Before the voice faded, a young woman in a peach - colored palace dress was seen furtively checking her wrist. Mian Xiao was quick - eyed and grabbed her hand, scaring the woman into a scream.
Everyone's attention was drawn to her, and no one noticed that a fair and delicate hand also quietly clenched its wrist.
Ye Xi's smile deepened, and her black pupils under her long lashes sparkled like stars.
"Now we've got the answer," she said.
Only then did everyone realize that Ye Xi had deliberately made up that story to scare them. They couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for her.
Unexpectedly, Cao Shu took a few glances at Ye Xi and then eyed Cao Sheng, who was still standing there stupidly. With a meaningful smile, she praised,
"Little Xi is truly smart and clever. No wonder Father likes you so much."
"Your Majesty the Queen flatters me," Ye Xi replied with a smile and a curtsy, saying no more.
On the other side, the woman who had exposed her identity had already collapsed to the ground in fear, her face ashen and trembling like a sieve.
"Hey, this palace maid looks so familiar," a young lady who recognized the woman said naturally upon seeing her face.
"Indeed," another young lady chimed in right after,
"She seems to be..."
"Bold palace maid," Princess Yizhen suddenly scolded,
"To dare to do such a vicious thing is truly unheard of. Father, quickly have her dragged away for punishment."
Since someone had already recognized her and no interrogation had taken place yet, Yizhen's eagerness to have the maid punished made her intention to cover up the mastermind behind the scene all too obvious.
Everyone cast meaningful looks at Yizhen, whose face clearly showed discomfort.
"Zhen'er," Concubine Shen's eyes flashed with surprise and suspicion. She looked sternly at Yizhen and said,
"What do you, a young girl, know about interrogation and judgment? Don't interrupt casually."
"Yes, Mother Concubine," Yizhen quickly lowered her head and replied, but still tried to defend herself,
"Zhen'er just thinks that maid's mind is really terrifying..."
"Zhen'er," Emperor Zhaohuan said harshly,
"Tell the truth. Do you know the origin of this wretch?"
"Your subject... Your subject..." Yizhen stammered, and the uneasiness in her eyes was noticed by everyone.
"You two," seeing that Yizhen couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time, Emperor Zhaohuan angrily pointed at the two young ladies who had spoken earlier,
"Who on earth is this low - born maid?!"
The two young ladies were so scared that they knelt on the ground with a thud. Trembling, they said,
"Your Majesty, this maid is not a palace maid. She is a maid of Miss Qiao Yan."
"Yes," the other young lady quickly agreed,
"I had several encounters with this maid when she was by Miss Qiao's side, so I recognize her."
No wonder Princess Yizhen had been so eager to punish the maid earlier. It was to cover up for Qiao Yan. Everyone looked at Qiao Yan, who was standing there stunned, and started whispering.
"Tsk tsk, Qiao Yan always acts so straightforward and forthright on the surface, but actually has such a vicious mind in private. She's really good at pretending..."
"She seemed to have a feud with Miss Xi before. I saw her challenge Miss Xi in Nongqiao Garden with my own eyes..."
"As far as I know, Qiao Yan is also very fond of Prince Yu'an, but the prince likes Miss Xi so much. She must be jealous and hateful because of unrequited love and thus resorted to such a vicious act."
Qiao Yan finally came to her senses from the shock. Anger, shock, and disappointment welled up in her heart.
"Chun Yin," Qiao Yan shouted and rushed forward to question the maid,
"Why did you do such a thing?! Weren't you on leave to visit your parents?"
Ye Xi was faster. Regardless of the presence of the emperor and the concubines, she took a few quick steps forward and grabbed Chun Yin's wrist. In a solemn voice, she asked,
"Who instigated you? Why did you try to harm me?"
But it was already too late.
Black - purple blood flowed out from Chun Yin's mouth, ears, etc. Her face turned ashen, and she collapsed on the ground. Her lips were still moving, trying her best to explain,
"No... It has nothing to do with Miss. It's me... I'm just... I'm being over - ambitious and in love with Prince Yu'an... So... I..."
She couldn't say the rest of the words. Chun Yin had completely lost her breath.
But to Ye Xi's ears, it sounded like -
【I'm sorry, Miss. I'm sorry... I was also forced... My father and mother are in... in her hands. I'm going to die...】
Ye Xi frowned deeply. Who was this "her"?
Judging from Cao Wei's stupid words earlier, it was probably not her.
So... Could it be Yun Qianying who had been so calculatingly trying to kill her?
Ye Xi hadn't sorted out her thoughts yet when a rough - looking maid in a blackish - brown dress next to Chun Yin was so scared by Chun Yin's tragic death with blood oozing from all seven orifices that she let out a terrified scream and crawled backward on all fours.
Although Chun Yin had said before her death that it had nothing to do with Qiao Yan, those words seemed more like an attempt to exonerate Qiao Yan on purpose. The people who were on good terms with Qiao Yan were all in a state of anxiety. Hearing the maid's scream, Yizhen immediately frowned angrily and scolded,
"What are you screaming for? You've got nothing to feel guilty about!"
Unexpectedly, the maid got even more panicked upon hearing this. She knelt down in a hurry and kowtowed loudly,
"Your servant is guilty, your servant is guilty... Your servant accidentally saw Miss Qiao sneaking into the stable yesterday. But as a low - born servant, I was afraid of getting involved, so I didn't dare to say anything. I just sneaked in to take a look when no one was around. Since I saw nothing unusual, I didn't report it. It's all your servant's fault, all your servant's fault..."
Her confession was just the beginning. A young servant in an indigo - colored dress also started kowtowing and said,
"Your servant... Before going to distribute the arrows, Miss Qiao also came. She said she just wanted to see what the arrows for the Qingyun Competition looked like and how they were different from the military arrows. Your servant thought that just taking a look wouldn't cause any problem, so I showed Miss Qiao."
"It's your servant's lack of consideration. Please forgive your servant, Princess, Your Majesty, and Your Ladyship..."
Well, after these two spoke, it was almost certain that Qiao Yan was the mastermind behind the scene.
Yizhen was furious and shouted,
"Nonsense! A Yan never went there!"
Qiao He also angrily pointed at the two and roared,
"Spitting slander! Do you have any evidence for what you said?! As servants, slandering a noble young lady is a beheading offense!"
"Your servant doesn't dare..."
"Your servant doesn't dare..."
The two trembled and kowtowed even harder.
Ye Xi had quietly approached the two. Their innermost thoughts were indeed as they had said.
Ye Xi was confused. She then sneaked over to Qiao Yan to hear her side of the story.
Qiao Yan had never suffered such a great slander before. She was completely dazed. Seeing everyone's eyes fixed on her and Emperor Zhaohuan's face as cold as ice, he asked,
"Qiao Yan, is what they said true? What was your purpose for sneaking into the stable and checking the arrows?"
It seemed that he had already assumed that Qiao Yan had been there.
Although she had indeed gone, being questioned like this made it seem as if everyone had already regarded her as the vicious person. Qiao Yan was both angry and aggrieved. Stiffening her neck, she said,
"Your Majesty, your subject did go. But I didn't go there to poison anyone. I just..."