Xie Jingxuan simply looked at Jiang Yimian and Lu Cijian without saying a word.
Upon seeing this, Lu Chengyuan realized something was wrong and quickly stood up from his seat, respectfully addressing the person in the main seat: "Your Majesty, please forgive my lax discipline, which has allowed a trivial family matter to reach Your Majesty's attention. I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Guards, take this maid and this mentally unstable woman away!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards of the Marquis's residence rushed forward to arrest him.
Xie Jingxuan, however, just stared at Jiang Yimian and said, "Wait a minute. Since this matter happened right under my nose, I will naturally help Lord Lu investigate it thoroughly."
"Young lady, I would like to know why Madam Chen's maid specifically sought you out to poison Lord Lu, and what is your relationship with Lord Lu?"
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, clearly not expecting the emperor's first question to be this, and she hadn't yet figured out how to answer.
Lu Cijian respectfully replied first, "Your Majesty, this is Miss Jiang, the one who saved General Wei in Qingnan and came up with the idea of releasing the flood reservoir."
She is also the person I love.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall was startled.
Especially among the women, everyone looked at Xue Lingyu.
"What's going on? Didn't they say that the Lu family and the Xue family were engaged and that this young master Lu was about to marry Xue Lingyu?"
Where did this Miss Jiang come from?
"Who knows? But does Prince Lu mean he wants to annul the engagement?"
"Haven't you heard? Miss Jiang saved General Wei in Qingnan and even proposed the idea of releasing water from the reservoir. I heard that this would better prevent floods. Such a capable person is the most suitable match for Prince Lu."
Hearing this, Xue Lingyu also snapped out of her shock and stared at Jiang Yimian in disbelief.
How could that be? Lu Cijian is her fiancé. What relationship does he have with this woman? She must have misheard.
Lu Cijian could only like her, how could it be Jiang Yimian?
Bai Shi, standing to the side, was also shocked. Fortunately, she still had a sliver of reason left in her mind and held Xue Lingyu tightly, preventing her from rushing forward at this moment.
Jiang Yimian was also full of surprise. How come this was different from what was agreed upon? How come she didn't know there was this confession part?
Fortunately, the young emperor was not surprised by this sudden confession. He only coughed lightly before saying, "So this is Miss Jiang. I have heard of her before. We will discuss the reward for the trip to Qingnan later."
"Miss Jiang, you say this maid instructed you to poison Lord Lu. Besides your statements, is there any other evidence?"
Jiang Yimian simply nodded and said, "Of course there is. She told me that if I agree to poison Lord Lu, I should find an opportunity to get the medicine from Madam Lu. I suppose Madam Lu is carrying the poison with her right now."
She only looked at Chen Shuyu, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.
She and Lu Cijian wouldn't have come to this banquet for nothing.
Chen Shuyu was almost speechless with shock. Just as she was about to retort, she touched the sachet at her waist and realized something was wrong. There was clearly something extra in the flower cake inside the sachet.
She turned pale with fright and immediately shouted angrily at Jiang Yimian: "You, you did it on purpose, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am innocent! I did not ask her to poison Cijian!"
"I have always treated Cijian as my own child; how could I do such a thing?"
However, no one listened to her this time. Several palace maids stepped forward and pulled off the sachet from her waist. When they opened it, they found a porcelain bottle inside.
After the Imperial Physician Chen examined the medicine, he said, "Your Majesty, this medicine is indeed poisonous. Anyone who takes it will die on the spot."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingxuan angrily shouted, "How dare you! You dare to do such a thing under my very nose, Madam Lu! What else do you have to say?"
Chen Shuyu immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, saying in a panic, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Even if I wanted to poison someone, I would never carry the poison on my person. There must be something wrong here. Your Majesty, please see the truth!"
She never expected that before she could even get under Jiang Yimian's control, she would be tricked by these two instead. This porcelain vase was clearly something she had left at Yingchun Tower last time.
She really didn't expect that Jiang Yimian, that slut, would have such courage. She was clearly quite frightened when she heard her suggestion last time.
If she hadn't seen the other person's demeanor, why would she have taken such a risk? Now it seems she was clearly deceived by that bitch.
Seeing this, Lu Chengyuan quickly said, "Your Majesty, I know the Lady best. She has always been gentle and polite, and she cares a lot about Cijian. She would never do such a thing."
"Your Majesty, this matter is strange, and it is also a family affair. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to handle it myself."
Xue Xingzhao hesitated for a moment, then quickly said, "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed strange, but what Marquis Lu said is right. This is Marquis Lu's family matter, so let Marquis Lu handle it himself."
Today's main purpose is to reward the officials involved in the Qingnan matter; we shouldn't let this trivial matter spoil everyone's mood.
If Lu Cijian cannot marry his daughter, the Lu family cannot fully help him. He must complete his main objective today and cannot be distracted by other matters.
Jiang Yimian listened to their conversation but found it amusing. "Does Lord Lu and Lord Xue mean that I'm talking nonsense?"
The commoner woman wishes to ask Madam Lu, "If this poison wasn't prepared for Lord Lu, then why does Madam Lu bring it with her even when entering the palace?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gasped in shock.
No matter who it was, anyone who came to the palace to meet the emperor would be subject to a simple search before entering. Before entering the main hall, there would be a special search by palace servants. It would be impossible for someone to evade the search and bring something into the palace by accident.
Chen Shuyu was so frightened that her body trembled.
If she wasn't preparing it for Lu Cijian, then she must have been plotting something against someone else.
As for who these other people are, that depends entirely on what the emperor thinks.
Seeing that things were not going well, Lu Chengyuan quickly scolded Lu Cijian, "You wretched child, why don't you explain to your mother what exactly happened today?"
He originally intended to take this opportunity to ask His Majesty to grant Lu Cijian a marriage, and also to persuade Lu Cijian to resign from his position in the Censorate. However, before he could even speak, this incident occurred, completely disrupting his plans.
Lu Cijian did not move, but only glanced at Lu Chengyuan before saying to the bright yellow figure, "Your Majesty, speaking of which, I also encountered several assassination attempts on my way to Qingnan. Fortunately, I had many guards with me, so I was not injured."
Originally, I was wondering who was trying to kill me, so impatiently chasing after me as soon as I left the capital. Now it seems I understand.
I grew up on a country estate and no one in my family cared about me. It is already very good that I can now serve as an official in the court. In my heart, I have no family since the day my mother passed away.
After all, since I returned to the capital, no one has come to take me home.
Now that I have found someone I wish to marry, I humbly request Your Majesty's permission. As for these insignificant people, I have no desire to concern myself with them.
He didn't want to get involved with any of the Lu family members. If he hadn't discovered that his mother's death was suspicious, he would have killed them all by now.
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