Chapter 219 The Third Person

Faced with the emotional Yu Liu envoy, Emperor Tai'an could only soothe him gently: "Don't worry, envoy. Wait until I have clarified my questions."

"Your Majesty must give Yu Liu an explanation!" Yu Liu's envoy flicked his sleeves and spoke in a cold and hard tone.

Emperor Tai'an was angry but he didn't show it on his face.

The Great Zhou had been established for less than thirty years and had subsequently undergone a succession of imperial powers, resulting in a massive drain on manpower and financial resources. This had given Yu Liu an opportunity to develop. Now that Northern Qi was poised to make a move, Yu Liu's position became crucial.

The Yu Liu envoy obviously understood this, which is why he was so tough.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother and Princess Yi'an have arrived."

Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager had also arrived, Emperor Tai'an subconsciously frowned.

The Queen Mother loves Yi'an very much, so she will inevitably be hesitant when asking questions later.

"The envoy may wish to move to the side hall to rest first."

Yu Liu, the envoy, stood still. "The princess has been murdered. As a subject, I am deeply troubled. I beg Your Majesty to allow us to remain here and listen to the story of how the princess was murdered."

Accompanying Envoy Yu Liu were the maids and guards who had accompanied Princess Ling Que today.

Emperor Tai'an signaled the eunuch to invite the empress dowager in.

A moment later, the Queen Mother appeared in front of everyone, followed by a pale-faced girl, Princess Yi'an.

"Why doesn't your mother rest in the palace?" Emperor Tai'an stood up to greet her.

The Queen Mother glanced at the people in the hall and said calmly, "Such a big thing has happened, how can I rest?"

"I'm sorry to have caused my mother so much worry."

"Your Majesty, please clarify the matter. Yi'an was raised by me. I know her well. She would never kill anyone."

The Queen Mother's words were mainly addressed to Princess Yi'an.

Along the way, the Queen Mother had already figured out the pros and cons. The crime of killing Princess Lingque cannot be easily pinned on Princess Yian. This is not just a grudge between the two girls, but also concerns the relationship between the two countries.

Emperor Tai'an helped the Queen Mother sit down and looked at Princess Yi'an: "Yi'an, tell me."

Many eyes cast their gazes over, and Princess Yi'an spoke with trembling, bloodless lips: "I don't know... I didn't kill him, I didn't kill him..."

"Yian!" The Queen Mother called out to her in a stern voice, "If that's all you say, then even the Empress Dowager can't help you."

Princess Yi'an shuddered, her confused mind finally clearing up a bit: "At that time, Princess Lingque and I had an argument - not really an argument, she said something, I said something, and when we got excited, we stood up -"

"And then?" Emperor Tai'an asked when he saw Princess Yi'an stop again.

Princess Yi'an's eyelids twitched, revealing a confused look: "I suddenly felt dizzy, and when I looked clearly, I saw Princess Lingque slumped over on a chair, with blood pouring from her chest—"

"She's lying!" Maid Yu Liu interrupted Princess Yi'an. "I saw with my own eyes Princess Yi'an holding a bloody dagger. When she saw us rushing in, she threw the dagger away and ran away."

As she spoke, she pulled out something wrapped in a handkerchief from her sleeve. "This is the dagger. Many people saw it at the time. The guards were afraid that this important evidence would be lost in the chaos, so they picked it up and gave it to me."

The eunuch took the dagger wrapped in a white cloth and presented it to Emperor Tai'an.

It was a dagger inlaid with gems, exquisite and gorgeous. The Queen Mother recognized it as Princess Yi'an's at a glance.

For a while, this kind of dagger was popular among the noble ladies in the capital. She gave it to Yi An as a reward after hearing about it.

"Yian, is this your dagger?"

Princess Yi'an bit her lip and nodded: "Yes."

A look of disappointment flashed in Emperor Tai'an's eyes.

"Your Majesty, there were only two princesses in the private room at that time. There are witnesses and evidence. You can't say that our princess committed suicide, right?" Envoy Yu Liu said angrily.

"It's not me!" Princess Yi'an's eyes changed, "I remember, there is someone, someone is by my side!"

"Who is it?" Emperor Tai'an asked immediately.

"I was dizzy and didn't see it, but I could feel him stuffing something into my hand—" Princess Yi'an was so anxious that she burst into tears, knowing her words sounded ridiculous. "Father, you must believe me, there really was a third person. I even smelled the sweet-scented osmanthus scent on him!"

Maid Yu Liu immediately retorted: "Impossible, we didn't see the third person after we went in."

Envoy Yu Liu sneered, "Your Majesty wouldn't believe such a thing, would you?"

Emperor Tai'an coughed lightly and said seriously, "We can't be careless about such a major matter. Since there are doubts, we still need to investigate thoroughly."

"Your Majesty!" Envoy Yu Liu was shocked.

How could the Emperor of the Great Zhou say such shameless words?

"I believe the envoy would not want your country and the Great Zhou to become enemies due to misunderstandings, right?" Emperor Tai'an asked in a gentle voice.

Envoy Yu Liu trembled his lips and endured it for the time being.

After all, this was on Great Zhou territory, so we couldn't let things get too awkward. The most urgent task was to quietly report the princess's murder back to Yu Liu as quickly as possible for the king to make a final decision.

"Princess Lingque was unfortunately killed. I fully understand the grief of the envoys and others. I need some time to investigate the matter thoroughly, and I will give you an explanation when the time comes."

After sending the Yu Liu envoys away, Emperor Tai'an immediately ordered, "Arrange personnel to quietly surround the guesthouse. Do not let even a single piece of paper reach Yu Liu."

Yu Liu was thousands of miles away, and he could keep an eye on these people, so he could temporarily conceal the news of Princess Lingque's death.

Emperor Tai'an never underestimated the Qi people's ambitions. When the situation in the north became tense, his own cavalry was also intensified. However, compared to the Qi people, who were born on horseback, the Great Zhou was at a natural disadvantage in cavalry, and training them would take time.

What we lack is time.

Emperor Tai'an looked towards the north and sighed, then called Princess Yi'an over and said, "Yi'an, tell me the truth, was there really a third person there?"

"Really, Yian wouldn't dare lie to you."

Emperor Tai'an nodded, neither saying whether he believed it nor whether he disagreed, and handed the case over to the Ministry of Justice to investigate.

As Lin Hao expected, officials soon came to Hualupu to inquire.

The leading official from the Ministry of Justice was in his thirties. Seeing Qi Shuo sitting opposite Lin Hao, he was stunned for a moment: "The prince is here too?"

Qi Shuo happened to know this person: "Master Jia, are you here for Princess Lingque's matter?"

"Exactly."

"Then Lord Jia should know that this shop belongs to the General's Mansion, right?"

"Is this the property of the general's mansion?" Manager Jia subconsciously looked at Lin Hao.

I only heard that the two princesses visited this flower dew shop before entering the teahouse, but I don’t know this detail.

Qi Shuo smiled politely: "Yes, that's why I'm here too. Lord Jia, please ask if you have any questions."

After hearing this, Master Jia touched his nose.

It turned out that he came to support his daughter-in-law who had not yet married into the family.

Manager Jia had also heard of Lin Hao: "Miss Lin was present when the two princesses arrived, wasn't she?"

Lin Hao nodded.

"Could you please elaborate on the words and actions of the two princesses?"

Lin Hao told everything exactly as it was.

"So, the conversation between the two princesses was not pleasant." Director Jia glanced at Qi Shuo and changed the subject, "It is said that Princess Yi An ran straight into the Hualu Shop after running out of the teahouse. Miss Lin, can you tell me the reason?"