The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Even without Qin Lianyue saying it, everyone here has eyes and can see everything clearly.

The emperor's darling, a noble concubine, was carried out of her room in broad daylight by a strange man.

The courtyard is spacious and has not yet been affected by the smoke and fire.

After putting Qi Yitang down, the man uncovered the wet cloth, turned his back to everyone, reached out and hugged Qi Yitang, patted her head, and kissed her to comfort her.

Their actions were so intimate, so ambiguous.

Qin Lianyue, fearing the world wasn't chaotic enough, added fuel to the fire, "Heavens! How could Sister Qi... Aunt, I heard that Prince Gong has been at Baohua Temple recently, and his figure is remarkably similar. Could it be...?"

The Empress Dowager's blood was churning, and she would have fainted on the spot if she hadn't been supported by her nanny.

Xie Changqing's eyes were bloodshot with rage. These shameless adulterers!

Qin Lianyue: "However, I believe that Sister Qi is innocent. Although they have been together day and night and are childhood sweethearts, it is not impossible that they have a deep brother-sister relationship."

"Prince Gong must have been unable to bear seeing Sister Qi perish in the fire, which is why he risked his life to save her. There is absolutely no suspicion of adultery between them."

Upon hearing the word "adultery," Tan Yuanshuang's face paled, and she secretly clenched her handkerchief.

Guided by Qin Lianyue's words, everyone mistook the man for Xie Jingyu.

At the Dharma assembly at Baohua Temple, besides the palace ladies, there were also accompanying noblewomen. Many of them exchanged glances, and they all saw the horror in each other's eyes.

In that instant, only one thought crossed their minds—it's over!

With Consort Qi and Prince Gong involved, how could they possibly leave alive after such a huge palace scandal?

The Empress Dowager trembled with rage, "What a tragedy! Truly...a tragedy!"

Xie Changqing was the one who couldn't stand it the most. Taking advantage of the fire being extinguished, he rushed into the courtyard with a livid face, grabbed "Xie Jingyu" by the shoulder, and planned to give this guy who had cuckolded his imperial brother a good beating.

However, just as Xie Changqing saw the adulterer's face clearly, his fist froze in mid-air—

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?!"

The face before me had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips slightly pursed, and an innate air of nobility and aloofness.

It was none other than the reigning emperor, Xie Ling.

Xie Changqing was stunned. "Brother, it's you?"

Shouldn't this adulterer be Xie Jingyu? What's the Emperor doing here?

Xie Ling narrowed his eyes. "Who else could it be but me?"

Xie Changqing was stunned by the question. Under normal circumstances, it should have been his elder brother, but this was clearly not normal—weren't they here to catch the adulterer in the act?

Is it right to catch your own brother cheating on your sister-in-law?

But he still made a last-ditch effort, asking, "Are you wearing a human skin mask, deliberately impersonating your elder brother?"

Xie Ling didn't say anything, only glanced at him.

Xie Changqing shrank back; that familiar sense of oppression was definitely from his own brother.

Qin Lianyue's face turned pale, her voice trembling, "Cousin, how could it be you..."

Having just run out of the fire, Qi Yitang's face and the back of her hands were covered in soot, and her hair was slightly messy, like a dusty mushroom.

Xie Ling used a damp cloth to wipe her face, and said slowly, "Does Consort Li seem very disappointed to see me?"

"Who else could it be but me, Prince Gong?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Qin Lianyue murmured, unable to utter a word.

[The female supporting character looks so cute having her face wiped while she tilts her head back.]

What a dramatic scene of catching a cheater in the act! The villain is too confident; everything is under his control.

[Li Degui is hilarious; afraid the maid wouldn't set a big enough fire, he added fuel to it himself.]

Qi Yitang only realized what was going on after seeing the comments.

She had only been awake for a short time when the fire broke out, and was having breakfast. When thick smoke poured in through the back window, she was terrified and grabbed Xie Ling, trying to escape for their lives.

Unexpectedly, the other party remained calm and even tore off a piece of cloth, wet it, and covered their heads with it.

Qi Yitang didn't understand at the time. It was only two steps, couldn't he just run out?

So that's what they were waiting for. What a stunning appearance!

But they're not wrong, are they? Why are they catching adulterers so early in the morning? Whose adulterer doesn't sneak in under the cover of darkness?

One thought can lead to heaven or hell; the Empress Dowager felt her heart couldn't keep up.

Just when she thought Qi Yitang was having an affair, she was already thinking about how to kill the person to save face for the royal family. But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better and it turned out to be just a misunderstanding.

"Your Majesty, when did you arrive?"

Xie Ling said calmly, "Yesterday evening, not wanting to cause a commotion, I did not disturb the Empress Dowager."

"I didn't expect Mother to make such a grand entrance, bringing so many people. Are you here to catch us in the act of adultery?"

With their thoughts exposed, the ladies lowered their heads and fell silent, wishing they could disappear on the spot.

The Empress Dowager's expression was also unnatural. "What adultery are you talking about? I just heard that Consort Qi was unwell, so I came to visit her."

Xie Ling smiled enigmatically, "In that case, thank you for your concern for Tangtang, Mother."

Just then, Li Degui rushed over in a panic, "Your Majesty, are you alright? This servant heard there was a fire here and was terrified—"

The Empress Dowager finally found an outlet for her anger: "You dog of a servant, instead of properly performing your duties before the Emperor, where have you been slacking off off to?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths."

Li Degui: "His Majesty instructed me to go to the main hall to offer eternal lamps for the Empress Dowager. I was only gone for a short while, how did a fire break out?"

Upon hearing that it was to be a perpetual lamp offered to her, the Empress Dowager had nothing more to say.

The host also came with Li Degui.

The emperor almost had an accident at Baohua Temple. The abbot felt like the sky had fallen. "Amitabha, Your Majesty was frightened. It was our poor supervision. We beg Your Majesty to punish us."

Xie Ling waved his hand, "No need, the arsonist has already been apprehended."

Xie Changqing immediately glared, "Someone actually set this on purpose! Who was that damned bastard?!"

The guards brought a palace maid forward. "Your Majesty, when the incident occurred, this palace maid was found to be acting suspiciously and was carrying a tinderbox. She was caught red-handed."

Li Degui exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this Mengzhu, who serves Consort Li?"

The Empress Dowager recognized it too; it was indeed her.

He couldn't help but glance at Qin Lianyue, whose face was as white as paper and who shrank back slightly.

Li Degui kicked Mengzhu in the leg, "You vile servant, you knew His Majesty was inside, yet you deliberately set the fire. What were your intentions? Were you plotting to assassinate the emperor?"

This enormous accusation completely panicked Mengzhu. "This servant wouldn't dare! This servant had no idea His Majesty was inside—"

Qi Yitang spoke up at the right moment, "Your Majesty, how could a mere palace maid dare to do such a foolish thing that could lead to execution?"

"Who knows, maybe someone is behind this..." She deliberately glanced at Qin Lianyue.

"Consort Qi, you're spouting nonsense!"

Qin Lianyue screamed, "Cousin, you mustn't believe this vile woman! I love you deeply, how could I possibly send someone to set fire to this place?"

Seeing the accusation of "murdering the emperor" being leveled against the Qin family, the Empress Dowager could no longer remain silent. "Emperor, today's incident was purely accidental. Yue'er is your cousin; she would never harm you."

"This lowly servant must have had a grudge against Consort Qi and set the fire out of spite. Just execute her; there's no need to implicate others."

Seeing that she was about to be dragged away, Mengzhu was terrified. "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Please save me!"

Qin Lianyue couldn't understand why she had ended up killing her own personal maid when she was clearly trying to severely injure Qi Yitang.

Mengzhu has been with her since she was a child, so there's no reason for her to lie to her. How did Xie Jingyu, who was perfectly fine, become her cousin?

Qin Lianyue pursed her lips and glanced at Mengzhu, but did not plead for her.

Mengzhu felt a chill in her heart, and instantly realized that she had been abandoned...

But Mengzhu also knew that even if she died, the Empress would treat her family well.

She broke free from her restraints and threw herself before the emperor. "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with the Empress. Last night, this servant saw Consort Qi and Prince Gong having an affair in the back mountain. Unable to find a way to report it, I set the fire!"

Last night, on the back hill?

The tension that had just eased for everyone rose again, and Xie Changqing was heartbroken. How could this wicked woman be so shameless?

This is supposed to be a temple? This is blasphemy against the gods and Buddhas! It's an outrage against all reason!