The Queen was also stunned, her brows furrowed, and she looked at Qu Moying who was kneeling on the ground and paying homage.
"Princess Ying...are you willing to accept the punishment?" Concubine He repeated the question with a strange look on her face.
"I am willing to accept the punishment if I am responsible." Qu Moying said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report to you."
"What's the matter?" The Queen asked with an unclear expression, but her face was a little kinder than before.
"Please ask Her Majesty to punish this matter first." Qu Moying said seriously.
She had to resolve this matter first, lest the Queen Mother make a fuss about it later.
Seeing that she did not accept Concubine He's overtures, the Empress was still satisfied. Now that the step had come to her, it could be said that it was Qu Moying's overture. Originally, she did not really want to punish her. She coughed softly and said, "Since the Princess of England has already realized her fault and it was the King of England's intention, it is your family's business, so just punish her by deducting her salary."
It seems that the Princess of England still has something to ask of me, otherwise she would not have offended Concubine He. This is good. Since she has something to ask of me, things will be much easier. If Concubine He wants to rob Hu, it depends on whether she has the ability to do so.
As a first-rank princess, Qu Moying naturally also has a salary.
This was considered the lightest punishment. For a family as wealthy as the Prince of England's, whether or not there was a salary would have no effect on Qu Moying.
"If this kind of thing happens again in the future, it won't be as simple as deducting your salary." After the Queen showed her goodwill, she also warned Qu Moying.
Concubine He's expression looked unhappy. Her originally pretty face looked somewhat sarcastic because of her gloomy face, but she didn't say anything inappropriate at this moment.
She was a noble concubine and had to be respectful to the Queen Mother. Even if she was dissatisfied, she would not offend the Queen at this time. Besides, she could not understand Qu Moying's attitude.
Does the British princess really think she is on the side of the Crown Prince? Her son gave her a "big gift".
"I obey your order." Qu Moying said respectfully.
"Get up!" The Queen waved to her.
"I have something else to report." Qu Moying did not stand up.
"Go ahead!" The Queen smiled slightly, her expression becoming much gentler.
"I'm going to tell the Eastern Palace that Ji Youran, the concubine Ji, is plotting against my cousin in order to get her high position and benefits by making her angry to death." Qu Moying raised her head and spoke word by word.
This sentence shocked everyone present and changed their expressions.
The Queen's hand suddenly pressed on the corner of the table, and her expression and eyes changed visibly.
"Princess Ying, what did you say?"
"Sue the former Eastern Palace concubine Ji Youran for murdering my cousin." Qu Moying raised his head calmly, a hint of coldness flashed across his eyes, and he said in a restrained voice, "Ji Youran murdered my cousin, the former Crown Princess Ji Hanyue, causing my cousin's death. However, she was able to enter the Eastern Palace. I sue her for murder, and sue the second branch of the Ji family for murdering my uncle's family."
Now that the words had been spoken, Qu Moying had no intention of hiding it and pushed all the faults onto the second branch of the Ji family.
She couldn't do anything to Pei Luoan yet, but she could use this incident to take revenge on Ji Youran. For so long, this hatred had been growing in her heart...
She hated... She hated Pei Luoan and Ji Youran so much that she wanted to eat them all, she hated the second wife of the Ji family to pieces, she hated the entire Ling Anbo Mansion to cease to exist...
"Princess of England...you...you know what you are talking about
"The Queen slammed her hand heavily on the table, shaking the tea set on it.
"Your Majesty, I know exactly what I am saying. I just want you to make a decision for my cousin who died in the underworld and seek justice for her."
Qu Moying said calmly, "If the Queen doesn't believe me, I have witnesses here."
"Who?" The Queen's voice trembled unconsciously, her face was pale and her expression was cold. If she didn't know her identity clearly, she would have collapsed at this moment.
Concubine He frowned and looked at Qu Moying in a tangled manner, her lips tightly pursed, and her mind was rapidly turning, who is this witness? Is it the witness she asked her son to send out
How dare the Princess of England directly present the witness? It was just the words of a servant, and they were half-truths. Is this Princess of England really ignorant or crazy? How dare she... How dare she say such things here!
There were also other people present who thought Qu Moying was crazy. This matter was really too complicated. Although Qu Moying's words were directly directed at Ji Youran, was the prince really so innocent
His own wife was murdered, and the woman who killed her entered his Eastern Palace. As the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, he must be guilty of negligence, right
“Princess Ying, do you have any misunderstandings about Ji Youran? Even though she is unwise, she is devoted to the former Crown Princess. When Princess Ying was still in the manor, the former Crown Princess and Ji Youran were a pair of close sisters from the same clan.” The Queen narrowed her eyes into triangles and glared at Qu Moying hatefully.
If she had known that Qu Moying had raised such a matter, she would have severely punished Qu Moying even if she had offended the King of England.
How could she say such outrageous words in front of so many people
"Empress, I have no misunderstanding about Concubine Ji." Qu Moying said slowly. Although Concubine Ji's position as concubine had been abolished, Qu Moying was still willing to call her that at this time. Such a position of concubine was actually not enough. If Ji Youran's position as concubine had not been abolished for a long time, Qu Moying would have been more willing to call her Concubine Ji at this time.
The former Concubine Ji was so arrogant that she thought that after pushing Ji Hanyue down from Linyuan Pavilion in the Eastern Palace, she could sit back and wait for the position of the principal wife.
She narrowed her eyes and hid the sneer in her eyes. Since she said this, she must have a reason for saying it.
"Empress, I have found a maid who was close to Xiao. She said that when Xiao and her daughter were plotting against my cousin in the house, she heard some words that proved that Concubine Ji had always harbored ill will towards my cousin. Her so-called service in the Eastern Palace was just a way to kill my cousin. The witness is outside the palace gate now."
Qu Moying said.
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall became quiet and dull, as if something was caged in it. Several concubines looked terrified, and after looking at each other, none of them dared to say anything, for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves.
"Since the witnesses are here, sister, come and take a look!" Concubine He broke the silence and smiled softly.
"Bring the person in." The Queen Mother suppressed the trembling in her heart and looked at Qu Moying deeply. There was no hint of anything having to do with her son in her words, which meant that there was still something to be gained.
A palace maid went downstairs and soon came back with a maid, who was the one that Qu Caiyue "gave" to Qu Moying.
The old woman trembled with every step she took, and when she entered, she fell
He knelt down when he heard the sound from afar, kowtowed and shouted "Long live the queen".
"Are you the maidservant of Xiao, the second wife of the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion?" the Queen Mother asked coldly.
"I...I am...yes." The old woman was so nervous that she couldn't even answer completely. She could feel the dull and tense atmosphere in the hall and hated herself for getting involved in this matter.
"Did you hear what Xiao and Concubine Ji said?" the Queen asked slowly, her sleeves tangled in her hands under the corner of the table, with faint traces of sweat.
"Slave...slave heard something."
"Speak!" the Queen said sternly.
"When I heard...when I heard our Madam say that we would let the concubine enter the Eastern Palace...I thought of a way to secure my position. Once I leave, I will be the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. I asked...I asked the concubine to firmly grasp the Crown Prince's heart...I must not...I must not let His Royal Highness think of the first...first Crown Princess..."
How could the old woman dare to hide anything? She told the whole story in detail.
This old woman was indeed Xiao's confidant, and she knew that Xiao was unwilling to accept the situation. She felt that since the first wife had no children, everything in the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion would belong to her son in the future. In that case, her daughter should marry into the East Palace and be paired with the prince. She felt that Ji Hanyue was not worthy of the prince.
She often said such things in front of her confidants, lamenting that her daughter had no chance. If there was a chance, the prince would definitely choose her daughter instead of Ji Hanyue.
As what happened in the East Palace that night was of great importance, even Xiao herself did not know the details. Ji Youran did not even dare to tell Xiao, and of course the people around Xiao were even less aware of the situation.
What she knew most was that the Xiao mother and daughter had always harbored ill will towards the former Crown Princess, but she had no idea how Ji Youran had done it specifically.
But this time, she accidentally heard what the mother and daughter said when they were locked up. It was on the eve of Ji Youran entering the East Palace.
Originally, she had delivered some tea, but when she got to the door, she was told that Ji Youran was inside and the mother and daughter did not want anyone to disturb them.
After the old woman retreated, she curiously listened to a few more sentences and happened to hear these few words.
"You Ran, entering the Eastern Palace is definitely your chance to rise to prominence. From now on, the entire Eastern Palace will be yours." Xiao said excitedly, "After Ji Hanyue's death, no one will stand in your way. You have to make the prince always love you."
"Don't worry, mother. Once Ji Hanyue dies, everything will be done according to my way. Mother is just waiting... I will firmly establish my position in the Eastern Palace in the future..."
"I'm packing your things now. You can't take the dowry with you, but you can take the banknotes. I'll prepare some more banknotes for you, and you can..."
When the old woman heard this, she dared not listen any further and almost collapsed to the ground in fear.
Although Xiao Shi had expressed dissatisfaction and jealousy in the past, she had never said that she wanted to kill Ji Hanyue. Moreover, Ji Hanyue was now the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. If she were to take her life, it would be considered treason, which would... involve the extermination of all nine clans...
After listening to the maid's detailed explanation, the Queen snorted coldly and slowly relaxed her hands: "Princess Ying, just relying on the half-truths of a maid, you can push the matter onto Concubine Ji. Isn't this too much of a joke? Princess Ying is the principal wife of the Prince of Ying's Palace. If you have been handling things like this, I'm afraid you are not suitable for the position of principal wife!"
"Empress, this is human evidence, and I also have physical evidence!" Qu Moying said calmly...