Chapter 40 Wan Ning is framed
Ye Wanning stared blankly at what was happening before her, completely bewildered. What had just occurred? Before she could even ask, she heard a male voice beside her: "Princess Consort Jin, please forgive me!"
Ye Wanning's mind was in a daze, constantly trying to figure out what went wrong. When she came to her senses, she found herself kneeling in the Crown Prince's palace. The things prepared for the banquet had not yet been tidied up. Looking up, she saw the people who had disappeared earlier. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy, and she could faintly hear Qiu Shan's sobbing. Although she did not know the ins and outs of the matter, Ye Wanning frowned, guessing that she had messed up tonight.
After a long silence, Su Wenxuan spoke first: "Sister-in-law."
"Your Majesty, I am here." Ye Wanning raised her head and looked directly into Su Wenyi's eyes. No matter what, she couldn't lose face!
Seeing Ye Wanning's appearance, Su Wenyi was taken aback at first, then frowned and asked, "Where did you go just now?"
"Does Your Highness not know where I have been?" Ye Wanning stared at Su Wenxuan with a somewhat dignified yet assertive air.
Upon hearing this, Su Wenlan couldn't help but sneer. "She's got some backbone," he thought. He glanced at Ye Wanning and slowly said, "I'm asking you where you went after you parted ways with Qiushan!"
Ye Wanning was taken aback. She glanced at Qiu Shan and saw her tearful eyes. She knew something was wrong. She pursed her lips and hesitated for a long time before replying, "Your Majesty, I don't know what you are talking about."
"Ha! What audacity!" Ye Wanqing, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but interject when she heard Ye Wanning's words: "The evidence is conclusive, does my sister still intend to deny it?"
"Where did the Crown Princess get these remarks from!" Ye Wanning turned to look at Ye Wanqing, who was sitting upright to the side, and said with a sneer, "It's better not to arbitrarily pin charges on me."
"How dare you!" Ye Wanqing blushed with anger at Ye Wanning's words and shouted, "Someone saw you wandering alone by Luoying Pavilion, and coincidentally, Jianzhang Palace caught fire at that time. If it wasn't you, were you haunted by a ghost?!"
Luoying Pavilion? Jianzhang Palace? What kind of place is that? Ye Wanning frowned, then suddenly gasped, as if she had just realized something. Jianzhang Palace? Isn't that the Emperor's bedroom?! Ye Wanning looked up at Ye Wanqing in astonishment, "Crown Princess... what do you mean by this..."
Ye Wanqing sneered, "Don't you know what I mean?! Sister, you have some nerve! You actually dared to plot to assassinate the Emperor!"
Ye Wanning was so frightened by Ye Wanqing's words that she collapsed to the ground. Murder the Emperor? She wouldn't dare even if she had ten thousand lives! Then, as if she had thought of something, she glared at Ye Wanqing and asked, "Your Highness, you can't just say things like that! I don't even know what this Luoying Pavilion is! How did I end up there!"
"Still trying to argue!" Ye Wanning shouted, "Bring Qiu Rong up here!"
"yes!"
Ye Wanning followed Ye Wanqing's gaze and looked behind her. She saw two eunuchs dragging a dying palace maid up. When the maid got closer, Ye Wanning was shocked when she saw her face. This... wasn't this the palace maid who had been by Consort Wen's side just now?
Seeing the change in Ye Wanning's expression, Ye Wanqing's lips curled up slightly, and she smiled involuntarily. She asked softly, "Does my sister still remember this palace maid?"
Ye Wanning turned her head, looking in astonishment at the group of people sitting not far away. Ye Wanqing had a smile on her lips, Su Wenyi looked nonchalant, while Su Wenyan and Su Wenliang were frowning at her. Her eyes welled up with tears. Where was Wenzhen...? Where had Wenzhen gone...?
After a long silence, seeing that Ye Wanning remained silent, Su Wenxuan sighed softly, as if he had guessed what Ye Wanning was thinking, and said, "When the news of the fire came, I sent someone to take Wenzhen to another place to rest." Su Wenxuan paused, "I think my sister-in-law also doesn't want Wenzhen to know about this, but my sister-in-law, you really went too far this time. Although Father's health is indeed not very good, how could you use such a foolish method!"
Hearing Su Wenyi's words, Ye Wanning's heart sank. She finally realized what had made the palace maid's words seem off. Why would Consort Wen, who so vehemently hated the Emperor, go to see him? Ye Wanning half-closed her eyes and said in a low voice, "Then how can His Highness the Crown Prince be so certain that the arsonist... was me..."
"Qiu Rong! You speak!" Ye Wanqing shouted, her expression turning extremely ferocious.
Qiu Rong seemed to still have a breath left. She turned her head and slowly glanced at Ye Wanning kneeling beside her, her eyes filled with resentment. Her voice was hoarse, her tone full of unwillingness, "It...it was her...she asked me to take her to Luoying Pavilion..." As she spoke, Qiu Rong's voice trembled with tears, "Your Highness and Your Highness's Princess must investigate thoroughly...the arson has nothing to do with Qiu Rong..."
Hearing Qiu Rong's words, Ye Wanning was completely stunned. She mechanically said, "You said you were a palace maid by Consort Wen's side, and that Consort Wen was looking for me, so I went with you..."
Perhaps the punishment was too severe, for Qiu Rong couldn't bear it and coughed up a small amount of blood. She looked at Ye Wan Ning and sobbed, "Your Highness... Your Highness, how could you say that... You clearly told me to take you to Luo Ying Pavilion... You... You rewarded me... Why are you denying it now..." As she spoke, she gasped for breath, "If I had known you had this intention... even if you gave me more money, I wouldn't have taken you there..."
"Heh, sister, you've really mastered the art of discarding someone after they've served their purpose!" Ye Wanqing sneered, then whispered something to the maid beside her. The maid brought over a purse, which Ye Wanqing took and held in her hand, saying to Ye Wanning, "Sister, do you still remember this purse?"
Ye Wanning looked up and saw the blue and white purse; it was indeed hers. Her expression was now blank. She turned her head and glanced indifferently at Qiushan standing to the side. She had taken off the purse two days ago, feeling that the palace didn't need such things, so she hadn't worn it again. Unexpectedly, Ye Wanning shook her head with a cold smile, no longer looking at Qiushan. This palace truly was a cannibalistic place… and indeed… no one was worthy of her trust…
After a long silence, Ye Wanning cleared her throat and said, "This is indeed my purse."
“Then what excuses does my sister have?” Ye Wanqing looked at her. “These were found on Qiu Rong by the palace servants, which confirms what she said.”
“The purse is indeed mine, but I haven’t used it in a long time,” Ye Wanning explained in a low voice. “If the Crown Princess thinks I started the fire, she should at least tell me why I would do it!”
Upon hearing this, Ye Wanqing was stunned, as if she couldn't find a reason to speak.
“Your Majesty’s sister-in-law is right.” Su Wenyan, who had been standing silently to the side for a long time, continued, “You have said so much, but you haven’t mentioned your reason for setting the fire at all. She is just a woman. If she sets fire to the palace and something happens, it will not do her any good, will it?”
“That being said…” Ye Wanqing glanced at Su Wenyi, who was standing silently to the side, and seeing that he didn’t intend to stop her, she continued, “But the fire happened right after my sister left, so who should we look for?”
"Maybe someone accidentally knocked over the candlestick without noticing, and then ignited something flammable?" Su Wenliang chimed in from the side.
Hearing this, Ye Wanqing was speechless. It was one thing for Su Wenyan to speak up for her, but even the Third Prince, whom she had only met once, was speaking up for her. Thinking of this, Ye Wanqing couldn't help but snort coldly. What a good fox spirit! She glanced impatiently at Ye Wanning; she was really starting to dislike her more and more!
Seeing that the other two princes had stood up to speak for Ye Wanning, Su Wenxuan had no choice but to say, "If that's the case, it's reasonable." He glanced at Ye Wanning lightly, "But this sister-in-law's crime has not been cleared, because Qiu Rong's testimony is also here. This matter must continue to be investigated. After all, Jianzhang Palace is where Father Emperor lives. These days, Father Emperor's health has not been very good, so it's inevitable that some people will have wicked intentions."
“Your Majesty is right,” Su Wenyan agreed. “This matter certainly needs to be thoroughly investigated to prevent any further mishaps in the palace.”
Su Wenxuan nodded. Perhaps the stench of blood on Qiu Rong was too strong for him, so he waved for the eunuchs to drag Qiu Rong away. After a pause, he said, "In that case, I'll leave this matter to you, Third Brother." He had barely finished speaking when he stared at Ye Wanning, as if he had noticed something amiss, and frowned. "Sister-in-law, where's your hairpin?"
Ye Wanning was taken aback. A hairpin? What hairpin? At this moment, she realized that the hair on one side of her head, which had been held up by the hairpin, had fallen down. She looked at Su Wenyi in surprise.
Su Wenxuan was taken aback. "What happened to the hairpin you wore in your hair at the banquet?"
Ye Wanning was startled and replied somewhat flusteredly, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty doesn't know..."
Just then, a eunuch hurriedly entered from outside the hall, carrying something. "Your Highness! This servant has important news to report!"
Su Wenxuan withdrew his gaze from Ye Wanning and looked at the eunuch who rushed in. "Speak."
The eunuch knelt down, raised the object in his hand, and said loudly, "Your Highness, a guard just found a charred object at the site of the fire in Jianzhang Palace. It looks like a woman's hairpin!"
Hearing this, Ye Wanning looked at the eunuch who had just walked in with disbelief, "What did you say?"
“Princess Consort of Jin, it is a hairpin, a hairpin for women,” the eunuch replied softly.
Ye Wanning froze, feeling dizzy. A hairpin… how… how could it be a hairpin… She heard the sound of something being smashed beside her, and a man's voice, full of irritability, said: “Guards! Take the Princess Consort of Jin to the Imperial Clan Court! To be dealt with!”
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