Lu Changfeng's account cast Taiping purely as a victim and guardian of the Buddha Bone, laying all the blame on Li Qianli-and everyone knew he had been afflicted with Golden Silkworm Gu. Even if others suspected she had stood by and let him die, they could say nothing.
For a moment, silence filled the pagoda, with only the heavy stench of blood mingling with the faint fragrance of Buddhist incense.
Princess Taiping was not surprised in the slightest. Supported by Lu Changfeng, she concentrated on playing the wounded victim and leaned a little closer to him. Shangguan Wan'er supported Li Xian, her gaze sweeping over the pool of blood and the wounded Cui Shi before finally settling on the calm, composed Lu Changfeng. Her face was expressionless.
Wu Sansi was dead. The outcome was settled.
Many suspicious details could no longer be mentioned, and mentioning them would do no good anyway...
But not everyone could remain so calm.
Princess Anle was filled with panic and fury. She had only recently married Wu Sansi's son, Wu Chongxun. Wu Sansi had been both a powerful minister at court and one of her most important pillars of support within the imperial family. Seeing her father-in-law die so horribly, her father bewildered with fear, her mother grief-stricken and furious yet seemingly trapped for the moment by that "perfect" account, and the "chief culprit," Li Qianli, barely clinging to life, she had nowhere to vent the vicious fire burning inside her. She abruptly pointed at Taiping.
"Aunt!"
Princess Anle's voice grew shrill with agitation, tinged with tears but even more with accusation. "Adviser Lu said you did everything you could to protect the Buddha Bone, but why... why did the Prince of Liang die so horribly, while you and your guards emerged almost unscathed?! All