Chapter 166: A Surefire Deal

The sudden turn of events made everyone's heart skip a beat. Before they could even react, they watched as that palace maid found herself completely surrounded.

Some wanted to tentatively stand up, but as the flash of a sharp blade came rushing toward them, they instantly shrank their necks back, not daring to act rashly again.

"Your Majesty, are you alright? Let me bandage that for you!" Hua Rong swallowed hard and hurriedly pulled out a clean white handkerchief from her robes, embroidered with a blooming lotus flower, and pressed it directly against his wound.

Fresh blood instantly dyed the handkerchief red, rendering it utterly useless and leaving her somewhat at a loss. "Why won't the blood stop?"

"Alright, aren't the imperial physicians right here? How is it that your mind is suddenly acting a bit slow?" Faced with the woman's nervous and flustered appearance, Jun Yeli actually felt a lingering sense of enjoyment.

The faint pain radiating from the wound had almost entirely vanished. With his other, clean hand, he could not resist gently brushing aside a smudge of red on her forehead.

A streak of blood trickled down from between her brows, adding an indescribable allure and enchantment to her features.

Jun Yeli was momentarily entranced. Prompted by this, Hua Rong suddenly had a flash of realization.

Before he could even speak, an imperial physician had already rushed over to quickly treat Jun Yeli's wound.

"Your Majesty, would you like to return to rest? Can this matter be dealt with later?" Jun Chenyan looked at Jun Yeli with a hint of playfulness.

Though his words sounded pleasant enough, wasn't every single syllable dripping with mockery? Listening to it was genuinely grating.

Jun Yeli did not waste words with him. Fixing his gaze upon the struggling palace maid, he directly issued an order: "Strip off her outer garment and see if there is any mark on the back of her neck."

A soldier crudely yanked open the back of the maid's collar, revealing a black lotus mark stamped upon her skin—indeed a shocking sight.

"It really is someone from the Lotus Cult!"

Seeing this, Hua Rong could not help but feel a flicker of astonishment. She had found this maid vaguely familiar before, but she never imagined the girl was an assassin belonging to the heretical cult.

Moreover, this palace maid's ultimate target had been her own life!

Stepping forward a couple of paces and looking at the maid's indignant expression, Hua Rong could not suppress her own curiosity and inner turmoil. "What deep grievance have I ever held against you? Why must you kill me, or rather, who sent you to kill me?"

She was certain she had never crossed paths with this woman; murder by someone else's hand was far more likely.

After all, wasn't this Lotus Cult simply a bunch of mercenaries who took money to do dirty work?

Yet, facing this interrogation, the maid suddenly let out a cold laugh, unceremoniously spitting in her direction. "We have our professional principles. Since we've been caught, I'm ready for whatever execution you choose—be it death or dismemberment. Why bother with idle chatter that only irritates people!"

Good grief, the woman was practically staring death in the face and yet remained this arrogant. Her courage was commendable, but this stubborn attitude was profoundly displeasing.

"Enough, no need to waste words on her. You surely won't pry anything useful from her mouth anyway." Jun Yeli kept his hands clasped behind his back, paying no further mind to the maid, and instead shifted his gaze onto Jun Chenyan.

Compared to this long-concealed palace maid, the person who had exposed her seemed infinitely more suspicious.

"Why don't you explain how you discovered something was amiss with her? And where did you acquire that token?"

This sequence of questions was also on everyone else's minds. Having paid little attention to it before, now that the thought had been planted, it naturally warranted deeper scrutiny.

At these words, Jun Chenyan twirled the token in his hand and let out a light laugh. "Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject has always trusted Consort Rong's innocence, so I investigated in secret. Only then did I discover that the previous token was a fake, while the genuine one is right here in this maid's possession. Her purpose was to frame Consort Rong and borrow a knife to kill her. If you don't believe me, Your Majesty can check for yourself."

These words were nothing short of an insult. Could Jun Yeli really fail to tell the difference between the genuine article and a fake when it was something he had bestowed himself?

Nevertheless, to verify what the man had claimed, he reached to his waist and retrieved the token. Yet, upon taking a closer look, his brow furrowed involuntarily—it truly was a counterfeit!

"Strange, the one I held originally had no issues whatsoever. Why did it suddenly change?"

Given that the matter concerned Hua Rong, how could Jun Yeli not have anticipated the possibility of a frame-up? That was why he had deliberately inspected it thoroughly, confirming there were no issues before planning his next move.

Yet now, the original genuine item had transformed into a fake. It was truly baffling.

He cast a careful, lingering glance at Jun Chenyan, observing his bright, steady gaze and calm, unruffled demeanor, which made him utterly inscrutable.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if you have verified it by now? Was there perhaps a mistake made earlier?"

Seemingly intent on striking a blow to his pride, Jun Chenyan pressed his advantage, leaving Jun Yeli somewhat cornered. With a flick of his wrist, Jun Yeli tossed the token aside. "At the time, I acted in the heat of the moment and was negligent in this matter. This time, I certainly owe you thanks!"

Despite harboring lingering doubts, since this now served to prove Hua Rong's innocence, Jun Yeli had no further arguments left. Resolving the immediate situation was paramount.

Taking a slight breath, he clasped his hands behind his back, dropping the issue of the token, and let his cold gaze fall upon the palace maid. "Drag her down to the celestial prison and interrogate her thoroughly. No matter what methods it takes, find out who is masterminding this from the shadows!"

This person behind the scenes had plotted against them more than once or twice. If this threat wasn't eradicated soon, he feared he wouldn't even be able to sleep in peace.

Once the maid was dragged away, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, especially the envoys. The looks they cast toward Jun Chenyan carried an extra measure of gratitude—silent interactions that Jun Yeli took in without a word, his expression entirely unreadable.

"Now that the truth of the matter has come to light, it can be considered an explanation for you all. Do my lords still have any objections?"

There was a heavy tone of calling them to account in those words. The envoys who had previously insisted with absolute certainty that Hua Rong was the culprit suddenly looked rather awkward.

They nodded symbolically, plastered on professional, fake smiles, and hurriedly offered their apologies. "We are truly sorry! Earlier, we were simply too impulsive and thus wronged Consort Rong. We beg Your Majesty and the Consort to forgive us!"

"That will depend on what Consort Rong thinks. After all, the suffering she has endured these past few days cannot simply be resolved with a couple of apologetic words."

Jun Yeli kept his hands behind his back, his words carrying a pointed implication.

Hua Rong quickly caught the cue, raising her sleeve to her eyes and making a great show of wiping away tears. "It is simply too much! First I was driven into the tower and almost burned to death—wasn't that all thanks to you lords? If there isn't some form of compensation, I'm afraid this matter cannot simply be let go."

As those soft, weeping sobs echoed, the grown men were left utterly helpless. In a panic, they hastily chimed in, "Empress—ah, Consort, as an apology, and honoring our previous promise to Your Majesty, we are willing to cede a city to you. Please, I beg you to let this matter rest..."