The Command to Pamper the Husband - Chapter 142

She certainly wouldn’t continue to leave. But before Noble Consort De could turn back, the Emperor’s furious voice rang out, “Take Princess Li Yang away. Noble Consort De, you stay.”

Noble Consort De trembled violently, her eyes full of terror and reluctance. She glanced at Princess Li Yang before turning back.

Unexpectedly, Princess Li Yang didn’t cry out this time and obediently allowed herself to be taken away.

Noble Consort De returned to the hall and walked to Song Jin’s side. She glanced at Song Jin, raising her eyebrows slightly. “Your Highness claims I have an incense box? What if I don’t? Will Your Highness apologize to me?”

Then, Noble Consort De bowed to the Emperor and Empress Dowager. “Your Majesty, Your Highness, I am innocent and have a clear conscience.”

Her demeanor now was completely different from the panic and resolve she had shown outside the hall.

The Emperor’s face remained stern. “Search her!”

Immediately, palace maids stepped forward to search her.

After a thorough search, they reported, “Your Majesty, there is no incense box on the consort.”

Noble Consort De turned to Song Jin. “What does Your Highness have to say now?”

The Emperor angrily slammed the table. “Insolent child! Not only did you burn my Imperial Study, but now you’re spreading lies in the hall. How dare you! Guards!”

Song Jin… Does this wretched Emperor only know how to vent his anger on me?

Song Jin raised her chin. “Father Emperor, how can you accuse me of spreading lies? Did I make up the scent on Minister Liu?”

At this moment, Song Jin’s tone was somewhat aggressive.

The Empress Dowager watched her, seeing more and more of her deceased daughter-in-law in her demeanor. Whenever she had been wronged, she had shown the same spirit!

The Empress Dowager clutched her silk handkerchief tightly. She didn’t know why, but facing Shen Yue, she felt an intense longing for her eldest daughter-in-law. The more she looked at Shen Yue, the more she saw the shadow of her daughter-in-law.

The Emperor was clearly infuriated by Song Jin’s attitude. “Insolent!”

Song Jin kept her face calm. “I am only telling the truth. Minister Liu is lying, and you won’t investigate him. I am framed, and you immediately assume I am guilty. Why? Because of my fate? Have you considered that my fate was calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau? If Minister Liu lied about the fire in the Imperial Study, could my fate have been falsified too?”

She paused and then continued, “If I can prove that Minister Liu falsified the prediction of the fire, will you investigate my fate calculation thoroughly?”

The Emperor had never seen Shen Yue like this. To him, Shen Yue had always been a timid quail, but now he was like a mad dog barking everywhere.

The Emperor didn’t want to see Shen Yue at all. “Take him away!”

If the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was guilty, he would investigate. But this son, who had done nothing, just stood in the courtyard of the Imperial Study, and it caught fire. Such a big fire… If it wasn’t caused by this son’s fate, could it have been deliberate arson? Who would dare commit such an act?

The Emperor was confident that no one would dare set the fire deliberately. So, it must be Shen Yue’s fate.

As soon as the Emperor gave the order, guards stepped forward to apprehend Song Jin. Song Jin sniffed and looked at Noble Consort De. She was certain that there was something wrong with Noble Consort De. The heavy scent of Goldleaf Flower incense had been noticeable earlier. Such a strong scent wouldn’t be present unless someone carried the incense itself.

Moreover, the scent was mixed with a strong smell of gold. It wasn’t just the gold dust used in the incense. Imperial incense boxes were made of gold. She concluded that Noble Consort De carried an incense box because she wore no gold accessories; even her hairpins were jade.

Now, the scent wasn’t as strong. Earlier, when she held Princess Li Yang… she must have hidden the incense box with the child!

If so, finding the incense box in Noble Consort De’s palace wouldn’t help. But why would Noble Consort De bring an incense box to the banquet? The only explanation was that she had received it recently or had picked it up.

These thoughts flashed through Song Jin’s mind. In a moment, two armed guards entered the hall and approached her. Song Jin’s heart pounded.

She could use her powers to kill the Emperor with an eighty percent chance of success. But she would die too. If she didn’t kill the Emperor, would she be captured?

Wait…

Song Jin sniffed again and looked at Noble Consort De. The scent wasn’t as strong, but the smell of gold remained. When Noble Consort De left earlier, she wore a jade bracelet, and her hairpins weren’t gold. The incense box was gone, but the smell of gold persisted. Who carries a lump of gold to a banquet?

The Crown Prince, who had been about to speak for Song Jin, saw her sniff again. Following the plot of a storybook, the heroine should have discovered something at this point.

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly.

Just as the two guards were about to reach her, Song Jin suddenly reached for Noble Consort De. Grabbing the wide sleeve of her palace dress, Song Jin yanked it hard. Noble Consort De, unable to react in time, let out a scream, followed by a clattering sound.

Everyone looked down. Song Jin slowly picked up the item from the ground.

It was a gold box.

Bringing such a heavy gold box to a palace banquet was unusual. Song Jin held up the box, and Noble Consort De’s face turned ashen as she instinctively reached out to grab it.

Unfortunately for her, Song Jin, with her strong build, easily kept the box out of reach.

The two guards hesitated, unsure whether to immediately apprehend her.

Song Jin quickly opened the gold box. “We didn’t find an incense box on the consort, but I believe this will interest you more, Father Emperor.”

With that, she turned the open box towards the Emperor. Everyone in the hall could see its contents clearly.

The inside of the lid was intricately carved with an erotic scene. Inside the box was a lock of a woman’s hair and a jade pendant.

Song Jin looked mockingly at the Emperor. “This hair might belong to Noble Consort De, but could the jade pendant belong to you, Father Emperor?”

The Emperor’s face turned black as coal. He wanted nothing more than to immediately flay this son alive. But to his surprise, Minister Liu didn’t seem panicked.

If the jade pendant wasn’t Minister Liu’s, then…

Then these items might not belong to Noble Consort De either.

The Emperor didn’t know why he thought this way, but the thought calmed his anger a bit.

“Take this scourge away!” the Emperor ordered, his face still dark with rage.