As soon as Xue Qiong saw Xuan Ling, she immediately threw herself to the ground, clutching the dragon robe, and cried, "Your Majesty, I don't know what happened to that beast. The concubine insisted on accusing me wrongly. I am wronged!"
Xuan Ling raised his eyes to look at Sheng Xiyan and said calmly: "Please sit down for the imperial concubine."
Sheng Xiyan sat on the soft chair, Gao Guiyi knelt down and said:
"Your Majesty, allow me to report today's events. First, Concubine Qiong contradicted Concubine Gui, and then the white cat she was holding bumped into Concubine Gui, missing her stomach by a fingertip. If it weren't for God's protection today, I can't imagine what terrible things would have happened."
Xuan Ling's heart suddenly frowned, and his fingers tightly gripped the armrest of the dragon throne.
Looking at Sheng Xiyan, the two of them looked at each other tacitly, and then quickly looked away.
"My Lady, is this true?"
Sheng Xiyan pretended to be angry, tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, Concubine Qiong is plotting to murder the heir to the throne. She must be severely punished!"
Xue Qiong burst into tears: "Your Majesty, I am innocent. It is the Imperial Concubine who cannot tolerate me!"
Xuan Ling said sternly, "Where's the cat? Did you catch it?"
Xiao Zhuozi came in carrying a gold-wire cage. The white cat inside was scratching the cage wall anxiously, its sapphire eyes glowing with a strange red light.
Xiao Zhuozi placed the cage on the white jade bricks, and the sound of the iron chains colliding startled Xue Qiong so much that she took a half step back.
Xuan Ling twirled the jade ring on his finger and said in a deep voice, "Call the judge of the Wu Court."
After a while, the imperial physician Wu came in quickly carrying a medicine box.
When he used a silver needle to pry open the fur behind the white cat's ears, he suddenly exclaimed "Huh" - three gold needles as thin as cow hair were emitting a faint blue luster.
"Your Majesty, this is the 'Puppet Guide' from the Western Regions. This needle is soaked in a concoction of Datura and Five Stones Powder. Anyone struck by it will become manic and bloodthirsty."
Xue Qiong grabbed Xuan Ling's sleeve in fear and said, "I had no idea! I found this cat outside the palace the other day!"
Xuan Ling ordered, "Ask Commander Xue to find out where the cat came from?"
As soon as Eunuch Fu responded, he saw Empress Duan and Le Wen enter the palace.
Lewin ran to the cat cage but was stopped by the guards.
"Father, this is my cat."
Empress Duan knelt on the ground, looking self-blaming, and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Concubine was hit by a white cat, so I hurried to see it. I didn't expect it to be..."
Xuan Ling said coldly, "Before, the Tibetan Mastiff nearly injured the Imperial Concubine and the Dragon Fetus. I ordered the expulsion of all animals from the palace. How come this cat is still here?"
"Your Majesty, the other day, Le Wen cried and said that Jiang Jiang had a Chow Chow and a Pekingese, and Your Majesty also gave her a hunting dog. She also wanted a small animal, a cat. I couldn't resist, so I thought of finding a docile kitten for her to play with. But last night, the white cat disappeared. It turned out that it had run away to the Jade Pavilion."
"Yes, this cat was originally very well-behaved and would never bite anyone." Le Wen whispered while pulling Xuan Ling's dragon robe.
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