"What's with this chicken blood?"
"The pheasant soup that the prince ate that day was sent by the Niu family from Zhangjia Village. Mo Feng went to Zhangjia Village to investigate, but the Niu family had disappeared."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I, along with my subordinates, have searched the mass graves near Zhangjia Village, but have found no trace of the Niu family. They left in such a hurry that they left behind nothing, including pots, pans, or anything else. There were five pheasants in the backyard, and I brought them back to inspect them!"
"Then have you found out who the Niu family has been in contact with these days? Where did this pheasant come from?"
"Your Majesty, the Niu family is a descendant of Zhangjia Village. They have lived in Zhangjia Village for over ten years and are neighbors with the housekeeper, Madam Zhang. During the busy farming season, they would go hunting in the mountains and take the wild products, pheasants, and rabbits they caught to the town to sell. It was because of Madam Zhang's connections that they were able to send the wild products, pheasants, and rabbits to the mansion in exchange for more money."
"Yes, Father. I saw that the Niu family was honest and kind, and they were neighbors with Mother Zhang. Their game was of the highest quality, so I offered them more money in exchange for the game. I didn't expect that something bad would happen with the Niu family."
Xie Wanyi: "Your Highness, the problem may not lie with the Niu family. The princess is testing the five bowls of chicken blood. We will make a conclusion after the results are out."
"The Niu family disappeared for no apparent reason, so this incident itself is inextricably linked to them!" At this time, the Empress Dowager brought Yun Gu, Lin Fang, Fu Xuan and others into the courtyard. "Now that we can no longer get any clues about the person behind this from the Niu family, we should bring Zhu Yue up first and interrogate her thoroughly."
Emperor Qianyuan said, "Wanyi, have someone bring the person up."
"Bring that girl Ziyu up here as well!" The Empress Dowager would not let this matter pass by without turning a blind eye.
Peony and Angelica dahurica both felt a tremor in their hearts, thinking that Zi Yu might suffer.
"Brother Xu, has the princess found out that there is no poison in the water? Has the princess cleared my name?" Zhu Yue asked with anxiety and expectation when she saw Xu Mo coming in with a cold face.
"You'll know when you get there. Let's go." Xu Mo took into consideration their past friendship and didn't let anyone force her to leave.
Zhu Yue secretly thought that this was not good, she would probably be blamed for poisoning the prince!
"Your servant Ziyu greets the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the Prince, and the Princess."
"Your servant Zhuyue greets the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the Prince, and the Princess."
The Empress Dowager looked at Zhu Yue sternly, "Tell me the truth, who is behind you? Save yourself the pain!"
"The Queen Mother is wronging me. I didn't do it. I was framed!"
"Now all the evidence points to you. You are the one who poisoned her. You still dare to quibble and cry out for injustice? Come on, beat her until she confesses!"
The two imperial guards beside the Queen Mother hurried over to grab Zhu Yue.
Zhu Yue was filled with fear. She struggled to free herself from the large hand that was restraining her wrist, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Empress Dowager! I'm innocent. You can't hit me! You're forcing me to confess."
"Just push her to the ground and beat her!" The Queen Mother was extremely furious. A little slave girl was the murderer of her grandson, and he had the guts to say that she was tortured into confessing!
"Your Highness! I can't possibly be your murderer! I was framed and wrongly accused!" At the critical moment, Zhu Yue turned to Feng Jinyu, who was lying on the recliner, for help. "Those water-carrying boys come into contact with water every day. They could have poisoned it, too. How could they be ruled out as suspects? I refuse to accept this!"
"stop!"
The two imperial guards looked at the empress dowager, who nodded, and Zhu Yue was released.
Feng Jinyu said, "Wanyi, since she's not convinced, let someone talk to her in detail."
Xie Wanyi glanced at Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi stepped out of the group and greeted the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Prince before slowly speaking:
"Zhuyue, when you followed Mama Zhang to the small kitchen of Xiaoyun Pavilion early that morning, weren't the two servants carrying water waiting outside the kitchen door?"
"Yes, they most likely poisoned the water. The water was poisoned then."
"Wrong. The water they brought was clean and safe. It had not been poisoned. Otherwise, the prince would have vomited blood and fainted during breakfast, not lunch."
"The princess said this poison is a chronic poison. Anyone with a chronic illness will immediately experience symptoms if they ingest it. Ziyu has a chronic illness that causes frequent abdominal pain and diarrhea. She recovered at the Duke of Anguo's mansion and hasn't had an attack in years. However, after trying the fish porridge and on her way to deliver lunch to the prince and princess, her illness relapsed... Therefore, the water in the water tank is non-toxic during breakfast, but it's not clean during lunch."
Zhu Yue was stunned. "Between breakfast and lunch, someone must have sneaked in and poisoned the water tank to frame me!"
"No one could have sneaked in. The kitchen door was locked, and the key was always hanging around Mother Zhang's neck. When you leave the small kitchen to eat in the big kitchen, you always put things back in their places. And you were responsible for covering the water tank at that time. Am I right?"
Zhu Yue's face showed fear. She was the only one responsible for adding water. If she was not the one who poisoned it, it would be hard to explain!
How vicious!
Who is harming her? !
"What?" Bai Zhi looked at her with disdain. "You dared to poison me? You don't dare to admit it! Tell me who ordered you to do it?"
Emperor Qianyuan's face darkened. "Tell me the truth. Who ordered you to poison Yu'er? Save yourself the pain!"
Zhu Yue faced the pressure from Emperor Qianyuan, and a fear of death swept through her body like a cold current.
She was framed, how can she prove her innocence?
"Come here, beat me!"
Zhu Yue looked at the big boards in the hands of the two imperial guards, her head buzzed, and she fainted!
"Hurry!" Emperor Qianyuan cried urgently, "Don't let her die!"
Li Yuanliang rushed over with a silver needle, and after a moment he said, "Your Majesty, she just fainted, she didn't commit suicide by poisoning!"
"What? Check if she has any drugs on her body?"
"Your Majesty, she has no hidden poison!"
"Wake her up!"
A basin of cold water was poured over her head, and Zhu Yue shivered and woke up.
"Your Majesty, Prince, Queen Mother, Princess, I was framed. I did not poison you. I am innocent!"
"That's enough!" the Empress Dowager ordered. "I think you won't cry until you see the coffin. Beat me!"
Zhu Yue was quickly dragged to the bench, "This servant is innocent...ah!"
Zhu Yue's wails of pain were soon heard in the yard.
"I am innocent... No one ordered me to do that... I... Ah... did not poison... Ah..."
The two imperial guards held back their force, wanting to make her suffer a little to reveal the mastermind behind the incident, but they didn't use too harsh a blow.
Xie Wanyi watched Zhu Yue being tortured. The clothes on her buttocks were stained red, and she kept shouting that she was innocent. She was extremely panicked.
Is she really wronged?
After all, the princess did not test the water. What if there is no poison in the water, but only the pheasant is poisonous?
After all, the prince drank chicken soup at that time!
When Xie Wanyi hesitated, Emperor Qianyuan shouted, "Stop."
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