Hearing Wei Dongling's words, both Queen Zhao and Concubine Xue were shocked. This maid dared to use General Qi to intimidate others in front of everyone. She was really bold.
However, this matter couldn't be left uninvestigated.
The maid trembled like a sieve and stammered, "I was too flustered to see the girl's face clearly just now, but I did see the person in this dress kill Xiaotao!"
Wei Dongling glared at her. "When you witnessed the murder with your own eyes, how did you know that the perpetrator was Miss Qi?"
The little maid was stunned and trembled even more violently.
Concubine Xue got angry. She stepped forward and slapped the little maid twice, instantly swelling her face. "Speak! Who instigated you?"
The little maid cried even harder. "I didn't! I wouldn't dare!"
Just then, a little eunuch suddenly rushed out and shouted at everyone, "Come quickly! Someone has thrown themselves into the well!"
Thrown themselves into the well?
Everyone was stunned.
Was someone committing suicide out of guilt?
Wei Dongling instinctively looked back at the place where Qi Jinxuan had been standing just now, but it was empty!
Wei Dongling was so startled that she quickly scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of Qi Jinxuan among them!
Who was so bold as to harm Qi Jinxuan right under everyone's noses?
Wei Dongling's face instantly turned pale, and her heart couldn't stop trembling. She flew forward and grabbed the eunuch, asking in shock, "Which well?"
The little eunuch was so startled when his collar was suddenly grabbed that he trembled and pointed to a well not far away.
Without hesitation, Wei Dongling flew straight into the well. The women were so shocked that they screamed and didn't even have time to stop her.
With a splash, the well water in midsummer was bone-chillingly cold, and Wei Dongling shivered from the cold. She stuck her head out of the water and groped around, but there was no one in the well.
Qi Jinxuan could swim! Could it be that the little eunuch was lying?
It was impossible! The crime of deceiving the emperor in the palace was punishable by death.
Wei Dongling pondered for a moment and dived to the bottom of the well. Not long after she sank, she felt a cold body.
It was Qi Jinxuan!
Wei Dongling picked up Qi Jinxuan, stepped lightly on the well wall, and quickly jumped out of the well, causing another round of exclamations from the crowd.
Wei Dongling looked at the cold Qi Jinxuan in her arms. She saw that her eyes were tightly closed, her face was pale, and her lips were bloodless.
The people around were so shocked by the tragic scene that they couldn't even speak.
A voice in the crowd shouted, "She committed suicide out of guilt!"
Wei Dongling looked up and saw that the person who spoke was hidden among the servants brought by the young ladies behind.
"Miss!" Wei Dongling slapped Qi Jinxuan's face hard and pinched her throat, causing her to spit out a large mouthful of well water.
Qi Jinxuan slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Wei Dongling in front of her, she hugged her neck with a cry and couldn't stop trembling. It was hard to tell if it was from the cold or fear.
"It's okay!" Wei Dongling hugged Qi Jinxuan's cold and delicate body, gently patted her back, and coaxed her softly. When she raised her hand, she saw blood on her palm. She exclaimed in panic, "Miss, where are you injured?"
She pushed aside Qi Jinxuan's wet long hair and saw that the back of her head was swollen and bleeding continuously.
Concubine Xue was even more anxious when she saw this. She quickly ordered someone to summon the imperial physician.
If anything happened to Miss Qi and she died in the palace, the emperor would probably be furious. That would be truly embarrassing!
Clearly, the guards were arranged very carefully, but such a thing still happened. Concubine Xue's face turned ashen. She looked up at Queen Zhao and vaguely understood what was going on.
Queen Zhao looked up and saw Concubine Xue staring at her. She curved her lips into a smile. "I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. Concubine Xue, you should handle this carefully. Don't let everyone laugh at us. And don't disappoint General Qi."
With that, Queen Zhao turned around and got into the phoenix sedan chair. Surrounded by a group of servants, she left.
Everyone knelt down and said, "See you off, Your Majesty the Queen."
Concubine Xue was so angry that her face turned black. She turned around and grabbed Qi Jinxuan's hand, calling out tremulously, "Jinxuan, my dear girl! What happened to you?"
Qi Jinxuan was cold and scared. She had been lying in Wei Dongling's arms crying softly. Hearing Concubine Xue's question, she sobbed and replied, "Someone attacked me from behind just now. When I opened my eyes, I had already been thrown into the cold well."
At that time, Qi Jinxuan was knocked unconscious and then awakened by the cold well water. She was shocked and scared, shivering from the cold. In the darkness, she swallowed a bellyful of cold water and couldn't even shout. Just when she was almost drowned, luckily Wei Dongling jumped down in time and hugged her.
Qi Jinxuan hugged Wei Dongling's neck and cried even harder.
Concubine Xue was burning with anger. She shouted at the guards beside her, "You useless fools! I've been feeding you for nothing. Are you all blind? Let my guest suffer such an ordeal right under everyone's noses!"
Seeing Concubine Xue's anger, the guards in the imperial garden were so scared that they knelt down one after another and didn't even dare to breathe.
Concubine Xue quickly walked up to the little maid who had accused Qi Jinxuan. She stared at her coldly and whispered to the eunuch in charge of the Palace of Rites, "No matter what, make her confess today. Give Miss Qi an explanation."
"Yes."
The imperial physician rushed over in a hurry under the guidance of a servant and felt Qi Jinxuan's pulse and treated her wound.
Fortunately, the wound wasn't very deep and didn't hit any vital parts.
Qi Jinxuan was frightened, so Concubine Xue ended the banquet early and took her back to Yongxuan Palace to change clothes and rest.
When the crown prince heard that Qi Jinxuan had been attacked, he was also very worried. He took the opportunity to find an excuse to visit her in Yongxuan Palace.
The mother and son were chatting with Qi Jinxuan when a palace maid came to report outside the door, saying that Queen Zhao thought that Qi Jinxuan's maid had done a good job in protecting her master and wanted to summon her to reward her personally.
Wei Dongling had just changed into clean clothes. Thinking about how she had revealed her lightness kung fu in front of everyone in the moment of urgency, she couldn't help but feel anxious.
Qi Jinxuan remembered the incident when Wei Dongling was injured in Baoqing Tower last time. She stood up and wanted to go with Wei Dongling, but was stopped by Concubine Xue. Concubine Xue comforted her, "It's just a reward for the servant. You've just been frightened and should rest well. You don't need to go there in person." With that, she nodded at the personal maid beside her and asked her to go with Wei Dongling.
Wei Dongling had no choice but to give Qi Jinxuan a reassuring look and then turned to obey the order.
Even if it was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, she couldn't let Qi Jinxuan go with her and get dragged down.
The road to Fengyi Palace wasn't very long, but with each step Wei Dongling took, her heart was still filled with uneasiness.
Seeming to notice her timidity at the moment, the personal maid beside her thought that it was her first time in the palace and that was why she was so panicked. She kindly pulled Wei Dongling's hand and whispered, "It's okay. It's just going to receive a reward."