The Northern Qing delegation and the Eastern Lin delegation immediately became tense and ready to fight. Without weapons, the two groups picked up tables, chairs and benches on the ground, and it looked like they were about to smash each other when the Imperial Guards quickly separated the two groups.
"It was Princess Xiaoyao who harmed you, what does it have to do with us!" Tuoba Hongyun continued to shout. "That handkerchief belongs to Princess Xiaoyao, she's the one who wanted to harm you!"
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Shi turned his gaze to the woman hiding in Xie Liwei's arms. She looked weak and helpless, and although she resembled Xie Wanqing, she lacked Xie Wanqing's resilience.
That woman was a terrifying woman who would steal the defense map even when she was a slave.
"Is this the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao?" the envoy from Dongfang Shi asked at Dongfang Shi's prompting.
Song Yaozhu hid in Xie Liwei's arms, shaking her head incessantly, like a frightened fawn, her eyes filled with fear and ignorance.
"Just because she says no doesn't mean it isn't true!" Tuoba Hongyun's voice was a little sharp. "It was she who did it!"
"Then you say so, right?" Xie Liwei's voice was deep and powerful, his aura majestic, like an enraged lion.
Few people present had ever seen Xie Liwei so enraged, and everyone was momentarily stunned by his imposing presence.
You must know that this carefree prince, true to his title, has always been very docile. It's truly rare to see him so angry.
"You're just taking advantage of the fact that we in Beiqing are outnumbered and trying to smear us!"
Yuwen Wuji looked at Prince Xuan, who indicated that he could not interfere. This was a matter of diplomatic relations between the three kingdoms. If he spoke up, it would prove that Princess Xiaoyao was innocent, and Beiqing would only hold a grudge, implying that they had conspired with Princess Xiaoyao to frame them.
Whether they are guilty or not, only the people of Beiqing know.
Tuoba Hongyun's throat was still being held by a soldier from Donglin, and she really wanted to get out of her current predicament.
"I'm sure I wasn't the only one who saw her use it. You can call everyone present over and ask them!"
Yuwen Wuji looked at Chengcheng, who immediately took the piece of handkerchief and went out. A short while later, he came back in, followed by nearly twenty women.
"Your Majesty, the handkerchiefs used by these women are also of this style."
Everyone looked over and saw that the women were all holding this handkerchief in their hands.
"Some time ago, the Dowager Consort held a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, and she gave this handkerchief to all the female members of the family who attended the banquet."
"This is impossible!" Tuoba Hongyun's eyes widened in fury. "This must be your scheme! You want to exonerate her!"
"Princess of Beiqing!" Prince Xuan also spoke up, "You must know the truth of the matter very well!"
Tuoba Hongyun, unwilling to give up, said, "Since you say that all the women who attended the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet can produce this handkerchief, then please let Princess Xiaoyao produce that handkerchief as well!"
Song Yaozhu gave Caiyin a look, and Caiyin immediately took out a perfectly intact handkerchief from her bosom.
Tuoba Hongyun bit her lower lip, feeling extremely unwilling.
King Xuan sighed, looking helpless, and asked, "Princess Tuoba, we have proven everything we needed to prove. Now you can say that our Queen is innocent, right?"
Tuoba Hongyun remained silent, still pondering why things had turned out this way.
“Our princess has no idea what kind of gift your Northern Qing is going to present to the Emperor, so it’s impossible that she would have prepared the snake-attracting powder in advance; secondly, this handkerchief does not belong to our princess, which further proves that it was not made by the princess.”
"Even if it wasn't her doing, it was still a deliberate frame-up by you people of Da Chen! Didn't we say that only those who attended the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet would receive this handkerchief?"
The Dowager Princess sighed and said, "Princess Tuoba, what you said earlier was that I gave one to every woman who attended the plum blossom viewing banquet, but it doesn't mean that only those who attended the chrysanthemum viewing banquet received one. Because everyone likes the style of this handkerchief, many families in the capital have gone to have the same handkerchief made. This handkerchief can be bought in any fabric shop in the capital."
Tuoba Hongyun was truly speechless now; she didn't know how to defend herself.
Just then, Yongle rushed in, looking around at the crowd with a blank expression, before finally fixing his gaze on the snake that had been cut in two.
"This thing was actually here. Thank goodness it's dead. I hope no one was hurt?"
King Xuan slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten about his dim-witted daughter!
Before he could stop her, she said, "I've scattered snake bait in so many places, but I still couldn't catch it. How did it get here?"
Tuoba Hongyun's eyes lit up, and he immediately pointed at Yongle and said, "So you were the one who prepared this snake-attracting drug! Regent, the culprit is here!"
The people from Donglin all stared at her intently, which startled Yongle so much that she immediately looked to her elderly father for help.
The old father, Prince Xuan, rubbed his forehead and said, "I saw that Beiqing had brought a snake, so I wanted to make snake soup. It just so happens that the palace hasn't been treated for snakes in a long time, so I'll make it while I'm at it. The snake-attracting powder wasn't sprinkled in this palace, so who knows where this snake came from? Besides, isn't this snake under the care of Beiqing? Why did you let it escape and harm people!"
Seeing the two sides passing the problem back and forth like a football, the people of Donglin got angry.
"Shut up! You're not allowed to make a sound. Our Prince will figure it out himself!"
Song Yaozhu sighed in Xie Liwei's arms. She should have run away from the beginning. Now, she can't escape.
"Yongle, tell me, why did you spread snake-attracting drugs in the palace? If it was just to catch snakes for your father to make snake soup, that reason is a bit far-fetched."
Yongle twisted his fingers, looking at his elderly father with a troubled expression, and then at his uncle who had spoken.
"Speak!" Yuwen Wuji's voice was somewhat oppressive as he pressed him for an answer.
Yongle trembled, as if intimidated by Yuwen Wuji's imposing aura. He immediately shrank back and blurted out everything like spilled beans.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Father sent men to keep an eye on the two snake handlers from Beiqing. They saw that after the two of them entered the room, they deliberately released the snakes. Father was worried about the safety of the guests today, so he pretended to want to eat snake soup and sent me to catch the snakes!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Tuoba Hongyun felt her neck tighten.
"Stop talking nonsense here! How could the people of Beiqing do such a thing!" Tuoba Yunwu's expression was also bad. He did not expect that his people were being monitored.
"We are guests of your Great Chen, how can you spy on us like this! And even fabricate excuses!"
The people of Donglin also looked at Yuwen Wuji warily; they didn't want to be monitored either.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't you give us an explanation!"
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