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Chapter 27
Thinking she could defeat her on her own turf with beauty?
Sorry, but the moment she shows her face, all the concubines in the palace would have to kneel and call her father.
When it comes to killing with beauty, if she claims second place, no one dares to claim first.
Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Xinyue appeared, the Xuanwu Emperor's gaze was glued to her, unable to hide the amazement in his eyes.
Everyone couldn't help but sigh: Emperor, is he really just treating Zhen Fangyi as a substitute for the young Concubine Li?
Consort De, Consort Liang, Consort Rong, and Noble Consort Rong, who entered the palace around the same time as Concubine Li, had all seen the beauty of Concubine Li in her youth.
To be honest, they really couldn't lie and say that Zhen Fangyi wasn't as beautiful as Concubine Li.
This girl was only fifteen years old, and she already possessed the peak beauty of Concubine Li in her twenties. If given another five years, wouldn't she be even more unparalleled in beauty than Concubine Li was back then?
Clearly, her beauty surpassed that of Concubine Li. It's just that she was still young, and her features hadn't fully developed, which is why everyone thought she was a substitute for Concubine Li.
Wait and see, her glory and favor will surpass that of Concubine Li.
With the Emperor present, Consort Jiang and others, no matter how dissatisfied, didn't dare to vent their feelings openly. They could only roll their eyes in secret.
Jiang Xinyue had Xi Que call all the eunuchs and maids who served in the Hexi Palace. They lined up in front of Little Ai Jiang's body: "Speak up! Who took advantage of my absence at the Yikun Palace to pay respects to the Empress, and lured Little Ai Jiang out of the palace with a meat bone?"
The scene fell silent...
Shuang Jiang, with a cold face, said, "Do I need to check the Imperial Kitchen to see who took the meat bone?"
With so many eyes, so many masters, and even the Emperor and Empress present, the few servants under scrutiny, even those who hadn't done anything wrong, were trembling. Not to mention the one who had.
"Thud--"
A little eunuch who did rough chores knelt on the ground, shivering, and kowtowed heavily: "Master, spare me... Master, spare me... It... it was me... I fed Little Ai Jiang the meat bone, but I swear I didn't harm Ai Jiang. Please, master, see the truth!"
"Ai Jiang's food has always been my responsibility, along with Shuang Jiang's. Why did you feed it? And that bone was found outside the door. Do you still dare to argue? Who instructed you? The Emperor and Empress are here. The crime of deceiving the Emperor can lead to the extermination of nine generations of your family. Think carefully before you speak."
For a dog, exterminate nine generations of a family?
The Emperor raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xinyue, who shifted her gaze away guiltily, not daring to meet his eyes.
What's wrong?
Like master, like servant. What's wrong with scaring the eunuch a little?
The little eunuch didn't seem like a seasoned wrongdoer, otherwise, he wouldn't have left such important evidence as the meat bone at the entrance of the Hexi Palace.
In the cold autumn, a layer of cold sweat had soaked his back. His wet clothes clung to his back, and the cold wind blew, chilling to the bone.
The little eunuch was on the verge of fainting, but the usually kind Zhen Fangyi was looking at him with a pair of cold eyes, showing no intention of letting him off.
With red eyes and trembling fingers, he pointed at... Consort Jiang.
All eyes turned to Consort Jiang, who was wearing a gloating smile that she hadn't had time to hide. Her smile froze on her face, and then she said angrily, "Zhen Fangyi, what do you mean by this?"
Jiang Xinyue ignored her and continued to stare at the little eunuch, "Didn't you hear Consort Jiang's question? What do you mean by pointing at her?"
The little eunuch closed his eyes, his body shivering, "It was Consort Jiang... Consort Jiang threatened me to lure Little Ai Jiang out. I really didn't know that Consort Jiang would kill Little Ai Jiang."
Doing these things behind the scenes, it's fine if you're not discovered, but once you're found out, everyone will despise her for her ruthless heart.
It was just a defenseless little dog, was there a need for such a cruel method?
How dark and twisted must her mind be?
"You're talking nonsense!"
Consort Jiang's eyes were wide open, "I... I didn't kill it."
"So, you admit that you had him lure the dog out?"
"It was me, but I..." In her extreme anger, Consort Jiang quickly admitted to what she had done, but quickly clarified for herself, kneeling at the feet of the Xuanwu Emperor, "But Your Majesty, I just wanted the dog to disappear for a while, to make Zhen Fangyi anxious. I really didn't kill it."
"But during the time it disappeared, it died. Whether or not it was Consort Jiang who killed it, it died because of you."
As soon as Jiang Xinyue's words fell, Consort Liang chimed in, "That's well said. You can't just shirk responsibility by saying you didn't kill it. If you hadn't lured it out, would it have died if it had stayed in the Hexi Palace?"
The Xuanwu Emperor pulled back his dragon robe and kicked Consort Jiang to the ground, "Consort Jiang is cruel and unfit to be a consort. Demote her to the rank of commoner, move her to the Xihuo Palace, and confine her for three months."
In an instant, she went from being a third-rank consort to a commoner. Now she was on the same level as Jiang Xinyue's Zhen Fangyi.
No!
Jiang Xinyue still had the title of "Zhen", but Consort Jiang did not. Strictly speaking, she was not as noble as Jiang Xinyue.
"I remember that the Xihuo Palace is where Zhen Fangyi used to live. Didn't someone die there?"
"Who says it isn't? The Emperor has plenty of ways to get back at her for Zhen Fangyi."
All because of a dog, ten years of hard work went down the drain.
As long as Zhen Fangyi is favored, Consort Jiang will never have her day. It's really not worth it.
Today, the Emperor overturned Consort De's card, and the Hexi Palace returned to calm.
Xi Que felt suffocated, "After all, human life is precious. Our Ai Jiang suffered so much, but Consort Jiang only got demoted. It's really unfair."
"It's already good enough."
Jiang Xinyue sneered, "In this harem, there's nothing more important than rank. By demoting Consort Jiang, it's like taking half her life."
"Did Consort Jiang really kill Little Ai Jiang?"
Shuang Jiang filled a cup of tea for her mistress, "I looked at her, and she seemed to have been wronged."
Jiang Xinyue believed that it was not her who killed Ai Jiang.
She must have taken Ai Jiang to a remote place, not wanting them to find her. Thinking that a dog would always find its way, and if the palace maids discovered her, they would return her to the Hexi Palace, she just abandoned Ai Jiang without a second thought.
But she never expected that someone would take advantage of the situation and set up a trap.
Indeed, her malicious act of taking Ai Jiang away led to Ai Jiang's brutal murder, and the emperor's punishment for her was well-deserved.
Although someone else killed Ai Jiang, Jiang Xinyue has no plans to tell Xi Que and Shuang Jiang, lest they feel like they have a fishbone stuck in their throats; hard to swallow.
The one who did the evil deed and successfully blamed others will not stop at one wrongdoing. Sooner or later, she will trip herself up.