Everyone present except Bai Yan was stunned by Yun Fei's actions!
"Pfft!" Madam Jin had already been kicked by Bai Qing and was feeling extremely upset. Now, hearing Yun Fei admit to it directly, she was both angry and flustered, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Meng Ruoyun frowned, not understanding what had happened.
Empress Jin gasped. For a time, she was particularly annoyed by Consort Yun; the woman was foolish and ostentatious.
On one hand, she casually declared that she didn't want to compete for the emperor's favor, but on the other hand, whenever the emperor went to visit other concubines, she would always pout and act childishly. In particular, she once wore a bright yellow palace dress and clashed with him during a small gathering in the harem.
Everyone knows her little scheme; it's just a show of favor, yet she still innocently says in front of everyone: "Your Majesty, I did not mean it."
But His Majesty actually falls for her act, so she, as the Empress, can only pretend to be magnanimous.
The Empress had longed for Consort Yun to make a grave mistake. Recently, the power struggle in the harem had implicated Consort Yun. Although she knew Consort Yun was innocent, she still hoped that Consort Yun would fall out of favor.
If the person involved today were any other man besides Jin Chang'an, Empress Jin would probably be clapping her hands and feet in celebration.
But it just so happens to be Jin Chang'an!
Empress Jin still has to help her.
Unable to contain her anger, she shouted, "Consort Yun, the Sixteenth Princess accuses you of having an affair with your husband. Think carefully before you speak, whether you personally sewed these boots and undergarment for him!"
Meng Ruoyun's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, then relaxed.
She glanced at Bai Yan with a detached look, her eyes holding a sense of superiority that Bai Yan found perplexing: "Why must the princess act this way?"
If she really wanted to have something with Young Master Jin, how could she have the chance to marry into the Jin family?
Bai Yan lowered her eyes; she didn't want to try to understand Meng Ruoyun's thought process, since it wasn't quite normal.
"The boots were made by my own hands, and the clothes were also sewn by my own hands."
Meng Ruoyun stood up straight. "But there is nothing between me and Young Master Jin that is private or romantic. I sewed boots and clothes for Young Master Jin simply to express my gratitude for his kindness."
As she spoke, she looked at the man sitting in the hall.
The most ruthless family is the imperial family. She and he had been deeply in love. In the eyes of others, he was a high and mighty emperor, but in her eyes, he was just her husband.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent. If you do not believe me..." Meng Ruoyun smiled faintly, "Just banish me to the Cold Palace. I have no desire to argue about this matter."
If he doesn't believe her, she'll just never see him again; she's already completely disappointed in him anyway.
Bai Qing didn't see the utter disappointment in Meng Ruoyun's eyes, but since Meng Ruoyun had admitted that she had made the boots and undergarments herself, there was no need for any further evidence.
"As you wish. Guards, take Consort Yun back to the palace."
Someone offered to take Meng Ruoyun back, but Meng Ruoyun shook off the servants, saying, "I don't need you. I can walk by myself." Before leaving, she glanced at Bai Qing in the hall... He still didn't believe her. Oh well, it was her own foolishness to even dream of winning the love of an emperor.
He doesn't deserve it either.
After glancing at Bai Qing one last time, Meng Ruoyun tilted her head back and left the hall.
The Grand Eunuch glanced at His Majesty. His face showed no anger, but he gently turned the thumb ring on his thumb. The Grand Eunuch understood that His Majesty intended to kill.
Madam Jin kowtowed until her head was bleeding: "Your Majesty, Consort Yun is a palace concubine. How could Chang'an dare to refuse the gifts she bestowed upon him? Chang'an is an outsider and is not allowed to enter the palace without an imperial edict. The boots and undergarments were all sent out of the palace by Consort Yun through her connections!"
This puts all the blame on Meng Ruoyun.
Jin Chang'an immediately kowtowed and said, "The relationship between this humble subject and Consort Yun is one of gentlemanly friendship, as pure as water, and there has been no overstepping of boundaries. I hope Your Majesty will understand. Your Majesty can check when I entered the palace. If I have truly overstepped any boundaries with Consort Yun, may I be torn to pieces and die!"
Crossing the line... If the two of them were to cross the line in the palace, he wouldn't be fit to be emperor anymore.
Bai Qing stared at him coldly.
At this moment, a servant outside reported: "Your Majesty, a woman named Dan Niang requests an audience, and says she has brought the Prince Consort's favorite item."
Bai Qing said, "Let her in."
When Dan Niang entered the mansion, Empress Jin's headache flared up the moment she saw her face—she knew that Jin Chang'an was finished. With that face, he couldn't explain himself even if he was innocent, let alone the fact that his backside was already tainted.
Bai Qing's gaze also fell on the face that clearly resembled Yun Fei's.
"This humble concubine, Dan Niang, kowtows to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"
Dan Niang kowtowed to His Majesty, but did not dare to raise her head. She lowered her body and said, "Your Majesty, it was the Imperial Son-in-Law who came to the brothel to take Dan Niang as his concubine. He holds Dan Niang in his arms every day, but calls out, calls out the name of Consort Yun... These boots and undergarments are the Imperial Son-in-Law's favorite things. He holds them in his arms and sleeps every day."
He called his concubine Yun'er, saying that Yun'er was the only wife he had ever recognized in his life.
"Everyone in the capital knows that the Meng family's daughter is renowned for her talent and has already entered the palace as a concubine. I know that my appearance is similar to Your Highness's, and that the Prince Consort harbors such thoughts. I am just as terrified as he is. But I am of lowly status and powerless to resist the Prince Consort."
"Your Majesty, please spare this lowly concubine's life!"
The sky is falling, the sky is falling...
Madam Jin, her eyes bloodshot, glared at Dan Niang and screamed, "Our Jin family has no grudge against you, why are you trying to harm us!"
Jin Chang'an was also filled with resentment: "I've been so good to you, why did you hurt me?"
Madam Jin rushed forward, brandishing the hairpin: "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Dan Niang quickly stepped back, and the scene below resembled a farce.
"Heh...hehe." Bai Qing, seated on the throne, suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "The Jin family's drama is truly one act after another, even I find it exciting and climaxing."
His expression suddenly changed, and he smashed the teacup beside him at Jin Chang'an, the porcelain cup shattering instantly.
"You covet the empresses and bully the princess, you despicable creature, you deserve to be torn to pieces!"
Madam Jin's face stung from the porcelain shards. She cried out in surprise and immediately knelt down, begging for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, please forgive me! No matter how many mistakes my son has made, he is still the princess's husband. How can a woman marry two husbands?"
"If Your Majesty kills my son, how will the princess live the rest of her life? She's only fifteen years old. Are you really going to make her a widow at such a young age?"
No matter how many mistakes Jin Chang'an made, he was still her nephew. Empress Jin stood up and knelt down: "Since Your Majesty loves the Sixteenth Princess so much, and parents love their children, you must have a deep plan for this. How can you let her be destitute for the rest of her life?"
She looked at His Majesty pitifully and said, "Besides, how should we explain today's events to the outside world? If word gets out about Consort Yun's affair, what will become of Your Majesty's reputation?"
It would be shameful for an ordinary man for a concubine to make clothes and shoes for another man, let alone an emperor.
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