The Legend of the Princess' Counterattack

Yun Yao sat in her simple courtyard, with the books about the history of the palace that she had brought out from the secret passage on the table in front of her. Her eyes were filled with determination and wisdom. Since Liu Yan'er was trying to frame her by any means, she would not sit still and wait for death.

Yun Yao carefully flipped through the scrolls, which recorded the various affairs of the palace over the years, including personnel exchanges, financial income and expenditure, and some unknown secrets. She knew that it would not be easy to find evidence to bring down Liu Yan'er. Liu Yan'er had been favored in the palace for a long time, so she must be cautious in doing things.

Yun Yao's eyes gradually became sore as she flipped through the pages, but she did not slack off. Suddenly, her eyes were attracted by a record. It was a record about the management of the palace warehouse, which mentioned that a large amount of money had gone missing. Yun Yao's heart moved, and she continued to read along this clue.

She discovered that during that period, Liu Yan'er had frequently been in and out of the warehouse, and that a servant in charge of the warehouse had close contacts with Liu Yan'er's personal maid. Yun Yao keenly realized that there must be something wrong. She began to piece together the truth of the matter in her mind.

Yun Yao speculated that Liu Yan'er may have colluded with the servant through her maid, and then used the servant's convenience in warehouse management to embezzle the money of the palace. This is a major discovery. If it can be confirmed, Liu Yan'er will definitely be severely punished by the prince.

In order to further confirm her speculation, Yun Yao decided to investigate secretly. She first found Xiao Cui, who knew many people in the palace and was well-informed. Yun Yao told Xiao Cui about her discovery, and Xiao Cui also thought that this matter was very strange.

Xiao Cui began to inquire about the servant among the servants in the palace. After some inquiries, Xiao Cui learned that the servant had suddenly become wealthy recently, often drinking and gambling outside, and was very generous. This further confirmed Yun Yao's guess.

Yun Yao was not in a hurry to reveal the secret, as she knew that the evidence was not conclusive enough. She needed to find out where the misappropriated money went, as well as more direct evidence of Liu Yan'er's involvement.

So, Yun Yao began to pay close attention to Liu Yan'er's every move. She found that Liu Yan'er would send her maid out every once in a while, and she was always secretive. Yun Yao decided to follow the maid.

One day, Liu Yan'er's maid sneaked out again. Yun Yao followed quietly behind, carefully keeping a distance to avoid being discovered. The maid came to a remote alley in the city and entered a seemingly ordinary house.

Yun Yao hid in the dark, observing the house. After a while, the maid came out of the house, holding something in her hand. Yun Yao waited for the maid to go away, then quietly approached the house. She looked inside through the crack in the window, and saw that the room was filled with all kinds of valuable items, including gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin.

Yun Yao was delighted, she thought this might be where Liu Yan'er hid the money after embezzling it. However, she still needed to find more direct evidence to prove that these things were related to Liu Yan'er.

Yun Yao thought of a way. After returning to the palace, she found a servant who was good at imitating handwriting. She asked the servant to imitate Liu Yan'er's handwriting and write a letter. The content of the letter was to ask the servant to transfer the property as soon as possible to avoid being discovered.

Then, Yun Yao found a clever little beggar, gave him some money, and asked him to deliver the letter to the servant. The little beggar followed Yun Yao's instructions and successfully delivered the letter to the servant.

Yun Yao secretly observed the servant's reaction. After receiving the letter, the servant seemed very flustered. He immediately began to pack up and prepare to move the property. Yun Yao saw this scene and knew that her plan had succeeded.

She took advantage of the servant's panic and quietly sneaked into the house where the property was stored. In the house, she found an account book that recorded in detail the amount of money Liu Yan'er had embezzled from the palace and the purpose of use. It turned out that Liu Yan'er had embezzled the money to give gifts to a certain force in the cultivation world, hoping to get their protection so that she could further consolidate her position in the palace.

Yun Yao held the account book, feeling a sense of accomplishment. She had finally found enough evidence to bring down Liu Yan'er. However, she knew that she couldn't act rashly at this moment. She had to choose the most appropriate time to make Liu Yan'er powerless to fight back.

After Yun Yao returned to the courtyard, she began to think about the best time to expose Liu Yan'er. She knew that the prince was worried about the financial situation of the palace recently, because the palace's expenses were a bit too high recently, but he couldn't find the reason. If Liu Yan'er's embezzlement of money was exposed at this time, the prince would definitely take it very seriously.

Moreover, Yun Yao wanted to expose Liu Yan'er in front of everyone and completely discredit her. She decided to reveal this secret at a family gathering in the palace. Such a gathering would be attended by important people in the palace, including the prince, his wives, and other servants of high status.

Yun Yao began to prepare carefully. She sorted out the account books and other relevant evidence and hid them in a safe place. She also rehearsed the scene of exposing Liu Yan'er countless times in her mind, making sure that every word she said would hit the mark.

While waiting for the family gathering, Yun Yao did not relax her vigilance. She knew that Liu Yan'er was not someone to be trifled with, and if she discovered her plan, she would probably resort to sinister tactics again.

Yun Yao continued to practice, and her strength improved during this period. She knew that only if she was strong enough could she gain the upper hand in this struggle.

Finally, the family gathering at the palace arrived. Yun Yao dressed up carefully. She wore a light and elegant long dress and simply tied up her hair. She looked low-key yet elegant. She walked confidently towards the gathering hall with the evidence in her arms.

In the hall, everyone has arrived. The prince is sitting in the main seat, surrounded by his wives and other important people. Liu Yan'er is also among them. She is wearing gorgeous clothes and has a smug smile on her face. She doesn't know yet that today will be the day when her status in the palace will collapse.

After Yun Yao walked into the hall, she found an inconspicuous seat and sat down. She quietly waited for the opportunity, her eyes occasionally swept towards Liu Yan'er, her heart full of disdain for this sinister person.

Halfway through the party, the atmosphere began to become relaxed. The prince began to chat with everyone, and the topic gradually turned to the financial situation of the palace. The prince frowned and said that the palace's finances were a bit chaotic recently, and hoped that everyone could work together to find a solution.

Yun Yao felt that the time had come. She slowly stood up and walked to the center of the hall. Everyone's attention was drawn to her. When Liu Yan'er saw Yun Yao standing up, she suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.

Yun Yao cleared her throat and said loudly: "Your Highness, ladies, I have something very important to reveal to you today." Everyone looked at her curiously, wondering what earth-shattering thing this usually unpopular princess was going to say.

Yun Yao went on to say, "Everyone knows that the financial situation of the palace has been bad recently. In fact, there is someone secretly embezzling the palace's money." As soon as Yun Yao's words came out, there was an uproar in the hall.

The prince's face became very serious. He looked at Yun Yao and asked, "Yun Yao, do you have any evidence for what you said?"

Yun Yao smiled slightly, took out the account book and other evidence from her bosom, handed them to the attendant beside the prince, and said: "Prince, this is the evidence. These evidences show that Liu Yan'er privately embezzled a huge amount of money from the palace."

Everyone's eyes turned to Liu Yan'er, whose face turned pale. She looked at Yun Yao in horror and said, "You...you are slandering me!"

Yun Yao sneered and said, "Slander? Liu Yan'er, take a look at the evidence first. This account book records in detail the amount of money you embezzled and the purpose of it. What else do you have to say?"

The prince took the account book handed over by the servant and read it carefully. His face became more and more ugly. After he finished reading the account book, he slammed the table angrily and shouted: "Liu Yan'er, you are so bold! How dare you embezzle the money of the prince's mansion without permission!"

Liu Yan'er fell to her knees and cried, "My Lord, I was wronged. Yun Yao framed me."

Yun Yao said disdainfully: "Liu Yan'er, you still want to quibble? Your maid colluded with the warehouse servant, and you used the servant to embezzle money. I have evidence of these things. Moreover, I also know that you embezzled the money to give gifts to the forces in the cultivation world. Do you think you can gain a foothold in the palace in this way? You are too naive."

Liu Yan'er was speechless after what Yun Yao said. She knew that she was completely finished this time. The prince looked at Liu Yan'er and said coldly, "Come here, take Liu Yan'er away and lock her up in the woodshed. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If it is true, you can wait to be punished."

Two servants came over and dragged Liu Yan'er away. Liu Yan'er struggled and shouted: "Prince, you can't do this to me, I am innocent..." However, no one paid attention to her shouting.

Yun Yao felt extremely happy as she watched Liu Yan'er being dragged away. She had finally succeeded in fighting back against Liu Yan'er, and the person who had always wanted to frame her got what she deserved.

Everyone in the hall looked at Yun Yao with admiration. They had never thought that this seemingly insignificant princess would have such wisdom and means. The prince also looked at Yun Yao with new eyes. He felt that Yun Yao was no longer the weak and incompetent princess.

Yun Yao won the fight, but she knew that this was only a small victory for her in the palace. Her goal was to gain a foothold in this world of cultivation and become a powerful being. She would not be proud and complacent because of this small victory. She would continue to work hard to cultivate and move towards a higher goal.