Murong Yunxi let out a cold snort, noncommittal. Hadn't she killed many women who lusted after the beauty of Crown Prince Shangguan Yun? As for not taking action against Wei Dongling at that time, it was simply because they were in the Ci Ning Palace and it was inconvenient to do so.
If someone died in the Empress Dowager's palace, she would surely be punished. She never thought that her good elder imperial sister actually mistook her for being kind - hearted and reluctant to take action.
Murong Yunxi rolled her eyes vigorously.
Wei Dongling continued, "Even though Qiaoyue endured severe torture, she still insisted that it was you who poisoned me. This shows that she hates you deeply and is willing to frame you even at the cost of her life. I want to know the reason. Is it really just because you often punished her, so she harbored long - standing resentment and refused to let you go?"
Murong Yunxi crossed her arms and said coldly, "If you're talking about punishment, I, the princess, have always had a bad temper. When my servants do something wrong, I naturally have to discipline them properly. As for Qiaoyue, I punished her a bit more. So what?"
Seeing that Murong Yunxi didn't seem eager to communicate with her properly, Wei Dongling shrugged and snorted, "So this is the reason why she was willing to be used by others and stab me with your knife!"
Murong Yunxi was stunned. She had been puzzled all night. After Wei Dongling's reminder, she suddenly realized that Qiaoyue had actually been used by someone with ulterior motives! Someone was using a borrowed knife to kill!
And she was that bright - shining knife!
Who could be so insidious? A chill ran down Murong Yunxi's spine.
After much thought, Murong Yunxi gave Wei Dongling a disdainful look and said coldly, "This isn't some kind of your feigned injury scheme, is it?" What if you staged this all by yourself just to coax the Empress Dowager's pill from her?
But it was unlikely that she would do such a thing. Otherwise, why would she come here to watch the show?
Wei Dongling saw Murong Yunxi's suspicion and spread her hands with a smile. "I'm not that idle! After taking that pill, I was twitching all night. I was almost burned to a crisp."
Murong Yunxi's face darkened. What are you showing off?
Wei Dongling sighed. "I probably know who hates me to the core, but I'm just short of evidence. Tell me, what grudge do you have with Qiaoyue? What handle does the person behind this have on her that she would rather die than tell the truth?"
"Grudge is out of the question, but a handle?" Murong Yunxi asked doubtfully. "Does it count if she had an affair with a man?"
An affair with a man? Holy cow! This definitely counts!
Wei Dongling asked in surprise, "Who is that man?"
Murong Yunxi said hatefully, "Although I caught them twice, I still didn't see who that man was!"
Wei Dongling: ...
Can you be of any use? If you had used even a fraction of the determination you used when drugging Crown Prince Yun on this, you wouldn't have failed to recognize the man even after seeing them twice!
Feeling Wei Dongling's contemptuous gaze, Murong Yunxi spread her hands indignantly. "Haven't I punished her? She's crazy about men. What can I do?"
It's as if you're any better.
Wei Dongling let out a long sigh, supporting her forehead. "When Qiaoyue served in your palace, which maid was the closest to her?"
Murong Yunxi got up and left. Not long after, she came back with a maid and pointed to her, introducing her to Wei Dongling. "This is Shuyun. She used to share a room with Qiaoyue."
The maid quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Wei Dongling, trembling. "This servant, Shuyun, pays respects to the Fifth Princess."
Wei Dongling waved her hand for her to get up and said with a gentle smile, "Shuyun, I've summoned you today to ask you something." You two shared a room and were close, so there must have been some girlish secrets you couldn't wait to share.
Asking her should be the right move.
Shuyun looked up at Wei Dongling with red - rimmed eyes and refused to get up. She waved her hands in a hurry. "Fifth Princess, I really know nothing about Qiaoyue's poisoning! I separated from her a long time ago."
Noticing the fear in Shuyun's eyes, Wei Dongling said with a gentle smile, "Don't misunderstand. I'm not asking about the poisoning. I just want to ask you about a person."
Only then did Shuyun hold back her tears and say softly, "This servant will surely tell everything she knows."
Wei Dongling nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Who is the man Qiaoyue had a crush on?"
Hearing the Fifth Princess ask such a question, Shuyun was stunned and at a loss. She looked blankly at the Seventh Princess and then back at the Fifth Princess. Blushing, she hesitated for a long time without saying a word.
Murong Yunxi was getting impatient and was about to slam the table and scold. Wei Dongling quickly got up and grabbed her sleeve. With a look of regret, she said to Shuyun, "Normally, we wouldn't want to publicize such a thing and lose face. But the truth is really heartbreaking. After Qiaoyue was beaten to death, Minfang went to collect her body overnight and found that Qiaoyue was more than two months pregnant."
The suspicion in Shuyun's eyes was obvious. If they didn't use some tricks, how could they get her to tell the truth willingly? Forgive the dead. They had to resort to this to find out the truth!
"What?" Shuyun exclaimed in disbelief and slumped to the ground. She couldn't accept this fact for a long time.
Seeing that Wei Dongling seemed so sincere, Murong Yunxi almost believed it too.
Wei Dongling put on a bitter look and sighed. "The dead are gone. We originally planned to let it go. But after much thought, we still think that the scoundrel should know about Qiaoyue and the unborn child!"
Shuyun's eyes were red. She lowered her head and covered her lips, sobbing. "Qiaoyue was really too stupid!"
Wei Dongling quickly took out a handkerchief and handed it to Shuyun, saying in a solemn voice, "The Seventh Princess and I discussed and decided to find that man and punish him. At the very least, he should go and kowtow to Qiaoyue to admit his mistake!"
Shuyun knelt on the ground with tears streaming down her face. Choking with sobs, she said, "What the Fifth Princess said is right! This servant begs the two princesses to seek justice for Qiaoyue!"
Wei Dongling and Murong Yunxi glanced at each other, both of them remaining calm on the surface.
Wei Dongling helped Shuyun up and replied firmly, "Don't worry! We will surely not let that scoundrel off lightly!"
Shuyun sobbed, "The man Qiaoyue had a crush on is a royal bodyguard named Li Wenbin."
Wei Dongling was puzzled. How could a royal bodyguard enter a princess's courtyard?
Murong Yunxi was also speechless. Back then, she chose the Dream Bamboo Hall as her sleeping quarters because it was close to the imperial garden and convenient to see the emperor. She never thought that this would actually facilitate that scoundrel. He could sneak in to meet Qiaoyue by climbing over two palace walls. She caught them twice, but each time the man ran away in a hurry.
She had beaten and scolded Qiaoyue, and she had almost directly ordered her death. But Qiaoyue just refused to change her ways! With just a wave of that man's hand, she would be bewitched and follow him. So Murong Yunxi simply stopped bothering.
Later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs arranged a group of new maids for the Dream Bamboo Hall and transferred Qiaoyue out. Murong Yunxi didn't even bother to ask about it.
She never thought that such a thing would happen now.
Could it be that the poisoning by Qiaoyue was instigated entirely by that bodyguard?