Nangong Liuyun dared to claim that he could guarantee with his loyalty that Concubine Chu was innocent of harming the Empress because he had already heard the whole story.
Based on his understanding of Concubine Chu, he knew she would never use venomous snakes to kill someone, for she was extremely afraid of snakes.
He remembered that before she entered the palace, she had been bitten by a snake in the woods. Although the snake was non - venomous and she only suffered a bit of pain, since then, she had been terrified of snakes. How could she possibly use venomous snakes to harm others now?
Moreover, the venomous snake was clearly not a native species of the Central Plains. Where could she have obtained it? All these facts indicated that someone must be framing her.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help frowning tightly. He thought to himself, who on earth dared to touch the reverse scale of the Nangong family? That person must be tired of living.
Realizing that he couldn't gain any advantage in the Qianqing Palace, he silently retreated.
The man sitting on the highest seat watched as the back of the man in front gradually disappeared from his sight. Then, he disdainfully curled his lips and murmured, "They are just frogs in a well."
On the other side, in the Lanfang Garden.
After Yaoji was sent back here, she noticed that there were many more people monitoring her in the palace, but she didn't find it too strange.
After all, she was currently under suspicion. It was reasonable for him to send people to monitor her.
But her calmness stemmed from the fact that she knew she had left no loopholes. Without evidence, they couldn't sentence her to death, because her mother country was not to be trifled with. Randomly killing a princess sent for a political marriage would surely lead to war.
Thinking of this, an indescribable sense of pleasure welled up in her heart, as if she was manipulating everything in her palm. Watching them suspect but unable to obtain evidence, they could only fret.
After thinking this through, a proud smile curled up on her lips.
On the other side, in the Empress's Palace.
Dongfang Yi had just returned to her bedroom. Thinking that since she couldn't figure anything out, it would be better to take a rest. This Chinese New Year was really tiring.
But before she could rest for long, a person rushed into the palace from outside. It was Nanny Li from the Empress Dowager's place. As soon as she entered, she bowed to the woman in front of her and then said, "Empress, our Empress Dowager requests your presence."
At the mention of the Empress Dowager, Dongfang Yi's heart skipped a beat. Then she slapped her hand and thought, "It's bad!"
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, she was supposed to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. How could she have forgotten such an important thing? So she squinted at Donghua beside her, with a hint of blame in her eyes.
Donghua also immediately frowned, indicating that she had been so busy that she had forgotten this important thing.
Then she said to the old nanny in front of her, "Nanny, please go back first. Our Empress will come right away."
After Nanny Li left, Donghua immediately helped the woman beside her stand up. She also called for the honor guard, and then they rushed to the Cining Palace in a hurry.
When they arrived at the Empress Dowager's palace and opened the door, there was still a smell of incense, which made her couldn't help complaining silently in her heart. The Empress Dowager really never missed a day of burning incense and praying to Buddha in a year.
Then she immediately walked over, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your servant pays respects to the Empress Dowager."
After saying that, she was about to stand up when she heard the woman roar loudly, "Did I tell you to stand up? You're so rude!"
Dongfang Yi bit her lips and told herself to endure in her heart. After all, this woman was Helian Qi's mother. If she really offended her, her future life would be a living hell.
Seeing this situation, Donghua on the side quickly wanted to escape from the palace to inform Helian Qi, but was immediately stopped by Nanny Li, as if she had anticipated what Donghua was going to do.
Dongfang Yi half - squatted there for another quarter of an hour. She was on the verge of collapsing, and her thighs were trembling uncontrollably, but the Empress Dowager still showed no sign of letting her stand up.
"Do you know why?!" the Empress Dowager asked in a deep voice.
She still had to answer with a smile, "It's my fault. I came to pay respects to you too late, Your Majesty."
After hearing her words, the Empress Dowager gave a cold laugh, full of disdain.
Dongfang Yi gritted her teeth and thought, "I'll take the risk." Then she suddenly stood up and ran in front of the woman. Before the woman could criticize her, she first said aggrievedly, "I came here late on purpose, Your Majesty. You don't know that early this morning, I was called to Concubine Chu's palace. They said that there was almost a death in the palace. Naturally, I had to go and check, because this concerns the dignity of the royal family."
Here she paused and looked at the woman in front of her. The woman naturally knew what had happened in Concubine Chu's palace today, but still raised her eyebrows and asked, "Is this your reason for coming late?!"
"I thought that since I had missed being the first one to pay New Year greetings to you, I would be the last one. I would say a bunch of auspicious words to you to bless your good health throughout the year," she rambled on.
Sure enough, as she expected, the Empress Dowager's expression softened a lot. She thought that old people really couldn't resist nice words, and even the Empress Dowager was no exception.
The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "You're so glib. I didn't notice it before. Well, go and sit down!"
Dongfang Yi nodded vigorously and sat down on one side, smiling brightly. She also ordered Donghua beside her to bring something and said, "Your Majesty, this is a handkerchief embroidered by myself. Although it's not very valuable, my sincere intention is unparalleled!"
The Empress Dowager picked it up from the tray. When she saw the pattern embroidered on it, her face suddenly froze, and then she burst out laughing uncontrollably.
Nanny Li on the side asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?!"
She asked the woman in front of her, "Did you embroider a long - lasting pine tree?"
Dongfang Yi nodded embarrassedly. She knew that her embroidery skills were not good, but she didn't expect that she could make the always - serious Empress Dowager laugh. She didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing.
"If you had embroidered it a bit worse, I wouldn't have been able to tell what it was at all," the Empress Dowager squinted and said another sentence, looking quite happy.
Seeing this, Dongfang Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had hesitated when choosing a gift. Knowing that the Cining Palace was not short of gold, silver, and other valuables, she had finally chosen this handkerchief embroidered by herself.