Phi-Fic Chapter 912 Who framed whom?
Chapter 912 Who framed whom?
A woman screamed, followed by a splash of water in the lotus pond, where a woman was struggling in the water.
Just then, the Empress's carriage entered the Imperial Garden and heard the commotion, which naturally displeased her.
"Let's go see what's going on?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Princess Ming and Princess Su, along with others, rushed to the scene. When they arrived, they saw Consort Luo standing pale-faced on the shore, supported by two maids. Princess Nali, meanwhile, was lying on the ground, soaking wet.
"Oh my god, what happened? We were just enjoying the flowers, how did we end up falling into the water?"
It's unclear which woman in the family chimed in, but "Just now, it seemed like only Consort Luo and Princess Nali were here. They were chatting quite happily just now, so how did they suddenly fall into the water?"
Although the words did not explicitly state that Consort Luo was behind it, the meaning behind them was crystal clear.
"Your Highnesses, Her Majesty the Empress has heard about this matter and is currently in the Yixiang Palace. She requests that Your Highnesses and all the ladies come over."
After the eunuch finished speaking, he waved his hand and someone brought a stretcher to carry Princess Nali to a side hall of Yixiang Palace.
"What happened? How could someone suddenly fall into the water? Did anyone see what happened?"
The Empress looked very serious, which naturally frightened all the women present. The majesty of the Empress Dowager was not to be trifled with.
"Please, Your Majesty, do justice for our concubine!" A maid knelt on the ground and began to cry.
Upon seeing this, Princess Ming quickly replied, "Your Majesty, this is Princess Nali's personal maid, Qiao'er. She was the one who jumped down first and rescued Princess Nali."
The Empress looked her up and down. "There's no need to rush to say anything. You're all wet. Even though it's March, the water is still quite cold. You're not old, so don't let this cause you any health problems. Go and change into some clean clothes."
Chunyu walked over, but Qiao'er refused, "Your Majesty, our Consort Li was pushed into the lake by Consort Luo. Please, Your Majesty, do justice for our Consort Li."
Everyone was startled and turned their suspicious gazes toward Consort Luo.
"What nonsense are you talking about? She clearly tried to push me off the shore. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would probably be drowning by now."
"How dare you! Consort Luo, watch your words!" Princess Ming rebuked sharply. This was the palace; not just anything could be said here.
Death was the greatest taboo word in the palace.
Mu Xin Nuan frowned slightly. "Alright, I heard everything you said. Go change your clothes first, and come back to answer later."
"Yes, ma'am."
Consort Luo immediately knelt in the center of the hall, "Please, Your Majesty, do justice for me. I truly did not do such a thing."
"No rush, Chunyu, have you summoned the imperial physician yet?"
"Your Majesty, they have arrived. Several matrons are helping Princess Nali vomit the water from her stomach. Judging from Princess Nali's complexion, she doesn't seem to be doing well."
"It's no wonder you're not feeling well after swallowing a few mouthfuls of water. Nothing else matters, the most important thing is that you're safe and sound."
"Yes, Your Highness, then this servant will go and take a look at the side hall."
"Your Majesty, this matter is indeed somewhat suspicious. I do not believe that Consort Luo would push Princess Nali into the water."
Mu Xin Nuan nodded, "It's hard to say without evidence. Who was nearby at the time? Come out and speak."
Soon, several women stepped forward, some of them concubines from the Ming Prince's mansion, others princesses and illegitimate daughters.
"Your Majesty, at the time I only saw Princess Nali and Consort Luo talking together, and Princess Nali would smile from time to time. They seemed to be getting along very well."
"Your Majesty, that's what I saw too."
Aunt Fang glanced at the main hall. "Who was serving you at the time?"
Consort Luo's face was slightly pale. Her maidservant immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, originally, Qiao'er and I were with you. But when we were serving you, Consort Luo said that a jade hairpin that the Prince had given her earlier was missing. So, I took Qiao'er with me to look for it."
Consort Luo's heart skipped a beat; this was clearly a trap that someone had set up in advance!
She really did lose the jade hairpin, and she only realized it when Princess Nali deliberately touched the gold hairpin on her head.
“Your Majesty, please be so kind as to judge. At that time, I did indeed discover that a jade hairpin was missing. The Princess Consort can also testify to this. When I entered the palace, I was still wearing that light green hairpin.”
Princess Ming looked carefully at her head and nodded. "Your Majesty, Consort Luo is indeed missing a jade hairpin."
Princess Su, who was standing to the side, seemed to have noticed something and whispered, "Losing a hairpin is a very common thing, but it's hard to be so lucky to find a hairpin. And the one who fell into the water happened to be Princess Nali."
Consort Luo immediately glared at her, "Princess Consort Su, what do you mean by this?"
Princess Su didn't even glance at her. "Your Highness, Princess Nali is a barbarian from the north. The grasslands there are vast, but most northern women can't swim."
Consort Luo scoffed lightly, "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm only good at swimming?"
Princess Ming suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear, Your Highness, I just remembered that Princess Nali is afraid of water. Before, when she was in the palace, she never wanted to get close to the lotus pond. Everyone in the palace knows this."
Consort Luo was taken aback. How come she didn't know that Princess Nali was afraid of water?
Turning her head to look at her maid, she also nodded with some difficulty. She couldn't help but feel annoyed again. When did she become so unfamiliar with the affairs of the Ming Prince's Mansion?
"So, it was Consort Luo who suggested taking a walk by the lotus pond?"
"No! Your Majesty, it was Princess Nali who suggested it, and I overheard it at the time."
Several more people chimed in, and things seemed to be getting increasingly complicated.
Seeing that she had seized a chance to prove her innocence, Consort Luo was naturally unwilling to let it go.
“Your Majesty, I am truly innocent. It was only because some purple flowers bloomed near the lotus pond that Princess Nali became curious and invited me to accompany her.”
“But Princess Nali is clearly afraid of water, so how could she overcome her fear of water just because of a few flowers? That doesn’t seem to make sense.”
After muttering a few words, Princess Su looked at the little maid behind Consort Luo and asked, "You were serving her there at the time, do you know why Princess Nali made that suggestion?"