Chapter 38

Tang Kexin knew for a fact that if Ye Lanjue wanted to kill her, Ye Lanchen definitely wouldn't be able to stop him. She too was well aware that her fighting capacity wasn't matched with Ye Lanjue. However, she wouldn't just sit still and wait for her death. It wasn't her style at all. Even in the most desperate of situations, she would still fight to the bitter end.

When she turned around to leave, Ye Lanjue didn't do anything nor said anything to stop her. Not that she wanted him to stop her but she was anticipating for him to stop her.

Although this surprised her, Tang Kexin didn't stop and continue to walk forward. No matter what, it was better for her to leave the palace as soon as possible.

Tang Kexin had already walked a long distance. Seeing that Ye Lanjue really didn't chase after her, she let out a sigh of relief. And now that she was relaxed, she discovered that her palms were drenched in cold sweat.

That kind of storm was truly terrifying.

When Tang Kexin arrived into the rock garden, she thought that she had walked a considerable distance already so she slowed down.

She rewinded what had taken place earlier. If Ye Lanjue was the man from that night, he had a justifiable reason to kill her. But he let go of her that easily? Did that mean that the man from the night wasn't the Third Prince?

"Ah, ah, killing, killing!" However, right at this moment, a sharp voice suddenly sounded from not too far away.

Tang Kexin's brows twitched as she looked in the direction of the voice. She saw a palace maid looking in her direction with a face full of fear.

Tang Kexin's pupils dilated. Then, she saw a person lying not too far away from her on the side of the rock garden.

She was too preoccupied just now about Ye Lanjue's matter that she actually hadn't noticed that there was a person lying on the side of the rock mountain. No, it was more accurate to say it was a corpse.

But as she examined the area, she found that even though she wasn't distracted, she wouldn't be able to spot the corpse easily. If it wasn't for the palace maid's sudden shout, she might not have noticed it at all and walked over.

The palace maid's voice was very high-pitched, and very loud. Very soon, the nearby palace maids and guards surrounded the area.

"She… she killed...she killed him...!" The palace maid, who had been screaming just now, suddenly pointed at Tang Kexin and stutteringly shouted.

"Isn't that Juhua?" Someone recognized the corpse on the ground and asked with a slightly trembling voice.

"Why did you kill Juhua?"

"Which palace are you from? What's your name?"

"Why do you want to kill Juhua?" A guard walked forward and looked at Tang Kexin. His voice carried a hint of viciousness.

In the past, Tang Kexin was a fool who would often cause trouble. That was why the empress had only allowed her to stay in her Palace when she visit. In addition, due to her stupidity then, she did not attend much of the banquets.

Thus, apart from a few concubines who had seen Tang Kexin and knew her personally, most of the palace maids and attendees did not recognise her.

Also, this place was rather far from Kuan'An Palace, and the guards here had never seen Tang Kexin before.

Tang Kexin's eyes darkened.

Was this an accident? Was it a coincidence? Or was it a conspiracy?

Perhaps somebody had arranged all this? The summoning of the empress out of the blue; and the incident with the Third Prince along the way. If they hadn't met Ye Lanjue on their way to the palace's entrance, Ye Lanchen would still be with her. So, this current situation wouldn't have happened.

Tang Kexin's eyes slowly narrowed.

Tang Kexin's eyes looked at the corpse on the ground. With just a single glance, she was certain that this person had just died.

From the dead person's clothing, it was certain that she was a palace maid. She was injured on the forehead, and blood was still flowing out of the wound. On the side of the body, there was a bloody stone.

It seemed that this matter was not simple at all.

"Why are you not talking? You think you can keep quiet? Someone come, drag her away…" Seeing that Tang Kexin had no plan of talking, the guard's expression became even more vicious.

"What's going on? What happened?" At this moment, a gentle and pleasant voice was suddenly heard.

"Xin'er, why are you here? Didn't I ask Chen'er to send you back home?" Soon after, the empress' voice rang out, sounding a little surprised.

When the empress saw Tang Kexin, she naturally hurried over. Along with the empress who suddenly came after the call-out were the emperor, imperial consort Ming, and even the crown prince.

Seeing the sudden appearance of this group of people, Tang Kexin laughed coldly in her heart. From the looks of it, it really was a trap, and it was not just some small trap.

Someone who could set up this huge, elaborated act openly was most likely not simple.

"This...?" The empress' face paled as she saw the corpse on the floor.

"What's going on?" The emperor's expression clearly darkened as he saw the situation.

"Reporting to the Emperor, this servant just passed by the rock mountain and saw her use a stone to smash Juhua, killing her." The palace maid pointed at Tang Kexin once more and gave a very fluent reply. At this moment, she was saying that she had personally witnessed Tang Kexin smashed the maid with her own eyes.

Tang Kexin laughed coldly in her heart. It seemed like this palace maid had not been mistaken of her identity. It was precisely because she knew who she was that she had acted in such a manner.

"What are you talking about?" The empress was usually very calm, but when she heard the palace maid's words, she was outraged.

"That's right, what nonsense are you spouting? Miss Tang is the daughter of the Prime Minister and the Empress' niece. How can you frame Miss Tang?" Imperial Consort Ming's voice was very gentle and pleasant to the ears. It sounded like Tang Kexin was free from her crimes, but in reality, it carried a deeper meaning.

At this moment, she was obviously trying to make Tang Kexin's identity known.

The empress's expression changed visibly.

"Reporting to Imperial Consort... this servant is not framing Miss Tang, because this servant saw it with her own eyes." The palace maid insisted with determination and answered fluently, not stuttering at all.

In this sort of situation, an ending was certain. An eyewitness confirming her guilt with no one else to refute it? This situation, even without Tang Kexin's admittance, the Emperor wouldn't be able to prevent her from escaping this crime.

What's more, there wasn't much credibility to the words of a recently recovered fool.

This should be the result the person who set the trap for him was expecting. After that, the person would certainly push for the development of public opinion. Soon, she would be trialed by the public making the emperor wash his hands off the case.

Tang Kexin could already imagine how this matter would unfold and what would be the consequences.

When that happened, the damage wouldn't be that small. It wouldn't be just her reputation, but the Prime Minister's and the Empress' reputation too, would be affected.

Therefore, this matter was almost at a close. But would it? Maybe, if it was the previous Tang Kexin. However, this was her now. It wouldn't end unless she said so.

Tang Kexin looked at the palace maid and suddenly smiled faintly. She was a modern doctor and a PhD in psychology, too. Why would she allow anyone and just anybody to bully her simply? Hmph!

Funny.

Tang Kexin suddenly chuckled which stunned the crowd. Had she gone mad? How could she laugh under such circumstances?

Seeing the commotion, Ye Lanjue's heart, who happened to be walking over with Ye Lanchen, pounded when he heard that playful laugh and saw that smile. Her laughter just now made him think of the ice lotuses in the snow mountains. They were spotless, purely white, and sparkling.