"Yiyang County Princess, what do you mean by this?"
"Yes, wasn't it Princess Leyang who caused tonight's incident? The people of the Princess’s estate have already confessed."
The people in the hall were all confused by Tang Ning's words.
Princess Ji, in a low voice, said, "Song Tang Ning, what are you trying to pull? If you have something to say, just say it clearly!"
"I naturally intend to explain," Tang Ning replied, her gaze steady as she first glanced at Princess Ji and then turned to the others. "Tonight, Princess Leyang set up a trap. The Buddha Hall on the back mountain was meant for me, but why were Sun Yi and the Fourth Prince’s consort there as well? When Liu Zhi led me there, I clearly wasn't deceived, so why did something still happen in the Buddha Hall?"
The Fourth Prince felt uneasy and forced a calm expression. "County Princess, perhaps it was just a coincidence..."
"It wasn't a coincidence," Tang Ning said solemnly. "The Fourth Prince’s consort has many servants and maids, and Sun Yi wouldn’t have just wandered into the Buddha Hall for no reason. If we follow logic, when the people in the Buddha Hall saw that I hadn’t arrived, the trap set by Princess Leyang would have failed. But something still went wrong, alarming the monks, and, coincidentally, the Princess’s son was involved. Do you think this was the work of someone else?"
The people in the hall fell silent.
Qian Qingran, standing at the side, furrowed his brows slightly. "If we follow normal reasoning, one might think that the County Princess is taking revenge on Princess Leyang and turning the tables on her."
Qian Qiyue immediately became anxious. "Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?!"
But Fu Laiqing seemed thoughtful. "What Brother Qian said isn’t completely wrong. Tonight’s incident is indeed too much of a coincidence."
"Princess Leyang wouldn’t be so careless in setting up this trap. If something went wrong, whether it was the male courtesan or someone else, they would likely withdraw early to avoid being exposed. But the fact is, the County Princess wasn’t harmed. Instead, it’s Sun Yi and Princess Leyang’s estate that ended up in trouble. If it were me, I would also suspect that the County Princess had received some early warning and was using this opportunity to strike at Princess Leyang."
"It’s not just the County Princess," Old Lady Fu, with her eyes slightly narrowed, said in a deep voice. "Everyone in the capital knows that the County Princess is close to Lord Xiao, and the Black Armored Guards and Commander Cang only take orders from Lord Xiao. How could a woman like the County Princess have the means to scheme against Princess Leyang? But if it was Lord Xiao's doing..."
Everyone was shocked by the suggestion. If it was Lord Xiao, he truly had the ability to scheme without anyone knowing.
Tang Ning raised her head. "But whether it was me or my brother, we were both unaware of what Princess Leyang had done before we went to Lingyun Temple!"
Some of the more perceptive people in the crowd had already figured it out. "So what the County Princess is implying is that someone behind the scenes already knew what Princess Leyang was planning? It looked like they were using the trap to ruin the Fourth Prince’s consort and implicate the Fourth Prince, but in reality, the real goal was to frame Lord Xiao?"
Tang Ning looked at the person who had spoken. "You all should know that my brother has been seriously injured while saving His Majesty and has been bedridden for recuperation. I had people hide the incident of the falling into the water on the night of the Qixi Festival, intending to investigate it in detail after the Lantern Festival. I never expected Princess Leyang to be so vicious."
"My brother is direct in his actions. If he had known about Princess Leyang’s scheme, he would have sent people to confront her directly. And since I’m on good terms with the Fourth Prince’s consort, and she even gave me a protective Buddhist bead, even if I really hated Princess Leyang for scheming against Sun Yi, I would never harm the Fourth Prince’s consort."
Most of the people in the hall were influential figures from the capital and knew Lord Xiao's temperament well.
Back when it was the Cheng Prince’s estate, then the Lu family, and further back, many officials and royal relatives had crossed him. If anyone angered him and was caught with something on them, Lord Xiao would immediately storm into their estates and arrest them without any need for scheming or pretending, much less involving the Fourth Prince.
As for the County Princess, everyone had witnessed her close relationship with the Fourth Prince’s consort during the evening’s ceremony.
When the river lanterns unexpectedly gave out, creating an awkward moment, it was she who helped the Fourth Prince’s consort save face and made excuses. Later, when Princess Ji and Princess Leyang mocked her, it was also she who stood up for the consort, scolding both without hesitation, nearly causing a public rift.
If their relationship wasn’t good, why would the County Princess go so far?
Moreover, she treasured the Buddhist beads given to her by the Fourth Prince’s consort and always wore them on her wrist. People would only do such things if they were truly close.
Tang Ning touched the Buddhist beads on her wrist, her lips pressed together as her gaze became resolute. "Fourth Prince, this matter cannot end like this. The person behind the scenes used Princess Leyang and intended to destroy the reputation of the Fourth Prince’s consort and implicate you, and at the same time, they wanted my brother and me dead. No matter what, we must uncover this villain!"
The Fourth Prince’s eyes trembled slightly. "County Princess…"
"Your Highness, you don’t want to?" Tang Ning asked.
"Of course not!" the Fourth Prince blurted out. How could he say he didn’t want to? How could he dare to say that?
He had previously suspected that Song Tang Ning and Lord Xiao knew something in advance, which is why the situation had escalated like this. But clearly, Song Tang Ning had no knowledge of the scheme. Even Rong Yue, who was usually hot-tempered, looked astonished and angry. His heart was filled with guilt and resentment toward whoever had interfered in this matter.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Of course, I want to find out who harmed the Fourth Consort, but with so many people here, we can’t interrogate them one by one..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning’s expression softened slightly. "I knew that Your Highness cares deeply for the Fourth Consort. No wonder she always speaks highly of you to me. You need not worry. Since this incident began with Princess Leyang, the one secretly pulling the strings must have had prior knowledge of it."
Commander Cang understood, and immediately had people remove the cloth from the mouths of Princess Leyang and the maid Pu. He turned to them and asked, "Who else knew about tonight’s events besides you two?"
Princess Leyang’s face turned pale, and Pu, who was supporting her, remained silent.
Tang Ning looked at the two of them. "You can’t escape responsibility for tonight’s mess. If you can tell us what you know and help us identify the mastermind, your punishment might not be death. Otherwise, everything that happened in the Buddha Hall will fall on Princess Leyang."
Princess Leyang trembled, and Pu quickly crawled forward.
"The Princess of Leyang did intend to harm the County Princess, but she never planned to harm the Fourth Prince’s consort, nor did she want to involve the young master."
Tang Ning looked at her. "Who else knew about this?"
Pu trembled and answered, "Only a few trusted people in the estate: Qiujin and the others, and also my nephew. He was the one who handled the redemption of Tan Yan’s contract, and tonight... after leading the County Princess there, he was also the one who drugged you."
"He completed his task and then signaled outside the courtyard with three bird calls, indicating success. He led his people away from Lingyun Temple to avoid being identified later by the County Princess..."
Before Pu could finish speaking, someone hurriedly entered from outside.
"Commander Cang, a few bodies have been found on the back mountain."
Commander Cang furrowed his brows. "Bring them in."
Several bodies were brought in, and Pu immediately recognized one of them. Her face was filled with terror.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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