Transmigrated Female Official

196 The Meaning of Life

The night the news spread that the Sixth Princess had suddenly returned to the palace ahead of schedule, many people with guilty consciences were unable to sleep and were restless.

In particular, the Fifth Prince, Ji Qili, was not accompanied on the trip to the Yuezhi Kingdom, yet he was escorted back to the palace in a prison cart. This sensational event immediately plunged the entire palace into endless speculation and discussion…

The next morning, Chu Qingluo arrived outside the Qingming Hall before dawn. She had also not slept a wink all night, but Gongsun Ruyi arrived even earlier than her.

Yesterday, members of the Chu family and the Sixth Princess visited Gongsun Ruyi's residence to inform her of the tragic news that Gongsun Yu had fallen into the river.

"Lord Gongsun..." Chu Qingluo no longer knew how to face Gongsun Ruyi; only endless heartache and shame overwhelmed her. "I'm sorry..."

Faced with Chu Qingluo's deep kneeling ceremony, Gongsun Ruyi was first stunned, then reached out to help her up, saying, "Yu'er sacrificed herself for the greater good, she truly deserves to be my good son, Gongsun Ruyi."

Although Gongsun Ruyi's words were very righteous and awe-inspiring, Chu Qingluo still saw a mother's heartbreak in her red and swollen eyes.

Separation by death is absolutely the most unbearable pain in life!

"Lord Chu, we absolutely cannot let Yu'er sacrifice in vain!" Gongsun Ruyi said, her eyes, which were misty with tears, were full of determination.

Chu Qingluo assured her, "This is the meaning of my life!"

……

Inside the Qingming Hall, everyone was present except for the Eighth Princess, who was about to give birth.

Not long after the Sixth Princess and her entourage departed for the Yuezhi Kingdom, the Fourth Princess had already given birth to a phoenix heir as she had wished. Right now, she was standing in the palace, pretending to be indifferent.

The prince was imprisoned in a prison cart and escorted back to the palace. This was no small matter, so the first thing the Empress did when she went to court was to ask the Sixth Princess what exactly happened.

The Sixth Princess said, "Your Majesty, An Yang is fortunate to stand in this palace today, which is truly due to the protection of the Heavenly Goddess."

The Empress, knowing that they had been attacked within the territory of the Yuezhi Kingdom, hurriedly said, "This visit to the Yuezhi Kingdom has been extremely dangerous; you have truly suffered."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Sixth Princess did not stand on ceremony and said truthfully, "Anyang was just about to report to Your Majesty that on our way back, our group was attacked twice, and both times it was done by different people."

"Twice?" The Empress's eyes widened as she asked, "Who dares to be so audacious?!"

The Empress's voice was so majestic and high-pitched that the Fourth Princess involuntarily shrank back a little.

The Sixth Princess replied, "Everyone here is probably more concerned about Fifth Brother's imprisonment, so An Yang will first talk about the attack on Nanyu City..."

The Sixth Princess recounted the ambush she encountered outside Nanyu City in an orderly and detailed manner, including the incidents of Gongsun Yu falling into the river and Chu Qingluo being injured.

Many people witnessed this event. In addition to Chu Qingluo, Ji Qiran, and Zhi Jun, a group of imprisoned assassins also confessed that they were acting on the orders of the Fifth Prince.

Therefore, no matter how much Ji Qili denies it, he is definitely not free from the connection.

After hearing everyone's testimonies, the Empress ordered Ji Qili to be brought into the palace. She was furious at this act and demanded sharply, "Fifth Prince, as the elder brother, why did you plot against your own sister and brother?! And why did you use such vicious methods?!"

Knowing that things had come to this point and he could no longer clear his name, Ji Qili said, "Your Majesty, I was only blinded by evil spirits because of my resentment."

"What deep grudge do you harbor that would drive you to harm them?" the Empress questioned.

Ji Qili glanced at the parties involved and said calmly, “First, I have a grudge against Lord Chu. My heart is with her, but the water is heartless and has trampled my heart. Second, I have a grudge against my seventh brother. He is excellent in everything, but he stole my love and framed me, forcing me to submit to Li Yan’s tutelage. Third, I have a grudge against my sixth sister. She is arrogant and lawless.”

His speech was fluent and without any pauses, as if this were the whole truth, and the reason he wanted to assassinate them.

"What did you say?!" the Empress roared. "Utter nonsense!"

At this moment, the others in the hall also began to whisper among themselves.

Regarding the alleged entanglement, there might be some clues, as the Empress did indeed intend to bestow the Fifth Prince upon Chu Qingluo. However, the claim that the Sixth Princess was arrogant and lawless is pure fabrication. Everyone in the palace knows that the Sixth Princess is the most low-key and reserved of the three princesses, and has never caused any trouble.

"Your Majesty," Chu Qingluo said, "Even if I had politely declined the Fifth Prince's favor of becoming his disciple, thus offending him, that cannot justify his murder of so many innocent lives! Therefore, I believe there must be a much larger conspiracy behind this!"

The Empress narrowed her phoenix eyes, staring at Ji Qili, about to ask a question, but he beat her to it.

“Lord Chu, my feelings for you are indeed born of love turned to hatred. And hatred does indeed have the power to drive people mad.”

Chu Qinglu glared at him, her eyes like two fireballs, wishing she could devour him alive on the spot!

"Fifth Brother, I think you've really gone mad! Where did this talk of stealing someone's love and framing someone come from?" Ji Qiran interjected.

Few people knew that he had saved Chu Qingluo from Ji Qili, let alone that he had deliberately arranged for Ji Qili to share a bed with Li Yan.

"Whether it was a setup or not, you know best in your heart." Ji Qili was just making conversation for the sake of it, and continued, "You know my feelings for Lord Chu, yet you still disregard brotherly affection and pester her. Isn't that stealing someone else's love?"

Ji Qiran couldn't help but chuckle coldly. "Fifth Brother, if we must trace back, my relationship with Lord Chu predates yours by a long shot."

Upon hearing this, some people below began to whisper among themselves, saying that so this was the kind of relationship between Chu Qingluo and Ji Qiran...

Chu Qingluo frowned as she listened to them veer off-topic and said, "Fifth Prince, don't even think about trying to pin this on me! You're deliberately changing the subject to distract His Majesty and hide your most insidious purpose!" After saying that, she turned to the Empress and said bluntly, "Your Majesty, I suspect that the Fifth Prince is acting under someone else's orders. What he just said is nothing more than a smokescreen to confuse the public."

She, Chu Qingluo, will never take the blame for this!

The Empress found it all ridiculous and asked bluntly, "Fifth Prince, quickly confess honestly, were you instigated by someone?"

Ji Qili had a good relationship with the Eighth Princess, which made the Empress think that the Eighth Princess, who was not present, was the culprit.