Chapter 5
“…”
Everyone fell silent. Then, many people revealed strange expressions as they stared at Su Lianhua doubtfully. It was as though they were looking at a suspect.
Only Rong Mo did not look at Su Lianhua. To be exact, he had not looked at anyone else since he entered the hall. All of his attention was on Ye Qianli.
Those who did not know better would think that he was interested in his fiancée. Those who knew better—like Ye Qianli herself—only wanted to turn around and dig his eyes out because she felt wholly uncomfortable under his gaze! She felt uncomfortable all over as if she was being scrutinized from above.
“I… I… I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Elder Sister.” At this moment, Su Lianhua—who had been rendered speechless by Ye Qianli’s’ naive ‘questioning’—suddenly started to apologize with tears streaming down her face. Not only that!
Plop!
Su Lianhua even knelt down in front of Ye Qianli in an instant and cried, “Elder Sister, I’ve let you down. I was really frightened at that time. I didn’t follow our agreement to ingest the Tian Yu Night Queen Flower. Then, I… I… ran back…”
“I wanted to get Uncle and Aunt to save you. I… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Elder Sister. Luckily, you survived and came back. I’m sorry, Elder Sister…”
It had to be said that Su Lianhua’s IQ was still very high. In a moment of desperation, she could still completely follow Ye Qianli’s words and defend herself. As she came up with excuses, she even knelt down and hugged Ye Qianli’s legs.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Su Lianhua was already in tears within moments. She even ‘unconsciously’ tugged at the handkerchief in Ye Qianli’s hand.
She was probably trying to destroy the evidence. After all, she still did not know that her silly older cousin—who had been framed by her—already knew everything.
However…
“Alright, Hua’er, quickly get up. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s Li’er herself who’s too ignorant. Why are both of you so foolish as to actually ingest the Tian Yu Night Queen Flower? Is that flower so easy to swallow? Do you think that cultivation is so easy to increase? Naive.”
“Both of you, get up quickly and go freshen up. Young maidens should abstain from lack of manners the most. Fortunately, His Highness, the Crown Prince doesn’t mind. Hurry up and leave.”
Before Ye Qianli could respond, Su Qin had already turned big problems into small ones and small problems into none at all with her lectures as a mother. She gestured to Granny Nan to take them away quickly.
“Yes, Aunt. Hua’er will leave now.” When Su Lianhua heard that, she hurriedly stood up and held onto Ye Qianli tightly. Although she appeared obedient on the surface, she was actually using a lot of strength to drag Ye Qianli away.
She was afraid. She was afraid that this silly cousin of hers would say something ‘preposterous’ to ruin her again and cause her to lose her manners in front of the honorable crown prince again.
But…!
How could Ye Qianli possibly let her succeed? Under Su Lianhua’s horrified gaze, she pulled the handkerchief out of the latter’s hand!
She raised her hand and said to Su Qin, “Mother, then… When Younger Sister Hua brought me a cup of tea with a high concentration of aphrodisiac, do you still think that she didn’t do anything wrong?
“Mother, do you know what I just experienced? I was really almost raped by a dirty man. I jumped off a cliff because of that and came back with such a disheveled appearance.”
“Someone wants to harm me, someone wants to ruin me. As the daughter of the Northern Territory King’s heir, I’ve been humiliated like this. Are you really going to ignore it and let me fend for myself?”
“!”
“…”
When Ye Qianli said those words, not only did Su Lianhua’s face—the culprit—turn pale, but Su Qin’s and Ye Fengtian’s expressions also turned extremely ugly.
Of course, the one with the ugliest expression was Rong Mo! The veins on his temples were even throbbing. This was a sign of his extreme anger.
However—
“If the heavens hadn’t taken pity on me and allowed me to be caught on a branch when I jumped off the cliff, I would’ve been dead by now. When I was on the cliff, if I hadn’t suddenly remembered that Grandfather had given me a pill that was said to be able to cure a hundred poisons, I would’ve already died from poison by now.”
“Mother, do you still think that Younger Sister Hua didn’t do anything wrong? That I’m the one in the wrong? Because I was too stupid and didn’t guard against others so I deserve it?”
Plop. As Ye Qianli’s interrogation stopped, Su Lianhua—who was supporting her—knelt down again. However, this time, she did not kneel on her own accord. Instead, she was so frightened that her legs went soft, and she knelt down naturally.
“I…” Su Lianhua wanted to defend herself.
“I used this handkerchief to wipe my mouth. I believe there are still remnants of tea on it. I can check with the imperial physician to see if there are any problems with the tea stains.” Ye Qianli did not give Su Lianhua a chance to say anything else.
After she finished speaking, she suddenly looked at Rong Mo—who had been staring at her—and knelt on one knee. “Your Highness, I’m sorry.”
“As the chosen Crown Princess Consort, I, Ye Qianli, was unable to protect myself well and caused the royal family of the dynasty to be deceived. I feel that I am not worthy to be the crown princess consort. Crown Prince, please make a clear judgment.”
Rong Mo: “…”
“Li’er, you…” At the same time, Ye Fengtian hurriedly wanted to speak up. He was not stupid! He naturally heard that Ye Qianli’s words implied that she was not going to become the crown princess consort. How could this be?! This was their Ye Clan’s glory.
Pa!
Before Ye Fengtian could finish speaking, Su Qin had already stepped forward to give Su Lianhua a slap. She questioned coldly, “Do you know your mistake?”
Su Lianhua: “…” She had become foolish from the strike. She felt that it was really over this time. Even her aunt who loved her the most had criticized her. What else could she do?
“How can you let your older sister drink the poisonous tea? Although you’re not an apothecary, you’re still a cultivator. How can you not tell what’s right or wrong?
“Men! Capture all the servants serving the Eldest Young Lady in Clear Wind Palace and find out who the culprit is. I want to see who dares to plot against the Ye Clan of the Northern Territory with such a nasty scheme.”
Su Qin’s harsh words seemed to be swift and decisive, but she had removed the suspicion on Su Lianhua at the first moment. This not only stunned Su Lianhua.
Even Ye Qianli did not expect that Su Qin, Ye Qianli’s mother, would not protect her or comfort her at this time. Instead, she cleared her niece’s name at the first minute.
Crack…
Ye Qianli could clearly hear that something in the depths of her heart had shattered. It was the original Ye Qianli’s heart that had been shattered into pieces by this mother of hers.
“Granny Nan, bring Li’er away first and then quickly invite the imperial physicians over. Li’er, you too. Such a major incident happened, and you also didn’t even make a sound when you came back. You even blamed it all on your cousin, and now, you’re accusing your mother, me? Forget it, forget it. On account of you being frightened, Mother won’t bicker with you. In the future, I’ll just teach you how to conduct yourself in the ways of the world. You can go leave with Granny Nan first.”
Su Qin, who had just cleared Su Lianhua’s name, still couldn’t give up criticizing Ye Qianli. She put on the facade of a strict mother, and Ye Qianli could not help but snort in laughter.
“You, what kind of attitude is this? You…” Ye Qianli’s reaction was obviously not liked by Su Qin. She immediately wanted to lecture her again.
“That’s enough!” Ye Fengtian, who had been interrupted time and time again, felt so embarrassed that he hurriedly cut off her words.
“Yes, that’s enough.” Rong Mo suddenly stood up and then—