Chapter 699: 448: You Dare to Lay a Hand on the Emperor's Woman?_2

Chapter 699: Chapter 448: You Dare to Lay a Hand on the Emperor’s Woman?_2

“Is this what you call evidence, merely absurd talk?” Noble Consort Yang sneered.

Chen Yuan smiled and was not annoyed, continuing:

“The evidence that day was not this. Chen merely wanted Noble Consort to know approximately what it was about; as for the real facts, would Your Highness care to listen?”

“Just say what you have to say.”

“Very well.” Chen Yuan nodded his head and began to recount:

“That day, the Fourth Prince…”

“You!”

“Your Highness, please do not be anxious, let me finish.”

“After the Fourth Prince had finished copying the Buddhist scripture that day, he secretly met with Consort Shu in the attic where they were intimately close. Consort Shu told the Fourth Prince that she was pregnant,

the Fourth Prince panicked and wanted Consort Shu to have an abortion, but Consort Shu was unwilling and wanted to find another way to have the child. However, the Fourth Prince, fearing the impact on his future, accidentally pushed Consort Shu, which caused a piece to break off the railing.

However, Consort Shu did not fall but was caught by the Fourth Prince. In order to prevent suspicion and to completely eliminate the problem, the Fourth Prince decided to kill, using the Divine Soul Secret Method to murder Noble Consort, and he also blinded the senses of two maids below, then pushed Consort Shu down. However, in his panic, the Fourth Prince indeed missed many details; he should have disguised his actions first. Unfortunately, at that critical moment, he only thought about killing and not covering it up.”

“Is this the story you made up?”

Noble Consort Yang scoffed, showing no hint of panic.

“Indeed, this is just a story I made up carelessly,” he said.

He was not a God; he could not fully reconstruct the events, but approximations were sufficient.

“However, it is already very close to the truth. What the Fourth Prince did not know was that he was suspected by me precisely because he inadvertently carried a hint of the scent of Dragon Fragrance Ink.

“There was still a residual scent on Consort Xiang, and… even though it had been specially treated, I detected it,

and learned from others that this Dragon Fragrance Ink is provided only for the Emperor and his princes, and recently, only the Fourth Prince had been tasked to copy Buddhist scripture.”

“On just this basis, you dare to accuse the serving prince? Do you also intend to deceive me? This Dragon Fragrance Ink is commonly used in the palace; it could also be that someone wants to use it to falsely implicate the prince in disgraceful deeds. You, Demon Sword Chen Yuan, have you not considered this possibility?” Noble Consort Yang’s tone was somewhat mocking.

“Of course, I have considered this point, but what I mentioned is just the first doubt, and besides, it has been more than a year since Consort Shu began her illicit affairs,

and the records by the maids of Consort Shu admiring the moon on the tower are when she secretly met someone. Just look into the times the Fourth Prince entered the palace and compare them, and we can naturally find out something,” Chen Yuan said with a smile.

Noble Consort Yang’s face darkened because of his words.

Chen Yuan continued, “That is the second point, and there is also the third; in Consort Shu’s belly was a dead fetus, which, if extracted for a blood fusion with the Fourth Prince, could also serve as evidence.”

“With all these clues pointing to the Fourth Prince, isn’t that enough to illustrate something?”

Noble Consort Yang’s gaze flickered.

Chen Yuan slowly stepped forward, lowering his voice:

“Actually, Your Highness also knows about this, don’t you? Just that you learned of it later, let me think… was it perhaps right when you accidentally came upon the Fourth Prince and Consort Shu’s secret meeting?”

This inference was deduced by Chen Yuan observing the changing expressions on Noble Consort Yang’s face.

Upon hearing this, a flash of shock indeed passed through the eyes of Noble Consort Yang. Clearly, Chen Yuan was right—she had indeed only found out that night that this scoundrel dared to collude with the concubines.

It was also right after she caught them in the act that she instructed Sima Ke to find a way to kill Consort Shu. As for the child in her womb, she truly did not know at that time.

When the Fourth Prince killed Consort Shu, he also hadn’t thought through his escape plan, too panicked. To truly clear his own suspicion, he would have had to frame someone else.

He didn’t manage it, so Chen Yuan could easily guess it was him.

“I do not know what you are talking about!” Noble Consort Yang spoke after a long silence.

“At this point, there’s no need to pretend anymore in front of me, Your Highness. Otherwise, it is not beneficial for our communication,” Chen Yuan said with a smile, approaching Noble Consort Yang again and softly speaking:

“Your Highness, you wouldn’t want the Emperor to find out about this, would you?”

He was very close, his breath on her earlobe, as if a hand gently caressing her, causing Noble Consort Yang to startle as she lowered her voice and said:

“Chen Yuan, what are you trying to do?”

“I simply wish to make a deal with Your Highness. If you don’t want to disclose this matter to the Emperor, I can help you.”

“You would be so kind-hearted?”

“Heh.”

“I understand now. You also know that such a scandal can’t be revealed, otherwise, you would not only lack merit but might also be punished. You’re a wise man; you wouldn’t anger the Emperor,” Noble Consort Yang easily rationalized.

“What Your Highness says makes sense, and indeed, this is a point that makes me hesitate. However… who knows the specifics, if this matter is reported only to the Emperor himself, it seems… no harm,” Chen Yuan replied.

Of course, this was just a bluff.