The Empress shouted at the eunuch, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and wake the person inside! I want to see who dares to commit such filthy acts in the palace!"
With Qu Qingxi not in there right now, it's just about Lü Lian and that man. The Empress doesn't care much about it; it's just the loss of a palace maid.
Two eunuchs stepped forward, each taking one arm, and dragged the man away. At this moment, one of the eunuchs exclaimed, "Miss Qu?"
The exclamation sounded particularly jarring in the quiet environment.
Miss Qu? In the capital, only the Prime Minister has the surname Qu. Apart from the already married Princess Nanqing, the only other one is the Prime Minister's youngest daughter, Qu Qingran. So, there is actually a woman named Qu Qingran among them.
The group of ladies looked inside more closely and indeed saw a woman whose appearance was very similar to Qu Qingran.
"What?" Qu Qingran's mother, Wei Shuqin, was watching the commotion when she suddenly heard someone mention her daughter's name. Her eyes widened instantly, and she took two steps forward. Sure enough, she saw that the woman lying in the middle was Qu Qingran.
"Ran'er!" Wei Shuqin cried out, then rushed forward and took off her coat to wrap Qu Qingran. "Someone, someone come quick!"
The others watched the scene unfold with amusement.
The Empress felt a pang of panic. Qu Qingran? What was she doing here?
Just as the scene was in chaos, a loud shout came from behind: "The Emperor has arrived!"
Everyone quickly turned around and bowed.
"What's going on?" The Emperor asked with a stern expression, staring at the chaos before him.
"Your Majesty, a palace maid accidentally spilled tea on the Princess's clothes, so another maid took her to change. However, the maid was called away halfway there, and the Princess, unfamiliar with the palace layout, got lost. It took quite a while, and I was worried, so I went to look for her. I happened to see the Princess wandering around the Imperial Garden alone."
They happened to run into the Empress Dowager's sister-in-law with a group of people. Upon further inquiry, they learned that a palace maid had just told the Empress Dowager's sister-in-law that her brother's wife was changing clothes here, but a man had come in, so the Empress Dowager's sister-in-law hurriedly brought a group of people here.
Your humble servant thought that since everyone had said so, it would be better to let everyone come to Wanshuang Palace to see for themselves, so that no one would gossip later. Unexpectedly, this is what they witnessed.
He Liufeng gave a simple explanation, but the Empress's face instantly turned pale.
The Empress is the head of the harem, but the palace maids she has trained are so irresponsible. One of the palace maids said that the Princess encountered a man while changing clothes. The Empress should have dealt with it quietly, but instead of doing so, she brought a large group of people with her. Her intentions are self-evident.
The Emperor glared at the Empress, then looked inside. The Prime Minister's wife was wrapping someone in a garment. "And what's going on there?"
"Your Majesty, there is a woman here, the Prime Minister's daughter," a eunuch replied tremblingly.
"This is outrageous!" the Emperor roared. "Investigate this immediately to find out what's going on!"
Soon, palace maids came with clothes and draped them over the women. The door opened, and fresh air flowed in. The aphrodisiac in the air gradually dissipated, and the women on the ground slowly awoke.
When Qu Qingran opened her eyes, she saw that she was lying in Wei Shuqin's arms. She was stunned for a moment, and then the memories flooded into her mind like a tide. She had actually been defiled. Qu Qingran closed her eyes and fainted.
"Ran'er, Ran'er!" Seeing Qu Qingran regain consciousness and then faint again, Wei Shuqin panicked and called out to Qu Qingran loudly.
"Guards, take the Prime Minister's daughter and wife away! And quickly fetch the imperial physician!" The Emperor turned and glared at Lai Fu, who was standing beside him.
Lai Fu immediately left with his men.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to do justice for Ran'er! Ran'er has been framed!" Wei Shuqin knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to the Emperor. Her daughter, the daughter she cherished so dearly, had been so cruelly violated.
As Wei Shuqin was thinking, a metallic taste suddenly rose in her throat, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood before fainting. The scene became even more chaotic.
The Emperor's face turned ashen, and the Empress's face was deathly pale.
Soon, someone came and took Wei Shuqin and Qu Qingran away. At the same time, an imperial physician entered the palace. There were three women and one man, which clearly indicated that there was something going on. The most likely explanation was that the people in the room or these people had been drugged.
Green Lotus and another palace maid in pink slowly woke up. Seeing that there were people outside, including the Emperor and Empress, the two quickly tidied their clothes and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we are innocent."
The imperial physician quickly discovered the burnt-out aphrodisiac incense in the burner and brought it out, saying, "Your Majesty, this incense burner has been tampered with. The original calming incense inside has been replaced with aphrodisiac incense, which is why..."
"Why are you here?" This kind of question naturally didn't need the Emperor to ask himself. As the Emperor's confidant and chief eunuch, it was more appropriate for Lai Fu to ask it.
"Your Majesty, spare my life! Yes, it was all the Princess Consort's doing! It was the Princess Consort who wanted to harm me!" Knowing that she could not escape death, Green Lotus simply pushed all the blame onto Qu Qingxi, hoping that the Empress might spare her family. Green Lotus pointed at Qu Qingxi and spoke.
The crowd gasped and looked at Qu Qingxi. Today's events had truly taken many unexpected turns.
"You say it was this princess who harmed you, what evidence do you have?" Qu Qingxi didn't answer the question, but looked at Lülian and asked in return.
Green Lotus panicked. She only wanted to throw the blame on Qu Qingxi, but she didn't expect Qu Qingxi to not rush to prove herself. Instead, she asked Green Lotus to produce evidence.
Qu Qingxi remained calm, but when the palace maid was asked what evidence she had, she suddenly fell silent. Everyone already knew what was going on.
"Your name is Green Lotus, right?" Qu Qingxi said in a calm voice. "At the palace banquet before, my dress got wet, and you brought me here to change. But halfway there, you abandoned me and left with someone else. Now that you've done such a lewd thing, you still want to blame it on me. Green Lotus, how dare you!"
"No, that's not it. It was you, it was you who pushed me and Miss Qu in here." Green Lotus had already guessed that Qu Qingxi must have pushed her and Qu Qingran in from behind, although she didn't know exactly when Qu Qingxi ran outside or when she hid behind them.
"Push you and Miss Qu? Why? Why would I, the princess, push you and Miss Qu inside for no reason?" Qu Qingxi continued to ask.
Now, Green Lotus was even more at a loss for words. Why? Of course, it was because there was a problem in this palace that she had sensed beforehand. However, if she investigated further, the matter would only lead back to her. What should she say?
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