Su Qingyu instinctively reached for her waist, but her fingers touched nothing as expected.
When did this thing go missing? How come she didn't notice it?!
Su Zeqian was even more stunned on the spot.
He saw that jade pendant almost every day. When Su Qingyu was in the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion, she often held it in her hand and played with it, which was well - known to everyone.
Su Zeqian always had full faith in his younger sister. Since Su Qingyu said she hadn't been to the lake and hadn't seen Su Yuanyuan, he believed there must be some misunderstanding, so he resolutely stood up to defend her.
But...
If she hadn't seen or had any contact with Su Yuanyuan, why was the jade pendant that his sister always carried with her in the hands of the young lady from the Duke's Mansion?
He couldn't help but turn around and look at Su Qingyu behind him, his eyes full of questions.
Queen Wang turned to the noble consort beside her and said, "How can this thing prove that it was Su Qingyu who did it?"
The noble consort covered her lips with her palace fan and smiled, "Sister Queen, you may not know that this eldest legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion was initially famous for having a top - grade white jade. The carving and pattern of this jade pendant are extremely rare. There is only one such pendant in the world, unique."
In that case, what else was there to say?
Unexpectedly, it was really Su Qingyu who pushed the young lady from the Duke's Mansion into the water? Remembering the extremely vicious words Su Yuanyuan had said just now, the looks in everyone's eyes towards Su Qingyu instantly changed.
Even Queen Wang couldn't help but sit up straight, her face looking solemn.
It was common for noble ladies to cause trouble during banquets. If it was just a minor scuffle, people could just turn a blind eye. But if it involved a life, it was another matter.
Different from others' reactions, when Mo Shi on the other side saw that Su Yuanyuan actually had evidence, she was first stunned for a moment, and then overjoyed. She even wished she could pick Su Yuanyuan up and give her a big kiss!
Her precious Yuanyuan had even learned to preserve physical evidence. She was truly her good girl!
Temporarily suppressing her inner excitement, Mo Shi snorted and voiced what everyone was thinking, "Su Qingyu, the evidence is conclusive. What else do you have to say now?"
Su Qingyu still showed no sign of panic. Facing the accusing and skeptical looks from many people, two lines of clear tears fell down her face. She knelt down with a thud in front of Queen Wang and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty the Queen, I am guilty. Please punish me."
Queen Wang raised her eyebrows and said, "Oh? You're admitting it?"
Su Qingyu said in a voice full of deep apology, "Your Majesty the Queen, I... lied."
"Before I presented the music, when I went down to change my clothes, I accidentally lost my jade pendant. In order to find it back, I carefully searched along the way I had walked but found nothing. On the way... I did pass by the lake, but I never met this younger sister from the Duke's Mansion."
She only admitted that she had been to the lake, but did not admit that she had pushed Su Yuanyuan.
"I concealed the fact that I had been to the lake because I didn't want to disturb Your Majesty's birthday banquet because of a small jade pendant. I originally thought that after I finished presenting the music and had some free time, I would go and look for it carefully. I never thought that the jade pendant would end up in the hands of Sister Yuanyuan."
"As for why Sister Yuanyuan fell into the water, I really don't know. But I guess that Sister Yuanyuan probably saw my jade pendant by the lake and accidentally fell into the lake while trying to pick it up. Maybe Sister Yuanyuan saw this jade pendant on me and mentioned me to the Duchess, so the Duchess misunderstood me."
What a glib tongue that could twist the truth!
After hearing what she said, Mo Shi felt as if her chest was about to explode with anger. Regardless of Queen Wang, she immediately questioned Su Qingyu:
"You said that my Yuanyuan fell in by herself. Then how do you explain what my Yuanyuan said just now? If she hadn't heard it from you beforehand, with my Yuanyuan's personality, how could she remember it so clearly?!"
Su Zeqian immediately said, "Duchess, there were a lot of people at the banquet, and Miss Su the Fourth was separated for a while before she was found. Who knows where she heard those words?"
With her elder brother's support, Su Qingyu felt more confident: "Since the Duchess doesn't believe me, I earnestly request Your Majesty to summon the palace maid who led the way. I'm willing to confront her face - to - face."
The Queen looked at both sides who each stuck to their own views and said, "Approved."
The palace maid who led the way was quickly brought up.
At this time, the atmosphere in the main hall was very tense. After the palace maid nervously saluted the Queen and the concubines, Su Qingyu began to question her.
"Before the palace banquet started, you led me to the side hall to change my clothes. Is that right?"
The palace maid had a deep impression of her and said, "Yes."
"After I changed my clothes, did I delay for a while on the way?"
The palace maid said, "Yes."
Su Qingyu's speaking speed quickened, "When you saw me, was there a jade pendant hanging on my waist?"
The palace maid said, "No."
Su Qingyu asked again, "Did you see Miss Su the Fourth from the Duke's Mansion on the way?"
"No."
"Did you see me push Miss Su the Fourth from the Duke's Mansion into the water?"
The palace maid instinctively said, "No."
"Your Majesty the Queen!" Su Qingyu choked with sobs as she called out to the Queen, her tone full of grievance, "With the palace maid as a witness, Miss Su the Fourth from the Duke's Mansion falling into the water really has nothing to do with me!"
"That's not right!" Mo Shi reacted very quickly. She sternly said to the palace maid, "Did you follow her all the time?"
The palace maid stammered, "N - No, I separated from Miss Su for a while on the way."
Mo Shi immediately said, "That's it! Maybe Su Qingyu pushed my Yuanyuan into the water during that time! You weren't following her, so you naturally don't know about this!"
Su Zeqian naturally also caught the loophole in her words, "That also means that no one saw my younger sister do it!"
Both the Duke's Mansion and the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion had their own reasons. In front of the Queen, Su Zeqian and Mo Shi argued vehemently.
Su Zeqian said that the Duke's Mansion was being too overbearing, while Mo Shi said that the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion had deliberately killed someone and had evil intentions.
The noisy voices annoyed Queen Wang. Rubbing her throbbing temples, she couldn't help but shout:
"Enough!"
The arguing voices stopped, and the scene became a bit quieter. Queen Wang came to a conclusion:
"Madam Mo, I know that your daughter has been wronged and you're upset. This is only natural. But everything requires evidence. Although your daughter has the jade pendant as evidence, since no one witnessed it with their own eyes, we can't easily convict someone."
"I think that since your daughter has fallen into the water, it's better for her to go down and change into dry clothes earlier."
Was it going to end like this? Did they think the Duke's Mansion was easy to bully?
Both Mo Shi, Su Yuanyuan, and the others from the Yong Duke's Mansion were extremely unwilling.
On the other side, Su Qingyu secretly let out a sigh of relief. She touched her palm and found that it was covered in a cold sweat. She curtsied to thank the Queen and then gracefully stood up with Su Zeqian's support. The corners of her lips had unconsciously curled up.
So what if it was the Duke's Mansion? They still lost. She had already checked. When she pushed that fool into the water, there was no one around to see.
At this time, a shrill voice of a eunuch came from outside the hall, "His Majesty the Emperor is coming—"
At the entrance of the main hall, Emperor Jing, the current emperor of the Great Chu Dynasty, strode into the hall with his hands behind his back. Beside him, there was a calm and composed figure with a tall and superior posture.
Half of the man's long ink - like hair was pulled up, and the other half was scattered behind him. He was wearing a black outer robe with mysterious and complex patterns embroidered in silver thread, making him look noble and extraordinary. But what was most unforgettable was his extremely handsome and almost demonic face, as well as his light and gorgeous eyes like colored glass.
It was Cang Xuan, the chief minister of the cabinet of the Great Chu Dynasty.