She was sitting on one side of the pavilion, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility, when suddenly she heard a woman coughing beside her.
Xu Yuehuai's mood, which had just recovered, collapsed again in an instant. She stood up and prepared to move to another place, but she heard that the coughing not only did not weaken, but became more and more urgent.
Out of a sense of responsibility, she decided to take a look. When she reached the other side of the pavilion, she saw a lady coughing painfully. There were also tea sets scattered on the ground, indicating that she had accidentally choked while drinking water.
Xu Yuehuai quickly ran over, patted her back to help her catch her breath, and sure enough, her cough gradually subsided.
The lady looked at Xu Yuehuai gratefully, and Xu Yuehuai said, "Standing up is better; sitting is more uncomfortable."
She nodded, and Xu Yuehuai quickly went over to help her, wanting to help her walk around, but she lost her footing and hit her head hard on a pillar, immediately fainting.
Xu Yuehuai was startled and quickly went to check if her head was broken. Fortunately, it wasn't.
Xu Yuehuai finally breathed a sigh of relief and stayed by the lady's side.
She was still puzzled. The lady was dressed very luxuriously, so she must be the wife of some high-ranking official, but there was no one serving her at all, which seemed very strange.
After several rounds of drinks at Ah Qi's birthday banquet, the Emperor suggested taking all the ministers to the Imperial Garden to admire the flowers.
As soon as I entered the Imperial Garden, I heard someone talking loudly.
The Emperor frowned, wondering who was making a fuss in the Imperial Garden.
After walking a few more steps, they saw Xu Yuehuai, with a palace maid pointing at her.
The emperor walked closer and asked, "What's all this noise about?"
The palace maid recognized the emperor and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, please do us justice."
The Emperor asked in surprise, "What happened?"
"Your Majesty, I was originally a maidservant of the Lady of the Duke of Zhenguo. I was just accompanying her to admire the flowers here when this woman suddenly came over and told us to move aside. We argued with her for a few words, and she actually attacked us." The palace maid knelt on the ground and recounted what had happened, shedding a few tears as she finished speaking.
The Duke of Zhenguo happened to be following behind the Emperor. When he saw his wife lying on the ground, her life hanging in the balance, he rushed over to check on her. He also ordered the guards around him to keep an eye on Xu Yuehuai and not let the murderer escape in the chaos.
Xu Yuehua shrugged. She hadn't intended to run away in the first place. Besides, why should she run away when she hadn't done it herself?
She had been explaining to the palace maid for a long time, but the maid insisted that she had a conflict with her mistress.
The Emperor looked at Xu Yuehuai. Knowing Xu Yuehuai's character, he was naturally skeptical of the palace maid's words.
Xu Yuehuai did not offer any explanation, but instead said calmly, "The truth will come out once Madam wakes up."
The Emperor sent for the imperial physician, who examined the lady and said that she was fine and should wake up soon.
After about half a cup of tea's time, the Duchess of Zhenguo slowly woke up, clutching her head and groaning for a long time.
Only then did he realize that the Emperor and many ministers were beside him, and he quickly stood up to bow to the Emperor.
The Emperor waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to be polite, and then asked, "What exactly happened just now? Your maid said that you had a conflict with Xu Yuehuai, which is why you fainted on the ground."
The Duchess of Zhenguo asked with a puzzled look, "Who is Xu Yuehuai?"
“It’s me,” Xu Yuehuai said.
The lady looked over at the sound and immediately recognized the person who had helped her earlier.
She grabbed Xu Yuehuai's hand and explained, "It's her."
"So it was her who caused your conflict?" The Emperor looked incredulous.
"She's the one who saved me just now. If it weren't for her, I might be dead by now," the Duchess of Zhenguo quickly explained, waving her hand.
"What exactly happened just now? Why are you and your maid giving different stories?" the Emperor asked, completely bewildered.
"I don't know either," the lady said, glancing at her maid with a puzzled look. "The banquet was too noisy, and I couldn't hold my liquor, so I came out for some fresh air. When I was drinking water, I accidentally swallowed a tea leaf, which got stuck in my throat. Luckily, this young lady happened to pass by and helped me catch my breath, which helped me recover."
With the person involved giving a personal explanation, the palace maid's accusation against Zhilong fell apart on its own. The Emperor immediately sent people to restrain the palace maid and ask her why she had wronged Xu Yuehuai.
"Your Majesty, spare my life! Spare my life! I was only acting under orders!" The palace maid immediately panicked and confessed everything.
"Who ordered this?"
"This servant does not know."
"Do you know what you're saying? You say you're being instructed by someone, and you say you don't know who that person is. Do you think that makes sense?" The Emperor was almost laughing in anger.
The palace maid reached into her bosom as if to take something out, but the guard beside her immediately pressed a sword against her throat. She hurriedly explained, "I have silver notes in my bosom, and there's a note inside that tells me to frame this young lady. I know nothing else."
The guards searched her bosom and found the silver notes, which they handed to the Emperor. The Emperor looked at them and then passed them to Xu Yuehuai, asking her if she had any clues.
Xu Yuehuai shook his head. This was the first time he had met the Duchess of Zhenguo, and he had no clue what to do.
The Emperor sent men to imprison the palace maid and said he would give Xu Yuehuai an explanation.
After this incident, Xu Yuehuai no longer wanted to stay in the palace. She said she was unwell and took her leave.
The Duke of Zhenguo also went to rest with his wife, but found that she kept staring in the direction Xu Yuehuai had left.
The birthday banquet could no longer proceed.
At that time, the Prime Minister was greatly shocked when he learned of Ah Qi's identity.
He immediately found the residence of Marquis Ningyuan.
Marquis Ningyuan, as if he had foreseen this, waited for it.
"Is Ah Qi really the Crown Prince?" The Prime Minister didn't care about anything else and asked directly.
Ningyuan Hou's lips curled into a cold smile. He had always thought his plan had failed, but it turned out he had been fooled by Qi Guze all along.
Fortunately, fate was on his side.
"He could be the crown prince."
"Moreover, even if he becomes the crown prince, it won't be a matter of mixing up the royal bloodline. Do you remember that there used to be a princess from the Mingyue Kingdom in this palace? Ah Qi is her child."
“Since the current emperor blindly follows Qi Guze’s words and doesn’t like you or me, then we can also serve the Mingyue Kingdom.” As he said this, his eyes were filled with malice and bloodlust.
All he's wanted to do all these years is climb the ladder, but the emperor can only ever see Qi Guze, so this is all he can do.
As long as he can help Ah Qi become the emperor, he will naturally be a trusted minister.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com