A twinge of regret welled up in her heart. But now that things had come to this pass, there was no turning back for her.
Gritting her teeth secretly, Yun Qianying said,
"Yes, I admit that I wrote that note. But I just scribbled it casually for a joke. Who knew that Cao Sheng was so stupid as to take it seriously?"
"But this is the only thing I did. The clothes really have nothing to do with me."
"A joke?"
Yi Yuan laughed out of extreme anger.
"Then this prince will also play a joke on Miss Yun. Mian Xiao and Lin An, throw her into the beggars' den outside."
"Brother!"
With a shrill scream, Yun Qianying trembled and darted behind Yun Qi.
"Your Highness,"
Reaching out to shield Yun Qianying behind him, Yun Qi looked ugly.
"My younger sister has done something wrong. As her elder brother, I will never show partiality to her. Even if the punishment is a bit severe, it doesn't matter. It can be a lesson for her and an apology to Miss Ye. But if Your Highness abuses his power just to vent his personal anger, I'm afraid I can't agree."
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Seeing that Yi Yuan didn't seem to be joking and Yun Qi also took it seriously, and they were still in Qionglin Garden, Ye Xi quickly tugged at Yi Yuan's long sleeve gently and gave him a soothing look. She said,
"General Yun, don't be in a hurry. A Yuan was just speaking out of anger for a moment. The punishment is necessary, but it's not too late to wait until all the things are clarified."
Then she turned to Lin An, who was staring closely at Yun Qianying and seemed ready to act immediately as soon as Yi Yuan gave an order.
"Lin An, you didn't mention this female official just now. Is she the female official in charge of preparing the clothes for today's banquet?"
"Yes, Miss."
Retracting his gaze with a hint of regret, Lin An pointed at the maidservant who was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
"I showed some scraps of the outer robe to this female official. She said that the clothes were not prepared by her. Since female guests usually bring their own clothes to the banquet, on the one hand, their own clothes fit better, and on the other hand, it can prevent accidents like today. So the clothes for the Qionglin Banquet are generally only cloaks for keeping warm, not a whole set of clothes."
"And the material of Miss's outer robe is not the fabric commonly used in the palace to make clothes for foreign officials and their families, but the one specially made for the maids in each palace. As for why it appeared in the place where Miss changed clothes, she doesn't know either."
The cloth for making clothes for maids was made exquisitely and gorgeously and appeared here. Only people from the royal family could do this.
But Ye Xi was just fine. How could she have offended someone from the royal family? And forced the other party to use such means instead of dealing with her openly.
There was only one possibility - being implicated by Yi Yuan.
After all, it was well - known that the Prince Yu'an's Mansion and the Shen family had almost completely fallen out because of the military pay. Yi Zhen was born to Concubine Shen, so she naturally stood on the Shen family's side.
But she was a princess, the daughter that Emperor Zhaohuan held in the palm of his hand and almost outshone even the third prince, the legitimate son of the queen.
Who among the people present dared to say a word?
Even Qiao Yan, who was usually the most carefree, sensed something was wrong.
The situation became even more strange. The young ladies and gentlemen who originally just wanted to watch the fun didn't know whether to leave or stay. They regretted it to the core.
Yi Yuan stood beside Ye Xi with his hands behind his back. His beast - like sharp eyes stared at Yi Zhen without blinking.
But Yi Zhen smiled coquettishly. Facing Yi Yuan's gaze, she looked back and said generously,
"In this case, I'm indeed the most suspected one. Although I'm a princess, since I'm suspected, I should naturally be investigated."
"All my confidants are here. Uncle Wang..."
Yi Zhen spread her hands gracefully, and the smile in her eyes grew stronger.
"You can ask whatever you want."
She was fearless and almost provocative.
Yi Zhen was certain that Yi Yuan couldn't find out anything.
Or rather, she was certain that Yi Yuan didn't dare to really ask.
Suddenly a wave of uneasiness welled up in Ye Xi's heart. She took two steps forward and was about to find an excuse to use her mind - reading ability. But suddenly Yi Yuan grabbed her sleeve.
"Don't go, Xiao Xi."
"What..."
"His Majesty is coming!"
Eunuch Zhang's shrill voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Ye Xi's unfinished words and breaking the deadlock.
It was as if they were suddenly fished out from the bottom of the lake. Everyone gasped for breath and knelt down to pay their respects.
Emperor Zhaohuan came smilingly surrounded by the crowd.
"Rise. What are you all doing here? The banquet is not over yet. There are delicious food and fine wine. Prince Yu'an, do you want to hide now?"
"I won't allow it. You can't leave until you're drunk today."
Lowering his eyes slightly, Yi Yuan said indifferently,
"I appreciate Your Majesty's kindness, Your Majesty."
"But Xiao Xi has been bullied, and her hand injury, which had just improved a little, has worsened. I'm extremely heart - broken. I really have no intention to attend the banquet anymore. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Frowning, Emperor Zhaohuan scanned the crowd sternly.
"Such audacity! Who is so bold?"
"Your Majesty,"
Eunuch Zhang cooperated in time.
"This old servant saw that the person on the ground seemed to be Young Master Cao."
Grand Tutor Cao also quickly stepped forward and walked to Cao Sheng's side. He picked up the man and took a look. Then he knelt down shamefully and said,
"Your Majesty, it's really my useless grandson."
"I really didn't expect that he would dare to do such a thing that shames the family. I'm really ashamed to face others. Your Majesty can punish him severely. I will never shield this rebellious son at all!"
The three of them sang in chorus, obviously trying to make Cao Sheng take all the blame.
Anyone with a bit of sense could see the trick. But Qiao Yan was straightforward and fearless. Seeing that they only cared about Cao Sheng and were afraid of missing Yun Qianying, she quickly answered,
"Your Majesty, there's also Miss Yun. If she hadn't written that note, there wouldn't have been so many things later. Xiao Xi's clothes..."
"Miss Qiao is right,"
Yun Qi knelt forward and directly interrupted Qiao Yan's words.
"It's my younger sister who had a wrong thought for a moment and did something wrong, which caused Miss Ye to be frightened and her injury to worsen. My parents are not in the capital now. As the elder brother is like the father, my younger sister made a mistake. I, as her elder brother, also have the responsibility of lax discipline. Your Majesty can punish me. I will take 60% of the responsibility. I have no complaints."
"Yun Qi..."
Qiao Yan stamped her foot anxiously and wanted to say more, but was quietly held down by Ye Xi and Liu Mengxian on one side each.
Ye Xi curtsied gracefully, lifted her hand that had been re - bandaged after applying medicine, and pretended to be angry.
"Your Majesty. Since I got this hand injury, it's inconvenient for me to eat and dress. It was just about to heal after the scab formed, but then I suffered this unexpected disaster. I'm really very angry."
"A Yuan is too concerned about Duke Cao and General Yun, who are as loyal and kind as he is. He's hesitant and can't make a decision. Fortunately, Your Majesty is here. Since I'm the victim, I'll be so bold and willful today. Please, Your Majesty, make the decision for me and beat them both severely with a stick to vent my anger."
Hesitant and unable to make a decision?
Just now when he snapped Cao Sheng's bones and didn't allow everyone to leave, he had nothing to do with this word.
Glancing at Ye Xi, who looked serious and was not the least bit embarrassed, the princes and young masters who had watched the whole process couldn't help but want to laugh. No wonder the Prince Yu'an had been indifferent to women for so many years but took a fancy to this unknown Ye Xi. It seemed that indeed, birds of a feather flock together.