"I dined with the princess this evening, but she wasn't feeling well and went back to her palace to rest early. How could she possibly go out?!"
"Not only do you fail to take good care of your master, but you also use excuses to exonerate yourselves. Servant like you deserve to die a thousand times over! Guards—"
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Just as the Empress Dowager was about to punish the two palace maids, Zhang Bingzhi suddenly stepped forward.
"What does Your Excellency mean by this?"
Zhang Bingzhi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, although these two palace maids are guilty beyond redemption, please spare their lives until the matter is thoroughly investigated."
Empress Dowager: "What does the Grand Secretary mean..."
Zhang Bingzhi gave the Empress Dowager a reassuring look, then turned to the two palace maids kneeling on the ground:
"Let me ask you, did the princess say anything to you before she left the room?"
“This…” The two palace maids looked each other up and down, and Chunxi replied tremblingly, “The princess instructed that this servant cannot say.”
"I can see you're just trying to fob me off because you can't find any excuses. Since you're unwilling to talk, there's no point in keeping you two scoundrels alive. Guards, drag them away."
The two palace maids were deathly pale: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, spare us..."
The Empress Dowager and Zhang Bingzhi played the good cop and the bad cop, respectively, which terrified the two palace maids.
Song Ting arrived at the main hall at this moment. Zhang Bingzhi was facing the entrance; seeing him enter, he narrowed his eyes and said:
"Commander, you are truly a busy man, it is not easy to summon you."
Song Ting ignored him, walked up to the Empress Dowager, bowed, and then turned her gaze to the corpse in the main hall.
The Empress Dowager followed his gaze and looked over, her eyes immediately reddening and tears falling.
"The princess's body is not pleasing to the eye, so I had someone... had someone..."
The Empress Dowager wept bitterly and could no longer speak.
Song Ting had already walked over and lifted the brocade covering the princess, revealing her face underneath, which was swollen and pale from being soaked in water for a long time.
Even though Song Ting disliked the princess, he had to admit that she was a stunning beauty.
However, at this moment, the gentle and beautiful woman has turned into a horrifying corpse.
The two had spoken before dinner, and the princess had even given him and Chu Huaixu her blessings.
"The princess did indeed fall into the water by accident, that's beyond doubt, but why would a young lady like her avoid her personal maid and go to the pond at night?"
"This makes me wonder, is the princess going to see someone?"
This was clearly a veiled message. The only person who could possibly manage to lure a princess to such a secluded spot by the pond late at night is probably…
Everyone in the hall turned their gaze to Song Ting, but dared not be too blatant.
On the way here, Song Ting had already learned what had happened from the guard who delivered the message, which was exactly what puzzled him.
Why did the princess go to that place?
After putting the brocade back on, Song Ting walked to the two palace maids, squatted down, and her eyes were cold and gloomy.
"It would be best to explain in detail what the princess is going to do, or who she is going to see."
“If you are unwilling to speak now, I have a thousand ways to make you speak.”
"But by then, I won't be so easy to talk to."
He was still thinking about Chu Huaixu and just wanted to finish things here as soon as possible to go back and see him.
Anyone who obstructs or fails to cooperate with him makes him feel irritable.
As a result, even the aura around him was more gloomy than usual.
The two palace maids, who had been crying and begging for mercy, dared not utter a single word, shrinking back and avoiding Song Ting's gaze.
This is a living Yama known to everyone in the palace. If you really fall into his hands, you won't even be able to die.
"When we arrived at the palace, I saw the princess speaking with the commander. Did you notice anything unusual about the princess at that time?"
When the princess sought out Song Ting, she didn't deliberately avoid others; many people saw her, so Song Ting didn't hide it from her either.
"I did have a conversation with the princess, but as for what we talked about, it involves the princess's private affairs, and I cannot say."
"But I can assure you that the princess showed no signs of distress at the time. She even made an agreement with me that once we arrived at the Luoyang Palace, I would teach her riding and archery."
The princess was deeply in love with Song Ting, and the Empress Dowager could easily guess what the two of them would whisper to each other in private.
Since it involved the royal family's reputation, she certainly wouldn't let Song Ting say those things in public.
“I can also testify to this. The princess mentioned it to me during dinner, and she seemed quite interested, not at all unhappy.”
This rules out the possibility of suicide. However, even without this incident, Song Ting does not believe that the princess would attempt suicide.
The eldest princess is intelligent and kind-hearted. Although she is gentle, she is an extremely resilient person and would never give up her life easily.
Zhang Bingzhi's face darkened, and he turned his gaze to the two palace maids: "Then we'll have to pry these two open their mouths."
After speaking, he turned his gaze to Song Ting and said, "This old minister has heard that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has a variety of interrogation methods. I am sure that Commander will soon be able to find out the truth."
Song Ting had no patience to waste any more time, so he immediately grabbed a palace maid by the neck and gently pressed down on her neck about three inches below the chin.
"Uh...ah...hehehe..."
The palace maid immediately collapsed to the ground, rolling around in agony, almost fainting from the pain, yet unable to utter a sound.
Then Song Ting inserted a silver needle into her temple, keeping the palace maid alive so that she couldn't even faint.
Everyone thought he was about to question the palace maid, but instead he didn't even glance at her again. Instead, he grabbed another palace maid by the neck and said in a deep voice:
"What exactly did the princess tell you?"
The palace maid was trembling violently, her face filled with terror, as she watched her companion's tragic fate unfold before her eyes.
"This servant...this servant confesses...the princess is going to see Young Master Huaiyue!"
Song Ting's pupils suddenly dilated, and each word was almost squeezed out from between her teeth: "What did you say?"
The palace maid was terrified by his murderous gaze and confessed while crying:
"It is Young Master Huaiyue. The princess has long admired the commander, but he is as cold as iron. The princess had already given up hope."
"But this time, the lord brought back a beauty from Jiangnan and has kept her by his side at all times. The princess would like to meet her."
"The princess told us that she really wants to see what the man the master admires looks like, so that she can be willing to give up..."
"My lord, everything I've said is the truth, please spare my life..."
Although she wanted to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, she instead directed her anger at Chu Huaixu. With a swift movement, Song Ting tightened her grip and easily snapped the palace maid's neck.
"This..." Although the Empress Dowager repeatedly said that she wanted to have the two beaten to death, witnessing them die in front of her still had a great impact on her.
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