Chapter 231 - Who Could You Blame If Your Courted Death?

Hearing Baili Qingcang’s angry shout, Baili Anqing felt like a thunder exploding in her ears. Her mind went blank. “Father Emperor, I don’t want to marry a dead man, I don’t want to marry a dead man!”

Baili Qingcang was furious. “No? If you don’t want to marry a dead man, why do you hold his tablet? Do you think that I was wrong to kill him and so you want to express your dissatisfaction to me?”

“I don’t dare,” Baili Anqing was shocked when she saw the tablet on the ground. “I don’t know what this is. I’ve never made such a tablet before. Father Emperor, please scrutinize.”

“Anqing, I always thought that you were the calmest and most sensible girl. Therefore, I wanted to find a good husband for you. Yang Clan’s affairs had some impact on your reputation, so I ignored you and waited for this storm to pass before finding a good husband for you. I didn’t expect that you didn’t understand my painstaking efforts at all.”

Baili Anqing was stunned and her face was ghastly pale. “Father Emperor, I’m wronged. I really don’t know anything about the tablet. I really don’t know. Mother Empress, help me. I’m really wronged.”

She lured Chu Junyi into the hall, took off her clothes and threw herself onto him. However, she was greeted with a burst of vomiting. Before she could react, her eyes went black and she fainted. She did not know what happened later.

Zhao Huiying’s eyes turned fierce. This girl was really disappointing. She had panicked to this extent before the event came to an end. With her behavior like this, even if she was innocent, the Emperor would be suspicious. “Your Majesty, Anqing has always been quiet and timid. No matter what, it is impossible for her to sleep with a memorial tablet in her arms. Your Majesty, please keep calm and have people investigate the issue first.”

Baili Qingcang turned around and swept his cold gaze across Zhao Huiying’s face. “Do you think Baili Anqing is wronged?”

Being swept by the cold gaze, Zhao Huiying’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. “Yes, I think Anqing wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Oh, since she is wronged, then someone in the Palace must be trying to stir up trouble and ruin the princesses’ reputations.”

Zhao Huiying’s heart trembled. She raised her head to look at Baili Qingcang and saw that he was looking at her with scrutiny. Could it be that the Emperor had become suspicious of her?

“This…the matter hasn’t been investigated clearly. Everything is unclear.”

“Everything is unclear? That’s not the way I see it. That palace maid kept saying that Baili Anqing and Chu Junyi had an affair and were meeting behind the back of Ninghua. Immediately after, your palace maid, Fangxue, reported to me in horror. If Chu Junyi hadn’t come in from outside, I would really believe that Baili Anqing and Chu Junyi were having an affair.”

Zhao Huiying’s face turned pale and she looked at Baili Qingcang with a feeling of being hurt. “Your Majesty, I do not dare to call myself a qualified empress. However, over the years, I have treated every child equally without the slightest bit of selfishness. I even treat Ninghua, your foster daughter, as my own. How could I do anything to plot against them?”

Baili Qingcang sneered with endless ridicule. “According to what you said, my harem should be peaceful. But why have I repeatedly found so many dark and sinister and obscene things?”

Zhao Huiying choked. Previously, there were the matter of drug possession in the palace and the conspiracy between Consort Yin and the Internal Affairs Department. It was too far-fetched to say that the harem was peaceful. No one would believe it.

Fangxue was anxious. Originally, this matter couldn’t fail under any circumstances, but who would have thought that something would go wrong and the situation was completely unfavorable to the Empress? If the matter were not handled properly, the Emperor’s attitude towards the Empress that had just improved a little would drop to a freezing point.

Thinking about it, she knelt on the ground with a plop and took two steps forward with her knees. “Your Majesty, it’s all because I did not explain it clearly that made you misunderstand. Please punish me, Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang’s face was cold and no one could tell if his tone was joyous or angry. “You are a good servant.”

Fangxue knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. “Your Majesty, I was too shocked and failed to explain clearly. I deserve the harshest punishment.”

As she spoke, she kept kowtowing, and blood quickly appeared on her forehead.

Zhao Huiying’s heart skipped a beat, and a sad look flashed in her eyes. Apparently, Fangxue was going to take over the responsibility.

This maid had followed her for more than ten years. She would treat her family well in the future. As she thought, she closed her eyes slightly. When she opened her eyes again, she had already regained her calmness. “Your Majesty, I beg you to spare Fangxue. She only made a slip of the tongue and did not intentionally mislead you.”

Shen Ninghua looked at Fangxue on the ground. The smile on her lips turned cold. The Empress was really very ruthless. Without hesitation, she had decided to give up on the maid who had followed her for more than ten years.

Baili Qingcang frowned even more.

Suddenly, a sad laugh sounded. Everyone looked at Shen Ninghua, who was laughing out loud.

Baili Qingcang said, “Ninghua, what’s wrong with you?”

There was a smile on Shen Ninghua’s lips, but somehow it made people feel sad. She took two steps forward and knelt in front of Baili Qingcang. “Father Emperor, you have always doted on me. I am very grateful to you for helping me find out the truth and punish those who plotted against me.”

“Ninghua, why do you suddenly mention this?”

Shen Ninghua raised her head with tears in her eyes. “Father Emperor, it’s just that this time, I really cannot accept it. Why did the rumors of sister Anqing having an affair with my husband come out of nowhere? If there’s no one behind that palace maid, how dare she talk nonsense? And Fangxue, it is good for you to volunteer to take the blame, but you probably don’t have the qualifications to do so!”

As soon as these words were spoken, Baili Anning’s expression changed abruptly. Was Ninghua ready to declare war against the Empress?

Zhao Huiying raised her head, and her beautiful eyes were filled with boundless coldness. “Ninghua, what do you mean? Fangxue is my servant. Are you implying that I ordered her to do so?”

Shen Ninghua sneered in her heart. “She really knew how to advance under the disguise of retreating. Those who don’t know the truth would really think that I’m using this as a pretext to deliberately frame the Empress.”

“Mother Empress, I’m not implying anything. I just want justice for myself, and for my unborn baby!”

Chu Junyi suddenly trembled, and then he was stunned.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Shen Ninghua’s belly. Seeking justice for her unborn baby…Wouldn’t that mean Shen Ninghua was pregnant?

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and gently placed her palm on her belly. “Father Emperor, I really don’t understand. I just want to live my life peacefully. Why are there so many people finding trouble with me? Even my relatives are implicated. My aunt, Madam Su, was poisoned and fainted at the flower viewing banquet. Fortunately, I knew some medical skills and saved her life. And then it came out that my baby’s father cheated on me. If I hadn’t believed in his innocence, I’m afraid the unborn baby wouldn’t have been able to survive. ”

Chu Junyi quickly stepped forward and knelt beside Shen Ninghua on the ground. “Your Majesty, it doesn’t matter if I’m slandered or Ninghua is hurt, but our baby is innocent. He didn’t offend anyone and shouldn’t be implicated. Please do justice for him.”

Chu Junyi lowered his head. His attitude was extremely respectful, his face was expressionless, and he gave people a faint feeling of strength and helplessness at the same time. But in fact, the moment he heard Shen Ninghua mentioning the baby, he was dumbfounded. He was an intelligent man, but right now, he could think of only the word “baby”. When he saw Shen Ninghua kneeling on the ground, he barely suppressed his desire to step forward and directly lift her up.

It was his and Ninghua’s baby, their baby!

Thinking of the baby, he felt his entire heart becoming soft.

Shen Ninghua’s gaze swept past Chu Junyi. Seeing that his hand was tightly clenched into a fist and was still slightly trembling, her heart couldn’t help but soften. She regretted not telling him in advance.

Baili Qingcang was also stunned for a moment before restoring his senses. “Ninghua, get up first. How can you kneel on the ground when you expecting? It would be bad if the baby was hurt.”

Baili Anning stepped forward to help Shen Ninghua up. If it weren’t for the situation, she would have gone forward to touch her belly. Shen Ninghua had only been married for two months and she was already about to have a blessed event. She wanted to touch her belly to share the luck.

After arranging for Shen Ninghua to be seated, Baili Qingcang asked, “Ninghua, you said that your aunt Madam Su was poisoned?”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Yes, Father Emperor. My aunt fainted at the flower viewing banquet because she was drugged in her meals with medicine that made her body weak.”

Baili Qingcang narrowed his eyes. ‘”Madam Su fainted. Baili Anqing asked you to bring her to the Veluriyam Palace to rest. Not long after, a palace maid went to report that Chu Junyi and Anqing had an affair…” The more he spoke, the more depressed his voice became, and in the end, it sounded as if he was gnashing his teeth. “And there are also Fangxue’s ambiguous words…”

“Good, what a good plan. I’m afraid that the person behind this had even calculated that you’re expecting. She’s just waiting for you to be seriously shocked with the hope of killing you and the baby at once!”

Shen Ninghua was puzzled. “If that’s the case, someone should lure Chu Junyi into Princess Anqing’s hall. Then why would Anqing be sleeping drunk with the memorial tablet in her arms?”

Baili Qingcang snorted coldly. “Hmph, I’m afraid the person behind this didn’t expect that Chu Junyi would take the prescription and go to the Academy of Imperial Physicians to consult with Chen Yun. She didn’t find him, so a link was missing.”

Shen Ninghua bit her lip and said, “This is very likely. It’s just that Sister Anqing…”

Baili Qingcang glanced at Baili Anqing who was having a dispirited expression and he frowned tightly. “The person behind this must have made Baili Anqing drunk in advance for convenience and only waited for Chu Junyi to come. Unfortunately, he didn’t. But Baili Anqing did something that she normally wouldn’t dare to do because of drunkenness!”

Hearing Baili Qingcang’s conclusion, Zhao Huiying’s heart went cold. The Emperor actually made such a deduction?