Hearing this, the Empress relaxed her brows and eyes, gesturing for the eunuch beside her to help Qi Yun up, “Don’t worry, if you have indeed fallen victim to someone’s plot this time, I will investigate thoroughly and clear your reputation.”

“Empress.” Wei Yunruo slowly came forward, “This servant fears there are still many twists and turns in this matter. It’s close to the court discussion hall, and since it involves a man’s reputation, why don’t we return to Chaoyun Hall to investigate slowly?”

“The Imperial Consort thinks thoroughly.” The Empress nodded slightly, and Wu Feng immediately supported Qi Yun and the unconscious Wei Yunruo to go to the side hall of Chaoyun Hall first.

She quietly looked at Yusong Pavilion, suddenly turning her head to smile at Wei Yunruo, “I wonder what the Imperial Consort thinks of tonight’s farce?”

“The Empress truly overestimates this servant.” Wei Yunruo lowered her eyes slightly, “This servant is merely wholeheartedly serving Her Majesty, just a slave serving Her Majesty. This matter still needs the Empress to decide.”

Side hall of Chaoyun Hall.

Unlike the bustle outside, Wei Yunruo, awakened by cold water, opened her eyes only to be dazzled by the bright lamplight.

She sat up in a daze, somewhat surprised to see Qi Yun kneeling beside her, not understanding why he would appear in “Lanxu Hall”.

“Young Master Qi?”

As soon as these three words fell, behind the screen, Wei Yunruo shook her head with some difficulty, “Empress, you heard it, these two indeed know each other.”

The prayer beads in her hand paused, and the Empress nodded indifferently, “This is not surprising, Yun’er also attended the spring outing poetry gathering earlier.”

She gestured for Wu Feng to bring Wei Yunruo and Qi Yun forward. The eunuch from earlier had already confessed, saying that Wei Yunruo had instructed him to send a message to Chaoyun Hall, inviting someone to Lanxu Hall for a poetry gathering.

But earlier this morning, it was also Qi Yun who personally asked for people to avoid the area around Lanxu Hall.

The Empress, having been in the palace for many years, only needed to think briefly to know that Qi Yun had probably been turned against with a single sentence. Originally, she was still going to arrange a marriage for Qi Yun with the Stern Prince’s household, but now she was in a difficult position.

The Empress carefully examined Wei Yunruo, who was kneeling below. She had heard of this person before. If her family background was clean, it wouldn’t be a problem to betroth Yun’er to her.

The fear was just…

She glanced sideways at Wei Yunruo, who was sitting quietly. Tonight’s act of catching them red-handed was indeed too smooth. Rather than saying they were framed, it would be more appropriate to use the term “collusion”.

She paused, just about to speak and casually brush off this matter. Outside the side hall, Feng, the maid serving in the imperial presence, came with an oral edict: “By Her Majesty’s oral command, the matter at Yusong Pavilion is young people’s mutual affection, the Empress need not be harsh. Female talent and male beauty, a match made in heaven. They are specially allowed to form a union of two families.”

The crowd kneeling to receive the edict were all stunned. After Feng left, Wei Yunruo seemed to come to her senses, “Empress, please forgive me. This servant didn’t expect this matter would alarm Her Majesty. But you know, this servant is now five months pregnant, and Her Majesty has instructed those slaves serving this servant to report everything, no matter how trivial.”

She wiped her tears very remorsefully. The Empress didn’t get angry but smiled, unusually gently ordering someone to help up the weak and pitiful Wei Yunruo, “How can this be your fault? It was originally Her Majesty’s grace. Looking at it this way, their union seems to be fated by heaven, not at all up to human will.”

“Wu Feng, Wei Yunruo has been laboring all night, quickly go invite the imperial physician.” She waved her hand to send people to escort Wei Yunruo and Wei Yunruo out.

In the side hall with its fluctuating light and shadows, only she and Qi Yun remained.

“Empress.” With no one else around, Qi Yun finally dared to express the grievances pent up in his heart. He pitifully hugged the Empress’s arm, “Please save your nephew, I don’t want to marry Wei Yunruo.”

“Empress, tonight must be that Wei Yunruo’s trick. She’s always been seductive, Empress, you can’t keep indulging her misdeeds—”

“Outrageous! Shut your mouth!” The wide brocade sleeve was angrily thrown, drawing a sharp curved line. The Empress looked hatefully at the useless Qi Yun, “You still have the nerve to speak! Let me ask you, why on earth did you involve the Meng family again?”

Qi Yun choked, he had originally wanted to kill two birds with one stone.

First, to have intimate relations with Li Ruantang in Yusong Pavilion, then lead people to Lanxu Hall to discover Meng Jun and Wei Yunruo meeting privately.

This way, he could naturally demand Li Ruantang take responsibility, and also let her see Meng Jun’s impropriety.

Although Li Ruantang had always been indifferent towards Meng Jun, the two had after all been through life and death together, so he had to guard against it.

The only miscalculation was that the Duke of Qing also came to the palace banquet today. This drunkard pestered Li Ruantang for quite a while drinking, which delayed things for quite some time.

The Empress coldly listened to him finish, feeling only a headache at her brow, pitying that her nephew still hadn’t seen clearly who was really setting up this scheme.

Now that Her Majesty had personally issued an oral edict, this marriage was set in stone.

“Empress, is there really no room for change?” Qi Yun still didn’t give up, crying heartbrokenly.

After all, they were blood relatives. The Empress sighed softly, “Yun’er, Wei Yunruo is far from being as simple as she appears. Have you thought about why Wei Yunruo, who should have been in Lanxu Hall, appeared in Yusong Pavilion?”

“The only possibility is that she was led astray!” Qi Yun lowered his eyes hatefully.

“Silly Yun’er, even if she was led astray, let me ask you, why didn’t you notice something was amiss when you were in Yusong Pavilion?”

“This…”

Qi Yun was stunned, suddenly realizing something. At today’s court banquet in the discussion hall, Wei Yunruo’s rank wasn’t high enough to attend. Moreover, it wasn’t her day to be on duty. Yet she wore official clothes, similar in color to Li Ruantang’s noble lady’s ceremonial dress. That’s why he didn’t recognize her immediately. By the time he turned around the screen and realized it was the wrong person, the door of Yusong Pavilion had already been locked from the outside.

“But she clearly came to propose marriage to Meng Jun,” Qi Yun couldn’t understand and looked at the Empress in confusion.

“For the ambitious, it doesn’t matter whom they marry. What matters are the interests behind the husband. Now—” The Empress sighed heavily but didn’t continue.