"Pah!" Qiu Ye spat out a thick phlegm that had been accumulating for a long time, hitting A Gu squarely in the face. "You, I feel like throwing up just looking at you, how could I possibly be interested in you?"
Ah Guqi's chest heaved. If Fu Lin hadn't been there, he would have kicked this person who trampled on his dignity to death.
At this moment, Wan'er suddenly said, "If you feel like vomiting, do you think I don't? Qiu Ye, if you want to escape, you should at least come up with a plausible reason."
As she spoke, she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, seemingly genuinely feeling disgusted.
“Your Highness, Consort Xian…” Qiu Ye panicked, her eyes darting around, and said, “How could you…”
"Alright." Fu Lin didn't want to listen anymore. He already had his own judgment. "Bold Qiu Ye, in order to climb the social ladder, she didn't hesitate to damage Wan'er's reputation. She deserves to die."
He paused, then pointed at Songdan and said, "You're a fool too, actually believing the words of a lowly servant girl. You haven't even investigated the matter, yet you've already pinned this mud on Wan'er. What are you thinking!"
Songdan's lips trembled as she kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was this lowly maid who deceived me. I was too hasty and that's why I fell for their trick."
"Hmph!" Fu Lin snorted coldly, showing her no sympathy whatsoever. "So muddle-headed, it seems Consort Ning has become too complacent in her position and can no longer distinguish right from wrong. From today onwards, you will be confined to your quarters for a month!"
"yes."
This was an order from Fu Lin; how could she dare disobey?
Then, she glared fiercely at Wan'er, as if to say: You bitch, just you wait, one day I will repay you tenfold.
Wan'er raised an eyebrow and replied: Okay, let's see who has the last laugh.
After punishing Songdan, the next step is to punish Qiuye and Agu.
Wan'er knew exactly how Fulin would punish them, but she still pleaded, "Your Majesty, why don't you spare Qiuye's life?"
She is not a true saint, but rather using this as a pretext to take the next step.
Fulin, however, did not understand and shook his head, saying, "No, if I do not severely punish her for treating you this way, how can I face you?"
With tears in her eyes, Wan'er said, "Your Majesty knows that you mean well for me, but Qiu Ye is my servant and has served me well. I really can't bear to part with her. Besides, I haven't been harmed in any real way. Your Majesty, please forgive her this time. I'm sure she won't dare to do it again next time."
"Yes, this servant will never dare to do it again." Hearing that she still had a chance to live, Qiu Ye quickly kowtowed.
"Are you sure you won't damage Wan'er's reputation again?" Fu Lin asked rhetorically. Since Wan'er had pleaded for him, he would naturally agree.
To ensure her sincerity, Qiuye swore to the heavens, "If this servant ever damages my master's reputation again, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."
Wan'er watched from the side, a cold smile playing on her lips.
Qiu Ye's words undoubtedly meant that she was truly damaging Wan'er's reputation, directly contradicting her previous statements.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that she had fallen into another trap set by Wan'er, and now Wan'er had no more worries.
"Very well, since that's the case, I'll leave it at that for now..."
Before Fulin could even issue the order for a pardon, a voice suddenly rang out to stop him, "Your Majesty, wait!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qi Lan walk in from outside the door.
Qi Lan immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Qiu Ye's life must not be spared."
Before Fu Lin could ask the reason, Qiu Ye impatiently interrupted, "Who do you think you are, daring to obstruct the Emperor!"
Qi Lan ignored Qiu Ye and instead cried to Fu Lin, "Your Majesty, Qiu Ye is utterly depraved. For a mere hundred taels of gold, she didn't hesitate to frame Consort Xian."
"Qilan, what nonsense are you spouting, you bastard?" Qiu Ye stood up angrily, about to kick Qi Lan, but was knocked down by the guards beside her.
"Behave yourself!"
She only became more obedient after the guards roared at her.
"Tell me, tell me in detail!" Fulin said, pointing at Qilan.
"Yes!" Qi Lan lowered her head, then raised it again, looking directly at Fu Lin with her bright eyes, and said slowly, "Qiu Ye's original intention was not so simple. If it weren't for the fact that Your Highness wanted to see the Emperor and had changed clothes with me, she would have been the one lying in bed being defiled."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked around and realized that Wan'er and Qi Lan had exchanged clothes, but they hadn't noticed because they were all focused on the adulterous couple on the bed.
Fu Lin's heart tightened again, but he did not interrupt and listened attentively to Qi Lan continue.
Seeing that Fu Lin was moved, Qi Lan swallowed and said again, "After Your Highness left, I always felt uneasy, afraid that people would find out that Your Highness was not in the palace and cause rumors. So I took advantage of the dark night and the wind, when I could not see people's faces, to walk around the palace, so that people would think that Your Highness could not sleep and that was why you were wandering around the palace."
"You are quite clever," Fu Lin praised.
"Your Majesty flatters me." Qi Lan did not feel smug. "When I returned to my palace, I found someone lurking outside the door. She looked like a villain, so I knocked her unconscious without saying a word. When I went closer, I realized that the villain was Qiu Ye, and she was holding an unlit incense stick."
"Aphrodisiac?" Fu Lin frowned.
“That’s right!” Qi Lan nodded. “At this point, it would be foolish of me not to know, so I kept quiet and tried to catch Qiu Ye in the act. I dragged her into her room. As soon as I put her down and stepped outside, I heard a man calling Wan’er. Fortunately, he was far away and couldn’t see my face clearly. In addition, I was wearing the Empress’s clothes, so he thought I was the Empress and rushed towards me. I was startled and quickly went back into the room and blew out all the lights.”
At this point, Qi Lan breathed a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, Qiu Ye was still lying on the bed. As soon as that person saw someone on the bed, he couldn't wait to pounce on her, and that's how I managed to escape."
"No wonder." Fu Lin nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder there was no lock inside; I just pushed it open and went in."
"Your Majesty..." Qi Lan pleaded, "How could you let such a wicked person go!"
"We can't let her go!" Fu Lin's eyes flashed with ferocity again. He lost control and grabbed Qiu Ye's neck tightly. "Tell me! Who ordered you to do this?"
"This servant doesn't... understand!" Qiu Ye was being choked and couldn't breathe, so she could only say a few words intermittently.
"Still pretending. Where did that hundred taels of gold come from?" Fu Lin certainly understood that a palace maid couldn't possibly earn that much money.
"It was given to me by Consort Xian. She asked me to inform Agu," Qiuye said truthfully.
Fu Lin gradually loosened his grip, not because he believed Qiu Ye's words, but because he felt that killing her with his own hands would dirty his hands.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com