Concubine Xue could hardly hide her smugness. She supported the Grand Dowager, who was so angry that her face was as dark as water and on the verge of fainting. Then she coldly said to Wei Dongling, "Princess Five, are you going to say that the arsenic beside your bed just appeared out of thin air?"
Not long after being demoted, Lady Lin behind Concubine Xue chimed in, "There has never been such a highly poisonous substance in the palace. How come the arsenic has appeared again and again since Princess Five returned to the palace? Could it be that Princess Five brought it in from outside the palace?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Grand Dowager's face turned even uglier.
Wei Dongling hadn't noticed Lady Lin following behind. Now seeing the two of them teaming up to cause trouble, and the Grand Dowager clearly being skeptical, with her gaze gradually turning as cold and sharp as a knife, Wei Dongling felt a chill in her heart. She quickly knelt on the ground, her face pale as she shook her head and said, "Grand Dowager, please believe me! Someone is framing me!"
The Grand Dowager glanced at her, then looked at the arsenic held by the eunuch in a dubious manner. Her chest heaved violently, as if she was about to faint from anger at any moment.
Concubine Xue quickly steadied the Grand Dowager and sneered at Wei Dongling, "Framing? The highly poisonous substance was found in your bedroom. Now that the evidence is conclusive, how could it be false? Princess Five, do you think we're all fools?"
Lady Lin stepped forward to support the Grand Dowager's other shoulder. Staring at Wei Dongling, she coldly said, "Bringing this highly poisonous substance into the palace, what on earth is your intention, Princess Five? Weren't your maid Qiaoyue and the others using arsenic to poison the dishes bestowed by the Emperor a few days ago? No wonder Princess Seven has been shouting her innocence! It turns out that you were the one who poisoned them!"
Concubine Xue angrily said, "Princess Five, what a good trick of crying 'thief' while being the thief! You even deceived all of us! Your act of feigning injury was probably aimed at the Grand Dowager's pill!"
Hearing this, the Grand Dowager's face darkened, and the flesh on both sides of her cheeks trembled with anger.
Concubine Xue and Lady Lin supported the Grand Dowager to sit on a chair on one side. They pretended to look extremely anxious on their faces, patting the Grand Dowager on the back to help her calm down, and kept calling for the maids to pour tea.
Wei Dongling's face was as white as a sheet. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I didn't do it!"
Lady Lin knelt beside the Grand Dowager. With slightly red eyes, she angrily scolded Wei Dongling, "You've wasted the Grand Dowager's sincere love for you. Is this how you repay her great kindness? You're such an unfaithful, unrighteous, heartless, and unfilial thing! Do you deserve the Grand Dowager's kindness?"
Wei Dongling tightly clenched her fists. Seeing that the Grand Dowager was really trembling with anger, she could only grit her teeth and remain silent. She knew that these two were deliberately trying to kill her. At this moment, the Grand Dowager was extremely angry, and no matter how much she tried to defend herself, it would be useless. So she might as well keep quiet.
But what Wei Dongling didn't expect was that the more silent she was, the more extreme they became.
Concubine Xue also knelt beside the Grand Dowager and pleaded, "Grand Dowager! I dare not presume to guess Princess Five's thoughts! But if the arsenic she brought into the palace accidentally harms others, what should we do? If it's just the concubines in the palace, it might be okay. But what if it harms the Emperor... What should we women do then?" Concubine Xue shed tears as she spoke, hitting the nail on the head with every word.
If there was one person the Grand Dowager cared about the most in the entire palace, it was the current Emperor, her precious son.
Sure enough, after hearing the concubine's words, the Grand Dowager's face flushed red. Angrily, she said, "She wouldn't dare!"
The Grand Dowager glared fiercely at Wei Dongling kneeling on the ground. Her gaze was as if she wanted to strangle her.
Wei Dongling secretly groaned in her heart. Her Grand Dowager had really been instigated by Concubine Xue and the others with just a few words. Maybe she was also dissatisfied with her in her heart, which was why she easily believed the instigation of others!
Wei Dongling kowtowed obediently and said in a trembling voice, "It's absolutely not the case! Please, Grand Dowager, don't believe the instigation of villains. I really don't know where this arsenic came from or why it was beside my bed!"
Lady Lin stared at Wei Dongling hatefully and said, "Stop pretending to be innocent! Who knows if you're really Princess Five? Who knows what you're trying to do in the palace! You feigned injury to deceive the Grand Dowager's pill and made Princess Seven take the blame and be beaten! Aren't you satisfied yet? What else do you want to do? Do you have to cause a death before you're willing?"
Princess Seven, Murong Yunxi, had always been the Grand Dowager's favorite princess. Sure enough, hearing this, the Grand Dowager, who had been a bit hesitant before, couldn't hold back anymore. She stared at Wei Dongling kneeling on the ground with a piercing gaze and coldly shouted, "Why don't you confess the truth quickly?"
Wei Dongling was extremely angry. She knew that showing weakness and pretending to cry at this moment to gain sympathy might delay things for a while. But how could she cry at this moment? Her whole body was filled with anger that she couldn't vent. She tightly clenched her fists, and her silver teeth were almost crushed. In the end, she could only helplessly say, "Grand Dowager, please believe me!"
The Grand Dowager roared in extreme anger, "How can I believe you?" Saying this, she grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it hard at Wei Dongling's forehead.
Wei Dongling didn't dare to dodge, and her forehead immediately became red and swollen. The teacup shattered on the ground, and the tea leaves and boiling water splashed everywhere.
Concubine Xue gloated as she watched Wei Dongling kneeling upright on the ground. A faint sneer appeared on the corner of her lips.
Wei Dongling knelt on the ground disheveled. She quietly lowered her eyes and remained silent. There was no use in explaining to those who didn't believe her. It would only be a waste of breath.
The Grand Dowager covered her chest and said in a trembling voice, "If you wanted to deceive me into giving you the pill, I would have given it to you! But if you attempt to harm my son or Yunxi! You'll see if I won't punish you!"
Wei Dongling lowered her eyes and said weakly, "Grand Dowager, you've misunderstood me."
The Grand Dowager sneered, "Misunderstood? I trusted you too much! Guards! Immediately escort her to the prison of the Ministry of Justice! I'll go and talk to the Emperor myself after he finishes his court session today!"
"Yes!"
The eunuchs of the Inner Court Office stood up to receive the order and were about to come and arrest her.
Wei Dongling stood up and kicked two eunuchs who came to arrest her, startling everyone and turning their faces pale.
Concubine Xue couldn't hold back her anger and said, "How dare you! Are you going to defy the imperial edict?"
Wei Dongling gritted her teeth and glanced at Concubine Xue. Then she coldly said to the Grand Dowager, "Grand Dowager, you'd rather believe the slander of others than believe my innocence! Then I can only prove my innocence with my death!" Saying this, she reached out to pick up the basket for embroidery placed on the table. She took out a shiny pair of scissors from the basket and stabbed it hard into her chest.
"Don't!" Cheng Hao wanted to stop her, but it was too late.
The scissors pierced through her thin clothes and into her chest. Immediately, blood gushed out like a fountain, and the light yellow dress on her body was almost instantly soaked through with scarlet blood.
"Princess!" Cheng Hao shouted loudly. Regardless of the difference in status, he rushed forward and hugged the falling Wei Dongling.
All the maids and eunuchs were shocked into silence by this scene.