Chapter 64
"Nonsense!" A clear shout suddenly came from the door.
When everyone looked back, they saw Xiaotao supporting the "sick" Song Qingyuan and standing at the door.
Song Qingyuan was wearing a set of old clothes that had been washed so much that they looked pale. His face was pale and his lips were chapped, as if they could be blown down by a gust of wind.
But her eyes were surprisingly bright, like two sharp blades tempered with ice, shooting straight at Wen Yue.
"You...why are you here?" Wen Yue was so shocked that she almost sat up from the bed.
"If I don't come, won't I just let you throw this basin of dirty water on me?" Song Qingyuan broke free from Xiaotao's support and slowly walked to the bed. With every step she took, Wen Yue retreated an inch.
"Your Highness," Song Qingyuan bowed to Shen Yanzhi, her voice weak but every word clear, "I know I am guilty and am confined to Furong Garden to reflect on my mistakes.
"But I cannot bear the stigma of Madam Wen. She accused me of using her birth date and horoscope to practice witchcraft. May I ask, Madam Wen, how did I learn your birth date and horoscope when my maid Caiwei was imprisoned and Furong Garden was cut off from the outside world?"
Wen Yue was speechless. Yes, to keep her birth date secret, no one except her parents and the prince knew it. She had just made it up in a hurry.
“I…I…”
Song Qingyuan didn't give her a chance to breathe and continued, "You said I cursed you, but the imperial doctors also said that you lost your mind and let evil spirits enter your body. The greatest evil spirit in the world is a guilty conscience.
Madam Wen, are you afraid of this 'madman' like me, or are you afraid of the devil in your own heart?"
"You!" Wen Yue was left speechless by her series of questions. He was so angry that he started coughing violently again.
"Enough!" Shen Yanzhi finally spoke, his voice filled with an authority that brooked no room for argument.
He glanced at Wen Yue, who was lying in a dishevel on the bed, and then glanced at Song Qingyuan, who was thin but imposing. His mind was clear as a mirror.
He turned to the crowd and said loudly, "The so-called witchcraft theory is nothing but nonsense. Madam Wen's illness was triggered by excessive fear. Someone, come!"
Lin Feng immediately stepped forward: "Here."
"Pass the order down. Anyone in the palace who dares to talk nonsense about ghosts and gods or spread rumors will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and expelled from the palace!" Shen Yanzhi's eyes swept over everyone present, and everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.
He looked at Song Qingyuan again, his tone softened a bit, but still with a hint of complicated emotions: "You are not feeling well, so go back to Furong Garden and have a good rest. You don't have to worry about this place."
"Yes, Your Highness." Song Qingyuan's goal had been achieved. She decided to quit while she was ahead, bowed again, and turned to leave with Xiaotao's support.
Looking at her departing back, Shen Yanzhi's eyes flashed with approval.
She won this round beautifully. She didn't directly produce any evidence, but used the accusations of "madness" and "possession" to force Wen Yue into a state where she could not defend herself.
She let everyone see Wen Yue's guilty conscience, and more importantly, she calmly handed a knife to Shen Yanzhi.
A knife that could be used to settle the case.
Wen Yue lay in bed, watching Shen Yanzhi's cold and indifferent back as he left, and Song Qingyuan's seemingly weak but triumphant posture, a chill ran through her bones. She knew she had lost.
Everything she had carefully planned became a joke in Song Qingyuan's crazy performance.
She is unwilling to accept it!
At night, Wen Yue's condition worsened. She began to talk nonsense, repeatedly shouting "Don't look for me," "It wasn't me," and "The Second Master told me to do it."
This news soon reached Shen Yanzhi's ears through the maid who "accidentally" heard it.
Shen Yanzhi sat in the study, playing with the orchid silver hairpin in his hand.
Lin Feng has already found out that the groove of the orchid on the hairpin head has been coated with a juice extracted from the lacquer tree using extremely delicate techniques.
This juice is colorless and odorless, but if people with sensitive skin come into contact with it and are emotionally excited, it can cause allergy-like rashes and itching.
Song Qingyuan, she had planned everything from the beginning.
She calculated that Wen Yue would get the hairpin, that Wen Yue would feel guilty, that her crazy words would irritate her, and that the lacquer tree juice would take effect at the "right moment".
Each link is connected tightly together, leaving no room for leakage.
"Your Highness, Madam Wen has started talking nonsense and has even implicated the Second Prince." Lin Feng came to report.
"The time has come." Shen Yanzhi put down his hairpin and stood up. "Go, invite the palace's chief steward and several maids to Wen Yue's courtyard. Tell them that Madam Wen is seriously ill and that the prince wants to visit her."
He added, "By the way, send someone to the palace to report this to my father. Tell him that a major case of witchcraft has occurred in my palace. It has widespread consequences and will affect the reputation of the royal family."
Lin Feng was stunned for a moment, then he understood the prince's intention. He wanted to make this matter worse, but not directly to the Second Prince. Instead, he wanted to put pressure on the Second Prince through the Emperor. Brilliant!
Wen Yue's courtyard was brightly lit, yet a repressive atmosphere permeated the air. All the prominent officials of the palace had arrived, standing with their hands lowered, not daring to breathe.
Shen Yanzhi strode in, followed by an expressionless Lin Feng.
He didn't look at anyone, but walked straight to the bedside. Looking at Wen Yue, who was already somewhat unconscious, he said coldly: "Wen Yue, do you admit your guilt?"
Wen Yue opened her eyes dazedly and saw Shen Yanzhi. It was as if she saw her savior, but also as if she saw Yama. "Prince...save me...there's a ghost, there's a ghost..."
"I'll ask you again, who was responsible for the poisoning of Princess Cui?" Shen Yanzhi's voice was as cold as ice in the twelfth lunar month.
"It's not me...it's really not me..." Wen Yue was still trying to defend herself in vain.
Shen Yanzhi sneered and winked at Lin Feng.
Lin Feng stepped forward and said loudly, "Madam Wen, why does the ginseng soup you gave to the prince smell like julibrissin? Did you know that when julibrissin is combined with the auxiliary medicine of 'Qianji', its toxicity will be aggravated?"
Wen Yue's eyes suddenly widened, and the last trace of blood faded from his face.
Lin Feng continued, "You bribed Mrs. Zhang to find the old eunuch who had left the palace and buy poison. Afterwards, you threatened her nephew's gambling debt to silence her. We have found both witnesses and evidence. Do you still want to quibble?"
One after another, like heavy hammers, they hit Wen Yuexin hard. She knew that everything was over.
"No...it wasn't my idea alone!" In desperation, she finally shouted the most fatal words, "It was the Second Prince! It was His Royal Highness the Second Prince who ordered me to do this! He promised me that after it was done, he would help me become his principal wife! Your Highness, I was also forced to do this!"
The moment these words were spoken, the entire room was filled with shock. All the stewards fell to their knees in fear, their heads bowed, wishing they were deaf.
This is what Shen Yan wants to say.
He looked at the maddened Wen Yue without a trace of pity in his eyes. "Drag him away, lock him up in the dungeon, and keep him under strict guard. No one is allowed to visit him without my order."
"yes!"
As Wen Yue's shrill cries faded away, the storm that had lasted for nearly a month finally came to an end.
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