Sun Ronghua, who was brought in, was no longer as dazzling as before. Although her clothes and jewelry were neatly arranged, everyone present could still sense a gray aura from her.

"I have seen the Emperor and Empress." Sun Ronghua knelt on the ground dejectedly. The cold floor of Xihe Palace made her shiver even in the summer. She raised her head slightly to see the Emperor's expression, but before she could see clearly, a boiling teacup fell beside her, splashing water on the back of her hand, burning her so hard that she trembled slightly. Somehow, the original numbness turned into endless fear.

This cup of tea was the one Feng Jin had just received from a palace maid. The cup was not a piece of expensive porcelain, but it was very delicately made. It fell to the ground and shattered, startling everyone in the room.

The Queen's heart also skipped a beat. She knew in her heart that the Emperor did not like such things in the harem. Although the concubines in the harem had their own calculations, they were all polite to each other on the surface. Even if someone died, they all looked good on the surface. Although it was stupid to suddenly cause such a thing, the fact that Zhao Chongyi was now in a coma was enough to prove the seriousness of the matter.

"I favored you because of the Empress, but I never thought you were such an ugly and vicious woman," Feng Jin took the handkerchief from Gao Dezhong and wiped his hands carefully, not even looking at the kneeling Sun Ronghua. "You are jealous and vicious. There is no place for such a woman in the harem. The Sun family has raised a good daughter. Originally, you should have only been given a three-foot white silk ribbon, but considering that Zhao Chongyi's life is not in danger, I will take away the title of concubine and demote you to the cold palace to serve the master inside."

The concubines' hearts sank. Wasn't being a slave in the harem harder than death? The emperor even mentioned the Sun family in his words, and he wanted Sun Ronghua to leave without any rights.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it wasn't me, it wasn't me," Sun Ronghua knelt upright in excitement after hearing these words, "She jumped in by herself, I didn't push her! She framed me!"

When Sun Ronghua said this, the concubines had different expressions.

Concubine Shu Gui raised her lips slightly, and looked at Sun Ronghua who was defending her with a look of pity and mockery. It didn't matter who was right or wrong. What mattered was who was more favored and who was still unconscious. Moreover, Sun Ronghua himself was not clean.

"You mean Zhao Chongyi pushed you in first and then jumped in himself?" Feng Jin sneered, "You, who went into the water first, didn't drown, but Zhao Chongyi fainted. That's really interesting."

Sun Ronghua opened her mouth and hesitated for a long time. Finally, when she seemed to have made up her mind to tell the truth, she suddenly heard a palace maid in the room calling her master to wake up. She recognized this palace maid. She was one of the senior palace maids beside Zhao Chongyi.

Seeing that the emperor's attention was all on the person on the bed, Sun Ronghua sat down with a pale face, as if he saw his destined future, and his whole body trembled slightly. To others, this look seemed like a guilty conscience.

As the saying goes, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb. Zhuang Yuyan was scolded badly this time, but when Sun Ronghua was brought in, she woke up. If she didn't close her eyes at this time, some things would be beautiful instead.

"Why is the emperor here?" Zhuang Yuyan asked in a hoarse voice. After saying this, she started coughing and looked confused.

Feng Jin reached out and patted the quilt covering her, "My beloved, are you awake? I heard that you fell into the water, so I came to see you."

"I didn't fall into the water," Zhuang Luoyan said, still feeling a little uncomfortable. After Tingzhu used some honey water to moisten her throat, she continued, "I just met Sun Ronghua on the road. I don't know why she suddenly pushed me away and jumped into the water. I was scared at the time and thought that Sun Ronghua was upset, so I jumped in with her. But as soon as I entered the water, something grabbed my feet. I wonder how Sun Ronghua is doing?"

"She's fine, it's you who's in trouble," Feng Jin's expression softened a little, and he slapped Gao Dezhong, who immediately retreated.

None of the queens would say such a thing as Zhuang Yuyan. There was no intention of Sun Ronghua to frame her. It was just a simple accident. But there were not so many accidents in the harem. Moreover, even if Sun Ronghua really had something to worry about, he would not run to the outside of Xihe Palace and jump into the water.

These words were said extremely beautifully, beautifully enough to turn the emperor's original suspicion of her into admiration.

"Why is Sun Ronghua here?" Zhuang Yuyan seemed to have just seen all the people in the room and wanted to stand up to salute, but the emperor held her back. He glanced at Sun Ronghua and said, "Sun Ronghua put you in danger, so he should be punished."

Zhuang Yuyan was stunned at first, then she seemed to have thought of something, and she was a little surprised and a little scared. The look she gave Sun Ronghua was no longer friendly. She even swallowed all the words she had originally intended to plead for mercy.

He doesn't pretend to be kind, nor does he pretend to be ignorant, but he seems to be genuine.

Originally, I thought Zhuang Yuyan was very scheming and actually plotted against Sun Ronghua. But now, seeing Zhuang Yuyan's appearance, I was confused whether Zhuang Yuyan was really being plotted against or just pretending to be.

The concubines who had come with the intention of watching the excitement were suddenly disappointed. Such a big farce should have some fun, so why did it start so blandly?

About an incense stick of time passed, and Zhuang Yuyan's expression had recovered a lot. She also said a few words. Then she saw Gao Dezhong coming in, followed by a few eunuchs, but his face didn't look very good.

The empress, whose expression had originally calmed down, was slightly startled when she saw what was on the trays held by the eunuchs, and then her expression changed.

There was nothing in the tray except some tangled water plants and some messy grass ropes. There was still water on these things, so it was obvious that they had just been fished out of the water.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have fished these debris out of the lotus pond."

The lotus pond in the palace was taken care of every once in a while to prevent the water from becoming too stagnant and smelly, or from becoming polluted and affecting the masters' enjoyment of the viewing experience. How could these weeds and ropes, which shouldn't be there in the first place, be picked up in the lotus pond?

Thinking of what Zhao Chongyi had just said, that her feet were entangled by something after she jumped into the water, the faces of the concubines changed, and the eyes they looked at Sun Ronghua were different.

She said that the harem did not have such a stupid way of framing. It turned out that Sun Ronghua had killed two birds with one stone. If she was the only one who fell into the water, then Zhao Chongyi would be charged with pushing her into the water. If Zhuang Yuyan jumped in as well, she might drown, but she would have one less opponent. After all, she knew the location of the tangled rope of water plants, which Zhao Chongyi did not know.

"This is interesting. When did these things appear in the lotus pond?" Feng Jin sneered and glanced at Sun Ronghua who was kneeling on the ground. He said lightly, "What are you still standing there for? Drag this bitch away."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am innocent, it is..." Before Sun Ronghua could finish her words, she was covered with her mouth by several old aunts and dragged away. There was no sign of the master's dignity there.

Upon seeing this, the Queen stood up and knelt before the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I have failed to manage the harem properly. Please punish me." There was no intention of pleading for Sun Ronghua in her words, and naturally she did not mention the relationship between the two as cousins.

Feng Jian looked at her calmly and spoke slowly: "This has nothing to do with the Queen at this time, so don't blame yourself."

The Queen breathed a sigh of relief, but Concubine Shugui, who was standing there, could clearly see that the Emperor's eyes were a little colder than usual.

As for the person concerned, he was exhausted and fell asleep again.