Dong Ling cried out that she was wronged, while Yu Ying insisted that she had not instigated anyone to murder Su Yu Shan.

Hongli didn't believe them at all. Now he had another question: palace maids were generally not allowed to leave the palace, so where did Dongling get the Bodhi fruit? Maybe she had accomplices!

Hongli immediately ordered, "Guards! Take Dongling to the Ministry of Justice and interrogate her thoroughly about the origin of the Bodhi Fruit. Those involved must be severely punished. As for the Empress, take her back to Changchun Palace and confine her to await further orders!"

At the emperor's command, the guards immediately sprang into action. Yu Ying knew that no matter how she explained, it would be useless, so she did not plead in public, assuming that the Empress Dowager would definitely stand up for her if she knew about this.

After everyone left, Jingren Palace returned to calm, but Su Yushan's heart was in turmoil, unable to find a way out.

In the past, when Yu Shan was murdered, no evidence could be found, and he felt guilty for not being able to seek justice for her. This time, however, the thorough investigation yielded results, preventing Hongli from feeling too disheartened.

"This time it has been found that it was the Empress and her servant who did it. The evidence is conclusive. I will definitely punish the Empress severely and avenge you!"

His gaze was unusually fierce, and Su Yushan couldn't help but ask, "What do you plan to do?"

Hongli's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression becoming extremely solemn. "Then naturally, it's the deposed empress!"

He had never liked Yu Ying, but in the end, Yu Ying hadn't committed any serious mistakes, so he had no intention of deposing her. He thought it would be fine to keep her as a figurehead. But she was restless and tried to murder Yu Shan. This completely touched Hongli's sore spot, and he would never keep this woman alive again!

"How can such a vicious person be worthy of being the empress of a country?"

Su Yushan had never desired the position of Empress, so she felt no joy when Hongli said he wanted to depose her.

Although the results were in, Su Yushan couldn't be happy; she still felt there were unanswered questions.

"I feel that this matter is not that simple."

Hongli didn't understand her meaning for a moment. "Oh? What do you mean?"

At this moment, Su Yushan tried to look at the matter from an outsider's perspective.

"Everyone knows the Queen hates me, but over the years, she has never provoked me unless it involves her child."

From the Empress's perspective, even if you favor me greatly, I am still just a Han Chinese, and it's impossible for me to become Empress. Besides, her children are all gone, and I currently pose no threat to her. Therefore, I don't think she has any reason to harm me.

Reason? When you want to harm someone, what legitimate reason do you need? Her own likes and dislikes are the biggest reason. Hongli still thinks Yuying is the most suspicious.

“Yu Shan, you underestimate the twisted and evil side of human nature. It’s common for people to want to kill each other even when they have no deep-seated hatred for each other. Besides, Xiao Xunzi has already identified Dong Ling, which is irrefutable evidence. If it weren’t for her master’s instructions, why would Dong Ling risk her life?”

What Hongli said made sense, but Su Yushan was still considering another scenario.

"These conclusions are based on the premise that Xiao Xunzi is telling the truth, but what if Xiao Xunzi is lying? Or what if someone is interfering and taking advantage of these two people?"

Yu Shan's sudden question puzzled Hongli. "Yu Shan, why do you think that? Do you believe there is another murderer? Who do you think it is?"

Su Yushan shook her head and murmured, "I'm not sure either, I just have a strange intuition."

A woman's intuition is hard to explain, but Hongli was an emperor, and his actions had to be accepted by the people.

"But you have to know that everything has to be based on evidence; intuition doesn't work."

Su Yushan was well aware of this, and she was also trying to find ways to continue gathering evidence.

"The Empress's biggest weakness is her soft heart towards her servants. Now that Dongling is in trouble, it's almost certain that the Empress will try to protect her. We can start from this point..."

Su Yushan whispered her idea, and Hongli, finding it plausible, nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

Since Yu Shan thought there was something fishy about this matter, he continued to investigate in secret.

Meanwhile, Yu Ying was confined to Changchun Palace and could not go anywhere. She thought that the Empress Dowager would save her, but Granny Qin said that the Empress Dowager had started Buddhist meditation yesterday for three days and no one was allowed to disturb her.

Yu Ying had no choice but to continue waiting until the Empress Dowager finished her retreat.

After such an incident, Yu Ying guessed that Hongli would definitely use this opportunity to severely punish her, but she didn't know what he planned to do, or whether he would take the opportunity to depose her as empress.

However, a whole day passed, and Hongli did not send anyone to deliver the message.

Given Hongli's personality, he probably won't let her off easily, right?

Yu Ying was puzzled and became increasingly uneasy. That evening, someone came to report that Dong Ling had been severely tortured and was only half alive!

The Shenxing Division was a place where people usually went in vertically and came out horizontally. It was said that the people inside were extremely ruthless. Thinking of Dongling's condition, Yuying was very anxious and stood up, saying that she had to go to the Shenxing Division herself.

The old nanny Qin immediately stopped her, "Your Majesty, Dongling is now suspected by the Emperor. You must keep your distance from her and sever ties with her."

Yu Ying could not do such a heartless and ungrateful thing. "Dong Ling has followed me for so many years. I cannot stand idly by and ignore her life and death!"

“But Dongling is foolish and plotted to harm Consort Chun. Your Majesty, you can only protect yourself by putting righteousness above family ties. If you plead for her, the Emperor will definitely think that you are the one who instructed Dongling behind the scenes.”

"Do you think that if Dongling is gone, the Emperor won't suspect me anymore? He's using this as an excuse to torture Dongling into confessing, and he wants to kill me regardless of whether it's true or not! So Dongling can't be harmed, I must protect her!"

Yu Ying believed this matter was very important and insisted on leaving Changchun Palace. When the guards stopped her from leaving, she took out her Phoenix Token and used it to threaten them.

The emperor had not yet taken away her token. The guards looked at each other, not daring to disobey, and immediately made way.

Yu Ying immediately prepared to travel to the Censorate, but was stopped by Lord Hai, an official of the Censorate.

"Your Majesty, I dare not stop you, but this is the Emperor's order. Please do not make things difficult for me!"

At this point, what did Yu Ying have to fear? "If anything goes wrong, I'll take the blame. You can just push the responsibility onto me."

The Empress insisted on going her own way, and Lord Hai pretended to be in a difficult position, stopping her for a while before finally letting her in.

The Shenxing Division was extremely dark, and the moment you entered, you felt incredibly oppressed. It was filled with the stench of blood, and the surroundings even reeked of decay.

Yu Ying covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, unwilling to go any further. Granny Qin asked the Empress to stay while she went in to call Dong Ling over.

Dong Ling, who was originally handsome, became disheveled after only one day in the hospital. Her face was covered in purplish-black marks with faint finger marks, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth. Even her hands were covered in blood, suggesting that she had been subjected to the torture of finger-crushing.

Seeing such a beautiful young woman reduced to such a miserable state, Yu Ying felt heartbroken. She opened her lips, but hesitated to speak, her throat tightening slightly.

Granny Qin told the guards to go out first, while she went outside to keep watch.

After the bystanders left, Yu Ying stared intently at Dong Ling and asked seriously:

"Dongling, there are no outsiders here now, so tell me the truth: did you plot to harm Consort Chun?"