A moment later, Xia Zhengqi, the Queen, Concubine Jiang, and the huge crowd of guests all returned to the main hall, and the palace banquet continued.

The graceful dancer was dancing on the stage in the center of the main hall, but the guests' attention was not on her at all.

Only the ignorant little kids continued to play carefree outside the main hall.

Xia Zhengqi sat on the dragon throne on the high platform, silent and expressionless.

The queen was also silent, holding Xia Miaoyuan in her arms, as if thinking about something.

Concubine Jiang leaned dejectedly on the chair, looking weak and pale.

At the table where Jiang Zhichang had originally sat, the Third and Fourth Princes looked at each other and asked in unison, "Where is Second Brother?"

Prince Qing suddenly realized, "Yes, I just remembered that we haven't seen him since he left the table."

As the three were talking, the second prince changed into a brand new robe and walked over slowly.

"Huh? Where did you go just now?" asked the third prince.

"I have such a miserable life. I just wanted to go change my clothes and came here. Unexpectedly, I had severe stomach pain before changing my clothes. I went to the office three times in a row before it finally gave me some relief." The second prince patted his stomach.

"Now, my legs are weak. I just went to the Imperial Hospital and asked for some emergency pills. I took them and now I feel better."

The fourth prince looked gossipy and said, "Second brother, your stomach is upset at a really bad time. You missed a big show."

The Second Prince pretended to be surprised: "What's the good show? Tell me about it quickly."

The fourth prince sat down beside him and whispered to him about the romantic incident that had just happened.

Xia Miaoyuan lay in the queen's arms, staring at the second prince in a daze, blinking her eyes.

[Eh… something’s strange. There’s definitely something strange about Er Guoguo.]

[He clearly went to change clothes with Jiang Zhichang, but there was no trace of him in the Zhonghe Hall.]

Now that Jiang Zhichang has been caught up in a scandal and arrested, he appears to be completely unaware of it.

Xia Miaoyuan raised his head and looked at the queen with a calm and composed expression.

[Could it be that the Empress and Er Guoguo teamed up to kill the treacherous concubine? ]

After hearing this, a hint of pride flashed in the queen's eyes.

In the blink of an eye, it was already three quarters past noon. The guests had already eaten and drunk their fill, but because they were eager to see the results of Jiang Zhichang's interrogation, none of them wanted to leave.

Upon seeing this, Xia Zhengqi ordered the palace servants to make some arrangements at Yanyue Lake and led the guests to visit the lake.

The meaning is very clear, which is to let everyone play while waiting.

Yanyue Lake is a garden built next to Shanglin Garden.

It is called a lake, but it is not just a lake. There are also artificial hills inside it, and pavilions and towers built on the lakeside. The scenery is very pleasant and it is a good place for summer entertainment.

The guests were either boating on the lake or drinking tea in the pavilion, and everyone seemed to be in high spirits.

[Ah, these people, wearing cumbersome formal clothes, entered the palace early in the morning, and stayed there for three or four hours, and they don't even feel tired. These people have such terrible gossipy hearts, tut tut tut.]

After waking up from a nap in the pavilion, Xia Miaoyuan glanced at the group of energetic guests and complained.

Suddenly, Eunuch Debao came with a stack of papers in his hand. He walked quickly to Xia Zhengqi with a serious expression and whispered, "Your Majesty, I have done this job. These are the testimonies of the palace maids and Jiang Zhichang's confession. This is a temporary draft of the case." Then he handed the stack of papers to Xia Zhengqi with both hands.

Xia Zhengqi looked at the documents intently.

[Hey, what's written on it? Let me see, let me see! ]

Xia Miaoyuan's two little hands tried hard to grab towards Xia Zhengqi.

The queen picked up Xia Miaoyuan and sat next to Xia Zhengqi, deliberately holding Xia Miaoyuan's head higher.

The Queen and Xia Miaoyuan looked at the documents in Xia Zhengqi's hand at the same time.

[Oh my god, in Jinxiu Palace, 12 of the 16 maids are no longer virgins. And of those 12, 4 have been pregnant and given abortion pills.]

[And in the past five years, nine palace maids have disappeared without a trace in Jinxiu Palace!]

[I wonder if these 9 missing people were thrown into the dry well? How pitiful!]

Xia Miaoyuan complained in his heart as he watched.

Lanxiang has been pregnant for over two months. Jiang Zhichang admitted that it was due to his previous rape of Lanxiang in Jinxiu Palace.

[Tsk tsk tsk, only Jiang Qiqiu, that treacherous concubine, could do such a heartless thing.]

[Knowing that Lanxiang was pregnant with Jiang Zhichang's child, he used this as a threat and sent her to frame Erguoguo.]

[Luckily, I, Er Guoguo, have good character, and my mother was alert. She noticed Lanxiang's abnormality early on and transferred her away.]

Xia Zhengqi was concentrating on looking at documents when he was shocked when he heard his daughter's thoughts.

What? Concubine Jiang actually sent Lanxiang to frame the second prince?

He hurriedly flipped through the pages of Lanxiang's confession and saw that Lanxiang's identity information and transfer details were clearly written on the front. Lanxiang first worked in Jinxiu Palace and had been there for 8 months without making any mistakes. However, she was suddenly transferred to the Imperial Garden for no reason. She had been in the Imperial Garden for less than half a month when she was transferred to Kunning Palace.

After staying in Kunning Palace for a month, he was transferred to Zhonghe Hall.

"Ruoyu, did Lanxiang from Zhonghe Palace work in your palace today?" Xia Zhengqi looked up at the queen.

"That's right. Lanxiang was originally the manager of the Imperial Garden and she took the initiative to be transferred to Kunning Palace. She was told that the Imperial Garden had enough staff and didn't need so many people." The Queen said in a light tone.

"At first, I didn't pay much attention to her. She was just doing menial work in my palace. It wasn't until Chengnian returned to the palace that I realized there was something fishy about this girl."

"She would rather be scolded by the maid than dress according to palace rules. Whenever Chengnian was in the palace, she would dress up extravagantly."

"One night, Chengnian secretly drank in his room and passed out drunk. Yingxue unexpectedly found her wandering outside Chengnian's room."

"I am worried that she is too cunning and wants to curry favor with the rich and powerful. If Chengnian's reputation is ruined because of a little palace maid..." The queen hesitated to speak.

"After much deliberation, I decided to send her away just in case."

Xia Zhengqi nodded slightly in agreement, his eyes filled with shock.

It matches, all of it matches.

Concubine Jiang really did send Lanxiang to seduce the second prince.

Fortunately, the queen was alert, otherwise it would have been her naive second son who was caused by the romantic incident.

Alas, Concubine Jiang came up with a vicious plan to harm Chengnian, but her own nephew committed a crime because of his lust. It was really retribution.

Xia Zhengqi held the stack of confessions and fell into deep thought.

Eh? That's not right! Why did the eunuch who reported the news today say that the Second Prince and Lanxiang were having an affair in Zhonghe Hall?

Concubine Jiang's attitude at that time was also strange.

While Xia Zhengqi was thinking, he continued to read Lanxiang's confession.

When he saw the second half, he felt his heart beating like thunder, and he pounded his left fist heavily on the stone table.

The Queen and others were shocked when they saw this.