Princess Chaoyang lifted her head, addressing the officials from Dali Temple, "Didn’t you say you were going to search? Well then, hurry up. Do you want this palace to personally invite you?"
The officials suddenly found themselves uncertain about the temper of this spoilt princess and even doubted if she was deliberately making things difficult for them.
They had already visited three or five times, but never entered the princess’s mansion. Today, they were allowed in unexpectedly. They were initially flattered, only to discover that it was the day of the princess’s banquet. Even Consort Guifei was coming!
During such a significant occasion, she agreed to allow them to conduct the search?
The Dali Temple officials felt awkward; they didn’t know what Princess Chaoyang’s actual plan was. They hesitated for a long time. An older official finally cautiously said, "To investigate the case, we firstly need to search the princess’s mansion. I wonder if the princess would..."
Chaoyang lightly huffed, "If you want to search, then hurry up. Stop dawdling here. Be quicker; otherwise, when Consort Guifei comes, she might be disturbed."
"Yes, yes! We will conduct the search as fast as possible!"
With Princess Chaoyang’s statement, their courage increased. They hurriedly agreed, looking thrilled.
The leading seasoned official immediately commanded the soldiers to start searching, aiming to search the entire princess’s mansion within the time it took to burn an incense stick.
The well-trained soldiers quickly dispersed and disappeared to perform the search.
The older official still had a grin on his face, "Princess Chaoyang, don’t be alarmed. We are just doing our duty. Once the search is over, we will immediately leave and not disrupt the princess’s leisure time."
Surprisingly, Chaoyang didn’t seem angry at all. In fact, she seemed a bit amused. Her eyes scanned the crowd, where almost all the daughters of noble families gathered, looking at her in fear.
Only one person wasn’t there.
Ji Xinhe!
Now, she had caught her in the act! This spared her a lot of trouble.
Just as she was thinking, an official rushed towards her, saluting the old official, "Sir, we found Lingxiang San (powdered makeup) in Wutong Garden."
The moment these words were uttered, everyone was shocked. The daughters of noble families all turned pale. They found Lingxiang San in the princess’s mansion?! Given Princess Chaoyang’s fearless demeanor, one would expect her to be innocent! How could this be...?
The daughters looked at Princess Chaoyang, their eyes revealing a mix of emotions. The more timid ones were even shaking, but not daring to utter a word.
As expected, Princess Chaoyang immediately exploded, "Nonsense! How could there be Lingxiang San in my mansion? You incompetent officials, shamelessly framing me!"
Lord Liu was clearly dumbfounded. He expected a result of nothing from the search given the princess’s cooperation, but they actually found Lingxiang San!
But then Shen Yilin said, "Wutong Garden?"
Princess Chaoyang’s eyes flickered, immediately questioned her, "What are you trying to say?"
Shen Yilin, slightly hesitant, said, "I saw... Li Xinhe was headed to Wutong Garden."
Princess Chaoyang’s face darkened immediately, "Li Xinhe went to Wutong Garden!?"
She immediately protested, "It must be that mean person who is framing me! Where’s Li Xinhe?"
The crowd quickly looked around, but Ji Xinhe was nowhere in sight. Everyone was in a state of disquietude, shocked at the unfolding events, and the situation seemed to suggest another side to the truth.
Princess Chaoyang should not have been so foolish. Even if she had Lingxiang San, knowing that Dali Temple was coming to search, surely she wouldn’t leave Lingxiang San in her mansion? The problem was, Ji Xinhe was deliberately framing her!
"What’s going on?" Lord Liu demanded an answer from the official.
Obviously, even Lord Liu had realized that something was off. He became more serious.
The official with a bitter face said, "We did find it. We’ve locked down Wutong Garden. If the princess doesn’t believe us, she can go and see for herself!"
Upon hearing these words, Lord Liu’s face also soured. He dropped his polite demeanor while speaking to Chaoyang, "Then may the princess please accompany us."
Princess Chaoyang laughed scornfully, "Fine, let’s go! I’ve done nothing wrong, am I supposed to be afraid of you dogs framing me?"
"Please lead the way, Princess," invited Lord Liu.
Princess Chaoyang led the way.
Lord Liu signaled to the other Dali Temple officials to follow her closely.
The other girls in the garden found the scene very suspenseful. Their expressions changed dramatically. After hesitating for a while, they organized themselves into groups and followed the crowd to Wutong Garden. The bustling Flower Bird Pavilion was left empty as everyone was crowding toward Wutong Garden.
Outside Wutong Garden, two officials kept guard. Seeing the princess coming, they bowed in salutation, "Greetings, princess."
Extremely agitated, Princess Chaoyang demanded, "Where’s the Lingxiang San? If you dare to falsely accuse me, I will have all of your heads!"
As soon as her voice fell, the two officials brought out a little boy. One of them bowed to the princess and said, "Princess, this Lingxiang San was found on this boy."
Upon seeing the little boy, Princess Chaoyang’s face immediately changed, and a hint of panic was visible in her eyes. She turned to look at Wei Popo as if to ask what exactly was happening.
Wasn’t the Lingxiang San supposed to be hidden in the warming chamber of Wutong Garden? How did it end up on a little boy? What had caused the situation to suddenly shift?
Wei Popo’s face turned even more ghastly. She recognized the boy as the one she had instructed. It was clear to her that he was the one she had arranged to lure Ji Xinhe here. How could he still be in Wutong Garden? And why did they find Lingxiang San on him when it was clearly hidden in the warming chamber of Wutong Garden?
At this point, Lord Liu was even more puzzled. He sternly asked, "Who are you? How dare you hide Lingxiang San? And why are you in Wutong Garden in the princess’s mansion?"
The boy timidly said nothing, looking down at Lord Liu uncertainly, "I...I know nothing..."
"You!" Lord Liu was just about to begin his questioning.
Suddenly, Ji Xinhe appeared from Wutong Garden, saying, "Lord Liu, no need to trouble this child. He’s just a young servant of the princess’s mansion with no idea about Lingxiang San or how to obtain such a rare item. "
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