"Your Ladyship!"
Juan'er, once Yu Xueming's personal maid, let out a startled cry and immediately rushed towards her upon seeing this.
As for Yu Xueming, when the antique was about to fall on her, she quickly covered her head with both hands and crouched down, hiding under Song Yulin's bent body!
Thanks to Juan'er's loyal protection and Song Yulin's shelter, Yu Xueming was only hit twice and wasn't injured. However, Song Yulin was hit by the heavy object. Her head was broken, and there were several bruises on the back of her hand.
"Yun Xi!"
Startled by what had just happened and looking at the mess on the ground with many precious antiques smashed, Yu Xueming gritted her teeth and glared at Yun Xi.
She almost wanted to bite a piece of flesh off Yun Xi!
Song Yulin was crying and wailing because she was worried about getting disfigured due to her injury. But Yu Xueming, after coming to her senses, immediately started to blame Yun Xi.
"I've already told you that these antiques are the Emperor's imperial gifts. I told you to take good care of them, but you dared to smash them all?!"
Yu Xueming's eyes turned fierce. She glared at Yun Xi coldly and shouted:
"Do you know what will happen if you damage the Emperor's imperial gifts? If things go badly, your whole family could be executed!"
She did plan to frame Yun Xi with this today. But because these antique jade wares were so precious and valuable, she was very reluctant to part with them. So after much deliberation, she only chose a relatively ordinary long - necked jade bottle carved from white jade.
Unexpectedly, Yun Xi had destroyed all the treasures on her shelf!
It felt like someone was stabbing at her heart. Yu Xueming was extremely heart - broken. Her expression became extremely sinister, with a fierce look in her eyes. She completely lost her usual false elegance.
In Yun Xi's eyes, she was just like a female demon who had sneaked out of hell!
Facing Yu Xueming's accusation, Yun Xi wasn't flustered. She raised the long - necked white jade bottle in her hand and said innocently:
"Your Ladyship, the Lady of Virtue, surely you don't have eye problems? It was clearly Lady Liu who rushed towards you and knocked into the display shelf. If you want to find someone to blame, you should look for her. The white jade bottle you gave me, I've been holding it carefully in my arms!"
She had run so far away. One reason was to avoid being hit, and the other was to deal with Yu Xueming and avoid being wrongly accused.
Hearing Yun Xi's words, Song Yulin suddenly remembered what Yu Xueming had said about "the execution of nine generations of the family". She immediately stopped wailing. Pointing at Yun Xi, she started scolding:
"It's all because you provoked me. Otherwise, why would I go after you and knock into the display shelf?!"
Song Yulin covered her injured forehead. She looked so angry that she seemed to want to eat Yun Xi alive.
However, Yun Xi ignored Song Yulin. She just smiled faintly and said to Yu Xueming:
"Your Ladyship, the Lady of Virtue, you've heard it. Lady Liu has admitted that it was she who knocked into the display shelf. You should be clear about this now, right?"
Yu Xueming was only eighteen years old. She wasn't old enough to be blind or deaf!
Realizing that she had been tricked, Song Yulin's face turned as red as liver. Her originally small eyes were now wide open like copper bells. She quickly knelt at Yu Xueming's feet:
"Your Ladyship, the Lady of Virtue! Don't listen to her sophistry. It was she who provoked me first. That's why I lost my temper for a moment. You saw it too!"
She had been called to the palace by Yu Xueming today to set a trap for Yun Xi. How could she end up being the one who got caught?
Thinking about Yu Xueming's hatred for Yun Xi, Song Yulin immediately added fuel to the fire:
"Yun Xi heard that the Emperor was going to betroth the fifth princess of Kekqin to the Prince Xian as his principal wife. So she got angry and deliberately damaged your imperial gifts to vent her anger. Moreover, she even tried to hurt you. I stopped her in time to prevent you from getting hurt!"
Song Yulin told this series of lies without batting an eyelid, which made Yun Xi couldn't help but be in awe.
"Lady Liu, weren't you a straw - sandal maker in your previous life?"
Surprised by Yun Xi's sudden question, Song Yulin was momentarily stunned. Frowning, she looked at Yun Xi and asked:
"What do you mean?"
Was she still in the mood to talk nonsense when she was about to be in big trouble?
Yun Xi suddenly smiled, with a teasing expression:
"Otherwise, how could you be so good at making up stories? You knocked down so many of the Emperor's imperial gifts, but it has turned into a great deed? Your eloquence and thick skin are really admirable!"
Even in the drama scripts, no one would make up stories like this!
Stung by Yun Xi's words, Song Yulin blushed. She was so angry that she couldn't say a word. At this time, Yu Xueming snorted and said:
"Yun Xi, you've damaged so many imperial gifts, but you still refuse to admit your mistake and shift the blame onto others. You say you're innocent. Who saw it?"
Everyone in this room was from her palace. There was only Yuzhu, Yun Xi's maid, while she had Song Yulin and all the other palace servants to testify.
So what if Yun Xi was innocent this time? She was going to pin the blame on Yun Xi!
Seeing Yu Xueming showing her shameless side, Yun Xi felt a slight chill in her heart. But the corner of her lips suddenly curled up into a mocking smile:
"Yu Xueming, justice prevails in the world. As a human being, I advise you to be kind. Don't think that in this palace, the Emperor will only listen to your one - sided story!"
After saying that, Yun Xi bowed respectfully towards the door and said:
"Yun Xi pays respects to Your Ladyship, the Lady of Honor, and Your Ladyship, the Lady of Grace."
As Yun Xi's voice fell, the Lady of Honor and the Lady of Grace appeared at the door together. Looking at the mess on the ground in the room, the Lady of Honor slightly raised her phoenix - like eyes and glanced at Yu Xueming, whose face instantly turned pale. She said in a disdainful tone:
"Lady Yu, the Lady of Virtue, what's going on here? You've wantonly trampled on the Emperor's kindness like this. From what I've heard, it seems that you're even trying to frame an innocent person?"
In this harem, there were strict hierarchical rules. The first rank was the Empress, the second was the Imperial Noble Consort, and the third was the Lady of Virtue like Yu Xueming.
And the Lady of Honor was second only to the Empress!
"Your Ladyship, the Lady of Honor, the Lady of Virtue pays respects!"
Yu Xueming hurriedly knelt down to pay her respects. Her shoulders were slightly shaking as she tried to defend herself:
"Your Ladyship, please be discerning. How dare I trample on the Emperor's kindness? It was all because Yun Xi deliberately incited Lady Liu that this happened. I'm not framing her!"
Yu Xueming originally wanted to reverse the truth and pin the blame of damaging the imperial gifts directly on Yun Xi.
However, judging from the current situation, it seemed that the Lady of Honor had been here for a while. She hadn't even let the servants in her palace report her arrival, which obviously meant that she had heard a lot.
So she could only answer truthfully. Anyway, even if Yun Xi wasn't the main culprit, she couldn't escape the blame!
Yu Xueming had a deep fear of the Lady of Honor. Because when she was brought to the palace by the Eighth Princess, she was hidden in the Lady of Honor's palace. Later, when she was taken in by the Emperor, it also happened in the Lady of Honor's palace!
Therefore, the Lady of Honor disliked Yu Xueming very much. She thought that the other woman had not only dirtied her palace but also snatched the Emperor's favor from her.
Since Yu Xueming entered the palace, the Lady of Honor had often caused trouble for her. She almost tormented Yu Xueming every few days!
That was why Yun Xi took advantage of the Lady of Honor's jealousy. When passing by the Lady of Honor's palace earlier, she deliberately lingered for a while. When she saw the maids coming in and out, she loudly said to Yuzhu, "It seems that Lady Yu, the Lady of Virtue, is very much in the Emperor's favor. If she gives birth to a prince, her status will be even more stable!"
Sure enough, that maid lived up to expectations. She not only summoned the Lady of Honor but also brought along the Lady of Grace!
Yun Xi used others' spears to attack their shields!