Chapter 10: A Turn of Events

010 A Turn of Events

"Shut up! Who said Yue'er is a fool? How have I instructed you all in the past? Yue'er is not a fool; she is simply not clever enough. It is one thing for others to say such things, but you, as the eldest sister, actually dare to say this about your own sister!"

Prime Minister Murong roared in anger, his eyes filled with heartache. Yue'er's lack of intelligence was a perpetual pain in his heart. He couldn't control what others said, but for his own daughter to say such things—and in front of so many people—left him with no dignity.

"Father, daughter was wrong. Daughter will never dare to do it again! But, daughter truly did not give the Spring Palace Map to Second Sister. What Second Sister says is absolutely not true!" A flash of hatred flickered in Murong Xue's eyes. She was already a fool; why couldn't she speak! Father was simply too biased, always siding with that fool Murong Yue!

"If there is a next time, I will not forgive you! Everyone knows... Yue'er is... pure. Could someone like her fabricate lies to deceive me? If she had such schemes, would she take that Spring Palace Map into public view and ruin her own reputation? Will you still not tell the truth?"

It wasn't just Prime Minister Murong who thought this; even the Emperor and Consort De looked at Murong Xue with suspicion. Everyone knew that Murong Yue had low intelligence—to put it bluntly, she was a fool. And a fool is the least likely person to lie. Since she had said this, then Murong Xue was absolutely implicated!

"Father, I absolutely did not. Second Sister must have remembered incorrectly! Daughter swears, daughter absolutely did not!" It was clear that Shuang'er had given that map to Murong Yue; why would Murong Yue say she gave it? Could it be that Shuang'er had taught her to say that?

As Murong Xue thought of this, her beautiful eyes immediately darted toward Murong Shuang.

Seeing Murong Xue's gaze, Murong Shuang hurriedly and discreetly waved her hand at her, signaling that she had nothing to do with it.

Murong Shuang had not expected Murong Yue to say such words at this moment, but blaming Murong Xue was better than implicating herself. A fool was a fool; it must be that Murong Xue had bullied her so harshly in the past that she had uttered these words subconsciously.

What she needed to do now was to appease Murong Xue. If Murong Xue were to expose her at this moment, the good image she had built before her father over all these years would be destroyed.

Thinking of this, Murong Shuang turned to give her maid, Chunju, a meaningful look, and then pointed to Juan'er, who was standing beside her.

Chunju was a confidante who had been by Murong Shuang's side since childhood. Seeing this, she gave a slight nod to indicate she understood, then pulled Juan'er and quietly walked out.

"If she didn't, why wouldn't Yue'er blame someone else and only say it was you? Shuang'er was also there that day; why didn't she say it was Shuang'er!" Consort De already loathed Murong Xue to the extreme, whereas Shuang'er, though also the daughter of Concubine Chen, had never had rumors of bullying Yue'er.

"I didn't. What Second Sister says is false. I was with the Seventh Princess the entire day that day; how could I have had the chance to give the Spring Palace Map to Second Sister? If Consort De does not believe me, you can certainly go back and ask the Seventh Princess!" In her panic, Murong Xue finally remembered that the Seventh Princess could testify for her. The Seventh Princess was Consort De's daughter; surely Consort De could not distrust even her own daughter!

"Lan'er!" Consort De froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting that Murong Xue had become so close to her daughter. For a moment, she did not know whether she should believe Murong Yue or Murong Xue.