Princess Eight had no idea about the Empress Dowager's good intentions. She only thought that the latter had also been deceived by Yun Xi's innocent appearance. Immediately, she jealously sneered:
"In those operas, it is sung that some women may seem harmless on the surface, but actually they have hidden motives!
"Relying on their own intelligence and beauty, they manipulate those around them. They not only make men fight for them and turn brothers against each other, but also use men to climb up the social ladder and ultimately reap all the benefits! They are promiscuous and extremely scheming!"
If Princess Eight's words were rather implicit before, now they were almost blatant insults!
Even if Yun Xi wanted to pretend not to understand, or the Empress Dowager wanted to cover it up for her, it would seem forced and unjustifiable.
" Wan'er!"
The Empress Dowager let out a stern shout, with an unhappy look on her face.
She had heard Princess Eight gossiping in front of her, and she knew that the princess disliked Yun Xi. However, she had her own considerations and would never allow Princess Eight to be so presumptuous. Publicly slandering the innocence of a noble young lady!
This would make people criticize the upbringing of their royal family!
"What? Anyway, I'm not wrong! She is exactly such a person! She not only seduced the Seventh Brother, but also made Yu'er disobey the Emperor because of her!"
Princess Eight stared at Yun Xi with an overbearing look, showing no sign of remorse.
The Empress Dowager had already heard about what happened at the palace banquet on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month. But she knew that the truth was very different from what Princess Eight described.
Just because Princess Eight was biased against Yun Xi didn't mean the Empress Dowager would believe her words. Moreover, the Emperor's behavior had become increasingly abnormal recently, which gave her a huge headache. She didn't want to cause more trouble on other matters!
The Empress Dowager was just about to say something to excuse Princess Eight. However, Yun Xi, who should have been angry, didn't seem to care. Instead, she spoke up for Princess Eight:
"Princess Eight likes watching operas. It's understandable that she mistakes the characters in the opera for real people. After all, someone went to great lengths to please her and wrote such a script. It's hard not to get involved in the plot..."
As soon as Yun Xi said this, there was a hidden meaning in her words. Not only Princess Eight, but even the Empress Dowager was slightly stunned. Her eyes narrowed slightly, showing a sharpness she had never had before.
"What do you mean by that, Yongning?"
Although Princess Eight was a bit naughty on weekdays, she was still the daughter the Empress Dowager cherished. She would never allow anyone to use Princess Eight!
Facing the Empress Dowager's inquiry, Yun Xi smiled and glanced at Princess Eight.
"Replying to the Empress Dowager, before I entered the palace, I heard that the Prefectural Magistrate of Jingzhao had arrested a troupe of actors. They had privately accepted money and arranged a play on short notice, which caused a disaster and almost cost a young master surnamed Li his life!
"Coincidentally, that theater was exactly the East City Pear Garden that Princess Eight often visited. I wonder if Princess Eight had watched that ingenious play?"
After hearing Yun Xi's words, the Empress Dowager looked confused, as if she didn't understand what Yun Xi meant.
However, Princess Eight's face suddenly changed. She stood up abruptly, and her overbearing face was immediately filled with anger:
"Are you saying that the play was deliberately arranged for me?!"
She quickly walked up to Yun Xi and aggressively questioned her.
Yun Xi also stood up. Her face was calm and smiling, but there was obvious ridicule in her eyes:
"I wouldn't dare to say that. Moreover, my words may not be convincing to you. Since Princess Eight wants to know, why don't you ask Lord Liang, the Prefectural Magistrate of Jingzhao? I'm sure such a just person as Lord Liang will surely answer all of Princess Eight's questions."
Watching the two of them arguing back and forth, the Empress Dowager, who had been kept in the dark, finally noticed something was wrong.
" Wan'er, what on earth is going on?"
The Empress Dowager's face darkened, and her eyes stared sternly at Princess Eight.
Under that majestic gaze, Princess Eight couldn't help but shrink back. She pursed her lips and stubbornly refused to speak.
At this time, Mrs. Zhen, who had been waiting for an opportunity to speak, suddenly stepped forward and knelt in front of the Empress Dowager, crying:
"Empress Dowager, I am guilty! I have failed to educate my daughter well. She injured the young master of the Duke's family and has been imprisoned in the jail of the Prefectural Magistrate of Jingzhao for interrogation!
"But my daughter is still young, and she just wanted to protect her friend. She has no malicious intentions at all! I hope the Empress Dowager can show mercy and forgive my daughter's sins!"
Seeing this, Yun Xi also knelt down in front of Mrs. Zhen and respectfully kowtowed:
"Empress Dowager, everything is caused by me. It has nothing to do with the Sixth Miss of the Zhen Mansion. I already feel ashamed that my friend has been punished because of me. If the Duke's family insists on pursuing this matter, I am willing to take all the blame!"
Watching the two people who were chatting happily just a moment ago suddenly kneel in front of her, the Empress Dowager immediately guessed what was going on and looked at Princess Eight. Her face was so gloomy that it seemed to drip water.
" Wan'er, don't you have anything to say?"
Putting all the clues together, the Empress Dowager had already roughly guessed the whole story and came to a conclusion:
Princess Eight had caused another trouble! And this time, someone was injured and the young lady of the Zhen family was imprisoned!
It was really outrageous!
Princess Eight, who had originally wanted to hide the truth from the Empress Dowager for a while, became even more angry when she saw that the truth couldn't be hidden and someone had come to complain. She pointed at Yun Xi and arrogantly shouted:
"It's all because of this vixen!
"I just wanted to give her some punishment so that she wouldn't play with the men of our royal family in the future. Who knew that not only did she cunningly escape, but also Li Ji was injured!"
She had lost more than she gained. She was the one who was full of anger, okay?!
Seeing Princess Eight confusing right and wrong and being unreasonable, Yun Xi couldn't help but be angry and laughed. Her cold eyes stared at Princess Eight and said:
"It's okay that Princess Eight misunderstood me because of a play. But as a princess, you shouldn't have instigated my half - sister to deceive me to the Jade Tower and even lit aphrodisiac incense in the room, trying to design Young Master Li to ruin my innocence!
"Although I'm not as noble as the princess, I'm still a girl from a good family! Facing such a situation, if I didn't try my best to escape, should I just lie there like a fish on a chopping board and let others do whatever they want?"
Yun Xi's words were so firm and her questions were so powerful that they were really eye - opening!
It was okay for a royal princess to be a bit domineering. But using such despicable means to ruin a girl's innocence was really unacceptable!
Moreover, she knew she had done something wrong, but she still refused to admit her mistake. Instead, she blamed the other person for being cunning and not letting her succeed in her evil plan?
It was really shameless to distort the truth so blatantly!
"Mother, I didn't order anyone to light the aphrodisiac incense! Don't listen to her nonsense!"
Princess Eight was not convinced. She pointed at Yun Xi and angrily accused:
"She is exaggerating to gain sympathy and make you blame me!"
At this moment, the Empress Dowager's face was as gloomy as if covered by dark clouds. When she looked at Princess Eight again, she couldn't hide her disappointment.
"So, you did all the other things?"
The Empress Dowager's voice was cold, as if without a trace of warmth. Princess Eight realized that she had made a slip of the tongue and suddenly shut up.
Seeing her like this, the Empress Dowager almost knew everything. Immediately, she angrily said:
"Idiot! Kneel down for me!"
Being used like this without even realizing it, and still having the nerve to shout and defend herself?
She was really disgracing their royal family!