adultery
The young men and women gasped. Had Xie San Niang really changed her ways after getting married and come here to seek pleasure?!
A perfectly good lotus-viewing banquet has turned into this sordid affair. These words have been spoken, and the ladies, being sharp-witted and perceptive, have their own thoughts.
Some ladies, always eager for a good show, giggled and said, "Your Highness, why don't we go and see for ourselves? We'll only know for sure if it's true or not by seeing it with our own eyes."
Another person chimed in, "Yes, Your Highness, if we deal with this maid like this, it will be hard to clear Madam Liu's reputation."
She talks about "clearing her name," but everyone knows what she really thinks.
The women who stepped forward at this time had more or less grudges against Xie Lingxi. They were just waiting to see her make a fool of herself. They didn't care about their own fate. They were most pleased to see the person they hated lose her soul and be condemned by everyone!
Xu Yuan paused, glancing at Princess Jin Gui who was watching coldly from the side. She was on very good terms with His Highness and had no enmity with Xie Lingxi, but there was some hostility between them. Seeing the situation like monkeys scattering when the tree fell, she felt conflicted. So she curtsied to Empress Lu: "Your Majesty, this matter concerns your reputation. I hope Your Majesty will make a decision."
With things having escalated to this point, Empress Lu raised her phoenix eyes, surveyed the crowd at the table with an inscrutable expression, and after a long while, finally spoke: "In that case, everyone, please come with me to take a look."
Even as evening approached, the sky was ablaze with rosy clouds, and palace servants carrying lanterns strolled along the pebbly path, making it as warm as daytime.
Empress Lu ordered the terrified palace maid to lead the way, and then followed the crowd in a grand procession toward Fanghua Palace. After walking for half a mile, before they even reached the palace gate, they could hear the sounds of lovers making love. Red brocade swayed and mandarin ducks played in the water, and the scene grew more and more intense, making many unmarried women blush with embarrassment.
Empress Lu's face hardened, the smile on her lips vanished, and she became extremely stern. She summoned two maids and went straight there.
Upon entering the hall, they saw clothes scattered haphazardly on the ground, most of them torn into strips. Among them, a splash of peach-red, adorned with pearls and silver thread, was the very dress Xie Lingxi had worn that morning. Everyone's eyes widened, and those who spoke quickly exclaimed, "This Lady Xie is so audacious!"
"The inner palace is not a place where she can act so recklessly!"
Another person scoffed, "She's always been lawless, haven't you all realized that yet?"
She pretends to be pure and innocent on the surface, but in reality, she has been having affairs with countless men!
Upon hearing this, others chimed in, "No wonder she wouldn't marry any of the wealthy men around her, but instead chose a poor scholar. It's just that he's easier to control and powerless to manage her filthy affairs!"
As they walked further in, the women's giggles and the men's growls became even more pronounced. Several women stopped, covered their ears, and blushed to the roots of their necks, hurriedly calling out, "Mother!"
The ladies, embracing their beloved wives amidst fragrant perfumes, spat out a harsh "adulterous couple!"
"How dare she do such a thing? How can her husband be ashamed?"
The speaker was a young man, usually cynical and aloof, but now, as if "one act ends and another begins," he sighed and said, "Poor Chengzhi, such a fine scholar, he was completely unaware that his own wife had cheated on him. His lifelong reputation has been ruined by this pretentious woman!"
Outsiders, unaware of the situation, would assume that he and Liu Xu were very close acquaintances.
The man was still filled with regret, seemingly heartbroken over the matter, when he heard a clear, melodious voice beside him—
"Why did you mention me, sir?"
The person who came was Liu Xu.
Amidst the clamor of lanterns and the merriment of drums, the still pond and leisurely flowers, he was discussing matters with the Emperor in the Mingguang Hall. After the Emperor invited him to stay for a meal, he was about to leave through the East Gate when suddenly a palace maid rushed in with a whistle. Her movements were strange, and she uttered words such as "flower banquet," "wife," and "something happened."
Having finished his business and received permission, he came to the rear hall where people were seeking pleasure, only to find a flurry of voices, as if they wanted to watch a farce unfold.
The ladies had already seen him, but they frowned and shook their heads, looking as if they didn't want to say anything more.
Upon seeing this, Liu Xu walked straight ahead. He also heard the giggling from inside the red tent, and his face turned cold, causing him to frown uncontrollably.
Everyone present kept their eyes down, and several kind-hearted women pulled him aside, exclaiming, "Oh dear, Lord Liu, please stop looking at this! You've been looking at it for days and can't eat. You're getting very irritable!"
Amidst the mockery and sarcasm around him, the onlookers made no attempt to hide their amusement. Liu Xu felt a chill run through him; his usually warm and gentle face instantly turned cold and stern as he asked in a stern voice, "What happened? Where is Lingxi?"
The lady and the man who had spoken earlier were both frightened by his appearance. A frail woman tugged at his sleeve and pointed inside the hall, "He's inside."
The woman had previously admired him, and her feelings remained unchanged. Seeing his stormy expression, she inwardly cursed Xie Lingxi thoroughly.
How could she bear to see such an outstanding and affectionate man shed tears?
Hearing this, Liu Xu was in turmoil, unable to sort out his thoughts for a long time. He simply walked into the hall without thinking, even startling the palace maid at the front. He knew Xie Lingxi would never do such a thing, so there was only one possibility—
He was framed!
Thinking of this, he hurried forward, still somewhat wary, and did not directly lift the veil covering the person inside the tent.
He had already noticed that although the person lying on the bed was similar in stature to Xie Lingxi, the hairstyle on her head was different. His wife never wore this kind of hair that resembled a fox's tail, and she would never wear a hairpin to bed.
Having spent several months with Xie Lingxi, I was already very familiar with her obsessive-compulsive disorder and her little habits that were often overlooked.
But that hairpin was indeed put on by his wife when she went out that morning. Where did Lingxi go?
He paused, head bowed, silent, his expression cold and stern. The crowd, secretly pleased and ready to watch the spectacle, heard a woman's clear, yet somewhat emotionless voice from the doorway—
"Please forgive me for being late."
At the same time, the leading teaching nanny was not as kind as Liu Xu. She suddenly lifted the curtain, and a white, intertwined body came into everyone's view. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the concubine whom the emperor had recently favored!
"ah!"
The person on the bed was shocked. She had just been aroused and had not noticed that the hall was already crowded with people standing there. In a panic, she pushed away the man who was working hard on her and pulled the red brocade to cover her alluring body.
The guard was suddenly shoved, his lust instantly dissipated, and once separated from the soft, fragrant woman, he became completely clear-headed—
"Your Majesty, spare me! This vile woman deliberately seduced me! This servant had no intention of disloyalty!"
He knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, his face filled with horror. He wondered why the Empress had brought people here today. Could it be that his affair with Consort Lin had already been exposed?
Hearing his words, Consort Lin's face turned red with anger, and her body trembled uncontrollably: "You servant, how can you not recognize me as soon as you get out of bed? Who was it that promised to stay with me for life!"
"..."
Despite the commotion, Empress Lu breathed a sigh of relief. After all, while such scandalous affairs in the inner palace were embarrassing, they were still much better than ministers' families having affairs with some unknown people.
She coldly stared at the weeping man and woman before her, then glanced at the palace maid who claimed to have seen Xie Lingxi having an affair, and said sternly, "This is the Xie Lady you were talking about?"
The palace maid, who was only acting under orders, was so frightened that she fell to the ground, crying out, "No... Your Highness, perhaps I must have seen wrong..."
She trembled and tried to say something, but Xie Lingxi cut her off.
The lady changed into an apricot-yellow dress, which inappropriately reminded people of the sweet osmanthus blossoms that gracefully bloom on the branches in early autumn. However, her words were not so gentle, and her eyes were as bright as blades, which frightened the palace maids into taking two steps back.
“When did you misjudge? Your eyesight is excellent,” Xie Lingxi said, taking the jade hairpin from Consort Lin’s hair. “Look, isn’t this my hairpin?”
Empress Lu looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
Consort Lin subconsciously touched her hair, then stared wide-eyed as if she'd seen a ghost: "I'm so favored by His Majesty, I have everything I could want, why would I need to steal your hairpin?"
This person must have gone mad. After the hairpin was removed, his black hair was tangled in the brocade, and his eyelids were flushed, it was hard to tell whether he was ashamed or angry.
Liu Xu had already shielded Xie Lingxi behind him, his mind racing, and he had figured out a lot of things. He couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. Seeing the lady baring her teeth and brandishing her claws, he tightened his clenched fist. "Your Majesty, where did this hairpin come from?"
Consort Lin, with a palace maid draping an outer robe over her, burst into wild laughter upon hearing this: "I understand! I understand! One of you is trying to harm me!"
She sized Liu Xu up and down, then asked haughtily, "Who is this young master? Do you find me attractive?"
These words caused an uproar among the crowd, while the real wife was still standing there perfectly fine!
What kind of consensual drama is going to unfold this time?
Liu Xu suddenly felt Xie Lingxi's hand holding his stiffen behind him, and quickly said sternly, "Your Majesty, please have some self-respect!"
Seeing Liu Xu's nervousness, Xie Lingxi gave a cryptic laugh and slowly said, "Since this hairpin wasn't stolen by Your Highness, it must have been stolen by this young lady—"
"Why did you take my hairpin and then try to harm me? To ruin my reputation?"
Seeing the palace maid trembling like a sieve, head bowed and teeth clenched, remaining silent for a long time, Xie Lingxi also lost her patience.
This matter is not over yet. If she hadn't been brewing medicine lately and hadn't noticed that this aphrodisiac was different from other spices, wouldn't she have fallen into the trap set by the person behind it all and ended up being despised by everyone?
“To offend one’s sovereign is disrespectful; to speak foul language is disrespectful; to conceal the truth is dishonest,” she said, curtsying gracefully with fluid movements. “If someone dares to falsely accuse me today, they could bring disaster to the palace tomorrow. I beg Your Majesty the Empress to uphold justice for me.”
After the greeting, the whispers behind him ceased. They had come to see Xie Lingxi make a fool of herself, but they hadn't expected things to turn out this way. Even the most clueless person would understand the discord involved.
"You maid, who instructed you?"
Unlike the Empress, Yan Ying was not overly thoughtful. She stepped forward and carefully wiped her slender white fingers before suddenly questioning her.
The palace maid seemed to grasp at a straw, crying out, "Your Highness! Your Highness, save me! It was Lady Xie who was immoral first; I was just telling the truth!"
Yan Ying frowned: "How has Lady Xie lost her virtue?"
Seeing her stammering, she cautiously glanced at Xie Lingxi, as if she had something difficult to say, then looked at the princess, and finally mustered up her courage—
"It was all a scheme set up by Lady Xie to lure Prince Jin, but she failed, so she shifted the blame to another person!"
As she spoke, she crawled to grab Xie Lingxi's skirt and brushed off some dust. "My wife, my wife, please don't blame me. With disaster looming, how can you abandon me and stay out of trouble!"
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