The palace wall reflects the moon

Chapter 45: To attract good friends [-]

Xin Wei swallowed the pheasant meat slowly and smiled awkwardly.

Shen Xiao knew very well whether she had an affair at Haishi last night. It all depended on what Shen Xiao planned to do.

Liu Qingshu's eyes were full of surprise: "There is only one lotus pond in the palace, which is behind the queen's bedroom. What was Cao Zhaoyi doing there late at night?"

"After all, the queen is my concubine's cousin. I heard that the queen made a big mistake in the paddock. Although I don't know why, I want to try to persuade her." Cao Zhaoyi answered calmly, and then her tone turned to hatred, as if she was extremely disgusted, " I never thought I would see such an immoral scene!"

Liu Qingshu pointed it out to her calmly: "In the past, I didn't think you had any contact with the queen."

The Queen and Cao Zhaoyi did not have any sisterhood. Everyone saw it, so it was not a secret.

Cao Zhaoyi no longer explained, but said solemnly: "No matter why I went there, or what selfish motives I had, it is a fact that Xin Jieyu had an affair with someone!"

Xin Wei made no excuse and turned her eyes to look at the emperor, her eyes filled with shame, anger and embarrassment.

Even though she knew the outcome of this matter, she was unwilling to accept being humiliated in public.

Shen Xiao frowned and said calmly: "The lotus pond is wide and it's nighttime. How can you be sure that you are seeing Xin Jieyu?"

Cao Zhaoyi said eloquently: "It's true that I can't see clearly across a lotus pond, but I thought, this is the emperor's palace, how can a man and a woman embrace each other, maybe two maids who don't know whether to live or die are having an affair with a slave. Come on!"

"The concubine waited for the two to separate and followed the woman. Then she came to the woman's residence and found that it was Xin Jieyu's house!"

"Even the guard who had an affair also followed. This time I could see clearly that it was Feng Zhi, the imperial guard with a sword. Guard Feng came to give Xin Jieyu a begonia flower!"

After a round of naming and vivid words, everyone looked at each other in astonishment.

Chu Ying looked at Xin Wei beside her in fear, and the hand hidden by the desk secretly reached out and tugged on her sleeve.

is that true?she asked with her eyes.

Xin Wei was speechless and didn't say anything. She just looked at Cao Zhaoyi who was kneeling in the hall quietly, her eyes were complicated, full of various emotions, helpless and regretful, but without the slightest embarrassment or fear.

Liu Qingshu sat upright and spoke in a steady voice: "Cao Zhaoyi, it concerns Xin Jieyu's innocence and life, and you can't just slander her with nothing."

Cao Zhaoyi's eyes were fierce and she raised three fingers: "If what I say is not true, I am willing to be struck by lightning from the sky and die a bad death!"

She spoke with great force, fearing that her true feelings would not be revealed, and her resounding final words echoed in the hall.

When everyone saw her swearing like this, they felt shocked and excited in their hearts.

Liu Qingshu was still about to speak, but Yu Zhaoyi whispered beside her: "Since she dared to expose it on any occasion, she must have a perfect plan. Why don't you wait and see?"

In such a situation, Liu Qingshu didn't know how to help. Seeing that Xin Wei's expression was calm as usual, without any panic, Liu Qingshu felt a little relieved and stopped talking for the time being.

Cao Zhaoyi slowly looked around, satisfied with everyone's shocked reactions, then glanced at Xin Wei, and solemnly said: "If the emperor doesn't believe it, you can search for it. The crabapple is inserted in the porcelain vase in Xin Jieyu's room!"

Shen Xiao's eyes were indifferent, without any tone: "It is normal for a woman to have a crabapple in her house. How can we prove that it was a gift from her lover?"

Cao Zhaoyi said: "Since they did this, there must be other clues, and the emperor will know it after a search!"

There was silence in the hall, so quiet that one could hear the birds chirping in the distant mountains, intermittent mourning.

Liu Qingshu stood up from the table, bowed down in front of the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, the bedroom is a woman's private place. If she is searched like this, how will Xin Jieyu's face be saved? How will she deal with herself in the future?"

Xin Wei knew that nothing was wrong, but she was still grateful to Liu Qingshu for her determination to come forward to protect her.This is the daughter of a general. She is extremely righteous and frail, but she has her own arrogance and courage. How could she ever lose to Xun Guan?
Cao Zhaoyi's eyes flashed: "Why did Concubine Liu say this? Xin Jieyu did such an unfair thing. Is it possible for the emperor to be deceived by her?"

Liu Qingshu glanced at her and said sharply: "Today I casually said that you were having an affair with someone, so can I also search your house?"

"Concubine Liu, just go and search! I have a clear conscience!" Cao Zhaoyi said loudly.

At this time, there was a deadlock. Xin Wei walked out of the banquet, kowtowed to the emperor three times, and then said to Liu Qingshu: "Thank you very much, Concubine Liu. I am a concubine who has been slandered for her purity and self-love. She is willing to have her house searched to prove her innocence." . If nothing is found in the palace, His Majesty the Emperor Huguangxie can also send people to search carefully."

After finishing speaking, he turned to the emperor and said: "It's just that my concubine has been wronged in this way, and I can't help but feel unhappy in my heart. If I can restore my innocence, please the emperor severely punish the slanderer!"

Liu Qingshu glanced at her steadily and understood.

King Xuan, who had been watching the show silently, twirled his wine glass and suddenly said in a hesitant tone: "Are you... Xin Jieyu?"

Xin Wei didn't dare to raise her head and said respectfully, "Yes."

King Xuan withdrew his probing gaze and turned to the emperor and said, "No matter what the outcome is, it is unseemly to cause such an incident. Zhaoyi is indeed a bit reckless."

King Xuan should not have intervened in the affairs of the harem, but if he did, the emperor would not mind.

When King Xuan said this, Cao Zhaoyi's face turned red and black.

It was indeed reckless to bring this matter to the public eye, but only in this way could Xin Jieyu be saved from eternal disaster.Moreover, she had never seen the emperor in private since the Pavilion in the Heart of the Lake, so she had no choice but to choose this occasion.

Shen Xiao said coolly: "You can search. If nothing is found, Cao Zhaoyi will bear the consequences."

Cao Zhaoyi vowed: "If nothing is found, I am willing to bear any punishment!"

The wait for search results is especially long.

Cao Zhaoyi was kneeling with her back straight, looking determined to win. She glanced at Xin Wei proudly from time to time.

After a stick of incense, the guards who went to search came back. One of the guards entered the palace carrying a celadon flower vase with a draping silk begonia inserted in the vase.Another guard held a letter in his hand.

Cao Zhaoyi stared at the letter and said loudly: "Your Majesty, this is the crabapple that the guard gave to Xin Jieyu!"

Yes, Shen Xiao naturally knows it all too well.Because he asked Feng Zhi to deliver it.

Liu Qingshu smiled and said: "You are just saying it for nothing. This crabapple could have been picked by Xin Jieyu herself, or it could have been given to her by the sisters in the harem."

Zhang Zhaoyi, who had been silent all this time, spoke up: "From now on, I don't want to tell anyone, a heart of spring is given to Begonia. I heard that men among the people often give Begonia flowers to express their undeclared affection."

Cao Zhaoyi knew that a crabapple plant could not be used as evidence. She did not care about this at first. She pointed at the letter in the hand of another guard and asked loudly in order to avoid chaos in the world: "Your Majesty, what is this!"

"Back to the Emperor, this is the letter found in the vase."

The guard presented the letter to the emperor. Shen Xiao opened it and looked at it. His eyes darkened a little. He handed it to Eunuch Xi next to him and said, "Read it."

When Eunuch Xi saw it, his old face turned red, but the emperor had a destiny and had to read it.

"The white grass is pure, and there is a woman like jade. She is comfortable and free, and she doesn't feel that I am coquettish..."

Xi's father-in-law read more quietly.

(End of this chapter)