"Miss Liu," the Crown Prince said lightly, "you may speak your mind freely. After all, you will be a side consort of the Eastern Palace in the future. Your words and actions should be dignified and generous. Weeping and cowering will damage the imperial family's reputation, and Imperial Mother dislikes it the most."
"..." Liu Wanting's expression stiffened slightly. She raised her eyes to look at the Crown Prince, tears still clinging to her eyelashes.
The Empress frowned and cast a sidelong glance at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince's expression remained unchanged. "Imperial Mother has said that those who can enter the Eastern Palace are all models of well-bred young ladies, and their words and deeds should naturally be proper."
"..." The words the Empress was about to say were blocked by the Crown Prince. She shot him a displeased look and withdrew her gaze.
Being reprimanded like this by the Crown Prince, Liu Wanting was already losing face and barely holding onto her dignity. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince had no intention of stopping there and continued.
"On this point, Miss Liu should earnestly seek advice from Miss Tang, lest you damage the face of my Eastern Palace in the future."
Liu Wanting's tears instantly poured down, and this time, she wasn't faking it.
The Empress also felt that the Crown Prince's words were a bit too harsh and that he shouldn't have slapped Liu Wanting's face like this. However, due to her own dissatisfaction with the Liu family, she remained silent and said nothing.
Liu Wanting stood there all alone, like an isolated and helpless kitten or puppy, looking quite pitiful.
She was clearly the one who had come to complain, the weak one, the one who had been bullied.
But in the Fengluan Palace, especially contrasted with Tang Qingwan's dignified and aloof demeanor, her pitiful appearance as a victim instead made her look unpresentable.
For a moment, it wasn't right to cry, nor was it right not to cry.
Crying would be seen as petty, but if she didn't cry, how could she complain?
Cui Yunfeng felt very satisfied in her heart and lowered her voice, "It's rare. Today, the Crown Prince finally isn't trying to smooth things over and actually did something decent."
Cui Yunchu smiled.
His cowardice was only in response to the control and suppression from the Emperor and Empress.
After all, he was the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of a nation; how could he be an incompetent fool?
It was just that making the Emperor and Empress retract their decision required weighing the pros and cons; relying merely on glib talk wouldn't achieve the goal.
The Cui family remained silent the entire time. It was all the Crown Prince talking. Even if the Empress was displeased, she could only direct it at the Crown Prince.
"Alright, what exactly happened? Stop beating around the bush and explain it clearly." The Empress gave Liu Wanting a way out.
Liu Wanting could only wipe away her tears, not daring to weep anymore.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the Crown Prince beat her to it again, "When your son inquired earlier, I did hear Madam Liu mention a thing or two."
Liu Wanting, "..."
He wasn't giving her a chance to speak at all.
The Crown Prince continued on his own, "It is said that not long ago, the Second Miss of the Cui family fell into the water at the Chen family's banquet. Shortly after, Miss Liu was dunked into a slop bucket at a restaurant."
"Madam Liu says it was Eldest Miss Cui's deliberate revenge, which caused Miss Liu to become depressed and fall ill."
As the master of the inner palace, what kind of monsters and demons hadn't the Empress seen? Hearing the Crown Prince say this, she immediately understood Madam Liu's intentions.
Being too ill to marry was a lie; coming to complain was the real purpose.
"What slop bucket?" The Empress was very good at grasping the main point.
The Crown Prince briefly and concisely explained the matter. The Empress's expression changed several times as she listened, filled with shock and uncertainty.
Finally, the corners of her mouth seemed to twitch slightly, and her gaze fell upon Cui Yunchu.
She had heard a bit about this concubine-born daughter of the Cui family—she was known to be restless and prone to causing trouble. But she never expected her combat prowess to be this formidable.
"Your Majesty the Empress," Liu Wanting spoke in a hoarse voice.
Although things were not going as expected, the arrow was already on the bowstring. How could she not make the Cui family pay some price?
The Empress furrowed her brows deeply, wanting to get up and leave immediately.
How was she supposed to uphold justice in this matter?
The Second Miss of the Cui family had fallen into the water first. If it had nothing to do with Liu Wanting, why would Madam Liu use the words deliberate revenge?
Although the Cui family's method of retaliation was a bit extreme, it was still a tit for tat.
However, the Liu family currently held the Emperor's favor. In the court today, aside from the Shen family, the Liu family's momentum was fierce, and the Emperor valued them highly. Moreover, the Liu family was already somewhat reluctant to accept the position of a side consort.
If they turned around and sided with Consort Liang and her son...
After all, the position of Prince An's primary consort was still vacant.
The Empress rapidly weighed the options in her mind.
From the moment the Crown Prince first spoke, Cui Yunchu knew he was going to bring this up, so she was already mentally prepared.
She knew that the Liu family was determined not to let the matter go today. Having it come from the Crown Prince's mouth was far better than having the Liu family bring it up.
At this time, Old Madam Cui naturally could not remain silent any longer. She turned her head to look at Cui Yunfeng.
"You girl, you just have thick skin. Look at how delicate Miss Liu is, and then look at you. You floundered in the freezing lake water for half the day, only caught a high fever, and fully recovered after lying in bed for a few days."
"."
The words the Empress had carefully considered were completely blocked back down her throat.
How big could a slop bucket be? A person who had soaked in lake water for half a day was still alive and kicking.
Liu Wanting was extremely indignant.
How could that be the same? She would rather be pushed into a lake than be humiliated by being shoved into a slop bucket.
Cui Yunfeng coughed a few times at the right moment. "Grandmother, your granddaughter has just been enduring it. After all, Her Majesty the Empress is present, and I dare not be impolite."
The grandmother and granddaughter echoed each other, cooperating with perfect tacit understanding.
The Empress only felt a splitting headache and grew even more displeased with Liu Wanting. She hadn't even married into the family yet and was already causing such trouble. Who knew how foul the atmosphere in the Eastern Palace would become once she entered?
But in the face of pros and cons, those little personal emotions were not worth mentioning.
If Liu Wanting were to follow suit and cough at this moment, the pretense would be too obvious. She could only endure her disgust and anger.
The Empress planned to smooth things over. "Eldest Miss Cui, Wanting is a young lady of a noble family after all, and she has been designated by His Majesty as the Crown Prince's side consort. How could you commit such a filthy act to humiliate her?"
The Empress's tone was not heavy; she figured she would reprimand her a bit, and the matter would be considered resolved.
But how could Cui Yunchu admit to it? She stood up, curtsied very politely, and said, "Your Majesty, please see clearly. What Madam Liu said is pure nonsense. Your subject has never done such a thing."
Her denial was something the Empress absolutely had not expected.
Madam Liu had spoken with such certainty—could it be a frame-up?
