"Impossible. Aning is the most innocent and kind-hearted person. Besides, she has no grudge against your Xu family. How could she possibly be the one to harm people?"
Consort Fu refuted almost without hesitation, but hesitated for a moment when faced with the sarcasm in Xu Yunci's eyes.
"Perhaps the person Your Highness is referring to, and the person I am about to accuse, is someone who can disguise himself, which is why Your Highness thinks so."
Xu Yunci looked directly at Consort Fu, and this time did not give her time to refute, and continued: "Does Your Highness know that my grandmother and my soon-to-be-married bride, the Princess of Yichang, have been ill at home for quite some time?"
"I've heard of it, but I wonder if they've found any capable individuals. It's been almost half a month now." Consort Fu glanced at the Emperor's expression and, seeing nothing amiss, felt slightly relieved.
Xu Yunci stared intently at Consort Fu's expression, not wanting to miss the slightest change: "Your Highness may not know, but I have come today to accuse someone of poisoning my grandmother and cousin."
"My grandmother is the old lady of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, and she is a first-rank imperial consort personally bestowed by the Emperor. My cousin is the Princess of Yichang County personally bestowed by the Emperor. I have already investigated and found that the incense sent by the Pixiang Palace recently is poisonous."
After he finished speaking, he brought up the incense burner that Zhao had found, as well as the remaining incense in the hands of the little eunuch behind him.
After Xu Yunci finished speaking, Consort Fu remained silent for a long time, lost in thought. She did not notice this until Fu Yunning and Zhao Shi, who had been brought into the palace, entered one after the other.
Zhao, with her hair styled in an ordinary woman's bun and adorned only with a peach wood hairpin, calmly walked to the center and knelt down to pay her respects: "This humble woman kowtows to Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty long life and good fortune."
"Your Majesty, I, Fu Yunning, pay my respects. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."
When we were in the east side hall earlier, there was no announcement. When we entered, we saw the Emperor sitting at the head of the table, looking imposing without being angry, making it impossible to see the true expression in his eyes.
Consort Fu and the Duke of Rong and his son stood on opposite sides, seemingly unaware of her. When they saw the things in the hands of the little eunuch behind Xu Yunci, they understood, and their previously uneasy hearts suddenly calmed down.
"Your Majesty, this Lady Zhao has been practicing medicine in her family for hundreds of years. By chance, I invited Lady Zhao to the Duke's mansion to treat my grandmother and cousin. It was Lady Zhao who took their pulses and discovered that my grandmother and cousin had been poisoned."
Xu Yunci glanced at Fu Yunning, and their eye contact lasted only a moment. Xu Yunci didn't even try to hide the disgust in his eyes.
"Oh."
Before the emperor could speak, a soft, sharp laugh suddenly broke the silence of the hall as Xu Yunci finished speaking.
Even Consort Fu, who had been silent all along, was drawn to look over, and at that moment she seemed to come alive again.
"The Duke of Rongguo and the Heir Apparent of Xu have accused you of poisoning and murdering Old Madam Xu and the Princess of Yichang. Tell your aunt, is it true? It's not true, right? Aning wouldn't do that, would she?"
When he walked up to Fu Yunning, his smile was somewhat forced. He tried to take Fu Yunning's wrist, but she avoided him.
The smile on Consort Fu's lips faded the moment Fu Yuning dodged her hand, and her dazed gaze fell upon Fu Yuning's face.
However, Fu Yunning couldn't help but smile, even bending over with laughter.
Hahahahahaha...
Her laughter gradually grew louder and louder, accompanied by two unstoppable streams of clear tears on her face. She looked at the stunned Consort Fu, then at the Emperor sitting at the head of the table, Lady Zhao kneeling in the middle, and the Duke of Rong, before finally fixing her gaze on Xu Yunci's face.
She walked over step by step, and when she stood in front of Xu Yunci, she made no attempt to hide the ferocity in her eyes.
“It’s me, Xu Lizhe. You came to Funing Palace and I was here too, so you must have known it was me, right?”
"Indeed, Lian'er hasn't come back to find me, so you must have found out. It's a pity that your dear cousin has been poisoned. If I'm not mistaken, she's starting to become increasingly drowsy. You'll just have to watch her slowly die in her sleep."
After Fu Yuning finished speaking, she couldn't help but burst into laughter, and more tears slid down her cheeks. Turning around, she looked at the stunned Consort Fu and couldn't help but find it ridiculous.
"Aunt, you really love me."
She said this casually, then looked up at the emperor sitting at the head of the table: "But you love me. Since you are so willing to take me away from my father's control, why can't you be a little more ruthless!"
"Why can Li Shiyue be a county princess, but I can't! Why can she marry the man I love, but I can't! You don't love me; if you loved me, you should grant me all my wishes..."
She entered the palace earlier, and she was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Changping, so why did she lose to Li Shiyue?
The ferocity in her eyes deeply wounded Consort Fu's heart. She casually wiped her face and couldn't help but chuckle as she stood in the middle.
"Confess? I confess. Whether I live or die, I will have Li Shiyue by my side and be able to see you, Xu Lizhe, heartbroken. That will make me extremely happy."
"Is that so? I'm sorry to disappoint you."
Before the words were finished, the maid's loud voice came from the palace gate. Apart from Consort Fu and Fu Yun Ning, who was kneeling on the ground, everyone else, including the Emperor, was not surprised at all when they saw the neatly dressed maid walking in with the Crown Princess outside the palace gate.
Li Shiyue was dressed in a royal blue county princess's robe. She walked at a leisurely pace, and the jade pendants at her waist made a pleasant sound in the empty hall.
A cluster of gold hairpins adorned her hair, complementing the pink jade lotus crown she wore. Seeing Fu Yunning's incredulous expression, she walked to the center and knelt down to pay her respects.
"Yichang pays respects to Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty a long and auspicious reign, His Highness the Crown Prince a thousand years of good fortune, and the Imperial Concubine a thousand years of happiness and fulfillment."
"Rise. I just heard Li Ze mention you. Now that I've seen you, I must ask you how you are feeling," the Emperor finally spoke. To be precise, the Crown Prince had already quietly told him the truth before Consort Fu entered.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Shiyue stood up. When she stood up, the silver-white shawl inlaid with gold beads in front of her was not wrinkled at all. However, the gold beads on it made Fu Yunning's eyes hurt from the glint of the beads.
"I was originally poisoned and was drowsy every day, almost losing my life. Thanks to Madam Zhao's excellent medical skills, my grandmother and I have recovered after these days of recuperation, and the remaining poison in our bodies will be cleared in time."
After speaking, Li Shiyue glanced at Fu Yunning kneeling beside her and smiled slightly: "I suppose the person most surprised that I was able to come here is Miss Fu."
"Today, His Majesty and His Highness are both present. I have a question for Miss Fu: We have no grudges against each other, so why did you poison me?"
"Miss Fu, please don't say it's for Princess Chunhui who is already married. The princess and her husband are deeply in love and have long since let go of the past."
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