"My dear sister, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Flower Monk, why did you kill the horse?"
The two horses' sudden madness had already caused a commotion among the students. Now, seeing the horses fall to the ground with a bang, the noisy crowd around them suddenly quieted down.
"It wants to harm you."
Wu Chen's tone was cold, and his eyes swept sharply towards Xia Hou Yu who was standing outside the training ground and watching with great interest.
"Come here, these two horses actually dared to murder Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and Prince Helun. Capture them quickly!" Xiahou Yu shouted sinisterly at the Imperial College guards who came running after hearing the noise.
“Wait!”
Hua Qingcheng directly stopped the guards who were about to drag away the stallion and the dead old mare.
"These two horses went crazy for no apparent reason. This is really strange."
Hua Qingcheng glanced at Xia Houyu leisurely and continued, "I now suspect that they ate something they shouldn't have, or perhaps someone fed them something they shouldn't have."
"Your Highness the Crown Princess is right. Come here, why don't you check the horses, the stables, and bring the grooms?" Xiahou Yu shouted at the guards.
"Yes, Lady Xiahou."
The guards quickly checked the two horses and found nothing suspicious. Finally, they found some uneaten mushrooms in the stone trough of the stable and took the groom who was responsible for feeding the horses directly to the training ground.
"I, Feng Fu, pay my respects to Her Royal Highness, the Princess Xiahou."
A woman who looked to be in her fifties was quickly brought in front of Hua Qingcheng and Xiahou Yu.
"How dare you, a rude and treacherous person, feed hallucinogenic mushrooms to horses, intending to murder Her Royal Highness and Prince Helun! You deserve the death penalty!"
Since weapons were not allowed into the Imperial College, Xiahou Yu kicked Feng Fu, who was kneeling on the ground, to the ground, causing Feng Fu to spit out blood.
"I only feed the horses...all thatch, and...never feed them mushrooms."
The dying Feng Fu endured the severe pain in her chest and kowtowed to Hua Qingcheng.
"Xia Houyu, before the matter is fully investigated, you injured someone. What is your intention?"
Hua Qingcheng looked at Xia Houyu with a hint of anger. This guy might just be trying to shift the blame, trying to pin the crime directly on an insignificant groom?
"Your Highness, I am merely angry at the groom's behavior out of hatred for evil. I have no intention of overstepping the bounds of propriety. I beg your Highness to understand."
"Mrs. Feng, you personally feed every horse in this stable, not anyone else. You're just making excuses!"
Xiahou Yu still looked arrogant and there was not much respect in his words towards Hua Qingcheng.
"Xiahou Yu, I have a different opinion. If, as you say, this groom, Feng Fu, harbors evil intentions and intends to murder me and Prince Helun, then how did she know that I and Prince Helun would definitely choose these two questionable horses?"
Hua Qingcheng looked at Xia Hou Yu with a smile.
"The only explanation is that you two are birds of a feather, colluding together, right? Otherwise, why would you arrange it so perfectly, leaving me and Prince Helun to choose the horses last?"
It didn't matter whether it was true or not, Hua Qingcheng decided to just lie. After all, the existing evidence couldn't directly prove that Xia Houyu was involved in this matter.
"Your Highness, I am innocent! Since entering the Imperial Academy this morning, I have either been teaching students in the training grounds or discussing academic matters with other teachers in the Jinyi Pavilion (the teachers' office). I have no motive or time to conspire with a mere groom against Your Highness."
Xia Houyu's lips curled slightly, and she spoke with conviction, without a trace of panic. How could she be so foolish as to do it herself and give someone else the handle?
"Your Highness, this may just be a coincidence. The groom Feng Fu was careless and did not check the fodder properly, so he didn't even know that hallucinogenic mushrooms were mixed in, which indirectly caused Your Highness and Prince Helun to be frightened. I will report the truth to the Lord Chief Priest and ask her to severely punish Feng Fu." A supervisor who came with the guards said after a moment of thought.
Someone had to be held responsible for the mad horse frightening the Crown Princess and Prince Helun, and Feng Fu, the groom, was the perfect candidate. Furthermore, she couldn't afford to offend the Prince of Pingxi, so it would be even better if she could extricate the Crown Princess and earn a favor along the way...
"Mr. Yin Jiancheng is right, and I think so too." Xiahou Yu rubbed his chin, looking as if thinking.
"you……"
Wu Chen was about to explode, but Hua Qingcheng stopped him with a look.
The power of King Pingxi was not accumulated in a day or two. Without any evidence, forcibly implicating Xiahou Yu in this matter will only give people a reason to criticize him.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
At the hour of You, the bell for the end of school at the Imperial College rang on time.
Hua Qingcheng looked up in the direction of the imperial palace and suddenly felt a little tired.
Today was Hua Qingcheng's first day as a princess, but attending the Imperial College had already caused so many problems. She suddenly missed the peaceful days she had led with her husbands in Huaqiao Village, though poor, yet overflowing with happiness.
"I believe the Imperial College will give me a reasonable explanation."
Hua Qingcheng glanced at the complacent Xiahou Yu and the Supervisor who wanted to calm things down, said something leisurely, and walked towards the front gate of the Imperial College.
"Good sister, wait for me!"
Wu Chen hurriedly chased after Hua Qingcheng.
"get out of class dismissed!"
Xia Houyu shouted to the students in Class D. But she looked at Hua Qingcheng's angry back, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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