"My lady, just admit it. Haven't you hurt Consort Chen enough in the past two years? Even I can't stand it anymore," Jill said, her eyes reddening, looking very sincere.
"You lowly servant, shut your mouth!" At this moment, Da Yu'er finally saw Ji'er's true colors.
"If anyone should shut up, it's you! Look, even the person you trust most has confirmed your wickedness. How do you think you can defend yourself?" Huang Taiji rebuked angrily.
Upon hearing this, Da Yu'er collapsed to her knees on the ground as if paralyzed.
The hall was deathly silent; no one dared to breathe.
After a moment of contemplation, Huang Taiji said, “Bumbutai is vicious and cruel, harming the concubines in the harem. It is outrageous. I hereby issue the decree that, effective immediately, she shall be demoted to the rank of Noble Lady Zhuang and imprisoned in the Cold Palace. No one shall visit her without my decree.” After saying this, he looked at the chief eunuch outside the door and said, “Hurry up and announce the decree.”
After speaking, Hailanzhu glanced sideways at Namuzhong, and saw that the corners of her mouth were turned up, revealing a triumphant smile.
Hailanzhu thought to herself: The show is over, you should be smug enough now. Then she called out loudly: "Wait!"
Upon hearing this, the Grand Master immediately stopped in his tracks.
Huang Taiji thought she was going to plead for Dayuer, so he quickly said, "Lan'er, you must not be soft-hearted anymore. I have already given her a chance with the safflower and the gemstone containing musk. It was her own fault for not knowing how to appreciate it, so she has no one else to blame but herself."
“Yes, sister, if we let her go this time, there will definitely be a next time,” Namuzhong echoed.
“No…” Hailanzhu shook her head, “I am not pleading for Bumbutai.”
"Why is that?" Huang Taiji asked.
Hailanzhu pursed her lips, turned her firm eyes to Dayuer and blinked, saying, "These words were all said by Jier. I want to hear Bumbutai admit it herself." After saying that, she didn't forget to use lip reading to indicate the name "Su Moer".
She was also taking a gamble, after all, it was an impromptu decision, and she was afraid that Da Yu'er might not understand her meaning.
"Alright, my beloved Yilan'er." Huang Taiji's tone was full of affection.
Da Yu'er was taken aback. After thinking for a while, she seemed to understand and said, "Sister, I didn't."
“Sister, don’t believe her. Of course she’ll say it’s not true,” Namuzhong interjected.
Hailanzhu turned to look at Namuzhong, "I did not ask the Noble Consort, and I hope the Noble Consort understands the difference between superiors and inferiors and will not interrupt at will."
“You…” Namuzhong wanted to retort, but seeing Huang Taiji present, she could only obediently shut her mouth.
Hailanzhu turned her gaze to Dayuer and said, "You say you are innocent, then let me ask you, where were you when I fell into the water, and who can vouch for you?"
Da Yu'er thought for a moment and said, "Sister fell into the water a quarter before noon. I was at Yongfu Palace with Little Princess at that time, and Su Mo'er can testify to that."
"Alright, then summon Su Mo'er." Hailanzhu instructed, thinking to herself: As expected of the Empress Dowager who has assisted two generations of emperors, she understands my meaning immediately.
However, Da Yu'er was only in her early twenties. Although she was incredibly intelligent, she lacked experience and was extremely flustered. She was unsure whether Su Mo'er would follow her wishes. In the end, it was only after Hai Lanzhu gave her a firm look that she breathed a sigh of relief.
Before long, a palace maid brought Su Mo'er to Guanju Palace.
"This servant greets Your Majesty and Your Highness," Su Mo'er said, bowing. "May I ask what brings Your Majesty and Your Highness here to summon this servant?"
Hailanzhu slowly walked up to her. "Your mistress said that on the day I fell into the water, she was taking care of the little princess in Yongfu Palace. Is that true?"
Su Mo'er glanced at everyone in the hall and realized that her mistress was in danger, so she braced herself and said, "Your Highness Consort Chen, this is absolutely true."
"You're talking nonsense, she's clearly with me!" Jill said angrily, pointing at Su Mo'er.
Su Mo'er suppressed her panic and replied, "Master is with me."
“Impossible…” Jill shook her head, still unwilling to give up, “The Imperial Concubine saw it too, I didn’t lie.”
Upon hearing this, the astute Su Mo'er immediately guessed the reason behind it. She smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps you conspired with the Imperial Concubine to slander the master."
"How dare you!" Enraged by being exposed, Namuzhong roared, "You wretched servant, how dare you frame me!"
“Slander?” Su Mo’er curled her lips in mockery. “From the moment you entered the palace, you’ve either spoken ill of Consort Chen in front of the master or whispered the master’s words in Consort Chen’s ear. You just want to see the snipe and the clam fight so that you, the fisherman, can profit.”
"You..." Namuzhong was furious and reached out to slap Su Mo'er.
Unexpectedly, Hailanzhu suddenly stopped Namuzhong's movements and shouted sternly, "Stop!"
Seeing that it was Hailanzhu who stopped her, Namuzhong became even angrier and sneered, "I was trying to help you out of kindness, but you're helping the person who hurt you instead."
Hailanzhu frowned slightly and said calmly, "No matter how big a mistake they have made, they all have the opportunity to defend themselves. I am just stating the facts. How can you say that I am helping them?"
"Hmph!" Namuzhong snorted coldly and fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but rather that she had no reason to defend herself.
Seeing this, Hailanzhu turned to Dayuer and asked, "Besides Su Moer, who else can vouch for you during this time? Yuer, you have to tell the truth." After saying that, she blinked again, especially emphasizing the word "truth."
Da Yu'er understood and nodded, saying, "By the way, the eldest princess came before, she can vouch for me."
"The eldest princess is Yu'er's biological daughter, but she was raised in the prince's residence since childhood, so her words are..." Hailanzhu said this deliberately, in order to lead the eldest princess to lie in order to save her mother.
Sure enough, before she could finish speaking, Jill interrupted, "How could the eldest princess have been to Yongfu Palace?"
"Why are you so sure?" Hailanzhu asked again.
“Because that was when I went to the Prince’s residence with my master…” At this point, Gil realized belatedly that she had let something slip and quickly covered her mouth to stop talking.
Hailanzhu narrowed her eyes and sneered, "So you went to the prince's residence to see the eldest princess, or were you gloating over my falling into the water in a secluded spot by the pavilion?"
Jill's expression changed slightly, and she waved her hands hurriedly, saying, "Yes, no... it's not."
"Oh? Which of your statements is true?" Hailanzhu asked unhurriedly.
“Of course, what I said at the beginning was true. I was just angry and... talking nonsense,” Jill muttered in reply.
After a long silence, Huang Taiji finally spoke, "Do you think I'm confused?" He finally saw the whole story clearly, and his expression gradually darkened, like the sky before a torrential downpour.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com