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Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Mei Liang found it laughable. The person who planned to frame her hadn't even thought things through. How could she, a mere Guiren, scheme against a Cairen—someone ranked higher than her—and she expect herself not to get caught?
The grand hall fell into utter silence the moment the maidservant's confession rang out.
Mei Liang's expression remained unchanged, as though she weren't the one being accused. She stepped forward, walking toward where the Emperor and Empress sat, and then gracefully knelt before them.
"Your Majesty, please grant me the chance to prove my innocence," she said calmly.
The Emperor only stared at her pale face. Her complexion was always light, but now it was so bloodless it looked almost ghostly.
Looking into her almond-shaped eyes, Emperor Xiang Long Wei was momentarily stunned.
Mei Liang understood—if she appeared too composed or too calm, the Emperor would grow suspicious. A normal concubine accused of harming an imperial heir would, at the very least, tremble or panic in fear. But ever since she had returned to this body, she found herself incapable of shedding even a single tear.
Perhaps the trauma of her past life had carved her soul too deeply. She remembered clearly—after the Emperor sentenced her entire clan to death for treason, she had cried for days, kneeling outside the gates of his palace. The man who once called her his beloved concubine didn't even grant her an audience. Not once. She had even fainted outside his gates, yet not even a servant was sent to check on her.
That was when she had truly closed her heart.
She told herself tears were useless. Even when locked in the imperial prison by Xian Guifei, when her flesh was cut and her body tortured, she had not cried. So how could she possibly cry now—over a charge so weak and full of loopholes?
But appearances had to be kept.
Pressing a handkerchief to her eyes, she mimed sorrow with practiced ease, though not a single tear rolled down her cheeks.
The other concubines didn't notice her dry eyes, but Emperor Xiang Long Wei did. He almost wanted to laugh. Who pretended to cry so poorly? She couldn't even force out a single tear.
"Very well," he said with a faint smile tugging at his lips. "This Emperor will grant you the chance to prove your innocence."
De Fei's heart clenched. Despite the Emperor's expressionless face, she could sense it—he wasn't angry. No, he seemed amused by this Mei Guiren.
Unease crept into De Fei's heart.
Digging her fingernails into her palm, she didn't notice the blood dripping from her hand. Mei Guiren… she had better not become special to the Emperor. If she did, she would not hesitate to remove her. She couldn't allow another favored Concubine Mei to rise again.
Mei Liang rose from the ground after receiving the Emperor's permission. Her expression didn't change as she turned to face the maidservant, Suqin.
"You said I gave you the order, right?" Mei Liang's voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp. "Then tell me—how exactly did I do it? Did I come to find you personally, or did I send a maidservant?"
"Guiren sent a maidservant," Sùqín replied, flustered. "How could a mistress personally come to meet a lowly servant like me?"
"Then tell me, which servant did I send? And what day did I supposedly come to seek you out?" Mei Liang pressed on, voice still cool.
"It was... it was around the time you were punished by Xian Guifei and confined to your palace for a week," Sùqín stammered. "The servant you sent had a slim figure. She wore a coat and covered her head, so this servant didn't see her face clearly. But she said she was from your palace... and she gave me this jade bracelet."
Sùqín hurriedly pulled out a jade bracelet and offered it to Mei Liang.
Mei Liang took it and examined it with narrowed eyes. She couldn't even remember owning this particular piece—it hadn't even been a month since she had transmigrated into this body. Without a word, she passed the bracelet to Lánxīn.
After studying it, Lánxīn's face paled slightly.
"Could it be that Mei Guiren really gave her jewelry to this maidservant? I never imagined she would be capable of such cruelty—no conscience at all, to even think of killing an unborn child," Xian Guifei said righteously. But everyone knew the truth—what concubine in this hall didn't secretly wish for Yang Cairen's child to disappear? One more child meant one more competitor for the Emperor's favor.
Emperor Xiang Long Wei and the Empress remained silent, clearly waiting for Mei Liang's explanation.
Lánxīn finally spoke. "This bracelet was lost when Mistress fell into the pond half a month ago—after being pushed by Imperial Concubine Jing."
"Ha!" Hui Guifei, who had always hated Mei Liang for her beauty, immediately seized the opportunity. "Who would believe such nonsense? The bracelet was 'lost' and just so happened to end up in the hands of Yang Cairen's trusted maid? Do you take us for children, Mei Guiren?!"
"Hui Guifei is so quick to condemn me without even hearing the full truth," Mei Liang replied coldly. "Or perhaps... it is you who is trying to frame me? You rush to convict me, hoping to silence me and let the real culprit escape—are you hiding something?"
Hui Guifei froze, her tongue suddenly tied. She dared not speak another word.
Mei Liang turned to the Emperor and bowed her head slightly. "Your Majesty, please allow me to question the maidservant once more."
"You may," Emperor Xiang Long Wei said, eyes glinting with interest.
Turning back to Sùqín, Mei Liang asked, "You said a maidservant gave you the jade bracelet. Did she also give you anything else? Money, perhaps?"
"Yes! Yes, now I remember—she gave me some silver," Sùqín replied quickly.
"Very well," Mei Liang said. "Then where is this silver you speak of?"
"I still have some with me." Sùqín reached into her sleeve and pulled out a silver coin. "Here it is."
After receiving the silver coin, Mei Liang examined it carefully, then walked slowly toward the emperor. She knelt and held out the coin.
"Your Majesty, please take a look at this silver coin," she said.
The empress's expression stiffened with displeasure. This matter was supposed to be presented to her, as the one who managed the inner palace affairs—not to the emperor directly. She felt humiliated in front of the entire court.
Emperor Xiang Long Wei took the coin and studied it briefly before passing it to Empress Qing without a word.
Empress Qing examined the coin, turning it in her fingers, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She raised her head and looked at Mei Liang. "Is there something wrong with this silver coin?" she asked coolly.
"Yes," Mei Liang replied. "Half a month ago, after I was pushed into the pond, I started marking all the silver in my palace. It was a precaution. Only I and my personal maidservants knew about this."
Lánxīn stepped forward and presented a small silver pouch to the empress.
The empress took it, opened it, and examined the contents. Sure enough, each coin bore a faint mark—subtle, but clearly deliberate. The coin Sùqín had presented bore no same mark.
Empress Qing's face was unreadable as she looked back at Mei Liang. "Even so, this alone does not prove you were not involved."
"This concubine understand," Mei Liang said calmly, then turned to Sùqín again. "You said the maidservant who gave you the coin had a slim figure. Did you notice anything else about her?"
Sùqín nodded quickly. "She had a scar on the back of her neck. She tried to hide it, but I saw it."
Mei Liang looked at the emperor again. "Your Majesty, none of my maidservants have any scars. I only have three maidservants and one eunuch in my palace. One of them is here with me now. The other two are currently back in my quarters. If the empress would kindly allow it, your servants can check and confirm this."
"Very well. We shall confirm it," the empress said stiffly. "Yurou, go to Mei Guiren's palace and check on the other two maidservants. As for the one here... Yulan, inspect Lánxīn."
Yulan stepped forward while Yurou left to carry out her orders. The hall fell silent again, filled with suppressed tension as everyone waited for the truth to be revealed.