Chapter 379

Noble Consort Li was so shocked that she almost collapsed to the floor. The Third Prince! How could the Third Prince be in this room?! She had two sons. The Fourth Prince, Baili Jinjing, had an impulsive personality. He was greedy and lascivious, and he enjoyed a comfortable life. He had no ambition. Although the Third Prince was sometimes impulsive too, he was a little shrewder and more careful than the Fourth Prince. He was heading toward a promising future because he had gotten the support of the Great Yue Kingdom and Prince An a while ago. If something happened to him at this time, it would be equivalent to killing her directly.

“Your Majesty, this matter…”

“Shut up!” Baili Qingcang shouted coldly. “Third Prince, tell me, why are you here?”

The Third Prince stared blankly for a while. Surprised by the cold wind and rain, he forced himself to stay calm and regain his composure. Hearing the interrogation, he hurriedly ran out and knelt on the ground. “Father Emperor, I don’t know either. I was drugged, and the moment I opened my eyes, I was here. I don’t know what exactly happened. I beg Father Emperor to investigate the truth and restore my innocence!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Nurse Wei, who had fainted on the ground, suddenly woke up. She coughed twice, and when she heard the Third Prince’s voice, she immediately struggled to hide. “T-T-T-Third Prince… I don’t know anything… Please spare my life. I beg you. Please!”

Noble Consort Li suddenly turned to glare at Nurse Wei on the ground, wanting to tear her to pieces with her eyes. “Nurse Wei, don’t slander others! You should know the punishment of wrongly framing a Master, right?”

Seeing Noble Consort Li’s ruthless appearance, Nurse Wei pursed her lips, and the last bit of hesitation in her heart disappeared. She had no other choice but to follow Royal Prince Yi’s instructions. This way, at least she could save the life of her family. “Your Grace… I-I-I don’t know anything. I…”

“Noble Consort Li, do you still have respect for me? How dare you bypass me to directly question the maid?! Should I hand over my throne to you too?”

Noble Consort Li knelt on the ground with a thud, her face pale. “Your Majesty, I definitely don’t have such thoughts. It’s just that I was too anxious to speak without thinking. Your Majesty’s words just now were too harsh and stern. I won’t dare to have such thoughts!”

Baili Qingcang ignored her crying and coldly glanced at the disheveled Third Prince. “Nurse Wei, tell me the truth. What did you see?”

Nurse Wei struggled to get up, her entire body drenched by the rain. “I… I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”

Baili Qingcang was annoyed. “Why aren’t you honest in front of me? Do you want me to torture you to get the truth?”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Please spare my life!”

“Tell me everything you saw. If what you say is true, I will consider sparing your life. If you lie, I will directly have you dragged down and beaten to death!”

Nurse Wei trembled all over, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly. “Okay! I’ll tell Your Majesty everything! Because it kept raining, and I was worried that the charcoal in Princess Zhaohua’s and Miss Lin’s rooms would be insufficient and they might get cold, I came to check on them at midnight. When I got to the entrance, I heard some noise in Miss Lin’s room. I thought that Miss Lin was not asleep, so I wanted to knock on the door and go in to take a look. As soon as I got to the room, someone pulled me in and started beating me. T-Third Prince even tried to kill me. I escaped with all my might. Fortunately, Princess Zhaohua appeared in time, so the Third Prince did not act rashly.”

Noble Consort Li trembled with anger. She never thought that Nurse Wei would betray her! She looked at Shen Ninghua, and her cold eyes were like poisoned arrows. What a good method from Shen Ninghua. She even managed to instigate her most trusted maid to betray her!

Shen Ninghua looked back at Noble Consort Li without fear, and her expression did not change at all. Since she wanted to scheme against others, she should be prepared to receive others’ retaliation!

Baili Qingcang was furious. “Ninghua, is what Nurse Wei said true?”

Shen Ninghua shook her head slightly. “Father Emperor, I dare not say for sure. Previously, Qing Que noticed something was wrong, so she reported to me and went out to check. I was a little worried, so I got up and waited. I didn’t expect that not long after, I heard a sound coming from the next door. I was worried about Miss Lin, so I came out to check. Unexpectedly, when I just came out, I saw Nurse Wei stumbling out of Miss Lin’s room. This was what I saw. As for what exactly happened, I didn’t know.”

Noble Consort Li was so exasperated at this moment. Shen Ninghua was really smart. If Shen Ninghua verified what Nurse Wei said was true, she could directly bite back, accusing Shen Ninghua of colluding with Nurse Wei to frame the Third Prince. However, Shen Ninghua didn’t say anything against the Third Prince, yet she implied everything clearly and asked the Emperor to figure it out himself!

After hearing this, Baili Qingcang squinted, his face as black as the night. “Third Prince, you are really a good boy!”

The Third Prince felt wronged and shouted, “No, Father Emperor, I didn’t do such a thing. I didn’t see any Nurse Wei at all. I was drugged and fainted. After I woke up, I was in this room. I didn’t do anything. Please, Father Emperor, please prove my innocence!”

Baili Qingcang looked at the blood on the Third Prince’s sleeve and laughed angrily. “Heh, before you say this, why don’t you look at your hands and clothes? You should tidy yourself up first before arguing your point!”

The Third Prince, who was panicked and flustered, lowered his head to look at his own clothes. Upon the sight, he became even more horrified. There was blood on the sleeve of his shirt, and the back of his hand was slightly red. It seemed that he had punched someone heavily. His pants were also stained with blood. He looked like someone who had not cleaned up after committing a crime.

“Father Emperor, someone framed me. Someone tried to frame me.”

“Framed you? If you had stayed in your own mansion, how could someone have framed you?”

The Third Prince suddenly turned pale. “I… I…”

“Vile bastard!” Baili Qingcang was so angry that his vision turned black. An adult prince had entered his harem at night and even did something that would cause chaos in the palace. This was treason and heresy. His action indicated that he was looking down on him, the Emperor!

Seeing Baili Qingcang’s expression, Noble Consort Li hurriedly took two steps forward and gritted her teeth. A hint of determination flashed in her eyes. “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please calm down. It is all my fault. It is my fault. Please punish me, Your Majesty!”

Baili Qingcang suddenly turned his head. “What did you say?”

Noble Consort Li looked at the Third Prince before answering, “Your Majesty, in fact, the Third Prince and Feiran already had feelings for each other. I know about this. Unfortunately, during the nationwide selection, Feiran failed and was not qualified to match any prince. That was why she was so disheartened. Coincidentally, you told me that the Sixth Prince of the Great Yue Kingdom was looking for a bride in Da’an. I figured that it would be good to cut off their ill-fated relationship, so I took the initiative to reject Feiran. It was all my fault. I hurt the two children’s feelings.”

“A-Are you telling the truth?” Baili Qingcang looked at Noble Consort Li and deduced the plausibility of her words.

“Yes, everything I said is true. Both Jinyu and Feiran are good children, but they are still young. I do not want to see them waste their life because of their relationship. That is why I made the decision… Your Majesty, it’s all my fault. The two of them are just unable to control their feelings. Please forgive them.” Noble Consort Li knelt on the ground, the rain constantly falling on her body, making her tremble and appear particularly helpless and pitiful.

Shen Ninghua looked coldly at Noble Consort Li and sighed, “She is trying to divert the Emperor’s anger to herself and give the Third Prince a chance to clear his name.”

At this point, the Third Prince, Baili Jinyu, also understood his mother’s intention. He looked deeply at Noble Consort Li and finally gritted his teeth before blurting, “Father Emperor… I’m sorry! I did wrong. Please punish me!”

These few words confirmed what Noble Consort Li said. Shen Ninghua could not help but laugh in her heart. Baili Jinyu was going to step on his mother’s shoulder to rise to the top. He was really cold-blooded and heartless.

Noble Consort Li’s face turned even paler. “Your Majesty, it doesn’t matter how you punish me, but please spare Jinyu and Feiran. Both of them are good children. They just did something wrong because of their feelings. When their emotions reach a certain level, they are extremely difficult to control. Your Majesty, you should understand…”

Baili Qingcang was moved. Because of their feelings… He couldn’t help but think of Xia Jingyan and feel a heartache. He looked at the Third Prince with a complicated expression. “Third Prince, your mother did something wrong, what about you? How can you do such a thing? Why didn’t you think of telling me directly?”

Hearing Baili Qingcang’s tone became less harsh, the Third Prince was happy in his heart, and he quickly pretended to be depressed and frustrated. “Father Emperor, Feiran failed to be selected in the nationwide selection. According to the law, she can’t enter any prince’s mansion with an official title. I can’t give her the right status. I am incompetent… Besides, she is the Eldest Young Lady of Lin’s Mansion, and there are many responsibilities for her to bear…”

Baili Qingcang couldn’t help but think of him and Xia Jingyan. He was facing the same problem too back then.

“Get up first.”

Hearing this, the Third Prince breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He managed to get through this ordeal smoothly.

Noble Consort Li’s sharp eyes fiercely swept across Shen Ninghua’s face. The hatred in her eyes rolled wildly as she cursed in her mind, “Shen Ninghua, if we escape this calamity, we will definitely ruin your reputation! I have never been in such an embarrassing situation. It is all your fault!”

Shen Ninghua, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, “I didn’t expect the Third Prince and Miss Lin to have such a fate. You made me touched. Anyway, why didn’t I hear anything from Miss Lin?”

Baili Qingcang looked up and frowned slightly. “Qing Que, go in and take a look.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Qing Que got up and walked into the room. She looked around and said, “Your Majesty, there is no one in the room.”

“What? No one? Where is Lin Feiran?”

Noble Consort Li stared at Shen Ninghua. Her whole body was shaking. She almost couldn’t help but rush over and strangle her. Shen Ninghua was a vicious bitch! If Lin Feiran was not in the room in the first place, what was the point of her statement earlier?