Zhao Yuancheng looked at Yue Fei quietly, raised his hand and motioned Zhu Yu to bring Qing He up, "Do you know her?"

Concubine Yue stared at Qinghe for a long time before shaking her head and saying firmly, "Your Majesty, I have never seen this person before."

"This palace maid has confessed that you bribed her to poison Concubine Xi's daily pregnancy medication."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Yue was horrified and defended herself, "Your Majesty, I don't even know her. How can you say that I poisoned Concubine Xi? Someone must have framed me."

Zhao Yuancheng slowly rubbed the ring on his thumb and asked the queen slowly, "What do you think?"

The Queen knew that Concubine Xi was infertile, and it was probably Zhao Yuancheng who was behind it. Combined with what Liu had done before, she also understood everything.

Zhao Yuancheng's move was just to use Xi Zhaoyi to get rid of Liu.

But even if she saw it clearly, she couldn't tell the truth, after all, Liu was the second prince's biological mother.

After pondering for a moment, the Empress replied, "Your Majesty, I believe that the words of a little palace maid alone are not enough to be trusted. How about confining Concubine Yue to Qiulan Palace first, and then conducting a thorough investigation."

Concubine Xi looked at the empress anxiously and argued, "The evidence is irrefutable. What else is there to investigate?"

Zhao Yuancheng was obviously very satisfied with the Queen's answer. "Queen, as the master of the six palaces, you are to investigate this matter. No mistakes or omissions are allowed, and no easy forgiveness is allowed."

Yue Fei was struck by lightning, her mind went blank, and she suddenly collapsed to the ground.

The Queen stood up and said, "Yes, I obey your order."

Zhao Yuancheng looked away as if nothing had happened and looked at Xi Zhaoyi calmly, "Don't worry, Imperial Physician Xun is very skilled and will definitely take care of your health."

"Your Majesty." Seeing Zhao Yuancheng let Concubine Yue off so easily, Xi Zhaoyi said indignantly, "Your Majesty, I really don't understand. When there's irrefutable evidence, what else is there to investigate?"

Zhao Yuancheng said nothing, but looked at Xi Zhaoyi tenderly and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at the Queen: "Please comfort Xi Zhaoyi. I have something else to do in the morning court, so I will go back first."

"Yes, I respectfully send your Majesty off."

After Zhao Yuancheng left, Xi Zhaoyi slumped down on the bed, her eyes filled with hatred. "Why? Why does the Emperor favor that bitch Liu?"

Zhao Yuancheng's thoughts were exactly what the Queen wanted, and she immediately advised, "The Emperor is not partial to the Liu family, but cares about the Second Prince."

"Second Prince?" Xi Zhaoyi's eyes were filled with tears and gloom.

The Queen turned her head and instructed Jinmei, "Go get a basin of hot water."

"yes."

Jin Mei understood and turned around, waving her hand to dismiss the palace servants. When the two of them were alone in the room, the Queen spoke earnestly, "The Second Prince is the Emperor's only child. Perhaps the Emperor knows how cruel Liu is, but he simply can't bear to see the Second Prince suffer the pain of separation at such a young age."

The bedroom was filled with a deathly silence. After a long moment, Xi Zhaoyi murmured, "If the Second Prince were gone, would His Majesty be free from worries?"

"presumptuous!"

Upon hearing these words, the Empress coldly rebuked, "Xi Zhaoyi, I, understanding that you are deeply saddened, will not bother with you. But do you know that if these words were to reach the ears of the Emperor, your entire Yun family would be doomed!"

Xi Zhaoyi stared at the queen steadily. The golden phoenix hairpin on the queen's bun sparkled in the sunlight, and the dazzling light suddenly woke Xi Zhaoyi up.

The Queen sighed and said bitterly, "Even after getting something, Concubine Yue is never satisfied. She entered the Eastern Palace with the sole intention of reversing the situation of her Liu family. Now that Concubine Yue has given birth to an imperial heir, and the Liu family has become an imperial merchant, I never thought she would be so unsatisfied and even covet the throne."

"My lady, what do you mean?"

The Queen lowered her voice and said, "Think carefully. She is the only concubine with a child. When the pollen of the Barren Flower was mixed into Concubine Yi's Huayang Palace, Concubine Yue probably knew about Concubine Yi's pregnancy. It just so happened that you often went in and out of the flower room at that time. This made it easy for her to use a knife to kill someone. As for the incident with the Imperial Concubine that day, it was probably her doing as well."

"Yes, if the Imperial Concubine can't have children, then neither can I. If Concubine Yi also has no children, then the entire harem will belong to her."

Xi Zhaoyi gritted her teeth and said, "This bitch has such a vicious heart! I'm going to tell the emperor!"

"Do you have any evidence?"

The Queen's question immediately stopped Concubine Xi in her tracks. "The palace maid who testified against the Imperial Concubine that day has already died by hitting a pillar. How can it be so easy to overturn the verdict?"

"Are you going to let me just watch her get away with it?"

The Queen patted Xi Zhaoyi's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Silly sister, anything can happen in the harem. If Concubine Yue can poison you, you can do the same."

Xi Zhaoyi was stunned. She could never have imagined that the dignified and virtuous queen could say such words.

Facing Xi Zhaoyi's scrutinizing gaze, the queen was frank and open-hearted, as if she really treated Xi Zhaoyi as her own sister.

"My dear sister, you don't need to be surprised. In the harem, right or wrong is not the issue, only victory or defeat matters. As long as the enemy can be eliminated, who cares what method is used? You come from a military family, so you should understand this principle better than me."

Xi Zhaoyi took a deep breath, fixed her gaze, and knelt before the empress. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I understand."

The queen smiled with satisfaction and said, "Rest well. I will come to see you again in a few days."

"Your Highness, I respectfully bid you farewell."

When the Queen reached the door, she turned back to look at Xi Zhaoyi and said solemnly, "Remember, the concubines can fight as much as they want, but the royal heir is the Emperor's bottom line. If you cross that line, not only the Emperor, but the Queen Mother will be the first to disregard you."

"I understand."

After leaving Zhilin Palace, Jinmei looked at the Queen with some concern, "Your Majesty, can Xi Zhaoyi succeed?"

"Before, I was indeed worried that Concubine Xi would be brave but not wise, but given the current situation, you can rest assured. It's not Concubine Xi who wants Liu's life now, but the emperor."

Jinmei was stunned: "Your Majesty? What do you mean?"

The Queen glanced sideways at Jinmei and sneered, "Qinghe drugged Concubine Xi, but the Emperor only punished Concubine Yue. You've been by my side for so long, don't you understand?"

Jinmei shuddered, "I see. I was surprised just now. I never thought Qinghe was the emperor's man."

On second thought, Jinmei felt something was amiss. "But I just don't understand. Since you already know that the eldest prince's death was closely linked to the Qiulan Palace, why did you still remind Xi Zhaoyi to protect the second prince?"

The Queen's eyes were heavy and her mind was complicated. After a long while, she slowly spoke: "The affairs of adults have nothing to do with children. I can tell the difference."