Chapter 110: A Game Within a Game
“Young Madam Gu, mind your words.”
Xue Sui calmly adjusted the sleeve cuff that had been dampened by the rain, her fingertips gently caressing the Yun Jin brocade fabric. Every movement exuded a sense of leisurely grace.
“The silk robe you’re wearing wasn’t taken off by Xue Liu, nor did I invite Your Highness Prince Wei here. How could I possibly control your fleeting affair?”
Xue Yueying’s fingers trembled, and her flushed face seemed to hold a boundless hatred.
“If not you, then who? If you hadn’t secretly schemed, how could the Prince have suddenly appeared here…”
“Tsk—”
What a joke!
Such unreasonable accusations were baseless.
Xue Sui couldn’t be bothered to explain further, merely offering a faint smile.
“Excessive worry during pregnancy is detrimental to one’s spirit. Young Madam Gu, you are currently with child; speak with more caution, lest your unborn child inherits your madness.”
Xue Yueying abruptly broke free from the maid’s support and lunged towards Xue Yuechen, her eyes appearing to be consumed by frenzy.
“Eldest Sister, you must believe me, I didn’t intentionally consort with Your Highness Prince Wei… I, I remember now, it was Xue Liu who deliberately sought attention from the Crown Prince, showing off at the poetry gathering. Later that night, she secretly went to the Crown Prince’s residence…”
Xue Sui raised an eyebrow and asked unhurriedly, “Young Madam Gu knows my whereabouts so clearly. Did you perhaps send someone to spy on me?”
Xue Yueying stiffened her neck and, mustering her courage, said, “I was only thinking of our Xue family’s reputation, fearing you might do something scandalous, so I sent someone to follow and see. I didn’t expect to actually find you sneaking towards Haitang Feng Heng…”
Upon hearing this, Xue Yuechen furrowed her brow. “So, the old woman who came to Tinghe Pavilion to deliver the message was indeed acting on your orders? Not only did you frame Sixth Sister, but you also wanted to drag me into this mess and use me as a scapegoat?”
Xue Yueying shook her head, her eyes red and swollen, tears pooling as if about to overflow.
“Old woman, what old woman? When did I ever send someone to deceive Eldest Sister? I didn’t…”
Xue Yuechen looked at her coldly. “Fourth Sister, you have disappointed me greatly… Committing such a shameful act, bringing disgrace upon the entire Xue family, do you feel no remorse?”
“Sister-in-law!” Gu Ruoyi, seeing her continuously scolding Xue Sui, also flushed with anger and stepped forward to defend Xue Sui.
“You asked me to find Young Master Zhao to discuss poetry, but in reality, it was to create an opportunity for you and Prince Wei to have an affair, wasn’t it? And you also intended to ruin my reputation. If not for Sister Xue kindly accompanying me, I would have made a complete fool of myself tonight. Even now, you show no remorse and still slander Sister Xue. I’ll tell you the truth, Sister Xue was with me in Qixia Pavilion discussing poetry all night. How could she have possibly slipped away for a private rendezvous?”
Xue Yueying looked at her incredulously. “You were with Xue Liu?”
Gu Ruoyi stated with conviction.
“Yes, Sister Xue and I were inseparable; we didn’t leave each other’s side for a moment.”
“Sister, why are you speaking up for an outsider?”
“Outsider? After committing such a shameful act, do you still have the nerve to call yourself a member of the Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion?”
“No, I didn’t! I swear to heaven, I didn’t invite Prince Wei here!”
Xue Yueying shouted, her voice laced with despair and helplessness.
Seeing her unrepentant, Gu Ruoyi, usually gentle, now had a stern look in her eyes.
“If you had no intentions, why did you compose that song ‘Lotus Resentment’ at the Liushang Banquet? My fifth brother, for your vanity, embezzled funds from the Gold Department, ruining his future. The Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion, for your sake, went bankrupt. Our parents didn’t blame you, and your brothers were always accommodating. This time, you were to come to the Separate Villa to escape the heat, and my fifth brother repeatedly instructed me to take good care of you… Sister-in-law, how can one person be so heartless?”
Her accusation thundered.
Xue Yueying shook her disheveled hair like a madwoman, shouting hysterically.
“I didn’t do anything, why should I admit it? What does your brother’s embezzlement have to do with me? The Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion squandered their fortune to save Gu Wulang, why should I be blamed? Everything is my fault, you all just want to force me to my death, don’t you?”
With that, she glared venomously at Xue Sui, her eyes filled with malice.
“Xue Liu, are you happy now? You set a trap to harm me, pushed me to this point, are you proud of yourself?”
Xue Sui’s expression was calm as she said faintly, “One only brings ruin upon oneself; no one else harms you.”
“I’ll fight you!” Xue Yueying’s eyes suddenly widened in fury. She scrambled up and lunged at Xue Sui, like a maddened beast, baring her teeth and claws, trying to tear at her hair.
“Enough!” Li Huan suddenly swung his sword, cutting through the curtain. Jade beads scattered and rolled across the floor.
He then turned and ordered the guards, “Seal off Yujie Qing Shang, do not let any unauthorized personnel enter.”
His voice was deep and authoritative, carrying an undeniable presence.
Li Zhao leaned against the carved doorframe, a faint smile playing on his lips, watching the scene unfold with great interest, as if watching a captivating play.
However, seeing Li Yan dejected and detached, he was not entirely satisfied.
“Imperial Brother, Young Madam Gu said she did not invite you here. Then, pray tell, why did you appear here tonight?”
All eyes turned to Prince Wei, Li Yan.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Yan’s forehead as he awkwardly replied, “At the banquet today, Young Madam Gu composed a poem expressing her suffering. My heart softened, and I felt pity…”
Li Zhao’s lips curved slightly, a half-smile on his face. “Third Imperial Brother is truly a man of tender heart.”
This veiled criticism, filled with sarcasm, left Li Yan unable to cope.
He repeatedly clasped his hands in apology. Seeing that everyone remained silent, and Li Huan’s face was ashen, unwilling to acknowledge him, he suddenly gritted his teeth, as if making a decision, and pulled out a lustrous and translucent jade pendant from his embrace.
“This is what Young Madam Gu entrusted someone to deliver to my chambers…”
Before he could finish, Li Zhao suddenly reached out, took the jade pendant from his hand, and examined it with interest:
“A token from Young Madam Gu to Imperial Brother. It’s quite unique.”
Li Yan glanced at it but dared not speak.
Xue Yueying stared intently at the jade pendant, her face instantly losing all color. She cried out in panic, “No, I didn’t, I didn’t give anything to Your Highness Prince Wei…”
Li Zhao smiled and handed the jade pendant to Li Huan.
Li Huan took the jade pendant and, by the flickering candlelight, examined it closely. His eyes gleamed with a cold light in the rainy night.
The room fell silent.
Outside, thunder boomed, and raindrops drummed against the windows.
Large raindrops struck the blue stone slabs, making crisp sounds.
After a long moment, Li Huan clenched the jade pendant and suddenly hurled it with his sword hilt towards Prince Wei. Prince Wei dodged to the side, and with a “bang,” the golden nanmu screen was struck, leaving a deep crack.
“Third Imperial Brother, you have quite the audacity!”
Prince Wei, Li Yan, looked bewildered. “Imperial Brother, what… what is this? Why such a reaction?”
Li Huan did not answer him. He traced the hidden patterns on the jade pendant with his fingertip and ordered a bottle of clear wine to be brought.
The clear wine was slowly poured into a fine porcelain bowl—
As Li Huan slowly submerged the jade pendant into the liquid, the white jade gradually revealed blood-red patterns.
A ferocious “Xizi” totem appeared.
Recently, Xizi people had been frequently active in Shangjing City. Li Huan had been tracking their movements for a long time and was very familiar with this Xizi totem.
But he never expected it to appear in Prince Wei’s possession.
“How will you explain this to Imperial Father?!”
“Imperial Brother, I truly don’t know! I swear to heaven…” Li Yan’s eyes widened, and he shook his head innocently. He never imagined that what he thought was a token of affection was actually a token of a Xizi spy.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, he fixed his gaze on Xue Yueying.
“You wretched woman, you dared to frame me?”
Xue Yueying’s face turned ashen. Looking at the indifferent faces around her, she suddenly began to cry and laugh, filled with despair and madness.
“Hahahaha, you’ve all been deceived, deceived by Xue Liu. This is a setup, her conspiracy… it’s all her conspiracy!”
“I didn’t know I had such capabilities.”
Xue Sui let out a soft laugh and took two steps forward, her hair brushing against her snow-white neck.
Her clear eyes glanced at Xue Yueying’s abdomen.
“However, I just heard Third Miss Gu say that the old madam of the Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion passed away, and Gu Wulang observed mourning for a year, only completing his period of mourning on the fifteenth of last November. Looking at Young Madam Gu’s current pregnancy, it seems to be over six months along? Why then is it claimed externally that the fetus is only five months old?”
Xue Yueying’s face instantly turned as pale as paper.
“You’re spouting nonsense!”
If the child was over six months old, then either it wasn’t Gu Jie’s, or Gu Jie had an affair with her during the mourning period. Either way, it was a grave crime of treason and a violation of moral principles.
Everyone was shocked.
No one had expected such hidden circumstances.
Li Zhao, however, showed no inclination to quell the situation and continued to fan the flames.
“Third Imperial Brother, Young Madam Gu is carrying a child secretly. If the child is indeed of royal blood, we cannot let Marquis Jingyuan, a loyal minister and capable general, raise an illegitimate child for the imperial family in vain.”
Li Yan glanced at Xue Yueying, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke in defense.
“That’s not true. Tonight, I was momentarily foolish. I was not acquainted with Young Madam Gu before…”
It was clear that Li Yan did not want to admit to this scandal or acknowledge the child.
Li Zhao suddenly changed the subject, smiling and saying, “I recall that last year, the plum blossoms in Prince Wei’s Mansion bloomed early, and the plums ripened in October. Fourth Miss asked for plum wine that day and also took a red jade hairpin. Is this true?”
Xue Yueying’s face instantly turned ashen, as if all her strength had been drained.
That day, she had used the excuse of asking for green plum wine to visit Prince Wei, and she had employed some means.
Li Yan, his mind clouded by the aphrodisiac she had mixed into the incense, had rekindled their old affair.
In fact, the two of them had a private affair years ago. Xue Yueying had actively seduced Li Yan.
However, Prince Wei at the time was merely playing along. He already had a chosen consort and soon after married the legitimate daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Xie Yanzhan, who was Xie Weilan’s elder sister.
In her bitter anger, Xue Yueying turned to Gu Jie.
A year ago, Princess Wei, Xie Ruolan, tragically passed away, and Xue Yueying’s restless heart began to stir again.
After using the aphrodisiac incense, Li Yan rekindled their romance.
Later, she discovered she was pregnant and intended to force Li Yan to marry her as his remarriage.
However, Prince Wei enjoyed the freedom of being a widower. He hadn’t wanted to marry her before, and he certainly didn’t want to now. Relying on the Empress Dowager’s favor, he was emboldened and completely disregarded Xue Yueying’s threats. Instead, he became even more distant towards her, refusing to see her again…
Seeing that her plans were futile and fearing exposure of the scandal, Xue Yueying had no choice but to foist the child onto Gu Jie.
However, these matters were extremely secretive; no one should have known.
“Sixth Sister, what a cruel heart—”
She slowly turned her head, fixing her gaze on Xue Sui’s face, her fingernails digging deeply into her palm.
“You schemed step by step, deliberately seducing the Crown Prince to harm me? What a skillful move! What a brilliant plan!”
The rain curtain was like a veil, and the candlelight flickered in the draft, as if it might extinguish at any moment.
Xue Sui quietly watched Xue Yueying, her eyes filled with mockery, remaining silent.
Xue Yueying met her gaze for a moment, seeing the composure, calmness, indifference, and mockery in her eyes. Suddenly, she began to weep hysterically, filled with despair.
At this moment, everyone was looking at her, yet no one was willing to speak up for her. Just like Li Yan, who had been entwined with her on the bed moments ago, he immediately tried to distance himself as if she were a plague once the matter of “Xizi” was involved.
Xue Yueying was overcome with grief, tears streaming down her face, filled with grievance and unwillingness.
“Your Highness, are you truly so heartless? My secret pregnancy, is it solely my fault…”
Before she could finish, hurried footsteps were heard from outside.
A maid, drenched from head to toe, stumbled in, her face filled with terror and her expression anxious.
“Reporting to Your Highness, the Consort…”
It was Qiu Chan, the maid from Xue Yuechen’s chambers.
She held a lacquer plate, her body trembling uncontrollably.
“Zhang Pozi just committed suicide by poison in the woodshed. Before she died, she confessed that Fourth Miss had instructed her to falsely accuse Madam Ping’an and instigate the Consort to suspect an affair between the Crown Prince and Madam Ping’an, thereby framing the Consort for jealousy…”
Xue Yueying suddenly shrieked and lunged at Xue Yuechen. “Eldest Sister, I didn’t, I really didn’t…”
Xue Yuechen flinched back two steps in fright.
She then turned and pointed at Gu Ruoyi, and further cursed Xue Sui.
“It was clearly you and the Crown Prince having an affair, instigating this little vixen to give false testimony!”
“Slap!”
Xue Yuechen, filled with suppressed anger, slapped Xue Yueying hard across the face.
“Fourth Sister, do you still not realize your mistake?”
Qiu Chan quickly handed over a blood-stained handkerchief from the tray.
“Consort, before she died, Zhang Pozi also left a message saying that in the third layer of Fourth Miss’s cosmetic box, there is a jade pendant and a secret letter, which are tokens of a Xizi spy.”
Xue Yuechen’s heart sank. Angered, anxious, and panicked, she stepped forward and pointed at Xue Yueying.
“Search! Search for it!”
Li Huan looked up, seeing the golden hairpin in her hair jingling. He pursed his lips and remained silent.
Soon, the secret letter was found in Xue Yueying’s box.
The letter clearly stated that the setup tonight was to frame the Crown Prince and Madam Ping’an for being together, with the aim of arousing Prince Duan’s suspicion, alienating the Li imperial family, and inciting internal conflict among the brothers.
Li Huan’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the secret letter.
After reading it, he slowly handed the letter to the Crown Prince and Prince Wei.
“No—”
Xue Yueying let out a heart-wrenching cry.
“I didn’t, I know nothing about any jade pendant or secret letter… Why won’t you believe me? I am innocent…”
Her cries echoed through the room, then suddenly stopped—
As if she had thought of something, she suddenly turned to look at the maid Qiao’er, who was standing dejectedly to the side. As if struck by sudden realization, her eyes widened.
“It was you, it must have been you. You were the one managing my cosmetic box. No wonder, no wonder… Ever since you volunteered to come to Liuli Pavilion and be by my side, you’ve been plotting against me… You’re Xue Liu’s person, aren’t you?”
Qiao’er’s face changed drastically. With a “thump,” she knelt on the ground and cried out shrilly.
“Young Madam, this servant has always obeyed your every word. Please do not wrongly accuse me. It was you who ordered this servant to monitor Madam Ping’an’s movements… This servant was merely following orders and knows nothing about Young Madam’s affairs…”
Xue Yueying let out two dry, bitter laughs. Suddenly, she clutched her abdomen with both hands, her face contorted in pain.
Gu Ruoyi, seeing this, was stunned and wanted to step forward to help, but hesitated, not daring to touch her.
Xue Yuechen, after a moment of shock, also reacted. Fearing a life would be lost, she shouted loudly.
“Send for a doctor! Quickly, send for a doctor!”
The room immediately descended into chaos.
Li Zhao looked at the long sword in Li Huan’s hand and said meaningfully, “Someone deliberately planted an informant in my courtyard to draw me into the scheme. Unfortunately… Third Imperial Brother has fallen into this meticulously laid trap.”
He paused, then looked at Li Huan and asked with a half-smile:
“If the person Imperial Brother caught in the act tonight had been me, would Imperial Brother have run me through with your sword?”
Li Huan leaned against the doorframe upon hearing this, looking at him with a gentle gaze.
“Crown Prince, you jest. You came here in the rain, weren’t you also helping your brother catch someone in the act?”
Li Zhao smiled faintly. “Then does Imperial Brother believe now? That I and Madam Ping’an… have no illicit affair?”
The rain curtain was like a veil, and the fine threads of rain shimmered with a cold light under the dim yellow lamplight.
Xue Sui slowly walked over, her slightly damp dress swaying gently with her steps, outlining her slender figure, like a flowing ink painting, exceptionally light and graceful.
She looked at the two elongated shadows cast by the wind lantern, walked past Li Zhao, and stood before Li Huan.
“Since Your Highness harbors suspicion, why not investigate thoroughly, so as to clear my name?”
Li Huan’s sword-like eyebrows furrowed tightly. He looked at her, then at Li Zhao, and smiled nonchalantly.
“We should not fall for the Xizi conspiracy. Brotherly affection and unity against a common enemy are the true blessings for Daliang.”
Goodnight, goodnight, see you tomorrow~~
