Chapter 399: 410

Baili Qingcang looked at Noble Consort Qi and pondered. Noble Consort Qi indeed had no reason to do this. She was responsible for the details of this banquet. It was a piece of cake for her to jeopardize the banquet if she wanted to, so there was no reason for her to use her palace maid to do such a thing. Moreover, he knew what kind of a person Noble Consort Qi was. Even though the Second Prince was her biological son, she had never participated in the fight between the princes.

“You’re so audacious! How dare you accuse my noble consort in front of me?!”

Qingyu, the palace maid, gritted her teeth, and her tone was particularly sharp. “No, Your Majesty, I didn’t accuse her. It was Noble Consort Qi who ordered me to do this. It was her who gave the hairpin to me. She also promised that she would let me out of the palace to reunite with my lover as long as I helped her complete this matter.”

“You lover?” Baili Qingcang’s eyes turned cold, and he keenly grasped the key point of her words.

Qingyu’s face turned pale as if she realized that she had given the game away. Then, no matter what Baili Qingcang asked her, she remained silent.

Baili Qingcang became more and more furious. “Okay, so you don’t want to say anything. Do you think that I won’t be able to investigate this matter just because you don’t say anything? If you be honest with me, I’ll punish only you. If you don’t, I’ll kill you, your family, and your lover!”

“No, Your Majesty, please don’t! I did all of this! It has nothing to do with my family and lover! Please, just kill me!”

Baili Qingcang heard the fear in the palace maid’s words, and his voice became colder and colder. “Do you think you can decide on my behalf? Or do you think that the master behind you can protect your family and lover against my rage?”

“Your Majesty… No, Your Majesty, it’s all my fault!” Qingyu’s face was full of panic as she looked at Baili Qingcang and pleaded.

“Tell me who is the mastermind, and I’ll spare your family and lover’s lives. If not, I will execute you, your family, and your lover by dismembering all of you! You have all the time in hell to explain to them why they die!”

Qingyu couldn’t help but look at the Third Prince and Noble Consort Li who were sitting on the seats. “Noble Consort Li, please say something. Please help me.”

Noble Consort Li looked horrified. When she heard this, she turned her head. “I don’t know you at all. Why should I speak for you?”

“Your Grace, you can’t do this. You were the one who promised to give me wealth and glory, and you even promised to help me leave the palace. That was why I agreed to do this. You can’t just deny it now that the matter has been exposed.”

“Impudent! I have been grounded in my own palace. When did I have contact with you?” At this time, she directly mentioned that she was grounded regardless of her dignity.

“You paid me to do this! You can’t just kick me away after using me!”

“Shut up! How dare you slander me!” Noble Consort Li got up and knelt down to Baili Qingcang. “Your Majesty, you know that I don’t have many people in the palace. Also, as you can see, that maid tried to blame it on Noble Consort Qi first and then me. This is the first time I’ve seen such a bold and sly palace maid. I’m innocent. Please clear my name.” She hinted to Baili Qingcang that the people she had planted in the palace had already been completely killed, so she had no ability to plot this matter at all.

A trace of despair flashed through Qingyu’s eyes when she heard Noble Consort Li’s words. “Your Grace, since you go back on your words, don’t blame me for letting the cat out of the bag. Your Majesty, I’ll confess. It was Noble Consort Li’s maid who gave the hairpin and arsenic to me. She also promised that once I did the task, she would give me a thousand taels of silver and then send me out of the palace. I was tempted by the money at that time and did such a disgraceful thing.”

Noble Consort Li’s face turned pale. “Your Majesty, she’s just spurting nonsense! She didn’t have any proof. Please don’t believe her words.”

“Your Majesty, I have evidence. I am the spy that Noble Consort Li put in Noble Consort Qi’s palace, and I’ve been her spy for the past three years. However, Noble Consort Li never ordered me to do any task, and I’ve been keeping a low profile, so I managed to escape the punishment that day. Despite that, Noble Consort Li gave me gold and silver as a reward every year. I carefully kept them and did not reveal anything. Originally, Noble Consort Li would not use me this time, but because of what happened the other day, she had lost too much manpower at one go, so she asked me to do the job. I recorded all the things that Noble Consort Li had given me on a small piece of paper, and the paper and the things are all hidden in the crack of bricks under my bed.”

Noble Consort Li felt a chill all over her body. Now, she finally understood that someone had thrown her under the bus! She stared fixedly at Noble Consort Qi, wishing she could bite off a piece of meat from her body. It was Noble Consort Qi. She was the one who framed her!

Noble Consort Qi frowned slightly. There was a trace of sadness and worry on her face. It seemed that she did not believe that Noble Consort Li would be so ruthless. However, she sneered in her heart. Last time, Noble Consort Li had bribed her palace maid and lured Baili Jinchuan into the palace. The Second Prince had almost fallen into the trap of the Lin Family and the Third Prince. An eye for an eye. This time, she was just “returning the favor”.

Shen Ninghua did not make a sound from the side. Her fingers gently stroked her stomach, and it finally dawned upon her. Qingyu seemed to be Noble Consort Li’s spy, but in reality, Noble Consort Qi had secretly bought her over. That explained why the drama of accusing Noble Consort Li unfolded today. This time, Noble Consort Li was completely doomed.

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Noble Consort Li panicked in her heart. “No, Your Majesty, that’s not the case. That’s not the case. I’ve never ordered that palace maid to do anything! Also, what good would it do to me to kill the Assistant Minister of Rites?”

Baili Junyi helped Shen Ninghua sit down and then said, “You killed the Assistant Minister of Rites to frame me. Just now, when the Assistant Minister of Rites died, Third Brother instantly accused me of killing him and he even had the audacity to say that I tried to take revenge on Father Emperor because of my birth origin. I found it very strange. He was an Assistant Minister of Rites, a lowly third-grade official. How could he have accidentally discovered my birth origin and even my plan to rebel?! He was so damn lucky, don’t you think? Others didn’t find out about these, but he did!”

Noble Consort Li suddenly turned her head. “Fifth Prince, please be careful with your words. The Third Prince is just making speculations. How can you take them seriously?”

“I was just speculating too. Your Grace, please don’t take it seriously.” Baili Junyi chuckled casually. “I just saw how Third Brother made all kinds of guessing just now, so I made some guesses myself. I hope you don’t mind, Your Grace.”

“You…” Baili Junyi’s words rendered Noble Consort Li speechless. She said as tears rolled down her cheeks, “Your Majesty, I’m innocent.”

Baili Qingcang stared at Noble Consort Li, feeling utterly disappointed in her. He felt even more embarrassed when this ridiculous farce unfolded in front of all the officials, and he felt increasingly disgusted with her. “Shut up! Stop making so much noise!”

Noble Consort Li’s heart skipped a beat. The Emperor seemed to be completely annoyed with her…

Baili Qingcang looked at Qingyu, who was kneeling on the ground. “Take her down and interrogate her properly. I will definitely investigate this matter to the very end. Alright, everyone, return to your seats.” After saying that, he swept his gaze across the hall before finally staring at Third Prince, and he let out a heavy snort.

The Third Prince’s face turned pale, and he became even more flustered. What did Father Emperor mean by that? Could it be that he had discovered something? When the Third Prince thought of this, he was so flustered that he almost couldn’t sit still. His fingers that were holding the wine cup trembled in fear.

At this time, Bu Yonghan stood up with a rather uneasy expression. “Your Majesty, it’s all my fault. I was just messing around, but I caused such big trouble. Please punish me, Your Majesty.”

“No, it’s not your fault. Someone planned this matter with ulterior motives. It has nothing to do with you. Even without you, this matter will be dragged out by other topics. Sit down.”

“Your Majesty, I am extremely envious of the Fifth Prince’s affection for princess Zhaohua, but I also know that I can’t get in between them, and I certainly don’t want to affect their relationship. However, I believe that your princes are all excellent. So, can you please bestow a marriage for me? From then on, the Da’an Kingdom and the Great Yue Kingdom will forever be on good terms.”

When Baili Qingcang heard this, the wrinkles on his forehead loosened abruptly. He was full of anger after what Noble Consort Li had done just now. If he took advantage of this matter to deal with Noble Consort Li and the Lin Family, Lin Feiran would be in an awkward position, and her marriage with the prince of the Great Yue Kingdom would be meaningless. He would feel extremely aggrieved too if he let Noble Consort Li off the hook just like that. However, it would be a completely different story if Bu Yonghan married one of his princes. Bu Yonghan’s status was much better than Lin Feiran’s.

Noble Consort Li’s face suddenly turned pale, and her heart skipped a beat. Her ruthless eyes fell on Bu Yonghan. What was Bu Yonghan doing?! Did she express her support for the Emperor to denounce her? What good was it for her?

Baili Qingcang couldn’t help but look at his sons. Bu Yonghan was a powerful aide. Logically speaking, Baili Junyi was the best candidate for her husband. They were cousins, but they were not closely connected, so they could marry each other. However, Baili Junyi was deeply in love with Shen Ninghua. He didn’t even want a bedroom concubine, let alone a princess. He couldn’t marry Bu Yonghan off to the Crown Prince in order to prevent his arrogance from increasing. The Third Prince and Fourth Prince were out of the equation since he wanted to deal with Noble Consort Li and the Lin Family. The only one left was Baili Jinchuan, the Second Prince.

“Jinchuan, you have been in the Prefectural Prince’s position for a while now. It is time for you to be promoted to the Royal Prince’s position. Alright now. The Second Prince, Baili Jinchuan, will be conferred the title of Royal Prince De.”

Baili Jinchuan paused and then stood up with a normal expression. He respectfully thanked Baili Qingcang, “Father Emperor, I thank you for your grace.”

“Alright, stand up. Yonghan, your marriage is not urgent. Today is your Sixth Brother’s farewell banquet. Don’t steal his limelight.”

Baili Qingcang did not say it explicitly, but the people below understood his implication clearly. He conferred the Second Prince a title of a Royal Prince, so he must be preparing for the Second Prince to marry Bu Yonghan. He said that the marriage was not urgent and that Bu Yonghan should not steal the limelight, but in fact, he was hinting to the family of the original future Second Princess Consort to come up with an excuse to reject the marriage, so that the position of Second Princess Consort would be available for Bu Yonghan.

Thinking of this, everyone could not help but look at General Ning Yuan, who was sitting at the side of the banquet. His legitimate daughter was the appointed future Second Princess Consort…

Noble Consort Li’s expression completely changed. She felt that everything was pitch black, be it her mind or vision. She was completely doomed. No wonder Bu Yonghan decided to speak at this time. Bu Yonghan had not yet married Second Prince, but she had already helped him eliminate his dissidents in advance. Without her support, the power of the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince would be greatly weakened. Bu Yonghan had already made such a contribution before she married the Second Prince. The Second Prince would definitely treat her well. The Second Prince would not be able to inherit the throne if he married a princess of another country, but at that time, he could come up with an excuse to demote her position to the side concubine and marry another daughter of an aristocratic family as the Second Princess Consort.

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