Chapter 53: Lady Ying Enters the Cold Palace

Helian Qi glanced at the witchcraft dolls and asked Noble Consort Shu, “What’s going on?”

Noble Consort Shu pointed to a palace maid kneeling on the ground, “Tell the Emperor everything you saw in detail.”

“Your Majesty, please be aware, this servant is Hongxing, a palace maid in Haitang Residence. Lady Ying’s bed is never allowed to be approached by us, it’s always her personal maid, Qiu Kui, who tidies it. This morning, while sweeping the floor, this servant accidentally slipped and fell on the bed, and that’s when I discovered this pair of witchcraft dolls… This servant wouldn’t dare to hide it, I immediately reported it to Noble Consort Shu…” the palace maid Hongxing reported, bowing her head.

“Slander! You’re slandering me!” Wei Yingya trembled with anger, glaring at the palace maid.

Helian Qi said impassively, “Summon Wu Mi from the Department of Punishment.”

Soon, Wu Mi, the eunuch in charge of the Department of Punishment, hurried over and carefully examined the witchcraft dolls…

After a while, he reported, “Your Majesty, these dolls seem to have been made recently. The fabric used to make the witchcraft dolls is tribute pear blossom brocade. The silver needles are ordinary, but the cinnabar characters, according to a comparison with Lady Ying’s poetry… are exactly the same.”

As these words fell.

Wei Yingya was completely dumbfounded, “Impossible, it wasn’t me!”

“If this concubine remembers correctly, Your Majesty recently rewarded Lady Ying with pear blossom brocade. It’s a unique favor in the entire palace, no one else has received it.” Noble Consort Shu looked at Wei Yingya, her face filled with grief and indignation, “Your Majesty has treated you so well, how could you do such a thing, repaying kindness with vengeance?”

The palace maid Hongxing immediately said, “This servant was on night duty, and I heard Lady Ying complaining about the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. She said that if the Emperor hadn’t sent Duke Wei Yong to war, and if the Xue family’s army nearby hadn’t arrived in time to rescue them, her father wouldn’t have died…”

“You’re so foolish! How could you have such a foolish thought!” Noble Consort Shu looked shocked.

Wei Yingya was speechless, her eyes filled with tears, “Your Majesty, I didn’t say those words. I’m innocent, I’m really innocent…”

Helian Qi’s gaze lingered on the witchcraft dolls for a moment, then he looked at her, “Then how do you explain this pair of witchcraft dolls appearing on your bed?”

“This… it’s her, it must be her framing me!” Wei Yingya pointed at Hongxing angrily.

Hongxing hurriedly kowtowed, “Your Majesty, please investigate, this servant can barely read, but I definitely can’t write such beautiful characters…”

Noble Consort Shu continued, “And the tribute brocade is in your treasury, how could an outsider get it? Did you reward this palace maid? Where did she get the fabric?”

“This…” Wei Yingya was speechless.

She hadn’t rewarded this palace maid with pear blossom brocade, the key to her treasury was kept by her personal maid, Qiu Kui, outsiders shouldn’t be able to get it…

Wei Yingya didn’t know how to defend herself, she could only look at Helian Qi expectantly, “This concubine is innocent! Please believe this concubine, Your Majesty!”

Helian Qi liked her very much, he would definitely find evidence to prove her innocence…

“Wei cursed me and the Empress Dowager, she should be put to death. Considering her father and brother’s sacrifice for the country, she will be stripped of her title and rank and sent to the Cold Palace.” Helian Qi said coldly.

“Your Majesty… this concubine is innocent…” Wei Yingya widened her eyes in disbelief.

But Helian Qi didn’t pay any attention to her, he just held Ning Wanyin’s hand and walked out, ignoring the matter.

“See Your Majesty off.” Noble Consort Shu bowed respectfully.

Wei Yingya watched helplessly as the Emperor’s…

The imperial sedan chair disappeared from sight.

She didn’t like the Emperor, but she thought he had grown fond of her…

It turned out…

She was just imagining things.

“Bring someone to send Wei to the Cold Palace.” Noble Consort Shu ordered, then continued, “Wei’s personal maid, Qiu Kui, knew about it but didn’t report it, execute her with a hundred lashes. The other palace maids in Haitang Residence were negligent, each will be punished with twenty lashes. Hongxing reported it with merit, promote her to first-class palace maid, reward her with one hundred taels of silver.”

“Please spare me… Mistress, save me…” Qiu Kui cried, frantically begging Wei Yingya for help.

But Wei Yingya was in a difficult position herself…

…

The once glamorous and favored Lady Ying was sent to the Cold Palace.

The Wei family sent a new daughter to the palace, the Emperor granted her the title of Beauty Wei, and she lived in Haitang Residence.

“Mistress, the winds of change in the palace are so swift. That Lady Ying, how favored she was before, now she’s… You have to be careful too.” Lianrui said worriedly.

Ning Wanyin was silent for a moment, then said, “She has such talent, but she can’t see the situation clearly, it’s a bit unexpected.”

Some of Wei Yingya’s poems and lyrics showed that she was a person with a lot of thought and vision.

Ning Wanyin thought that she was so flattering the Emperor because she had chosen to side with him.

It turned out that she was flattering the Emperor while also sending gifts to the Xue and Cen families.

She was on good terms with all three, which meant she was on good terms with none.

Naturally, no one would protect her.

Being someone else’s knife and being used is not an easy job, but in the game of chess, the first to be eliminated are those who have no value.

As for the Emperor’s affection for her…

Whether it was poetry, music, or food, these were all unimportant “pleasures.”

Without these “pleasures,” the Emperor would have other amusements.

She didn’t have any interests that the Emperor couldn’t live without, and she couldn’t be used by the Emperor, the Emperor spared her life, probably because he had figured out that it was a trap, and out of consideration for her past “fun,” he showed a little mercy.

Pleasures can add to the enjoyment, but to survive in the palace, just knowing these is far from enough.

Ning Wanyin didn’t say much, she looked at Lianrui and said, “The Emperor summoned me to Qianxin Palace tomorrow to serve him with writing, you should rest early.”

Lianrui accepted the order.

The lights were extinguished in Lingsxue Pavilion.

But the Cold Palace was brightly lit.

Wei Yingya was lying on the ground, her body was disheveled, a beautiful woman in palace attire stepped on her fingers and crushed them hard, “I heard that my cousin has a pair of skillful hands, she can write poetry and make snacks, she’s very favored by the Emperor…”

“Ah…” Wei Yingya cried out in pain.

“I didn’t know you had these skills to seduce men when we were at home.” Wei Ying Shu looked down at her, a sneer on her lips.

“My… my hands…” Wei Yingya’s hands were bleeding, her fingers were connected to her heart, the pain made her tears fall.

Wei Ying Shu snorted, “You’re crying already? Hongxing, take good care of your former mistress.”

Hongxing stepped forward and took out a shiny silver needle, stabbing it into Wei Yingya’s body.

“Help… what are you doing… I’ll do whatever you say, please spare me…” Wei Yingya, a normal college student, couldn’t withstand this torture.

If Wei Ying Shu had asked a few more questions, she would have confessed that she was a time traveler.

Wei Ying Shu glanced at her disdainfully, “You’re such a weakling, I haven’t had enough fun yet. Tell me, do you have any new food recipes or poems?”

Wei Yingya instantly realized that Wei Ying Shu wanted to use her things to vie for favor!

A glimmer of hope immediately rose in her heart.

Her snacks were unique, the Emperor would definitely recognize them as hers.

Then the Emperor would know that Wei Ying Shu came to the Cold Palace to interrogate her, she was stealing her things to vie for favor!

Then the Emperor would see her miserable state and feel pity…

“I’ll write you a food recipe, the Emperor will definitely like it! Egg tarts! I’ll teach you how to make egg tarts!” Wei Yingya quickly said.

A quarter of an hour later.

Wei Ying Shu left with the new food recipe, satisfied.

But she didn’t let Wei Yingya go, she still had Hongxing “take good care” of Wei Yingya, and continued to make her write more things.