“Your Highness…you are just making excuses. Linglong was caught red-handed stealing.”
Pear Blossom persisted, but she had clearly lost her previous confidence, and her voice was trembling.
"Oh! Is that so? In that case, I will have no choice but to confront the Crown Prince face to face. If that doesn't work, I will have no choice but to report it to the Court of Judicial Review and let them investigate it thoroughly."
Pear Blossom knelt on the ground, her fists clenched, and fear seeped into her trembling eyes.
She had no idea what to say in her defense, and her whole body was trembling, whether from the cold weather or her inner fear.
Mu Chenshuang looked coldly at a guard and said in a cold voice, "You, go and summon your Crown Prince."
A cold gaze sent shivers down the guard's spine, making him utterly disrespectful.
Just as the guards went to find Feng Xilan, a cold and displeased voice came, "It seems that the Crown Princess won't stop until she makes a scene."
Everyone bowed in greeting.
Mu Chenshuang looked up and saw Feng Xilan, dressed in a black brocade robe, walking gracefully towards her. His sharp, cold eyes were fixed on Mu Chenshuang, as if he wanted to see through her.
Mu Chenshuang curtsied and faced Feng Xilan with composure and fearlessness.
"Your Highness, I cannot accept such words. Who is it that has caused such unrest in the Eastern Palace? My maid has been falsely accused and whipped. Shouldn't I seek justice?"
An aggressive interrogation.
Feng Xilan's face was extremely gloomy, and the atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive when their eyes met.
Seeing the Crown Princess confronting the Crown Prince because of her, Linglong felt extremely uneasy.
"The Crown Prince did not investigate the truth of the matter, but convicted my maid based solely on one side of the story. He is far too easily swayed by others' words and cannot distinguish right from wrong."
His words were full of sarcasm.
Feng Xilan's face grew increasingly grim, wishing she could strangle her right then and there.
"If the Crown Prince wants to give me a hard time, why bother bullying my maid? Just come to me directly. The gates of Yuxi Palace are always open to the Crown Prince," Mu Chenshuang said coldly.
Feng Xilan ordered Linglong to be whipped, simply to embarrass her. Unfortunately, she was no longer the Mu Chenshuang he had once manipulated.
"Mu Chenshuang, do you really think this Crown Prince can't do anything to you?!" The words were practically squeezed out through clenched teeth.
This woman has repeatedly embarrassed him; she is truly despicable.
Mu Chenshuang scoffed, “Of course the Crown Prince has a way. After all, this is the Eastern Palace, and you are the ruler. But that doesn’t mean that my servants and I can be bullied by the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince really finds me an eyesore, then we can get a divorce. The Crown Prince doesn’t want to see me, and I may not want to see the Crown Prince either.”
These words shocked everyone.
Everyone knows that Mu Chenshuang used every means to marry the Crown Prince, and even dared to say such rude things to him and mention divorce.
"Mu Chenshuang!"
Feng Xilan gritted her teeth in anger, her clenched hands cracking, her chest burning with rage.
Ignoring his anger, Mu Chenshuang asked defiantly, "What kind of explanation does the Crown Prince intend to give me for today's events?"
Feng Xilan definitely heard what she just said, and she will never let it go like this.
"Can you prove this lowly servant's innocence with just a few words from you?" Feng Xilan was clearly unwilling to be suppressed by Mu Chenshuang.
"Alright, then let the Dali Temple investigate. They'll interrogate everyone one by one, and no one will escape. I refuse to believe we can't find out the truth."
As she spoke, Mu Chenshuang's cold gaze swept over the guards beside her and Lanxiang, who was standing to observe the situation. When she met those cold eyes, she couldn't help but tremble.
Feng Xilan's face was extremely ugly. His gloomy eyes stared at Mu Chenshuang, and he couldn't speak for a long time. He had been forced into a corner with nowhere to retreat.
Every word Mu Chenshuang said in his defense was enough to prove Linglong's innocence. He was not unaware of this. Letting the Dali Temple investigate would only clear Linglong's name, which would undoubtedly be a slap in the face to Feng Xilan.
"Fragrance of orchids!"
Feng Xilan's icy voice rang out, startling Lanxiang, who rushed forward, knelt on the ground, and stammered, "Your...Your Highness!"
"You'd better tell me the truth!"
These words not only frightened Lanxiang into a state of confusion, but also made Lihua even more so. When Lanxiang glanced at her, fear and unease spread throughout her body.
Lanxiang would never betray her mistress, so the only solution was to sacrifice Lihua. After all, Lihua was just a pawn of the concubine, so it didn't matter if she was ruined.
"Your Highness, I did see Pear Blossom send someone to fetch Linglong to the storeroom. After that, she took me to the storeroom to get medicine for the Consort. We happened to see Linglong acting suspiciously in the storeroom, and I thought that Linglong was dishonest and had stolen the ginseng medicine that was prepared for the Consort."
These words undoubtedly pushed Lihua out, proving that Mu Chenshuang had just guessed that someone had sent Linglong to the warehouse to frame her.
Pear Blossom collapsed to the ground, her body limp and filled with fear and unease.
"Is that so? Then I'd really like to know how Pear Blossom let Linglong into the storeroom. How could a maid let the guards at the gate neglect their duties?"
Mu Chenshuang persisted in pressing for answers.
The guard was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and explained, "I suddenly felt unwell and left for about half an incense stick's time. When I returned, I saw Miss Lanxiang and Miss Linglong rushing over."
Feng Xilan's face darkened, and he stared coldly at Lihua.
"Pear Blossom, what else do you have to say?!"
Pear Blossom squatted on the ground, her fists clenched. She had framed Linglong to show her loyalty to the concubine, but now she had clearly been abandoned.
Why is it always me who suffers? Why is it always her who is abandoned? Mu Chenshuang is the same, and so is Xiao Qingyu.
Just as she was about to say something, she inadvertently met Lanxiang's warning gaze, which seemed to tell her: If you dare to reveal the concubine's identity, you will die without a burial place.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com