Page 234

Lady Chang, upon hearing this, only then realized why the Crown Princess’s enthronement ceremony was postponed. Everything was fine yesterday; how could it have been exposed in just one night?

Impossible, it must be Xiao Jinyan deliberately fabricating an excuse to prevent her from becoming the Crown Princess.

She looked up at the Emperor and cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, this concubine has never committed such an act of jealousy."

Then, she turned to Xiao Jinyan, a look of grievance on her face, "Your Highness, I know you don’t like me, and think that I took the position of Crown Princess from Lady Shen."

As she spoke, she raised her handkerchief, sobbing, "Your Highness likes Lady Shen, and I am willing to give up the position of Crown Princess to her, only asking Your Highness not to wrongfully accuse me because of the enthronement ceremony."

Lady Chang’s tearful words were touching.

The Emperor’s eyes were gloomy, "Crown Prince, is what Lady Chang has said the truth?"

The Empress, feeling somewhat distressed, looked at Xiao Jinyan, "This palace also does not believe Lady Chang could do such a thing. Could it be that the Crown Prince is mistaken?"

Xiao Jinyan looked at Lady Chang, his disgust evident at her feigned innocence, "Lady Chang, you are deeply cunning and prone to jealousy; even now you don’t admit it and instead dare to frame this palace and Lady Shen?"

Xiao Jinyan finished speaking and looked up at the Emperor and Empress on the throne, "Father Emperor, Mother Empress, your son has evidence."

With that, he took out a written confession from his arms and presented it with both hands.

Eunuch Li came over, took the written confession from Xiao Jinyan, turned around, and presented it with both hands to the Emperor.

The Emperor took the confession, opened it, and looked down at it.

Xiao Jinyan then said, "The witness is outside."

The Emperor’s expression darkened after reading the confession, then he handed it to the Empress, "Empress, you should take a look."

The Empress, seeing the Emperor’s grim expression, took it with curiosity and looked it over.

The Emperor looked at Xiao Jinyan and commanded, "Bring in the witness."

Xiao Jinyan ordered his subordinates to bring in Imperial Doctor Zhao.

Weichi, with ease, grabbed hold of Imperial Doctor Zhao and brought him into the hall.

Imperial Doctor Zhao kneeled in the center of the hall, shivering with fear.

Lady Chang, upon seeing Imperial Doctor Zhao and having her last bit of hope extinguished, collapsed to the ground, knowing she was finished.

Imperial Doctor Zhao, trembling, paid his respects, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty, greets the Empress."

The Emperor glanced at Lady Chang, his guess confirmed, and with a stern face, he interrogated, "Is the evidence in the confession true?"

Imperial Doctor Zhao, prostrating on the ground, with a trembling voice, replied, "To Your Majesty, every word is true."

The Empress, having finished reading the confession, looked incredulously at Lady Chang, "Lanlan, why would you do such a thing?"

Lady Chang, knowing she had been exposed, immediately began to cry pitifully, "Empress, I know I was wrong, I had no choice, Your Highness never stayed the night in Xinlan Hall, and I do not know what I did wrong to make Your Highness so disdainful of me, it was a moment of folly that led me to think this way. "

Saying so, she knelt on the ground, her shoulders heaving as she wept.

Xiao Jinyan spoke coldly, "This isn’t your reason for framing Lady Xu and Lady Shen.

If I hadn’t found out in time yesterday and informed the Father Emperor and Mother Empress of Lady Shen’s joyous news, wouldn’t it have been a hollow celebration?

Would Lady Shen have to bear the false accusation of feigning pregnancy for favor? "

The Empress had always been looking forward to the day the Crown Prince would give her a grandson; had she heard of Lady Shen’s joy yesterday, she would have been even happier than having Lady Chang as Crown Princess.

But as happy as she would have been yesterday, today she would feel equally disappointed.

So, the Crown Prince was right; better to have nothing than to endure such an empty celebration.

The Emperor was also very disappointed in Lady Chang, because she was the Empress’s niece, the sister of Scholar Chang, and the legitimate daughter of General Chang; so he left the matter to the Empress to handle.

"Empress, you see to it. I have other matters to attend to and must leave first," he said.

The Emperor patted the Empress on the shoulder and left with casual grace.

The Empress, with a cold face, watched the Emperor’s graceful departure and couldn’t help but curse under her breath, "Damn Emperor, you only know how to push the troublesome and difficult issues onto me! The unpleasant duties, too, you pass to me, making it sound so nice by saying it’s all in my hands, pah! Damn Emperor, I trust you for nothing!"

Xiao Jinyan: "..." Though he’d heard the Empress curse his father as the "Damn Emperor" many times, he was still somewhat surprised.

The first time he had heard the Empress called the Emperor a "Damn Emperor," he was utterly shocked, unable to imagine that such vulgar curses were the true thoughts of his mother.

The Empress also had a tough position; although Lady Chang had done wrong, she was still her own niece. Too harsh a punishment would displease her brothers and her father, which would not be good for her or the royal family.

Yet she couldn’t be too lenient either, or else it would be hard to command respect from others.

Thinking of this, the Empress couldn’t help but curse again, "Damn Emperor!"

In the end, the Empress still punished Lady Chang by demoting her to a mere Lady, confining her to her quarters for a month, ordering her to copy the Diamond Sutra to calm her mind, and withholding her allowance for three months.

For Lady Chang, this was already a very heavy punishment.

Lady Chang couldn’t accept losing her position as the Crown Princess so easily, but when she looked up and saw the disappointment in the Empress’s eyes, she pursed her lips and remained silent.

Xiyun Pavilion

The day before, Xiao Jinyan had instructed Liu Xi to have the Imperial Kitchen send a lamb to Hehuan Hall.

The Imperial Kitchen was efficient; they delivered it in the morning.

With a warm smile, Liu Xi asked, "Lady Shen, this lamb is especially plump; I chose it myself. Are you satisfied with it?"

Shen Chuwei could tell just by looking at the lamb carried by the young eunuch that it was freshly caught and slain, very fresh indeed.

Xiao Jinyan had not lied to her.

"Eunuch Liu has an excellent eye. I am very satisfied. Once it’s grilled, I’ll send some for you to taste," she said.

"Lady Shen is too kind. I shall return and report back," said Liu Xi, though in truth, he was also craving a taste. Just last year, the scent of the grilled lamb had nearly made him drool.

After Liu Xi left, Shen Chuwei turned to Chun Xi, "Let’s start with the marinade, then roast it whole. For our midday meal, we’ll have the roasted lamb."

"Got it!" Chun Xi was also longing for the roasted lamb, her excitement apparent at the sight of such a large whole lamb.

Chun Xi had already mastered 90 percent of the marinating skill.

With Little Rabbit’s help, they washed the lamb again, then placed it in a large wooden basin to marinate.

Shen Chuwei sat on a wicker chair nearby, watching Chun Xi busy herself, casually picking up a novel to pass the time.

She had lent this novel to Concubine Xu days ago, and it had just been returned yesterday.

After reading a few Chapters, Shen Chuwei suddenly realized where Concubine Xu had learned the gesture of slapping her thigh—it was from this novel.

Several scenes in the book involved a slap on the thigh to express excitement.

Not only that, at first, Concubine Xu was very attentive to Xiao Jinyan, often dropping hints about wanting to serve him in his bedchamber.

But after reading a few novels, Concubine Xu rarely mentioned Xiao Jinyan anymore.

Had she led Concubine Xu astray~

This was Chun Xi’s second time roasting a whole lamb. With Little Rabbit’s help, they set up the fire pit.

An hour into turning and roasting, the fragrance wafted for miles.

Enticed by the aroma, Shen Chuwei lost interest in her book and gazed toward the lamb on the rack, her mouth watering at the thought.