Chapter 81 She's been set up!
After the lady-in-waiting finished speaking, she breathed a sigh of relief.
As a lowly female official, she couldn't afford to offend either side. She originally intended to keep things balanced between them, neither favoring one side nor concealing the truth.
But the second princess was kind and gentle, and she simply couldn't forget the scene when the second princess came to her rescue.
Upon hearing this, Lady Meng knew that Consort Yue might cause her trouble afterward.
The female official glanced at Consort Yue discreetly, and sure enough, Consort Yue was glaring at her sideways.
Consort Yue is Consort Jing's person; to put it more seriously, she might lose her minor official position, which would be the least of her worries.
The female official was inwardly in tears, but helplessly added in an attempt to salvage the situation: "But Consort Yue is delicate and may not have been able to maintain her balance."
The lady-in-waiting's words made Xie Yuxiao glance at her again.
Consort Jing encountered Xie Yuxiao halfway there, completely unaware of what had happened at Changyin Pavilion.
After hearing the lady-in-waiting's account of what had happened, she was shocked. She walked up to Consort Yue and whispered a rebuke: "Are you crazy? Is that really what happened? What are you doing? Are you trying to pick a fight with the prince? He is a prince and princess. You're putting your little schemes into this. Where do you put me?"
If Consort Yue really did it on purpose, and this gets out, Consort Jing will also be affected.
Everyone knows that Consort Yue is her person. Not long ago, Consort Jing had an incident where one of her palace maids attempted to assassinate the Second Princess. Before that matter had even passed, Consort Yue, who was on good terms with her, got involved with the Second Princess again.
People will definitely think that Consort Yue did this on purpose to help her get revenge.
If the rumors get any more outrageous, they might even say that Consort Jing was behind it.
Consort Jing was furious, and to make matters worse, His Majesty caught her in the act. Wasn't she now unable to reason with anyone?
Consort Jing looked at Consort Yue with disappointment, while Consort Yue felt both guilty and flustered.
Now look what happened. She originally wanted to use some clever tricks to win over the second princess, but now she has offended both sides.
Consort Yue forced herself to remain calm: "Sister Consort Jing, it's not like that. I simply lost my balance for a moment..."
The two had known each other for many years, so how could Consort Jing not understand what Consort Yue was like?
Consort Jing's breath hitched. This...this...this...!
She's been set up!
First it was Cuilan, then it was Consort Yue.
All the people involved in this incident are people close to her. She has a feeling that someone is framing her behind the scenes!
There was nothing Xie Yuxiao didn't understand, except for one thing: how come someone was always watching her and causing her trouble when she was just a little kid?
Xie Yunqi couldn't help but complain to Xie Yuxiao, repeatedly emphasizing that she really hadn't used any force.
Xie Yuxiao gave Consort Jing and Consort Yue a cold look: "Consort Yue, what are you trying to do? The children are still young. As an elder, you should set a good example for them, instead of trying to cause trouble just because the children are young!"
Consort Jing was inwardly groaning. She took two steps toward him and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, please don't look at me like that. I don't know anything!"
Then, Consort Jing, knowing that she couldn't explain herself even if she was in the right, pointed at Consort Yue and told her to kneel down: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to the Fifth Prince, and then quickly say that this has nothing to do with me! Are you trying to kill me by not saying a word? Are you deliberately trying to make others misunderstand me?!"
Consort Jing was practically ready to unleash a torrent of curses. If Xie Yuxiao hadn't been there, she would have loved to slap Consort Yue across the face twice.
Xie Yuxiao sighed, thinking that Consort Jing was straightforward and somewhat foolish, and she was the only one who could defend herself so bluntly.
Consort Yue weighed the pros and cons and could only kneel down and clarify, following Consort Jing's words: "Your Majesty, this matter is truly just a misunderstanding. I didn't even know that the Fifth Prince and the Second Princess were coming to Changyin Pavilion. How could I possibly use any scheme to frame the princes? I'm not stupid; how could I do such a thing? Your Majesty, don't you believe me?"
Consort Yue looked at Xie Yuxiao with teary eyes. She refused to believe it. She had been this man's concubine for nearly ten years. After all, she had said so much. She refused to believe that Xie Yuxiao could remain completely unmoved!
Xie Yuxiao sneered. Did he think he couldn't see through such a clumsy trick?
He was the only one to emerge victorious from the struggle for the throne among the nine princes. He had survived countless power struggles and intrigues, so how could he not see through the petty tricks in the harem?
Xie Yuxiao was about to get angry when Shengsheng spoke first: "That's right, Consort Yue didn't do it on purpose, and this matter can't be entirely blamed on her. However, Fifth Prince has already apologized, and Consort Yue has accepted his apology, so shouldn't this matter be considered over?"
Xie Yunqi looked at her in confusion, and Sheng Sheng quickly leaned closer to him and whispered, "Consort Yue didn't cause us any real harm. It's good to leave room for maneuver, so we can meet again in the future. Brother, you see, Consort Yue won't admit her bad intentions, which is enough for us to see her true character. From now on, we should stay far away from her and ignore her. But since she dared to plot against us, we can't just let her off so easily. Does she think we're three-year-olds?"
Xie Yunqi thought it made sense. He was a man, and it wouldn't be right for him to argue with the concubines so pettily.
She turned around angrily and earnestly instructed Xie Yuxiao: "Father, she tried to bully us. Father must punish her with lots and lots of silver!"
Xie Yuxiao was both amused and exasperated: "In your eyes, is fining someone a month's salary enough of a punishment?"
"Hmm... what other punishment could we give her?" Sheng Sheng seriously pondered. "Sheng Sheng knows! Father Emperor will replace her breakfast, lunch, and dinner with rice consisting only of vegetables, so she can really experience what it feels like to not have meat in her mouth!"
"What kind of punishment is this?" Xie Yuxiao found her words novel and childish, yet her tone was quite serious. Xie Yuxiao was quite curious about how she came up with this idea.
"Brother Pei Ji could only eat this before, which was very pitiful. He couldn't eat meat for a long time, so he couldn't grow tall properly. It must have been very painful for him."
Sheng Sheng bit her lower lip, recalling the slender young boy she had first met.
Pei Ji was two years older than Xie Yunqi, but they were about the same height when they stood together.
My older brother said that children need to eat well to grow taller, especially to eat more meat and vegetables.
Fifth Prince has meat to eat every day, but Brother Pei Ji was always deprived of it before. He must be so thin because he didn't get enough meat.
Sheng Sheng sometimes looks at Pei Ji. Could it be that Pei Ji's aloof yet subtly melancholic aura comes from being thin?
From these words, it is clear that it must be very difficult not to eat meat!
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