Chapter 1511: The Only Overlooked Link—Bai Zhi’er

Lan Xiu is honest by nature, how could she agree?

Yanhong cried and said to the Xiu Luo Envoy: "Not only did Lan Xiu disagree, she also advised me to confess my mistake to the Emperor."

However, the Emperor cares so much about the female officers, if this gets out, wouldn’t it be seeking one’s own death!

Yanhong knew Lan Xiu was very principled, so she pretended to agree verbally, claiming that she would definitely go to confess to the Emperor the next day during the day.

Lan Xiu believed it to be true.

The next day, Yanhong, as Chief Aunt, assigned Lan Xiu a heap of tasks to purchase items outside the palace, so much so that when Lan Xiu returned, it was already dusk, and the palace gates were about to be locked.

And Yanhong had long discussed with her lover—the Commander of the Imperial Guard, to have a fellow villager in the Imperial Guard let her pass at that time.

They calculated that Qingmei would leave the palace and return home at that time, and upon discovering Lan Xiu ignoring palace rules, given her personality, Qingmei would certainly say a few words to Lan Xiu.

So, the truth of the matter was that Qingmei gently reprimanded her, hoping that Lan Xiu would not do this again next time to avoid leaving people with handles to blame.

Lan Xiu nodded obligingly, and the two parted ways afterwards.

The so-called intense quarrel never actually happened.

Later, Yanhong used an excuse to trick Lan Xiu into the left hall of the Imperial Affairs Bureau in the evening, under the pretense of returning sewing items. Yanhong took advantage of Lan Xiu’s inattentiveness and knocked her out from behind, then stabbed her neck with a hairpin, causing her death.

Yanhong cried and complained to the Xiu Luo Envoy: "I had no choice but to kill her, she forced me to confess to the Emperor, leaving me no way to live!"

After killing Lan Xiu, Yanhong entrusted her lover, the head of the Imperial Guards, who, in the dead of night and with his skill, hid the South Sea White Pearl in Cai Ying’s room.

Originally, they thought that once the pearl was discovered, Cai Ying would be unable to clear her name, and Qingmei would surely blame herself for it.

But they overlooked Bai Zhi’er.

Who would have thought, upon discovering the pearl in Ruizhu Palace, the Princess was immediately alarmed!

Not only was the Princess alarmed, even the usually composed Marquis Wan took immediate action!

Moreover, right in front of the Emperor, they indulged in a brawl between the Xiuluo Guard and the Imperial Guard!

This was simply unprecedented.

The most outrageous part was that Yanhong did not expect the Emperor to actually acquiesce!

So she vaguely felt that something was wrong, and wanted to climb the wall to escape, but was discovered by Bai Zhi’er.

After everything was explained, she was filled with regret and yearned for the Emperor to give her another chance to make amends. She was willing to cut her own flesh to beg for the Princess’s forgiveness.

However, Bai Zhi’er was unwilling to give her this chance.

"Her heart is venomous; she caused the innocent Lan Xiu to lose her life for nothing, and even tried to frame Sister Qingmei and Cai Ying. Such a crime cannot be forgiven and she should be executed immediately to serve as a warning to others!"

Bai Zhi’er seldom issued a death order; this was the first time.

Bai Xilie strongly supported his daughter’s decision, immediately drafted an edict, and Historian Wang wrote a detailed document, announcing the incident to the world, causing the people to curse Yanhong as truly despicable!

Thus, Yanhong and the head of the Imperial Guards, the two originally thought that Yanhong, as a maidservant to the Princess, could control the harem, while he, as the head of the Imperial Guards, would gradually replace the importance of the Xiuluo Guard.

Afterwards, they would both be one step below the Emperor and hold important power.

But their dream was shattered halfway through.

In the end, although the head of the Imperial Guards did not kill, he was involved and attempted to slander the Princess, and was sentenced to be executed for multiple crimes.

Qingmei and Cai Ying were exonerated, and Lan Xiu could rest in peace in the afterlife.

It is said that Guoguo was late returning from a mission that day, and upon hearing about the battle between the Xiu Luo Envoy and the Imperial Guard, he quickly grabbed a broom to go help.

But Liu Jiru pressed him down and said: "It’s already over, if you go now, you can only sweep the floor for the Princess."