The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 318 - 317: Corner the sly and cunning one with no way out, with the help of Xuetuan.

Chapter 318: Chapter 317: Corner the sly and cunning one with no way out, with the help of Xuetuan.

Shen Chuwei stood steady; otherwise, she reckoned she might have fallen into the water with Xueyan just now.

Shuiyao, terrified, screamed from the shore, "Princess, Princess, someone, come quick, save the Princess!"

Shuiyao angrily pointed at Shen Chuwei, "Why did you push my ma—"

Before she could finish, she saw Shen Chuwei jump into the water.

Shuiyao was dumbfounded, not expecting Shen Chuwei to leap into the water.

Concubine Xu was startled and shouted hastily, "Someone, come quickly! Lady Shen has fallen into the water, pushed by Concubine Xue!"

Shuiyao, infuriated, stammered, "You, you, you, you’re talking nonsense, it was clearly Lady Shen who pushed my mistress into the water."

Concubine Xu stepped forward and slapped her twice, "You, a mere maid, dare to point at me and speak? Who gave you such courage?"

Though not much of a martial artist, Concubine Xu had some strength in her hands, and her two slaps left Shuiyao seeing stars, unable to recover for a half a day.

Concubine Xu coldly stated, "I clearly saw Concubine Xue pulling Lady Shen into the water, and you, a lowly maid, dare to slander Lady Shen and me, what is your intention?"

Chun Xi saw her young mistress fall into the water and instantly burst into tears; she lay on the shore clutching Shen Chuwei’s hand, crying for the little rabbit to save her mistress.

Along with Xueyan, she was pulled out; no one in Xiaoxiang Pavilion could escape responsibility for this incident.

The drowning incident alarmed the Empress.

The Empress hurried over from Fengyi Palace, her procession of attendants trailing long behind her.

A grand retinue swept into Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Almost at the same time as the Imperial Doctor, they entered Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

At this moment, both Shen Chuwei and Xueyan were lying on couches in the room.

The room was in complete disarray, with Shuiyao crying loudly, sobbing, "Princess, how can I live if something happens to you! Why would Lady Shen push you? You are approachable and generous, why would anyone be jealous..."

Chun Xi, refusing to be outdone, cried even louder, "Mistress, you must not have an accident, don’t let the villains succeed! Mistress has already been confined so miserably, yet evil people still come to torment, is there no justice in this world?!"

Concubine Xu had initially planned to flex her confrontational skills, but seeing Chun Xi and Shuiyao’s hysterics, she found it hard to find an opportunity to speak.

She sat by the bed, looking at Shen Chuwei, and reached out to touch her face, only to see Shen Chuwei stick out her tongue at her and then close her eyes again.

Concubine Xu was stunned for a moment, almost thinking she was seeing things, but then she realized Shen Chuwei was playing the innocent, attempting to trap the innocent plotters.

Yuan Gungun had already been scared under the table by Chun Xi and Shuiyao’s wailing.

Xuetuan gracefully leapt onto the bed, staying by Shen Chuwei’s side, her fluffy white paws gently scratching Shen Chuwei’s hand.

Shen Chuwei, eyes closed, stayed still, but her hand was not so well-behaved; she pinched Xuetuan’s paw.

Xuetuan’s azure eyes stared unblinking at Shen Chuwei’s moving hand.

A high-pitched voice from outside announced, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."

The Empress and the Imperial Doctor arrived one after another?

Chun Xi and Shuiyao immediately stopped their loud wailing and switched to quiet sobbing, exhibiting a rare moment of unity.

The entire room knelt to greet Her Majesty the Empress.

The Empress glanced over the people kneeling all around and asked coldly, "What exactly happened here?"

Shuiyao rushed to tattle, "Answering Your Majesty the Empress, Lady Shen, envious of the Princess, pushed her into the water. Now the Princess is unconscious and in a life-threatening condition, I beg Your Majesty the Empress to intervene."

As she spoke, Shuiyao broke into tears and deeply kowtowed.

Chun Xi, not to be outdone, added, "Your Majesty the Empress, my young mistress is amiable to everyone, never the one to instigate trouble, and harbors no malice. Yet Xueyan kept pushing her, urging her into the water. I implore Your Majesty the Empress for a discerning judgment."

Upon hearing this, Shuiyao angrily retorted, "You’re lying! It was clearly Lady Shen who pushed our mistress, leaving her unconscious and her life in peril."

Eunuch Ren flicked his whisk and said in his high-pitched voice, "You all shut up! With Her Majesty the Empress here, there’s no place for your nonsense."

With Eunuch Ren’s utterance, the room instantly fell silent.

"Cough, cough," Shen Chuwei coughed twice and woke up.

Hearing this, Chun Xi came to the bedside while kneeling, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Shen Chuwei, "Mistress, you’ve finally awakened; you scared me to death."

Seeing Lady Shen awake, Shuiyao began her complaint again, "Your Majesty the Empress, see, Lady Shen has awoken, but my Princess is still unconscious, her life hanging by a thread."

The Empress instructed, "Imperial Doctor Wang, examine Concubine Xue."

"As you wish." The Imperial Doctor approached the bedside with a medicine box. Shuiyao revealed Xueyan’s wrist for the Imperial Doctor to examine.

After checking the pulse, the Imperial Doctor stood and reported, "Your Majesty the Empress, Concubine Xue’s unconsciousness is due to drowning for too long, which is life-threatening."

"Your Majesty the Empress, did you hear that? My Princess was pushed by Lady Shen leading to prolonged submersion. Lady Shen lept by herself, which is why she could easily wake up. It’s because of her jealousy of my mistress that Lady Shen harbored such a vicious heart."

After finishing, Shuiyao deeply kowtowed again, "I beg Your Majesty the Empress to take action."

Concubine Xu stepped forward and said bluntly, "In front of Your Majesty the Empress, you, a mere servant, prattle on with lies. The Empress is the sovereign of the six palaces, managing the affairs of the harem, wise and astute—does she need you, a maid, to direct her?"

Shuiyao was at a loss for words and quickly kowtowed, "Your Majesty the Empress, I didn’t mean that, I am just worried about the Princess."

"You claim to be worried about Concubine Xue, yet not a word shows your concern. Instead, every sentence maligns Lady Shen." Concubine Xu looked towards the Empress and bowed, "Your Majesty the Empress, I was present at the scene and can testify that Shuiyao is deliberately slandering Lady Shen."

Shuiyao hastily shook her head, "I didn’t, Your Majesty the Empress, I was just... "

The Empress said coldly, "You keep your mouth shut."

Xuetuan, seeing so many people enter, jumped straight off the bed, took a couple of turns on the floor, and leaped onto Xueyan’s couch, her paw scratching at Xueyan’s hair.

The damp and disheveled hair was being pawed into a mess.

Xueyan, who was only pretending to be unconscious, almost awoke when Xuetuan scratched her like that, but fortunately, she held back.

She wanted Shen Chuwei to pay the price and to not get the chance to turn the tables.

Xuetuan was not one to be trifled with either; after several scratches to the hair, she scratched Xueyan’s face and then the scalp, the latter with more forceful strokes.

Xueyan felt a tingling pain on her face, and before she could react, a sharp pain on her scalp made her unable to refrain from opening her eyes. Seeing Xuetuan, she reached out to grab the cat, "You dare to scratch me?"

Xuetuan deftly avoided Xueyan’s hand and, after a few leaps, scampered away.

For a moment, everyone in the room stared at Xueyan, who had been unconscious and in a life-threatening situation just moments before.