Cui Yunchu's answer made the emperor's eyes darken instantly.
Once again, she stuck to this answer, which made the emperor wonder if he was being overly suspicious.
However, he didn't care much about the life of a courtier's daughter. "Since that's the case, with both witnesses and evidence, come, take this woman away and beat her to death with a cane!"
Cui Yunchu trembled, and her lower lip was bitten until it bled.
Beat to death with a cane? Why not use poisoned wine or a white silk? Or wait a bit. Maybe that Old Man has a shred of conscience and will come.
"Your Majesty, spare me. I really didn't instruct that maid."
The emperor said, "Every person who deserves to die says they are innocent. Drag her out."
The eunuch beside him waved his hand, and several young eunuchs came to drag Cui Yunchu out.
Cui Yunchu knew that as long as she revealed her affair with Shen Xiabai, she could get rid of the charge of instructing the maid.
While being dragged, she looked at the unconscious person on the couch again.
He was now unconscious, like a fish on the chopping board, with no power to fight back. If the emperor wanted him dead, it might be as easy as a doctor pricking a needle.
Then he could just say externally that the poison was incurable, and it would all be over.
"I... I'll give you a quarter of an hour. If you don't wake up, I'll confess," Cui Yunchu thought to herself.
"I'm very afraid of death and definitely won't die for you. I can only buy you a quarter of an hour. Wake up quickly."
A quarter - hour of being beaten with a cane on her slender body was probably her limit.
Reason told her that she should say that Shen Xiabai was in love with her and blocked a knife for her. But her teeth uncontrollably bit her tongue tightly. Her heart told her that she couldn't say it, not even if it meant death.
Especially when he was at his most vulnerable, she couldn't give others a chance to take his life or hand his life over to others.
Cui Yunchu really wanted to just pee her pants. Even if it was useless, it could still disgust that bastard emperor. He was so heartless.
He had almost laid out his scheme openly, putting Cui Yunchu in a dilemma.
"The commoner girl wants to see Cui Qingyuan. Your Majesty, you can't be so arbitrary. That maid is just slandering me."
The emperor's patience was completely exhausted. He waved his hand and ordered people to drag Cui Yunchu away.
Cui Yunchu kept shouting that she was wronged, but never mentioned Shen Xiabai from beginning to end.
Cui Yunchu started to curse. "Shen Xiabai, is it you bastard who planned this? Did you deliberately set up this situation to frame my Cui family?"
Shen Xiabai, wake up quickly, or I'm going to die.
"Shen Xiabai, you bitch."
By the time you wake up, I'll really be a corpse.
#
"Slow... slow down." A faint voice suddenly sounded, but everyone in the hall still heard it.
Cui Yunchu quickly broke free from the young eunuchs. "Let go of me. He's awake."
The emperor's gaze suddenly shot over. His slightly squinted eyes were full of warning and gloom. "My beloved Minister Shen is still injured. It's most important for you to recuperate in peace. This woman has a sinister mind and intends to harm your life. If I execute her today, you'll still be my important courtier."
The chief eunuch waved his hand, and all the doctors and young eunuchs in the hall retreated.
The emperor's meaning was very clear. No matter what the relationship between the two of you is, once Cui Yunchu dies today, it will all disappear. You'll still be the high - ranking Lord Shen, an important court official.
Cui Yunchu also understood. She stared fixedly at the man struggling to get up on the couch without blinking.
The man's steps were unsteady, and his face was pale and weak, but his shoulders and back were still straight, which made people feel inexplicably at ease.
He walked step by step towards the emperor. "Your Majesty, I..."
"My beloved Minister Shen," the emperor's eyes were deep. "Think about your father and brother. The Cui girl wants to kill you now."
As long as he admitted it, Cui Yunchu couldn't get rid of this charge.
The emperor made it very clear that he could forgive the past as long as Cui Yunchu died today.
"Your Majesty, she won't harm me."
The emperor's hand on the armrest tightened, and the veins bulged. "Come, bring that maid up."
The maid trembled and knelt beside Shen Xiabai.
She knew very well that although the imperial hospital could detoxify the poison she had administered and it wouldn't be fatal, it was absolutely impossible for him to wake up so soon.
According to the plan, Shen Xiabai should have woken up after Cui Yunchu's death.
The emperor said coldly, "Tell Lord Shen who you were instructed by."
The maid kowtowed heavily. "Lord Shen, I dare not lie. I was really instructed by Eldest Miss Cui. She said that Lord Shen would definitely save her, so she designed this situation to take Lord Shen's life."
Shen Xiabai's gaze passed over Cui Yunchu and landed on the maid. His eyes were calm, without a trace of temperature or emotion. "You're lying."
"I dare to swear on the lives of my entire clan." She held up three fingers. "If what I say is false, my entire clan will die."
Such a serious oath. If Cui Yunchu weren't the one being framed, even she would have believed it.
Shen Xiabai's eyes were extremely calm one moment, and the next, he suddenly grabbed the maid's neck. "I said you're lying, and you are. Even if you swear on the lives of nine generations of your clan, you're still lying."
His eyes were red and fierce. Even Cui Yunchu had never seen him like this before.
The maid coughed weakly from being choked. "If Lord Shen doesn't believe me, you can arrest Nanny Zhang beside Eldest Miss Cui for interrogation. That nanny was left by Eldest Miss Cui's aunt. She won't lie. It was she who told me personally that Eldest Miss Cui doesn't like Lord Shen. She hates Lord Shen and wishes he were dead. So there was that incident with Young Master Gu. And now, it's all her design to kill Lord Shen!!"
A storm suddenly rose in Shen Xiabai's eyes and then slowly subsided into stillness. His eyes were calm, cold, like a stagnant pool of water, without a trace of temperature.
But his arm trembled slightly, and he tightened his grip on the maid's neck. "You, are lying."
The maid's eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. She was gasping for breath. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Nanny Zhang. She... she really said so. Every word I say is true."
"How dare you!" The emperor slapped the table. His eyebrows were sharp. "In front of me, are you trying to silence the witness? Shen Xiabai, you're becoming more and more lawless!!"
"I dare not," Shen Xiabai suddenly let go. The maid slumped to the ground, her eyes rolled up, and she couldn't catch her breath for a long time.
"Lord Shen," the chief eunuch beside the emperor walked up to Shen Xiabai, bent down, and whispered, "As long as you go along with it, today's matter will have nothing to do with you."
As long as he nodded and let Cui Yunchu die, the emperor wouldn't pursue it further, and Lord Shen wouldn't suffer any losses.
"A person who has repeatedly tried to kill you. Think carefully. Is she worth sacrificing your future for?"
Shen Xiabai didn't say a word. He turned his head slightly, and his deep and calm gaze landed on Cui Yunchu.
Cui Yunchu tightly grabbed the corner of her dress and shook her head at him.
She didn't do it. It wasn't her.
How could she scheme against him like that? Although she had indeed said those words in front of Nanny Zhang.
But... she had long since given up the idea of killing him. She had given it up when Young Master Gu died.
How could Nanny Zhang have told others these things? She had no idea when they had gotten in touch.
