Consort Li kept her eyes down and never looked up.
"Even if you remain silent, do you think you can cover for the person behind you? I'm very curious about what promises and benefits she gave you that made you willing to be her pawn."
Mu Chenshuang had just finished speaking.
A loud voice rang out from outside the main hall: "His Majesty has arrived!"
Immediately afterwards, a figure in bright yellow stepped into the main hall.
The Empress stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
Mu Chenshuang then said, "This humble woman greets Your Majesty."
Consort Li turned around and knelt down.
Feng Guche glanced at the Empress, and Qi Mingsen, who was standing beside him, saw the doll on the ground, strode forward, picked it up, and walked to Feng Guche. "Your Majesty, look."
These are the puppets used to perform curses.
Feng Guche frowned, his expression suddenly changing drastically, anger welling up between his brows as he questioned, "Empress, what's going on?"
The Empress explained calmly, “Your Majesty, such a serious matter has occurred in the harem, and I have no choice but to take responsibility. No one knows the relationships within the harem better than I do, so I asked Princess Weiyang to investigate for me. Unexpectedly, we found something fishy with Consort Li. This doll was made by Consort Li, and I am currently interrogating her.”
A hint of surprise flashed in Feng Guche's angry eyes as he looked at Consort Li, who was kneeling on the ground. "Consort Li, did you make this doll?"
The emperor was furious, and Consort Li was almost suffocating under the pressure. She slowly straightened up and no longer denied it, but she looked like a victim and said helplessly, "It was what I did, but I was forced to do it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Feng Guche's pupils constricted as he stared at Consort Li. "Forced? Then who exactly ordered you to do this?"
Consort Li, trembling with fear, said, "Your Majesty... I dare not speak."
"You want me to torture you before you confess?!"
Feng Guche's angry shout intimidated Consort Li, causing her to tremble. Her lowered eyes held a hint of sorrow, as if the emperor's past tenderness towards her was nothing but a dream.
"Someone come here..."
Seeing that she didn't speak, Feng Guche gave a command.
"It is Her Majesty the Empress."
Consort Li rushed out in alarm and pointed the finger at the Empress.
Shen Biyun's pupils dilated in shock. "Consort Li, how dare you slander me?!"
Consort Li hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, it was the Empress who instructed me to make the dolls. Consort Rong, relying on the Empress's favor, was arrogant and disrespectful to the Empress. At the flower viewing banquet, Consort Rong disregarded the Empress's dignity and spoke rudely to her."
Not only was Consort Rong accused of being ignorant of etiquette and arrogant because of the Empress's favor, but it also showed that the Empress had ample reason to frame Consort Rong.
"How could a mere concubine like myself know such profound sorcery? It was all arranged by Her Majesty the Empress, with the aim of causing Consort Rong to miscarry and become infertile for life."
Consort Li spoke excitedly.
"Consort Li, you..." The Empress's eyes were filled with anger as she stared at Consort Li kneeling on the ground. "I have always treated you well, yet you dare to slander me."
"Empress!"
Feng Guche called out with a voice that was both authoritative and not angry, which made Shen Biyun's face darken.
"Your Majesty, I did not instruct Consort Li. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
Feng Guche did not answer the Empress's question, but instead focused his sharp gaze on Consort Li. "If the Empress instructed you, why would she interrogate you again?"
Consort Li answered tremblingly, "Your Majesty, I do not know why the Empress suddenly interrogated me. Princess Weiyang threw the doll in front of me, and then His Majesty suddenly arrived."
For some reason, this sentence makes it seem as if everything was planned by the Empress, just waiting for the Emperor to arrive so that Consort Li could bear all the blame.
"Then what evidence do you have to prove that the Empress instructed you?"
"Your Majesty, I have no evidence. I made the doll for the Empress, and after it was finished, I handed it over to Her Majesty. As for the rest, I am unaware of anything else. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
Qi Mingsen suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Consort Li, are you saying that the doll was taken from Princess Weiyang's hands?"
"Yes...yes."
Upon hearing this, Qi Mingsen turned to look at Feng Guche and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, when we came to search before, Princess Weiyang stayed in the inner palace and did not come out, so we did not search her."
He suspected from the beginning that the doll was hidden on her body because they hadn't found it, but he never expected it to actually be in her possession.
His words clearly indicated that Mu Chenshuang must have hidden the doll well when she didn't come out.
Feng Guche's cold gaze fell on Mu Chenshuang.
Mu Chenshuang remained calm and answered slowly, "Your Majesty, before Commander Qi arrived, I discovered this doll by chance. It was clear that someone had deliberately placed it in Her Majesty the Empress's palace to frame her. In order not to arouse unnecessary suspicion, I hid the doll on my person to buy time and find evidence to frame Her Majesty the Empress."
"Evidence? So, Princess Weiyang, you found it on Consort Li?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com