Chapter 19

In Jinghua Pavilion, beneath the window, Su Yao sat quietly.

Suddenly, the door was forcefully pushed open. The woman who walked in wore a pale yellow dress, her tone contemptuous and full of disdain.

“I heard your name is Su Yao?”

Su Yao recognized at a glance that this was the woman who had been entangled with Rong Yang in Jinxiu Hall that day.

Along with Li Qianqian came three other women.

Lin Wei crossed her arms and leaned against the door. The other two wore provocative expressions.

“You came here with the Fifth Princess, didn’t you?” Han Youran, dressed in green, mocked.

“If not for marrying her, someone of your lowly status would never have appeared at a banquet like this.”

The two spoke one after another, but Su Yao did not put them in her eyes at all. She held a handkerchief and lightly wiped her fingers.

Seeing that she remained unmoved, Li Qianqian sneered.

“Stop putting on that self-righteous, aloof look here. Aside from that face, what else about you is presentable? [unauthorized copy]You and us are as different as clouds and mud.”

“As long as I want it, Rong Yang will not even spare you another glance…”

“How noisy.”

Su Yao’s cool voice interrupted her.

She lowered both hands and sat there just like that, her gaze looking straight at Li Qianqian, deep and cold.

Li Qianqian froze. This was the first time a lowly commoner had ever talked back to her. She glared angrily at the woman sitting there. “What did you say?”

“I do not want to repeat myself. You heard me.” Su Yao’s posture was sharp and severe as she met Li Qianqian’s gaze indifferently.

Li Qianqian’s brows furrowed faintly. This woman did not look as easy to deal with as she had imagined.

“As expected, speaking to someone like you who crawled up from the mud is exhausting.”

“The daughter of a mere prefect actually thinks that after climbing up to Rong Yang, she can put on airs?”

So noisy. So noisy. Why did she keep chattering endlessly?

She truly wanted to make her shut her mouth forever.

Li Qianqian was stunned to discover that Su Yao’s gaze was like she was looking at a dead object. For some reason, she fell silent. The room sank into quiet.

Only Lin Wei’s eyes flashed with a trace of interest.

“If there is nothing else, get out,” Su Yao said coldly.

Li Qianqian raised her brows and walked closer, deliberately speaking in a mysterious manner.

“Someone stole the birthday gift I prepared for the empress. That jade Buddha is priceless. Someone told me that the Fifth Princess Consort’s figure was seen near the place where the jade Buddha disappeared, so I find the Fifth Princess Consort somewhat suspicious. That is why I came here to take a look. I ask the Fifth Princess Consort to cooperate.”

“If you refuse, I will suspect that you are the one who stole it. When the time comes, I will naturally report it to the empress and ask her to decide. But if you obediently let me search this place, and nothing is found, then I will not disturb you again.”

The two women behind her hurriedly echoed, “That’s right. Your family background is ordinary. You must never have seen such a precious thing before.”

“Yes. With such character, how can you be worthy of being a princess consort?”

The women spoke one after another, as if they had already convicted Su Yao.

Su Yao’s expression remained cold, and she said nothing. It was this kind of boring framing scheme again.

Her lowered eyes were filled with gloom.

“Someone, search.”

—

“Mother Empress, you must wear this golden-thread soft armor with you at all times.” Rong Yang was still worried, so she said it again.

“Mm, you have already said it several times.” After drinking the sobering tea, the empress leaned lightly against the soft couch. She looked lazy, allowing Hongfu to massage her temples.

“Mother Empress will do as you say. Starting tomorrow, I will wear it with me.”

Only then did Rong Yang relax. “Then Mother Empress, please rest. Your daughter will withdraw.”

“Mm.”

After Rong Yang left, the empress slowly closed her eyes. “Hongfu, regarding this dream Rong Yang spoke of, where I was assassinated and died beneath an arrow, what do you think?”

“The Fifth Princess must have been thinking about it by day and dreaming of it by night. She is worried about you.”

“Mm.” The empress worked hard to keep her voice as steady as usual, and the surging emotions on her face slowly sank back down.

From the moment Rong Yang spoke of this dream, she had believed it.

Because she had also had such a dream.

Rong Yang quickly returned to Mingyan Banquet Hall. When she entered the rear courtyard, a commotion sounded not far away.

“Someone come quickly! Someone come!”

“She killed someone! She killed someone!”

The woman in green beside Li Qianqian was shouting for help at the top of her lungs.

Rong Yang furrowed her brows. That room was Jinghua Pavilion, where Su Yao was staying!

Her heart clenched fiercely, and she quickly ran toward Jinghua Pavilion.

The others nearby who heard the commotion also gathered in this direction.

Rong Yang rushed through the door. Her first glance searched for Su Yao.

The beautiful Kunze before her had mottled bloodstains scattered across the front of her white dress. In her right hand, she held a greenish-blue porcelain shard.

Rong Yang’s breath instantly stopped. Her gaze swept over Su Yao’s entire body. Only after discovering no obvious wounds [unauthorized copy]on her did she quietly let out a breath of relief.

Only then did she look toward Li Qianqian, who lay on the ground in Lin Wei’s arms, her right shoulder continuously bleeding, and then at the greenish-blue shards scattered all over the floor.

“Rong Yang… it was her. It was Su Yao who tried to kill me.” After Li Qianqian finished speaking, she fainted.

More and more people gathered at the doorway. From within the crowd, no one knew who said, “The Fifth Princess Consort killed someone. She killed the legitimate daughter of the Minister’s residence, Li Qianqian.”

The crowd whispered among themselves. Countless gazes examined Su Yao.

No one cared about the truth, just as no one cared whether she wanted to be this princess consort or not. They would only see what they wanted to see.

Under everyone’s gaze, Rong Yang stood in front of Su Yao. Her posture was careless, her brows and eyes flamboyant. Her beauty was dazzling like blazing sunlight. Her red lips pressed together lightly as she blocked all the judging gazes from outside.

“Summon an imperial physician!” she ordered with a cold expression.

Su Yao’s eyes trembled faintly. All those accusing voices and ugly faces had been blocked by the person she hated most…

…

Very quickly, Jinghua Pavilion was urgently surrounded by the imperial guards. Unrelated people were invited out of the rear courtyard.

Su Yao sat on a long bench beneath the corridor outside [stolen content]the pavilion, her eyes lowered, no one knew what she was thinking.

Rong Yang’s heart tightened slightly. She noticed that Su Yao’s clenched palm was faintly red. She walked in front of Su Yao and crouched down.

Raising her hand, she held Su Yao’s clenched right hand with a tone that allowed no refusal.

“Open it.”

Su Yao froze slightly, then slowly opened her blood-soaked right hand.

When Rong Yang’s warm fingertips touched the wound, her movements were very gentle. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, and the bleeding had already stopped.

She instructed a maid to prepare water, then called an imperial physician over to bandage Su Yao.

She had not expected that even leaving Su Yao alone in a room in the rear courtyard would still lead to trouble.

Suddenly, Rong Yang remembered something and swept her gaze around the surroundings.

She did not see the Third Princess.

Was she not supposed to appear?