"Whatever you want." He Lin let Gu Qian investigate.

He didn't believe that Gu Qian could find anything more when the evidence was irrefutable.

Gu Qian, in order to clear his junior sister's name, naturally had to do his best to investigate thoroughly.

During the thorough investigation, he pleaded with He Lin:

"Your Majesty, please allow my junior sister to stay at my residence for a while. I assure you, she will not leave the General's residence until the matter is clarified."

He Lin shook his head, uttering only two cold words, "Not allowed!"

It was not allowed before, it is not allowed now, and it will be even less allowed in the future.

Shu'er is now pregnant with his child.

Gu Qian was rejected by He Lin once again.

It wasn't that He Lin didn't trust Gu Qian.

Instead, they didn't trust Shu'er.

He knew that, given Shu'er's current temperament, she would definitely try every means to escape his control.

Therefore, he did not allow Shu'er to leave the palace gates.

Li Wenshu, imprisoned in the palace, was filled with deep remorse.

Why not stay close to your parents?

Why did she deliberately invite trouble upon herself?

Even if I end up alone, it's still better than my current life.

Whether it's his senior brother or the Third Prince,

Which one isn't better than He Lin?

Why did she fall for him in the first place?

Li Wenshu could not stand He Lin's control.

If she had no attachments, she felt that even death would be a hundred times better than her current life.

However, she was pregnant and could not die.

Furthermore, what would happen to her parents if she died?

Gu Qian couldn't bear to see his junior sister in such pain.

"Your senior brother will stay and keep you company."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at He Lin.

Seeing that he did not speak, she naturally agreed.

In fact, He Lin also wanted to prove Li Wenshu's innocence.

He had investigated over the past few months, but with such compelling evidence and witnesses, what could He Lin possibly find out?

That night, Gu Qian stayed overnight in the outer courtyard of the palace.

From then on, a thorough investigation into the previous events began.

He demanded that He Lin grant him the right to move around freely.

When He Lin had free time, he would also investigate with Gu Qian.

In fact, He Lin felt that Gu Qian's actions were meaningless.

But Gu Qian simply believed in his junior sister.

After two weeks of covert investigation, Gu Qian had no clue whatsoever.

Even He Lin advised him to give up.

He felt that since this was the truth, Gu Qian wouldn't be able to find anything out.

However, Gu Qian's persistence was undeniable.

He was not discouraged and continued his investigation with He Lin.

These days, Gu Qian has been keeping a close eye on Consort Gao in secret, but since he arrived, she has been staying in her palace and has never shown herself.

Through his inquiries, Gu Qian learned that Consort Gao's favorite place to stroll was the back garden, but several months ago, she suddenly stopped going there.

Therefore, he developed a strong interest in the imperial harem's back garden.

One morning, Gu Qian and He Lin discovered that some chrysanthemums in the densely lush back garden had withered.

Although it is autumn now, it is not yet late autumn, and other chrysanthemums are still vying for beauty.

"Strange, why have all these chrysanthemums withered?" He Lin was usually busy with official duties and had very little time to stroll through the back garden.

If Gu Qian hadn't come today, he certainly wouldn't have come alone.

Gu Qian became suspicious and crouched down to examine him.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the flower branches in that location appeared to have been over-fertilized.

"Gu Qian, let's go. It's just a few withered chrysanthemums, what's so interesting about it?"

However, Gu Qian showed no intention of leaving.

“Your Majesty, send someone to dig it up.” He pointed to the ground beneath the withered flower branches.

"Why dig it up?" He Lin asked, puzzled. He thought that Gu Qian was being paranoid in order to prove Shu'er's innocence.

However, they still dispatched eunuchs to uproot the withered parts of the land, and then painstakingly dug up the ground bit by bit.

At first, the two of them didn't find anything.

But as the eunuchs dug deeper,

The discovery of an infant's skeleton horrified the two eunuchs.

Not to mention the eunuchs, even He Lin was startled.

His dead little prince isn't buried here.

He was horrified and determined, by examining the baby's clothing, that the buried infant was the body of a female baby.

Seeing the horror on He Lin's face, Gu Qian couldn't help but suggest to him:

"Your Majesty, take some time to bring your Imperial Concubine here for a visit and see how she reacts."

He Lin knew Gu Qian's intentions.

He brought his imperial concubine here to admire the flowers that very day.

The Imperial Concubine started first, and appeared calm and composed.

But as she got closer, her expression clearly changed.

At that moment, He Lin realized that he had misunderstood Shu'er.

However, to Gu Qian's disappointment, He Lin did not confront Consort Gao in person.

Because He Lin had just become the emperor, he concealed his discomfort and forcibly suppressed the matter.

Disposing of Consort Gao would do him no good.

After all, the faction of Grand Tutor Gao cannot be offended.

Gu Qian had no choice but to take action himself.

That day, he tricked Consort Hui into coming here.

Threaten her to tell the truth,

He said that he and His Majesty already knew what had happened, and that he was asking the question now only because His Majesty did not want to lose the Prince of Qin, so he thought he would give Consort Hui a chance to make amends.

He Lin, who had been quietly observing Consort Hui's every move from the shadows,

Hearing Gu Qian's question, he stepped into the open.

"Consort Hui, if you tell the truth, I will show you leniency out of respect for Prince Qin. However, if you remain obstinate and frame the Empress, I will punish you severely!"

Consort Hui was coerced by both Gu Qian and He Lin into revealing the truth.

It turns out that the child buried on the ground was He Lin's real child.

She was strangled to death by Consort Gao simply because she was a daughter.

The one who died was the son of an ordinary farming couple, whom the imperial concubine ordered to be killed in order to frame He Lin and make him sad.

After all, princes are more pitiful than princesses.

What Consort Hui didn't say was that this scheme to frame her was her idea.

Upon hearing this, He Lin was filled with indescribable anger.

He confined Consort Hui to her quarters and imprisoned Consort Gao in the dungeon.

However, there were still two important officials in the court, Gao and Qin, and even if he wanted to deal with them, he had to consider the power behind the Gao and Qin families.

The King of Qin, and he also took a liking to him.

The Gao family's roots are too large; he needs to uproot them bit by bit.

That day, he lifted Li Wenshu's confinement and sincerely apologized to her.

"Shu'er, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."

"Your Majesty is too kind." Li Wenshu truly no longer cared about He Lin's attitude.

Nothing matters anymore.

She didn't care about His Majesty's punishment of Consorts Gao and Qin.

However, she was truly grateful to her senior brother. If it weren't for him, she feared that this injustice would have followed her for the rest of her life.

"If Your Majesty truly feels guilty, then please allow me to go to my senior brother's residence to express my gratitude in person."

"Alright." He Lin agreed for the first time. "However, you can return to your parents' home after you give birth to the prince."

Once she has a child, Shu'er won't be held back by herself.

He refused to believe that Shu'er could abandon her child and run away.

Li Wenshu shook her head.

"It will take some time before I give birth, Your Majesty. I am only going back to my parents' home and will not stay overnight."

She thought, once we get out of here, won't she be the one making the decisions?

She didn't want to give birth to her child in the palace.

If that's the case, it will be difficult for her to escape again.