Chapter 380: 391

Lv Rou waved her arms in horror, as if there was something horrifying in front of her that freaked her out. She was so frightened that her entire face twisted in a terrifying grimace.

Noble Consort Li’s eyes darted around. She hurriedly extended her arms and stood in front of Baili Qingcang to protect him. “Your Majesty, the maid has gone crazy. We can’t let her hurt you. Please hand her over to the Department of Justice for further investigation.”

Shen Ninghua looked at Noble Consort Li. “Your Grace, I think that the maid has realized her mistakes and wanted to repent her sin. We’d better resolve this matter as soon as possible. Father Emperor is here. Don’t you think it’s more effective for Father Emperor to investigate this matter immediately than to pass it over to the Department of Justice? Also, many people are involved in this matter. I don’t think the Department of Justice dares to interrogate the persons of interest in this case. Noble Consort Qi, don’t you want answers for your niece’s death as soon as possible too?”

Noble Consort Li intended to drag this matter out. She only needed to drag it out for one to two days. By then, this matter would turn into a lustful rumor and spread throughout the capital like wildfire. Everyone would presume that Shen Ninghua murdered the legitimate daughter of the Qi Family because of her affair with Baili Jinchuan. At this moment, Noble Consort Qi played a crucial role. It was up to her whether she wanted to protect the reputation of the dead Qi Ying or her son!

Baili Qingcang’s face darkened. Just as he was about to say something, she saw Noble Consort Qi suddenly kneel on the ground. “Noble Consort Qi, what are you doing? Hurry up and get up.”

Noble Consort Qi’s face was full of tears. She was usually calm and expressionless, so when she looked so sorrowful and devastated, Baili Qingcang felt his heart aching. “Your Majesty, I have never asked for anything. Today, I beg Your Majesty to find out the truth and restore justice for the sake of my pitiful niece, Ninghua, Junyi, and Jinchuan.”

Baili Qingcang’s sharp eyes swept over the palace maids at the side. “What are you waiting for? Hurry and help your Master up!”

With the help of the palace maids, Noble Consort Qi barely managed to get up. Yang Yingxue was trying to help her too, but she brushed off her hands and pushed her away.

“Yang, back then, you self-recommended yourself to be Jinchuan’s maid, and Jinchuan appointed you as his side concubine. He has always treated you well. Today, you should answer Princess Zhaohua’s question truthfully. Why is there the smell of the abortion prevention medicine on your body? You don’t have to be in a hurry to deny it. You have to know that if you really did something, we would be able to find out the truth once we investigated the matter. Tell us the truth, and I’ll forgive you for the sake of Jinchuan. If you don’t and we find out the truth ourselves, no one can save you by then!”

Yang Yingxue fell to her knees. “Your Grace, I-I didn’t do anything. I don’t know anything about abortion prevention medicine…” She gritted her teeth and tried her best to stop herself from trembling violently. She couldn’t admit it. Once she admitted it, everything would be exposed, and she would be doomed.

Shen Ninghua sighed and walked to Yang Yingxue. “Side Concubine Yang, are you sure you haven’t touched any medicinal herbs?”

“No, I haven’t touched any medicinal herbs, and I don’t know anything about abortion prevention medicine!” Yang Yingxue denied it firmly.

“Can you please give me your silk handkerchief?”

“W-What?” Yang Yingxue suddenly tensed up and twisted the handkerchief in her hand tightly.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Shen Ninghua reached out and directly pulled the silk handkerchief out of her hand. “Imperial doctor, since you can judge the time of death of the deceased, you can also distinguish the smell on the silk handkerchief.”

The moment the imperial doctor took it and smelled it, his admiration for Shen Ninghua deepened. He had to lean closer and carefully smell it to distinguish the medicinal smell on the silk handkerchief, yet Princess Zhaohua could smell it from such a distance, and she could even tell that it was coming from the abortion prevention medicine. She was able to do so because of her extremely sensitive sense. “Your Majesty, there is indeed the smell of abortion prevention medicine on the handkerchief.”

Baili Qingcang snorted coldly, “Yang Yingxue, do you mind explaining it?”

Yang Yingxue knelt on the ground, feeling a chill rising from her knees to her heart, freezing her blood. “I… I…”

Lv Rou suddenly pounced in front of Yang Yingxue and stammered, “S-Side Concubine Yang, you forced Miss Qi to come here to meet Princess Zhaohua. It has nothing to do with me. Miss Qi, if you want to seek revenge, here she is. It’s not my fault. Please don’t come to me!”

Yang Yingxue’s body stiffened. She wanted to slap Lv Rou to death right there and then so that she wouldn’t ruin her plan.

Shen Ninghua asked coldly, “Lv Rou, you said that Side Concubine Yang threatened Qi Ying to come here to meet me? In other words, all of this is a trap, right?”

“Yes, it’s Side Concubine Yang’s plan all along. She said that she would help Miss Qi purchase abortion prevention medicine on one condition, which for her was to meet you here. Then, she ordered me to do as she instructed.”

“Everything you said before was taught to you by Side Concubine Yang. It is not the truth at all, right?”

“Yes! Those words were intended to frame you, Your Highness.”

“Who killed Qi Ying then?”

“I don’t know. Miss Qi was still alive when I went to see you, but when we came back, she was already on the ground.”

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“Did Side Concubine Yang force Qi Ying to write the note too?”

“Yes. At first, Miss Qi refused to do so, but in the end, Side Concubine Yang persuaded her to do it. Side Concubine Yang personally gave her a writing brush and paper.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “No wonder the paper was stained with crystal powder on Side Concubine Yang’s dress. It must have stuck on the paper when she sent the writing brush and paper over. Father Emperor, I have finished asking the questions. I think you have the general idea about the incident now.”

Noble Consort Qi’s face was full of anger and sadness. She pointed at Yang Yingxue and trembled with anger. “Yang, why do you do this to Ying’er?! What did she do that you want her dead?! You even set up such a cunning trap to plot against Jinchuan and Ninghua. He is your husband, and she is your cousin! Are you still a human?”

Yang Yingxue, who was kneeling on the ground, slowly raised her head. Her eyes were filled with tears. “Your Grace, it is because I am a human that I did this. I did it because I love Baili Jinchuan! I love him!”

“Witch! If you love him so much, why do you try to damage his reputation?”

“Because I was forced into a dead-end! You eagerly wanted to marry Qi Ying to Second Prince. She is your niece. Once she enters the mansion, I’ll lose his favor and my stature in the mansion! You left me no choice but to do this!”

Noble Consort Qi’s face turned pale, and she almost fainted on the spot. “You… Even if she doesn’t enter the mansion, there will be other women to take her place. Are you saying that you will harm all the women who are going to marry the Second Prince?”

Yang Yingxue looked up at Baili Jinchuan, who was standing not far away. His cold face was reflected in her eyes, and his gaze was as calm as water. It was as if he was looking at a stone instead of a person. Only when he looked at Shen Ninghua would there be some emotions and lights in his dark eyes. She loved him to the moon and back, yet he regarded her as if she was invisible…

As she dwindled into her thought, the despair and disappointment in her heart slowly drowned out her rationality. “Shen Ninghua can have a Royal Prince by herself. Why can’t I do the same with Second Prince?”

Consort Qi grunted in disbelief, “What kind of logic is this? Ninghua is Fifth Prince’s main wife, so she can do whatever she wants. You are just a side concubine. What makes you think that you can do so?”

“If I were the official wife, I would throw all the other women out of the mansion even if I was branded to be a horrible shrew! I don’t have to painstakingly make up a plan like this just to eliminate one contender!”

“You… you are full of nonsense!” Noble Consort Qi turned to glare at Baili Jinchuan and bellowed in exasperation, “Just look at her! This is the result of you appointing her as the side concubine. She would not have the courage to do so if she was just a bedroom concubine!”

Yang Yingxue chuckled in a low voice. “Haha! No, you’re wrong. It’s not because I become courageous. It’s because I love him so much that I can’t allow anyone to join us in our relationship! Your Grace, don’t you feel jealous when you see the Emperor go to the other imperial concubines’ palaces? Don’t you feel jittery? Any woman who loves her husband deeply can’t watch him dote on another woman without jealousy.”

Everyone present was silent. Seeing her like this, many women felt pity for her. Although she was indeed vicious, her affection towards the Second Prince tugged at their heartstrings.

Yang Yingxue met Baili Jinchuan’s eyes. “Your Highness, am I right?”

Lin Feiran secretly gritted her teeth and stared at Yang Yingxue with disgust. At first, she thought that the latter was a good partner in crime, but she didn’t expect her to be so useless. Her palace maid was even worse! She was doing a great job in the beginning, but now, she confessed everything without any torture! The two of them were so useless!

The Third Prince was also processing everything quickly. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows and said, “Side Concubine Yang, since you have the evidence of Qi Ying being pregnant with another man’s child, you can threaten her not to marry Second Royal Brother. Why did you kill her?”

Yang Yingxue laughed coldly, “No matter what, she was the Eldest Young Lady of the Qi Family. Maybe someone will clean up her mess and stuff her into Second Prince’s mansion. She won’t be a threat to me when she’s dead. I’m sure you know this fact very well, right, Third Prince?”

“What the hell are you talking about?! Don’t try to drag me into this mess. Since you want her dead, you can just kill her. Why do you want to implicate Shen Ninghua? Are you suggesting that there is something going on between her and Baili Jinchuan?”

The smile on Yang Yingxue’s face froze. She turned to look at Baili Jinchuan. “Master, you should know the reason why I did this, right?”

Baili Jinchuan looked at her calmly. From beginning to end, there were no emotions in his line of sight. Hearing this, he slowly walked over to Baili Qingcang and knelt down. “Father Emperor, Yingxue made a grave mistake because of me. I am responsible for this matter. I hope that Father Emperor can spare her life. I am willing to take the punishment on her behalf.”

Baili Qingcang had a serious expression. “There’s no need to be in a hurry to talk about punishment. Let her explain things clearly first.”

Yang Yingxue suddenly burst out laughing. “Haha! Haha! Ha!” Baili Jinchuan, you always know how to break my heart thoroughly. It’s not that you don’t understand love, but you’ve given all your love to Shen Ninghua, someone who can never love you the same!

The Third Prince hissed coldly, “Side Concubine Yang, you haven’t answered me yet. Why do you drag Shen Ninghua into this?”

After a long while, Yang Yingxue stopped laughing. It was as if her entire body had been drained of strength. “Haha! We are all pitiful and pathetic… Why do I drag Shen Ninghua into this? Because I’m jealous of her, of course. She has a pair of twins, but I’m alone. She can have her husband all to herself, but I have to share mine with other women. I’m jealous of her noble status, while my status as a side concubine is lowly and insignificant. Is this enough. What else do you want to hear, Third Prince?”

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