Chapter 192: "Oh No, A Crime Worthy of Beheading"
Victims of the Ghost Tongue needle attack are forced to "tell" whatever truth was in their heart, meaning Hong Yu Ying had no way to control her mouth.
This second needle may appear weaker than the original "Seven Step Fall" from its initial impression, but in reality, sometimes words are the most powerful weapon.
"What is going on here!" Just as the two bitches were going at it with full force, Consort Luo, her son, and Hong Yu Long arrives at the scene.
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Among the three newcomers, Ling Yue had met the consort and her step brother before, but not the crown prince. This would be her first meeting with Xia Hou Hong.
Unlike the outstanding appearance of the sixth prince, the crown prince was simply too inferior in terms of looks. Slightly sinister like his mother in the eyes, the lips are thin and the face lacked benevolence needed in a kind ruler.
If Ling Yue had to choose, she would definitely choose Feng Shen over this Xia Hou Hong.
Why? The reason's nothing special, just the fact that the boy had the physiognomy of a heartless man.
No wonder the guy can scheme against his own brother, a savage wolf in and out. I must be careful when dealing with this person. Then again, it's hard to believe the guy is interested in that sort of shameful hobby. Argg, just thinking of it is sickening.
Churning down to her guts, she wanted so much to puke at this moment. Sadly, the timing and location won't allow it. No other choice, Ling Yue can only force a smile and keep up her respectful demeanor.
Like her, this was also the first time Crown Prince Xia Hou Hong met with Ling Yue. Originally his mind was dead set on the girl being a rude and impudent lass from the rural countryside - much thanks to the exaggeration of his friend next to him - but in person, he found the rumors not true. In fact, the girl was very exquisite and lovely.
"Why are you in the royal garden?" Consort Luo questions her with a glance, unkind in her words.
Since the day of her maid perishing under revolting circumstances, a tumor has taken hold underneath her skin in which she can't shirk off. As a result, her impression of the girl involved went sour immediately.
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"In response to your grace's question, I am here to meet her highness the dowager and not for the flower gazing party. Its just that when I was passing through, Miss Hong and Miss Nangong here stopped me..." There's no way Ling Yue can't see through to the woman's contempt. Not fussing over it, she mindfully brings out the token from the dowager and explained the whole incident.
After getting the ins and outs of the story, Consort Luo only had one word in her head: Useless!
Prior to this, she did have an optimistic opinion of these two girls, but now, it's all destroyed in this whole mess.
"It's just some water, no one got hurt so I'm assuming you wouldn't mind it right?" Consort Luo downplays the seriousness of it all with that simple sentence.
"I'm fine, but the flower that I brought along today isn't so well. It's inside the pond now." Invoking her Yuan energy, the heat of the force soon dried off any dampness left on Ling Yue's dress.
Following that gaze, the crowd's focus was then turned towards the pond where a bunch of flower petals were floating on the water.
"It's just a flower, what's the big fuss about. There's tens of thousands here in the royal garden. You can pick one to replace the one you lost." Consort Luo waves it off like nothing.
"If it's a common flower then it is nothing, but that pot is handed to me by her highness the dowager. The reason for my entry today is to return the peony. Now that its ruined, I wonder what sort of punishment her highness will hand down... Hey Feng Xue, do you know the penalty for ruining the dowager's favorite peony flower?" She asks Feng Xue with a hypocritical depressed face.
"Oh no, if it's a royal item then the penalty is a serious one. The lightest being forceful enrollment in the army, and the heaviest losing one's head." Clever and smooth, Feng Xue catches the eye signal from Ling Yue and started to scare the girls with their frightening words.
As for Consort Luo, her face didn't look so well either.
How did this get caught up with the dowager all of a sudden?
Now that it's come to this, things are out of Consort Luo's hand. No other choice, she can only report this up to the old queen and have her decide the fate of everyone involved.
"Your highness, I truly didn't know the peony flower belonged to you. It's Nangong Qinglin, she pushed us into the water!" As soon as they were in the presence of the old queen, Hong Yu Ying was the first to beg for mercy.
"Your highness mustn't be misled by their words, I didn't push them at all. Also, it's Hong Yu Ying who motioned me to push Lan Ying Yue into the pond." Not to be outdone, Nangong Qinglin swings the story around in her favor.
"Silence!" The old queen's harsh scolding scared the daylights out of them both.
What a hopeless bunch. It's come to this and they are still blaming each other.
"Queen Mother, it's but a pot of peony, no need to be so angry. There's plenty in my personal garden. I will have my maids send them over for your choosing." Coming in at the right moment, Consort Luo attempts to sooth the tension as the peacemaker.
"Is that so? From what I hear, a simple broken cup in your place is enough to warrant twenty rods. Now that my favorite peony is gone, you want to stall my grief with a basin of broken flowers?" Enraged now, the dowager completely lost her cool and removed any kindness from her eyes.
Now it was Consort Luo's turn to be stumped for she never seen the old queen act this way. Its unavoidable since only Ling Yue here knew the significant meaning behind that flower.
To the old queen, that pot of peony didn't just represent a flower, it represents the sixth prince and his wellbeing.
If the peony's gone, then wouldn't that mean the end of her favorite grandson?
"Royal grandmother..." Crown Prince Xia Hou Hong wanted to say more but was stopped by her mother. Together, they kneeled before the old queen instead.
"Hong Yu Ying, Nangong Qinglin, both of you are daughters of influential figures in the court, yet you would act so embarrassingly and squabble in the garden. Do you have no shame? Especially you Nangong Qinglin. Did I not confine you to your home for three months, why did you enter the palace today? Now, how should I punish you two..." With blood rushing to her head, the old queen's fury left no room for others to butt in.
"Mercy your highness," both girls were ramming their heads against the floor, pleading mercilessly for forgiveness.
As individuals who are accustomed to being reckless and unruly inside their home, since when have either of these girls been forced to suffer like so?
"Your highness, yes, Yu Ying made a foolish mistake this time, but based on her good demeanor in the past, please have mercy. My father will definitely lecture my sister properly from now on." Finding it's the right timing step in, Hong Yu Long chimes in to plead for his sister.
Not responding, the old queen was obviously still fuming over the matter. However, the boy's word did remind the dowager of something important.
Hong Yu Ying was the daughter of a powerful noble house while Nangong Qinglin was the daughter of General Goldsword, if she punished either of them now it might cause issues in the future.