Now Ping'er has pushed everything onto her. If it turns out to be true, she'll be finished!

Her lips trembled slightly, and she cried, "My Lady, Ping'er must have deliberately framed me. It was Ping'er who buried the ebony powder."

"Qin'er, I'll give you one more chance. Ping'er is a member of my palace. You are in charge of the Imperial Concubine's meals. Even if Ping'er has ebony powder, she can't poison the Imperial Concubine."

"If you continue to talk nonsense and fail to find evidence to prove yourself, I will convict you."

Qin'er was completely panicked at this point, and her brain was no longer working properly.

"Your Majesty, I want to see the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine will definitely believe me."

"I know that Ping'er is from the Zhaochun Palace. It was Ping'er who buried the ebony powder. But you, Madam, framed me in order to exonerate Ping'er and clear the Zhaochun Palace of suspicion."

Qin'er knelt on the ground, her face full of tears, looking extremely embarrassed. She cried desperately.

"Pure Concubine, everyone in the palace says that you are kind and fair, but little do they know that you are the murderer who poisoned the Imperial Concubine!"

In order to exonerate herself, Qin'er had no choice but to tie Concubine Chunshu and Ping'er together.

Although the imperial concubine originally wanted to frame An Zhaorong, since Ping'er in Concubine Chunshu's palace admitted to the ebony powder, it would be okay to frame another Concubine Chunshu.

Your Majesty dotes on the Imperial Concubine so much. If he knew that Concubine Chunshu was so cruel as to poison the Imperial Concubine, His Majesty would certainly dislike Concubine Chunshu. At that time, the Imperial Concubine would be the only one favored in the harem.

Maybe she could even be promoted to a personal maid.

The personal maid of a mistress of a palace is a female official, and if she has a certain rank, she can even have a room of her own.

After Qin'er said these words, she knelt on the ground with her head lowered, constantly comforting herself in her heart.

Su Jingyao's beautiful eyes suddenly flashed with a barely perceptible hint of triumph, like the cunning light of a fox, which disappeared in a flash.

Then, she opened her red lips and said slowly, "Ye Lan, every word Qin'er said today must be carefully recorded. I have always investigated cases in an upright manner and will never be partial or corrupt. Take Qin'er to the Ministry of Punishment immediately."

"No, I am a servant of the Imperial Concubine's palace. Your Majesty, you cannot punish me so casually!"

Qin'er's face was filled with fear and her eyes were filled with horror.

After all, who could enter the Ministry of Punishment and walk out safely?

Either they die a violent death or they end up disabled.

"I am in charge of the Palace Administration Department and have the power to punish. Take him away quickly." Su Jingyao said calmly.

"Yes, I understand." Ye Lan answered respectfully. She was a female official from the Ministry of Punishment, and she came to assist Concubine Chunshu in investigating the case.

After Qin'er was taken away, Su Jingyao still said calmly: "Chu Xi, send someone to search Qin'er's room."

"Yes, your Majesty." Chu Xi responded. She was a female historian in the Palace Administration Department, responsible for recording merits and demerits.

After everyone left, Su Jingyao walked into the warm room and then lay down on the beauty couch.

I have been investigating cases these two days and have really overworked my brain.

She gently closed her eyes and took a rest. When she woke up again, Chu Xi was already waiting for her in the hall.

"Your Majesty, I found An Zhaorong's pearl earrings in Qin'er's room. I think after Guo'er was taken to the Ministry of Punishment, Qin'er took all of Guo'er's things for herself." Chu Xi reported respectfully, bowing slightly as he spoke.

"In addition to this earring, there are also some gold and silver jewelry given by the imperial concubine. I also took out the clothes that Qin'er was wearing the day the imperial concubine was poisoned and took them to the Imperial Hospital for inspection. I didn't expect that the Imperial Hospital really found some ebony powder on Qin'er's cuffs."

Chu Xi continued, with a serious expression on her face.

"Didn't she wash the clothes she changed that day?" Su Jingyao asked with a frown.

How come Anshun didn’t check such obvious evidence that day?

"Qin'er probably didn't notice the ebony powder on her cuffs. The clothes of the maids in each palace were washed together on the same day, so Qin'er probably didn't notice it either."

"Have you checked Qin'er's list and resume at the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" Su Jingyao raised her eyebrows slightly and asked slowly.

The rosters and resumes of the palace servants were managed by the Imperial Household Department, but the Empress Dowager gave her the right to review them because she asked her to investigate the case.

"I have already checked. Qin'er and Guo'er were both second-class maids in Yikun Palace."

"It's just that the imperial concubine's personal maid, Juxiang, is Qin'er's fellow villager. She promoted her in front of the imperial concubine, so Qin'er was promoted to the first-class maid in Yikun Palace in less than a month." Chu Xi answered in detail.

"Does the Imperial Concubine know that Qin'er was taken to the Ministry of Punishment by me?"

“You should know.”

"Okay, you've worked hard today, please leave."

Su Jingyao waved her hand to signal Chu Xi to leave, and a smile appeared on her face.

Ling Yue, are you going to save Qin'er or abandon her?