"It's you! You're the one who ruined us! You deliberately followed us here, and then pushed us inside as soon as we got to the door!" The Crown Princess's hateful gaze shot straight at Yan Chaoxi.
"Your Highness! It was Yan Chaoxi who harmed me! I did not willingly go with General Fan... I am innocent!"
Yan Chaoxi met her gaze without flinching. "What are you saying, Your Highness? How could I possibly harm you? Just now, you suddenly summoned me to your room, and I drank the tea from your room. I suddenly felt dizzy and said I wanted to go back to my room. You were the one who said you would take me to find a doctor who can treat illnesses. How come now it's me framing you?"
"Your Highness can send someone to investigate the tea in the Crown Princess's room. The tea was prepared by the Crown Princess and Madam Wei. It will be easy to find out who is at fault."
"Waaah... Your Highness!" The Crown Princess couldn't say when Yan Chaoxi had done it. The tea that had been drugged was clearly drunk by Yan Chaoxi, but the tea that was served later was not drugged.
She collapsed to the ground, feeling the gazes around her fixed on her exposed skin, and was overwhelmed with shame. This was the ending she had arranged for Yan Chaoxi, so how could she be the one caught in the act?!
The Crown Princess cried uncontrollably, no longer caring about her image. She crawled on her knees to Yan Wu's side, trying to hug his leg, but Yan Wu kicked her away.
Yan Wu's face was full of disgust. If the princess hadn't been wary of her, it would have been his princess who was ruined and pointed at by everyone today.
Hearing the commotion, Eunuch Xu rushed over with his men. He was startled by what he saw and cautiously approached to inquire, "Your Highness, this…"
"Eunuch Xu, take some men to the Crown Princess's room and check if there's anything wrong with the tea. If it has indeed been drugged, that would be enough to prove that the Crown Princess's attempt to frame the concubine backfired."
"yes."
Eunuch Xu summoned a monk from Fahua Temple who was skilled in medicine. Given the magnitude of the incident, he revealed his identity as the chief steward of the Crown Prince's residence and led his men to the west wing to inspect the tea in the room.
Not long after, Eunuch Xu returned. "Your Highness, the tea in the Crown Princess's room has indeed been tampered with. It has been laced with an aphrodisiac of unknown composition, and it is extremely potent."
"What else do you have to say for yourself? You say the concubine harmed you, but how could she have drugged you in your room? It's clear that you tried to harm others but ended up harming yourself instead."
The Crown Princess was speechless. The Crown Prince was right. They had discussed and agreed to administer the medicine. They had no evidence that Yan Chaoxi had harmed them. She looked to Wei Xinran for help.
Since waking up and screaming, Wei Xinran has been sitting blankly on the ground, unable to offer any advice to the Crown Princess.
Yan Chaoxi looked at the two people on the ground and slowly said, "Your Highness, this matter has caused such a big commotion, and it concerns the face of the royal family. The most urgent task is to find a way to cover it up, but many worshippers saw it just now, and it is unlikely that we can completely silence others."
The Crown Princess nodded repeatedly. If this matter were to spread and become the talk of the town, not only would her position as Crown Princess be in jeopardy, but she might even lose her life.
Yan Wudao said, "I'll follow your arrangements."
“We can downplay this. If Lady Wei is willing to take the initiative to shield the Crown Princess from the rumors, then this matter can be transformed from a royal scandal into a dispute between officials. What do you say, Crown Princess?”
The Crown Princess was taken aback. "You mean, only Xinran and General Fan are mentioned... and I'm being excluded?"
Wei Xinran's eyes moved slightly.
Yan Chaoxi nodded, and said with a hint of regret, "However, the Crown Princess and Madam Wei are sisters, so I suppose they wouldn't want Madam Wei to bear the blame alone."
"Very well! I agree! Xinran will take my place!" the Crown Princess blurted out, her tone firm.
Wei Xinran looked at the Crown Princess in disbelief, "You... how could you do this to me?!"
"Xinran, since you've already lost your virginity to General Fan, what difference does it make to you whether it's just you or the two of you? I am the Crown Princess, and I absolutely cannot have such a stain on my reputation."
"We're good friends, so please help me out! I'll make it up to you later!"
Wei Xinran slapped her hard, then laughed sadly, "I must have been blind to have considered a selfish person like you as my best friend!"
She now deeply regrets her past actions of meddling and giving advice. Now, not only has she ruined her life, but she has also been completely taken advantage of!
Yan Chaoxi lowered her eyes. She had long anticipated the Crown Princess's choice—a person who was stupid, vicious, and selfish. This choice was tantamount to killing Wei Xinran and destroying her spirit.
Yan Wudao said, "Since that's the case, send Madam Wei back to the Li family, and secretly send Crown Princess Yang back to her residence and confine her to Jinhua Garden. I will deal with her when I return tomorrow!"
"As for you," Yan Wu glanced at Fan Yuanxin, who was quietly putting on a pair of trousers beside him, "I hope General Fan can withstand the Emperor's wrath."
Fan Yuanxin trembled with fear; this time, he was truly in deep trouble.
"Your Highness, please spare me! As long as Your Highness does not report this matter to the Emperor, I am willing to serve Your Highness to the death!"
Madam Fan also pleaded, "Your Highness, he's just getting senile, that's why he did such a thing. Please forgive him this time! Over the years, he's certainly put in a lot of hard work, even if he hasn't achieved anything great!"
"My men won't miss you or have you, so don't think too highly of yourself." Yan Wu left these words behind and turned to leave with Yan Chaoxi.
Fan Yuanxin was left behind with a look of utter despair.
Yan Wu led Yan Chaoxi back to his room and carefully examined her complexion. "Did you drink that tea just now too?"
Yan Chaoxi shook her head. "I had already guessed that the Crown Princess would tamper with the tea. I just pretended to drink it, but actually secretly poured it away without them noticing."
"Then why did they drink the drugged tea themselves?"
Yan Chaoxi poked her fingers and lied, "I poured it into their cups when they weren't looking."
Her words were full of holes, which Yan Wu naturally noticed. She didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't need to press her for details. As long as she was alright, that was enough.
Yan Chaoxi suddenly spoke in a muffled voice, "I saw through their scheme, sent them to Fan Yuanxin's bed, and just now I even tried to sow discord between them. Yan Wu, am I a bad person?"
Her voice grew softer and softer, and her last words were tinged with tears.
The usually bright and cheerful little princess was now looking down, afraid to look at anyone, as if she was afraid of seeing disappointment in Yan Wu's eyes.
Yan Wu cupped her face and saw that her eyes were red and brimming with tears, and she avoided looking directly at him.
Yan Wu lowered his head and kissed her clear, autumn-water-like eyes, and said softly, "How could that be? You were protecting yourself. They tried to harm you first, and they deserved this fate. If we're talking about bad people, they're the ones who are evil to the core."
"If anyone tries to harm you again, just tell me and let me handle it. You can just be a carefree little princess."
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