Chapter 49
After Bai Die sent the people away, Gong Yuchen looked at Yi Luoyue and said in a deep voice.
"I'm afraid Yi Luoyao did this."
"But what did he want by drugging Cousin Li Fei and Ming Xue?"
"I'm afraid they're just trying to make us two enemies!"
“Let’s turn against each other??”
"You didn't give out the golden purse at the tea party today, and Li Fei didn't attend either. Many people think Li Fei will be the prince consort, and Ming Xue is my cousin, so many people also think I will marry her."
"So Yi Luoyao planned to create a scandal and have Li Fei taint Mingxue. This way, you would definitely turn against Li Fei because of your cousin's humiliation, and Mingxue would lose her reputation, which would also affect Li Fei's reputation."
"That's right. As long as we turn against each other, they will at least have these benefits. First, your consort will be gone. Second, you will not stand on the side of helping the Second Prince. Third, my support will be cut off."
"But they don't know that Li Fei and Ming Xue have long been in love, and have been granted marriage by His Majesty."
Yi Luoyue nodded, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
"So what do we do now?"
Gong Yuchen was silent for a moment. He knew that their most urgent task now was to find evidence, but...
Suddenly, his sleeve was grabbed tightly by Yi Luoyue.
"Gong Yuchen, I don't feel well..."
Seeing the unnatural blush rising on Yi Luoyue's face, he sensed something was amiss. The hall door was wide open, the incense burner had been knocked over, and yet Yi Luoyue looked as if she'd been drugged. He channeled his inner energy throughout his body. Damn it! Although the heat was mild, he felt a burning sensation. He glanced around and realized there was more than one incense burner in the room. The incense burner in the corner behind the couch was emitting curls of smoke, and the incense in the room hadn't completely burned out yet!
"Luo Yue, please bear with it for a while."
"What?" Yi Luoyue's eyes turned black and she fainted.
Looking at Yi Luoyue who was knocked unconscious by him. Fortunately, he discovered it early. He and Luoyue did not inhale much incense. After knocking her unconscious, he could still rely on his internal strength to hold on for an hour. It was estimated that Yi Luoyao would be here soon. He could not leave yet. He first found a place to hide Luoyue and take her away later.
"Your Highness, the virtuous king, it's almost time." Gong Yuxian whispered in the virtuous king's ear.
"It's about time." Yi Luoyao sneered.
"Everyone, the weather is nice today. After we have had a good meal and a few drinks, is there anyone willing to go for a night stroll in the garden with me?" Yi Luoyao stood up and said to the guests.
"His Royal Highness, the Wise King, has graciously invited us. How could we refuse? We are willing to do so."
The people who still stayed in the flower pavilion gladly accepted his proposal. After all, only by being close to the virtuous king could they have a good life when he ascended the throne in the future.
"Then let's go."
"yes."
Yi Luoyao led a group of people to laugh and chat in the garden, but they were heading towards the "Orchid Pavilion".
"Your Highness, please stay." But at this moment, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside the crowd.
"How dare you! Who are you? How dare you be so rude in front of me?" Yi Luoyao pretended to be angry when he saw the person coming.
"Your Highness, I am a maid who sweeps the palace. It's not that I want to be presumptuous, it's because... because..."
The palace maid knelt on the ground and said in a panic and excitement that could not be concealed.
"Why? What's the matter with all the panic?"
"Your servant... Your servant has something important to report. Please... Please spare my life, Your Highness."
"Tell me, what are you doing, you slave? You better be okay, or else..."
"I do have something important to report to Your Highness. I just passed by the side hall of the Orchid Pavilion and heard a man and a woman engaging in obscene acts in that hall."
"How dare you! How dare you! What you said is the truth!"
"Every word I say is true. I would never dare to lie to Your Highness even if I die."
"Everyone, today is my sister's birthday banquet. I never thought someone would dare to do such a filthy thing in the palace. Today, I must catch this immoral couple in the act! I want to see who is so bold!"
"Who is it? So bold! How dare you do this in the palace?"
"I mean! Do you want to die? You actually did something that brought disgrace upon our family."
"Your Highness, this kind of person must be severely punished! If not, it will bring shame to the royal family."
"Yes! Yes!"
Most of those who responded were wary of the power of the virtuous king and immediately echoed the call to "seek justice."
"Can you see who it is?"
“Yes… yes…”
"explain!"
"It's Li Fei, Master Li!"
"That's nonsense. Li Fei is the son of the Wu Cheng, and he's also the candidate for the imperial consort. How could he possibly be involved in a scandal?"
"Your Highness, everything I say is true and I dare not lie. If you don't believe me, please move over and take a look." In order to increase her credibility, the palace maid kowtowed repeatedly after she finished speaking.
"Words are not enough. This matter involves etiquette and law. We need to verify it in person to avoid rumors and misinformation. You! Lead the way."
"Yes, Your Highness, this way."
Everyone's face was filled with confusion. "Li Fei?" That shouldn't be possible, right? A prominent family, a candidate for the imperial consort, committing adultery within the palace. Even if he survived, his reputation would be ruined, and he wouldn't be able to become an imperial consort! How desperate was he to challenge the authority of the royal family?
At this moment, only Yi Luoyao and Gong Yuxian had uncontrollable pride in their eyes.
Yi Luoyao walked hurriedly towards the side hall of "Lanhuaxuan", followed closely by a group of people and the historian he had arranged in advance to record the affairs of the palace.
A group of people walked through the courtyard in a mighty manner. Yi Luoyao, who was walking in front, had a sneer on his face, waiting for everyone to discover Li Fei's "affair" so that they could prove his guilt and humiliate him.
"Wise King, do you think this could be true? How could Master Li do such a thing?" A minister couldn't help but ask, with a hint of doubt in his tone.
Yi Luoyao turned around and answered with pretended sadness.
"How could I not believe it, but that servant just now said she saw it with her own eyes. If I wasn't afraid of damaging the royal family's reputation, I wouldn't bother you all to come here." As he spoke, he quickened his pace, secretly rejoicing in his heart that as long as today passed, Li Fei would never be able to turn things around.
Soon, everyone arrived at the side hall of the "Orchid Pavilion". However, the door was closed and it was quiet inside. The dim candlelight from the room leaked through the crack in the door, and no one could see what was going on inside.
"Listen up, everyone inside! You have done such shameless things, why don't you open the door and confess your crime!" Yi Luoyao shouted loudly at the door, but there was no response from inside the hall.
Yi Luoyao winked at Gong Yuxian, who immediately stepped forward, pressed his hands against the door, and gave a sudden, forceful push. With a creak, the door swung open. Everyone rushed to the door, only to be stunned. The room was empty. Apart from the broken door lock and the overturned incense burner on the table, there was nothing else suspicious inside.
"Where are the people?"
The smug look on Gong Yuxian's face froze instantly. He quickly rushed to the couch and touched the surface with his hand. It was ice-cold. He looked around again, but it was still empty.
Yi Luoyao's face changed, and Gong Yuxian also panicked. He leaned close to Yi Luoyao and asked in a low voice.
"What happened? Didn't they say someone drugged him? Why did he disappear?"
Yi Luoyao suppressed the panic in his heart and angrily shouted at the palace maid at the door.
"Didn't you say someone was desecrating the palace? Where are the people inside?"
The palace maid knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice.
"Your Highness, I really saw Master Li! And that woman too. Oh, that woman is the daughter of the Gong family. I didn't lie. They really did do something obscene here!"
At this point, the palace maid knew that she could not escape the death penalty, but if she did not say anything, the virtuous prince and Shu Fei would definitely take action against her family. For the sake of her family, she could only follow the virtuous prince's arrangements.
"Miss Gong!"
"Isn't Miss Gong about to marry that hostage from Xiyi? How did this get spread to Li Fei?"
"But there's no one here! As the saying goes, if you catch an adulterer, you catch both of them. We haven't caught anything here, so we can't just talk nonsense without any evidence!"
The people outside the door were whispering.
Just then, a steady sound of footsteps could be heard outside the hall. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the brocade-robed Crown Prince Gong Yuchen of Western Yi approaching with the Imperial Physician Li. His expression was calm as he scanned the crowd, finally settling on Yi Luoyao and Gong Yuxian. His tone was calm, yet tinged with a chilling chill.
"I wonder why you brought so many people here?"
"I heard that Li Fei and your cousin Gong Mingxue were having a secret meeting here and doing something shameful, so I brought people here to investigate, but who knew they ran away!" Yi Luoyao replied with forced calmness.
"Run away?" Gong Yuchen walked to the center of the room.
"Did you see them run away?"
"This..." Everyone looked at each other.
"So there are no more?" If there are no more, how can you be sure that the people here are Li Fei and my cousin?" Gong Yuchen looked at Yi Luoyao, his eyes as sharp as a knife.
"Wise King, as a prince, you should know that making irresponsible remarks is a serious crime! You are talking nonsense here without any evidence. Tomorrow, this palace will report to His Majesty and punish you for being indifferent to the truth."
Yi Luoyao said hurriedly when he heard it.
"Gong Yuchen, stop trying to quibble! Someone just saw Li Fei and your cousin enter this side hall. How can you say they didn't have a secret meeting?"
Gong Yuchen's eyes fell on the incense burner and his brows furrowed.
"Oh? Who saw it with their own eyes?" "Why don't you ask that witness to come forward? I want to hear who had such a sharp eye, able to accurately see the two of them enter the side hall in the palace at night."
"Oh no!" Yi Luoyao was speechless. The so-called "witness" was actually a palace maid they had arranged. If she really confronted Gong Yuchen, it would be difficult for him not to discover the clues. He stared fiercely at the palace maid who was still kneeling on the ground with a sinister look.
"Prince Xiyi wants to ask you a question, you must answer carefully, do you understand?"
"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Prince, I really saw Master Li and Miss Gong in this room. Everything I said is true! I am willing to guarantee it with my life." After she said that, a dagger slipped out of her sleeve and she stabbed it into her chest.
Seeing the corpse lying on the ground, Yi Luoyao and Gong Yuxian breathed a sigh of relief. Now there is no evidence, let's see what you, Gong Yuchen, will do!
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