When she heard the name of her son, Concubine Ge was stunned for a moment.
Huo Wuhui seemed to be afraid that she wouldn't believe him, so he added, "Really, it was my ninth brother who discovered Sister Zhiyi first. If we hadn't been busy flying kites at the time, we would have let Sister Zhiyi play with us."
It was rare to see the Imperial Concubine make such a mistake. An Zhaoyi almost couldn't suppress the smile on her face. "Looks like I need to ask the Ninth Prince and get the answer from him himself."
The imperial concubine's heart skipped a beat: this matter was beyond her expectations, so how could she have taught Ying'er how to say it in advance? No matter how clever Ying'er was, she was still a child after all. Being able to teach her to say those words in front of the empress dowager and persuade her to go to the study was already the limit of a child.
Her expression was confused, but her voice remained steady. She smiled faintly, "Empress Dowager, Ying'er was frightened just now. How can I ask him anything else?"
An Zhaoyi said, "Who doesn't know that His Highness the Ninth Prince is the most filial? If His Highness knew that he could relieve the Empress Dowager's worries at this very moment, why would he be unwilling to come?"
Seeing An Zhaoyi's smug expression, the Imperial Concubine said, "After all, Zhaoyi has never given birth, so she doesn't know how to love a child. Ying'er just got frightened here. The Empress Dowager is kind, so how could she bear to let him come here again?"
Xue Zhiyi, kneeling, said calmly, "Your Highness's love for her son is touching, but this matter concerns the Empress Dowager after all. If Your Highness the Ninth Prince is frightened, why not send someone to ask Him?"
"Yes," An Zhaoyi agreed. "Your Highness doesn't have to come in person to clarify this matter. What are you worried about, Your Majesty?"
"An!"
Faced with such relentless pressure, the imperial concubine finally couldn't help showing her anger towards An Zhaoyi, but then she realized she had lost her composure and hurriedly apologized: "Empress Dowager, I have lost my composure."
At this moment, Huo Wuyou thought of something and whispered a few words to Chai Yue. Then, Chai Yue asked someone to bring a screen to separate where everyone was at the moment from the blood-stained mess on the ground.
"What are you doing?" the imperial concubine asked the palace maids, but they just bowed to her and said nothing.
At this moment, a childish voice was heard: "Ying'er greets the Imperial Grandmother and Mother."
The imperial concubine turned around suddenly and saw that the ninth prince had been standing outside the door and was being led inside.
Huo Wuyou bowed and said, "Your Highness, since my ninth brother was afraid of seeing blood, I took it upon myself to have a screen put up to block it out. I also took it upon myself to have my ninth brother summoned here. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
"You..." The imperial concubine was already so angry that she was about to go crazy, but she could only hold it in, and her chest felt stuffy and painful.
But the Queen Mother ignored her anger and instead waved her hand, showing a loving smile to the Ninth Prince: "Ying'er, come to the Imperial Grandmother."
The Ninth Prince had just cried and his eyes were still red. He pinched the hem of his clothes and walked towards the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother held him close to her and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Ying'er. Grandmother wants to ask you something."
The Ninth Prince said with a nasal tone: "Yes."
The Queen Mother asked, "When you were flying the kite, did you see this Sister Xue?"
The Ninth Prince followed the Queen Mother's hand and looked at Xue Zhiyi who was kneeling on the ground.
His big eyes blinked and he looked at the imperial concubine again, as if waiting for her instructions.
The imperial concubine clenched her hands under her sleeves, feeling extremely anxious, but unable to publicly tell the Ninth Prince that he was lying, she could only force a smile and say, "Don't be afraid, Ying'er. Just tell the truth."
"Yes." Xue Zhiyi responded, "Your Highness, the Queen Mother and the Imperial Concubine love honest children the most. The Master must have taught Your Highness to be honest and trustworthy, right?"
The Ninth Prince lowered his head and snapped his fingers, his mind wandering. After a moment of silence under everyone's gaze, he nodded muffledly, "I saw it. Brother Wuhui and I saw it together. We saw her fall asleep on that corridor. She slept for quite a while."
The imperial concubine's face turned pale, and she tried to make amends: "Ying'er, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
The Ninth Prince shook his head and said, "Mother, Ying'er was not mistaken. Ying'er saw that she was wearing this phoenix hairpin on her head. This is what the Imperial Grandmother used to wear. Ying'er has seen it many times and will not forget it."
After hearing the Ninth Prince's statement, the Queen Mother's expression did not improve much. She just continued to maintain a kind tone: "Ying'er is sharp-eyed and sharp-eared. I think she will not make a mistake. I think Ying'er is also sleepy. You should go back to bed early."
Having said that, he handed the Ninth Prince to Shi Qi to take away.
Seeing that Xue Zhiyi was cleared of suspicion, the empress dowager raised her eyes and signaled the palace maid to help her stand up and give her a seat.
"Kid, you've been wronged. You just drank the hangover soup. Stop kneeling."
Xue Zhiyi thanked him, and his legs, which had been kneeling for a long time, finally got a chance to rest.
The Imperial Concubine was still a little dazed at the moment, but An Zhaoyi was extremely proud: "Since the person who injured Yunshuang wasn't Miss Xue, who else could it be? Why would Yunshuang lie?"
Looking at the Imperial Concubine, the Queen Mother's eyes were full of scrutiny: "Imperial Concubine, this matter concerns the people in your palace. Shouldn't you give an explanation to Ai Jia and also to Miss Xue?"
The imperial concubine forced herself to maintain a calm expression, "Empress Dowager, there may be some misunderstanding. Yunshuang has been with me since I was a child. I know her character. Someone else must have injured her, and she mistakenly thought it was Miss Xue who did it."
Suddenly, An Zhaoyi said, "Your Majesty, we can only know a person's face but not his heart. I'm afraid there's something hidden in this matter that Yunshuang has concealed. Who knows, maybe if Yunshuang reveals everything she knows, the truth will be revealed. But this girl is not honest, I'm afraid she will be severely punished."
"No!" The imperial concubine immediately rejected it: "She is already injured. If we torture her again, she will die!"
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