Chapter 9

Good heavens, I was truly framed.

The system said that according to the plot, the worst outcome was execution, the average outcome was being sent to the Cold Palace.

The best outcome was very difficult: I had to investigate the truth and prove my innocence.

The rumor that “Third Princess Chu Chen poisoned Second Princess Chu Yue” spread like wildfire, shaking the court.

With the empress’s position vacant, the Virtuous Consort, who was in charge of the inner palace…

…and also Chu Yue’s mother, was currently weeping in the great hall.

It was a perfectly executed setup.

Chu Ye had been interrogating people with a cold face, from my maids to Chu Yue’s, but had yet to find any evidence to prove my innocence.

What was worse, the Virtuous Consort had made her accusation during the New Year’s banquet, in front of all the civil and military officials and the imperial relatives.

[System: “This is tricky. If it were an ordinary consort, Chu Ye would have killed her already, given his personality. But the Virtuous Consort’s family is the head of the great clans. Chu Ye has to give the Cui family an explanation.”]

[“Host, this attack is aimed directly at you.”]

I really didn’t get it. The Virtuous Consort only had a daughter. What was the point of framing me instead of competing for a prince?

Chu Ye was furious. “Chu Chen! Do you admit your guilt?”

I held my head high. “Why should I admit to something I did not do?”

Seeing me talk back to him in public, Chu Ye’s expression became terrifying.

“Unrepentant! Lock this spawn up!”

He didn’t throw me into the Cold Palace, just confined me to an empty hall next to Shengchen Hall.

The stupid system was wailing again about what to do.

I said, you idiot, how did you even pass the system exam?

[“Chu Ye is just putting on a show for them. I don’t think I’ll be locked up for long.”]

A hidden guard brought me food and comforted me in a low voice.

“His Majesty is already investigating. He will clear the princess’s name soon.”

I ate while crying. “Waaah, he doesn’t want me anymore! I don’t like mama anymore!”

That night, as I was sleeping, a familiar hand touched my face.

Chu Ye sighed and asked the hidden guard in a low voice, “Did the princess eat well today?”

“No!”

I answered for the hidden guard, sitting up and throwing a tantrum at him. “I didn’t poison Chu Yue, but mama doesn’t believe me! Who else will believe me?”

“Mama, you don’t love me anymore, waaaah.”

Chu Ye was startled and quickly pulled me into his arms to comfort me.

“Of course daddy believes you. It’s just an act for them.”

“Chenchen, be good, don’t cry. Eat well, and daddy will get you out in a couple of days.”

[System: “Quick, say you understand him! Be your father’s caring little girl!”]

I told it to shut up and not ruin my performance.

I continued to cry, sniffled, and lay back down, saying I wasn’t talking to him anymore!

Chu Ye, who rarely had to coax me, was a little annoyed when I rebuffed him.

“Who did you get this temper from!”

“Do you have any idea how busy I am every day? And I still worried about you and came to see you-stop crying and go to sleep!”

The next day, the matter was resolved with great haste.

When the emperor personally investigates and uses all his secret agents, any false accusation can be cleared up.

The Virtuous Consort was stripped of her title and demoted to a lower rank. The authority to manage the inner palace was transferred to the Worthy Consort. Chu Yue and her mother completely lost favor.

The Virtuous Consort’s family was held accountable for the crime of “conspiring to harm a princess.” This, along with previously collected evidence of their crimes, was brought against them. With the emperor’s wrath,

…this time there weren’t a million corpses, but the main officials were all demoted, and a few had their homes confiscated.

The clan, which was deeply interconnected, suffered a major blow. The entire family was expelled from the capital and exiled to the southern regions.

The system was stunned.

[System: “You didn’t do anything. Why was the Virtuous Consort’s family, which had been targeting transmigrators until the end, dealt with so quickly?”]

I replied coldly. [“Because the previous Chu Ye couldn’t be bothered.”]

[System: “That can’t be right. Some transmigrators did succeed in winning his favor and became favored princesses, but they still had to compete with Chu Yue.”]

[Me: “Is a child born by others the same as one born by Chu Ye himself? Honestly, Chu Ye never considered any of the previous 99 transmigrators his own daughters.”]

[“No matter how favored the children of his concubines were, they weren’t his only one. It was all a facade of prosperity. The same goes for the concubines; he never saw them as ‘his own people.’ And that kind of acceptance can’t be won by charming him-it can only come from blood.”]

The system was shaken. [“Host, how do you understand this so well?”]

[“Because… I’ve lived it.”]