As Gu Ziye's words fell, the Emperor and others turned their icy gazes towards Wang Wan.
Wang Wan's face turned pale with fright. He knelt down with a thud and cried, "Injustice! Your Majesty, this servant... how could this servant possibly harm Your Highness the Princess! Even if you gave this servant ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to harm Her Highness the Princess..."
The Emperor's expression was grim. Ignoring Wang Wan's pleas, he turned to Gu Ziye, "Lord Gu, what exactly happened? Explain it clearly!"
Gu Ziye opened the paper-wrapped item in his hand, revealing a tiny amount of white powder within.
He explained, "On the day the Princess met with misfortune, I had Eunuch Wang accompany me to the Ministry of Justice to gather some information. Your Majesty should recall this."
The Emperor nodded, "Indeed, I remember."
"When Eunuch Wang was questioned at the Ministry of Justice, his answers were watertight, so I didn't suspect anything at the time. Only after Eunuch Wang left, I noticed some white powder spilled on the seat he had occupied. I also remembered seeing some on his robes. The stablehand had mentioned that the horses had gone mad, possibly stimulated by something. Since Eunuch Wang was the one who selected the horses for the Princess, I kept a closer eye on things, collected this white powder, and ordered someone to have a physician examine it to identify it."
Gu Ziye paused. "This morning, the subordinate I assigned reported that this white powder was made from the fruit of the Lingxi Grass. Therefore, we can conclude that the one who plotted against the Princess was Wang Wan, Eunuch Wang!"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor was furious. He slammed his palm heavily on the table and glared at Wang Wan, "Wang Wan! How dare you plot against a Princess of this court! Do you have anything else to say!"
Wang Wan's face was ashen, his shoulders trembling as he lay on the ground. He wept, snot and tears streaming down his face, "Your Majesty, this servant is wronged! How could this servant harm Your Highness the Princess? This servant has no grievances or enmity with Her Highness the Princess, and it's not worth risking my life to harm her! I beg Your Majesty to investigate impartially!"
"Then how do you explain the powder made from Lingxi Grass fruit on your person? Could it be... that Lord Gu is framing you!"
"This, this..." Wang Wan was speechless. "This servant truly doesn't know how this powder got on me. This servant is truly wronged, I beg Your Majesty to investigate impartially..."
You Yue, listening from the side, was filled with anger. Forgetting propriety for a moment, she spoke out, "You are clearly still resentful because Her Highness the Princess punished your godson last time! Everyone in the palace knows you dote on your godson, Wang Yue, the most! You... you are truly detestable, to harm Her Highness the Princess's life because of this!"
Mentioning this, Wang Wan's panic intensified. He looked up and met the Emperor's icy gaze.
Wang Wan hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty! This... this servant absolutely does not harbor any resentment towards Her Highness the Princess. What happened last time was Wang Yue's just deserts. Although I have a father-son relationship with him after so many years, but..."
Before he could finish, the Emperor interrupted him, his voice filled with rage, "Enough! Wang Wan! Do you truly think I am blind! I could overlook some of your usual actions, but you dared to plot against a Princess of this court! I will show no leniency!"
"Your Majesty, this servant..." Sudan Novels Net
The Emperor's voice was chilling, "Guards! Wang Wan's crime of plotting against the Princess is conclusive! Drag him out immediately and execute him by Lingchi!"
Wang Wan's face turned ashen. "Your Majesty, this servant is truly wronged, this servant is innocent..."
The Emperor no longer wished to listen. Those beside him gestured for the soldiers to enter and drag Wang Wan out.
Wang Wan, being dragged away, cried out in vain. His angry gaze fixed on You Rong, and he cursed in a sharp voice, "You Rong! It was you! You must have framed me! Your Majesty... You Rong resents me, he is framing me, this servant is innocent..."
Wang Wan's voice grew fainter and fainter, until it could no longer be heard.
The Emperor flicked his sleeve, his face dark. "Facing death, you still dare to argue!"
On the day Lin Qinghe had her accident, let alone that You Rong had not gone near the horse Lin Qinghe rode, after her accident, he was the first to rush to her rescue.
Anyone with eyes could see from this that You Rong could not have been the one to harm Lin Qinghe.
Wang Wan, until his death, never knew that the one who truly framed him was none other than Lin Qinghe, who was now "critically ill" on the sickbed.
Having identified the perpetrator who harmed Lin Qinghe, the Emperor looked at the unconscious Lin Qinghe on the sickbed with self-reproach for a long time. He instructed Imperial Physician Zhang to treat Lin Qinghe with utmost care and then left, looking weary.
Everyone in the side room had withdrawn, leaving You Rong alone.
You Rong walked to the sickbed with heavy steps, took Lin Qinghe's slightly cool hand, his face alarmingly pale.
He said with difficulty, "Wang Wan was indeed framed, and the one who framed him was you, wasn't it?"
You Rong's words were a question, but his tone was affirmative.
He recalled Lin Qinghe's words when she was drunk, and her firm promise to him last time when Wang Yue had subjected him to torture.
"I will definitely get rid of Wang Wan for you!"
You Rong's heart was a mix of emotions, regret and self-blame, along with an indescribable sense of gratitude.
He gently caressed Lin Qinghe's cheek and said softly, "Your Highness the Princess, are you foolish? I am a thousand times unwilling, ten thousand times unwilling for you to harm yourself to help me. If anything were to happen to you... how would I live?"
Apart from his parents, You Rong had never encountered anyone who would go to such lengths for him.
But it was all his fault; if it weren't for him, why would she now be in critical condition...
You Rong held Lin Qinghe's hand tightly, his expression solemn, and said word by word, "Your Highness the Princess, as long as you wake up, from now on, whatever you say, I will listen. If you like riding horses, I will accompany you. If you want to go out and play, or do anything, I will accompany you..."
The next morning.
After Imperial Physician Zhang administered acupuncture to Lin Qinghe, he feigned checking her pulse and pretended to be surprised, "Your Majesty! Her Highness the Princess's pulse has stabilized. I believe Your Highness will wake up in a few days. With good care afterward, her body will surely be fine!"
The Emperor was overjoyed. He repeatedly said, "Excellent! Excellent! Guards! Reward Imperial Physician Zhang! I will generously reward Imperial Physician Zhang!"
Imperial Physician Zhang knelt down with a guilty conscience, "Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace!"
Aside from his guilt, Imperial Physician Zhang could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Heaven knew how anxious he had been these past few days, fearing that his conspiracy with the Princess would be exposed, at which point his crime of deceiving the Emperor would be unforgivable.
You Rong, too, felt his heart, which had been hanging high for the past three days, finally settle.
No one noticed as he gazed intently at Lin Qinghe, his heart filled with joy.
"It's great!
She's alright!"