Cold sweat beaded on Wei Dongling's forehead. She had just sneaked out for a short while, and Qi Jinxuan had already been framed!
However, the little maid prostrated herself on the ground, trembling and wailing, "It was Miss Qi who killed the person! This servant saw it with her own eyes. Please, Imperial Concubine, investigate clearly!"
Imperial Concubine Xue's face darkened completely. She opened her mouth and asked, "Whose hairpin is this?"
Qi Jinxuan cried, "Imperial Concubine, this hairpin is indeed mine, but I rewarded it to my servant when I went out. I don't know how it ended up here."
Wei Dongling stepped forward, knelt down, and bowed, saying, "Imperial Concubine, this servant did bring this gold hairpin into the palace with our young lady. But on my way to the latrine just now, I accidentally lost the hairpin, and I've been looking for it all the way. Presumably, someone picked up the hairpin and tried to use it as a weapon to frame our young lady. Please, Imperial Concubine, investigate clearly and restore justice to our young lady."
Imperial Concubine Xue glanced at Wei Dongling, then looked at the maid trembling on the ground, and said coldly, "Tell me again exactly what you saw just now! If you tell even a single lie, you'll be immediately dragged out and beaten to death with sticks!"
The little maid trembled even more violently. With a sob in her voice, she choked out, "This servant happened to pass by just now and saw Xiaotao slowly fall to the ground, while Miss Qi was holding a hairpin pointed at Xiaotao..."
Wei Dongling asked in a deep voice, "So, you didn't actually see Miss Qi kill the maid with the hairpin. You just saw the maid fall, right?"
The little maid lowered her head and said anxiously, "There was no one else around. Who else could it be but Miss Qi?"
Qi Jinxuan wept like a blooming pear blossom in the rain. She slumped to the ground, looked up at Imperial Concubine Xue, and kept shaking her head. "It wasn't me! It really wasn't me."
Wei Dongling carefully examined the dead maid lying on the ground. The wound on her chest was indeed caused by a sharp weapon, and it was a fatal blow. But a gold hairpin definitely didn't have the hardness to kill someone. Someone must have deliberately framed them.
But who would want to harm Qi Jinxuan?
The people of Imperial Concubine Xue could be ruled out. She had always wanted to help the Crown Prince win over Qi Jinxuan. Moreover, this palace banquet was hosted by her. If anything happened to any noble lady, she would be held responsible.
Wei Dongling raised her eyes and scanned the group of noble ladies one by one. There couldn't be many people who would dare to cause trouble in the palace.
The person who was secretly scheming against Qi Jinxuan either resented her for being favored by the Crown Prince or believed the rumor that she had gone on an outing with the Cloud Prince and held a grudge against her.
It was also possible that it was someone in the palace. The person behind this didn't want to see Qi Jinxuan become the Crown Princess and wanted to get rid of her. At the very least, ruining the marriage would achieve their goal.
After much thought, Wei Dongling bowed to Imperial Concubine Xue and said, "Imperial Concubine, the hardness of our young lady's gold hairpin is only enough to pierce the skin. It's absolutely impossible to kill someone. The real murderer must be someone else!"
The little maid lying on the ground trembled even more when she heard this.
Although the murder in the imperial garden only involved the death of a maid, since it involved the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion, it couldn't be left uninvestigated. Imperial Concubine Xue quickly ordered someone to inform the Inner Court Ceremony and Etiquette Supervisor to come and investigate.
Wei Dongling had a thought. She pulled Qi Jinxuan into the courtyard and secretly exchanged clothes with her on the pretext that Qi Jinxuan's clothes were stained with blood.
The chief eunuch of the Ceremony and Etiquette Supervisor soon arrived. After examining the wound on the deceased, he reported that the fatal wound was caused by a sharp weapon, not the gold hairpin.
Upon hearing this, Imperial Concubine Xue flew into a rage. She stepped forward and kicked the maid lying on the ground hard.
The maid was kicked to the ground and trembled all over. She didn't even dare to say a word.
Imperial Concubine Xue roared at the maid, "Do you know that Miss Qi is our honored guest today? Framing a noble lady is a capital crime! You're really brave! Someone, drag her out and beat her to death with sticks!"
"Wait." A calm voice came from afar. Everyone looked up and saw a woman sitting on a phoenix sedan chair coming towards them. A eunuch with a hoarse voice shouted, "Her Majesty the Empress is coming—"
Everyone in the audience knelt down to pay their respects.
Wei Dongling secretly raised her eyes. Empress Zhao was about forty years old. She was elegant and graceful. Her appearance did bear a slight resemblance to her younger brother, Zhao Chuanyi.
Empress Zhao got off the phoenix sedan chair and slowly walked over surrounded by a group of servants. She glanced at everyone and then looked at the dead maid lying on the ground. Calmly, she asked, "Imperial Concubine Xue, what happened here?"
Imperial Concubine Xue looked unhappy, but she still bowed her head and said, "Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress, someone here stabbed a maid to death and framed my honored guest. I've already asked the Inner Court Department to come and investigate."
Empress Zhao scanned the people below one by one. A sneer appeared on her face. "Such an incident must have frightened the noble ladies. His Majesty has ordered someone to receive foreign envoys today. Imperial Concubine Xue, don't make too much of a fuss. Otherwise, it will make us a laughingstock."
Imperial Concubine Xue looked a bit embarrassed. She waved her hand at the chief eunuch of the Inner Court Department and said, "The Empress is right. Drag out this person who framed the noble lady. This matter is over."
The group of noble ladies were extremely surprised: Just like that?
Wei Dongling couldn't help but roll her eyes. When the two old foxes were at odds, it was always others who got hurt.
The maid lying on the ground suddenly threw herself at Empress Zhao's feet and cried, "Your Majesty the Empress, this servant didn't lie! It was really Miss Qi who killed Xiaotao!"
When Qi Jinxuan heard her words, she couldn't help but tremble all over again.
Wei Dongling stepped forward, pulled Qi Jinxuan back into the crowd, and calmly walked forward. She lowered her head and looked at the maid on the ground, asking, "Are you sure it was me who killed Xiaotao?"
Wei Dongling was taking a gamble. The maid was instigated by someone and didn't recognize who Qi Jinxuan was at all.
Everyone in the audience was stunned.
The maid looked up at Wei Dongling's clothes and nodded like a pounding garlic at Empress Zhao. "Your Majesty the Empress, there was no one else around at that time. This servant saw it with her own eyes. It was you who killed Xiaotao!"
Everyone: ...
Wei Dongling said again, "Look clearly. Are you sure it was me who killed her?"
The little maid looked up at Wei Dongling and her clothes again and nodded. "It was you! You killed her!"
The audience was in an uproar. This maid didn't even recognize whether the woman in front of her was Qi Jinxuan or not, yet she dared to make unfounded accusations?
However, upon closer thought, Miss Qi rarely entered the palace, so it was normal for the maid not to recognize her.
And this little maid had been burying her head on the ground and crying since the incident happened. She hadn't even looked up at Qi Jinxuan once.
This was definitely instigated by someone!
The group of noble ladies were all thinking to themselves, with different expressions on their faces.
Imperial Concubine Xue's face changed. She scolded angrily, "You slut! Open your dog eyes and look clearly. Is this Miss Qi?"
When the little maid heard this, she looked up at Imperial Concubine Xue and then at Wei Dongling. She stood there, stunned.
Wei Dongling bowed to the two ladies and said, "Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress and Imperial Concubine, our Miss Qi's clothes were stained with blood, so she exchanged clothes with me. This maid clearly doesn't recognize our young lady, yet she dares to make unfounded accusations. I don't know who instigated her! Please, Her Majesty the Empress and Imperial Concubine Xue, investigate this clearly. Don't let our young lady be wrongly framed. Don't let General Qi feel disappointed!"