The moment Wen Yu fell to the ground, the expressions of the people around varied. "What is the County Mistress Anning doing..." Su Lingyun was a bit unsure of Wen Yu's intention for a moment. A hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, and her vigilance towards Wen Yu suddenly heightened.
She squinted her eyes slightly and sized up Wen Yu.
The latter slightly lowered her eyes, looking on the verge of tears.
After a while, she stood up with Wen Xun's support. Clenching her teeth and on the verge of sobbing, she said, "Miss Su, you know exactly what happened to me. How could you question me about such things in front of so many men?!"
As if greatly humiliated, Wen Yu then averted her eyes and looked at Ji Qinyuan. "Your Majesty, this subject's daughter should have cooperated with Miss Su's questioning. However, if I'm questioned about these things in public, how can I show my face in the future?"
"Do you know why I'm asking you these things? Do you think your matters are more important than that of the Third Prince?" Su Lingyun seemed to have detected Wen Yu's guilty conscience and immediately became more sharp - tongued.
Ji Qinyuan clearly supported what Su Lingyun said more. But as Wen Yu was Wen Xun's daughter and there was no solid evidence to prove her guilt, he naturally couldn't go too far.
He pondered for two seconds and then looked at Ji Yundan. "Prince, take the County Mistress Anning and the head of the Su family to the imperial study. The rest of you, disperse if there's no other business."
After saying that, Ji Qinyuan stood up and gave Wen Xun a meaningful look, indicating that this was his last concession.
Su Lingyun was dissatisfied with Ji Qinyuan's words. After all, there were still people of the Third Prince in the court. If they confronted in public, there would surely be someone to speak for Wen Yu.
But if they went to the imperial study...
Su Lingyun gave Ji Yundan a furtive look.
The emperor's words were law, and she couldn't refute them.
After the four of them went to the imperial study, Ji Qinyuan then looked at Wen Yu. "Now, the County Mistress Anning can speak freely without worry. If you're innocent, no one else will know about what happened in the imperial study today."
"If anyone dares to spread the news secretly, I will never forgive them lightly."
Hearing this, Wen Yu took a deep breath and then knelt on the ground.
"Replying to Your Majesty, this subject's daughter is timid and cowardly. So in the past, I didn't even dare to tell my family about all my experiences. It was only after the incident of praying at the imperial temple that my family learned about those things." Wen Yu began to recount.
Just as she started, Su Lingyun couldn't help but frown and reminded her again, "The County Mistress Anning should just answer the questions directly."
Before Ji Qinyuan could make a decision, she was making the call.
A hint of mockery flashed in Wen Yu's eyes, and then she slowly said, "That day, the Third Prince ordered me to go to his residence. I knew that the Third Prince already had a concubine, and such behavior was unacceptable. But I had to obey the prince's order."
"I originally wanted to take this opportunity to make things clear to the prince. But that day, the prince..."
At this point, Wen Yu made a look of being unable to speak.
Her unspoken words were self - evident to everyone present. Ji Qinyuan nodded slightly, indicating for her to continue.
So Wen Yu took a breath and said, "I resisted desperately. Just then, the noise in the room was heard by Li Qilun. He came to the prince's residence on business. I took the opportunity to escape from the room."
"Escaped? Where did you escape to? What was Li Qilun's business with the prince? And the prince said you poisoned him. How do you explain that?" Su Lingyun couldn't wait to ask.
Her tone was too urgent. Wen Yu seemed to be frightened by her and shrank for a moment.
Seeing this, Ji Yundan almost subconsciously frowned. He looked at Su Lingyun unhappily. "Your Majesty hasn't spoken yet. Miss Su, please be patient. Wait until the county mistress has finished speaking before asking."
Seeing Ji Yundan protecting Wen Yu, Su Lingyun's eyes turned colder, but she really fell silent.
Wen Yu raised her eyes and looked at Su Lingyun. With a calm look and a clear and smooth voice without any stuttering, she said, "Although my late husband's Pei family was a family of convicted officials, I was favored by Your Majesty and granted the title of county mistress. The prince repeatedly forced me, which was already a wrong thing."
"At that time, the prince had finally married a concubine. Naturally, I didn't want the prince to continue making mistakes because of me, and I didn't want to interfere with the prince's relationship with his concubine."
"I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to escape. How could I know what the prince and Li Qilun were talking about? They are both martial artists. Does Miss Su think I could eavesdrop on them under their noses and still get away unscathed?"
Wen Yu's rhetorical questions left Su Lingyun speechless.
She frowned and was about to speak when she saw Ji Yundan's unhappy expression and forcibly shut her mouth.
Seeing this, Wen Yu sneered in her heart and then continued, "After I left the prince's residence, I originally wanted to go back directly. But Li Qilun sent people to guard not far away. I was afraid of ruining my reputation, so I had to take a detour. But I accidentally slipped and fainted by the roadside."
"My guard found me. The next day, my elder brother learned about the incident at the imperial temple and came. He took me back to Shengjing on the way. The Wen Mansion invited a doctor that day. Your Majesty can check and know."
Wen Yu didn't completely lie about her itinerary that day. However, she used some Spring and Autumn writing style and omitted some key information.
A mixture of truth and falsehood was the most difficult to expose.
After answering this question, Wen Yu didn't give Su Lingyun a chance to speak and continued, "As for Miss Su's question about me poisoning the prince..."
"Does it mean that every time the prince forced me, it was because I poisoned him?"
"If I really had designs on the prince, why didn't I enter the Third Prince's mansion as a concubine or a maid after I became a widow? Did I poison the prince just to humiliate myself?"
At this point, Wen Yu began to choke again, as if these tragic past experiences were too painful to mention.
Hearing this, Ji Qinyuan sighed deeply.
Ji Yunqing had really gone too far in this matter.
Even if he really had feelings for Wen Yu, he could just take her into the prince's mansion. Why did he have to do so many disgraceful things?
"But if you didn't poison the prince, why were the prince and Li Qilun..."
Su Lingyun almost blurted out the phrase "caught in the act" subconsciously. But due to Ji Yunqing's status, she swallowed the words. "Since the prince has feelings for you, it's enough to prove that the prince has no inclination towards men."
The biggest doubt about Ji Yunqing's incident was that he and Li Qilun were caught together.
But this was also the most reputation - ruining part.
Wen Yu had planned from the beginning that even if the scheme couldn't kill Ji Yunqing, at least it would make him too ashamed to show his face.
More importantly, the prince who had such a scandal couldn't compete for the throne.
"Your Majesty, I dare not answer Miss Su's words." Wen Yu looked at Ji Qinyuan with a somewhat panicked expression, looking a bit hard to describe.
But Su Lingyun squinted her eyes and couldn't help but say, "Is the county mistress really afraid to say or doesn't know what to say?"
"Is the county mistress afraid that she can't make up lies anymore and can't round them up?"
After ridiculing Wen Yu, Su Lingyun then lifted her robe and knelt on both knees. She said loudly, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince is really extremely wronged. Your Majesty must not believe the County Mistress Anning's sophistry."
"The divination technique of the Su family is unparalleled in the world. I've divined several times, and the divination signs all indicate that the Third Prince is wronged. There will never be any mistake!"