Seeing the Emperor and the Empress Dowager's explanation, the Imperial Concubine immediately knelt on the ground. The beautiful lady who used to be so radiant and dazzling was now about to cry:

"Your Majesty, you know Rong An's personality. Although she has a bit of a girlish temper, she never lies. Rong An heard it with her own ears this time and was so frightened that she dared not return to the palace. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly.

Su Rouer and the bandits. Su Rouer tricked Rong An into leaving the palace, and then was kidnapped by the bandits in the teahouse. Normally, bandits would kidnap people on the way, but this time it was clearly premeditated.

Bai agreed, "Your Majesty, please conduct a thorough investigation so that the husbands and brothers-in-law fighting at the border can rest assured about the princess's safety."

The Emperor was placed on a platform, and said with a stern face, "Rong An is my most beloved princess. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."

Soon, the miserable Su Rouer and several bandits were brought up and made to kneel on the ground.

The imperial concubine thought that if her daughter had not escaped, Su Rouer would be in the miserable state she is now. Given her daughter's personality, that would be worse than killing her.

She ignored her manners and slapped Su Rouer's face furiously, "Rong An treats you so well, wanting to give you everything. How dare you betray him? How dare you?"

No one in the hall dared to pull the extremely angry imperial concubine, and soon Su Rouer's face became swollen.

Su Rouer cried, "I am wronged. I have always been loyal to Princess Rong'an."

The imperial concubine was tired from fighting and was helped back to her seat by Rong An and Bai.

In her previous life, Su Rouer gained the original owner's trust and easily conspired with the prince consort to murder her. The imperial concubine also died of depression after the death of her only daughter. Now, she is just asking the imperial concubine to collect some interest.

The Emperor said, "Maid Su Rou'er, you were leading the princess out of the palace when the bandits appeared. If you tell the truth, I'll spare your life. Otherwise, you'll be killed without a burial place."

Ye Lingyi's hands clenched tightly beneath his long sleeves. "This bitch mustn't betray me, or I'll kill her whole family."

Su Rouer pulled her clothes open to her shoulders, revealing bruises and purple scars. Her face was red and swollen, tears streaming down her face.

"I was humiliated by the bandits for seven days and seven nights. If I were in league with the bandits, how could I have endured such humiliation?

Moreover, my life was saved by Princess Rong An. I took the princess out to play just to make her happy, and never intended to put her in danger."

The imperial concubine didn't believe it at all, thinking it was just a self-torture trick: "Your Majesty, I don't think you will tell the truth unless you torture me."

The emperor nodded, and someone immediately put Su Rouer on a stool and started beating her with a stick, asking her to tell the truth while beating her.

The board hit Su Rouer hard again and again, and also hit Ye Lingyi's heart, and sweat flowed down her back.

"I am wronged..."

Su Rouer refused to change her words and refused to confess that Ye Lingyi killed herself. If she confessed, the Queen and the Crown Prince would kill her entire family.

Soon she passed out, leaving only a few red spots on her clothes where she was beaten.

Ye Lingyi patted his chest and pretended to be frightened. "This is too bloody. The Royal Grandmother's birthday is coming soon. We should accumulate some blessings for her."

She was afraid that if she continued beating her after waking her up, Su Rouer would not be able to bear it and would confess.

The emperor waved his hand and had Su Rouer dragged away.

The imperial concubine reminded: "These bandits have not been tortured yet."

The bandits had never thought that they would be involved in the bloody storm between the royal family by doing things for money and helping others to avoid disasters. Just now, seeing the miserable state of the woman, several strong men made her confess the whole story without even torturing her.

Now all that’s left is to find the masked man who was in contact with the bandits.

The imperial concubine suggested that everyone in the palace should wear masks, form groups of ten, and let the bandits identify them.

The Queen sneered, "The palace has thousands of servants serving it. What a huge undertaking! Is this going to keep the Emperor awake for three days and three nights? Besides, Rong An is fine now. Doesn't Rong An care about her father?"

Dan Ruo looked at the emperor with a sharp gaze and said, "Of course, I don't want to let you work so hard. How about checking a hundred people? I will choose them myself."

With the help of the Samsara Pearl, Dan Ruo easily found the prince's men.

The bandits widened their eyes and carefully identified the rows of masked men.

The imperial concubine said, "If you recognize him, I will plead with the emperor to give leniency to the women, children, and elders in your family who are implicated."

After a while, the bandit's gaze stopped on a thin figure. The queen narrowed her eyes and recognized that it was Xiao Yuanzi, the eunuch who served the prince, and the prince's face was already sweating.

Just as the bandit started to point fingers, the queen pushed Ye Lingyi out, attracting everyone's attention.

Ye Lingyi received the Queen's signal and said with resentment:

"I was angry because Sister Rong An snatched Prime Minister Su's painting from Father a few days ago. I also like it, and Sister Rong An is not good at calligraphy, so it would be a waste to give it to her. I went to her house several times to ask for it but to no avail. So I wanted to teach Sister Rong An a lesson in anger. I was wrong."

The Queen slapped Ye Lingyi before the Imperial Concubine could do so. "Rong'an has been stealing a lot from you since he was little. Why don't you just give in to your sister? Why are you so foolish?"

With these words, he pinned Ye Lingyi's fault on the fact that he had been bullied by him. Dan Ruo didn't want to take the blame.

"From childhood to adulthood, I have never taken anything from Sister Yi An. They were all given to me by the Emperor. So, if Sister Yi An is angry because the Emperor gave me the things, then the fundamental reason is that the Emperor did not give them to me. So, Sister Yi An is going to take revenge on the Emperor."

Ye Lingyi stuttered in anger, "That's not the case...that's not the case."

Every time I expressed my love for her, Rong An would also say he liked her. In order to stabilize the general's position, my father gave all of her things to Rong An. Even if my father secretly prepared the same thing for me, I couldn't show off to others.

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