Chapter 170: Blood Hairpin as Evidence
The prince's body was trembling slightly as he looked at the sword in the emperor's hand, on which the blood had not yet dried.
He was really afraid that the next sword would be aimed at him.
"Father, your son...your son is innocent!"
The emperor's fingers gripped the sword so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Unjust? Prince, I am not a foolish king who would not tolerate my subjects' arguments. Then tell me how you are wronged."
My subject, the prince's heart is sinking, which means he has no regard for the relationship between father and son.
"Father, this was the situation when I came in. I was shocked and wanted to report it to you, but I felt dizzy and lost consciousness. I just woke up... I did not kill Concubine Yu. Please understand."
He kowtowed heavily, his tone firm: "Noble Lady Yu is my father's concubine. I always remember the rules, not only to her, but also to everyone in the harem, I never dare to overstep the line."
Imperial Concubine Shu signaled the eunuch to move a chair and helped the emperor sit down: "Your Majesty, the emperor's health is the most important thing. If you have anything to say, please speak slowly."
"The prince is indeed a man of rules. Whenever I see him in the harem, he always behaves in a measured way."
The emperor laughed briefly: "If you really follow the rules, why would you often go in and out of the harem?"
The Queen's face changed slightly: "Your Majesty, the prince said that the situation was already like this when he came in. The murderer must be someone else."
She suddenly thought of something: "Your Majesty, Yu Shengsheng was also present. Maybe she knew something. Even if she didn't, she is guilty of breaking into the harem."
Fu Qingyin raised his eyelids and looked at her, a cold look flashing in his eyes.
The emperor was angry, and even a small mistake would be magnified infinitely at this moment.
"Let her in!"
Fu Qingyin turned around and walked out. With him out, the others didn't dare to move.
Yu Shengsheng was still kneeling there. Fu Qingyin approached her and asked in a low voice, "Are you not fainted?"
Yu Shengsheng looked up in surprise and met his dark eyes: "Yes."
"Why don't you tell me who the maid belongs to?"
"She belongs to Concubine Shu, but I think... something is fishy."
"Get up," Fu Qingyin ordered, "Follow me into the palace. Since you have made up your mind, stick to it to the end. Let's see if you can withstand the emperor's wrath."
If he can, he would be a useful person.
If you can't, and you're scared, then you're just a fool with a momentary courage.
Yu Shengsheng turned around and followed him. Lu Xingzhan and Kong Dezhao outside the door both frowned.
Fu Qingyin sneered: "You are quite popular."
Yu Shengsheng pursed her lips, she really couldn't respond to this.
After entering the hall, Yu Shengsheng simply knelt down.
The queen immediately asked, "Yu Shengsheng, tell me, did you see the real murderer? You broke into the harem without permission, which is a serious crime. If you saw something but didn't say anything, you would be guilty of the same crime as the murderer!"
She spoke in a stern voice, her face was pale and blue, the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked like she was on the verge of collapse.
Yu Shengsheng had never seen such a queen.
The queen was always calm and composed. Even when she saw a lowly person like herself, covered in blood and barely breathing, she still kept a smile on her face.
In that cold smile, there wasn't even a hint of compassion that a mother of a country should have.
Yu Shengsheng felt secretly happy and his heart became more stable.
"Your Majesty, what I just said is true. A palace maid deceived me. When I found out something was wrong, she drugged me and brought me here when I woke up. As for what the Empress said about seeing the murderer, I dare not lie to you. I really didn't see anything."
The Queen sneered: "You said someone brought the unconscious person here, right? What evidence do you have?"
Yu Shengsheng pursed her lips, and Concubine Shu sighed: "The person is unconscious, how can we get evidence? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also said just now that he was knocked unconscious."
The Queen asked sternly, "How can this be the same?"
Concubine Shu opened her eyes slightly, obviously frightened, and hid behind the emperor.
The emperor glanced at the queen with a sullen face and said, "Queen, you are the mother of a country, not just the mother of the prince."
The Queen clasped her hands together: "Yes."
The emperor turned to look at Yu Shengsheng: "Do you have any evidence?"
Yu Shengsheng was silent for a moment: "Your Majesty, I, your humble servant..."
The Queen added: "If there is none, then just tell me what the person looks like and which palace he belongs to."
Yu Shengsheng whispered, "I have evidence."
The queen was stunned, and the emperor looked at Yu Shengsheng with a serious gaze.
Yu Shengsheng took out a hairpin from her sleeve and raised it with both hands. Fu Qingyin took it and a cold light flashed in his eyes.
Last time, I took away one of her sharpened hairpins, and now I’m sharpening another one. What kind of situation is she in that she has to use this kind of thing?
Fu Qingyin held the hairpin between her fingertips and asked the emperor to look at it: "Your Majesty, please look, there is still blood on this hairpin."
The queen couldn't believe it: "You killed someone? Who in this palace did you kill?"
Fu Qingyin said: "Empress, our preliminary judgment is that the eunuch and the palace maid were killed by a sword. This is the hairpin."
Yu Shengsheng took over the conversation: "Your Majesty, I realized something was wrong and wanted to escape, but the maid stopped me. I had no choice but to stab her arm with this hairpin."
The palace looked at Fu Qingyin, who nodded: "Red Dragon Guard!"
"exist!"
"Investigate immediately and find out all the palace maids with hairpins on their arms!"
"yes."
The Red Dragon Guards left with the order, and that meant that not only the harem but also the front hall would be searched.
None of the officials in the front hall left, and they were all waiting anxiously.
The prince's party was extremely anxious and hoped to get good news as soon as possible. It was all a misunderstanding and the prince was framed.
The ministers who supported other princes secretly hoped that this must be true, as it was a perfect opportunity to overthrow the crown prince.
The Su family was also waiting there, and now they discovered that Yu Shengsheng was missing.
The old lady said dissatisfiedly: "Why are you running around at this time? Aren't you afraid of causing trouble?"
Su Huaiyuan whispered: "Mother, Shengsheng knows his limits."
As he was speaking, the Red Dragon Guards arrived, filled with murderous intent. The entire hall instantly became filled with a murderous atmosphere that was extremely depressing.
"All palace maids, retreat to the west side hall, all officials and their wives, retreat to the east side hall."
Everyone followed the order, no matter if she was a daughter of a fourth-rank official or a first-rank imperial official, they all had to obey the order.
The old lady and Su Zhiyi also retreated to the east side hall.
Two housekeeping aunts came in. The old lady had some impression of them. They were the housekeeping maids in charge of the Emperor's study and were originally the head maids serving the Empress Dowager.
Later, when they were older, the empress dowager assigned them to the emperor's side, to be in charge of daily affairs, to take care of his retirement, and to train some palace maids.
They are considered neutral, loyal only to the emperor and ignoring the struggles in the harem.
As soon as she saw them, the old lady had a bad feeling.
It must be a great thing to be able to send them out.
On second thought, the prince had already killed Concubine Yu, so what could be more serious than this?
It was Aunt Guan who said, "Everyone, please roll up your sleeves and show your arms."
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