Yan Qingshu hung her head, her peripheral vision fixed intently on Concubine Zhu, who was dancing in the hall.
As she performed her graceful movements, the silk of her dancing dress on the side of her waist started to fray. A large piece of the outer robe tore open, and the fabric hung precariously, tearing wider with each dance move.
"Oh my god, what's going on?!"
"How could her dancing dress..."
Concubine Zhu was unaware of the damage to her dress. Emperor Yunjian's face darkened, and the queen frowned.
"Bold!"
Emperor Yunjian's angry roar echoed through the hall.
The music of the silk and bamboo instruments stopped abruptly, and Concubine Zhu's dancing figure also froze at the sound of the roar.
She was confused. Looking down, she saw that her dancing dress was in tatters, revealing the white undergarment inside.
"Ah—!"
She let out a scream, crouched down, and hugged herself in a hurry, too ashamed to raise her head.
The hall fell into complete silence, with only a few concubines whispering.
"Concubine Zhu, how dare you be so bold!" the queen frowned and questioned. The thing she had been worried about finally happened. Someone had really plotted something during the Dragon Boat Festival banquet.
She just didn't know who had set a trap for Concubine Zhu.
"Your Majesty, this concubine... this concubine doesn't know what's going on!" Concubine Zhu looked up and pleaded.
Concubine Zhu's maid quickly draped a palace robe over her.
"Your Highness, please put it on quickly!"
Caiwei anxiously helped her up and was about to lead her back to her seat.
Concubine Zhu cast a suspicious look at Caiwei and gritted her teeth as she slapped her across the face.
"The backstabbing slut!"
Caiwei was knocked to the ground, her mind in a daze.
"Your Highness, this servant... this servant has never backstabbed anyone!" Caiwei quickly got up and knelt on the ground.
Concubine Zhu pointed at her and angrily questioned.
"You were the one who brought back this dancing dress! Now it's in this state. Did you get bribed to deliberately harm me!"
Caiwei was greatly shocked and quickly shook her head: "Your Highness! How dare this servant!"
"Your Highness, this servant is innocent!"
Concubine Zhu ignored her and gathered her outer robe as she was about to kneel.
Emperor Yunjian said impatiently, "Alright, go and change your clothes first! It's indecent to be so disheveled!"
Caiwei trembled as she knelt in the hall. A maid came up and led Concubine Zhu down to change her clothes.
Yan Qingshu watched this farce and slightly curled her lips.
Tang Yinmian beside her leaned closer, her tone full of gossip: "Concubine Zhu wanted to be the grand finale and steal the emperor's favor, but instead made a fool of herself."
"That dancing dress was mine."
Yan Qingshu said indifferently.
Tang Yinmian widened her eyes and quickly lowered her voice: "Yours? If you had worn that dress to dance..."
She didn't dare to think about it. She patted her chest and said thankfully, "Fortunately, you didn't dance. Otherwise, it would be you who made a fool of yourself."
"How did your dancing dress end up on her?" Tang Yinmian asked again.
"This morning, my maid brought back the dancing dress. But I thought it lacked some pearl embellishments, so I asked Zhuyao to sew them on.没想到..."
"But it was snatched away by Concubine Zhu's maid."
"My maid could only bring back the dancing dress that Concubine Zhu didn't want. I originally wanted to dance in it, but I felt unwell. I didn't expect to avoid a disaster."
"It serves her right. If she hadn't had such thoughts, she wouldn't have made a fool of herself." Tang Yinmian shook her head.
For a woman to be disheveled in public, this... was such a great humiliation.
Yan Qingshu nodded. Her deep gaze fell on Concubine Xian.
Concubine Xian's face looked a bit ugly at the moment. She had originally wanted to make Yan Qingshu lose face, but unexpectedly, the dancing dress ended up on Concubine Zhu!
She clenched her hands tightly by her side. Her hands turned white from the force.
This bitch was really lucky! She had managed to avoid it again.
But it was also good. Concubine Zhu didn't know her place and tried to outshine her. Moreover, she had often spoken ill of her on weekdays. She deserved this end.
After a while, Concubine Zhu, who had finished changing her clothes, walked back into the hall.
She had changed into her usual palace robe. As soon as she entered the hall, she lifted her skirt and knelt down.
"Your Majesty! Please seek justice for this concubine!" Concubine Zhu wiped her tears with a handkerchief, her eyes already red.
"This dancing dress was brought back to me by this slut! She must have been bribed to deliberately frame me!" Concubine Zhu pointed at Caiwei and roared.
Emperor Yunjian sighed inwardly and twirled the jade ring on his thumb.
"What on earth is going on?!" he asked impatiently.
"No! This servant didn't do it! When this servant originally brought back Your Highness's dancing dress, a few pearls on it fell off."
"Your Highness asked this servant to send it to the Clothing Bureau for refitting. At that time..." Caiwei rolled her eyes and suddenly realized that this dancing dress belonged to Noble Lady Yan!
It must have been Noble Lady Yan's doing!
"Your Majesty! When Your Highness's dancing dress was damaged and this servant sent it for refitting, Noble Lady Yan's dancing dress was also there!"
"This servant thought that the dress would match Your Highness's Rainbow Garment Dance better, so this servant took it..."
"I'm sure it was Noble Lady Yan's intention! She deliberately let this servant see it and made Your Highness make a fool of herself!"
Caiwei knelt and took a few steps forward, her face panicked as she shouted.
Hearing this, Concubine Zhu also reacted. That's right. How could it be such a coincidence that both of their dancing dresses were sent to the Clothing Bureau.
It must have been Yan Qingshu's intention!
"Your Majesty! Caiwei has a point! Please seek justice for this concubine!"
Concubine Zhu was on the verge of tears, her face full of grievance and shame.
"This is a great humiliation! What on earth did this concubine do to displease Noble Lady Yan? Why did Noble Lady Yan use such a means against this concubine?!"
She pointed in Yan Qingshu's direction and hysterically accused.
The concubines in the hall all turned their gazes to Yan Qingshu. Concubine Xian leaned back in her chair, looking at the show with a smug expression.
Yan Qingshu took a few deep breaths. Before she could say anything, Tang Yinmian beside her stood up and knelt in the middle of the hall.
"Your Majesty! This is a false accusation! It's perfectly normal for Noble Lady Yan to send her dancing dress for refitting! It was that maid who擅自 took Noble Lady Yan's dancing dress!"
"How do we know that this maid didn't do it herself and then framed Noble Lady Yan!"
Tang Yinmian kowtowed to defend her. Yan Qingshu pursed her lips, and a warm current flowed through her heart.
"Humph! How could it not be her? How could it be such a coincidence? Just when it was her turn to perform, she suddenly felt unwell! Isn't this just an excuse to get around the issue of the dancing dress!" Concubine Zhu sneered and pointed at Yan Qingshu angrily.
Yan Qingshu stood up and walked to Tang Yinmian's side. She lifted her skirt and knelt down.
Emperor Yunjian saw clearly that her face was even paler, and his heart couldn't help but rise.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, this concubine is innocent..." Yan Qingshu straightened her body and said.
She looked at Concubine Zhu and questioned, "On what basis do you say that I deliberately made up an excuse?"
"Today, I brought the dancing dress that your maid threw in the Clothing Bureau and planned to perform. But unexpectedly, I suddenly felt unwell. How is this an excuse?"
"Moreover, it was your maid who didn't know the rules and擅自 took my dancing dress, which led to your current situation. Just as Lady Tang said, how do we know that your maid didn't backstab you and get bribed by someone else? Or perhaps you damaged your own clothes and asked your maid to frame me?!"
Yan Qingshu was logical, and every word made sense.