Chapter 182 A well-prepared trap
Ji Chen bowed to the Emperor and said, "I came by invitation, and only after arriving did I realize that the person waiting here was Consort Xian. If I had known it was Consort Xian, I would never have come here. I am guilty."
Yunfang received Su Tingwan's gaze and said with an exaggerated expression, "Is it Consort Xian who has an affair with a man outside the palace? She is a well-bred lady from a scholarly family, who knows propriety and shame. Is it because she can't bear the loneliness of the deep palace that she communicates with men outside the palace?"
"Since Lady Yun knows the whole process so well, could it be that she did such a thing because she was lonely in the deep palace?" Jiang Fenghua retorted.
Yunfang was stunned and couldn't say a word. "How could I possibly do such a thing?"
The Empress said, "Consort Xian, please don't be angry. Consort Yun didn't mean it that way. It was Prince Ji who said he was invited..."
The Emperor said coldly, "Step down!"
He walked step by step to Jiang Fenghua, his eyes sweeping over the surroundings. Two lanterns were still floating in the lake. He said coldly to the guards, "Go and retrieve them."
The guard obeyed and left.
Ji Chen hurriedly begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, I was indeed invited here. I have evidence. I truly did not know that it was Consort Xian who invited me." This meant that Consort Xian was seducing men outside the palace while she was indulging in lust, and he was just one of them.
He then took out some handkerchiefs and handed them to the emperor.
Chief Steward Cao took it and examined it carefully before handing it to the Emperor. Everyone saw that it contained some very explicit poems about longing for love, and the embroidery was of superb quality, indicating that it was made by the same person.
Ji Chen then took out a handkerchief and handed it to the Emperor, saying, "I obtained it by chance, and it was only because I was bewitched that I came to keep my appointment."
It reads: I think of you every day but cannot see you; we know each other but do not recognize each other; I only wish your heart were like mine.
The emperor threw the handkerchief at her and said coldly, "Did you embroider these handkerchiefs?"
Jiang Fenghua took it and was suddenly startled. From the look in her eyes, she could tell that it was her embroidery. How could she not recognize her own embroidery? But she had not written these poems.
"It shouldn't have been embroidered by Consort Xian. She's a lady in the palace; how could she have embroidered such things and ended up outside the palace? Is there some misunderstanding?" the Empress said.
“It was embroidered by your concubine,” Jiang Fenghua admitted. “But the words on it were not written by your concubine. I don’t know why there are these words, and I don’t know how these handkerchiefs ended up in Prince Ji’s hands.”
"If it wasn't embroidered for Prince Ji, then who was it embroidered for? Could it be that there are other men in contact with Consort Xian?" At this moment, someone suddenly blurted out this question.
"Why did you embroider so many handkerchiefs that ended up outside the palace?" the emperor asked her.
Jiang Fenghua glared at Su Tingwan, only to see Su Tingwan staring at Jiang Fenghua with a smile on her lips.
"I was just... doing this for fun out of boredom." Jiang Fenghua gritted her teeth, unable to express the bitterness in her heart. Her child was in Su Tingwan's hands. Su Tingwan was now the Empress. If Su Tingwan gave the order, her and her child's lives would become even more miserable, and she might not even be able to see her child again.
Lianye could no longer hold back and knelt before the Emperor. "It's not like that. Your Majesty, she embroidered a handkerchief to exchange for silver. Your Majesty, Your Majesty is your first wife. You love your country and your people, and you care about them. Why do you ignore your first wife?"
"Lianye, shut up," Jiang Fenghua stopped her.
"Did I shortchange you? Did you lack food or clothing in the palace?" The emperor's eyes gleamed with rage, staring fiercely at her face with an icy chill that made her shiver.
Jiang Fenghua felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She had entrusted her second sister to sell her embroidery outside the palace. This would not be a big deal in an ordinary family, but she was a concubine in the harem. Once this was exposed, it would implicate her second sister and the Jin family.
The Jiang family is already having a hard time enough; she can't drag them down with her.
Jiang Fenghua quickly shook her head, "No, I just embroidered it for fun, I didn't sell it."
"If that's the case, what exactly happened to you? How did your handkerchief end up outside the palace?" Su Tingwan said. "With your rank of Consort Xian, you should receive a considerable amount of money every month. The little prince and princess are also raised by your side, and their allowances are all delivered to you. The clothes, shoes, and socks that are due to be sent to Chenxi Palace are all delivered on time. Today is the Emperor's birthday, and you are dressed like this. Your maids even said that you embroidered handkerchiefs to exchange for money. Are you trying to accuse me of mistreating you in front of the Emperor?"
At this point, Su Tingwan felt wronged.
Another concubine said, "Your Majesty the Empress has always been fair. Judging from the food, clothing and daily necessities of many of us, I think Consort Xian is deliberately playing the victim in front of the Emperor. She embroidered so many handkerchiefs that flowed out of the palace without her noticing, but now she claims that she exchanged them for silver."
“Our Emperor is wise and mighty. Since his ascension to the throne, the people’s lives have become better and better. Yet she embroiders handkerchiefs to exchange for silver. Is this lie to accuse the Emperor of not being able to support her? I think she just wants to frame the Empress and is jealous of her.”
"I'm afraid he just wants to have an affair. Didn't he invite Prince Ji here? If Consort Yun hadn't seen her and Prince Ji here just now, the Emperor would still be in the dark."
Upon hearing this, Ji Chen immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness. "Your Majesty, I truly had no other intentions, and I had no idea that the person who embroidered the handkerchief was Consort Xian. I was merely curious about who the woman who wrote these love words was, so I brought the handkerchief into the palace to find out. I was momentarily bewitched by the love words she wrote on the handkerchief. After I learned that it was Consort Xian who invited me, I dared not have any improper thoughts. I was just about to leave when Your Majesty arrived. I know I was wrong and I accept the punishment."
Su Tingwan quickly said, "Your Majesty, I believe in your character. This matter is not your fault. He obtained these handkerchiefs by chance and wrote so many explicit poems that hinted at his feelings. He thought it was a palace maid who was in love. Your Majesty has not yet married a princess. If it were really a talented palace maid, it might have been a beautiful story of a perfect match. Your Majesty, I don't think it's your fault!"
Jiang Fenghua noticed that the handwriting and style of the poems on the handkerchief were identical to hers. Moreover, apart from those expressing longing for her lover, most of the poems hinted that the writer was a resentful woman in the deep palace. This handkerchief was even more audacious, inviting her lover to meet, which was why the Prince Ji was here.
She didn't rush to defend herself, because who would imitate her handwriting? Learning her handwriting wasn't something that could be done in a day or two. Who was setting her up behind the scenes?
She glanced at Su Tingwan. It was Su Tingwan who wanted to harm her. Su Tingwan had already ascended to the throne of Empress. What more could she possibly want?
Su Tingwan always presented herself as kind, guileless, and magnanimous in front of the Emperor, so the Emperor would never believe that the Empress was the instigator.
Some of the handkerchiefs were embroidered by her a year ago and sent out of the palace. This means that Su Tingwan had already started setting a trap for her. If they went to Chenxi Palace to look for her handwriting, she would have no way to deny it.
Lianye and Hongxiu would usually bring fabric from the Jin family's embroidery workshop to the palace. After she finished embroidering, she would secretly send it out of the palace. Her embroidery was in high demand and often sold out. She used all the money she earned to support her children.
The child is still in the Empress's hands, and the Empress calls the shots in the entire harem. What way out does she have?
The worst-case scenario is that she writes love poems in the palace to express her emotions, but she doesn't actually meet with her lover in secret. The prince and the queen are plotting to harm her, and they have already planned their escape route.
Seeing Jiang Fenghua kneeling on the ground without speaking, the Emperor said, "Do you have anything else to explain? I will allow you to speak."
Could she say that the Empress was trying to harm her? The Emperor and Empress are deeply in love; he probably wouldn't believe her. What difference would it make if she did say it? It would be meaningless.
She said tremblingly, "Yes..."
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