I fulfilled the female supporting role's wish and I succeeded

The sedan chair landed steadily on the ground, and Concubine Hua, supported by Songzhi, stepped into the hall with slightly heavy steps.

In stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the past, the hall today was suffocatingly silent. The air was filled with a tense atmosphere, like the calm before the storm, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The silk handkerchief in Concubine Jing's hand was almost torn to pieces; Concubine Xin couldn't hide the smile on her lips, and the gloating in her eyes was almost overflowing.

As for the other concubines, some lowered their eyes and remained silent, as if they were out of the matter, while others took the opportunity to adjust their sleeves to secretly look at Concubine Hua, their eyes flickering, each with their own thoughts.

Hua Fei's gaze fell on the Queen. She saw that the Queen was gently stroking the dazzling ruby ​​on the armor with one hand, and the other hand was casually placed on the armrest. Her eyes were slightly lowered, seemingly calm, but in fact, there was an undercurrent surging, like a dormant poisonous snake, waiting for an opportunity to move.

This strange calmness made Hua Fei's heart even more panicked, as if it was being tightly grasped by an invisible big hand, almost making her breathless.

"The Empress summoned me here. What's the important matter?" Concubine Hua tried to remain calm, but her voice trembled slightly.

The Queen didn't even raise her eyelids, but simply said: "The Emperor will be here later. We will discuss this matter after the Emperor arrives."

This made Concubine Hua even more confused. She frowned and glanced at everyone, trying to see something, but everyone lowered their heads, as if hiding some secret.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the palace grew increasingly tense. Concubine Hua clutched her handkerchief tightly, her palms sweating.

Finally, heavy footsteps approached from afar, accompanied by a shrill voice: "The Emperor has arrived—"

Everyone knelt and shouted "Long live!" Concubine Hua tried to suppress her uneasiness and knelt with them, but her heart was beating like a drum, almost jumping out of her chest.

A bright yellow dragon robe appeared at the entrance of the hall. The emperor stepped into the hall with a gloomy face and a murderous look between his brows.

The emperor sat down on the dragon throne, his eyes sweeping sharply over the people in the hall. He pursed his thin lips tightly, and after a long pause he uttered a single word: "Speak."

The Empress rose, the pearls and jadeite of her phoenix corona swaying gently, accentuating her elegance and grace. Yet, despite her respectful tone, a chilling chill lingered: "Your Majesty, Concubine Li is accusing Concubine Hua of accepting bribes, disregarding human life, and even... plotting to murder a concubine."

Like a bolt from the blue, Concubine Hua's vision darkened, and she nearly collapsed. Accepting bribes? Taking human life? Murdering a concubine? These charges weighed on her like a rock, suffocating her. Stars flashed before her eyes, and the handkerchief in her hand slipped silently, yet she was oblivious. She stared blankly at the Empress, eyes filled with disbelief.

She stared intently at Lipin, the woman who usually obeyed her and acted submissively in front of her. But now she was standing behind the empress, head bowed, shoulders trembling slightly. Was that trembling fear, or... a subtle hint of pride?

An incredible anger rushed into her heart. Concubine Hua could hardly believe that Lipin would betray her!

"Lipin! You are so bold!" Hua Fei shouted angrily, her voice so sharp that it almost broke.

Lipin shrank back, her body shaking even more violently, but under the Queen's encouraging gaze, she slowly raised her head and met Hua Fei's gaze. The resentment that flashed across her eyes was quickly replaced by determination.

"Madam Hua Fei, you killed Shen Meizhuang's unborn child, drowned Concubine Chun, accepted bribes, and took human life... Do you think you can hide these things from the world? Now that the evidence is in, what else can you say?"

Hua Fei laughed in anger. She shook off Song Zhi's supporting hand and wanted to stand up and approach Lipin, but Song Zhi held her tightly.

"Do you think you can bring me down?" Hua Fei's tone was cold, with rage burning in her eyes.

Concubine Li did not say anything, but handed a brocade box in her hand to the eunuch beside her, and the eunuch presented the brocade box to the emperor.

When the emperor opened the brocade box, what caught his eye was a stack of letters. The beautiful handwriting on the envelopes shocked Concubine Hua.

The emperor took out a letter, unfolded it slowly, and after reading it, his expression changed from surprise to gloomy.

In the letter, Li Mao, the governor of Jiangzhou, expressed gratitude for Nian Gengyao's support and promised to donate half of the money he had extorted from the people to Nian Gengyao. At the end, he wrote flatteringly: "I have prepared another small gift and respectfully present it to Your Majesty. I hope you will speak well of me to His Majesty."

The emperor quickly glanced through several letters, all of which were written by officials from different local areas. The contents were exactly the same, simply thanking Nian Gengyao for his "care" and expressing their willingness to "respect" Nian Gengyao and Concubine Hua.

The letter listed in astonishing detail the gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and even land and shops that had been donated.

Every letter was like a poisoned dagger, stabbing deeply into the emperor's heart.

"Are these true?" The emperor's tone was cold, without a trace of warmth.

Hua Fei's face was ashen, her lips moved but she couldn't utter a single word.

The emperor was furious and threw the letter in his hand at Hua Fei's feet, "What else do you have to say?"

Concubine Hua collapsed to the ground, as if she had fallen into an icy cave.

She wanted to argue, but found that any words seemed so powerless, like the fight of a trapped beast.

Lipin stepped forward, presented a stack of papers in both hands, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, these are the testimonies and some evidence I have collected."

Su Peisheng hurried forward, took the thing from Concubine Li's hand, and presented it respectfully to the emperor.

The emperor opened the testimony, which clearly recorded how Concubine Hua instructed others to frame Shen Meiyu for a miscarriage, how she drowned Concubine Chun, how she accepted bribes and supported the Nian family, and even how she treated palace maids harshly and took human lives. Every single one of them was shocking.

The Emperor grabbed the teacup from the table and slammed it to the ground. The crisp shattering sound was particularly piercing in the silent hall. "The evidence is irrefutable! What else do you have to say?!" The Emperor shouted angrily, and everyone in the hall was startled. Even the usually calm Empress trembled slightly.

The Emperor pointed at Concubine Hua, his fingers trembling as he spoke each word with a pained expression, "How have I treated you? Do you have any sense of reason? Are you worthy of my grace and the kindness of our ancestors?"

Concubine Hua felt like she was falling into an icy cave. Every word the emperor said was like a poisoned ice spike, piercing her heart.

She tried her best to maintain her last bit of dignity and not let her weakness collapse in front of everyone.

She slowly raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall. She looked directly at the emperor and said word by word, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Concubine Li...she is slandering me!"

"Framed?" The Emperor sneered and threw the brocade box at Concubine Hua's feet. "With all the evidence and witnesses, you still dare to quibble?! Do you think I'm a tyrant?!"

As he spoke, he picked up the confession presented by Lipin. With every sentence he read, Hua Fei's face turned paler and her body trembled, as if every word in the confession was a huge rock that crushed her.

Every single one of the charges listed in the confession was related to her. Although there was some exaggeration, it was not fabricated out of thin air.

Hua Fei bit her lower lip tightly, and the bright red blood flowed down the corner of her lips, which was shocking to see.

Concubine Li was cautious in every move, clearly planning to kill her.