Although Lord Xu and his wife didn't know exactly what had happened to their daughter, they were certain that she had suffered a great deal of injustice.
Looking at the beaten face, Lady Xu felt her heart ache. This was her most beloved daughter, who had been pampered all her life. When had she ever endured such humiliation?
"Your Majesty, it's better to summon a royal physician for Concubine Shu. Her face looks seriously injured," Concubine Jing frowned as she looked at Concubine Shu's wound. She wondered who could have been so ruthless.
"Concubine Jing makes a valid point. Someone, go and summon..." the royal physician. Before Yuan Yuchuan could finish his words, Mu Fengqie stepped forward and said,
"Your Majesty, there's no need for such trouble. Let me take a look." Mu Fengqie had just noticed the look of pity in Concubine Jing's eyes. It seemed that Concubine Jing and Concubine Shu had a good relationship.
She would help if she could. Moreover, a friend of a friend was also her friend, and she was quite generous to her friends.
"Yes. Concubine Shu, please forgive me," Mu Fengqie walked up to Concubine Shu and said. Then she lifted Concubine Shu's chin with one hand, examining the handprint on her face. She glanced at Xiao Yi, who was standing beside Concubine Shu, without being noticed.
Both Concubine Shu and Xiao Yi were startled by this glance. Could it be that this woman was so skilled in medicine that she had seen through that it was Xiao Yi who had beaten Concubine Shu? A flash of panic crossed Concubine Shu's eyes, but after hearing Mu Fengqie's words, she heaved a sigh of relief and composed herself.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Shu's wound was inflicted by an adult man with great force. If he had used a bit more strength, Concubine Shu's face would have been ruined," Mu Fengqie reported. In fact, it wasn't that serious. It was just swollen. Applying some ice cubes would do the trick, but since Mu Fengqie chose to say so, there was nothing they could do.
Hearing this, Lord Xu and Lady Xu's faces darkened. "Your Majesty, please seek justice for our daughter." If he ever found out who had done this, he would never let that person off.
Yuan Yuchuan was also shocked. He hadn't expected Concubine Shu's face to be so seriously injured. "Lord Xu, rest assured. I will never tolerate this."
Yuan Yuchuan sent someone to help Lord Xu and his wife up. "Concubine Shu, tell me what happened."
"Your Majesty, I don't know what I did to offend Lady Mu. She actually came up with such a vicious plan to harm me," Concubine Shu said as she leaned on Lady Xu's shoulder and sobbed loudly, as if she had suffered a great deal of injustice.
"Concubine Shu, please don't talk nonsense. How could Xingrou possibly harm you?" If she wanted to harm you, it wouldn't be now. This bitch dared to slander her. She would never let her off in the future.
However, after hearing Mu Xingrou's words, Concubine Shu became extremely angry. "Lady Mu, isn't Mu Rendong your younger brother?"
As soon as Concubine Jing heard about Mu Rendong, she understood what was going on. It seemed that Mu Rendong had tried to do something and had been caught by Concubine Shu. This was good. She would also add fuel to the fire.
"Your Majesty, I know this person. He is indeed Lady Mu's younger brother. When they entered the palace, they even stayed in my palace for a while," Concubine Jing said. But they had just been kneeling outside.
"Hmm? Why did he go to your palace?" Yuan Yuchuan didn't understand. The concubines in the harem were indeed allowed to have their family members visit, so Yuan Yuchuan didn't suspect why Mu Rendong had appeared in the palace.
"It was just a misunderstanding. Lady Mu's relatives entered the palace with Princess Tianlin and first came to my palace with my mother. Unexpectedly, Lady Mu's relatives were so disrespectful and shouted at me.
I was so angry at that time that I punished them to kneel. But I didn't expect that this Mu Rendong actually wanted to strike me. I had no choice but to let the guards beat them a few times. After all, they were Lady Mu's relatives, and I didn't want to make things too ugly," Concubine Jing said as if nothing had happened.
But Mu Xingrou was different. As soon as she heard Concubine Shu mention Mu Rendong, she began to panic. But when she heard Concubine Jing distort the facts and tell the emperor like this, she couldn't sit still anymore.
"Hmm, you did the right thing. I'm not blaming you," Yuan Yuchuan thought that such people really deserved to be taught a lesson. How dare they act so recklessly in the palace? It was already kind of Concubine Jing not to cut off Mu Rendong's head.
"Your Majesty, I'm wronged. My younger brother definitely didn't try to strike Concubine Jing that day," Mu Xingrou immediately knelt down. If she didn't explain, she might also be in trouble. This was absolutely not allowed.
She had finally climbed to this position and would never let it go.
"Lady Mu, do you mean that I'm lying?" Concubine Jing looked at Mu Xingrou and moved her lips silently. Four hundred taels...
Mu Xingrou immediately understood what Concubine Jing meant. She didn't expect Concubine Jing to use this matter to threaten her, but she had no choice but to submit.
"I dare not, Your Highness. Maybe I was too happy to see my relatives and remembered wrongly. Please forgive me," Mu Xingrou knelt on the ground, not daring to raise her head. She was afraid that the hatred in her eyes would be too obvious if she did.
"Hmm, the matter is already over. I didn't take it to heart," Concubine Jing said slowly as she looked at Mu Xingrou kneeling on the ground.
"Then what about Concubine Shu's matter?" Yuan Yuchuan started to inquire about Concubine Shu's matter after their farce ended.
"Your Majesty, I want to say that Mu Rendong is extremely arrogant. I don't know when he sneaked into my palace. At first, I didn't notice, but today when I needed someone, I found something wrong.
There was an extra person in my palace. I was afraid that he was a spy at that time, so I didn't dare to make a sound. I planned to find someone immediately, but that Mu Rendong actually tried to... take advantage of me when there was no one around me," Concubine Shu couldn't continue. The hint was so obvious that even a fool could understand.
Lady Xu hugged her daughter and cried after hearing this. Concubine Shu couldn't continue mainly because her face hurt. She gave Xiao Yi a look.
Xiao Yi nodded secretly and continued where Concubine Shu had left off. "Your Majesty, if it weren't for the fact that our lady managed to knock something down before she was knocked out by that brute, we wouldn't have noticed. Maybe our lady... Fortunately, we rushed in quickly, or that brute would have succeeded."
Xiao Yi said this with great emotion. Her mouth twitched, and big tears rolled down her face. She touched the ground with both hands and lowered her head. "Your Majesty, please seek justice for our lady!"