“Thank you, Your Majesty.” After Ruyi and the others helped Yunyi to her feet, Li Yuan’s gaze fell on Xing Niang, who was kneeling nearby, and he said coldly, “Good, everyone is here. Say it again.”

“Yes.” Xing Niang responded fearfully, lowering her head and saying, “Over ten years ago, this servant opened a brothel called Xinghua Brothel in Chang’an City, continuing until now. Just a few days ago, a client came to Xinghua Brothel. He was very strange—he didn’t want any of the popular girls, but specifically asked to see this servant. This servant thought he might be an old client from before, so I went to see him. But he was completely unfamiliar. He said he came to make a deal with this servant.”

After hearing just a few sentences, Yunyi frowned. This Xing Niang was saying something completely different from what she had said yesterday in front of her. Moreover, the Crown Prince’s purchase of Madam Yin and Madam Zhang was at least half a year ago, so why was she saying it was just a few days ago? What game was this Xing Niang playing?

“Is this person you speak of in the hall?” Faced with Li Yuan’s question, Xing Niang pointed to Marquis Lin and said, “It’s… it’s this Lord Marquis Lin.”

Her words made Marquis Lin’s expression even more unsightly. He cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, this subject…”

Li Yuan glanced at him and interrupted, “Wait until she finishes speaking, then it will be your turn to talk.”

“Yes.” After Marquis Lin helplessly swallowed the words on his lips, Li Yuan once again turned his gaze to Xing Niang. “Continue.”

Xing Niang swallowed and said, “Lord Marquis Lin showed this servant two portraits, telling this servant to remember them well. After entering the palace and seeing the two people in the paintings, I was to say in front of Your Majesty… say that they were from Xinghua Brothel, that the Crown Prince had bought them to present to Your Majesty.”

Hearing this, Yunyi’s expression changed drastically. What Xing Niang was saying was not just inconsistent—it was completely reversed. Why would this happen? Could it be… this was actually a trap set by Li Jiancheng and his people? When she turned to look, Li Jiancheng was also looking her way. Though his expression remained as calm as before, she clearly saw a hint of cold mockery in his eyes.

This was bad. She had truly… fallen into their trap!

Yunyi’s vision darkened momentarily. She clenched her palms tightly, using the sharp pain to keep herself from falling. But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand how she had fallen into Li Jiancheng’s trap despite being so careful, and when he had set this snare.

Meanwhile, Xing Niang continued speaking, “When this servant heard about deceiving Your Majesty, I was terrified and quickly refused. But Lord Marquis Lin said that if this servant didn’t do as he said, not only would my life be in danger, but the Xinghua Brothel that this servant had spent half a lifetime building would also be destroyed. Out of fear, this servant had no choice but to agree.”

Madam Zhang frowned and said, “You say Marquis Lin gave you portraits and told you to falsely accuse the Crown Prince of buying two girls from your brothel to present to His Majesty. Were the women in the paintings Sister Yin and myself?”

Xing Niang glanced at her carefully and nodded, “Yes, it was you two ladies.”

Madam Zhang gasped, her almond eyes widening as she stared at Marquis Lin. “I have no grievance or enmity with you. I hadn’t even met you before today. How could you frame Sister and me like this?”

Madam Yin was also furious, gritting her teeth and saying, “Though we two were not born into families of renowned marquises or generals, we are of clean background. Yet you slander us as courtesans. You… you…” She trembled with anger, and the next moment, she knelt before Li Yuan, tears streaming down as she said, “Please seek justice for your subject!”

Madam Zhang also knelt, crying, “Your subject and Sister have devoted ourselves wholeheartedly to serving Your Majesty since entering the palace, yet we suffer this false accusation for no reason. What face do we have to remain by Your Majesty’s side in the future? We might as well dash our heads against the pillars in this hall and die.”

Li Yuan had always been fond of the two women, and hearing Madam Zhang speak this way, he immediately said, “What nonsense are you talking about? What death and dying? Isn’t this matter being investigated right now? Get up, both of you.”

After Madam Yin and the other rose, Li Yuan’s gaze swept over Marquis Lin’s deathly pale face and finally settled on Xing Niang. “Did he say why he wanted to do this?”

Xing Niang thought for a moment and said, “He mentioned it briefly, saying that after the two noble ladies entered the palace, they bewitched Your Majesty, causing unrest in the harem and instability in the court, so they had to be eliminated.”

“What fine words about ‘unrest in the harem and instability in the court.'” With these words, Li Yuan turned his gaze to Madam Lin, whose face was equally pale and frightful. “I’m afraid someone became consumed by jealousy and hatred, thus concocting such a story.”

Madam Lin’s body trembled as she raised her eyes to meet Li Yuan’s gaze, saying in a trembling voice, “Is Your Majesty saying that your subject became consumed by jealousy and hatred, thus framing them?”

Li Yuan snorted heavily, “Am I wrong?”

His words filled with suspicion fell on Madam Lin’s ears like a bolt from the blue. After a long while, she recovered and said sorrowfully, “Your subject has followed Your Majesty for many years. If not sharing life and death together, weathering storms together, it’s been close to that. Yet I never imagined Your Majesty would think so poorly of your subject.”

“Whether I think poorly of you or you have let me down, you know in your heart.” Throwing down these words, Li Yuan stood up and walked to stand before Xing Niang, looking down at her from above. “What about Imperial Consort Yang? What’s her involvement in this?”

Hearing Li Yuan mention her, Yunyi’s heart, which had been racing frantically, beat even faster. She stared intently at Xing Niang.

“This servant originally knew nothing about Imperial Consort Yang. Yesterday, a girl suddenly came, saying Imperial Consort Yang of the Prince of Qin’s residence wanted to see this servant. This servant dared not refuse, so I followed her. When I got there, Imperial Consort Yang asked about Lord Marquis Lin, and only then did this servant realize they actually knew each other. Imperial Consort Yang said much the same as Lord Marquis Lin, both telling this servant to insist that the two noble consorts were bought by the Crown Prince from the brothel.” At this point, her eyes showed even deeper fear than before. “When leaving, Imperial Consort Yang gave this servant a pill and forced me to swallow it, saying it was a seven-day poison. For seven days, nothing would happen, but if I hadn’t taken the antidote by the seventh day, I would die from intestinal rupture. Only if this servant spoke according to her and Marquis Lin’s instructions in the golden hall would I be given the antidote.”

“Complete nonsense!” Although Yunyi had instructed them earlier, hearing Xing Niang so completely distort the truth and slander their princess, how could Jixiang endure it? She shouted angrily, “When did the Princess ever say such things to you? When did she ever force you to take poison? On the contrary, you’re the one framing the Princess and Lord Marquis Lin like this, clearly instigated by others with malicious intent. You deserve to die!”

Yunyi quickly pulled her behind her and scolded in a low voice, “Silence!”

Though Yunyi acted quickly, it was unfortunately too late. Li Yuan’s gaze had already fallen on Jixiang, and he said coldly, “Where did such an ill-mannered thing come from, daring to speak so wildly before me!”

Hearing this, Yunyi hastily said, “Jixiang doesn’t understand propriety and was momentarily agitated, thus offending Your Majesty. Please forgive her, Your Majesty.”

Li Yuan said coldly, “Jixiang has followed you for so many years, yet you haven’t even taught her the most basic rules. You’re truly hopeless at teaching people.”