"Rise," Dongfang Yi said to the woman in front of her.
After the woman stood up, Dongfang Yi immediately noticed the red marks on her neck. She asked suspiciously, "Sister Lianpin, what happened to your neck?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words were out, tears welled up in the woman's eyes, making them look watery.
She deserved the title of Lianpin. She looked so pitiful, especially those expressive eyes. Now that she was crying, she truly looked so vulnerable and endearing.
"I... I dare not say!" she sobbed, as if she had suffered some great injustice.
Dongfang Yi couldn't help but frown. She was already used to such feigned pitiful expressions from Concubine Chu. She knew that most of the time in the harem, people were just pretending, and she had long been immune to it.
But she still pretended to be concerned and asked, "Sister Lianpin, what's wrong with you? If you've suffered any injustice, you can tell me. As the mistress of the harem, I will never let you be wronged."
After all, she came here this time to probe the truth, so she must act as if she knew nothing.
Hearing what the woman in front of her said, Lianpin thought her act had been recognized, so she cried even more loudly.
"I dare not say, I'm afraid Concubine Chu won't let me off..."
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi sneered inwardly. This woman really looked pitiful, but between the lines, she was blaming Concubine Chu. It seemed like she was complaining, but in fact, she was accusing others of their faults.
So she raised her eyebrows, signaling the woman in front of her to continue.
As if she had received some kind of approval, Lianpin continued to cry and answer, "Concubine Chu wanted me to take all the blame for her. When I refused, she grabbed my neck tightly and tried to kill me. How could I take on such an evil deed of framing the Empress?"
After saying this, she bit her lips hard, as if she was talking about something humiliating. If someone didn't know all the facts, they would surely believe every word she said.
But Dongfang Yi was used to these tricks and naturally wouldn't be easily deceived. She raised her eyebrows and pretended to be confused, asking, "Sister Lianpin, do you mean that Concubine Chu tried to harm me?"
Hearing this, Lianpin immediately knelt on the ground with a frightened look, lowering her head and not daring to look up. Her shoulders were trembling as she replied, "Your Majesty, I really feel that Concubine Chu has the intention to harm you. But I've been threatened by her, so I didn't dare to say anything."
Dongfang Yi couldn't help but curl her lips. She thought to herself that this woman was really scheming. What a good way to shift the blame.
If Lianpin had behaved more calmly when she came here, Dongfang Yi might have suspected her own guess. But her blatant display of grievances made her even more suspicious.
"Do you have any evidence, Lianpin?" she asked.
"I don't have any evidence. I just heard that His Majesty once picked up a hairpin. I don't know whose it is..." she said tremblingly.
Dongfang Yi had indeed heard that Helian Qi had picked up a hairpin beside the trap. It was also because of this that he had determined that Concubine Chu was the one who tried to kill her.
Thinking of this, she had nothing more to ask, so she left the woman's tent.
On the way, she kept thinking, trying to figure out all the details.
Concubine Chu seemed to be the one who tried to kill her on the surface, but Lianpin's attitude was very suspicious. Judging from the current situation, she really seemed to hate Concubine Chu.
But now that she had harmed her, it was unlikely that she would be so bold. If this matter was really done by her, there must be someone behind her giving her instructions.
Then who could that person be?
While thinking, she walked outside Helian Qi's tent. She sorted out her thoughts and then stepped inside.
She saw Helian Qi lying on the table, dealing with official documents. He frowned, looking worried.
In his hand, he was holding an urgent document. Just as she was wondering what could make him so worried, she saw him throw the document out with a frown.
He looked up and saw Dongfang Yi standing there blankly. Only then did the expression on his face ease a little.
"What's wrong with you? What's bothering you?" Dongfang Yi asked.
She rarely saw the man in front of her so irritable. He seemed like a dragon whose reverse scale had been touched, with anger in his eyes.
Helian Qi frowned as if he was hesitating whether he should say it or not. Dongfang Yi had already walked over and sat beside him. She raised her hand to massage his forehead and said, "You can tell me anything at any time. I'm willing to share your burdens."
There was infinite tenderness in her tone, and her eyes were full of affection.
Helian Qi looked at her like this, squinted his eyes and enjoyed her massage. Then he said, "It's an urgent letter from Nangong Liuyun. I'm afraid Concubine Chu has asked him for help again. Now, as a mere minister, he dares to threaten me?"
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi also frowned. She didn't expect it to be Prime Minister Nangong. She had only heard from others' words before that he was extremely powerful. Now she didn't expect that he had even reached the point of threatening the Emperor.
Thinking of this, she stood up, picked up the document and read it.
The more she read, the tighter her frown became. Every word in the document was about how he asked the Emperor to trust Concubine Chu. But the underlying meaning was quite different. Any discerning person could see that this was a threatening letter.
Now that he was outside the capital, even though Helian Qi was the Emperor, he couldn't do much about him. Moreover, he was handling such an important matter as renovating the imperial mausoleum, which made people have to be cautious.
At the end of the document, he also added that he would return to the capital to celebrate the New Year with the Emperor. This made people start to speculate about his intentions.
After reading it, Dongfang Yi remembered something more important, so she asked, "You've known for a long time that Nangong Liuyun has ulterior motives, right?"
Helian Qi lowered his eyes and didn't say a word. His silence told her everything.
He had long known that Nangong Liuyun had ulterior motives. Sending him to renovate the imperial mausoleum this time was also part of his plan. He wanted to let him expose all his wolfish ambitions when he relaxed his vigilance. By then, he could arrest all his followers.
Dongfang Yi understood his meaning, so she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she shifted the topic to another matter.
"I think Concubine Chu might have been wrongly accused in this trap incident. I just went to probe Lianpin, and her performance was too exaggerated. It's hard not to be suspicious."