An He's face changed.
The guards beside him also changed their expressions.
Under the thick, black night, the cold wind blew, and the palace lanterns flickered, making the expressions on people's faces alternate between light and shadow, gloomy and silent.
Lan Xin didn't know what she had said wrong.
The moment her words left her mouth, the atmosphere around them turned terrifyingly silent. The emperor's eyes seemed as if he wanted to devour her alive.
Could it be that she had guessed wrong?
Was the owner of the jade pendant actually someone the emperor hated?
Lan Xin bit her lip and shed another weak tear.
But at this moment, Emperor Jingxiang laughed.
The cold laughter that came from between his teeth seemed as angry as if it could suck out someone's marrow. He slowly said word by word, "When did you lose this jade pendant?"
Lan Xin's mind went blank.
She just realized that she had made a fatal mistake. She simply couldn't remember. If there was the slightest discrepancy, wouldn't it be a crime of deceiving the emperor, which could even implicate her whole family!
"Maybe five or six years ago. I can't remember clearly. Since this jade pendant wasn't very valuable, I didn't really look for it."
"How old were you five years ago?"
"Twelve."
A hint of playfulness appeared on Emperor Jingxiang's face.
His long, slender fingers played with the jade pendant.
Lan Xin was twelve years old five years ago. Although he had been drugged that night, he had a sense of how old the woman who had slept with him was. She was definitely an adult woman. How could he have ever humiliated an eleven - or twelve - year - old little girl?
"Full of lies."
He mercilessly threw these four words at Lan Xin.
Lan Xin's face immediately turned pale. She was still thinking about how to get away with it, but who would have thought that the emperor would see through her so quickly.
What should she do now?
At this point, she could only quickly beg for mercy. Lan Xin cried out aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, please spare this subject's daughter. I was just muddle - headed for a moment. Can you spare me for the sake of my father and for the credit my elder sister Lan Miao just achieved?"
"This subject's daughter was really muddle - headed..."
"I'll ask you one more time. Whose jade pendant with this pattern is this exactly? If you tell the truth, I might spare your life."
Emperor Jingxiang's voice was cold and hard. Lan Xin's terrified and shocked eyes were clearly reflected in his cold pupils.
"It belongs to someone in my family..."
Lan Xin seemed to be possessed. She just refused to say Lan Miao's name. She felt that once she said it, she would lose the qualification to compete with Lan Miao for the rest of her life.
What else didn't Emperor Jingxiang understand at this moment?
Looking at the still - stubborn Lan Xin, he coldly curled the corner of his mouth, "Drag her away and execute her."
"Ah...!"
Lan Xin let out a terrified scream.
Fear penetrated her mind. She subconsciously opened her mouth and shouted, "Your Majesty, this subject's daughter was wrong. This jade belongs to Lan Miao. It's all Lan Miao's fault, aaaaah..."
"Continue."
The guard holding Lan Xin's hand loosened a little.
Seeing that there was still a glimmer of hope, Lan Xin didn't dare to hesitate. She immediately spilled out everything she knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
"These two jade pendants were given to us by our father. The one in this subject's daughter's hand is the original one. Lan Miao insisted on being special and carved a pattern on hers herself. This subject's daughter secretly took a peek..."
By this point, Emperor Jingxiang understood everything.
He waved his hand.
The guards continued to drag Lan Xin away without hesitation.
Even after Lan Xin was dragged away, her long, terrified scream still echoed on the palace path.
An He said worriedly, "Your Majesty, do you really want to execute the younger sister of Lady Lan?"
"Forget it. Lock her up in the dungeon."
Emperor Jingxiang snorted coldly.
"Go to Lovesickness Pavilion immediately. I want to see Lady Lan right away."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The imperial palanquin started moving. An He knew that Emperor Jingxiang must be extremely anxious at this moment, so he kept urging the palace servants to hurry up.
They had searched for so long.
Unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, the person the emperor was looking for had been by his side all along.
Should this be said to be their incompetence or Lady Lan's extreme cleverness?
The journey that usually took half an hour only took a stick of incense today.
After arriving at Lovesickness Pavilion, Emperor Jingxiang's face was gloomy. He strode in, astonishing all the palace servants waiting outside.
Inside the inner room, Han Bi and Xue'er were taking care of the drunk Lan Miao.
Seeing the emperor come in aggressively, Han Bi quickly knelt down, while Xue'er stood beside the bed, with her hands outstretched and her small brows furrowed.
"Your Majesty, my mother is too tired and drunk. Can you come to her tomorrow?"
Xue'er protested for her mother.
Facing this little girl, Emperor Jingxiang's brows slowly relaxed, and his face turned solemn. "Who said I'm here to find your mother? I'm here to find you."
"Ah?"
Xue'er was surprised.
"Then... what does Your Majesty want with me?"
"Come with me." Emperor Jingxiang waved to Xue'er, and then said to the other palace servants, "Take good care of Lady Lan. No one is allowed to leave her side before I come back."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Han Bi answered in surprise.
Then, Emperor Jingxiang took Xue'er to a side room in Lovesickness Pavilion and sat down. He sat under the window, his robe trailing to the ground, and the dragon patterns on it faintly emitted an aura that kept people at a distance.
Xue'er stood in front of Emperor Jingxiang.
The room was warm from the stove, and Xue'er's little face was flushed. Her big eyes blinked.
Emperor Jingxiang thought for a while.
He took out from his bosom the jade pendant that had been with him for five years.
"This jade pendant belongs to me. Have you ever seen this pattern anywhere? Maybe you saw it beside your mother?"
There was an ambiguous smile on Emperor Jingxiang's face. The candlelight flickered on his angular face.
Xue'er stared intently at the pattern on the jade pendant.
She looked at Emperor Jingxiang's expression again, pouted her small mouth, wanting to say something but not daring to.
"Didn't your teacher teach you that you can't deceive the emperor?" Emperor Jingxiang emphasized again.
His cold and stern eyes swept over Xue'er, and Xue'er blinked.
"Your Majesty, can I ask a question first?"
"Ask."
Even though Emperor Jingxiang was extremely anxious to verify at this moment, he was still patient with Xue'er's question.
He had thought about asking Lan Miao himself before he came.
But after seeing Lan Miao, he remembered how cunning and smart his lady was usually. She might come up with a whole bunch of lies to deceive him.
So he simply came to ask Xue'er himself.
Although Xue'er was younger than this jade pendant, maybe he could get some information from her.
Xue'er hesitated for a moment, then still opened her mouth and asked, "Your Majesty, why does the jade pendant carved by my mother end up with you? When did you buy it?"
Emperor Jingxiang's heart skipped a beat. He calmly guided her, "What makes you think this jade pendant was carved by your mother? This jade pendant was carved by the jade - carving masters in the palace. Don't talk nonsense."
There was a hint of disdain in his tone.
Instead, it aroused Xue'er's strong dissatisfaction.
She stamped her little foot.
"This must have been carved by my mother, Your Majesty. Look." Xue'er snatched the jade pendant from Emperor Jingxiang's hand, placed the side with the pattern under the lamp. In the crooked and twisted hollow holes, there were a few faint scratches.
"Your Majesty, take a closer look. If you look closely at these scratches, don't they look like three dots, which represent the character 'Miao' in my mother's name?"
There was a hint of pride in Xue'er's eyes.
"This was carved by my mother. I've never seen the pattern on the jade pendant before, but this little mark definitely belongs to my mother."