Page 95

The Noble Consort was uneasy and frightened. His Majesty had not told anyone to rise, so she and everyone else maintained their bowing posture.

At this moment, His Majesty’s arrival further confirmed her assumption—this Little Daying could no longer stay!

Derived from his extreme dislike of the harem during the Late Emperor’s era, His Majesty inherently harbored indifference towards the harem.

Since ascending the throne, he had initially conducted a major cleanup of the harem and set all sorts of rules, and he rarely interfered as long as his baseline was not crossed.

The case of Jieyu Wei’s embezzlement was an example where his baseline was crossed.

He was in charge of myriad state affairs, and on a normal day, such a matter reported to him wouldn’t have caught his attention; at most, he would have casually allowed her to deal with it.

Yet today, he had come personally for a mere Little Daying. She couldn’t believe that His Majesty was here for her sake. She noticed His Majesty hadn’t even changed out of his training robe, and sweat still lingered on his temples—surely he had rushed over after hearing something urgent.

The Noble Consort couldn’t help but harbor intense resentment; she was so close—had it not been for Xu Zhaoyi’s interference, by now a hundred lashes would have made a corpse out of this Little Daying, and the truth afterwards would become irrelevant.

At this point, if His Majesty did not intervene, then so be it; if he did, she would have to wait for another opportunity.

With this thought, the Noble Consort lowered her gaze and concealed the malice in her eyes.

The Emperor walked briskly into the hall, paused beside Lian Hua, and, seeing that she was unharmed, he finally relaxed a bit.

He walked to the upper seat in the hall and looked again toward Lian Hua, who was staring at the floor with her eyes downcast, expressionless, and pale as if she were a lifeless doll.

The Emperor’s heart tightened, and he asked in a strained voice, "Who is below?"

The Noble Consort, hearing His Majesty’s query, turned around, calling out, "His Majesty." She and the others had not yet risen, unsure of His Majesty’s intentions.

The Emperor, hearing the Noble Consort’s call, glanced at her with a cold expression, and said, "Rise. What has happened here?"

He still could not allow the Little Concubine to rise. As the Son of Heaven, everything he did had far-reaching effects. His actions must appear impartial, otherwise, chaos would ensue in the harem.

The Noble Consort, along with everyone else, stood up and quickly walked to His Majesty’s lower seat, beginning to report the events that had transpired in the hall.

Upon finishing the report, the Emperor’s face was as cold as ice.

Then, Xu Zhaoyi stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, since you have come, I will take my leave now. However, all the witnesses here are servants from Driftfrost Hall; I believe their words alone may not be reliable."

With a bow to the Emperor, she retreated.

Upon hearing Xu Zhaoyi’s words, Dong Mei and Wu Shui began to tremble.

Nanny Sun was also scared, her hands slightly shaking.

She had thought the matter nearly certain, but now His Majesty’s involvement made things uncertain.

At this point, they had no choice but to insist the culprit was Daying Lian from Canglan Court, otherwise, there would be no place for their burial.

With this in mind, Nanny Sun bit her tongue, enduring the pain and the taste of blood until she could stabilize her spirits.

She glanced at Dong Mei and Wu Shui on either side, her eyes conveying an unmistakable message—it was either the death of Daying Lian from Canglan Court today or their own demise.

Dong Mei and Wu Shui, understanding Nanny Sun’s look, nodded silently despite their fear.

After Xu Zhaoyi had left, the Emperor turned to the Noble Consort and said, "Sit." His tone was still icy.

"Thank His Majesty." The Noble Consort, after giving thanks, sat at His Majesty’s lower seat.

The Emperor now fully understood what had transpired, but he did not believe this Little Concubine was responsible.

He looked toward Lian Hua standing below, feeling extremely uneasy. He had never seen such an expression on her — alarmingly calm.

If it were any other time, privately, no matter the situation, she would have already pleaded with him coquettishly to excuse her mistakes, but today she remained silent, not once looking at him since he entered the hall.

Noble Consort, noticing that Xu Zhaoyi had even spoken a word before departing, felt somewhat anxious.

Seeing that His Majesty remained mute, unclear of his thoughts, she opened her mouth and said, "Your Majesty, the servant from Driftfrost Hall witnessed Daying Lian pushing Beauty Li off the pavilion, and Beauty Li is grievously unconscious, an indisputable fact.

Although those who testified are from Driftfrost Hall, Daying Lian has no other witnesses to defend her. "

"Even if we disregard the servant of Driftfrost Hall’s words, at that time, only she and Beauty Li were atop the pavilion.

Beauty Li was just enjoying tea and the view, suddenly falling down the steps for no reason.

Moreover, when Beauty Li fell, Daying Lian was right beside her.

If not her who pushed, why wouldn’t she help pull her up?

Thus, this consort deduces that it logically makes sense, and I implore you to discern the truth," she added.

Having said this, Noble Consort lowered her head to show respect.

The Emperor’s expression grew even colder, his gaze still fixed on Lian Hua. Despite Noble Consort’s confident words, deep down, he did not believe that Little Concubine could be so malicious.

However, now all the testimonies were against her. He wanted to hear from her, to give her a chance to explain.

The Emperor asked, "Daying Lian, is there anyone who can prove that you didn’t push her?"

Lian Hua still maintained her posture, unmoved, and answered coldly with downcast eyes, "No."

The Emperor asked again, "Can you prove that you didn’t push her?"

Upon hearing this, Lian Hua looked up to see the Son of Heaven seated in the highest place with an icy demeanor. She appeared somewhat dazed, the distant figure, still as distant as ever, not any closer from the days they had spent together.

She smiled faintly, her expression calm as she spoke, "No. To frame a crime, one needs no excuse. Even if thousands accuse me of pushing, I know I did not, and that is sufficient." She was at peace with herself.

"How audacious! You err and do not admit, yet you dare to disregard rank, speaking of ’I’ before His Majesty!" Noble Consort barked out loudly.

With a face like frost, the Emperor displeasedly said, "Noble Consort Xue, you overstep."

Interrupting while the Emperor was speaking was also an overstep.

Noble Consort’s face turned pale. She hastily stepped down from her seat and bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, this consort acknowledges her fault."

The word for overstep was significantly stern. Noble Consort could not bear it, especially since the Emperor usually referred to her as Beloved Consort or Noble Consort. Rarely did he use her full title, Noble Consort Xue — if he did, it indicated that His Majesty was truly angered.

"Do you have anything else you want to say?" the Emperor stared intently at Lian Hua, trying to read something from her face.

Lian Hua glanced coldly at His Majesty, lowered her eyelids, and stayed silent, unwilling to watch the drama before her any longer.

The Emperor was shocked and angry; he knew this girl was being stubborn again. Once she set her mind on something, she would charge forward despite the consequences.

He had wanted to hear her explanation, to give her a chance to express herself, to use the doubt in the case to release her.

But unexpectedly, usually so adept at charmingly shirking her faults and twisting logic, she had become muddled on such a matter, merely denying her involvement without offering any defense, and now she wasn’t willing to speak at all.

Her indifferent gaze, as if looking at a stranger, pained him.

It was just as well to teach her a lesson, to change her stubborn ways and to make her understand the ways of survival within the harem.

"Bring someone, take Daying Lian to Yeting Imperial Prison to face the wall and reflect. Let her contemplate deeply," he ordered.