The collective gasps of so many people ran through the large banquet hall.

Li Rui pushed Princess Wenling inside the pond.

No one knew this till now except a few people.

General Li had threatened His Majesty to leave Xin if his daughter was accused wrongly.

The Emperor had called those girls and Second Princess specially and asked them not to mention this in incident again. So the ministers themselves were wide enough to not talk about this matter.

However, now those ladies, unmarried girls, the children of those families, and every member of those noble elite families were present in the Imperial Court.

Now everyone knew that General Li's daughter who was chosen as the First Princess companion pushed the Princess inside the pond that too intentionally.

The nanny's eyes flickered with victory when she saw the shocked faces of everyone.

That was what she wanted.

She had planned so much only to be suppressed by General Li.

How could she bear to see her efforts to go waste?

Now she would use that incident with this and then her purpose would be achieved.

"Heng, did you hide this from me?"

Yi Jie asked her husband with a shocked pale face.

General Li couldn't answer his wangfei question. He just lowered his head and sighed heavily pressing his head.

"Heng, do something. What if His Majesty gave some hard punishment to Rui?"

General Li raised his head swiftly and looked towards his daughter who was now going towards Li Mei.

He saw Li Rui's eyes and immediately rose from his seat.

"Your Majesty, Li Mei didn't do anything. Li Rui..."

Li Rui could not complete her sentence.

"Your Majesty..."

Li Rui turned around to look at her father who signed her to shut her mouth and don't say anything.

"Your Majesty, someone is framing my daughter."

Zhao Wang Lei was silent for a few moments as he looked at General Li.

"General Li, first your daughter pushed an Imperial Princess into the pond. Zhen could give her the death sentence if not for your face. But Zhen can't leave her again and again if she commits such acts. Stealing something just because you liked it that's not what the children of noble families do."

In brief, the Emperor meant that this time General Li can't save her daughter by threatening him when so many people had witnessed her daughter and maid's action.

General Li's face was grim and Li Rui was baffled when she saw her silent father.

"Your Majesty"

Amidst the whispers of the others, a new voice sounded.

Li Zhan stepped forward and kneeled down on the floor in front of the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, this servant ... committed a sin. Asking Your Majesty to punish me. It was me who stole Princess' hairpin. This servant really liked that hairpin. While..."

"Zhan jiejie..."

Li Mei was teary-eyed and Li Rui was shocked.

How can both of them not know that Li Zhan was doing all of this to save both of them?

"Li Zhan"

Li Rui wanted to stop her maid but General Li grabbed his daughter's arm to stop her.

"Father, Leave Rui."

General Li's face held no emotion as he continued holding Li Rui and dragged her behind himself.

Someone needs to sacrifice himself. Only then Li Rui would be saved.

He glanced at Li Mei who understood what he was saying.

With lips quivering, Li Mei stepped backward leaving Li Zhan alone in front of the Emperor.

Her heart was stuffy and very painful. Hot tears streamed down Li Mei's face.

Her Zhan Jiejie.

'I'll protect both of you.'

Li Hua and Li Mei glanced at each other. Both of them have red and swollen eyes.

"While.."

Li Zhan gulped. She was very sacred. Her heart was beating very fast inside her chest. But when she remembered Li Mei's young face and her Young Miss's smile, she pressed down her fear and started.

"While this servant used to come to the Imperial Palace with Young Miss Li, I had observed that Princess carried the hairpin with herself always if she didn't put it in her hair. So when this servant saw that today Princess doesn't have the hairpin in her hair, I knew where it would be. I couldn't control myself and ..I..st..stole the hairpin from the Princess."

"No, Li Zhan you didn't. I know you..don't lie."

Li Rui's shouts echoed in the large hall as soon as Li Zhan finished her words.

"As a lady from a noble family, Young Miss Li should know how to behave in the Imperial Palace."

Zhao Wang Lei's eyes were very cold as he looked at the screaming Li Rui.

Mercilessly, General Li covered his daughter's mouth with his hand and didn't let her speak anything again.

"You..the maid of Miss Li.. continue"

With her bowed head, Li Zhan could still hear Li Rui's muffled words. Her hands clenched in her lap and tears fell down from her eyes one by one.

"I ..I was afraid that I will be caught so I hid it in Li Mei's clothes when she was not noticing."

The Emperor propped his chin and looked at the maid bowing in front of him.

"Then why did you step out now?"

This time Li Zhan raised her head. There was a very small smile on her tear-filled face.

"Your Majesty, My Young Miss..she has saved this servant when I was thinking that I will not last long in this world any longer. She took this servant under her care when I had nothing. She never treated this servant wrongly."

She looked towards the nanny and continued

"I couldn't see anyone slandering my Young Miss. My conscience screamed inside me to step out and because my Young Miss was the purest and innocent soul this servant has ever seen."

Then Li Zhan looked towards the Princess and said

"How could I bear to harm the person who had saved me?"

Princess Wenling face was pale. She understood what Li Zhan was implying. Her conscience was also screaming inside her.

But her courage was very small.

After creating so much drama, how could she tell everyone that it was all her plan?

How would she bear that humiliation?

So she only lowered her head and pretended as if everything that was happening in front of her never involved her.

The nanny who was standing silently suddenly stepped forward again and spoke

"Lies..Your Majesty, the maid is lying. It is her Miss who had done all this. She is just trying to protect Miss Li."

General looked at the nanny coldly and said

"This nanny..why does it seem like you are hell bent on putting all the blame on my daughter? When the maid herself is saying that she was behind the stealing then why are you intentionally slandering my daughter again and again?"

The nanny couldn't speak anything to refute General Li's words.

"This servant..is speaking for my Princess. I just don't want any kind of injustice done to my Princess."

General Li smiled humorlessly.

"Your Majesty, This General didn't know that the servants were allowed to speak so freely in the Imperial Court when their master is sitting silently."

He glanced towards the silent Princess who avoided his eyes.

"Just a maid.. and she is slandering my daughter for something she didn't do. People would laugh at this General that he couldn't protect his daughter against a nanny's slandering."

The nanny was furious and couldn't control her mouth

"General Li, your daughter pushed the Princess inside the pond. She intentionally tried to kill the Princess. How could this servant not suspect her?"

"Cover the nanny's mouth."

historical

Zhao Wang Lei ordered and the two guards immediately covered the nanny's mouth.

Then the emperor looked at the maid and announced

"According to the Imperial Palace rules, an ordinary person receives fifty strokes of the cane for committing a sin like theft. For the slaves the punishment doubles. So Zhen announces that Miss Li's maid will receive a hundred strokes of the cane as a punishment."

The minister praised the Emperor that he made a wise decision.

"Zhen wants everyone to see as this maid receives her punishment so that no one can dare to commit such act again in the Imperial Palace events."

Hundred strokes of the cane.

The maid will not remain alive after receiving them.

Li Zhan's body had lost strength after she heard the Emperor's punishment for herself.

Two Imperial guards picked the lifeless Li Zhan from the ground and dragged her out of the Imperial Court. Zhao Wang Lei stood up and followed the guard.

And after that, everyone rose from their seat and followed the Emperor.

General Li looked down at his daughter who was looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Father can't do anything, Rui."

He whispered with a hard face.

Holding his daughter in his arms, he signed his wangfei to come with him. Li Hua and Li Mei followed General Li with slow and heavy steps.