mesbooks Chapter 245 Preservation
Chapter 245 Preservation
She knew that the current situation was extremely unfavorable to her, but the emperor's suspicion and anger made her feel extremely desperate.
She tried to explain, but felt that any explanation seemed so pale and powerless in the face of such evidence.
Ruyi's heart felt like it had sunk into an ice cellar. The person behind her really wanted to kill her.
Ah!
The emperor looked almost laughing with anger, his facial muscles trembling slightly and his brows furrowed.
When Ruyi argued with him in the Yangxin Palace before, her words were sharp and eloquent!
How come now, when it's her turn to defend herself, she's speechless?
Is this because they have been caught with some irrefutable evidence?
The emperor stared at Ruyi, the anger swirling in his eyes almost burning her.
Ruyi had just finished speaking when she looked at the emperor's unpleasant expression and continued.
"Concubine Yu, I have no grudge against you. You've only been in the palace for six months. How did you know that Ling Yunche and I knew each other? And how could you have sensed that Ling Yunche had any ill intentions towards me?"
She couldn't explain to the emperor, so she had to change the pretext and turn to Concubine Yu.
Since Concubine Yu dared to report it, she must have thought of a countermeasure.
Ruyi's question hit the mark, and she spoke in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.
"Your Majesty, I saw Zhu Yun beside you on my way to the Imperial Garden a few days ago. I thought that since Your Majesty stayed indoors, it would be nice if she came out to greet you. But then I ran into you visiting Guard Ling, so I couldn't bear to bother you, so I turned away..."
"I'm not afraid that the Emperor will call me vulgar. I originally wanted to please the Empress, so I asked the old people in the palace about Guard Ling's past and inquired about Guard Ling's family. I wanted to send someone to take care of it and show the Emperor's benevolence. I didn't expect..."
After she finished speaking, seeing that the emperor's face was so dark that ink could drip out of it, Concubine Yu hurried to make amends without leaving any trace.
"you……"
Follow me?
When Ruyi heard this, she was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that she would be seen by Concubine Yu after just that one meeting.
Is it really a coincidence?
"Call the clouds."
The emperor did not comment, but shouted outside.
Zhu Yun was young, and when he came in and saw such a big scene, he was frightened. He was shaking like a sieve and knelt down to pay his respects to everyone.
"This servant pays respects to the Emperor... the Empress... the Imperial Concubine Ling, and the Imperial Concubine Yu... the Imperial Concubine Yu..."
"Don't be afraid. I summoned you today to ask you a few questions about the Empress."
Yan Wan whispered to comfort her and gave Concubine Yu a look.
Concubine Yu immediately understood and started asking questions.
"I'm asking you, have you ever followed the Empress to the cold palace?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yun nearly fainted. Although she was young, she knew the rules of social order between men and women. She had been afraid of being seen that day, and she hadn't slept well even after returning home. But she was still seen.
Seeing her hesitation, the emperor lost his patience.
"If you confess the truth, I can still forgive you. But if you dare to lie, my Ministry of Punishment has many ways to deal with it."
"Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
"I don't know. I was just accompanying the Empress to the Imperial Garden that day. The Empress said she wanted to go for a stroll, but she ended up in the cold palace. I don't know anything, Your Majesty..."
The young maid was timid by nature and had never experienced such a scene before, so she was even more frightened now. The emperor only said a few cold words, and she was so frightened that her face turned pale, her whole body trembled like a sieve, and her eyes were full of fear.
She stole a glance at Ruyi's increasingly ugly face, and panicked, not caring about much else. She just listened to her pouring out everything like beans from a bamboo tube.
There was a tearful tone in his voice as he spoke very quickly, as if he was afraid that if he was even a second late he would suffer even more terrible punishment.
Everything was revealed so that everyone present could hear it clearly.
Hearing this, the emperor could no longer suppress his anger.
"Get out."
He shouted coldly, and Zhu Yun was so frightened that he crawled out of the inner hall.
Concubine Yu was smart enough not to involve Ruyi and just sighed.
"It's a pity that Ling Yunche harbors evil intentions. He is unworthy of the Empress's concern, and even less worthy of the Emperor's kindness. In my opinion, he must be severely punished to rectify the situation in the palace!"
"Your Majesty, what Concubine Yu said makes sense. If we want to protect the Empress, we must deal with Ling Yunche completely. Otherwise, if the matter gets out, it will not only be detrimental to the Empress, but also to the reputation of the royal family!"
When Yan Wan saw Concubine Yu kneeling down, she also knelt down to ask for instructions.
With Ruyi caring so much about him, the emperor would never let Ling Yunche off easily.
Given the emperor's vengeful character, if he was certain that Ruyi and Ling Yunche had an affair, he would not let him die too early, but would keep him alive to torture Ruyi.
Yanwan began to look forward to it, wondering what the scene would be like when Ruyi met Xiao Lingzi.
The emperor sat there, his posture upright but exuding a depressing aura.
His face was stern and his brows were furrowed. He seemed to be deaf to what the two people said and could not hear a word.
At this moment, his gaze was just resting quietly on Ruyi. His eyes were deep and complex, and his slightly red eyes were filled with a hint of hatred. That hatred was like an undercurrent hidden in the deep sea, not surging, but impossible to ignore.
He spoke slowly, as if on purpose, his voice low and cold: "What do you think, Queen?"
Every word seemed to carry icy chips, hitting Ruyi directly.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, with a hint of sarcasm, waiting for Ruyi's answer. He had long since given up on her answer and just wanted to sting her in this way.
The whole atmosphere seemed to be frozen, making people feel suffocated.
He looked at Ruyi's extremely ugly face, and a sense of pleasure of revenge surged in his heart.
It seemed that he had found a reason for the Queen's recent behavior. Since she had betrayed him, he would not show mercy to her.
At least, he will not let the so-called Ling Yunche go.
He vaguely remembered Ling Yunche's wounded appearance after rescuing Ruyi from the fire. It turned out that he was in love with her, so he risked his life to save her...
Under his gaze that seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, Ruyi felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her heart, so heavy that her breathing was slightly stagnant.
She moved her lips with difficulty, trying to make her voice sound steady, but the slightly trembling tone still revealed her inner anxiety.
"I don't know why this thing ended up in the hands of guard Ling Yunche."
"But Your Majesty, Ling Yunche is currently stationed in the cold palace, a remote and difficult place, and he is only fulfilling his duties. If you want to convict him, shouldn't you allow him to defend himself?"
Having said that, Ruyi raised her eyes and looked straight at the emperor with a hint of pleading in her eyes.
"He has served the palace for many years. Even if he has no merit, he has worked hard. To convict him in this way would be too hasty..."