However, Hua Qiyue avoided every single dangerous moment.
Without a master"s guidance, it"d be impossible for Hua Qiyue to have such mysterious footwork. Thus, Changlong Emperor wanted too entice Hua Qiyue as he was sure that this woman was no normal woman.
"Qiyue, I didn"t expect the Emperor to crown you as Princess Jinghua. Your father will be glad to hear that." On their seats, Old Madame explained excitedly to her.
Hua Qiyue smiled lightly. From her memory, Hua Liting was someone who loved his dead wife and did not abandon her because she was useless.
However, the general was a careless man and did not notice that his daughter was bullied by those in his court. Furthermore, he went to defend the border for years, knowing not how Hua Qiyue was bullied in the family.
However, he did pa.s.s off as a good father.
"Grandmother, being crowned as the princess... might not be a blessing. This crowning made everyone know that we have Long Red." Hua Qiyue smiled. "However, we cannot hide the miracle medicine in the family for long... Qi Artists all had excellent sources of information."
Old Madame did not think much of that as she believed that the Emperor did notice her when he crowned her when a princess.
Furthermore, a supreme master was guiding Hua Qiyue. That would be another extraordinary man who would protect her.
The dinner had begun. Countless delicacies were on the table and people drank freely. A few ladies came to chat with Hua Qiyue too.
Hua Qiyue treated them with courtesy. In the midst of their gossip, Princess Huiling shouted, "Dad! Mum! Grandmother! Pardon me for being unfilial!"
As she spoke, she kneeled down.
Hua Qiyue"s eyes squinted. tonight was was a perfect opportunity to pull Huizhen under the water.
Princess Huiling"s words scared everyone. Laughter and chatter disappeared as they all stared at the kneeling Princess Huiling.
The Emperor, the Queen, and Empress Dowager also felt surprised. Princess Huizhen"s expression changed as she glanced at Cuilian subconsciously.
Cuilian"s eyes were swollen as Princess Huizhen had punished Nanny Shao, Cuilian"s aunt, to death yesterday because she broke Princess Huizhen"s precious vase. She ordered the servants to beat her 100 times, resulting in her death.
The news of her aunt"s death naturally ruined Cuilian"s mood.
"What do you mean, kid? Come up!" Empress Dowager was in an extremely good mood tonight as Hua Qiyue"s gift of two Long Reds were magical herbs that could not be bought easily.
"Yes, Ling, what"s wrong with you? Get up, I won"t blame you for your past mistakes." The Emperor smiled as he was also in a good mood.
Princess Huiling bit her lips and explained, "Daddy, Mummy, Grandma... Ling should not be reporting this matter to everyone today as it would spoil the mood of Empress Dowager"s birthday celebration. However, this matter is significant and cannot be dragged on. Thus, I urge for Dad, Mum, and Grandmother to remain calm after hearing what I have to say!"
The Emperor"s expression turned solemn. "Speak your mind, Ling!"
The Queen"s expression turned awkward too. She squeezed her hand tight to calm herself down.
Princess Huizhen seemed to have not realized that something was amiss. She smirked and sipped on her tea.
Princess Huiling stood up. "Dad, Mum, Grandma... as I had frequently left the palace with my sister due to Ji family"s tournament, I noticed that she had always been finding Zhou Zhicheng at Dong Hai Restaurant. I heard their conversation!"
Hearing Zhou Zhicheng"s name, the Emperor"s face darkened.
All children from the imperial family should marry a fine spouse, and Zhou Zhicheng wasn"t ideal in his heart.
Ji Feng and Ji Jing were uninterested in the gossips of the imperial family. However, Ji Jing left her seat to chat with Hua Qiyue while Ji Feng remained in his seat, glancing over from time to time.
"I heard that... my sister and Zhou Zhicheng talked about Mrs Zhou. My sister said that the b.i.t.c.h"s son was white and chubby now. She wanted to kill him!"
Princess Huiling imitated Princess Huizhen so well that one could not tell who it was without looking at her.
Princess Huizhen"s face turned cold as she stared at Princess Huiling expressionlessly. She did not expect her to eavesdrop on her conversation with Zhou Zhicheng.
Her words shocked everyone.
The Emperor slammed hard on the table as he shouted, "b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Huiling, I could punish you now for lying!"
Princess Huiling kneeled down again. "Daddy, when I heard what my sister said, I was scared and frightened, and thus I sent someone to investigate the mysterious death of Mrs Zhou, and I discovered... that my sister really did order Nanny Shao and Nanny Liu to kill Mrs Zhou!"
Princess Huiling"s words made everyone shocked. Empress Dowager"s face turned pale as she realized that the cruel acts by the princess was a disgrace to their imperial family.
"Ling, you have no evidence. Stop saying nonsense! Come, the princess is drunk, pull her down!"
The Queen was red with raging as well as she shouted at the princess. Even though Princess Huizhen was shivering out of rage too, she remained silent as the Qi Artist next to her consoled her.
"Princess, they had no evidence. Please remain calm."
After all, Princess Huizhen knew that she should not provoke the Queen ever since she was angry the previous time, as the consequences are unbearable.
Without any evidence, Huiling would only be punished by the Queen while the quiet and "framed" Huizhen would be more loved b Dad and Mum.
"Dad! Mum, I have a witness! Come, bring Nanny Liu here!"
Princess Huiling shouted as Nanny Liu was brought up to the chamber. Shivering, she kneeled down and recounted what had happened the previous day. The face of Princess Huizhen was as gloomy as the stormy night sky.
"Dad, Mum, Grandma, I am being framed! Nanny Liu did something wrong and was fined two months of salary by me. Thus, her act was to seek revenge on me!" Having been exposed, Princess Huizhen could not endure any further. She stood up and explained herself loudly.
Princess Huiling snorted. "Sister, I was still hesitating to expose you, but I"m afraid that you would make countless mistakes after this, and thus I brought more witnesses here to stop you! Of course, I also have Xiao Die, an ex-servant of Mrs Zhou. However, she was forced to be a spy by you!"
Huiling clapped her hands, as the servants brought up the fifteen years old servant Xiao Die.
Hua Qiyue"s heart skipped a bit as she noticed that the left side of Xiao Die"s face had been completely destroyed, with only the other side complete. Looks like she did leave her for the princess during the day of her death.
"Greetings from Xiao Die to the Emperor, the Queen, and Empress Dowager... Here are the letters and notes that I had obtained when I was the spy. They were all written to me by Cuilian."
After saying which, Xiao Die pa.s.sed the notes into the hands of the guard while shivering. The guard then pa.s.sed it to the Emperor.
The Emperor"s face turned green as he stared at the content of the notes. It clearly stated that she wanted to harm Mrs Zhou, Rong Qiyue.
"Mum, Dad, please believe in me! They all collaborated to frame me!" Princess Huizhen was still lying.
For a moment, the atmosphere of the chamber was akin to the dark night outside.
The gold tiles of the foil reflected cold but luxurious light, as well as the chills in everyone"s heart.
The murderous intent in Huiling"s eyes and the rage of Princess Huizhen, coupled with the fierce Emperor, made all lower their heads to avoid eye contact with the two princesses.
Old Madame frowned as she did not expect the drama to happen between the two princesses.
"Any other evidence other than this?" The Emperor asked coldly.
"Yes! The Emperor can ask the small eunuch guarding the back door to provide evidence that sister and her nannies had left the palace one June night to kill Mrs Zhou. Other than that... Cuilian, hand over Nanny Shao"s blood letter."
Princess Huiling shouted with confidence while Princess Huizhen looked at Cuilian with surprise. She did not expect that weak girl to betray her.
Cuilian walked out. Kneeling on the ground, she cried out, "Your majesty, your highness, I... I was beside the princess too when she tortured Mrs. Zhou to death with the nannies. Nanny Shao had just broken one of the princess" vase and was beaten to death. Luckily, Nanny had the foresight to write the b.l.o.o.d.y letter to complain against the princess!"
Shivering, Cuilian took out the b.l.o.o.d.y letter and showed it to everyone. All looked at it and could only see terrifying marks of dried blood.
The guards handed the blood letter over.
Empress Dowager avoided the letter as she was too old and fragile to bear more shock.
Furthermore, Empress Dowager was fuming as she did not expect her granddaughter to commit such a cruel act. She cried out, "Zhen... Zhen...you!"
That was the moment when Princess Huizhen realized that she was too naive. She kneeled down and knocked her head on the ground. "I"m so sorry for shocking Empress Dowager! Mum, Dad, I"m unrelated to Mrs. Zhou"s death! Please investigate!"
"Shut up!"
The Emperor chided her and asked the servants to bring Empress Dowager to rest, avoiding her from seeing the rest of the drama. After she left, he swayed the bloodletter and exclaimed, "Nanny Shao had taken care of me when she was young. Her handwriting was distinct and recognizable by me! How can you beat her to death just because she broke a vase? Huizhen, do you not have any kindness in you? Furthermore, Nanny Shao did not offend you before. She need not frame you!"
Shivering, Huizhen turned to the Queen for help.
The Queen frowned as she was unable to help her in front of court officials.
Knowing this, Princess Huiling struck at this moment.
"Emperor, we only heard a side of the story now. How about we ask Zhou Zhicheng for his perspective?"
The Queen understood that Zhou Zhicheng would protect the princess once he was brought up. However, Princess Huiling smirked.
"Dad, I still have a piece of evidence. However, I need the guards to retrieve it. When we were seven, my sister and I both received blood jade gifted by the Emperor, I still wore it till today." Huiling stared at Princess Huizhen coldly. "However, my sister had dropped her blood jade during the night she went out to kill Mrs. Zhou. Nanny Shao saw it and lied to the princess, telling her that she did not notice it. But in fact, she stealthily placed it inside Mrs. Zhou"s mouth."