drugging Prince Yan.
Unexpectedly, Lianxiang kowtowed and confessed, "Your Majesty, it was all Lianxiang's doing. Last night, Prince Yan wanted to favor the four of us, but Consort Yu tried to stop him. Lianxiang was furious, so she put sleeping potion in Consort Yu's beauty soup."
Lianxiang's words cleared up the Empress's doubts. No wonder Hongyu couldn't stop Prince Yan from favoring the four maids; she had been drugged. This was actually a good thing, as it dampened Hongyu's arrogance and prevented her from monopolizing Prince Yan's affections.
But... why hasn't the King of Yan woken up yet?
Although the old nanny found nothing suspicious, the Empress remained uneasy and ordered, "Nanny, summon the imperial physician. If anyone has drugged Prince Yan, have them beaten to death!"
Hongyu broke out in a cold sweat, her body stiff with fear. If the imperial physician discovered that Prince Yan had been drugged, she would surely die.
"There's no need to summon the imperial physician."
Prince Yan staggered in, and the Empress rushed forward to help him. Hongyu hurriedly got up, hanging her head and not daring to move, for fear of attracting Prince Yan's attention.
The Empress and Prince Yan sat on either side of the Eight Immortals Table, while Hongyu huddled nervously beside the Empress.
Prince Yan leaned back in his armchair, frowned, closed his eyes, and smiled while rubbing his forehead. "Yan'er has worried Mother. Last night, Yan'er drank some wine in Yu Lang's courtyard. Just have someone prepare a bowl of hangover soup."
After saying this, Yan Wang squinted at Hong Yu, his eyes filled with resentment and reproach.
Last night, he drank the ginseng soup prepared by Hongyu. When he returned to his room, he felt hot all over and his heart was burning. The four young masters helped him undress and get into bed to rest.
To his surprise, the four young men, after removing their disguises, turned out to be his four personal maids. Unfortunately, he was drugged and unable to escape...
Lianxiang led the charge.
Lianxiang had been with him for five years, always respectful and obedient to him. But last night, she was like a ravenous wolf, taking the initiative and taking advantage of him.
All of this must be Hongyu's doing. First, she used four fake young masters to trick him into returning to the mansion, then she drugged him and had four maids break his taboo.
If the Empress were to discover this, it would surely cost Hongyu her life. Such a thing had happened five years ago, and he did not want the tragedy to repeat itself, nor did he want to lose Hongyu, his virtuous wife.
Hongyu dared not face King Yan, so she had to use the Empress's body to avoid his gaze.
Fortunately, Prince Yan didn't reveal the drugging incident. As long as Lianxiang doesn't speak up either, the matter can be considered closed. It's just unknown how the Empress will handle the matter of Lianxiang drugging her.
Suddenly, Lianxiang kowtowed repeatedly, crying and wailing, "Your Majesty, please do justice for Lianxiang! Lianxiang is the daughter of Grand Tutor Zhang Ruiqi! Consort Yu used a fake auspicious cloud jade pendant to impersonate Lianxiang, but Lianxiang has the real jade pendant as proof..."
The Empress's expression instantly turned serious. Grand Tutor Zhang had previously said that Hongyu was the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, so how did Lianxiang suddenly appear?
Was Grand Tutor Zhang mistaken? Or did Lianxiang have another scheme?
Unable to hear the Empress's words, Lianxiang continued to kowtow, and soon a patch of blood appeared on the ground. Lianxiang cried even more desperately.
[Your Majesty... if you don't believe me, you can ask Prince Yan. Lianxiang grew up in Jiangnan and is from the same hometown as Consort Yu. Consort Yu naturally knows Lianxiang's background, which is why she used the fake jade pendant to impersonate the Grand Tutor's daughter.]
The Empress looked at Hongyu and asked in a low voice, "Hongyu, is what Lianxiang said true?"
Hongyu was puzzled. What fellow townsman? Although Lianxiang's appearance seemed familiar, she had worked with fishermen since she was a child and did not know any fellow townsmen.
Because Lianxiang had something on her, she had no choice but to kneel beside Lianxiang and confess to the fabricated charges.
[Your Majesty, Hongyu did indeed use the fake jade pendant to reunite with Grand Tutor Zhang. However, Hongyu has severed ties with the Zhang family. At the Zuo family's Dongsu Pavilion, Hongyu informed Prince Yan of this matter and did not conceal it.]
The Empress's expression immediately turned sour. She glared at Hongyu, then looked at Lianxiang, saying, "Since you know your own background, why don't you acknowledge Grand Tutor Zhang?"
Lianxiang has served Prince Yan for five years and only wants to serve him for the rest of her life. If she hadn't gotten into trouble today, she would never have revealed her true identity.
After saying this, Lianxiang burst into tears, her forehead already a bloody mess.
Hongyu was completely outmatched; Lianxiang's scheme was executed flawlessly and effortlessly!
First, he used her to get into Yan Wang's bed; then he used sleeping pills to expose their feud; finally, to avoid trouble, he had to admit that she was the Grand Tutor's daughter.
This seemingly logical, interconnected, and thrilling plan made her uneasy and terrified. If Lianxiang also became Yan Wang's concubine and stood on equal footing with her, how could she possibly win?
We simply can't win.
To verify Lianxiang's background, the Empress sent someone to invite Grand Tutor Zhang and ordered all unrelated servants to leave.
Grand Tutor Zhang walked in, bent down to look at Lianxiang, then looked at Hongyu, and was very surprised. Lianxiang looked just like the deceased Lu Qing'er.
Lianxiang could tell many stories about Grand Tutor Zhang and Lu Qing'er's past, as well as the origin of the Lu family's oil-paper umbrellas and Lu Qing'er's childhood experiences—things that Hongyu had never heard of before.
Hongyu was stunned, even believing that Lianxiang was Lu Qing'er's biological daughter. What shocked her even more was...
Grand Tutor Zhang, tears streaming down his face, nodded repeatedly, "Lianxiang is indeed my daughter."
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