The Lotus Copper Pot leaks halfway, the palace’s lamps flickered, casting Tang Xiaobai into a slight daze.
She sat below Empress Yuan, her body slightly turned, looking at the woman kneeling in the center of the hall.
That was the Beauty Shu, whom she had heard much about but never seen.
Currently, the mainstream aesthetic for won favors bright colors, even those who opt for a simple look would embroider low-key luxurious patterns.
But this Beauty Shu was truly simple and plain.
Her clothes were like snow, her hair like ink, adorned only with a single wooden hairpin, her face bare of makeup, even her lip color was light.
So plain and simple it seed like soone in her family had died.
It’s not that Tang Xiaobai was maliciously cursing others, but since she entered the story, she had seen many dressed in white, yet those this clean were truly only mourning clothes.
Is she being unconventional, or...
"...What exactly happened!" The Empress Yuan’s angry rebuke interrupted Tang Xiaobai’s train of thought.
"I don’t know." Beauty Shu said coldly, her gaze seemingly unintentionally grazing over Tang Xiaobai.
It swept by without stopping.
She was delicate and graceful, but her eyes seed coated with autumn frost, veiling a coldness within their misty gaze.
She spoke with a gaze fixed on a void, as if nothing in this world could enter her vision.
Beautiful, proud, indifferent.
Even Tang Xiaobai, used to seeing beauties, found her stunning; no wonder she could captivate the emperor at first sight, monopolizing his affection.
But Empress Yuan wasn’t swayed by this act, she sneered coldly: "Don’t know? At that ti, only you and Wang Zhaoji were there alone. You don’t know how she fell into the water, but could it be you also don’t know where the dagger on her ca from?"
Hearing this, Tang Xiaobai’s mind focused, frowning as she looked at Beauty Shu.
Not long ago, she had witnessed Wang Zhaoji falling into the water at the northwest corner of the Water Pavilion.
When rescued, they discovered it wasn’t just a fall.
Wang Zhaoji’s abdon still had a dagger embedded deeply, only the hilt was left outside.
Though the Imperial Physician was still attempting to save her, everyone knew her chances were slim.
Tang Xiaobai confird that only Wang Zhaoji and Beauty Shu were present, but how the dagger was thrust in, she was too far to see clearly.
At a palace feast, openly stabbing a concubine, how could Empress Yuan not be shocked and angry, especially since the suspect was her longstanding disliked Beauty Shu.
Yet Beauty Shu showed not a hint of panic, and when Empress Yuan questioned her, she remained calm: "The dagger was sothing she brought herself."
Empress Yuan laughed in anger: "Could it be she committed suicide?"
"I don’t know." Beauty Shu still had a calm deanor.
Empress Yuan was so stifled, she couldn’t speak for a while.
"Looks like I can’t get anything out of this," Empress Yuan sneered, "Take her to the Yeting Bureau—"
Before she finished speaking, a loud proclamation ca from outside the hall: "His Majesty has arrived!"
Tang Xiaobai glanced at the docile and cool Beauty Shu.
Arriving so quickly, it seed the emperor’s favor was true.
As she prepared to rise with Empress Yuan to greet the imperial arrival, raising her head, she saw a familiar silhouette.
Behind the emperor striding in, a young man, tall and elegant, draped in a dark robe and crowned with a jade crown, exuded a cool grace like ink bamboo.
He stood taller than the emperor, his gaze falling directly onto her.
Tang Xiaobai blinked and suddenly felt happy.
Why was the young ancestor here?
While the emperor hurried towards his beloved beauty, the Crown Prince also moved towards her without slowing down, his dark, beautiful eyes examining her up and down, quietly asking: "Were you scared?"
Tang Xiaobai shook her head, wanting to smile at him, but feeling it wouldn’t be appropriate, she instead hooked his little finger and gave it a shake.
He took the opportunity to hold her hand tightly, turned his face, and said to the emperor: "It’s late, Your Highness and the Crown Princess Consort shall take our leave first!"
The emperor first glanced at Li Mu, then turned his gaze back to Tang Xiaobai, speaking slowly: "An incident occurred at the palace feast, and the Crown Princess Consort was present."
Li Mu’s brow furrowed slightly, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes: "So, does this an the Crown Princess Consort needs to assist the Empress in handling this matter?"
Empress Yuan’s expression shifted slightly.
Tang Xiaobai kept her head lowered, secretly squeezing his hand.
The young ancestor was too aggressive, eager to seize power on a whim.
However, wasn’t it too early to seize control of the harem? The Empress was still an ally!
The emperor wasn’t soone who could be overwheld with a single sentence: "Since the Crown Princess Consort was present, does she have anything to say?"
Tang Xiaobai was about to speak when suddenly a palace maid stumbled in from outside, dropping to her knees in a panic: "Wang Zhaoji, Wang Zhaoji is gone—"
Even though the emperor was indifferent to Wang Zhaoji, his expression changed.
Just as he was about to stride away, the silent, straight-standing Beauty Shu beside him suddenly collapsed—
...
Compared to the chaos in the Taiji Palace, the Eastern Palace felt extraordinarily tranquil.
Tang Xiaobai and Li Mu walked hand in hand along the palace path.
The moonlight was like a ribbon, covering the ground like frost, the night wind lifting their clothing and hair, sweeping away the oppressive warmth of midsumr.
"Will Beauty Shu be alright?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
"It doesn’t matter either way." Li Mu replied.
"But she’s with child." Tang Xiaobai said.
Earlier, when Beauty Shu fainted in public, the emperor disregarded even Wang Zhaoji’s death to imdiately call for the Imperial Physician.
The outco was quite gratifying, as Beauty Shu was found to be pregnant.
Judging from the emperor’s overt joy, Tang Xiaobai felt that Wang Zhaoji’s death might remain as it was, without harming the imperial pet’s noble status.
"The dagger found on Wang Zhaoji is difficult for the Shu family to explain, and if pursued relentlessly, the emperor might not be able to save Beauty Shu." Li Mu said blandly.
"Before you arrived, Beauty Shu said the dagger belonged to Wang Zhaoji herself."
"No one can prove it." The tone of the Crown Prince was as cold as ever.
Just after he finished speaking, a piece of paper appeared before them.
The words on the paper caused his gaze to pause, halting his steps.
"Soone dropped it at my feet." Tang Xiaobai said.
In the sweltering heat of midsumr night, it suddenly cooled by several degrees.
"Do you think Beauty Shu lied?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
If Beauty Shu did not lie, then what was Wang Zhaoji intending when she brought the weapon and arranged to et Tang Xiaobai privately?
She couldn’t have been inviting her to appraise the dagger together, right?
"If the dagger was for , why was it used on herself?"
"If it was ant for herself, intending to fra , why did she use it before seeing ?"
"Or is it that no matter who she t, it wouldn’t have deterred her from taking her own life?"
Li Mu’s eyes flashed with killing intent: "Mo Ji!"
"Quickly send a ssage to Liangzhou and order Li Xingyuan to prepare for the Turkic!"
Tang Xiaobai was slightly stunned, then suddenly realized.
With Wang Zhaoji’s death, Princess Hengyang would likely be unrestrained!
As she stood dazed, her hand was grabbed, pulling her forward, the pace quickening slightly from before.
Tang Xiaobai jogged a few steps, turning to block him again: "Did you see Beauty Shu just now?"
"I saw her."
"Did you see clearly?" Tang Xiaobai half doubted.
"I saw clearly." Li Mu nodded.
"Then you..." Tang Xiaobai suddenly lowered her voice, "Did you recognize her?" After asking, she pinched her brows to recall, "Have you seen her before?"
Li Mu nodded: "I’ve seen her."
The girl’s beautiful almond eyes widened slightly in surprise, her voice still low, reduced to breathy tones: "Then why do you think she would go to great lengths to enter the palace?"
"Could it be... to avenge soone?"
"Is there a chance... she’s lying?"
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