On the other side, Dongfang Yi, who was waiting, was far from calm. Her mind was constantly racing, wondering who on earth was trying to kill her this time. That white fox back then was clearly a bait to lead her into a trap, and she had been so incredibly stupid as to fall right into the trap.
Who was it that was trying to harm her? Concubine Chu? Or Concubine Yao? She thought and thought but couldn't find a single clue. After all, she had made too many enemies in the harem.
Just as she was thinking, there was a noise outside the house, followed by a female voice.
"Your Majesty!"
"Donghua!" she exclaimed in surprise when she saw who it was.
Watching Donghua running towards her in a hurry with red - rimmed eyes, she began to scold herself.
"It's all my fault. I made Your Majesty get into danger again."
"Why would I blame you? Silly girl," Dongfang Yi comforted her, reaching out to tap the tip of her nose.
Then there came a male voice.
"Er'er..."
Looking behind Donghua, she saw Helian Qi. He was dressed in a black robe, his hair a bit disheveled, and the dark circles under his eyes were extremely obvious. He clearly hadn't slept all night.
Seeing him like this, Dongfang Yi couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. She immediately ran over and threw herself into his arms, saying with a choked - up voice, "I'm sorry for making you worry."
This scene was seen by others. They all avoided it, afraid of disturbing the reunion of this perfect couple. Helian Rong also took a deep look at them and then left with a somewhat sad expression.
He could only be with that woman for a short while. She would eventually be with his elder brother, and he was just an outsider.
After the two hugged for a while here, Dongfang Yi suddenly couldn't control herself and coughed twice. Helian Qi frowned and quickly stroked her back, asking, "Is the residual poison still not gone?!"
On his way here, he had heard about them falling into a deep pit and being poisoned by snakes. He also knew that his aunt's people had detoxified her, but looking at the woman in front of him now, she was clearly still very weak.
Dongfang Yi shook her head and said that the poison had been completely removed. She was just still very weak, and because of her excitement, she couldn't bear it and coughed twice.
Helian Qi quickly helped her into the room and sent someone to pour her a glass of water to calm down. Only then did he feel relieved and started to talk to her.
"I've already found out that it was Concubine Chu who set this trap," he said, then took out the hairpin from his bosom.
"This hairpin was found around the trap."
Dongfang Yi frowned after hearing this. She had seen that hairpin before. It was indeed Concubine Chu's, but she always felt that this matter couldn't be that simple.
"How could she be so careless as to leave this thing outside the trap? Is there something else wrong with this?" she replied with a suspicious look in her eyes.
She could say that Concubine Chu was not very good at scheming, but she would never doubt her carefulness. With her personality, having walked on thin ice in front of the people from the Southern Palace for so many years, she had long become cautious. How could she make such a low - level mistake in such an important matter?
After hearing her words, Helian Qi also hesitated a bit. He actually had some doubts too. But when Dongfang Yi disappeared and all the evidence pointed to Concubine Chu, he had no time to think about too many things at that time and could only make such a decision. But now that he thought about it, there might be more to this matter...
On the other side.
In Concubine Yao and Concubine Lian's tents, there was an uproar.
"What should we do now? The Queen didn't die. What if the Emperor suspects us?!" Concubine Lian paced back and forth in the tent, looking extremely panicked.
Since the Emperor had left with that woman who claimed to be a princess, she had been unable to calm down. She was afraid that she might leave some clues and be discovered by others.
Concubine Yao snorted. With a fierce look in her eyes, she stared at the woman who was pacing back and forth in front of her, then sneered and said, "What are you panicking about? Didn't we already shift all the blame onto Concubine Chu? What are you still afraid of?!"
But Concubine Lian couldn't calm down. After all, Concubine Chu had the support of the Prime Minister of the Southern Palace, while she had nothing. If this matter were to be exposed, or if Concubine Chu didn't die, then in the future, she would have to go against her in the harem. With her power, how could she fight against her?
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, and a wave of uneasiness welled up in her heart.
"Humph, useless thing," Concubine Yao sneered at her appearance.
She mocked that all the women in the Eastern Victory Kingdom were so useless. They would be scared like this when they encountered such a small thing.
"Who are you talking about?!" Concubine Lian roared.
Her eyes were blood - shot as she stared at the woman in front of her.
"We're all in the same boat. If this matter fails, if I can't live, you won't either," she continued.
There was a threatening tone in her voice, as well as a bit of a "break - the - pot - and - fall - out" attitude.
Concubine Yao couldn't bear it any longer when she saw her like this. She stood up straight, reached out and grabbed Concubine Lian's neck. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with a killing intent: "Shut your mouth. It's not your place to tell me what to do, you bitch."
After saying that, she flung her to the ground and then walked out of the tent without looking back.
The woman who was flung to the ground had tears blurring her eyes. A feeling of humiliation and unwillingness welled up in her heart. The pain kept hitting her, and she couldn't help but let out a low growl.
"Ah—!"
After the growl, her mood calmed down a bit. She knew that everything was a foregone conclusion now, and she could only wait and see what happened. But even if she was going to die, she would take a few more people with her.
Thinking of this, she stood up, wiped the tears from her face, tidied up her appearance and clothes, and then walked out of the tent.
She was going to meet that woman who was now being imprisoned. She wanted to hear how she would defend herself.
Thinking of this, a strange smile curled up on her lips.
Concubine Chu was now imprisoned in her original tent. It was guarded by soldiers all around. Even if she had extraordinary skills, she wouldn't be able to escape.
The woman inside was frowning, with an unhappy look in her eyes. No matter what she said, no one would believe that she was innocent, and neither would that person.
Thinking of this, she thought of Concubine Lian again. That bitch dared to frame her. Did she think she could do whatever she wanted just because she had caught her handle?!
If she could get through this safely, she would definitely teach her a good lesson!