Chapter 78

Li Zhefei, enduring the pain, picked up the brush again, wrote a letter, folded it, and placed it in an envelope, then handed it to Caiyun.

"Please help me deliver this letter to the Pepper Room Palace. The Empress is my aunt, she will definitely help me."

"Sure."

Caiyun clutched the letter and hurriedly left the Golden Wind Hall.

Li Zhefei's family background was not as good as Bai Zhefei's. The reason she was established as the Crown Prince's concubine was because of her kinship with Empress Qin.

It was precisely because of the Empress as her backing that she dared to confront Bai Zhefei.

Now, Li Zhefei had suffered a series of setbacks and was deeply despised by the Crown Prince. She had no other choice but to seek help from Empress Qin, hoping that the Empress would lend her a hand out of familial ties.

Although Empress Qin was not the birth mother of the Crown Prince, she had personally raised him. The Crown Prince's current status and position were all due to Empress Qin.

Li Zhefei thought that if Empress Qin could intercede on her behalf, the Crown Prince would certainly forgive her.

Caiyun delivered the letter to the Pepper Room Palace.

Zhenzhu unfolded the letter and carefully placed it in front of Empress Qin.

Empress Qin scanned the content of the letter.

Li Zhefei was not a particularly talented woman, and her handwriting was not particularly beautiful.

In the letter, she said that she had recently offended the Crown Prince by accident, causing him to become annoyed with her and punish her by making her copy the Lotus Sutra one hundred times. She felt extremely wronged, hiding in her room and crying every day, feeling that life was unbearable, and earnestly begged her aunt, the Empress, to help her.

Empress Qin's expression did not change, and she said calmly, "Bring the person who delivered the letter in."

Luo Qinghan was raised by her, and she knew his character. He was not the type to nitpick with women. If Li Zhefei had not provoked him, he would not have punished her.

As for Li Zhefei's tearful plea in the letter, Empress Qin did not believe a single word of it.

All the women in the palace were skilled at lying and exaggerating their hardships; no one could fool anyone else.

Zhenzhu left to carry out the order.

Not long after, Zhenzhu returned, accompanied by Caiyun.

Caiyun did not dare to look directly at Empress Qin. As soon as she entered, she knelt down, her forehead touching the ground.

"Your servant pays respects to the Empress."

Empress Qin: "Speak. What did Li Zhefei do to anger the Crown Prince?"

Caiyun stammered, "Li Zhefei didn't really do anything. It's just that the Crown Prince was in a bad mood, so..."

Empress Qin interrupted her, "I don't want to hear these lies. If you can't answer honestly, I will find someone else to answer. There are so many people in the Golden Wind Hall; it shouldn't be difficult to get the truth. As for you, deceiving the Empress is a capital offense."

Caiyun was so frightened that her whole body trembled, and her heart almost stopped.

She was just a lowly palace maid, and the Empress could have her executed with just a word.

She dared not hide anything further and stammered out the entire story.

After listening, Empress Qin sneered, "Li Zhefei's audacity is growing. She actually dared to collude with Ningfei?"

Caiyun, trembling, tried to defend herself, "Li Zhefei did not collude with Ningfei. They just happened to meet in the Imperial Garden, and it was only that one time. They don't usually interact."

"Meeting just once was enough to be used as a pawn. Li Zhefei's brain must be a mere decoration. Since it's just a decoration, it can be removed without any harm."

Caiyun was terrified, hurriedly kowtowing and pleading, "Please, Empress, show mercy!"

...