The Vicious Woman and the White Moonlight are both me - Chapter 19

At this moment, all the young lords and ladies who had witnessed what happened in the pavilion earlier had been invited to the side hall. Any trace of their earlier excitement at watching the drama was long gone. Now, they waited uneasily, hearts full of apprehension, anxiously awaiting news. In Zhan Xinyue’s heart, beyond a hint of worry, there was also deep confusion.

Inside the inner hall, the two princes and two princesses, having changed their clothes, were now kneeling before the emperor. Though they had changed outfits and had their hair redone, the injuries on their faces were not something that could fade so quickly.

Pei Yarong and Pei Yayu both sobbed as they wiped their tears, looking every bit the picture of grievance and distress.

Song Zhaoyan had finally arrived without delay, bringing Pei Shen along with her, and was already seated off to one side.

The Emperor cast a glance at Song Zhaoyan, then looked again at the two daughters kneeling before him, crying incessantly. His expression remained stern with imperial authority, but irritation had already crept into his heart.

“Empress, what exactly is going on here?” the emperor asked slowly, his voice carrying an oppressive force that brooked no resistance.

The empress glanced at Song Zhaoyan. She already had a general grasp of what had happened today. Even if there were some minor details she did not fully understand, a little deduction made things clear enough.

Unfortunately, throughout the entire incident so far, there seemed to be no circumstance that involved Song Zhaoyan. It did not appear to be a scheme aimed at her, unless Pei Chengxuan and the others could later produce some kind of evidence themselves and drag Song Zhaoyan into it.

So, for now, the empress could only speak of what she knew. She hesitated slightly, carefully choosing her words before answering, “Your Majesty, the servants reported that the two princes and princesses drank too much wine and became intoxicated. In the rear courtyard of the Penglai Pavilion, they lost control and started fighting…”

“Drank too much wine? Started fighting?” The emperor frowned as he echoed her words, clearly unconvinced by this explanation. His gaze immediately fell upon the four kneeling figures.

“Is that truly the case?”

Finally questioned, Pei Yarong and Pei Yayu spoke first, choking back sobs.

“Reporting to Father Emperor, your daughter was not drunk at all. We were framed.”

“That’s right! Father Emperor must seek justice for your daughter!”

Compared to the two princesses’ tearful complaints, Pei Chengxuan and Pei Chengyun were much quieter.

“Framed?” The emperor instinctively glanced at Song Zhaoyan, expecting to see a look of amusement or provocation. Instead, he found that Pei Yarong and the others did not exist in her eyes at all. Her gaze was fixed tightly on Pei Chengyun’s back, filled with undisguised worry, as if she were anxious for his sake.

The emperor had long seen through Song Zhaoyan’s feelings for Pei Chengyun. He shifted his gaze to Pei Chengyun and asked, “Chengyun, tell me—what exactly happened?”

Being singled out, Pei Chengyun felt a surge of anger when he recalled how he had fought fiercely with Pei Chengxuan, his disheveled and humiliating state witnessed by so many scions of noble families in the capital.

When they went to the pavilion, Pei Chengxuan had pushed him from behind. It was obvious that he was the one who had been framed.

Pei Chengxuan had always acted in concert with the two princesses. Today’s incident was clearly a trap they had set to harm him.

What they had not expected was that their scheme had been used by someone else instead, causing the three of them to suffer along with him.

Thinking back, when he heard someone calling for help from inside the pavilion and rushed in only to find no one there, it was clear that someone had known of Pei Chengxuan’s plan in advance and had simply turned their own scheme against them.

Although Pei Chengyun could see through the truth of the matter, he still could not figure out who had taken advantage of Pei Chengxuan’s plot.

No matter what, he was the one who had been framed—yet now they were claiming that they were the victims instead.

What a complete twisting of right and wrong.

Pei Chengyun was not a saint. Since Pei Chengxuan had already made a move against him, there was no reason for him to protect him. Even though it was only his word against theirs—three of them to one—Pei Chengyun believed that with Song Zhaoyan present, once she knew what he had gone through, she would naturally stand on his side and deal with Pei Chengxuan and the others.

With that thought, he gained a measure of confidence. Still, on the surface, Pei Chengyun wore an air of unease.

“Father Emperor, your son is at fault. Today I drank a few cups too many and felt somewhat dizzy. Fearing I might lose my decorum, Third Brother accompanied me away from the crowd to the courtyard to rest in the pavilion. While we were there, Third Brother and I were fooling around, and he pushed me. In a moment of anger, I started scuffling with him. I never imagined it would turn out this serious!”

“Yes, Father Emperor,” Pei Chengxuan hurriedly added, trying to cover himself. “I only meant to joke around with Fifth Brother. I never thought he would take it seriously.”

Between the lines, the violence of the day was framed as nothing more than brothers fooling around.

“Only that?” The emperor was clearly unconvinced.

Pei Chengyun, however, remained remarkably composed. “Yes, Father Emperor. Your son is guilty. I should not have drunk too much, and I should not have let my temper flare just because Third Brother pushed me, leading to a fight between us. Please calm your anger, Father Emperor.”

“And then why did the Sixth and Seventh also take part?” The emperor asked.

Pei Chengyun had explained why he and Pei Chengxuan had fought, but as for why the two princesses had gotten involved, that explanation would have to come from them.

When their names were called, the Sixth Princess and Seventh Princess immediately cast pleading looks toward Pei Chengxuan, their eyes full of accusation—as if to ask how they were supposed to find an excuse to escape blame when he had brushed it off with just a few words and left them behind.

After all, the two of them had always been close. If they used the same excuse, who would believe it?

Hearing Pei Chengyun’s words, Song Zhaoyan naturally understood his calculations. By deliberately emphasizing that Pei Chengxuan had struck first, wasn’t he trying to make Song Zhaoyan step in to shield him and argue with Pei Chengxuan and the other three on his behalf?

And Song Zhaoyan did, indeed, speak up.

“Father Emperor, in your daughter’s view, this matter is likely not so simple. Sixth Sister and Seventh Sister have always been close—how could they suddenly come to fight with each other? And as for what was just said, that Third Brother pushed Fifth Brother: that pavilion stands right by the water. Fifth Brother had been drinking—what if he had fallen into the water and something had gone wrong? This banquet was hosted by Her Majesty the Empress. Wouldn’t Her Majesty have been implicated as well? As for their claims of being framed, could it be that they joined Third Brother in bullying Fifth Brother and are now using this as an excuse?”

The Sixth Princess flew into a rage the moment she heard Song Zhaoyan’s words. It was true that they had schemed against Pei Chengyun—but it was also true that they themselves had been framed.

Pei Yarong immediately turned and glared at Song Zhaoyan, her voice sharp and severe. “What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean by us joining forces to bully Fifth Brother? You like Fifth Brother, so you don’t understand what really happened and are speaking up for him!”

After shouting all this out, the anger in her heart eased somewhat—but fear followed immediately.

She had spoken to Song Zhaoyan like this in front of Father Emperor. Afraid that he would once again punish her without bothering to distinguish right from wrong, she immediately stepped forward to admit fault.

“Father Emperor, please calm your anger. Your daughter only meant that I do not wish to be wrongly accused. I had no intention of blaming Elder Sister Zhaohua.”

The emperor said nothing, his gaze burning as it fixed on Pei Yarong, making her heart pound with fear.

“Third and Fifth say they were drunk, while the two of you claim you were framed. Do you have any evidence?”

With those words, the room once again fell into silence.

Pei Yayu quickly replayed what had happened in her mind. Gathering her courage, she spoke up.

“Father Emperor, when my elder sister and I were taking a walk, we saw our two imperial brothers arguing and wanted to step in to break it up. But for no reason at all, a burst of white smoke rose inside the pavilion. After inhaling that smoke, I don’t remember anything else. Father Emperor, this must have been a deliberate setup by someone with ulterior motives. Perhaps someone even intended to carry out an assassination under the cover of this banquet!”

Pei Yayu deliberately avoided mentioning the scuffle with Pei Yarong and instead seized upon the claim of being framed.

By speaking this way, she escalated the matter dramatically—turning what had been a quarrel among four imperial siblings into an attempted assassination. If that were truly the case, everyone who had attended the banquet, along with many palace servants and guards, would be implicated. The Empress, who had hosted the banquet, would be the first to be held accountable.

“Could it be that the Seventh Princess also drank too much and hasn’t sobered up yet?” the Empress said coolly. “What white smoke out of nowhere? And now you’re even talking about assassination? The four of you can’t even keep your stories straight. I’m afraid none of you are telling the truth. Lying in front of His Majesty is a grave crime of deceiving the sovereign.”

Believing that Pei Yayu was trying to shift the disaster onto her, the Empress’s words carried an unmistakable note of warning. The other three, however, fell into thoughtful silence upon hearing Pei Yayu’s account.

Indeed, they had all clearly seen white smoke rise from the pavilion. Pei Chengyun was certain that Pei Chengxuan and the others had intended to frame him, yet Pei Chengxuan and the two princesses had also fallen victim. Since someone had schemed against all four of them at once, this was not the time for mutual accusations. The priority should be finding the person who had set them up.

And the mastermind behind it all—no matter how one looked at it—seemed suspiciously like the Empress.

The banquet had been hosted by the Empress. The venue had been chosen by her. Although she did not personally handle every detail, all the lists of items and personnel had to pass under her review.

Now that such an incident had occurred at a banquet she hosted, if they all admitted to nothing more than drunken roughhousing, some punishment would likely suffice, and the matter would end there. But if all four of them insisted that mysterious white smoke had appeared in the pavilion, then it would be clear that they had been deliberately framed.

The problem was that the smoke had long since dissipated, and they had no evidence at all.

And if the mastermind wanted to destroy the evidence, the only option would have been to throw it into the water.

That, however, was not something to fear. As long as it could be found, it would prove that what they said was true, and the conclusion of this matter would be entirely different.

Hearing this, Song Zhaoyan felt a trace of guilt.

After all, she had thrown the bamboo tube into the pavilion. Once the white smoke dispersed, there had been no time to retrieve it. That tube was evidence.

But on second thought, she had a clear alibi, and the bamboo tube could not point to her in any case. Only then did she relax.

At that moment, the emperor suddenly cleared his throat and turned his attention to Song Zhaoyan.

“Man’er, what do you think of this matter?”

Song Zhaoyan was startled, but she quickly recovered, adopting a stance that clearly showed she intended to stand up for Pei Chengyun.

“Father Emperor, according to what Seventh Sister said, the white smoke has already dissipated, and there is no evidence at all right now. Who knows whether it was real or not? I simply think they are targeting Fifth Brother. I ask Father Emperor to seek justice for Fifth Brother!”

Everyone in the palace knew better than to offend Princess Zhaohua, for Princess Zhaohua was notorious for her violent temper. They also knew, however, that Princess Zhaohua was not particularly clever.

At this moment, Song Zhaoyan’s objective was obvious—she was determined to have the emperor deal with Pei Chengxuan and the other two. But precisely because her intent was so blatant, it indirectly proved that this matter had nothing to do with her.

After all, if Song Zhaoyan truly wanted to bully someone, she would never bother with elaborate schemes or borrowing another’s hand. She would strike directly.

Song Zhaoyan’s words contained no real information. At last, the emperor shifted his questioning gaze toward the Empress.

“Empress, this banquet was hosted by you. With something like this happening, do you have anything to explain?”

The Empress immediately knelt. “Your Majesty, please see clearly—this matter has nothing to do with me.”

Although the emperor did not reprimand her harshly, asking the question in such a manner meant that suspicion had already taken root in his heart.

Sitting in the farthest corner, Pei Shen watched everything unfolding before him. As he pondered, his gaze repeatedly drifted toward Song Zhaoyan.

He was puzzled too over who the mastermind behind this incident could be, yet he could not arrive at an answer.

It seemed like something Song Zhaoyan might have done—but she had no time. If she had sent someone to act on her behalf, there was no such capable person around her. Besides, Song Zhaoyan simply did not have the mind for intricate schemes. When she wanted to harm someone, she always did so openly and directly.

Could it really be the Empress?

Someone who could sit securely in the central palace would never devise such a crude trap, one that even implicated herself.

Then who was it, really?

Everyone present was lost in thought when, at that moment, Jiang Rutai, the chief eunuch by the emperor’s side, entered carrying a tray.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, Empress, this servant has made an important discovery.”

All eyes turned toward Jiang Rutai—Song Zhaoyan’s included.

When she saw that Jiang Rutai had found the bamboo tube, Song Zhaoyan felt calm. But when her gaze fell upon the other item on the tray, after a brief moment of silent consideration, the calm expression on her face finally took on a trace of gravity.

There lay a small strip of fabric. Though narrow, it was unmistakably a piece of specially supplied yun brocade.

This year’s newly supplied yun brocade had been distributed to only three people.

The Empress.

The Empress Dowager.

And one other—Princess Zhaohua, Song Zhaoyan.

When everyone recognized the fragment of yun brocade, their gazes shifted at once toward Song Zhaoyan.

Song Zhaoyan remembered then—she had used yun brocade and had ordered garments to be cut for Pei Shen…

At that moment, the expressions of those present were a study in contrasts: shock, the smug satisfaction of a sudden reversal, and the barely concealed delight of watching someone fall. Not a single person showed any intention of stepping forward to explain on her behalf.

Song Zhaoyan did not panic. Instead, her expression remained as calm and steady as still water.

Pei Shen, however, cautiously lowered his head to look at the hem of his robe. Only then did he notice a tear at the corner.

His face went pale at once. He clutched his clothes tightly and cast an anxious, uneasy look toward Song Zhaoyan.