Chapter 923

That little brother was only four years old, and just because he accidentally knocked over your bird's nest, you made him kneel in the snow!

He knelt for a long, long time, and after returning home he fell ill and died, right?

The whole hall erupted in an uproar.

Yuan Lady's round fan slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a soft 'pa' sound.

Yuan Miss's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling twice as she said, "Princess! How could you slander your servant girl like that?"

Tuan Tuan completely ignored her, her voice rising even higher: "And there's also that little sister!"

Just because she was born prettier than you, you become unhappy whenever you see her.

You wanted to be the only girl in the family, so you had someone poison her food!

She stretched out her little hand and pointed straight at Yuan Miss, saying, "You don't even spare your own kin—how could you have composed such a fine poem?"

Yuan Miss froze completely, all color draining from her face.

Her mouth opened and closed, opened and closed again, as if something were lodged in her throat.

How could she know all this so clearly? And she even said it out loud in front of everyone!

This is the Fengyi Palace!

All the officials' families from the entire capital are here; if this is proven true, the whole Secretary's Residence will be ruined.

Yuan Lady jumped to her feet: "Princess! Please choose your words carefully! You have no evidence, yet you slander the Secretary's Residence's daughter—this is a grave crime!"

Yuan Miss's mind cleared: "Exactly! These are old matters; Mother has already cleaned them up thoroughly, leaving no evidence!"

She took a deep breath, slowly lifted her head, and suppressed her panic: "Princess, your childish words need no heed; I, your servant, ought not to argue with you."

But every word you just spoke is aimed at taking my life.

She looked toward Murong Jing, kowtowing: "Please, Empress Dowager, see clearly! Though I dare not contend with the Princess, I absolutely cannot bear such infamy."

She straightened herself, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at Tuan Tuan: "I dare to ask the Princess, does what you say have any proof?"

Her voice choked: "The Princess often comes and goes from the Song Residence, naturally close with the Miss Song."

I, your servant, have no fortune to be connected with the Princess, yet I have never shown the slightest disrespect.

But today the Princess has so… so slandered your servant; I truly do not know wherein I have offended you.

Her shoulders trembled slightly: "I, your servant, merely wrote a poem."

If the Princess deems me unworthy, I will accept it.

She kowtowed to Tuan Tuan: "I only beg the Princess not to pour such filth upon your servant any further."

The hall fell into dead silence.

Everyone's gaze fell upon Tuan Tuan.

Cheng Ru'an furrowed her brow, pulling her daughter tightly into her embrace.

She naturally believed her daughter's words without doubt—this Yuan Miss is truly vicious!

But she also knew well that such private matters of the inner quarters, if not investigated thoroughly at the time, cannot be clarified afterward.

Tuan Tuan's bare words without evidence truly cannot convince the crowd.

Tuan Tuan pursed her little mouth, her voice crisp and bright: "Your mother has already cleaned things up for you—where am I supposed to find proof?"

Everyone's gaze then shifted entirely to Yuan Lady's face.

Yuan Lady's face went from white to red, then to blue, with veins bulging at her forehead.

Tuan Tuan giggled, tilting her little head as she stared at the upright Yuan Miss for a moment: "There's a Haitang tree in your courtyard, and its flowers bloom especially well each year, right?"

Yuan Miss was puzzled, blinking slightly.

Haitang? Her courtyard indeed has a Haitang tree, which bursts into fiery bloom every spring.

She nodded: "The Princess is correct; my residence does have a Haitang tree, and each spring its blossoms are like brocade, praised by all in the household."

Tuan Tuan blinked her eyes, giving a sweet smile.

A sudden chill ran up Yuan Miss's back for no reason.

Tuan Tuan said: "The reason that Haitang blooms so well is because whenever you get angry, you kill the little cats and dogs you keep, then bury them beneath the tree!"

Yuan Miss's pupils shrank sharply—oh no!

She wanted to explain something, but her throat felt as if gripped by an invisible hand: "You! I…"

She forced herself to keep composure, yet her fingers clenched tight in her sleeves and her body began to tremble.

Yuan Lady's complexion looked a hundred times worse than her daughter's.

Although cats and dogs are not human lives, if the Empress Dowager issues an order to dig them up from the daughter's courtyard, this matter will admit no room for maneuver.

The daughter's reputation, and the future of the Secretary's Residence, will be destroyed in an instant!

She hurriedly stepped forward, forcing a smile: "The Princess is just joking."

"Indeed, there are indeed the carcasses of a few beasts buried beneath that tree."

"But they were merely pets the young lady kept in her childhood, which died accidentally."

"When the young lady was small and tender-hearted, she buried each one with tears, personally placing them under the tree, and even on festivals she would go there to weep; to this day, mentioning them still brings tears to her eyes."

"Such childhood matters—could they possibly be worth bringing before the Empress Dowager?"

Yuan Miss came to her senses, quickly interjecting: "As Mother said, I often think of them and feel sorrowful, bringing tears to my eyes."

Tuan Tuan rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with them.

She lifted her head to look at her mother, her little face full of confusion: "Mother, why does she kill things whenever she gets angry? Those little cats and dogs never provoked her."

The hall burst into an uproar.

Not to mention the young ladies' astonishment, even the married women's faces changed.

"Killed?"

If mistreating her younger brothers and sisters could be excused as strict household management, the wanton slaughter of cats and dogs alone suffices to reveal her cruel nature, treating living beings as nothing.

Tuan Tuan turned her head, a pair of bright, sparkling big eyes staring straight at Miss Yuan.

Miss Yuan felt a chill run down her spine from being stared at, and she involuntarily shuffled back half a step.

"Not just from childhood!" Tuan Tuan's voice soft: "Just a few days ago, you even buried a little white cat alive under that Haitang tree."

"Just how many are buried down there—you can't even remember yourself, can you?"

The moment her words fell, Miss Yuan went limp on the ground, her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't utter a word.

Madam Yuan dropped to her knees with a thud, her voice shaking so hard it was barely audible: "Your, Your Majesty the Empress... the Princess, she, she is still young."

"I'm afraid, afraid I've misremembered something, or perhaps I was fooled by someone... this humble girl may be untalented, but..."

"Shut up."

Murong Jing's voice struck Madam Yuan like a basin of ice water poured over her back; she hastily flung herself to the ground and kowtowed.

The Empress lowered her eyes to regard the mother and daughter.

One deathly pale, the other babbling nonsense, both utterly panicked—obviously everything Tuan Tuan said is true.

Murong Jing's gaze slowly shifted to Tuan Tuan.

Xiao Tuanzi was curled up in Cheng Ru'an's arms, his big eyes still glaring angrily at Miss Yuan.

A complicated, hard-to-describe feeling welled up in Murong Jing's heart.

This child has no dealings with the Minister's household, yet she knows the deepest secrets of the inner palace in such detail—no wonder His Majesty trusts her so.

If Che'er could have her protection all his life... wouldn't this Palace be able to die in peace?

Siyu saw her dazed expression, leaned in and whispered softly by her ear: "My lady? Empress!"

Murong Jing jerked awake.

She lowered her eyes to look at Miss Yuan slumped on the ground, her voice sinking: "Was what the Princess just said true?"