Wen Hui stared in shock at the palace attendant lying on the ground. She had explicitly instructed him to sneak out of the palace beforehand. Even if the Empress or Ji Zizhao realized what had happened, they wouldn't have been able to catch him. However, she had underestimated Consort Xi.
Empress Zhong's face paled as she looked at Wen Hui, her own shock no less than Wen Hui's.
No wonder Ji Zizhao had shaken her head and stopped her when she had wanted to send someone to chase after the palace attendant who had found the jade pendant...
So Ji Zizhao had anticipated Consort Xi's actions all along?
Ji Zizhao had indeed planned for this. After all, if Wen Hui could obtain information from the Emperor's presence beforehand, Consort Xi could too. And when they were in the chambers, Wen Hui had only thought of using Consort Xi to clear herself, forgetting that when she was cornered, Consort Xi would be the first to step on her.
Consort Xi had always prioritized her own interests. Her previous help to Wen Hui was merely to clear her own suspicion. Now that Wen Hui's scheme had been exposed, Consort Xi naturally had to push Wen Hui out to take the blame.
"It's not like that! Why are you slandering me like this? I didn't do it, I didn't..." Facing the palace attendant's accusation, Wen Hui vehemently denied everything.
The Emperor's face darkened as he looked at Wen Hui in silence.
Wen Hui crawled towards the Empress again, weeping, "Mother Empress, please see the truth! Your child truly did not do it. Please, Mother Empress, uphold justice for your child..."
"The palace attendants are all trained and disciplined from a young age. Although your palace attendants don't have a deep bond with you, they are all old servants who have been serving in the palace. I am also curious, why would those attendants falsely accuse you like this?" Empress Zhong looked at Wen Hui with apparent sympathy, but her words held no warmth.
She had just tried to frame her son, and now she expected her protection?
She was not Buddha, nor did she have such a magnanimous heart!
"Your child also doesn't know why this is happening. Please, Mother Empress, investigate fairly. Your child is being wronged..." Wen Hui clung to the Empress. As long as she denied it, an accusation from a single palace attendant would not be enough to convict her. Even if the Emperor suspected her, it would still be mere suspicion.
Ji Zizhao suddenly exclaimed, "Eh?"
Consort Xi: "..."
What was with the "Eh"?
Emperor Xiaochang looked at Ji Zizhao, "What is it?"
Ji Zizhao lowered her gaze slightly. "Your subject suddenly remembered something. Just as I was about to stitch up the palace girl's wound, she kept resisting and flinching. I found it strange, so I proceeded to examine her body and discovered many hidden and subtle scars in various places."
Wen Hui trembled upon hearing this and immediately kowtowed to the Emperor. "My... my child doesn't know what's going on. I have no enmity with that palace attendant, so how could I have abused her like this? Please, Father Emperor, believe your child..."
Wen Hui knelt on the ground, continuously kowtowing with all her might.
"Guards! Summon Zou Li to me!"
"Yes!"
Feng Gu quickly ran out. A moment later, Zou Li entered, panting, carrying a medicine box.
Feng Gu had already instructed him on the way. Now, facing the enraged Emperor, Zou Li dared not delay and immediately began a careful examination of the palace attendant's injuries.
After a moment, Zou Li knelt before the Emperor and truthfully reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this palace attendant does indeed have many subtle and hard-to-detect scars on her body."
Emperor Xiaochang was so angry upon hearing this that he almost passed out.
This was clearly an attempt to use the palace attendant as a scapegoat and force a confession through torture!
And who else could achieve this but Wen Hui, who understood medicine?
"Dong dong dong... Dong dong dong..."
Although Wen Hui was still kowtowing, she was so terrified that she couldn't utter another word. She had never imagined that things would turn out this way, no matter how reckless she was. Where had her perfectly planned scheme gone wrong?
Feng Gu sighed softly. Even if Princess Wen Hui managed to gouge a hole in the study floor with her kowtows, she would likely no longer be able to clear herself of suspicion.
Consort Xi appeared expressionless, but her heart was in turmoil. Especially when she looked at Ji Zizhao, her heart trembled uncontrollably.
Today's events, it seemed Ji Zizhao's appearance was just a coincidence. Even her words were few, yet those few words had ultimately stripped Wen Hui bare, leaving her with nowhere to hide.
Could it truly be a coincidence?
It was too coincidental!
The sound of kowtowing in the study had, at some point, ceased.
Wen Hui fainted again, this time truly losing consciousness.
She was so scared.
"Your subject will take her leave first," Empress Zhong said, rising. Since the Emperor already knew everything, staying any longer would only be an annoyance to look at Wen Hui's face.
Seeing the Empress depart, the others also knelt and bowed in farewell.
Although Ji Zizhao was worried about Xie Jinglan, she understood the Emperor's suspicious nature. Pushing too hard would be counterproductive. As she followed the others out, she suddenly approached Madam Wei and asked, "How has the Eighth Prince's consort been recently?"
Madam Wei was not foolish and quickly replied, "I heard she is currently living with the Eighth Prince in a small courtyard on the outskirts of the city."
"So, the Eighth Prince's consort has settled down with the Eighth Prince?"
"However, the last time I visited, I did not see the Eighth Prince..."
Madam Wei's voice was low as she spoke to Ji Zizhao, but it was enough to make Emperor Xiaochang's brows twitch.
No father knew their son's character better than they did.
As men, if the Eighth Prince truly cared even a little for his consort, he would not have pushed her into such a perilous situation. But he was his own flesh and blood. Originally, Emperor Xiaochang felt a sliver of pity for the Eighth Prince. However, now, considering Wen Hui's unspeakable methods, his own son had shamelessly participated.
Emperor Xiaochang was so enraged that he wished he would never have to see the Eighth Prince again.
"Issue an imperial decree: grant the Eighth Prince's consort a divorce letter. Henceforth, she shall have no relation to the Eighth Prince. As for the child... once born, it will be raised in the palace," Emperor Xiaochang instructed Feng Gu.
No relation meant she would no longer have to suffer alongside the Eighth Prince. Madam Wei understood this simple logic and immediately knelt at the entrance of the imperial study, repeatedly thanking the Emperor with tears.
Consort Xi's heart skipped a beat as she witnessed this scene.
No wonder she felt that the Wei family's timely arrival at the palace was arranged by Ji Zizhao. She had managed to persuade the Wei family to become her pawn, even after her own predicament. She was truly becoming more capable by the day.