Chapter 367 Interrogation

Upon seeing this, the palace guards immediately stepped forward and firmly held down Wen Yilin's shoulders, one on each side, to prevent her from doing anything rash.

Jiang Huan frowned as she looked at her utterly terrified state.

Unless Wen Yilin has lost her mind, no one would be stupid enough to carry poison with them.

However, the truth still needs to be investigated.

News from Weiyang Palace quickly reached the Imperial Study.

"What!" Huo Lin suddenly stood up, his vermilion pen falling onto the memorial, staining it red.

His face was terribly gloomy, and he exuded a frightening aura of malevolence.

He practically filled every crack in the ground of Weiyang Palace with weapons, yet people still dared to come and risk their lives!

Huo Lin was extremely anxious. Without saying a word, he immediately set off for Weiyang Palace, his steps quick and hurried, carrying a chilling aura of killing intent.

As soon as he entered the palace, he saw Jiang Huan.

Seeing her sitting safely on the couch, though her face was somewhat cold, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the anger in his heart burned even more fiercely.

"What happened?"

Huo Lin's voice was icy cold. When he saw the poisonous creature on the tray that emitted a strange aura, the atmosphere around him became even more oppressive.

The imperial physician was standing nearby and, upon hearing this, briefly recounted what had happened.

Huo Lin's expression grew increasingly somber as he listened, the storm in his eyes almost solidifying into a tangible form.

He turned to Wen Yilin, who was being held by guards, his eyes sharp as knives, as if he wanted to peel her skin and dissect her bones to see into her heart: "What else do you have to say?"

Wen Yilin was startled by Huo Lin's gaze, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head, instantly sobering her up.

She knelt heavily on the ground with a thud, disregarding her dignity, tears streaming down her face, and cried out in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, please be wise! I am innocent! I really don't know how there could be poison in the sachet. My mother sent this sachet to the palace just the day before yesterday. I checked it carefully when it arrived, and it was perfectly fine."

As she spoke, she kowtowed forcefully, and red marks quickly appeared on her forehead: "I have worn this for the past two days without ever taking it off. Only yesterday, when I went to the Imperial Garden to relax, did I take it off and place it on a stone bench in the pavilion for a moment. But there were palace servants guarding the area. I never expected that such a thing would be hidden inside. Even if I had a hundred times the courage, I would not dare to harm the imperial heir or the Imperial Noble Consort!"

She cried so hard she was almost breathless, and her fear and grievance didn't seem entirely feigned.

Huo Lin narrowed his eyes, not immediately drawing a conclusion.

He ordered Wang Degui in a deep voice: "Immediately summon the female officials on duty, all the close attendants in Consort Wen's palace, and all the palace servants who were on duty in the Imperial Garden yesterday. I want to question them personally!"

[I want to see which demon or monster dares to stir up trouble right under my nose.]

Anyone who dares to harm the person I cherish most will be dragged out and torn to pieces!

The entire palace instantly became highly efficient.

Soon, all those involved were brought to the outer hall of Weiyang Palace, where they knelt on the ground in a dark mass, their faces ashen and their bodies trembling like leaves.

Huo Lin sat upright in the main seat, his face ashen, and personally interrogated the suspect.

After reviewing the records, the female official in charge of recording the comings and goings of items in the palace reported in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, there was indeed a batch of items sent from the household to Consort Wen's palace recently. The items recorded in the register are all ordinary clothing, jewelry and spices, and there is nothing unusual. The eunuchs also checked them briefly when they handed them over and found nothing amiss."

Wen Yilin's personal maid was terrified and stammered, "Her Majesty is indeed very fond of this sachet. She has hardly taken it off these past two days. She only took it off for a moment yesterday afternoon when she was resting at Bibo Pavilion. But we have been guarding it the whole time and have not seen any outsiders approach."

The eunuch on duty in the Imperial Garden recalled: "There were many palace people coming and going near the Bibo Pavilion yesterday afternoon, but I didn't pay special attention to who exactly approached the pavilion. I was sweeping at a distance at the time."

After a round of questioning, the clues seemed to have died out in that brief moment of silence in the Imperial Garden.

Some people are quite familiar with Wen Yilin's whereabouts and habits, and they are very shrewd.

Taking advantage of her unpreparedness, right under the noses of her many palace servants, they secretly switched the filling in the sachet and cleverly stuffed poison inside.

This was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a meticulously planned conspiracy.

Shen Yi also received the news and arrived at the scene. He whispered a few words in Huo Lin's ear, obviously using his intelligence network to quickly verify the information. However, it seems that he has not yet been able to identify any specific suspects, only confirming that the poison did not come from the Wen family.

[It seems someone from the palace did this. To be able to do something like this so quietly in the crowded Imperial Garden, they must be an expert.]

Is her the target, or is he trying to kill two birds with one stone?

Huo Lin's mind raced, and his gaze fell on Wen Yilin once more.

“Even if you didn’t put the poison in yourself, you disturbed the Imperial Noble Consort, and you cannot escape your crime!” Huo Lin’s voice was icy. “Moreover, I have heard that you have always been dissatisfied with the Imperial Noble Consort.”

He raised his hand, and Shen Yi immediately presented him with a thin file of records.

Huo Lin threw it in front of Wen Yilin: "Do you want me to read aloud all the things you said in the palace recently, complaining that the Imperial Noble Consort 'monopolized the Emperor's favor' and 'bewitched the Emperor'? Or do you want me to summon those palace maids who gossiped with you to confront me?"

When Wen Yilin saw the file, her face turned deathly pale, her lips trembled, and she could no longer utter a word of explanation.

She was indeed jealous of Jiang Huan, and she often complained about her in private, even cursing her.

She just didn't expect that the Emperor knew all of this, even the things she said in private.

"Issue my decree," Huo Lin ordered without hesitation, "Consort Wen has acted inappropriately and brought poison into the palace. From this day forward, she shall be transferred to the Inner Palace for strict supervision until the true culprit is identified, at which point she shall be dealt with accordingly."

"No, Your Majesty, I am innocent! I know I was wrong! Please, Your Majesty, have mercy!"

Wen Yilin panicked completely; the Yeting Palace was a more terrifying place than the Cold Palace.

She struggled to rush forward and beg for mercy, tears streaming down her face, but the guards held her down mercilessly and dragged her out of the palace like a piece of trash.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to Wen Yilin's cries and the atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, a sudden change occurred.

A head maid who had been following Wen Yilin with her head bowed suddenly flashed a ruthless and resolute light in her eyes.

She suddenly raised her head and, with lightning speed, drew a short blade from her sleeve, stabbing it fiercely towards Jiang Huan's heart.

"You bitch, die!"

All of this happened too fast and too unexpectedly. No one expected that a seemingly ordinary palace maid would actually be carrying a sharp weapon and would choose to launch an attack at this moment.

Huo Lin's pupils contracted sharply. Without thinking, he instinctively pulled Jiang Huan behind him and kicked the palace maid who had suddenly attacked him.