Xie Lingqin couldn't think of anyone other than the Emperor.
Moreover, given the Emperor's methods, it wouldn't be difficult for him to place someone in Prince Qing's residence.
Thoughts raced through her mind, Xie Lingqin's breath hitched, and as she realized something, her expression became even more serious than before.
In this world, isn't it the thief crying "stop thief!" that's most irrefutable? So...
Therefore, this cup of wine was clearly prepared in advance on the emperor's orders.
It was truly a case of the mantis unaware of the oriole behind. Yuwen Yao threatened the emperor, but the emperor's purpose tonight was to put Yu Qingyi to death and to destroy the Qing Prince's mansion.
This maid belongs to the Prince Qing's mansion. The wine was passed to Yu Qingyi. With the charge of plotting to murder the emperor in public, not only would the Prince Qing's mansion be executed along with its entire clan, but Yuwen Yao would also be implicated.
At that time, let alone marrying her, he might not even be able to keep his position as crown prince. Even if Yuwen Yao was prepared tonight, it seems that he will only hurt himself more than his enemy.
It's not worth it either.
Ultimately, it was the emperor who won.
Therefore, she cannot switch the cup of wine. If she does, the Emperor will know that the Prince Qing's mansion has discovered his plot to kill them, which will inevitably raise his alarm. If the Emperor is ruthless, this could easily escalate, and he might even wipe out the Prince Qing's mansion...
Without any evidence, the Prince Qing's mansion could not possibly testify against the Emperor. It would be right for them to comply, but if they resisted, they would truly be confirmed as treasonous.
Thinking of the massacre of the Marquis of Anping's mansion overnight, Xie Lingqin felt a chill run down her spine. Without saying a word, she changed into the maid's clothes, styled her hair in a maid's bun, quickly hid the corpse, and went out with the wine in hand and her head down.
"Oh, Sister Qin, why are you so slow today? The Princess just sent someone to urge you on."
"Um."
Xie Lingqin lowered her head as she heard the voice of the maid from before. She was just as thin as the maid, so no one suspected her.
After blending into the crowd, Xie Lingqin calculated that she would see Princess Qing in a little while, and then signaled to her to have someone else offer the toast.
They have to replace the person in front of the Emperor, otherwise...
The emperor would still have doubts.
Inside the main hall, amidst the hustle and bustle, Xie Lingqin felt a sense of relief.
Fortunately, Princess Qing was at the palace gate at that moment. When she saw them coming, she was about to step inside.
Xie Lingqin quickened her pace to go over, but was pulled back tightly by a nanny behind her. "Qin girl, slow down, don't rush. This is the palace. Don't embarrass the prince and princess and cause trouble..."
"Let go."
Seeing that Princess Qing was about to enter the palace, Xie Lingqin had no choice but to give the old woman a low shout.
The old woman, of course, recognized Xie Lingqin and was suddenly taken aback.
However, at that very moment, Princess Qing had already entered the palace.
It's too late.
Xie Lingqin was secretly annoyed, her fingers rubbing together with a cracking sound.
The old woman approached her cautiously, "Miss Xie, what's wrong...?"
"Shut up, don't say anything, pretend nothing happened." Xie Lingqin's low shout made the old woman straighten up. She wasn't angry; on the contrary, she was someone who served the princess and had met Xie Lingqin several times. She wasn't the type to speak wildly or utter harsh words.
And now, disguised as a maid, she has such a solemn and stern expression...
The old woman immediately looked away, no longer looking at her, and then followed to the side, directing the group of maids into the hall.
Once inside the hall, there was no possibility of changing directions.
Xie Lingqin's face turned ashen, but she was already thinking of a good plan.
If the Emperor were to see that it was she who served the wine instead of the maid, she would likely have wasted her efforts, and the Emperor would think that his plan had been exposed and discovered by the Prince Qing's mansion.
At this moment, taking advantage of the Emperor's distraction while he was talking to someone else, the old woman approached the Princess and whispered something to her.
Upon hearing this, Princess Qing's eyes narrowed involuntarily. Then, she subtly glanced at Xie Lingqin, who was dressed as a maid. Her face remained unchanged, but her heart was in turmoil. Almost as if on cue, she gave a few instructions to the old woman.
The old woman immediately left.
At this moment, the sounds of bamboo and silk music filled the hall, accompanied by light singing and dancing.
Xie Lingqin had been gone for quite some time and hadn't come back in yet. And since she was not an insignificant figure in this hall, she naturally attracted the attention of a group of people.
Yuwen Yao, however, had already noticed Xie Lingqin, dressed as a maid, standing among the crowd at the Prince Qing's residence, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
At this moment, Yu Qingyi had already stood up, stepped out of his seat, and stood in the center of the main hall.
"Please invite Prince Qing's son, Prince Yi, to step forward and offer a toast to His Majesty."
Finally, Grandpa Ni's hoarse voice rang out.
Xie Lingqin's hands, which were holding the tray, tightened slightly.
Just now, she had thought of countless ways to do it: fall down, cry, pretend to be stupid, but none of them were well thought out.
so……
The moment Xie Lingqin approached Yu Qingyi with the wine in her hand, Yu Qingyi sensed something amiss.
"Sister Qin, what are you doing?" Yu Qingyi's peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly, and her voice was extremely low.
"I also want to know what I'm doing?" Xie Lingqin glared at Yu Qingyi with resentment. "Yu Qingyi, I hate you so much."
After saying only this one sentence, at the Emperor's signal, Xie Lingqin paused in her act of offering wine, and then suddenly knelt down with a thud, "Your Majesty, I am guilty."
Suddenly, a sound rang out, and the hall, which had been filled with quiet conversations just moments before, miraculously fell silent. All music and voices ceased abruptly.
The main hall, which could hold several hundred people, was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Because the woman's voice was clear and resonant, and everyone was all too familiar with it.
Yu Qingyi's usually smiling peach blossom eyes narrowed into a frown as she looked at Xie Lingzhu kneeling on the ground, and then at Yuwen Yao, who was still sitting upright to the side.
He said, "What did he do to deserve this? What happened?"
"Lingqin, little girl?"
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