Suddenly, the emperor arrived. In an instant, everyone knelt down.
"Welcome Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live forever!"
Su Yuanyuan was also pulled down to kneel on the ground by Lady Mo. Worried that Su Yuanyuan might be scared, Lady Mo whispered in her ear.
"Be good, Yuanbao. Don't make a sound."
The scene fell into complete silence. Only the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from afar.
Earlier, when Su Yuanyuan showed the jade pendant in her hand to prove that she had evidence, the robe on her body had become quite loose. Caught off guard, she was pulled by Lady Mo to perform the kneeling ceremony. The robe accidentally slipped off her body, revealing her wet figure.
The weather was cold. Even though there was a heating system in the main hall, her body couldn't stop trembling slightly.
Pairs of boots passed by in front of her eyes, casting shadows. At the very front were the emperor's bright yellow dragon boots.
Su Yuanyuan held her breath and silently begged the emperor to take his seat quickly so that she could put on her clothes again.
Unexpectedly, when a pair of black boots embroidered with intricate patterns appeared, for some reason, it was as if a feather had brushed across Su Yuanyuan's nose, and she couldn't help sneezing.
"Achoo!"
This sneeze was especially loud in the silent main hall, and the emperor stopped in his tracks.
Lady Mo quickly grabbed the completely wet clothes that had fallen on the ground and covered Su Yuanyuan with them again. She apologized, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. My daughter is young and ignorant. She didn't mean to startle Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty can show mercy."
Above her head, the emperor's vicissitudinous and deep voice came, "It's my negligence. Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Seeing that the emperor didn't blame them, Lady Mo heaved a sigh of relief and helped Su Yuanyuan stand up from the ground.
Su Yuanyuan rubbed her nose and looked up. Coincidentally, she met a pair of phoenix eyes that shone like colored glaze.
Cang Xuan was looking at her.
Su Yuanyuan's cheeks burned. She couldn't help but hide behind Lady Mo and gently grabbed the corner of Lady Mo's dress. At the same time, she felt a bit annoyed.
This was the second time. Every time she saw this person, she would sneeze and make a fool of herself. It was so embarrassing. Fortunately, the original owner was a bit silly. Otherwise, she might have dug a hole in the ground and crawled into it.
"Why has Your Majesty come?" Queen Wang's voice got closer. Su Yuanyuan peeked over Lady Mo's shoulder and saw the emperor and the queen walking away hand in hand. Cang Xuan also followed behind them.
"Today is the queen's birthday. How could I not come and take a look? But I was delayed for some time playing chess with Lord Cang, so I'm a bit late. The queen won't blame me, will she?"
"Of course not. I'm already very happy that Your Majesty has come. This is more precious than any gift..."
"What game were you playing just now, Your Majesty? A water fight? Why does the young lady from the Duke's Mansion look all wet?"
As soon as the emperor said this, the scene fell silent for a moment. The queen forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I was just trying to solve a case. The victim is the fourth young lady from the Duke's Mansion."
The emperor sat down on his seat and asked Lady Mo, "Lady Mo, what happened to your daughter?"
Lady Mo below couldn't help but smile. It seemed that God was on her Yuanbao's side. She originally thought she wouldn't get the result she wanted from the queen, but unexpectedly, the emperor came and was interested in this matter.
Anyway, the grievances her Yuanbao had suffered must be addressed. Otherwise, the Yongguo Duke's Mansion would have no prestige in Shengjing in the future!
So, Lady Mo told the emperor the whole story.
After listening, the emperor asked, "Where did your daughter fall into the water?"
Lady Mo replied, "Your Majesty, it was Puyang Lake in Qingyi Garden."
"Oh, really?" The emperor said to Cang Xuan standing beside him, "Cang Xuan, I remember you came from the direction of Puyang Lake tonight. What do you think of this matter?"
Su Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment and immediately turned her gaze to Cang Xuan.
When she swam to the shore, she did meet this powerful chief councilor on the shore.
But she wasn't sure if the other person had seen everything, and she didn't dare to guarantee that the other person would definitely stand up and testify for her.
Maybe giving her an outer robe to block the wind was already his greatest kindness.
At this moment, not only Su Yuanyuan but also the siblings Su Zeqian and Su Qingyu were nervously waiting for Cang Xuan's response.
Cang Xuan was playing with the black jade fan in his hand. He lazily raised his eyes and looked straight at Su Qingyu, who was being protected behind Su Zeqian. With a half - smile, he said, "The Pingyang Marquis Mansion's discipline of its eldest legitimate daughter is really lacking."
Just this one sentence was enough to prove that Su Yuanyuan was pushed into the water by Su Qingyu!
It turned out that since Lady Yongguo Duke had brought her daughter into this main hall, Su Qingyu had been lying!
Even when the fourth young lady from the Duke's Mansion had her personal jade pendant, she still tried to distort the truth in front of the queen, making everyone think that it was all the fourth young lady's own fault.
Every word and every expression of Su Qingyu before had become the biggest joke of today's birthday banquet!
The more the people on the scene had believed in Su Qingyu's innocence before, the more resounding the slaps on their faces were now.
Although the emperor and the queen were both present, the people on the scene couldn't help but start discussing heatedly. All of them were accusing Su Qingyu of being two - faced and vicious.
The perfect image she had created in front of outsiders finally cracked at this moment.
Su Yuanyuan clenched her fists tightly. Her nose felt sour, and a wave of grievances welled up involuntarily.
If someone like this had stood up to testify for her in her previous life, proving her innocence, would the ending of her previous life have been different?
She looked at Cang Xuan beside the emperor with tears in her eyes, and her gaze was filled with deep gratitude.
Maybe this so - called "wicked official" wasn't as terrifying and inhumane as the rumors said.
He had helped her twice tonight! After this matter was over, she must find an opportunity to thank him properly!
At this moment, the angriest person wasn't Lady Mo but the queen. She immediately lashed out at Su Qingyu.
"Su Qingyu, I've given you two chances, but you chose to deceive me and try to clear yourself completely. Now that Lord Cang has testified, what else do you want to say in your defense?"
As she spoke, she swept the teacup on the side to the ground, looking extremely angry.
With the truth exposed, Su Qingyu had nothing to say in her defense. She hugged her guqin and knelt down in front of the emperor and the queen. With tears streaming down her face, she said, "I have nothing to say. I plead guilty."
Su Zeqian's heart had already ached from the shock of the truth, but when he saw Su Qingyu's tears pouring down like a broken dam and her kneeling on the ground humbly, he instantly softened.
He knelt beside Su Qingyu and tried his best to defend her.
"Your Majesty and Your Highness may not know that my younger sister was separated from our family due to an accident since she was born. Although she was born into a noble family, she had to live among the common people for several years and suffered a great deal. It wasn't until two years ago that she was brought back to the Marquis Mansion and regained her status as the daughter of the Marquis Mansion."
"After coming back, she had to walk on thin ice in the Marquis Mansion and in Shengjing. She didn't know how much effort she had spent to gain her current reputation and praise. In order to celebrate Your Highness's birthday, she practiced the guqin day and night. Her fingers were cracked from playing, but she didn't stop, just to play a piece of celestial music for Your Highness at the birthday banquet and make Your Highness happy."
There were indeed bandages on Su Qingyu's fingers. People thought it was because of playing the guqin, but they didn't expect it was for this reason. For a moment, a trace of pity for her welled up in their hearts.
"My younger sister may have indeed done something wrong. She pushed the young lady from the Duke's Mansion into the lake on a whim. But I believe that in her heart, she is still kind. Everyone makes mistakes. I hope Your Majesty and Your Highness can give her another chance for the sake of all the hardships she has endured."
After Su Zeqian finished speaking, he bowed deeply.