"Yun Zhu, is what the Princess Consort said true?"
Consort Dowager Fang's voice trembled slightly.
Yun Zhu had been by her side for so many years.
To her, Yun Zhu was not only a savior but also like a daughter she raised, someone she spent her days with. She truly couldn't believe Yun Zhu was that kind of person.
Yun Zhu finally raised her head, her gaze falling on Wang Qingyao.
Her eyes were filled with sorrow and despair, as if she had been wronged.
"Princess Consort, I know you dislike me and hold a grudge. I'll accept any scolding or beating you give me, but how can you accuse me like this?"
"Princess Consort, do you have no heart? Five years ago, to save you, I rushed into the fire without regard for my own life and carried you out. I still have a large burn scar on my back. Because of that fire, I can't go near flames now! Yet you claim it was all my design!"
"Princess Consort, by saying such things, you're trying to force me to my death. If you can't stand me, just order someone to beat me to death. Why frame and slander me like this?"
"Don't you lose sleep at night saying such things?"
Yun Zhu's accusations were tearful. She stood tall, her demeanor resolute, as if she would dash herself against a pillar to prove her innocence if Wang Qingyao said another word.
Consort Dowager Fang was easily swayed. Seeing Yun Zhu like this, her earlier certainty wavered.
Perhaps there was a misunderstanding.
"Princess Consort," Consort Dowager Fang hesitated for a moment, "do you have any proof?"
Wang Qingyao smiled faintly. "Since I said it, I naturally have proof." She looked towards the door. "Pearl, bring him in."
Pearl acknowledged with a "Yes" and soon returned with a young monk, about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The young monk clasped his hands together and paid his respects to the three mistresses of the Ding'an Prince's mansion.
"Who is this master?" asked the Old Consort Dowager.
"He is a monk from Ganruo Temple. He witnessed the entire fire incident five years ago," Wang Qingyao said calmly.
Yun Zhu's body began to tremble uncontrollably again.
The young monk recounted that five years ago, he had personally seen Yun Zhu set the fire. After the fire started, Yun Zhu pretended to rescue Consort Dowager Fang and carried her out. He was young then and dared not rush in to help, but he loudly alerted others in the temple. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished later, and no lives were lost.
He had told the abbot about the incident, but the abbot, preferring to avoid trouble, dismissed it as an accident and told him not to spread rumors.
It wasn't until Xiao Yun came to investigate the matter and questioned him that he revealed the truth.
In reality, the young monk's account was vague, and closer questioning revealed many inconsistencies.
He was, of course, not a witness but a fabricated witness found by Xiao Yun.
However, Yun Zhu, guilty and fearful, became uncontrollably nervous upon hearing the young monk's words.
"Yun Zhu," Consort Dowager Fang's voice was hoarse from repeated disappointment, "did you really start that fire?"
Yun Zhu lowered her head, her shoulders shaking.
"Hahaha!" She suddenly burst into laughter, her pitiable expression vanishing. "So what if I did?"
As she spoke, she stood up and looked at Consort Dowager Fang. "You're unharmed, aren't you? Didn't I save you? Why are you still dwelling on it?"
Consort Dowager Fang looked shocked, clutching her chest, unable to process it.
"You... you... weren't you afraid of burning someone to death?"
"No, I calculated it. Consort Dowager, you didn't die, did you? I was forced into it. My brother and sister-in-law were forcing me to marry an old man as a second wife. I'm so young and beautiful, how could I bury myself with an old man?"
"Consort Dowager, you suffered no loss. You just lent me your presence, and it saved me from a dire situation. This is a good deed. Don't you recite Buddhist scriptures daily? I was helping you!"
Consort Dowager Fang never imagined that Yun Zhu, after committing such a grave offense, could shamelessly twist the facts and distort right from wrong.
"I truly misjudged you!" Consort Dowager Fang glared at her coldly.
Yun Zhu stood tall and proud, like a stubborn peacock.
The truth was clear, and she had no need to speak further.
Wang Qingyao thought to herself: As expected, someone guilty will confess when cornered.
"Mother," Consort Dowager Fang turned to the Old Consort Dowager, "how should she be punished?"
The Old Consort Dowager replied, "She is your person, you decide. I have no objections."
"Then I shall sentence you to twenty heavy planks and banishment from the Ding'an Prince's mansion, never to be employed again," Consort Dowager Fang declared after a moment of deliberation.
Yun Zhu's face turned pale, and her body swayed precariously.
Twenty heavy planks were no joke; it could cost a life.
"Consort Dowager, you are so heartless!" Yun Zhu shouted at her. "I served you for so many years. Even if I have no merit, I have worked hard. Don't you recall any past affection?"
Consort Dowager Fang no longer wished to deal with her and rose to leave the main hall.
Strong female servants brought out planks and a bench. Although Yun Zhu was a maid, she had lived a life of luxury in recent years, like a young lady from a wealthy family. She could not possibly endure twenty planks. She immediately tried to escape but was quickly grabbed by a sharp-eyed servant, twisted, and forced onto the bench.
The Old Consort Dowager, being elderly, could not bear to witness such a scene. She was helped back to the main house behind the main hall.
Wang Qingyao, being pregnant, naturally could not stand violent scenes either.
She followed the Old Consort Dowager, but after a few steps, she turned back and smiled faintly at Yun Zhu, saying, "I forgot to tell you, that young monk didn't actually see anything."
Yun Zhu froze, then her eyes widened with hatred.
"Wang Qingyao!"