sjar Chapter 85 Are you ready for tonight?
Chapter 85 Are you ready for tonight?
Inside the Zichen Palace, a solemn atmosphere prevailed.
Pei Yuanling glanced coldly at the woman kneeling on the ground below, weeping bitterly.
"Your Majesty, this was all done by that dog of a servant; it has nothing to do with me!"
As she spoke, Wei Yiqiu moved her knees toward Pei Yuanling. In just a few steps, she was kneeling beside his legs in the blink of an eye: "Your Majesty, you must believe me!"
She held her head high, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Gone was her usual arrogance; instead, she appeared pitiful and endearing.
Pei Yuanling glanced at her indifferently: "Now that the evidence is conclusive, you still want to argue? Do you think I'm a fool?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not, but I will absolutely not admit to anything I did not do," Wei Yiqiu said firmly, raising her eyes.
If he hadn't known her personality all along, he would have been fooled by her wronged appearance and thought that she had truly been wronged.
Unfortunately, she had already played this trick many times, and he would never believe her again.
"Consort Wei, I think you should stop being so stubborn. All the evidence points to you now. You might as well confess and ask His Majesty for forgiveness," Empress Wang advised from the side, a worried look on her dignified face.
Wei Yiqiu was a fiercely competitive person who would never admit defeat.
She glared at Empress Wang with hatred in her eyes, her gaze cold and sharp: "Your Majesty, stop acting. You've disliked me for a long time, so why pretend to be kind now?"
"Very well, very well." The Queen looked heartbroken and said with a wry smile, "I was trying to advise you out of consideration for our sisterly bond, but I didn't expect that I would be the one to speak out of turn."
"Your Majesty, please take a look."
As she spoke, she took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Pei Yuanling: "This is a letter from Consort Wei to General Huwei."
Upon seeing the familiar cover, Wei Yiqiu's eyes widened in disbelief: "How did this letter end up with you?"
After saying that, as if remembering something, she immediately stood up to stop Pei Yuanling from reading the letter: "Your Majesty—"
Pei Yuanling shot her a cold glare, and Wei Yiqiu immediately shrank back in fright, no longer daring to move.
"Father, your daughter has committed a grave error in the palace and fears punishment from His Majesty. I beg you to return to the capital immediately to save her."
With each word Pei Yuanling uttered, Wei Yiqiu's face paled further.
"Now, what do you have to say?" Pei Yuanling questioned.
Wei Yiqiu was now heartbroken. She looked at Pei Yuanling, no longer the stubborn woman she had been before, and pleaded on the ground, "Your Majesty, I was just confused at the time. I was jealous of Consort Chu's favor and wanted to take advantage of her loss of power, so I ordered people to go to the palace to humiliate her."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I admit that I did send someone to deliver the poisoned wine, but I swear that I only sent the wine and absolutely did not instruct the eunuchs to force her to drink the poisoned wine."
Wei Yiqiu pointed to the sky and swore an oath, "Your Majesty, I swear on the honor of my entire Wei family, and beg Your Majesty to see this clearly!"
Empress Wang picked up a handkerchief and dabbed at the tip of her nose, saying calmly, "The only witness has been killed by Zhou Baojin. Whether it's true or false, isn't it all up to you, sister, to decide?"
"You! Empress, I have no grudge against you, why do you insist on killing me?" Wei Yiqiu glared fiercely at Empress Wang with bloodshot eyes.
A hint of malice flashed across Empress Wang's dignified face, which she quickly concealed. She looked at Pei Yuanling, her eyes gentle: "Your Majesty, Consort Wei was probably just angry and spoke without thinking. I think it would be better to confine her to the Cold Palace and let her calm down first?"
"By imperial decree, Consort Wei Yiqiu is guilty of being jealous by nature and plotting to harm other concubines. She is hereby stripped of her title as a consort, demoted to a commoner, and banished to the Cold Palace."
In just two short sentences, the conclusion has been reached.
Looking at the indifferent man before her, Wei Yiqiu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, losing all strength to resist, and allowed several eunuchs to drag her away—
The bloodshed and turmoil within the palace seemed to have come to an end at this moment.
Night deepened inside the Feixue Palace.
Chen Zhongliang had already come with the imperial decree to inform His Majesty that he would be coming tonight.
Chu Qingyin took a bath and changed her clothes, and waited outside the door wearing a light white gauze robe with orchid patterns. In the moonlight, she was not as bright and beautiful as usual, but rather had a graceful and elegant appearance.
Like a white camellia quietly blooming in the night, it is elegant and charming, captivating the heart.
The moment Pei Yuanling stepped into the palace gate, he felt a little dazed.
Back when the Imperial Concubine suffered a miscarriage, she was just as serene and tranquil, like a wisp of a soul that could no longer be held.
"Don't be afraid, it's all over now."
Pei Yuanling stepped forward, reached out and pulled Chu Qingyin, who was bowing, into his arms, and comforted her gently.
Chu Qingyin leaned against Pei Yuanling's chest and asked in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, what are you saying?"
"Yinyin, never leave me again."
Pei Yuanling said in a deep voice, tightening his grip on her waist and pulling her closer to him, as if only in this way could he feel that his voice was still alive in front of him.
"Your Majesty's words are true, of course I will not leave you."
Chu Qingyin smiled, peeked out from Pei Yuanling's embrace, looked up at him with deep affection in her eyes: "As long as Your Majesty doesn't send me away, even if I die, I will be Your Majesty's ghost."
"Why are you talking about dying?"
Pei Yuanling gently tapped her forehead, "Don't say things like that again."
Chu Qingyin paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, "Alright, if Your Majesty doesn't like to hear it, then this concubine will not say it again."
Seeing her obedient and composed demeanor, Pei Yuanling felt a mix of emotions.
As he led her inside, he reassured her, "Don't worry, I have already demoted Wei Yiqiu to a commoner and banished her to the Cold Palace. No one will be able to harm you in the slightest from now on."
Has he been banished to the cold palace?
Chu Qingyin's eyelids twitched slightly. She raised her eyes again and asked cautiously, "But Your Majesty, Consort Wei has General Wei behind her. I'm afraid that if you treat her like this, General Wei will..."
"What will happen?" Pei Yuanling's tone was slightly cold.
Chu Qingyin shrank her neck, looking frightened, and dared not say another word.
Seeing that she was frightened, Pei Yuanling squeezed her hand reassuringly: "I am now the Emperor, and all officials are subject to me. No matter how powerful Wei Biao is, he is still a subject. Moreover, the Emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners. How can I forgive his daughter every time?"
Thinking of his beloved Yinyin, who was poisoned by this wicked woman, his eyes grew increasingly dark.
I only regret that I cannot eat its flesh and drink its blood to relieve the hatred in my heart.
Chu Qingyin could clearly feel the surging anger rising and falling in Pei Yuanling's chest, and her anxious heart finally settled down.
Wei Yiqiu, it's time to settle the blood feud between us!
Unbeknownst to them, the night dew had deepened, and the ram-horn palace lanterns on the long corridor swayed gently in the wind.
The palace servants who were serving inside the hall all withdrew, leaving only the emperor and empress in the inner chamber.
Perhaps because he had put an old matter to rest, Pei Yuanling's gaze toward Chu Qingyin was exceptionally intense tonight.
Chu Qingyin naturally understood what that look meant.
Now that she has avenged her great grudge, it seems she should give the man something sweet in return.
Besides, she was a concubine and he was the emperor; their sleeping together was inevitable.
Amidst her racing thoughts, Pei Yuanling had already taken her hand and slowly sat down on the edge of the couch, his burning gaze fixed on her fair and delicate face.
"Yinyin, are you ready tonight?"