"Your Imperial Highness, it's just ahead."
Outside the main hall of Weiyang Palace, a group of people rushed over in a hurry, with different expressions on their faces.
Some sneered sinisterly, like Chu Heye; some looked around curiously, like He Mengchang; and some were confused, like the couple from the Yongning Marquis Mansion.
It was obvious that something extraordinary had led them here.
The one leading the way was Lan'er, An Xingzhi's maid. Behind her was the charming and smug Noble Consort An. "Tell me again, who exactly is inside the hall?"
"Your Imperial Highness, just now when this maid passed by Weiyang Palace, I saw His Highness the Second Prince dragging Miss Song in forcefully."
Lan'er didn't stop walking, with a look of shock and anxiety on her face. "This servant was worried that something had happened, so I begged Your Imperial Highness to come and take a look."
Noble Consort An gave her a slight glare. "Instead of going to seek an audience with the Empress, you've dragged this palace into this mess."
In the entire harem, everyone knew that the noble consort and the empress were on bad terms.
Moreover, each of them had a prince, and they were secretly competing with each other.
Now that there was a scandal about the Second Prince, whether it was true or false, Noble Consort An was definitely going to make a big deal out of it.
Her feigned anger was just for show in front of the noble ladies behind her.
Lan'er pretended to plead for mercy. "Your Imperial Highness, please forgive this maid. The situation was urgent. This servant didn't dare to delay too much, so I invited you here first to uphold justice."
As An Xingzhi's maid, it was naturally on An Xingzhi's instruction that she had revealed the matter of the Second Prince to Noble Consort An first.
Noble Consort An knew it well and waved her hand casually. "Fine, fine. This palace is not making things difficult for you. It's more important to go and see Miss Song first!"
Behind her were all the wives of the court officials who were attending the Empress's birthday banquet. They had all been attracted by Lan'er's shouts.
Now, hearing what Lan'er said, they were all whispering to each other carefully.
He Mengchang shook his head. "I never thought that the Second Prince, who usually seems so noble and upright, would actually be so forceful and overbearing in private!"
His voice was not low, and since those around him were all gossips, they naturally joined in the discussion.
"Today is the Empress's birthday, and the Second Prince dares to be so bold as to force the daughter of the vice minister!"
"His Majesty has always hated those who bring disgrace to the palace. The Second Prince might anger the Emperor this time!"
"Enough! It's not clear yet whether this matter is true or false. How dare you jump to conclusions!"
Chu Heye walked over from behind the crowd with a worried look on his face, his eyes filled with pain. "This palace believes that the Second Brother is definitely not such a person! There must be some hidden secrets in this matter!"
On the surface, he was defending his elder brother, but in fact, he was confirming the matter.
But his act of defending his elder brother was seen by everyone as respecting his elder brother and being benevolent and wise.
"His Highness the Third Prince is truly wise!"
"I hope the Second Prince is worthy of the Third Prince's respect for his elder brother!"
Chu Heye scanned the crowd, and his eyes briefly met those of Noble Consort An. Mother and son smiled secretly at the same time, each hiding their pride in their hearts.
There had always been disputes in the court because Emperor Chu had not yet established a crown prince. Chu Heyao and Chu Heye were of similar ages, and they were often compared by others.
But after today, Chu Heyao's reputation would be ruined.
Emperor Chu hated the behavior of bringing chaos to the palace the most. It was obvious that Chu Heye had a greater chance of becoming the crown prince.
The crowd soon arrived outside the hall.
Faint sounds seemed to be coming from inside the hall. But when they listened more closely, they seemed to disappear.
Noble Consort An was now completely convinced that it was Chu Heyao and Song Yiran inside the hall. She didn't want to waste any more time and let the people inside notice them. "Qiuju, go and push open the door!"
"Yes!"
Qiuju stepped forward. Just as her fingers were about to push the door, a solemn female voice came from behind. "Stop!"
The Empress Chu had received the news and rushed over with her maids. She happened to see Qiuju's action and immediately shouted coldly!
Qiuju's fingers paused slightly. From the corner of her eye, she saw Noble Consort An gesturing for her to continue. She bit her lip and was about to proceed!
"Slap!"
A dark figure rushed over in front of her, and then her right hand was raised high.
Qiuju only felt a sharp pain on her right cheek, followed by the sharp voice of the dark figure. "How dare you disobey the Empress's order? Are you tired of living?"
It was Qiaohui, the Empress's personal maid. Now she stood in front of the door with her hands on her hips and a furious look on her face!
"I didn't see the Empress coming out to uphold justice earlier, but now she's here just in time."
Noble Consort An bowed casually. "The Second Prince dragged Miss Song in forcefully. Does the Empress want to indulge and protect him?"
Because of the power of her family, Noble Consort An had always been arrogant and willful. Even the Empress, if she was in a bad mood, would not bother to pay attention to.
The Empress Chu knew her character well, and her eyes were filled with coldness.
But she also knew that although Emperor Chu doted on Noble Consort An on the surface, he had complained about her many times in private for being spoiled and arrogant.
If it weren't for the fact that Grand Tutor An was the Emperor's teacher and that all of the An family's disciples had entered the court as officials, he wouldn't have had to pretend to dote on Noble Consort An so much!
"Dear sister Noble Consort is so simple-minded. No wonder you've been deceived by others!"
The Empress Chu knew exactly who was inside the main hall of Weiyang Palace.
In order to protect Emperor Chu's reputation, she would never let anyone in today.
"Yao'er has been in my palace all day. When did he enter Weiyang Palace?"
She looked down at the crowd with a cold and imposing manner. Her eyes slowly fell on Lan'er. "It must be you, this lowly maid, who caused this chaos and spread rumors. Drag her down and give her eighty strokes of the cane!"
Eighty strokes of the cane?
Even a strong man couldn't bear such a punishment, let alone Lan'er, who was just a woman. This was probably going to take her life!
Lan'er immediately knelt down in fear. "Your Majesty, please spare my life. This maid didn't spread rumors!"
She secretly raised her head and looked at Noble Consort An for help. "This maid really saw the Second Prince forcing Miss Song!"
"Presumptuous!"
The Empress Chu's eyes were cold and fierce. "This palace says that the Second Prince has never been to Weiyang Palace today. Do you think this palace is lying?"
Lan'er lowered her head and cried. "This maid wouldn't dare!"
She said she didn't dare, but it seemed as if she had been forced by the Empress and had no choice but to back down.
One was strong and the other was weak. Naturally, some people would believe the weak one.
Noble Consort An twirled the long hair beside her ear and sneered. "It's hard to convince everyone just based on the Empress's one-sided words. Why don't we let everyone take a look inside the hall? Whether there's someone or not, we'll know the truth at a glance! What does the Empress think?"
"Today is this palace's birthday. Inside the hall is a precious gift prepared by my family for this palace in advance. This palace doesn't want to share it with others!"
The Empress Chu refused. "As for Yao'er, he has never been to Weiyang Palace today, but he has been maliciously speculated about!"
"Since the Second Prince is not in Weiyang Palace, then the Empress might as well send someone to summon the Second Prince for confrontation."
Noble Consort An raised her eyebrows and smiled lightly. The hairpin on her temple swayed gently. "It'll also clear the Second Prince's name, right?"
She was convinced that it was Chu Heyao inside Weiyang Palace, so she naturally wouldn't back down.
If the Empress Chu refused again, she might order someone to force their way into Weiyang Palace.
The Empress Chu raised her eyebrows and sneered. "Dear sister Noble Consort really wants to see Yao'er?"
"Of course. If we don't see the Second Prince, we won't be able to silence the gossips today!"
Noble Consort An's eyes were lazy and charming. Everyone she glanced at agreed wholeheartedly. "Please, Your Majesty, clear the Second Prince's name!"
The Empress Chu nodded and scanned the crowd one by one. Instead of getting angry, she smiled. "Fine! Since that's the case, go and summon the Second Prince!"