OBS Chapter 411 The Princess's Maid (15)
Chapter 411 The Princess's Maid (15)
Qi Ning stood up and instructed, "Yu Lan, go and have someone prepare the palanquin. I need to go to the Imperial Study. Yu Tao, help me change my clothes."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the two replied immediately.
Since Yue Zeyuan brought Yun Jing to confront him and stayed overnight at Yaohua Palace, he hasn't come over for the past few days.
After all, he had only been on the throne for a short time and had experienced several major wars, keeping him very busy with state affairs.
Qi Ning didn't know when he would come again, and since she couldn't just sit and wait for her fate, she decided to take the initiative to go to the Imperial Study to find Yue Zeyuan.
Over there in the Imperial Study.
After Eunuch Xu returned from the Ministry of Justice, Yue Zeyuan was discussing state affairs with several ministers in the Imperial Study, so he could only wait outside for the time being.
After several ministers left one after another, Eunuch Xu stepped inside.
"His Majesty."
Yue Zeyuan knew that Eunuch Xu had just returned from the Ministry of Justice. He put down the memorial in his hand and raised his eyes.
"how's it going?"
"Your Majesty, the man has confessed. He is indeed no ordinary guard, but Shen Yixiao, the eldest son of Shen Chuan, the General Who Guards the North of Chu," Eunuch Xu replied.
Yue Zeyuan wasn't particularly surprised to hear this news.
He had long suspected that the person was no ordinary individual.
Upon hearing Shen Yixiao's true identity, Yue Zeyuan chuckled: "The eldest son of Shen Chuan, the General Who Guards the North of Chu... Interesting."
He asked Eunuch Xu, "How did you find out?"
In the past few days, no matter how much torture was used on Shen Yixiao, he refused to reveal his true identity. Now that he has confessed, Yue Zeyuan naturally finds it strange.
"It was Shen Yixiao who, after being tortured, became delirious and shouted..."
At this point, Eunuch Xu glanced at Yue Zeyuan cautiously.
"What did he shout?" Yue Zeyuan urged.
Then Eunuch Xu continued, "While he was unconscious, he called out Consort Ning's maiden name, Yun Jing."
Yue Zeyuan's expression changed slightly: "Is that so?"
“Indeed, this servant also found it strange. Yu Tao said that the man was her childhood sweetheart, but he called out Consort Ning’s maiden name. This servant ordered someone to pour a bucket of cold water on him and forcibly wake him up.”
"Then, this servant used Consort Ning to interrogate her, and sure enough, he revealed his true identity."
Neither of them knew that the Yun Jing that Shen Yixiao was calling out was the real Yun Jing, not the current Consort Ning.
In fact, they had already used Yun Jing to force Shen Yixiao to confess, but they used Yu Tao's name.
Before Shen Yixiao and Yun Jing were arrested, they had already agreed not to reveal their true identities. Therefore, when Eunuch Xu threatened him with the jade peach, he only thought that Yun Jing had made up a false identity for him.
However, when Eunuch Xu used Princess Pingning's name to interrogate him, Shen Yixiao thought that Yun Jing's identity had been exposed. Fearing that they would harm Yun Jing, he took the initiative to reveal that he was the eldest son of the General of the Northern Garrison of Chu.
"Heh." Yue Zeyuan sneered.
"In other words, they were all lying to me before. Shen Yixiao didn't come to the palace to save Yu Tao at all, but to save her master."
“That’s right,” Eunuch Xu added, “Now that Shen Yixiao is making a huge fuss, insisting on seeing Consort Ning, saying he wants to confirm her safety…”
Just as they were talking, a young eunuch suddenly came in to report.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Ning requests an audience."
Upon hearing this, Yue Zeyuan raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
Consort Ning has been in the palace for some time now, and she rarely even leaves the gates of Yaohua Palace. She has never taken the initiative to come to the Imperial Study.
When Eunuch Xu heard that Consort Ning had arrived, he immediately said, "Your Majesty, just now when I came out of the Censorate, I ran into Yu Tao from Consort Ning's palace. She was sent by Consort Ning to the Censorate to inquire about Shen Yixiao."
“At that time, a palace maid mentioned Shen Yixiao’s name, which Yu Tao overheard,” Eunuch Xu guessed. “Yu Tao must have gone back and told Consort Ning about Shen Yixiao’s confession, which is why Consort Ning came to plead for him.”
Upon hearing Eunuch Xu's words, Yue Zeyuan's expression grew even colder.
"You may all step back and let Consort Ning in."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Eunuch Xu and the other palace servants withdrew.
Yue Zeyuan tapped his fingers lightly on the imperial desk, and soon a figure walked in.
Qi Ning looked at Yue Zeyuan, who was sitting at the head of the table, and called out, "Your Majesty."
Yue Zeyuan looked down at her and said, "It's like the sun has risen in the west. When did you become so well-behaved?"
Normally, she wouldn't even bother to address him as "Your Majesty," but today, although she didn't bow, she at least called him "Your Majesty."
Qi Ning took two steps forward: "So this is what you call following the rules? Then the rules of your Yue Kingdom are nothing more than this."
Very well, they're pushing their luck.
Yue Zeyuan asked her, "What are you doing here?"
Qi Ning simply walked towards the imperial desk at the head of the table and went straight to Yue Zeyuan.
"Don't you know why I came here?"
Yue Zeyuan knew perfectly well that he wasn't being friendly: "You've come to plead for Shen Yixiao?"
"If you've really come to plead for mercy, then you might as well explain to me what's going on with this Shen Yixiao. Didn't you say you didn't know him? On your first night in the palace, did he actually enter Yaohua Palace?"
Qi Ning knew very well that Yue Zeyuan only knew Shen Yixiao's identity at the moment, and had not yet learned from him about her and Yun Jing's identity swap.
She reached out and rested her hand on the imperial desk, her eyes lowered, seemingly somewhat guilty: "Alright, I'll tell you, Shen Yixiao did go to Yaohua Palace that night. He's not Yu Tao's childhood sweetheart, but..."
"Or is he your childhood sweetheart?" Yue Zeyuan replied.
"I guess so. Before my father passed away, Shen Yixiao and I grew up together. After my father passed away, before I was brought into the Chu Kingdom's palace, I also temporarily stayed at the Shen family's house."
"So, the person he originally wanted to take away that night was you?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you go with him?"
Qi Ning told the lie he had prepared beforehand: "That's because I know that if I go with Shen Yixiao, you will definitely be angry, and we won't get very far before we are caught. Even if we are not caught, you may take the opportunity to attack the State of Chu."
"Since I have agreed to come here for the marriage alliance, I do not want to desert my post, and I do not want to implicate the entire Chu Kingdom and its people because of my private escape."
"You're quite selfless," Yue Zeyuan said with a hint of sarcasm.
He then asked, "Then why was it your maid who left later?"
Qi Ning sighed slightly and said with feigned bitterness, "At the time, I was unwilling to leave with Shen Yixiao. It just so happened that Yu Tao did not want to stay in your Yue Kingdom's palace. I did not want to force her, so I let Shen Yixiao take Yu Tao away."
"Before Shen Yixiao left, he promised me that he would take Yu Tao with him and would not let me down. I thought it was just a maid who ran away, and you wouldn't pursue the matter. Who knew that you would catch them again later?"
Upon hearing Qi Ning's words, Yue Zeyuan found it somewhat amusing: "Are you blaming me for being too inquisitive?"
Qi Ning blinked, neither saying yes nor no. She only asked, "What do you intend to do with Shen Yixiao?"
Yue Zeyuan leaned back in his chair, looking at Qi Ning standing in front of him with an arrogant expression.
Even though he was sitting and Qi Ning was standing, he still had to look up at Qi Ning, yet his imposing manner remained undiminished.
"You want to plead for him?"
"Tell me first, how do you plan to deal with him?"
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