These words were extremely scathing, like a heavy hammer striking hard at Kang's heart.
Illegitimate birth...
Petty...
Not fit to be in the public eye...
Empress Dowager Kang not only tore open the scar she least wanted to mention but also completely crushed her dignity. She didn't even leave the slightest bit of face for the Second Lady of the Xiao Mansion.
Kang's face instantly turned as pale as paper, as if she had been stripped naked in public and exposed to everyone.
Her body tensed up like a fully drawn bow and trembled uncontrollably. Even her fingertips were cold.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she dared not let them fall. She could only kowtow deeply again. The whole person was like a torn sack shredded by the wild wind, limply collapsing on the ground.
Li Wanming knelt on one side, her mind racing.
When she heard Empress Dowager Kang's attempt to frame the Yuan Family Water Fort, she knew that Kang, this "scapegoat", was useless.
After all, she had underestimated the enemy and thought things too simply.
She originally thought that the means by which Empress Dowager Kang would make things difficult for her would be nothing more than picking on some mistakes in etiquette to humiliate her, or forcing her to perform musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, or other arts to make a fool of herself. At worst, it would be like what Kang did, stuffing a few concubines into Xiao Jingnan's room...
She never expected that Empress Dowager Kang would strike with such thunderous force and directly target the Yuan Family Water Fort!
If this charge were to be confirmed, not to mention whether she could leave Yonghe Palace alive today, I'm afraid the entire Li and Xiao families would be doomed!
She had been careless...
She originally thought that Empress Dowager Kang was a harem woman without grand ambitions. Although she knew some imperial strategies, she was no different from ordinary women in the inner chambers, only using small tricks to torment people.
But she forgot that Empress Dowager Kang was, after all, the empress dowager.
Her "torment" was enough to make a family vanish into thin air in an instant.
Thinking of this, Li Wanming straightened her back even more and argued forcefully, "If anyone understands the Li family, it should be the empress dowager and the emperor!"
Her voice echoed in the main hall, resounding powerfully!
"It was the emperor who recalled my father from Fujian to the capital back then, and it was also the emperor who issued an edict to commend the Yuan Family Water Fort!"
"I'm sure His Majesty must know the loyalty of the Li and Yuan families. If the empress dowager doesn't believe it, why not go and ask His Majesty in person?"
"Moreover, it was the empress dowager who issued the edict to confer the title of the Crown Prince's Consort on me..."
She paused for a moment, hesitated in her eyes for an instant. When she looked up again, her voice became even clearer.
"With the empress dowager's wisdom and sagacity, she must have investigated my family background and past before issuing the edict. Otherwise, how could she have betrothed a criminal's daughter to the Crown Prince of the Ning Palace?"
These words of hers were very impolite. She was almost throwing caution to the wind!
Li Wanming knew very well that in today's game, Empress Dowager Kang had come prepared.
I'm afraid no matter how she defended herself, Empress Dowager Kang would not easily let her go.
If one wants to frame someone, one will surely find a pretext!
Since that was the case, she might as well be bolder and make a bigger fuss. Maybe this could alert the emperor in the deep palace and give herself a glimmer of hope.
Although she knew that since the incident of the play last year, the emperor had had no contact with Xiao Jingnan, but in this situation, she had no other better way...
Sure enough, after hearing her words, Empress Dowager Kang flew into a rage, "You shameless woman, how dare you threaten me with the emperor! Who do you think you are? Do you deserve for me to go and ask the emperor?"
But Li Wanming did not back down at all. Her forehead hit the ground heavily, making a dull "thud" sound, "I dare not, Your Majesty!"
Her eyes were clear, and her voice was as clear as a zither.
"I'm just stating the facts. I hope the empress dowager will see clearly!"
"Both the Yuan and Li families are loyal to the Great Sheng Dynasty. This loyalty can be shown and witnessed by heaven and earth!"
Kang beside her was already frightened out of her wits. The whole person was lying tightly on the ground, shaking like a sieve, unable to say a single word.
Li Wanming knew that Kang, this "scapegoat", was completely useless.
Now she could only pin her hopes on the second "scapegoat" prepared yesterday and the third "scapegoat" she had just thought of today -
Princess Chengping and His Majesty the Emperor!
No matter which one of you, please come quickly! If you're a bit late, I'm afraid I'll lose my life!
Empress Dowager Kang's face was ashen, her eyes as sharp as knives, coldly landing on Li Wanming, as if looking at a dying person.
"Come here."
"Li Wanming has behaved improperly and lost her composure in front of the imperial court. Drag her out for me and give her thirty strokes of the cane!"
When Li Wanming heard this, her first reaction was to breathe a little sigh of relief: Thirty strokes? It's okay. It won't kill her.
As long as she could hold on until Princess Chengping or the emperor arrived, there would still be a glimmer of hope.
In this situation, she didn't ask for anything else, only to save her life...
Outside the main hall, the nimble palace servants had already set up the long bench. Two strong eunuchs stepped forward quickly, one on each side, and grabbed Li Wanming, pressing her onto the long bench.
Li Wanming struggled desperately, shouting continuously, "Empress Dowager, I'm wronged! I'm really wronged!"
Quick, quick. The bigger the fuss, the better. The more intense, the better.
Even if Princess Chengping couldn't arrive in time, she must make a noise that would reach the emperor's ears.
"I'm wronged! I'm really wronged!"
She shouted until her voice was hoarse.
At the same time, she was screaming in her heart: Princess, Your Majesty, come quickly! If you don't come, I really won't be able to hold on!
The catkins in the late spring stuck to Li Wanming's sweaty temples. The hard long bench was pressing painfully against her ribs.
She was pressed on the long bench but stubbornly raised her head, shouting loudly, her eyes staring fixedly at the palace gate, hoping that some divine soldiers would descend to save her life.
Finally, heaven rewarded the diligent. At the moment when the court cane in Yonghe Palace was lifted high, Li Wanming saw a red glow seeping in from the vermilion-painted palace gate.
"Stop."
The cold voice of Princess Chengping rang out.
This voice was extremely pleasant, like the appearance of Buddha's light and the gurgling mountain stream.
Phew...
Li Wanming's heart suddenly relaxed. The whole person went limp, as if all the bones and muscles in her body had been pulled out. She had no strength at all.
Only then did she notice that there was a trace of fishy sweetness overflowing from her lips. It turned out that she had bitten her lower lip and bled out of nervousness just now.
"What on earth has happened? What has made the empress dowager so angry?"
Princess Chengping's wide sleeves brushed past the handle of the cane held high by the executioner and actually took the court cane with her own hands.
The golden-thread embroidered phoenix on her sleeve glowed brightly in the sunlight, as if about to spread its wings and fly, covering a brilliant golden-red light in front of Li Wanming. It was incredibly beautiful.
However, the heart that Li Wanming had just put down was raised again -
Princess Chengping's intention was too obvious. She was clearly telling Empress Dowager Kang that she had decided to protect this woman and that the empress dowager was not allowed to touch her!