Chapter 420 Wen Lier smiled
Wen Li'er rubbed against his arms, stopped sobbing, and shook her head gently.
The terrifying pressure around Yan Shixu, which had almost condensed into substance, finally subsided slightly.
Wen Li'er stepped back from his embrace and pointed at Qiao Luofen, who was shaking the most on the ground.
"Stand up and answer. Recount everything you heard today, exactly as it happened, before His Majesty and me. If you tell the truth, His Majesty and I will forgive you and your innocence."
Qiao Luofen was already scared out of his wits at this moment, and was even more frightened after being called out.
It was not until this moment that she truly confirmed that the woman in plain clothes was the graceful and elegant queen in the flower hall just now!
Her teeth chattered slightly, but under the emperor's cold gaze.
She didn't dare to hide anything, and stammered as she repeated the rumors she had heard in the mansion today and her angry discussions in a disjointed but extremely clear manner.
After saying this, she almost collapsed.
Afterwards, she was surprised that she had the courage to finish her words under the emperor's death gaze.
Wen Li'er listened quietly, and when she heard the end, she blinked her watery eyes.
First I was stunned, then—
“Puff—”
An extremely abrupt and crisp laugh suddenly rang out in the garden where the emperor's anger had not yet subsided and everything was silent.
Everyone was stunned and looked up secretly in disbelief.
Their queen seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world.
First she covered her lips and laughed softly, then she shrugged her shoulders, and finally she held the emperor's arm, laughing so hard that she could hardly straighten her back.
This bizarre and tortuous "plot" is even more absurd than the notebook she secretly hides under her pillow!
Even Yan Shixu, who was furious, was stunned by her reaction, and then a feeling of dissatisfaction of being ignored surged in his heart.
He gently lifted her small chin, forcing her eyes, still smiling and shining like stars, to look at him.
The voice was low with a hint of grievance and temptation that was barely perceptible:
"Li'er, when you learned that I had 'favored' a lowly palace maid, you... weren't angry?"
He deliberately emphasized the word "favor".
Wen Li'er tilted her head slightly and looked straight into his deep eyes.
"Then your majesty, are you favored?"
"Of course not!" Yan Shixu said firmly, his eyes frank.
"That's it, isn't it?"
Wen Li'er's eyebrows were curved, and her smile was as bright as the sun shining through the clouds.
"Since Your Majesty has never favored me, why should I be angry?"
This light-hearted question stirred up a thousand waves in the hearts of the people kneeling on the ground.
That's it? Such a shocking rumor that shook the nation's foundation—
The Empress just laughed it off based on the Emperor's denial?
Yan Shixu asked the question that puzzled everyone:
"Li'er... do you trust me so much?"
"nature!"
Wen Li'er nodded without hesitation, her clear eyes filled with complete trust and affection.
"Because I know very well that Your Majesty loves me as deeply as I love Your Majesty, and I am determined to do so."
Her voice was not loud and she was a little shy.
So many people are watching!
Yan Shixu gazed at her unclouded smile and listened to her unreserved trust and confession. The immense anger that had accumulated due to rumors and offenses was instantly dispersed and melted by a huge warm current.
The corners of his tightly pursed lips could no longer be suppressed and eventually turned into a low and happy chuckle.
He stretched out his arms and embraced his queen again.
"My good pear."
The depression in my heart was swept away, and I even felt it necessary to justify my beloved wife's trust.
Thus, under the astonished gazes of the ministers and ladies kneeling in the garden, the Emperor of Dayan actually analyzed the events of the previous night in a way that was almost like "exposing his own shortcomings" and told the story in detail:
"...That lowly maidservant Liu Qing, I don't know when she developed the evil intention of climbing up the social ladder. She took advantage of your absence to mix vile substances into the incense in the palace!"
"I reviewed memorials until three o'clock last night. Thinking of Li'er, I went to Fengyi Palace to rest. Unexpectedly, I inhaled that damned spice..."
"Fortunately, I noticed an abnormal heat in my body and felt dizzy, so I immediately ordered someone to take that slave girl down! As for me..."
He paused, a rare trace of embarrassment flashing across his face, but his voice was still clear.
"How could I be someone who couldn't control myself? I was simply forcing myself to endure the effects of the drug and... ahem, using my internal energy to clear the air, which consumed some of my vital energy!"
"This talk of lingering affection and exhaustion is absolutely ridiculous! That slave girl didn't even touch the corner of my clothes!"
"His Majesty--!"
When Wen Li'er heard the overly "frank" details, her face flushed with shame and she hurriedly reached out to cover his mouth.
This guy is too shameless! She pinched the flesh on his waist.
How can such a private matter be announced in front of all the officials in the court?
"Hiss..." Yan Shixu cooperated by pretending to feel pain, and took the opportunity to gently bite her tender palm, causing Wen Li'er to retract her hand as if she had been electrocuted, and glared at him in reproach.
The people kneeling on the ground had already lowered their heads even lower, wishing they could crawl into the cracks of the ground, and they were groaning in their hearts:
Oh my God! Are they allowed to hear such palace secrets and the emperor's private affairs?
I’m afraid that I won’t be able to see the moonlight tonight, and it’s even a question whether I can keep my life!
When Wen Li'er heard the name "Liu Qing", she was indeed shocked...
She suppressed the complicated emotions in her heart and tugged at Yan Shixu's sleeve.
"Your Majesty, let's go back to the palace. I want to ask her the reason myself."
"good."
Yan Shixu held her hand, clasping their fingers together, and without even glancing at the people on the ground, he took her and walked out in big strides.
The guests, as if granted amnesty, immediately prostrated themselves and shouted:
"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid you farewell! We respectfully bid you farewell to the Empress! Long live Your Majesty! Live the Empress a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"
…
The Ministry of Punishment, a dark prison cell.
The strong smell of blood mixed with the smell of mold and rust filled the cold and damp air.
In a small cell, Liu Qing curled up on a pile of straw in the corner.
The prison uniform she was wearing had long been torn by whip marks, and there was a knife wound on her left shoulder blade so deep that the bone was visible. The blood had coagulated into a dark brown scab, sticking to the dirty clothes.
Her face was pale and she stared blankly at the moss-covered wall opposite, like a puppet with its soul taken away.
It's over, everything is over.
From the moment she was dragged here last night, she knew that everything she had worked so hard for, including her life, had come to an end.
The heavy footsteps came closer and closer, finally stopping outside her cell door.
Liu Qing rolled her eyes numbly without looking up.
Until, a familiar and suppressed voice sounded softly:
"Ah Qing."
Liu Qing's whole body trembled violently and she raised her head suddenly!
When she saw the figure outside the prison door clearly, a light of ecstasy instantly flashed in her dead eyes. She struggled to rush over, but it pulled her wound and made her gasp in pain.
"Second brother?! You...are you here to save me? Second brother! I knew you wouldn't just leave me alone!"
Her voice was hoarse, filled with the hope of grasping at the last straw in desperation.
Wan An stood there quietly, looking at the sister he had loved since childhood through the cold iron fence.
He was still wearing the uniform of the chief eunuch, but his face no longer had any of the gentleness and tact he used to have. Instead, there was only a kind of silence that was more sorrowful than a dead heart.
There was pain, disappointment, and anger in his eyes, which eventually settled into an icy determination.
Liu Qing shrank back at the unfamiliar, cold look in his eyes.
Ecstasy froze on his face, and his voice trembled involuntarily: "Second... Second brother?"
"Don't call me second brother!"
Wan'an suddenly let out a roar, as if he had used up all his strength.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at his sister, who was in prison looking miserable. Every word he spoke was like a knife tempered with ice:
"I, Wan'an, don't have a sister as shameless as you!"
"Do you know what you've done? Who are you plotting against?!"
"That's His Majesty! That's the Empress! That's the master who saved my brother and me and helped us!"
"Where's your conscience? Has it been eaten by a dog?!"
His chest heaved violently, and his voice broke with extreme anger and sorrow.
"You...you are worse than pigs and dogs!"
Liu Qing was trembling all over after being scolded by him. The blood color on her face faded away completely, and her lips trembled, but she could not utter a word in rebuttal.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
