Lanqin was overjoyed: "Great! Are you sure this palace maid looks like the person from that day?"

Xiao Guizi looked at the palace maid again, but she kept her head down. Lanqin angrily shouted, "Raise your head for me..."

The palace maid was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground and cried out, "Your Highness, please investigate! This servant knows nothing..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Guizi shook his head again and said, "No! That day, I did indeed hear a male voice. Although the palace maid's figure and appearance are seven or eight parts similar, the voice is not that of the same person..."

The Fourth Prince remained silent, his gaze fixed on her. Consort Nian stood up and strode to Lanqin, blocking the maid's path. She said to Lanqin, "Consort Xi, have you made enough of a scene? You've tried every means to frame me, just to smear my reputation. You couldn't investigate Yikun Palace, so you investigated the people there. Now you can even frame the maids of Yikun Palace. You've truly opened my eyes..."

Lanqin said coldly, "Consort Nian, I meant no offense. Hongli is in critical condition, and only by finding the source of the poison as soon as possible can he be saved. I urge Your Highness to confess as soon as possible..."

"Smack..."

While Lanqin was speaking, Nian suddenly raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

Baoqin cried out in distress, "Your Highness, how could you hit someone?"

Consort Nian was about to raise her hand to touch the zither's mouth, but Lanqin stopped her.

"Your Highness, why did you hit Consort Xi just now?" The Fourth Prince felt sorry for Lanqin being hit, but he couldn't vent his anger on Lady Nian, so he had to ask in a huff.

“Your Majesty, Consort Xi has committed an act of insubordination. Am I not allowed to discipline her? Your Majesty is being far too protective of her own!” Lady Nian persisted. “Now she even wants to investigate my maids. She is truly riding on my head. I am merely teaching her a lesson.”

Fourth Master knew that what Lady Nian said made sense, so he couldn't scold her anymore.

Lanqin, expressionless, stepped in front of the maid and said, "Your Highness, my servant was ignorant and only acted out of concern for her mistress. Please forgive her. If Your Highness finishes beating her, Lanqin will still interrogate this maid..."

Upon hearing this, the palace maid burst into tears, clutching Consort Nian's robes and pleading, "Your Highness, please save me! I know nothing! Why is Consort Xi framing me? I heard that it was a eunuch who took the prince away. I am a genuine palace maid; how could I be involved with a eunuch... Your Highness, you must save me..."

Consort Nian, panting with anger, glared at Lanqin: "This palace maid is my second-class maid, assigned by the Imperial Household Department. In other words, she was bestowed upon me by the Emperor. If Consort Xi has doubts, does she expect the Emperor to have them as well?"

Lanqin turned around and glanced at the Fourth Master sitting in the room. The Fourth Master remained silent.

“She looks similar to the person who took Hongli away that day, which makes people suspicious! She is the most suspicious. Since Consort Nian has a clear conscience, there is no need to worry about being investigated…” Lanqin said confidently, not giving an inch.

When Consort Nian saw Lanqin reaching out to pull the palace maid, she abruptly stopped her and looked down at Lanqin, saying, "Niohuru Lanqin... do you know what you're doing?"

Lanqin calmly raised her head and looked at Consort Nian: "Your Highness, I am a mother. I am not even afraid of death for my child. What do you think I would be afraid of?"

Consort Nian was so angry she couldn't speak. She cried to the Fourth Prince, "Your Majesty, Consort Xi has committed insubordination and harmed the harem. She should not be forgiven. Now she's saying that the eunuch who poisoned the prince was one of my maids. How can we believe such a thing? Men and women are worlds apart. Even a three-year-old child can tell the difference. Does Your Majesty intend to let her run rampant?"

Lanqin looked at the Fourth Prince and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to torture this woman severely. She will surely confess the truth! Hongli can't wait any longer. No matter what Your Majesty decides to do with Lanqin afterward, I will have no objection. But Hongli is still waiting for Your Majesty to save him..."