Rongyue struggled to suppress the flickering light in her eyes as she carefully examined the partially burned heart-shaped knot in her hands.
Fortunately,
The middle character had already been mostly burned away,
The original character "Yan" now only had the character "Wang" remaining beside it, cleverly resembling Xiao Jingheng's character "Heng" but not exactly.
With that, her panicked emotions finally settled, and she calmly picked up the heart-shaped knot from the ground and said,
"This heart-shaped knot belongs to me. I don't know which servant in the palace was careless and let it catch fire."
"Hmph." Consort Yun sneered, "It's good that you admitted it. The name on this heart-shaped knot has been burned halfway, and now only the character 'Wang' remains. I wonder whose name you embroidered on it?"
Rongyue furrowed her brows and looked at Consort Yun, confidently stating, "What do you mean by that, Consort Yun? Of course, it's the Emperor's name."
"Oh? Is that so?" Consort Yun scoffed, then turned to Xiao Jingheng and said,
"The Emperor just looked at it earlier. The needlework on this heart-shaped knot has already yellowed. This item is made of the finest silkworm silk and wouldn't have aged to this extent without five or six years of wear. How many years has Concubine Shun been in the palace? Could it be that she secretly captured the Emperor's heart even before entering the palace?"
After speaking, she looked at Rongyue and raised an eyebrow playfully, "You had never even seen the Emperor before, and yet you suffered from lovesickness? Tsk, tsk, I'm not so sure about that. Perhaps... the name on this heart-shaped knot belongs to someone else."
"Someone else?" Rongyue straightened her posture, anger gleaming in her eyes as she stared directly at Consort Yun.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Naturally, I will say what you have done." Consort Yun casually brushed her hair and mockingly said, "You live in Lin'an, and it so happens that Prince An also served there for two years seven years ago. You even had a close relationship with the Admiral of the Navy. Considering your similar ages, it's possible that something inappropriate happened between you two as your youthful hearts couldn't resist it."
Hearing Consort Yun mention Xiao Jingyan, Rongyue's heart tightened involuntarily.
She looked at Xiao Jingheng, who remained silent throughout, and had to assert herself, raising her voice,
"Consort Yun! The purity of this palace and the prince is not something you, as a consort, can casually tarnish with baseless accusations."
Saying that, she deeply bowed to Xiao Jingheng and choked up as she spoke,
"Emperor, I have never done any of these unfounded things. I believe you understand my heart. From beginning to end, I have been wholeheartedly devoted to you. Consort Yun's unwelcome words today are truly malicious..."
"Hehe, Consort Yun is malicious?"
Consort Yun clapped her hands three times and loudly proclaimed outside the hall,
"Bring the person in."
As she spoke, Rongyue turned her gaze and saw Cai Jie entering with small, hesitant steps, accompanied by the palace attendants.
Cai Jie was assigned to serve Rongyue by the Imperial Household Department after she entered the palace,
But they had never been close, and for most of these years, she had been doing some menial tasks in the courtyard.
At this moment, Cai Jie knelt beside Rongyue, bowing her head and not daring to look at her.
Consort Yun said to Xiao Jingheng, "This girl has witnessed many things. The Emperor should ask her."
Only then did Xiao Jingheng speak in a deep voice, "Speak the truth. If you dare to utter a single false word, be careful of your tongue."
The Emperor's anger shook the air, intimidating everyone. Cai Jie was frightened and kowtowed, trembling as she spoke:
"Your Majesty, the servant... Last night, while I was gathering firewood in the woodshed, I saw Cai Ying sneak into the rear courtyard. I suspected something was amiss, so I followed and saw her crouching in a corner, setting something on fire. Later, when Wang Gonggong called for her, she hurriedly left. I went closer to see what she was burning after she extinguished the fire... To my surprise, I found a half-burnt pair of intertwined rings. Such rings are exchanged between lovers, and if they were presented by Your Majesty to Consort Shun, she would surely treasure them and not burn them. I was filled with fear, coupled with some things I unintentionally witnessed before... I was at a loss, so I reported this matter to Consort Yun."
"You servant, always causing trouble!" Rongyue glared at her and rebuked, "Even if you found something amiss, why didn't you inform the Empress or the Noble Consort? Instead, you went to tell Consort Yun? I wonder if the harem is now under the management of Consort Yun?"
"Well..." Cai Jie was momentarily speechless. After a struggle, she anxiously explained, "Originally, the servant intended to inform the Empress, but on the way, I encountered Consort Yun. Seeing that the servant looked flustered, she asked about the reason..."
Such an explanation would not convince Rongyue, let alone Xiao Jingheng.
But the placement of spies among the newly entered palace maids in the harem was not an uncommon practice.
This prevalent corrupt practice was not what Xiao Jingheng intended to investigate.
What he wanted was a plausible and self-explanatory response from Rongyue.
Therefore, he did not delve into the affair between Consort Yun and Cai Jie but asked Cai Jie instead,
"You mentioned earlier that you unintentionally witnessed certain things that made you anxious. Tell me in detail, what did you see?"
"Cai... Cai Jie saw..." Cai Jie trembled as if recalling something horrifying. Her entire body quivered as she replied,
"After Consort Shun was promoted to the status of a concubine, she has been residing alone in the Zhuixia Palace. Three years ago on New Year's Eve, when I was late to bed, I heard some commotion in the courtyard. I hurriedly went out to take a look and saw a tall figure sneaking over the wall and entering Consort Shun's inner chamber..."
"Cai Jie! What nonsense are you spouting!?" Rongyue was shocked beyond measure.
Since entering the palace, she had never had much contact with Xiao Jingyan, let alone meeting him clandestinely by scaling walls in the middle of the night.
Cai Jie must have been instigated by someone else to make such claims.
The trap had been set, waiting for her to fall into it, leaving her with no room for defense.
Cai Jie was scolded by Rongyue, but instead of changing his words, his tone became even more resolute.
"Even if Your Majesty wants to send me to the Judicial Department, I still have to tell the truth... The Emperor has been kind to you all these years, why would you..."
*Smack!*
Rongyue slapped Cai Jie hard across the face and shouted, "I have not done anything! Don't conspire with others and spread false accusations!"
"Conspire with others? Is Shunfei referring to me?" Consort Yun smirked, a trace of contempt in her voice. "It doesn't matter what she says, but your family's servant Cai Ying has already been taken by my people and imprisoned in the Judicial Department for severe interrogation. If she can withstand the tortures of the Judicial Department and not implicate you and Prince An, then perhaps there is some truth to this matter. As for you..."
Consort Yun paused for a moment and turned to Xiao Jingheng, saying, "Your Majesty, Li Changzai requested an audience earlier, presumably for this matter. She also has something to say."
Xiao Jingheng absentmindedly played with the thumb ring on his finger and languidly replied, "Let her come in."
