Thinking of the day’s events, Li Weiyang didn’t immediately rest. While she was deep in thought, she suddenly heard a commotion outside. Li Weiyang paused briefly, then stood up abruptly, opened the door, and walked out.

The palace hall’s main gate had already been opened. Both Consort Hui and Madam Guo had been disturbed, arriving only a step later than Li Weiyang. Outside, palace maids and eunuchs stood in a dark mass of people. Leading them was none other than Consort Hu Shun, dressed in magnificent robes, surrounded by palace maids. The person forcibly pressed to kneel on the ground—who else could it be but Zhao Yue?

Li Weiyang halted her steps. Rather than rushing forward to inquire what happened, she quietly stood at the entrance, observing the situation before her.

“Consort Shun, disturbing people’s peaceful sleep in the middle of the night—what exactly do you want?” Consort Guo Hui’s face showed displeasure.

Consort Hu Shun’s face bore a trace of cold condensation, yet her manner showed no fear at all. “Elder Sister, I’ve come to deliver someone to you.”

Consort Guo Hui glanced at Zhao Yue bound on the ground. Her heart sank, and she subconsciously looked back at Li Weiyang. Seeing her composed expression, she relaxed slightly and said without revealing her thoughts, “This girl—has she offended Consort Shun somehow?”

Under the night, Consort Hu Shun’s beautiful face bore a trace of imperceptible smugness. “Elder Sister has always known—I’m kindhearted. Even if some blind palace maid offends me, I close my eyes and pretend not to see. If this girl had truly offended me, I would endure it for the sake of her being your person. Why would I need to send her here?”

Consort Guo Hui showed a trace of impatience. “Fine, just speak plainly if you have something to say!”

Consort Hu Shun smiled. “Tsk tsk, this kind of matter—how can I speak of it! Ruyi, tell Consort Hui what happened. Let everyone see what good deeds the girls leaving this palace have done.”

The female official called Ruyi said solemnly, “Yes, Your Ladyship. Today this servant was following Your Ladyship’s orders to go to Chuxiu Pavilion when halfway there, I encountered this girl acting suspiciously with someone. This servant called out, but they fled like guilty thieves. This servant ordered the guards to pursue them and caught them with great difficulty.” She waved her hand. “Bring up the other person.”

A tall, handsome-featured man was escorted from the crowd. His head remained lowered. A eunuch forcibly twisted his face upward—he was conspicuously wearing guard’s clothing.

Consort Guo Hui frowned. “Please speak clearly. What do you mean by ‘acting suspiciously’? Does saying a few words count as acting suspiciously?”

Ruyi’s face showed a troubled expression. “May it please Consort Hui—palace maids speaking with guards, there’s no palace rule forbidding it. But privately exchanging intimate items in the palace is the first prohibition.”

Privately exchanging intimate items? Li Weiyang glanced at Zhao Yue, her face showing a cold sneer. She had known Zhao Yue for a long time—what kind of person was her maidservant? Could she not know? She absolutely wasn’t that sort of frivolous woman who didn’t understand propriety. Normally she wouldn’t even stand and talk with young men, let alone privately exchange intimate items—Consort Hu Shun’s move was truly creating crimes where none existed!

Ruyi glanced at Consort Guo Hui’s obviously darkening expression, then stepped forward and shook a piece of paper in her hand. “Your Ladyship, you have an extremely strict reputation. Those under you have never violated prohibitions. Moreover, the palace rules are set there—everyone high and low knows the威严 of these rules and would never dare violate them. Yet today, this sort of thing still happened. If you don’t believe it, see for yourself!”

Facing this poem Ruyi presented, Consort Guo Hui felt extremely shocked.

She unfolded the letter and looked it over several times. The verse had just two lines, casually taken from ancient texts: “In life and death, separated and together, I made an oath with you. Holding your hand, I’ll grow old together with you.” It neither specified to whom it was sent nor bore the poet’s signature, month or day. But regardless, whether judging by tone or handwriting, this letter was a love poem—from a man to a woman. Bringing it close, the paper used for this love poem even bore pine, bamboo and orchid grass markings in the left corner—clearly the ordinary Lanxuan paper distributed to palace guards.

Consort Guo Hui angrily threw the letter to the ground, shouting sternly, “What is the meaning of this!”

“Your Ladyship, this love poem was discovered on this guard’s person.” Ruyi picked up the love poem and pointed at the young, handsome guard. “Look, this isn’t us talking nonsense—the evidence is conclusive!”

Consort Hu Shun watched Consort Guo Hui’s ugly expression, her face showing a cold sneer. “This time it’s truly—in the past there were messages passed through letters, poems written on red leaves, I thought those were theatrical performances. Who knew it would actually happen in our palace. Absurd, too absurd!”

Li Weiyang said slowly, “Zhao Yue, now Consort Shun accuses you and a guard of privately exchanging intimate items. What do you say?”

Zhao Yue desperately shook her head. Li Weiyang stepped forward to check her condition. Ruyi blocked her path. Li Weiyang ignored her and walked forward. Ruyi quickly grabbed her sleeve. Li Weiyang turned her head, raised her eyebrows, and viciously slapped her across the face. Ruyi covered her face, staring at Li Weiyang in shock.

Not just Ruyi—even Consort Hu Shun hadn’t expected the Guo family’s daughter to be so fierce. She raised her eyebrows. “Guo Jia, what kind of place do you think this is, allowing you to act so wildly!”

Li Weiyang smiled faintly, straightening the creases in her sleeve. “Consort Shun, the palace has palace rules. I’m a guest invited by Consort Hui. When did a palace maid dare to grab my sleeve? Your Ladyship speaks of palace rules at every turn—why don’t you instruct your capable palace maid instead of letting her embarrass herself here?”

Consort Hu Shun was startled but saw Consort Guo Hui’s half-smiling expression, clearly supporting Miss Guo. She hadn’t expected the other party to turn the tables on her. Her heart sneered coldly—humph, so smug now, you’ll have your time to cry. She immediately scolded Ruyi angrily, “Didn’t you hear Miss Guo’s words? What are you—how dare you touch her?! Kowtow and apologize!”

Ruyi was shocked. Having always been favored by Consort Hu Shun, she was accustomed to throwing her weight around. She hadn’t reacted in time earlier and had only tried to stop Li Weiyang, reaching out to pull her. If it were an ordinary young lady, that would be one thing, but she hadn’t expected the other party to be so fierce. Forcibly swallowing a mouthful of bloody foam, Ruyi bowed and kowtowed. “Please forgive this servant, Miss Guo. This servant was momentarily improper.”

Li Weiyang glanced at her coldly but ignored her, walking directly to Zhao Yue. After personally witnessing Miss Guo slap Ruyi like that, the others no longer dared obstruct her. Li Weiyang gently helped Zhao Yue up, seeing her face full of tears, completely unable to speak a word. She suddenly turned around. “Consort Shun, what have you done to my maidservant!”

Consort Hu Shun watched from afar, saying slowly, “What have I done? Where would I find time to do anything to her?”

Li Weiyang paid no attention, prying open Zhao Yue’s mouth and looking by the surrounding candlelight. Her mouth was full of bright red blisters. Zhao Yue tried to speak but could only produce broken sounds—it was impossible to hear what she was saying. Li Weiyang suddenly realized Zhao Yue’s vocal cords had been scalded by someone with boiling water. What vicious cruelty! She gave Zhao Yue a look, signaling her to remain calm, then turned around. “Consort Shun, my maidservant’s throat has been scalded—can you truly not see it?”

Her voice carried a trace of bitter cold, her eyes bottomless, suppressing raging fury.

Consort Hu Shun glanced over. “Oh, Ruyi, explain to Miss Guo what happened.”

Ruyi said slowly, “Yes, Your Ladyship. Miss Guo, it happened like this—this girl has superior martial skills. This servant had great difficulty bringing others to subdue her and escort her back. Originally intending to question her properly to clarify matters, who knew without a word she grabbed a small palace maid’s scalding teapot and desperately poured it down her throat. This servant and others couldn’t stop her.”

Li Weiyang sneered coldly. “You say she grabbed scalding tea and poured it down herself? What agony that would be—has she gone mad?”

Ruyi subconsciously touched half her face, smiling apologetically. “Miss Guo, you can’t ask this servant about that, because this servant can’t understand why she would do such a thing—of course, perhaps she was protecting someone. After all, for a maidservant to be so audacious in the palace is truly too inconceivable.”

Ruyi’s words clearly pointed elsewhere. Zhao Yue was a maidservant brought by the Guo family. The person she would risk everything to protect would naturally be Miss Guo… This was clearly pointing at the mulberry to curse the locust tree.

Consort Guo Hui flew into a rage. “Ruyi, how dare you! How dare you speak such nonsense before me!” With a glance, her personal female official stepped forward and slapped Ruyi over ten times, beating her dizzy and spitting blood. Her snow-white, tender face immediately swelled high, a trace of scarlet blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. Ruyi collapsed to the ground, crying, “Consort Hui, this servant was only speculating. Why must you become angry from shame—”

Consort Guo Hui was about to speak when she heard Li Weiyang say calmly, “Your Ladyship, I stand upright and fear no slanting shadow. I’m not someone a lowly palace maid can slander with a few random words—not just me, my maidservant even more cannot tolerate being trampled by others. Since Zhao Yue cannot speak, we should properly interrogate this guard.”

Li Weiyang glanced at him, seeing he was actually a romantically handsome, beautiful youth, unlike an ordinary guard. She stared at him coldly. “Who exactly are you?”

The guard lowered his head deeply. “This servant is Peng Dazu from the Mighty General’s residence.”

The Mighty General’s residence? He was actually a Guo family member?! Consort Guo Hui’s expression changed slightly. Madam Guo beside her, though she had remained silent, now also showed a grave expression.

Hearing this person came from the Mighty General’s residence, Li Weiyang lightly furrowed her brow. She had heard before that before Princess Chenliu married into the family, the Guo family had once had a mistress named Ren Shi, and Ren Shi had also left behind three children. Because Ren Shi had mistakenly believed Guo Xiang died on the battlefield that year and, fearing the Pei family’s power, had cruelly abandoned her three children and returned to her family home. Who knew Guo Xiang not only returned but experienced a reversal of fortune, marrying Princess Chenliu. Ren Shi cried and made a fuss, saying Guo Xiang had abandoned his wife and remarried. The three children were young and naturally sided with their birth mother, viciously causing a huge scene. Though Guo Xiang was angry, he also considered that the children were young and Ren Shi had no one to depend on, so he built a family temple in the residence to shelter Ren Shi, but no longer honored her as wife. These three children were also raised by Princess Chenliu. But after Li Weiyang entered the Guo residence, she had never seen these three people. Though Madam Guo had mentioned they had all established themselves and left the residence, in subsequent banquets she had never encountered people from that branch…

So she had long guessed that the three children left by Ren Shi definitely didn’t get along with Princess Chenliu. Perhaps, even more seriously, they didn’t get along with the entire Guo family. And the young guard before her, coming from the Mighty General’s residence, was someone close to Guo Teng, the third son left by Ren Shi. But he didn’t have the Guo surname…

In fact, Peng Dazu was an orphan of a deputy general beside Guo Teng. Guo Teng took him in as an adopted son, later even sending him into the palace, hoping he’d have good prospects. This Peng Dazu was quick-witted and clever, mixing quite well in the palace. Though only the Mighty General’s adopted son, he quickly rose to the rank of Palace Commander. The problem was, why wasn’t it someone else but specifically Peng Dazu? Li Weiyang sneered coldly—everything seemed arranged.

“Speak! Did you write this love letter?” Consort Hu Shun walked before Peng Dazu. Seeing him kneeling on the ground without speaking, she stood before him. “Speak!”

“No, it wasn’t this servant who wrote it… this servant… found it.” He said through gritted teeth. Although the Consort Guo Hui standing there was technically related to him, in fact during these years in the palace she had never paid him particular attention. When he saw her, he also tried not to draw notice, bowing his head and calling her Consort Hui. In this palace, she was master, he was servant—this would never change.

“Is that so? Then whose is it? How could it have dropped in the palace?” Seeing the Guo family’s ugly expressions, Consort Hu Shun felt secretly delighted, though her face grew increasingly grave as she sneered coldly.

“Your Ladyship, it must have been accidentally lost by some servant on duty. What was written was probably also for someone outside the palace…” Cold sweat emerged on Peng Dazu’s forehead.

“Where did you find it? Why didn’t you report it but kept it on your person? Spouting complete nonsense! If you don’t confess truthfully, I’ll twist out your tongue!” Consort Hu Shun’s expression was incomparably cold as she shouted sternly.

“Your Ladyship, forgive this servant! This servant is absurd, this servant deserves death!”

“Still won’t speak honestly!” Consort Hu Shun pressed relentlessly.

“Please show mercy, Your Ladyship. This servant… this servant truly finds it inconvenient to speak…” Peng Dazu kept kowtowing but refused to confess.

A eunuch beside him kicked him viciously. “Still won’t speak honestly! Do you really want Her Ladyship to take your life?!”

Peng Dazu froze, his face showing terrified expression. Then he kowtowed repeatedly. “Your Ladyship, spare my life! Spare my life!”

“Since you fear death, speak clearly. Perhaps I’ll be lenient.” Consort Hu Shun’s beautiful face was like a cold sculpture, devoid of emotion.

Peng Dazu glanced at Zhao Yue beside him, saying lowly, “Zhao Yue, we can’t hide it anymore. Better confess. Her Ladyship is kindhearted—perhaps she’ll give us a way to live.”

Having never suffered such humiliation, Zhao Yue’s face flushed bright red. No matter how she tried to open her mouth, she couldn’t produce sound. She seemed enraged to the extreme, struggling desperately. Nearby palace maids quickly held her down. Zhao Yue after all came from martial arts training and actually broke free from several palace maids. A eunuch beside Consort Hu Shun clearly knew martial arts. With a quick movement, he pressed down on Zhao Yue’s shoulder, kicking viciously at the back of her knees. Zhao Yue cried out in pain and fell to her knees. The eunuch was about to slap her when suddenly a sharp “Stop!” rang out. The eunuch was startled—it was Li Weiyang sternly stopping him. “If you dare strike again, that’s torture to extract confession! This testimony won’t be credible!”

As soon as Li Weiyang spoke, Consort Guo Hui immediately waved her hand. Naturally people by her side surrounded the eunuch who had struck. The eunuch froze, then looked helplessly at Consort Hu Shun.

“Forget it, release her. Peng Dazu, continue.” Consort Hu Shun’s eyes revealed a trace of smugness.

“Yes, Your Ladyship. This servant… this servant was already mutually attracted to Zhao Yue when outside the palace. But she’s Miss Guo’s maidservant, and this servant is General Guo’s adopted son. There’s absolutely no possibility of marrying a servant, so this servant and she couldn’t be together openly. Therefore we took this meeting opportunity to discuss when we could leave Yuexi together. While discussing in the Imperial Garden, unexpectedly we were seen. Later trouble arose and the love letter on this servant’s person was discovered…” After Peng Dazu finished speaking, he lowered his head even more.

Madam Guo’s expression became very ugly. She had watched Zhao Yue loyally devoted to her daughter, never speaking much with young guards in the residence—a very reliable girl. Moreover, Peng Dazu had never come to the Guo residence—how could he and Zhao Yue have developed feelings over time? He was clearly deliberately framing her! She said coldly, “You’re randomly framing a girl like this—you have absolutely no shame left. Do you want face or not?!”

Peng Dazu glanced at Madam Guo, his gaze vaguely revealing a trace of coldness, though his face appeared even more panicked. “Madam Guo, what this servant said is true. If not, you can ask Zhao Yue to clarify.”

“Humph, her throat was scalded by you people—how can she still speak?” Consort Guo Hui was furious.

Consort Hu Shun sneered coldly. “She feared our interrogation, so she deliberately scalded her throat. Does she think this will let her escape punishment? Truly ridiculous to the extreme!”

Li Weiyang’s eyes grew cold. Consort Hu Shun’s move appeared simple but was extremely sinister. For a young lady, when a man insists you had an affair with him, no matter how you argue, it’s very difficult for anyone to believe you. This bucket of dirty water poured down—Zhao Yue couldn’t even defend herself, showing the other party had calculated everything very precisely.

“Enough talking. The testimony is conclusive. Since Peng Dazu can confess, give him light punishment and keep him in the palace. As for this Zhao Yue…” Consort Hu Shun immediately issued her order.

Li Weiyang sneered coldly. “Before Your Ladyship makes a decision, I hope you’ll think thrice.”

Consort Hu Shun’s gaze seemed to want to see through Li Weiyang’s cool face. “What kind of place is the palace? These dog slaves actually dared to have private relations in the Imperial Garden, defiling the palace grounds. So they must be properly punished to show those slaves this is the fate of disturbing palace propriety.”

Her words sounded righteous. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

Madam Guo stood on her daughter’s side. “Zhao Yue isn’t that kind of person. Now she can’t defend herself, yet you judge her guilty so quickly—this is truly too arbitrary!”

“Arbitrary?!” Consort Hu Shun sneered. “Madam Guo, everyone has ears and heard very clearly. This Peng Dazu personally admitted he had an affair with this girl. Must he repeat it again?! This is already testimony, and there’s that love letter—irrefutable physical evidence! With both testimony and evidence present, who exactly is denying reality—me or your Guo family?!”

“Peng Dazu,” Li Weiyang suddenly looked at him, her gaze seemingly holding icy light, “how many years has Zhao Yue been by my side?”

Peng Dazu was somewhat shocked. He subconsciously glanced at Zhao Yue, his eyes rolling before answering, “This… probably seven or eight years…” Miss Guo was only eighteen years old. When she was a princess in Dali, she naturally had maidservants from childhood, but being too young they couldn’t care for their mistress well, so Zhao Yue most likely came to her side seven or eight years ago.

“It’s eight years.” Li Weiyang said emotionally. “She’s always been devoted and loyal to me.”

“Yes, eight years.” Peng Dazu looked at Li Weiyang’s bottomless eyes, inexplicably feeling panicked, losing his usual composure. He quickly said, “She mentioned it before, but I didn’t pay particular attention. Now that Miss mentions it, I remember.”

But Consort Hu Shun sensed something wrong and quickly tried to rebuke Peng Dazu. Unfortunately it was already too late—he had already spoken.

“Wrong.” Li Weiyang sneered lightly, her lips showing three parts cold meaning. “Seven or eight years ago, I was still the Li family’s adopted daughter, sent to the countryside to recuperate. Zhao Yue followed me for only four or five years. You’re stammering because you simply don’t know. Not just you—very few people know this. How long Zhao Yue has served by my side—if you had the closest relationship with her, she couldn’t possibly not have told you! Also, she has a younger sister—do you know?” Li Weiyang smiled.

“This… naturally I know!” Peng Dazu quickly interrupted.

Li Weiyang sneered coldly. “Unfortunately, she has no younger sister, only an older brother.”

Everyone’s faces showed shocked and suspicious expressions. If Zhao Yue truly loved this person, how could she not have revealed even how many people were in her family… This was the most basic thing.

“Ah?” Peng Dazu felt at a loss. He looked at Consort Hu Shun in panic, but she no longer paid him attention, turning her face away. In desperation, Peng Dazu said, “Please forgive me. I just committed an offense and was flustered, speaking incorrectly.”

Seeing all this, Consort Guo Hui sternly rebuked, “Nonsense! You claim to have had private relations with Zhao Yue, yet you can’t even say how many years she’s been by Jia’er’s side, don’t even know if she has siblings! So-called mutual attraction—this is clearly slander. Speak quickly—who instructed you?”

“This servant deserves death, but this servant wasn’t instructed by anyone. This servant and Zhao Yue truly had an affair, but we’ve spent little time together and don’t know each other very well—this isn’t strange—” Peng Dazu after all wasn’t mediocre. He had already steadied himself and stubbornly refused to relent.

If he wouldn’t relent, this matter became very troublesome—unless torture was used! Consort Guo Hui’s eyes grew cold as she said sternly to Consort Hu Shun, “This Peng Dazu’s words contradict themselves—clearly he’s deliberately framing someone. We absolutely cannot convict based solely on one person’s testimony!” Her voice was forceful, brooking no argument.

Consort Hu Shun’s gaze was like sharp swords, wanting to pierce two bloody holes in Peng Dazu’s young face, clearly blaming him for ruining things. She showed it so obviously that even Consort Guo Hui and Madam Guo felt surprised.

The atmosphere instantly congealed. Li Weiyang’s lips gradually formed a cold smile. “Consort Shun, Zhao Yue’s throat isn’t seriously scalded. At most three to five days she’ll be able to make sound. In my view, you’d better wait, lest others say Your Ladyship wronged the innocent.”

Consort Hu Shun’s rage accumulated at her brow, churning for a long time without speaking a word.

Madam Guo’s gaze quietly swept across Consort Hu Shun’s face, her look so sharp it made one shudder. “I’m normally good-tempered, but I don’t let others bully my people. Moreover, your so-called palace rules are for people in the palace to follow. Strictly speaking, Zhao Yue isn’t a palace maid. Even if they truly had an affair, the Guo family should handle it, using family law not palace rules. Consort Shun shouldn’t overstep your bounds!”

Consort Hu Shun smiled coldly, her lips drawing a smooth arc as she interrupted. “Regardless of who they are, once they step through the palace gates, they must follow palace rules. Reaching this point today is their own fault. Looking at the situation, we can’t get anything more. Detain these two temporarily. As Miss Guo said, have the Imperial Physician treat Zhao Yue. I want to see—when her throat heals, what flowers can she possibly speak!”

Consort Guo Hui said coldly, “Since we’re detaining them, where will they be held? Surely not in your palace, Consort Shun—that would lack fairness.”

Consort Hu Shun said angrily, “Then what do you want?! Keep them here? I can’t trust that. Who knows if Miss Guo, with such deep mistress-servant affection, might secretly release her!”

Consort Guo Hui glanced at Li Weiyang, saw her nod slightly, then said, “Since we both distrust each other, let’s confine them in the Ice Room.”

The so-called Ice Room wasn’t specifically an ice storage, but a place specifically for detaining offending palace maids and eunuchs, with dedicated guards. Once confined there, unless cleared of charges, one could never see daylight again. Most importantly, confinement in the Ice Room meant strict guarding—no one could easily approach them, meaning neither Consort Hu Shun nor Consort Guo Hui could influence their testimony.

This suggestion could be said to be very fair. Consort Hu Shun snorted coldly, saying with sarcasm, “Since Elder Sister Consort Hui has spoken thus, what more can I say? Confine them in the Ice Room. In a few days when this girl’s throat heals, we’ll invite Her Majesty the Empress to interrogate them carefully together! However, since this girl is being detained, please Madam Guo and Miss Guo stay two more days as well, to serve as witnesses.”

Li Weiyang smiled. “Mother, Consort Shun graciously invites us. Do you mind staying two more days?”

Zhao Yue was her daughter’s favorite maidservant, inseparable normally. Knowing she was being framed, could she abandon her and leave? Moreover, if she let go now, it would only leave an ugly reputation for the Guo family of lax discipline. In all these years, the Guo family had never had such an incident. Madam Guo didn’t even think before saying, “Staying two more days is naturally no problem.”

Consort Hu Shun examined Li Weiyang again, secretly admiring her current composure. If she had shown the slightest panic earlier, she would definitely have been able to establish Zhao Yue’s guilt. But with her words, it appeared even more full of doubts. Adding her loyalty as mistress to her personal maidservant made everyone more convinced. She herself had lost the initiative—further entanglement was meaningless.

“It’s late. Return to rest. Discuss anything further tomorrow. Elder Sister Consort Hui, I take my leave.” Consort Hu Shun watched the guards escort those two away, then smiled and spoke. Then, without waiting for Consort Hui to respond, she had already turned, her magnificent skirts sweeping across the ground like colored clouds. Palace maids helped her onto the sedan chair.

Li Weiyang watched the smug Consort Hu Shun depart, her face showing not the slightest trace of loss or fear, instead very calm.

As expected, the other party had acted this quickly. The corners of her lips moved slightly.

Watching Consort Hu Shun leave, Consort Guo Hui’s expression seemed frozen by frost for an instant, a moment later filled with fury. She said in a low voice, “This bastard—always watching my palace’s affairs. The slightest lapse and she seizes it!”

Li Weiyang lowered her head. “Your Ladyship, this is all niece’s lax discipline.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” Consort Guo Hui said through gritted teeth. “Over these years my palace has never lacked incidents. This is her usual trick. Presumably yesterday I embarrassed her, so she doesn’t dare do anything to me but finds fault to cause trouble. Speaking of it, I’ve actually implicated you.”

Li Weiyang repeatedly said, “You can’t say that. If not for Your Ladyship making decisions today, Zhao Yue’s life would have been forfeit.”

“We’re family—no need to say such things.” Consort Guo Hui’s angry expression slowly calmed as she looked at Li Weiyang, ultimately sighing. “I’m afraid she deliberately devised a way to lure Zhao Yue out and frame her. Originally the matter wasn’t this complex, but that person is even from the Guo family. It’s all evil karma.”

Madam Guo’s expression obviously showed worry, yet she gently comforted, “Your Ladyship, one pen can’t write two Guo characters. This matter presumably has nothing to do with the Mighty General.”

Consort Guo Hui’s face changed repeatedly, finally settling into a bottomless abyss. She said slowly with a darkened face, “Nothing to do? These years how often have they tripped us up behind the scenes? Even if not from the same mother, where has mother treated them poorly? Every one of them is an ungrateful wretch!”

She spoke halfway, then remembering Li Weiyang was present, her expression dimmed. She came to her senses and comforted her. “Jia’er, rest assured. I’ll have the Imperial Physician treat Zhao Yue. When she can speak, we’ll question her thoroughly. I understand Consort Hu Shun very well—she’s all thunder and no rain. She just wants to cause us some trouble through this opportunity. She can’t make big moves. When the time comes, I’ll definitely return your maidservant to you safe and sound.”

Li Weiyang knew this was Consort Guo Hui guaranteeing Zhao Yue’s safety. Though her heart held no panic, seeing the other’s kind intentions, she smiled. “Thank you, Your Ladyship.”

Consort Guo Hui was obviously very tired. Palace maids first helped her return to rest. But Madam Guo’s expression was unusual. She looked at Li Weiyang. “Jia’er, Mother has something to tell you.”

Unless it was extremely important, Madam Guo absolutely wouldn’t speak at this hour. Li Weiyang only said, “Mother, you want to discuss the Mighty General?”

“Yes.” Madam Guo entered the room with Li Weiyang, ordering everyone to withdraw before saying softly, “That person earlier was your second uncle’s adopted son—you already know this. But there are some things we never told you. From when you entered the residence, you’ve never seen your eldest uncle, eldest aunt, or second uncle, have you?”

Li Weiyang looked at Madam Guo’s rarely grave expression and nodded.

Madam Guo smiled soundlessly, that smile weary. “The previous generation’s entanglements ran too deep. Though the former Guo family mistress Ren Shi was at fault first, all these years she’s been filled with hatred toward Princess Chenliu, feeling she usurped her nest and stole her status and husband. Those three children, though all cared for by the Princess, had already matured then and developed attachment to their birth mother. No matter how the Princess cared for them, they showed no gratitude.”

Though Princess Chenliu insisted on not allowing Ren Shi to return to the Guo family and refused to share a husband, she wasn’t an absolutely heartless person. Li Weiyang asked herself—if it were her, that Ren Shi probably couldn’t stay in the Guo family at all, regardless of whether she took a nun’s vows… But Princess Chenliu kept such a woman, equivalent to keeping a great hidden danger. Not only might her husband defect, she’d also never win the children’s hearts.

“The Princess was kindhearted after all. She felt that though Ren Shi did many wrong things, it had nothing to do with the children, so she always tried every means to care for them. Until later, once, the eldest son Guo Ping, using his birthday as pretext, gave the Princess a set of rare musical scores. The Princess was very happy, thinking she’d finally moved the children. Who knew later an experienced nanny by the Princess discovered those musical score pages contained drugs making women infertile. The Princess liked using saliva to turn pages. Over time, naturally she’d have no way to bear children and would even face life-threatening danger—”

Li Weiyang felt slightly surprised. “At that time, Guo Ping should have been very young.”

“Yes, only five or six years old…” Madam Guo’s face showed a bitter smile. “As you can imagine, how could a child think of such a vicious method… Even so, the Princess and the old Duke felt this matter had nothing to do with the young child. It must have been Ren Shi’s doing. Fearing she’d corrupt the children’s nature, they confined that woman in the family temple, no longer allowing her to approach the children. Perhaps this very incident made those three children together hate the Princess.”

Hearing this, Li Weiyang had gained a general understanding of the Guo family’s grudges. She continued, “Then later when the Princess bore other children, the conflicts must have grown even greater.”

Madam Guo thought of those past events, as if wild fire leapt from her heart to her throat. She could no longer restrain herself. “More than just conflicts—your eldest uncle believed himself the legitimate eldest son, so naturally he should inherit the Duke’s title. The Princess originally didn’t care about that position, but your eldest uncle judged a gentleman’s heart with a petty person’s mind. He actually secretly moved against the old Duke. Though unsuccessful, he thoroughly angered the old Duke. In fury, he drove your eldest uncle from the household, leaving him to fend for himself. Your second uncle and eldest aunt naturally helped their eldest brother, also resenting the old Duke together. The Duke after all was advanced in years, his strength failing. He soon fell ill. Later he said that title absolutely couldn’t be left to someone with such scheming, so he specifically asked His Majesty to witness and passed the title to your father.”

So many things had happened. No wonder whether it was the eldest uncle serving as Minister of War, the second uncle as Mighty General, or even that Marquis Qingping’s wife—none appeared. So this was why.

The Mighty General, Peng Dazu, Consort Hu Shun, the Hu family… Connecting everything together, many previously unnoticed details surfaced. Yet Li Weiyang felt puzzled for the first time. If following the usual script, shouldn’t Peng Dazu now insist this love letter was written for the Guo family’s young lady? Peng Dazu was the Guo family’s adopted son and naturally had opportunities to see her. Outsiders wouldn’t know—they’d assume they already had an affair outside the palace, so privately exchanging items in the palace would occur. Even if the framing failed, it could damage Miss Guo’s reputation. This way, with Miss Guo’s reputation ruined, both Consort Hu Shun and that Mighty General could feel vindicated, also using the opportunity to destroy any possibility of Miss Guo marrying Yuan Ying or becoming Princess Consort of Xu… Yet why didn’t Consort Hu Shun do this?

Madam Guo watched Li Weiyang’s thoughtful expression and asked, “Jia’er, what is it?”

Li Weiyang was lost in thought for a moment before saying steadily, “The key now is—Consort Hu Shun clearly could have established Zhao Yue’s guilt. Why delay these two days?” She vaguely felt Consort Hu Shun’s true purpose wasn’t this…