Free Web NovelChapter 222: Chapter 222
Chapter 222
"Just answer, Second Prince will surely understand. You’re doing this so that Second Prince only looks at you, right? When the consort has a child, you’re afraid Second Prince will no longer notice you, so you’ve done this. Their love is indeed great, but it can’t compare to a father’s love for his child. I think if you confess your wrongdoing, Second Prince might be more forgiving."
Eldest Young Miss of Ming family coaxed them, knowing that both truly loved Second Prince. Being hated was what they feared most.
Her words came from her own confidence, believing that the two concubines had no chance to justify themselves. If they wanted to survive, confessing might only result in them being sent to the Cold Palace, though it was a slim chance.
Before the two concubines could decide to do anything wrong, the person quietly listening to the grand drama spoke up with a clear, resonant voice.
"Eldest Young Miss of Ming family, I am Yueqian, the furen of the Governor of Red Earth City. May I ask you something?" Yueqian said seriously. Eldest Young Miss of Ming family raised her eyebrows slightly but wasn’t surprised. Since this matter involved life and death, Furen Mu probably wanted to fight for survival as well.
"Furen Mu, if you have something to ask, go ahead," she was very confident in herself, believing her plan had no flaws and therefore nothing to fear.
"In that case, Eldest Young Miss of Ming family, can you confirm our understanding? Did you personally see with your own eyes the two concubines contacting me? I’m only asking to confirm. If what you said was false, then I will not blame the servants who must be sentenced to death instead."
While others were waiting for the two concubines’ answers, Yueqian’s calm collected voice echoed. No one wanted to believe that under such dangerous circumstances, Yueqian remained seated in her place. If she hadn’t spoken up, no one would have noticed the woman behind the curtain.
"Furen Mu, what do you mean? If you have something to say, just say it," Eldest Young Miss of Ming family refused to answer the question.
She knew that every plan carried risks. If they could prove their innocence, she would shift the blame onto a servant. However, she didn’t expect the Governor’s furen to intercept her like this, as if the other party was confident that they could uncover the truth and win.
"I cannot explain until I get a confident answer from you. Otherwise, your “baseless” accusations would amount to slandering a member of the royal family."
"Why are you so certain that this attack was orchestrated by the concubines? By saying this, aren’t you undermining the consort’s honor?"
"Since the consort organized today’s event and oversees Second Prince’s inner palace, allowing the concubines under her care to harm her, it might not be true or known to anyone. Therefore, by clearly framing and identifying the culprits in this manner, aren’t you trying to ruin the consort’s reputation?"
"Ah, or are you taking advantage of the assailant’s attack on the consort to create more chaos? Not only is the consort injured, but those who hear about this will certainly mock and look down on her for her shortcomings."
"I haven’t even mentioned the shortcomings in Second Prince’s palace’s security. If enemies find out how easily one can enter and exit, even with many important guests present, allowing a villain to enter. So, in the future, inviting other members of the royal family here would mean putting them at risk, wouldn’t it?"
"I’m definitely not the only one thinking this, but others will certainly consider it after hearing about what happened at Second Prince’s manor."
"So, in my opinion, capturing the real culprit is essential. It’s no surprise if the culprit is someone at the event, as Second Prince honored everyone by letting this happen. But how are you certain that the assailants were these two concubines under the consort’s care?"
"Although I wasn’t born in the Bai Region, I’ve heard about Second Prince’s manor. While in other manors, wives fight for favor, in Second Prince’s manor, the consort manages the inner palace well. For many years, no concubine has died from fighting for favor. And suddenly, this incident occurs today?"
"Moreover, I don’t believe the two concubines would be so thoughtless. If they orchestrated this attack during such a grand event, and at a time when they were performing, wouldn’t that be akin to committing suicide? Even a fool would know it’s impossible. Both concubines have already been favored by Second Prince and hold significant positions. It is well known how much they love Second Prince. Would they do this in front of the Second Prince they love?"
"For these reasons stated earlier, I want to know if “Miss Ming,” who dared to slander others, truly saw with her own eyes any meeting between me and the two concubines, and the exchange of poison from White Mist City as she claims."
Yueqian spoke at length, making her point clear even to a fool. The Second Prince’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. He initially thought she would try to justify herself, but he didn’t expect that she would only mention his own concubine.
Not only was the Second Prince surprised, but the two concubines, who were about to blame Yueqian to save themselves, were also taken aback. They had initially harbored malicious thoughts, but unexpectedly, Yueqian did not accuse them. Instead, she defended and praised them.
"That is true, Your Highness. I love you sincerely and have never made any demands from you. Therefore, I never had any thoughts of harming you."
"I feel the same, Your Highness. You know I wouldn’t be foolish enough to do such a terrible thing. Please believe us," Ji Yao and Ping Hong quickly pleaded for mercy. The Second Prince’s eyes softened slightly as he recalled the past. Both women had always been generous, making such an act highly unlikely.
"Nevertheless, we cannot deny that the poison came from White Mist City. So..." Concubine Chuang was determined not to let the matter rest and spoke up again. However, her words were cut short by Yueqian’s next statement.
"I do not know where the poison came from, but to accuse me of bringing it, I must apologize. This matter has nothing to do with me..."
"Why?" Concubine Chuang was greatly surprised by her resolute words. Yueqian smiled slightly before replying.
"Because I am pregnant, Your Highness." As soon as everyone heard Yueqian’s words, their faces turned to expressions of surprise.
Mu Heng, standing nearby, was the most shocked. He almost rushed toward his little wife, his eyes wide with joy and worry. If he could, he would have lifted her up right then.
"Y-You, are you serious, Qian’er?" The person who was the happiest was undoubtedly the one about to become a father.
The heavy atmosphere from moments before suddenly shifted after this happy news of the other party. Even the Region’s Wang openly expressed his congratulations.
"Good, this is very good news. Royal physician, please examine Furen Mu and provide her with precious herbs," he said. Though it seemed like he was trying to confirm the news for everyone, what was with that last part about giving her precious herbs? Wasn’t that essentially a reward?
"Furen Mu is indeed pregnant, Your Highness. She is three months along," the royal physician said, exhaling a small sigh of relief. This indicated that Governor Mu and Furen Mu were not involved in the incident at all.
"But how can we be sure that Furen Mu..."
"Concubine Chuang, this is highly unlikely. It is well known that the poison from White Mist City is invisible. As long as a pregnant woman is near it, her child is at risk. No mother would knowingly endanger her own child." The royal physician, who had been listening for a long time, said seriously.
He had thoroughly examined Furen Mu and confirmed her pregnancy. She even appeared to be in good health. If she had been near the poison from White Mist City for a long time, she would not be in such good condition.
"So, this means that... Eldest Young Miss of Ming family’s vision must be impaired," the Wang stated seriously at this point.
Eldest Young Miss of Ming family was now utterly stunned. She never expected things to turn out this way. Before she could argue, a soldier suddenly ran in, carrying an unconscious person on his back.
"W-Wang," That soldier was dressed like a soldier from the manor of Red Earth City’s Governor, accompanied by Second Prince’s soldiers for safety. Of course, they didn’t dare to act rashly, even though this soldier of Red Earth City, once under the Wang’s command.
The Wang recognized his soldier. This was a skilled soldier he had once trained with. Seeing the other man, a flicker of joy appeared in his eyes before it vanished, replaced by seriousness.
"What happened?"
"My Wang, I intended to report to the Governor of Red Earth City. During our patrol, we suddenly encountered a suspicious person attempting to infiltrate the manor. I apprehended and detained him."
"But soon after, news reached the residence that something had happened to the Governor of Red Earth City. I investigated and found it was related to the same criminal. Therefore, I wanted to bring the criminal to you for examination, my Wang. It seems this person had some strange powder and intended to hide it in the bed of Governor’s furen."
As the soldier finished speaking, the crowd buzzed with noise again. There was no need to mention that the security at the Governor’s manor was even better than at Second Prince’s residence, but people couldn’t blame them since the Governor’s manor was protected by the Wang’s former soldiers. It was not surprising that they managed to deal with the intruder.
People were shocked to find there was another clue. This slander was clearly deliberate. If they hadn’t heeded the Wang’s words earlier, the Second Prince might have already expelled them and conducted a brutal investigation himself.
Ultimately, even knowing that Governor Mu was not involved, the Second Prince and the Governor could become enemies in the future. With his wife being pregnant, if anything happened to her, how could the Second Prince take responsibility? They might even end up siding with the Crown Prince, wouldn’t they?
