Yu Sangning's voice choked with sobs by the end of her account.
"You're lying! You're slandering me!" Lady Yu the Fifth snarled, lunging toward Yu Sangning but was swiftly intercepted by alert guards.
Unable to bear the sight, Yu Sangning turned away and kowtowed to His Majesty. "Every word I've spoken is true. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly. I was coerced by others and blinded by sisterly affection, leading to grave mistakes. I am willing to accept punishment."
Xiao Changmin, kneeling beside Yu Sangning and having instinctively shielded her when Lady Yu the Fifth charged, couldn't help but inwardly applaud Yu Sangning's performance. He now genuinely admired her—they had successfully navigated this crisis.
As long as the aphrodisiac incense wasn't traced back to him, there would be no suspicion of treasonous intent. With Bu Shulin safe and sound, the worst outcome would be a few stern reprimands from His Majesty.
Yu Sangning's resolution of this peril left even Xiao Changmin in awe.
Her calculated plan began with deliberately spreading rumors of their discord and her aggrieved return to her parental home. She knew Cui Jinbai and his men were closely monitoring their every move, aware that any action would be self-incriminating. So, she orchestrated her own "confession" to be neatly uncovered by Cui Jinbai.
She did approach her uncle and aunt, indeed persuading them to sacrifice Lady Yu the Fifth. Lured by the benefits she promised, they couldn't refuse. They then went to the Celestial Prison to convince Lady Yu the Fifth. Yu Sangning had anticipated how Cui Jinbai would intimidate her cousin into confessing, knowing full well her cousin's unreliable nature—easily frightened into revealing the truth.
The real scheme commenced only after Cui Jinbai believed he had obtained Lady Yu the Fifth's confession.
At this point, Cui Jinbai would immediately report to His Majesty. Given the involvement of a prince, the Shunan Prince Heir, and the Grand Princess's estate, the Emperor would personally oversee the matter. This was when the Dali Temple and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, convinced they had uncovered the truth, would let their guard down completely.
During the time Yu Sangning was being escorted to the palace, her uncle and aunt had already prepared everything in her cousin's room—evidence of her cousin's infatuation with Bu Shulin.
Witnesses and material evidence were meticulously arranged.
By the time Yu Sangning finished confronting Lady Yu the Fifth, these proofs were seamlessly in place, awaiting only His Majesty's order to retrieve them.
The evidence was straightforward, but achieving perfection required leveraging Xiao Changmin's connections.
Xiao Changmin owned a pleasure house, which employed a painter. This painter wasn't a recent addition but had been there for years, his identity able to withstand scrutiny.
As early as when Xiao Changmin expressed suspicions that Bu Shulin might be a woman, Yu Sangning deduced the pleasure house belonged to him. Last night, she had secretly sent someone to find this painter, commissioning numerous portraits of Bu Shulin—some artificially aged—and delivered them to her uncle and aunt. While she was being taken to the palace, they planted these in her cousin's room.
Her cousin's maid, unable to withstand interrogation, would "commit suicide out of guilt," leaving behind a written account of her mistress's deeds before death. Though crude and unconvincing upon scrutiny, with no one left to contest it, the maid's own handwriting would serve as irrefutable evidence.
The final step involved the servant from the princely estate who purchased the incense ingredients. This servant had acted on Yu Sangning's orders. Since Yu Sangning was already betrothed to Xiao Changmin, it wasn't unreasonable for the estate's servants to follow some of her directives.As for why Yu Sangning had instructed the Prince's household so early instead of her own people, she had an explanation for Cui Jinbai's questioning: "Though I am not clever, I could guess from my fifth sister's obsession with Worldly Son Bu that these fragrant spices were unusual. Otherwise, why wouldn't she seek them herself instead of coercing me?"
Soon, officials dispatched by the Dali Temple and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs searched the fifth Yu daughter's bedchamber and retrieved the evidence Yu Sangning had arranged.
Apart from several portraits of Bu Shulin in different poses, there was also an incense formula for an aphrodisiac incense, along with some fragrant spices.
At this point, the fifth Yu daughter's spirit seemed completely drained. She finally understood that her parents had utterly abandoned her.
For her elder brother's future prospects, she had become a pawn.
It was all due to her own improper intentions—her love turning into obsession, her infatuation with Worldly Son Bu, and her frustration at being unable to get close—that led her to commit these wrongdoings.
The reason why there was no one in the Prince's residence that day was because Princess Consort Zhao, under her coercion, had dismissed everyone. It was all her doing alone.
And they... these masterminds had all become victims of coercion. Her own parents were merely guilty of failing to educate their daughter properly. They were all blameless—how wonderful!
Sacrificing her alone had preserved everyone else.
"Fifth Yu Daughter, do you have anything to say?" the Youning Emperor asked.
The Emperor had his own measure of the truth in his heart. It wasn't that he wanted to shield anyone, but the evidence spoke for itself.
The second son and his wife had carried out their scheme so flawlessly—should he accuse them of framing others without proof? If he expressed disbelief under the current circumstances, the couple would likely resort to suicide to prove their innocence, ultimately making it appear as though he, the Emperor, could not tolerate them.
"Do I have anything to say..." The fifth Yu daughter repeated dazedly several times before suddenly bursting into loud laughter. "Hahahahaha..."
She laughed until tears streamed down her face, laughed with utter madness.
No one knew where she found the strength, or perhaps the guards restraining her were distracted by her sudden hysterical laughter, but she managed to break free. She pulled a golden hairpin from her hair and lunged at Yu Sangning.
Yu Sangning was with Xiao Changmin, a martial artist who swiftly pulled her aside. Yet everyone assumed the fifth Yu daughter intended to kill Yu Sangning—but that wasn't the case. Right in front of Yu Sangning, she plunged the hairpin into her own neck.
The scene stunned everyone. After stabbing herself, the fifth Yu daughter yanked the hairpin out abruptly, blood spraying forth and splattering across Yu Sangning's face.
The fifth Yu daughter glared fiercely at her, collapsing while still fixing her with a death stare. Blood gushed out like a fountain, yet she smiled with an eerie grimace: "Evil... evil-doers... shall not... die well!"
No one had expected the fifth Yu daughter to choose such a radical method of suicide.
Yu Sangning closed her eyes. The sticky sensation of flowing blood sliding across her face grew more pronounced, the warmth of the blood seeming to scorch her skin. The metallic scent assaulted her nostrils, making her tremble uncontrollably.
She was not a good person—she had more than one life on her hands—but never before had she felt such terror as today. Her entire body shook involuntarily.
Those present looked at Yu Sangning with complex expressions; her ruthlessness was now deeply imprinted in their minds.
Whether truly frightened or sensing their gazes, Yu Sangning couldn't endure it and fainted.
In the end, the Youning Emperor ordered the Dali Temple officials to return the fifth Yu daughter's body to her family, informing her parents how she had "committed suicide out of guilt"!Although Yu Sangning was coerced, she remained an accomplice. Fortunately, Worldly Son Bu was unharmed, and the Youning Emperor, citing her unworthiness of virtue, forbade her from worshipping at the ancestral temple.
Xiao Changmin, however, emerged completely unscathed. It was impossible to charge him with failing to discipline his wife, as he had only just married on the day of the incident.
Perhaps infuriated by the Fifth Lady Yu's bloodshed in the Hall of Diligent Governance, the Youning Emperor stripped Yu Xiang of his position as Grand General.
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