"Ah! That's poison! Quickly save Prince Yan!" the Empress shouted as she rushed towards Prince Yan, and the others hurriedly carried him away.
Hongyu was forced to kneel in the Dongrui Pavilion as punishment, tears streaming down her face, her emotions a mixture of sorrow and joy.
Prince Yan was willing to sacrifice his life for her, but she mistakenly believed that Prince Yan's heart belonged to Liu Yu, which was incredibly foolish! If Prince Yan died, wouldn't she become the culprit who caused the death of the prince? Not to mention that the Empress would not let her off easily, even the Emperor would definitely not let her go!
Thinking of the Emperor, she recalled the gold hairpin. When the Emperor bestowed the hairpin upon her, he said, "If you encounter any difficulties, you may take this hairpin to the palace for an audience, and I will surely come to your aid."
Now that the antidote for the fish-sinking poison has not been obtained, and she is also trapped by the Empress, she has no choice but to take her hairpin and ask to see the Emperor.
She looked at Emerald standing to the side, about to speak, when she heard footsteps behind her.
"How is the King of Yan's condition?"
"His life is not in danger, but he is still unconscious. Thank you for coming to visit, Your Highness."
"Sister Lianxiang, there's no need to be so polite with me. You are Chang Le's sister, and Chang Le is my elder brother's wife. We are even more closely related."
"What the Crown Princess says is quite true. Yesterday, Chang Le invited me to the Zuo residence to admire the flowers, but I was too busy with household chores to attend to the invitation."
Listening to Lianxiang and Zuo Meier chatting casually, Hongyu cursed inwardly, thinking that Lianxiang was nothing more than the Empress's spy and the Crown Princess's lackey.
In the distance, Lianxiang and Zuo Meier were arm in arm. Just as she was wondering if Zuo Meier's purpose in visiting the Prince Yan's residence was impure, the Empress, supported by two nannies, came out of the room.
Zuo Meier and Lianxiang bowed together. "Your Majesty the Empress." "Mother Empress."
The Empress nodded, her brows furrowed, her eyes weary, and asked weakly, "What brings Mei'er here?"
Hongyu pricked up her ears, lowered her head, and glanced around with her peripheral vision. She saw Zuo Meier release Lianxiang's hand, kneel down beside her, and choke out, "Mother, last night... Hongyu deliberately seduced the Crown Prince. Meier couldn't stand it, so she asked Prince Yan to take Hongyu away. Who knew that Hongyu had given the Crown Prince some kind of bewitching potion, and he found fault with Meier in every way, and even beat her to death..."
Who was beaten to death? Zuo Meier didn't say it aloud.
The Empress was horrified, guessing that the Crown Prince often complained about an ugly concubine in the harem, and that he must have beaten Wen Cheng to death. Imperial Physician Wen was treating Prince Yan in his room, thankfully Mei'er didn't voice her thoughts.
The Empress glared at Hongyu, this cunning and seductive vixen who had not only seduced the Emperor and the Crown Prince, but also bewitched Prince Yan to the point of dying for her. This vixen could not be allowed to live. While Prince Yan was still unconscious, Hongyu had to be put to death as soon as possible.
"Granny, go and prepare."
A moment later, the old nanny brought over a square wooden plate and placed it in front of Hongyu.
On the plate is a cup of wine, a strip of white silk, and a dagger.
Hongyu was terrified; the Empress's actions were an attempt to kill her! It was a pity that Prince Yan was weak and incompetent. If Prince Yan had taken the initiative last night and restrained the Crown Prince, Zuo Meier wouldn't have come knocking on her door.
Knowing she had no way out, her heart was filled with despair. Staring at the three objects before her, she pondered which method to use to end her life!
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door again. Since death was inevitable anyway, why bother with formalities? Hongyu turned her head and saw that it was Consort Gao. She was surprised, as she had never had any dealings with Consort Gao before.
Consort Gao then took out a gold hairpin and presented it to the Empress. "Your Majesty," she said, "the Iridescent Glazed Auspicious Cloud Gold Hairpin is a royal heirloom. Yesterday, I found it on Mu Chenyu's head and thought of taking it back to give to Your Majesty. But Mu Chenyu is greedy and greedy. When she fought with the nanny for the hairpin, she scratched her face, and then blamed me for disfiguring her!"
Hongyu was shocked! At the same time, she realized that she had been caught up in the power struggles in the harem and had even implicated Chenyu!
Enough! What's the use of guilt now? She's surrounded by enemies and is doomed to die.
The Empress couldn't tolerate her, and both Consort Gao and Zuo Meier harbored resentment towards her. Lianxiang had taken her place as the Grand Tutor's daughter, so naturally, they didn't want her alive. Last night, Lianxiang drugged her and Prince Yan, and the Empress came again early this morning. Without a doubt, Lianxiang was the Empress's spy!
The Empress nodded in thought. These past few days, the Emperor had spent so much time with Hongyu that he must have bestowed the gold hairpin upon her, which Hongyu then gave to Chenyu. Since Hongyu was about to die, it was imperative to reclaim this family heirloom.
The Empress hesitated to speak, so she gave Consort Gao a meaningful look. Consort Gao then shouted at Hongyu, "Is the other gold hairpin in your possession? Hand it over at once!"
Hongyu lowered her head in deep thought, knowing that the iridescent glass auspicious cloud hairpin was a royal heirloom and must be extremely precious. If the Empress couldn't find it, she probably wouldn't be in a hurry to kill her. Therefore, she remained silent.
Consort Gao then ordered, "Guards! Search Hongyu's room!"
"Your Majesty, Prince Yan has awakened. Imperial Physician Wen requests your presence." Upon hearing the maid's report, the Empress rushed back to her room in a panic, followed by Consort Gao and Zuo Meier.
Only Hongyu, her maid, and Lianxiang remained in the courtyard.
Lianxiang looked around and, seeing that no one was approaching, tiptoed closer to Hongyu and whispered, "The Empress wants to order your death. Where is the token the Emperor gave you? Give it to me quickly, and I will send someone into the palace to deliver the message."
Hongyu glanced sideways at Lianxiang, her lips tightly closed, and remained silent.
During this time, she treated Lianxiang like a sister, playing chess and chatting idly, sharing everything, even telling Lianxiang about the gold hairpin bestowed upon her by the Emperor without reservation. She feared that Lianxiang wanted to use the hairpin to curry favor with the Empress and vie for the position of Empress Consort.
Seeing that Hongyu remained silent, Lianxiang was extremely anxious and had no choice but to reveal her long-hidden plan:
"Sister, I promised to help you ascend to the position of Empress, and I will never break my promise. Last night, I drugged you and Prince Yan, hoping to make your love happen. But the Empress suddenly arrived, and there must be spies of the Empress in Prince Yan's residence. Sister, trust me, quickly hand over the gold hairpin to me, and I will immediately send someone to the palace with a message. The Emperor will surely protect your life. With Prince Yan's favor, becoming Empress is just around the corner."
Hongyu refused to believe it, convinced that Lianxiang's silver tongue was merely a ploy to use the position of principal wife to trick her into giving up the golden hairpin.
Unexpectedly, Lianxiang took out something that instantly brought tears to Hongyu's eyes. It was her mother's favorite little clay figurine, but sadly... it shattered on the day the house was robbed!
She was astonished and snatched the little clay figure to examine it closely. "My mother's little clay figure is broken, how can it be so identical?"
"Have you ever heard of Lu Xue'er, sister?"
Lu Xue'er is Lu Qing'er's elder sister. Although they are of different legal and illegitimate lineages, both sisters resemble their patriarch, Lu. Lianxiang resembles Lu Shi, while Hongyu resembles Grand Tutor Zhang. This is because Lianxiang resembles Lu Qing'er more.
Hongyu realized that Lianxiang was her aunt's daughter. Tears streamed down her face as she suddenly understood. She quickly wiped them away and whispered the truth into Lianxiang's ear.
The fragrance of lotus has faded.
Four guards rushed over, tied up Hongyu and Feicui, and carried them away from Dongrui Pavilion.
Hongyu asked, "Where do you wish to go?"
[By Imperial Decree of the Empress, no inquiries are permitted!]
------
It was already the hour of Si (9-11 AM).
A group of people appeared in front of Chengyuan Gate, all with their faces veiled. The leaders were Madam Bai and Liu Yao'er, followed by several maids and servants, and dozens of guards.
Standing atop the steps, Liu Yao'er loudly ordered the guards: "The eldest mistress eloped with another man last night, violating her virtues. The old lady orders you to break down the gate, bind her, and take her back to the Bai family, imprisoning her in the Youming Pavilion."
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