Song Yanzheng suddenly snapped back to reality, staring at the disheveled woman bowing her head before him, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
He had been hiding perfectly well behind the rockery, waiting for Gu Mingliu to fall into the water so he could be the first to rescue her.
How had things ended up like this?
"Miss Gu, I... I truly don’t know how this happened..." Song Yanzheng’s mind raced, "But I swear to you, I will marry you into the Eastern Palace with all the honor you deserve."
Hearing his words, Song Yu couldn’t help but scoff.
"Why is the Grand Imperial Grandson slandering my reputation for no reason?"
Gu Mingliu’s voice rang out, and Song Yanzheng froze as if struck by lightning.
At that moment, the woman before him slowly raised her head, her delicate appearance pitiful after what had just transpired. "Your Highness... this servant is Mei Xiang."
"How could it be you?!"
Song Yanzheng immediately shoved Mei Xiang away. She fell to the ground, meeting his murderous gaze.
"It was Your Highness... who dragged this servant and... forced yourself on me..." Mei Xiang stammered, her voice trembling. "Your Highness, you can’t abandon me now..."
"You vile wench, you set me up, didn’t you?"
Song Yanzheng seized Mei Xiang’s wrist, the sharp pain making her cry out.
"Yanzheng, this is going too far," Song Yu remarked with a click of his tongue. "After all, this palace maid is now yours. Where’s your dignity?"
"Uncle!" Song Yanzheng glared at Song Yu. "I’ve done nothing wrong!"
Song Yu rolled his eyes. "Well, the Successor Empress and so many noble ladies are watching. His Majesty will arrive soon, and the truth will come out."
The noblewomen present all paled.
The fact that the Grand Imperial Grandson had immediately called out Gu Mingliu’s name without even seeing the woman’s face... today’s incident was far from simple.
It seemed the Eastern Palace had set its sights on the Gu family.
The ladies who grasped the implications shuddered in fear.
......
A quarter of an hour later, Emperor Yuanyou arrived.
The Successor Empress looked closely—not only had the Emperor and the Crown Prince come, but also Prince Chu and Prince Qi, along with their princess consorts.
The situation had escalated far beyond expectations...
Meanwhile, Song Shihuan, who had successfully led the crowd here, stood trembling like a frightened rabbit. "Imperial Grandfather, Elder Brother was wronged right over there."
She pointed toward the lakeside, locking eyes with Song Yanzheng.
"Imperial Grandfather, your grandson has been framed!" Song Yanzheng hastily straightened his robes and knelt before Emperor Yuanyou. "That lowly maid plotted against me. As an imperial descendant, how could I possibly engage in an illicit affair with a palace maid?"
"Palace maid."
"Illicit affair."
The moment these words were spoken, the air grew heavy with tension.
Only Song Yu remained expressionless.
"Back then, as the legitimate eldest son, didn’t I also have an affair with a palace maid?"
Mei Xiang was now paralyzed with fear. Seeing this, Song Shihuan gritted her teeth and shouted at her:
"You dare scheme against my elder brother?"
"Scheming against an imperial grandson warrants execution of your entire family!"
So speak up already and prove your innocence!
Song Shihuan wished she could speak for Mei Xiang herself.
"This servant didn’t..." The words "execution of your entire family" jolted Mei Xiang back to her senses. She kowtowed frantically. "This servant was forced by the Grand Imperial Grandson!"
"A lowly wench still dares to lie? Guards, drag her out and beat her to death!"
The Successor Empress’s voice was icy. Chen Chi immediately moved to seize Mei Xiang.
"When I was discovered with a palace maid from Her Majesty’s quarters back then, Mother Empress didn’t react like this," Song Yu said coldly, staring at the Successor Empress. "I recall Mother Empress even had that maid recount everything in detail."
"In that case, give Mei Xiang the same chance."
The Successor Empress’s pupils constricted, her fists clenching tightly beneath her sleeves.
Why did this scene feel so eerily similar to the past...?
"Let her speak."
Emperor Yuanyou uttered his first words since arriving, the chill in his voice making everyone bow their heads.
"If a single word is false, I will execute your nine generations."
"This servant wouldn’t dare lie... This servant admired the Grand Imperial Grandson..." Mei Xiang trembled like a leaf. "When I saw His Highness leave the banquet earlier, I thought he might be drunk, so I followed..."
"After standing by the lake for a while, His Highness hid in the shadows. I was confused and wanted to ask if he was unwell... but then he suddenly pulled me in..."
Oh ho.
Song Shihuan mentally applauded Mei Xiang.
What a vivid description.
Meanwhile, Gu Mingliu, who had been standing nearby, staggered slightly, pressing a handkerchief to her chest. "Earlier at the banquet, someone inexplicably stained my dress. The maid leading me to change kept heading toward the lake... I walked slowly and lost her."
"Yanzheng even mistook this maid for Miss Gu earlier," Song Yu added, deepening the Emperor’s fury. "He even promised to marry her into the Eastern Palace."
"Disgraceful!"
Emperor Yuanyou roared, the scene before him striking a nerve.
A descendant of the imperial family, resorting to such underhanded tactics to win over a minister’s daughter—utterly shameless!
"Song Yanzheng, you are truly my exemplary grandson."
Hearing the Emperor’s sarcasm, Song Yanzheng felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss.
"Imperial Grandfather, your grandson was truly framed!" Song Yanzheng clung to the Emperor’s leg, desperate. "I wasn’t in my right mind earlier—someone must have drugged me!"
Hearing this, the Crown Princess’s lips curled imperceptibly, her nails already spotless.
Today’s scheme involved more than one secret drug, each used in minuscule amounts, nearly undetectable. The real trick lay in the counteracting effects between them.
No one but the mastermind could trace the method.
Even Song Yu hadn’t escaped this plot back then.
"Wu Qi, summon Mei Zhilin to investigate," Emperor Yuanyou kicked Song Yanzheng away. "If you can’t prove your innocence, I will strip you of your golden sash."
The golden sash—a symbol of imperial lineage.
An hour later, Mei Zhilin had combed through every item in Qiangwu Palace but found no trace of drugs.
Song Yanzheng collapsed to the ground in despair, while the Crown Prince broke out in a cold sweat.
If Yanzheng lost his golden sash today...
The Eastern Palace would be half-destroyed.
Suddenly, Song Shihuan stepped forward with a lantern, illuminating Mei Xiang’s waist—where a sachet hung. The Successor Empress’s face twisted in shock.
This sachet... was identical to the one she had prepared for Xin’er back then.
Between the threat of losing the golden sash and this revelation, the Successor Empress’s composure shattered. Without thinking, she blurted out the truth of the past:
"Yanzheng... did someone give you a wedding cake today?"
A wedding cake.
Back then, she had hidden hallucinogenic herbs in a wedding cake and had Ling’er personally deliver it to Song Yu.
So the drug must have been hidden in a wedding cake!
