The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

Chapter 253

After his brief anger subsided, the Xuanwu Emperor regained his composure. He glanced between the furious Jiang Xinyue and the refined, upright Xie Chenghui, his lips moving as if to say, "I..."

"You claim I had a secret liaison with Painter Xie?"

Jiang Xinyue let out a cold snort. "If I truly wanted to defile the imperial harem, none of you would be able to catch me. I would have done it quietly and discreetly, not foolishly parading around with all the palace servants in tow, making a grand spectacle of meeting a lover, letting everyone know I came here. If you want to frame me, at least use more sophisticated methods."

Her chest heaved violently, clearly enraged. She picked up the painting from the ground and threw it at the Xuanwu Emperor. "Based on a faceless painting, you baselessly accuse me of defiling the palace! Fine then! Just execute me now - I don't care to be Imperial Noble Consort anymore!"

"Jiang Xinyue!"

The Xuanwu Emperor shouted angrily, feeling as though she constantly gave the impression of wanting to leave him.

"Whenever something happens, you threaten to leave the palace, and now you say you don't want to be Imperial Noble Consort anymore. What do you take me for? What do you take my imperial harem for?"

Was she really so disgusted, so unwilling to stay by his side?

"Then what does Your Majesty take me for?"

Having already committed the offense of defiance, Jiang Xinyue decided to be completely rebellious: "Your Majesty summons me at will and dismisses me just as easily. At others' mere gossip, Your Majesty doubts my loyalty - what do you take me for?"

"Consort Yu, you say that painting was found in my humble residence?"

"Could this be false?"

Consort Yu held her head high, looking at Jiang Xinyue and the court painter with contempt. "I had long suspected something was amiss between you two. When you left, I received a secret message saying you and Painter Xie were planning to elope. I immediately gave chase, and even His Majesty received the news, which is why he sent people to search Painter Xie's residence, where they indeed found this painting. Jiang Xinyue, His Majesty treats you so well - how could you betray his trust like this?"

"Wait!"

Xie Chenghui couldn't help but laugh, saying with exasperation: "Who told Consort Yu that this crude painting was done by me?"

Consort Yu was stunned. "It was found in your residence - if not yours, then whose is it?"

Instead of answering her, Xie Chenghui gave his young attendant a meaningful look. The boy, who had been worried sick about his master, immediately understood and set down his book basket, laying out fine Xuan paper on the stone table in the bamboo grove, and began preparing the ink and brushes.

His master often traveled far to explore, and his attendants always carried painting supplies so he could capture the beauty of mountains, lakes, and rivers at any moment.

Today, these supplies would prove particularly useful.

The Xuanwu Emperor closed his eyes in regret, realizing he had let jealousy overcome him and had been too harsh with Yue'er. She must be angry now.

Meanwhile, Consort Yu continued whispering in his ear: "Your Majesty, Painter Li is right - we shouldn't have hired these delicate pretty boys as court painters. Not only are they arrogant, but they rely on their good looks to boldly seduce palace consorts. The Imperial Noble Consort is only eighteen, how could she..."

"What did you just say?" The Emperor's brows furrowed. "Painter Li?"

Jiang Xinyue also turned to look at Consort Yu. So there was no real evidence at all - Consort Yu had simply believed Painter Li's jealous provocations and concluded she was having an affair with Painter Xie?

Consort Yu, still unaware of her slip, smiled triumphantly at Jiang Xinyue: "Indeed! I bet the Imperial Noble Consort didn't expect this! Hmph, there are no secrets in the palace. Painter Li said he seemed to have seen you two meeting in private, which is why I became suspicious and was able to catch your fox tail today."

She turned to the Emperor, clutching his arm: "Your Majesty, please don't be soft-hearted this time. Execute the Imperial Noble Consort and investigate the Sixth Prince's parentage, lest we mix imperial bloodlines and let a bastard enjoy royal treatment. Wouldn't that be laughable? Imperial Noble..."

"Slap!"

Jiang Xinyue could tolerate accusations against herself - they were enemies after all - but she couldn't bear Consort Yu insulting the Sixth Prince.

"You..."

Consort Yu hadn't expected Jiang Xinyue to be so brazen even now, daring to strike her in front of the Emperor. She raised her own hand, ready to return the slap.

"What are you doing?"

But as she raised her hand, the Xuanwu Emperor grabbed it, his eyes piercing cold as they fell upon her.

"Your Maj-"

But the Emperor, as if touching something filthy, didn't want to hear another word from her. He forcefully threw her hand aside, and if it weren't for Shuxiang's quick support, she would have fallen to the ground.

"Your Majesty, this humble servant has finished painting. Please come and see - the painting Consort Yu brought indeed did not come from my hand."

The Xuanwu Emperor's eyes instinctively looked toward Jiang Xinyue, but she walked straight toward Painter Xie without a sideways glance.

Since someone could quickly prove her innocence, she needn't waste energy defending herself. Better to see Painter Xie's evidence first.

The stone table was simply set with brushes, ink, and paper. Due to limited space, Xie Chenghui had even gotten some colored pigments on himself.

He was usually fastidious and would never appear before others in such a state, but today, with both the Imperial Noble Consort's and his own reputation at stake, he ignored his obsession with cleanliness and pointed to the painting on the stone table: "Your Majesty, please examine this. The great master Mo Ziye of the Mo Family is my teacher. The Mo Family has been making paper for generations, and the finest, most expensive paper in the Great Yan Dynasty comes from my master's hands. The paper I use for painting is all personally made by my teacher. Every painting I create has my unique seal within the paper's layers, and the paper quality differs subtly from what's available in the market. This colleague who wished to frame me probably didn't know my habits and simply used palace paper, imitating my style in an attempt to destroy me. Their malicious intent was beyond my imagination."

Xie Chenghui bowed apologetically to Jiang Xinyue: "I have implicated the Imperial Noble Consort - I deserve death. I beg Your Majesty to investigate the truth and clear both the Consort's and my name."

Not only did Xie Chenghui's paper have specific markings, but just looking at the brushstrokes, composition, colors, and figure poses of the two paintings, one could clearly see Xie Chenghui's superior skill.

That he didn't usually paint portraits didn't mean he couldn't.

He had painted both the Emperor and Empress's portrait and the Emperor and Imperial Noble Consort's portrait - Painter Li simply wasn't qualified to see them.

To think that merely imitating his style somewhat would be enough to topple him from his pedestal - they had truly underestimated his abilities.

"Impossible!"

The first to break down was Consort Yu, who had orchestrated this entire revelation.