Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 128: Under the Orders of Noble Consort An

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Under the Orders of Noble Consort An

Ruoxue felt her heart jolt violently from the kick, a metallic taste rising to her throat, and coughed heavily as she struggled to climb back to her feet.

With her head lowered, her voice trembling, she said, "To answer the Prince, this matter was... was all this servant’s doing!"

She was on a path to certain death no matter what, but if she didn’t betray Noble Consort An, perhaps Noble Consort An would still save her life.

Holding onto that sliver of hope, Ruoxue gritted her teeth and took the blame for the poisoning.

Upon hearing this, Noble Consort An breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the Empress was far from satisfied. She knew this maid must have been instructed by Noble Consort An and asked coldly, "You say you placed the poison, yet this Princess wonders where you acquired the Love Potion from!"

Love Potion could indeed be purchased on the market, but how a palace maid who had long lived in the deep palace got her hands on it was indeed thought-provoking.

Li Tianze also considered this and frowned deeply.

It seemed there were many things within this harem that he was unaware of.

Ruoxue’s eyes darted about, and she quickly answered, "This servant... this servant stole it from the Imperial Hospital!"

Fearing others might not believe her, she hastily added, "Not long ago, Princess De was unwell and this servant went to fetch an Imperial Physician from the Imperial Hospital. In a moment of folly... I stole some Love Potion."

Her story sounded quite plausible to those who were unaware of the truth.

But among those present, aside from the guilty Noble Consort An and Qi Anran, who wasn’t astute?

Ruoxue’s hesitant and stumbling defense could hardly deceive everyone.

Seeing her stubbornness, the Empress had several nannies take turns slapping her face.

These nannies were originally brought by the Empress to deal with Qi Yu, all of them old-timers in the palace who were adept at reading the room and also quite strong.

Now, seeing the Empress’s anger, they used even more force.

A few slaps ballooned the somewhat pretty face of Ruoxue, leaving it shrouded in red marks and swollen like a pig’s head.

Qi Yu watched from the side, her eyelids twitching.

How could the Empress have foreseen this, if not for the fact that these nannies were undoubtedly prepared for her?

If it weren’t for her stumbling upon this incident today, the Empress would have been determined to find fault with her.

Had she misspoken a single word, all those slaps would have fallen on her face.

Hearing Ruoxue’s heart-wrenching cries, Qi Yu’s eyelids quivered, and she couldn’t help but stealthily move a few steps towards Li Mingjue.

The schemes of the harem were too deep; she would be better off staying obediently at the Prince Residence from now on.

Li Mingjue also realized this, and his gaze toward the Empress grew colder.

He pulled someone behind him, raising his hand to interrupt the actions of the nannies, "Enough."

The nannies glanced at the Empress, and seeing her displeased expression but a nod of her head, they stopped and stepped aside.

The sight of Ruoxue’s face brought a bit of comfort to the Empress’s heart.

All she had been thinking was how wonderful it would be if those slaps could land on the detestable An Ruoya’s face.

Ruoxue, teeth knocked loose from the beating, was in unbearable pain as she knelt at the Empress’s feet, pleading for mercy, "Empress, your mercy knows no bounds, please spare your servant!"

The Empress let out a cold laugh and looked down high and mighty, "If you reveal the mastermind behind this, this Princess will let you suffer a little less."

Sparing her was out of the question, but if she didn’t betray Noble Consort An, she would definitely be beaten to death today.

Ruoxue was already terrified by the beating and at this point, she didn’t care about anything except suffering less; she hastily kowtowed and said, "This servant admits it, this servant was instructed by Noble Consort An!"

Hearing this, a trace of a smile flickered in the Empress’s eyes, but she feigned surprise on her face and looked at Noble Consort An, "Sister, this..."

Noble Consort An had long known that Ruoxue was unreliable, but she did not expect her to betray her so quickly. She glared at her viciously and scolded, "How dare you, a bold servant, accuse this palace!"

Ruoxue was also quick to respond, crying out, "It was Noble Consort who coerced me into poisoning Consort De, and she said if I did not comply, she would have me killed!"

Noble Consort An, infuriated and at her wit’s end, stepped forward and kicked her, feeling unsatisfied and about to strike again when the Empress stopped her.

"Sister, what are you doing? She’s just a servant, is she worth your personal effort?"

After speaking, she turned to Ruoxue and said, "You claim the Noble Consort instructed you, do you have any evidence?"

Ruoxue knew that the Empress and Noble Consort An were at odds; now that she had betrayed Noble Consort An, only the Empress could save her life.

She kowtowed, took something out from her bosom, and handed it to the Empress, saying, "Your Majesty, please see, this is a golden hairpin bestowed upon me by the Noble Consort. She said there would be greater rewards after the matter was successfully accomplished."

When Noble Consort An saw the golden hairpin, her pupils shrank sharply.

She had previously given Ruoxue a hairpin she did not want simply to bribe her.

The Empress picked up the hairpin and confirmed it was an item from Noble Consort An’s palace, then spoke to Li Tianze, "Your Majesty, this indeed is an object bestowed to Noble Consort An earlier this year."

Hearing this, Li Tianze’s gaze turned icy as he looked at Noble Consort An and asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Noble Consort An, in a panicked state, retorted, "Your Majesty, I did not, it must have been stolen by this servant!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress sneered, "Sister thinks to deceive ghosts with such a tale? Let alone how a servant could steal something from your palace, this golden hairpin is an imperial gift. Sister seems to have been a little too careless!"

Noble Consort An was left speechless and could only glare at her fiercely.

The Empress felt a rush of vindication and did not reprimand Noble Consort An for her indecent behavior.

This time, she was determined to pin down Noble Consort An, making sure that she could never recover.

Li Tianze, having listened to their quarreling for so long, grew impatient and waved his hand, interrupting them, "Enough, take this palace maid away and execute her by beating!"

Hearing this, Ruoxue became frantic and immediately threw herself at Consort De to beg for mercy, "Princess, I know my mistake, please spare me this once!"

Consort De’s face showed pity, but in the end, she said nothing.

Qi Yu knew it was difficult for her, so she stepped forward and took her hand.

Soon after, Ruoxue was dragged away.

Li Tianze looked at Noble Consort An, kneeling on the ground and crying pitifully like flowers bathed in rain, truly at a loss for how to deal with her.

If he were to punish her too leniently, it would fail to convince the public.

Yet, if her punishment was too harsh, once the Empress became unfettered in the harem, she would surely cause trouble.

Seeing that he did not speak, the Empress also refrained from saying anything.

However, Qi Yu, seeing Noble Consort An crying so miserably, frowned with disdain.

If she had known this would happen, why did she do it in the first place?

Moreover, she was certain that Noble Consort An was crying so wretchedly only out of fear of punishment, with no belief that poisoning Consort De had been wrong.

If given the chance, she would do it again.

With this in mind, she felt that Noble Consort An really could not be spared.

Her eyes then briefly caught sight of Qi Anran next to her, frantically clutching at her chest, hiding something.