Song Zhao was greatly shocked when she saw Xiao Jingheng's cold and piercing gaze. She quickly composed herself and said calmly, "Your Majesty, there is indeed the seal of the Duke Hu State Residence, my mother's family, on this banknote. It's not surprising that it ended up in someone else's possession after being circulated and transferred."
Xiao Jingheng clearly didn't believe this explanation. He sighed with his eyes closed and said, "Xiao Yinzi, didn't you say that the person who delivered the banknote to this servant had already been captured? Bring him in."
There was another rustling sound outside the door, and Song Zhao turned her head to look. At that moment, her heart almost froze. The person who came in was Liu Chi, the steward of the former Duke Hu State Residence.
Liu Chi stood below the hall and first greeted Xiao Jingheng respectfully before saying to Song Zhao, "Servant... greets Second Miss."
His manners were impeccable, showing no trace of the contempt he used to have when he bullied Song Zhao in the residence.
Liu Chi was a distant relative of Song Zhao's stepmother Jiang Shi. When he was working in the Duke Hu State Residence, Jiang Shi often caused trouble for Song Zhao in secret, and almost all of it was facilitated by Liu Chi.
So, Song Zhao and he were like water and fire, incompatible with each other.
In fact, Song Zhao had thought about dealing with this troublemaker, but after Jiang Shi's death, the Duke Hu State Residence fell into desolation and Liu Chi disappeared without a trace.
Now that Liu Chi had reappeared, Song Zhao was at a loss for words.
All this time, Song Zhao had pretended in front of Xiao Jingheng that she had a harmonious relationship with her mother's family and was close to her stepmother.
Now, how could she tell Xiao Jingheng about the conflicts she had with Liu Chi?
The crime of deceiving the emperor was also punishable by death.
After a brief silence in the hall, Xiao Jingheng asked Liu Chi, "What have you done? Confess everything truthfully, and I will leave you with a whole corpse."
Liu Chi, as expected, first bowed to Song Zhao and said with a bitter face, "Second Miss... I have let you down!"
Then, with a 'clank,' he knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty... I did find Qu Yanran, but it was at the instruction of Second Miss. She wanted me to find refugees for her use. It was also Second Miss who gave me money to bribe the magistrate of Tonglu County and recommend Qu Yanran to serve in the imperial court in Lin'an, providing her with an opportunity to strike.
As for the fire that happened at the magistrate's house afterwards, it was also my doing. Later, when the assassination plot failed, Second Miss ordered me to hunt down Qu Yanran, but that woman hid well, and I didn't find her."
The servant kneeling beside him also pointed and affirmed, "Yes! It was him! Your Majesty! This person gave the banknote to my master and paid him to keep silent!"
Song Zhao trembled with anger, unable to control her shaking. She hadn't even had a moment to recover from postpartum weakness, and now she felt like there were countless daggers churning in her stomach.
This series of framed accusations was one link after another, leaving no room for doubt.
Song Zhao felt as if she had fallen into an endless abyss of coldness.
The more she fell, the deeper and colder it became, but she had no idea when she would hit rock bottom.
Consort Yao covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Consort Yi! How could you have such a heart?"
Consort Yun also joined in, berating, "You have such audacity! How dare you plot against the Emperor!"
The rest of them, including Rongyue, promptly agreed. They seized the opportunity to belittle Song Zhao, as if doing so demonstrated their loyalty to Xiao Jingheng.
Seeing Song Zhao being wrongly accused like this, Rongyue intended to stand up and plead with Xiao Jingheng for mercy.
However, Ning Wanshuang gave her a stern glare, a silent signal for her to sit down.
Indeed, at this point, Song Zhao had no way out. Anyone who pleaded on her behalf would be implicated. The only option now was to remain still, hoping to find a way out for Song Zhao.
Amidst the disdainful remarks from the crowd, only Consort Yin asked a question,
"You say that Empress Yi arranged for you to do these things? Why would she make such arrangements? And when did it all start?"
Liu Chi replied, "This servant does not know everything... I only know that it was Miss Er who suspected Lord's death was not a suicide, but rather, he was killed by the Emperor. Since then, Miss Er secretly contacted me and asked me to help her with many things."
Upon hearing this, Song Zhao couldn't help but laugh and cry.
A deep father-daughter bond?
She couldn't even prevent Song Shicheng from falling into eternal purgatory, never to be reborn. When did she have such a deep bond with Song Shicheng?
But upon further reflection, she and Song Shicheng did indeed have such a bond.
After all, this was how Song Zhao had always behaved in front of Xiao Jingheng, wasn't it?
Vaguely, Song Zhao felt as if someone among the crowd was watching her intently.
She raised her eyebrows and met the clear and bright gaze of Consort Hui.
At this moment, Consort Hui dropped her pretenses.
She tilted her head at Song Zhao, her earrings tinkling softly in her ears.
Then, she subtly raised an eyebrow, as if teasing and provoking.
Xiao Jingheng, who had been sitting at the head all along, stood up at this moment.
With heavy footsteps, he walked step by step towards Song Zhao.
His face turned pale, filled with extreme frustration.
"Consort Yi, I have always treated you well."
Song Zhao was about to say something.
But before she could, Xiao Jingheng suddenly slapped her across the face, leaving her dazed.
Amidst the exclamations from the consorts, all that remained was Xiao Jingheng's furious interrogation.
"Tell me! Why did you plot against me like this!"
[Cheng Yu did not die, and there will be a major twist later on. Also, I want to write the story I like seriously and share it with you all. Of course, a story must have ups and downs, and changes in character's mindset must be driven by events. I can't write illogical things.]
[So, if you think the novel can't have any twists and turns, there's no need to leave comments saying you'll abandon it. It's your choice to read what you like, and I fully respect that! Love you all, kisses~]
