Chapter 59: Confirming the Crime
Empress Lin’s gaze darkened. At that moment, Li Qinghe’s brows furrowed.
“Who is making such a racket outside?” she asked in a cold voice.
Hadn’t she already instructed Ruyue to warn everyone that no one was permitted to come to this place without her permission? Who was so audacious? Did they have a death wish?
Before Li Qinghe could speak to stop her, Empress Lin, accompanied by Cheng Momo, had already turned and walked out of Qihua Hall.
“Greetings, Snake Empress!”
The moment the person saw Empress Lin, it was as if she had seen a savior; her eyes lit up, and she immediately lowered her head to bow.
Empress Lin looked at the unfamiliar maid before her, her eyes filled with confusion.
“You recognize This Palace?”
She had been in the Phoenix Clan for less than a day. For this maid to successfully find her way here… to say there was nothing strange about it would certainly be a lie.
However, whether the maid was directed by someone else or had her own selfish motives did not matter much to Empress Lin. From beginning to end, all she wanted to know was the truth about Jun Mo.
As long as this maid could explain clearly what kind of life Jun Mo had been living in the Phoenix Clan these past days, she would spare the girl’s life for the sake of her risking death to come forward.
The maid nodded. “The Snake Empress’s great name has long thundered in the ears of servants like us; how could I not recognize you?”
Of course, she hadn’t risked death to run out here just to spout nonsense in front of Empress Lin.
“Snake Empress, this servant has something to say regarding the Second Prince,” the maid said, nearly burying her head into her stomach as she spoke.
She knew very well how much turmoil her words would cause. Thus, after speaking, she kept her head lowered and dared not utter another sound.
Subsequently, when Li Qinghe walked out of the hall and saw the maid kneeling at the entrance of Qihua Hall, she began to scold her without a second thought.
“Who allowed you to spout nonsense here?” Her brows knit together into a tight line. “Guards…”
Empress Lin glanced sideways at Li Qinghe. “What exactly is Princess Qinghe planning to do?”
Before Li Qinghe could finish her sentence, Empress Lin interrupted her without politeness.
“Commit murder to silence a witness?”
Li Qinghe’s heart skipped a beat.
“Snake Empress, this is nothing more than a maid who loves to spread wild rumors,” she said with a vicious tone. “She should be dragged out and beaten to death immediately!”
Held by the guards, the maid looked up and, in that instant, felt the intense killing intent directed at her from Li Qinghe’s eyes. She was so frightened that her neck shrank back on the spot. She wished she could find a hole to bury herself in right then and there.
But as soon as the image of Jun Mo’s thin, pale face flashed through her mind, the maid straightened her body and craned her neck. She wore an expression that said she feared nothing.
“This servant is not lying,” the maid stood forward and refuted with righteous indignation. “The Second Prince has become like this because he was tortured by Princess Qinghe.”
Li Qinghe’s face turned ashen. When she saw Empress Lin’s face, which looked like a storm was about to break, her expression immediately darkened.
“Shut up! Since when does a lowly maid like you have the right to speak here?”
After speaking, Li Qinghe felt nervous inside and hurriedly began to explain to Empress Lin. Her actions, however, only made her appear guilty.
“Snake Empress, you absolutely must not believe a word she says,” she said earnestly. “Some time ago, this maid committed a minor error in Qihua Hall and was punished by being sent to the Cold Palace.”
“She harbors resentment toward This Palace in her heart, which is why she ran to you today to spout nonsense and sow discord,” Li Qinghe continued. “She wants to drive a wedge between us and make our relationship worse.”
Empress Lin sneered. “Do you think This Palace is a fool? Lacking the ability to make my own judgments?”
For Li Qinghe to say this, it was obvious she had a guilty conscience.
Li Qinghe froze.
Empress Lin ignored Li Qinghe’s face, which had turned the color of pig liver, and fixed her gaze on the maid before her.
“Speak,” she said, looking down imperiously at the maid. “Tell me everything you know.”
“This Palace can promise you that as long as you speak the truth, when I leave the Phoenix Clan, I will take you with me and make you my personal attendant,” Empress Lin vowed.
Joy flashed in the maid’s eyes. She evidently hadn’t expected to encounter such a great opportunity in her lifetime, and her face lit up with indescribable delight.
“Thank you, Snake Empress! Thank you, Snake Empress!”
Li Qinghe looked at Empress Lin in astonishment. She hadn’t expected that, in order to learn the truth about Jun Mo’s humiliation, Empress Lin would go so far as to personally intervene to protect this maid.
Her face turned a mix of green and white.
“Snake Empress, this is improper…”
However, before Li Qinghe could finish her sentence, Li Xuanyue’s resonant voice drifted over from not far away.
“What exactly is improper?”
Her meaningful tone carried a hint of someone enjoying a show.
“Greetings, Snake Empress.” Li Xuanyue bowed respectfully and politely to Empress Lin.
Empress Lin looked Li Xuanyue up and down. Although she was suspicious of this uninvited guest, seeing the water-and-fire incompatibility between her and Li Qinghe, the situation was clear enough.
She was simply here to kick someone while they were down. Such things were common in the royal families of the Hundred Clans; Empress Lin wasn’t surprised in the least.
“Sister, what an unfortunate coincidence!”
Seeing that Empress Lin didn’t seem interested in paying her much attention, Li Xuanyue didn’t take it to heart. Instead, she shifted her gaze to Li Qinghe.
Seeing her rival look as if she were facing a formidable enemy, Li Xuanyue couldn’t help but feel happy inside.
“Just now, on my way here, This Palace saw the maids of Qihua Hall locked up in the woodshed, so I specially sent someone to release them.”
Li Qinghe’s temple throbbed violently. How could she not understand Li Xuanyue’s motive?
“Is Elder Sister trying to get me killed?” Li Qinghe leaned close to Li Xuanyue’s ear and spoke through gritted teeth in a voice only the two of them could hear.
Although she didn’t know when exactly Li Xuanyue had figured out that she was the one who poisoned her, seeing the look on Li Xuanyue’s face that promised she wouldn’t have it easy, Li Qinghe knew she wouldn’t escape this ordeal today.
Li Xuanyue took two steps back, glanced sideways at Li Qinghe’s sinister expression, and smiled faintly.
“Sister, what nonsense are you spouting?”
Unlike Li Qinghe, who tried to hide her words from Empress Lin and the others, Li Xuanyue spoke loudly: “When did This Palace ever harm you?”
“Could it be that this maid just said something in front of Empress Lin and the others?” She deliberately feigned a look of panic.
“My apologies, This Palace was only trying to help you out of kindness. After all, I saw that this maid is someone specifically assigned to serve and care for the Second Prince. Seeing her locked in the woodshed today was truly pitiful,” Li Xuanyue explained.
“I thought some bold servant was acting behind your back to cause trouble, so I specially had someone release her out of kindness,” she continued.
“You certainly mustn’t blame This Palace!”
Li Xuanyue’s words thoroughly confirmed Li Qinghe’s private mistreatment of Jun Mo. That was why she had been so guilty as to lock up everyone who took care of him.
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