novelWho's the Murderer?
| ← Ch.563 | Ch.565 → |
Commandery Princess Xianyun was still smiling as gently as ever, appearing completely normal on the surface. Her heart, however, was inexplicably pounding in nervousness. She didn't expect Ao Chenyi to take the testimonies of mere concubines so seriously as if he was in court. He even had them sign off on their testimonies.
Since when would Ao Chenyi get signed testimonies from people he wanted to deal with?
The Princess watched as a eunuch walk over and get the concubines to sign off their testimonies before turning to the other women kneeling in the courtyard.
As the concubines placed their fingerprints on their testimonies one by one, the Princess' expression changed drastically.
He didn't have to go so far if all he wanted was to execute Ning Xueyan!
The door swung open with force and two guards entered, dragging a woman wearing white clothes and a white veil in with them.
The Princess was shocked to see that veiled woman.
Xiangrong, who had climbed up from the floor and walked behind the Princess, looked like she had seen a ghost. Her body began to tremble. She didn't even have to look at the veiled woman's face to know that it was the Second Young Lady. In fact, she had been the one to dress the Second Young Lady this morning with Qiu Huan.
The concubines kneeling in front turned their heads when they heard the commotion. They were scared out of their wits after seeing the scene before them. One of them was so horrified that she couldn't even kneel anymore; she fell to the ground and curled herself up as she trembled. Didn't the Princess say that this woman wouldn't show up anymore? Why was she captured by the prince at this time?
They fell into despair almost instantly.
No matter where they had come from, only death awaited them now that they had been caught trying to deceive the prince.
Ning Xueyan watched everything coldly. Xinmei had acted quickly, managing to knock Yun Luoluo unconscious before the latter could change out of her clothes. Naturally, Ao Chenyi's guards would have no problem getting Yun Luoluo from her hands.
"Xianyun, would you like to see who it is?" Ao Chenyi asked lazily.
"She... She... She looks familiar." The Princess suppressed her panic and obediently looked up and down the veiled woman. She looked confused as if she really didn't know anything. She held tightly onto her cuffs, reminding herself over and over not to panic and mess everything up.
"Tear off her veil!" Ao Chenyi said coldly.
A guard walked over to a kneeling Yun Luoluo and tore the veil off her face.
"Should I strip her naked and send her back to Lord Peace's Manor?" Ao Chenyi's thin lips were curled up and his eyes appeared cold and unreadable.
"Don't... Don't. This has nothing to do with me. I'm not..." Yun Luoluo, whose veil had just been torn off, screamed in shock. She was so frightened that tears streamed down her face.
Yun Luoluo was usually prideful and arrogant when she was with other noble ladies. Not only was she pretty, but she also belonged to the same lineage as the Empress Dowager. Moreover, she was close to the family of the current Empress. Even so, she didn't dare to go against Prince Yi. She knew very well that he would definitely do that sort of thing mercilessly without caring if she came from Lord Peace's Manor.
A chill ran down her spine when she looked at the prince's icy face.
She was so frightened that she curled herself up into a ball. Didn't Xiangrong say that everything would be fine? Didn't Xiangrong say that Ning Xueyan was just an unfavored consort who the prince could kill anytime? Didn't Xiangrong say that Prince Yi wouldn't investigate the people in the manor for her sake? Xiangrong also said that the concubines who watched everything would insist that they didn't see Ning Xueyan arguing with her.
But, why was everything different from Xiangrong's words?
Why was she knocked unconscious shortly after returning? She hadn't even walked that far! By the time she woke up, she found herself locked up. Before she could think of a way to escape, she found herself being dragged here by two guards.
"What do you mean, don't? You call yourself my beloved concubine, didn't you? Or are you saying that I have to get the approval of Lord Peace's Manor to do whatever I want to my concubine?" Ao Chenyi clasped his hands behind his back languidly as he gave Yun Luoluo a cold glance.
His cold glance felt like a terrible chill piercing her heart. Just from the glance alone, Yun Luoluo felt as if she had fallen into hell. She was cold all over and a voice continued to resound in her head, telling that she was done for. She was truly done for!
Ao Chenyi waved his hand silently. Two guards came over and dragged her away without saying anything. She knew that once she was dragged out, she would never get the chance to defend herself. Prince Yi wouldn't give her a chance to argue anymore. If she had to be stripped naked and sent back to her family manor, she might as well die now. At least it wouldn't be as shameful.
Summoning strength that she didn't even know she had, Yun Luoluo pushed the guards' hands away and immediately stumbled her way over to Ao Chenyi. She knelt in front of him and cried hoarsely, "It wasn't me! It was my sister's maid Xiangrong who told me to pretend to be your favored concubine. She gave me the clothes as well. It was all her plan."
"Second Sister, what are you saying? How... How can you say that about me?" Commandery Princess Xianyun raised her head abruptly and stared at Yun Luoluo in disbelief. She looked as if she was terribly offended. Her voice was trembling and there were tears welling up in her eyes.
"It was Xiangrong! Xiangrong told me to pretend to be the prince's favored concubine. She said this would cause a fight between the concubine and Consort Ning. Only when those two aren't around would my sister gain the prince's favor. They never respected my sister as the princess. They were so annoying..."
Yun Luoluo couldn't afford to care about anything now. She spoke incoherently while crying her eyes out.
"You... Shut up!" The Princess walked over and slapped Yun Luoluo hard, effectively cutting off words that the latter still had to say. Yun Luoluo immediately stopped sobbing. Holding her cheek, she looked at the Princess in shock. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Eldest Sister... You... You hit me... You actually hit me..."
She couldn't believe this that her eldest sister, always gentle and kind, would treat her this way. As far as she could remember, her eldest sister was the one who treated her the best. Not only was her sister pretty, but she was pretty and generous. No matter what she wanted, her sister would give her what she had. Her eldest sister had always been her best sister.
However, her kind sister was neglected upon arriving in Prince Yi's Manor. Everyone said that Prince Yi visited a concubine's courtyard on their wedding night. The prince didn't return to Lord Peace's Manor with her sister either. It was said that he returned halfway to the manor. Her eldest sister looked calm, but her smile seemed woeful.
She was angry on her sister's behalf!
How could her sweet and kind sister be treated like this?
Just yesterday, she met Xiangrong who had returned to Lord Peace's Manor and asked about her sister's situation. Xiangrong wasn't willing to answer at first but in the end she said that Consort Ning and the favored concubine not only disrespected her sister, but kept complaining about her sister to the prince. Her sister had no choice but to hide in her courtyard and cry.
She felt angry on her sister's behalf and wanted to stand up for her sister, so she came up with an idea with Xiangrong. After visiting her sister this morning, she claimed that she was tired and wanted some rest. Xiangrong then helped her get dressed up and had another maid lead her to the garden. Xiangrong said it was fine even if someone saw her because those people were there to be their witnesses in the first place.
After slapping Yun Luoluo, an anxious-looking Commandery Princess Xianyun scolded, "Second Sister, you... What have you done? How can you... do such a thing?"
Xiangrong, losing the strength to stand, knelt down with a loud thud and kept kowtowing at Ao Chenyi.
"It... It was this maid who told us the Princess has promised to give us a proper title if we say that we didn't see Consort Ning arguing with another person."
"Yes, it was her. She was the one who said it. She said that the Princess has given her promise."
"The Princess said she would help us in the future if we do well this time..."
The concubines were also pointing to Xiangrong, loudly defending themselves while crying.
Though they were referring to Xiangrong, they were looking at the Princess. A mere maid wouldn't be capable of such a thing. The Princess was definitely involved in this great scheme implicating so many people.
The situation in this courtyard was good evidence. The Princess insisted that Consort Ning had killed the prince's favored concubine, yet the favored concubine said it was the Princess instead.
Smack! This time, the slap landed on Xiangrong's face. The Princess looked at Xiangrong in tears and said angrily, "How... How can you do such a thing? Doing something like this... Don't you feel sorry for me? Don't you feel sorry for your parents? Why are you so foolish? Why would I need a maid like you to stand up for me? You... You even got so many people involved!"
Xiangrong stopped kowtowing and looked at the Princess with tears falling down her face. She knew that she couldn't say that this was all the Princess' plan or her parents and siblings would lose their lives."Princess, I... I was wrong. I thought Consort Ning has been bullying you, so I wanted to vent anger on your behalf. That was why... I asked Second Young Lady to pretend to be the favored concubine and provoke Consort Ning."
"You... You're foolish!" The Princess sounded both furious and resentful as tears continued to stream down her face. She appeared pained and sorrowful.
"Princess, who's the murderer then? Don't tell me it's her too!" Ning Xueyan lowered her head and sneered after seeing this scene. They made it sound as if she had been the one who caused everything; that Xiangrong framed her was just due to that she disrespected the Princess. How many times had she even meet the Princess? When had she not treat the Princess respectfully in their few meetings? The two of them seemed like a pair of master and servant being forced to a dead end by her. They were crying so much that some were looking at them sympathetically.
The Princess was also condemning her with every word.
Even now, the Princess continued to put herself on a pedestal, looking like a virtuous and sincere person. Ning Xueyan didn't want to continue this show with them. She raised her watery eyes and went straight to the point.
The key was the identity of the murderer.
Her words successfully stopped the Princess from crying. That position made it impossible for Xiangrong to be the murderer. How could it be Xiangrong? The nearest persons were Ning Xueyan and the Princess. The favored concubine had fainted again, but she had directly accused the Princess earlier.
"It was me! I was the one who tried to harm you, Consort Ning, " Xiangrong shouted. She knew she would die soon. For the sake of giving her family a better life, she tried to pin all the blame on herself.
The Princess would be grateful for her actions; the Princess would definitely take care of her family for her sake. Thus, after saying this, Xiangrong abruptly stood up and slammed into one of the pillars nearby.
| ← Ch. 563 | Ch. 565 → |