Chapter 43 Denial
Ye Qiongying didn't really want to get close to them. In her eyes, both the emperor and Leng Qianqian represented trouble.
But since the emperor had already said so, she naturally couldn't just stand there motionless, so she took a small step forward and then looked up at the purse that the emperor was talking about.
As soon as Ye Qiongying saw that thing, her heart skipped a beat.
Since she was little, she liked to follow her brothers and learn martial arts, but she was not very interested in the embroidery skills required by women.
Her parents didn't restrict her in this regard.
Dad lifted the tiny girl onto his shoulders and said with a smile:
"My daughter, you will be a female general in the future! If any man dares to ask our General Ye to embroider at home, then that man should not marry. Daddy will support you for the rest of your life!"
My mother smiled helplessly but didn't say anything against it.
The brothers patted their chests and promised that they would take good care of their sister.
The voices and smiles of the old people are still preserved in my mind, but they have already...
Ye Qiongying withdrew her attention, lowered her eyes, and answered in a steady tone:
"Your Majesty, I don't know."
Since she was not good at embroidery, she naturally asked the embroiderers and maids to make items like purses. She did not have high requirements for these things and instead thought that the simpler the pattern, the better.
The purse with a small flower on it in the emperor's palm looked so familiar to her. It was clearly embroidered by Wen Ping.
It was also the purse she brought with her to the banquet at the Minister of Rites' residence that day.
She couldn't find it at that time, and she had a spare one on her. The style of the purse was too ordinary and it didn't have any of her personal characteristics. She was not afraid that others would recognize it as hers, so Ye Qiongying was not in a hurry and just pretended it didn't exist.
But I didn't expect that this thing would appear in the palm of the emperor's hand!
She didn't know what the emperor meant, nor did she know how the purse came into his hands, but she didn't want to get involved in trouble, so her first reaction was to deny it.
It was completely opposite to Leng Qianqian's answer.
Leng Qianqian was also surprised and couldn't help but secretly glance at Ye Qiongying.
Isn’t this purse Ye Qiongying’s?
How does she feel...
Could it be that the smell of this incense is actually very common among these noble families?
Looking at Ye Qiongying's calm and composed expression, Leng Qianqian thought she had guessed wrong before.
After all, being able to have a relationship with the emperor should be the opportunity that Ye Qiongying, who has just divorced and returned home, desperately needs. If the purse really belongs to Ye Qiongying, how could she refuse?
Leng Qianqian's back relaxed a little.
That's good.
If it wasn't Ye Qiongying's, she wouldn't have to worry about the other party exposing her lies here.
Maybe... I can still successfully conceal it.
A purse is a daughter's personal property, and unless under special circumstances, the emperor would generally not be alone with other officials and their wives, so naturally he had no chance to inquire about them one by one.
Therefore, as long as she persevered, the purse would be hers, and the emperor would have no evidence to prove that she was lying, so the crime of deceiving the emperor would naturally not exist.
Just when Leng Qianqian thought the emperor would ask her again, she heard the emperor toss the purse in his hand up and catch it again, and still asked Ye Qiongying:
"Are you sure? Don't want to take another look? I remember what Miss Ye said before about the consequences of deceiving the emperor. Miss Ye herself wouldn't have forgotten it, right?"
"No, the crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by beheading," Ye Qiongying still insisted on her answer, "This purse is really common and has no special features. It is hard for me to identify who it belongs to. Your Majesty, are you trying to find the owner of the purse? This... maybe it would be more convenient to ask a professional embroiderer. I have never been very good at embroidery since I was a child."
She was not worried about what the embroiderer might say.
Wen Ping was her personal maid. She grew up in the Ye family and rarely did embroidery work.
The purse that Ye Qiongying carried with her was also embroidered by several embroiderers and many maids in the mansion, with no fixed craftsmanship or style.
She was not worried that the emperor would find out anything through this.
It really isn’t Ye Qiongying’s!
Leng Qianqian felt relieved and had already thought about how she should answer when the emperor asked her again.
Unexpectedly, the emperor, who had been asking questions about the ownership of the purse just now, seemed to suddenly lose interest in the purse after hearing Ye Qiongying's answer. He put the thing away and said in a calm voice:
"In that case, the two of you should go back to Taihe Palace first."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ye Qiongying knelt slightly and bowed, then turned and left.
Leng Qianqian was a little reluctant.
But she didn't dare to continue to pester him, so she could only get up reluctantly.
However, after kneeling here for quite some time in such hot weather, she felt a little dizzy when she stood up. Her body swayed and she was about to fall forward.
Originally Leng Qianqian was only dizzy for a moment, but she soon came to her senses and it was not difficult for her to stand up straight.
but……
She quickly allowed her body to fall forward.
But he didn't dare to pour directly on the emperor, as that would be too obvious.
However, in this situation, the other party might be willing to lend a hand? Or ask Liang Dehai next to him to help.
No matter what, she can leave a weak impression in the other person's heart.
And when they pass by each other, the fragrance of their bodies can be passed on, creating a sense of ambiguity between men and women.
Leng Qianqian was well versed in these little tricks, and she had used them to charm the Marquis Yin Xu and made him willing to break up the cooperation with the Ye family for her. Naturally, she was full of confidence at this time and planned to use them on the Emperor.
So what if he is a tyrant? Isn’t he also a man?
The previous methods were basically used on the court or servants, and there had never been a case of targeting the officials' families.
So, if the plan succeeds, she will gain a lot, and if it fails, there will be no danger.
Unexpectedly, not only did the emperor not offer a hand to help her, but even the chief eunuch beside her had no intention of stepping forward. He just watched her fall forward.
Worried that she would fall face down and get her face disfigured, Leng Qianqian, who had just been pretending to be weak, had to temporarily turn her body, luckily avoiding her face when she fell.
But this time she fell quite hard, and her carefully imitated red skirt was worn into two holes by the ground, and she was completely embarrassed.
The emperor slowly pinched the string on his purse and said:
"Liang Dehai, it seems like it's been a long time since anyone dared to side with me. What was the fate of the last person who did that?"
Liang Dehai took the whisk and stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, the maid smeared medicine on her body and approached you on purpose. After she fell over, I kicked her away. Then her bones were pulled out, her legs were broken, and she was sent out of the palace."
"Yes," the emperor nodded, "If the bones in her legs can't stand, then they are useless. I was kind enough to help her get rid of the waste, but it was a good deed. Now, someone else has the same disease? Liang Dehai, I'll leave this matter to you, just follow the last one."