Chapter 26 Involvement
"Your Majesty, can you listen to what I have to say?"
Concubine Jiang Shu interrupted the two of them and suddenly interjected.
Xie Chen's brows were originally filled with extreme coldness, but they softened a lot after hearing her voice.
"Shufei, just say it."
Concubine Jiang Shu said, "Although the evidence of aconite powder being found in Concubine Pei's palace is irrefutable, I feel that Concubine Pei is absolutely right in one of her words."
"Pei Cairen was only selected into the palace last year. And as I recall, Pei Bao's mother's family lives in Jiangnan, not in the capital. It can be said that she is completely alone in this palace, with no one to rely on. It would be extremely difficult for her to sneak Wutou into the palace."
"Maybe there really is something hidden behind this matter."
She could think of this unreasonable thing, and so could the other concubines, which is why they did not add insult to injury after the stolen goods were found.
They are afraid of a reversal.
When Concubine Jiang Shu pointed it out openly, everyone started to think about it.
Huang Jieyu was surprised and asked, "Could it be that Pei Cairen was being instructed by someone?"
One concubine said something fair: "But this Pei Cairen has never been friendly with anyone, nor has she accepted anyone's favor, so who could possibly be in charge of her?"
"Who said there wasn't one?" Concubine Huang pondered for a moment and suddenly retorted, "Didn't Concubine Pei move to Changle Palace a while ago?"
She said this without mincing words.
He was just short of saying the three words "Noble Concubine Song".
"Shut up!" Empress Cui shouted at her, furious. "Huang Jieyu, you're trying to slander the Imperial Concubine with nothing to prove?!"
Xie Chen also looked at her unexpectedly.
Huang Jieyu's eyes flashed with panic, and she stammered, "I...I am just guessing..."
After she finished speaking, the hall fell into a strange silence.
Concubine Song did have the ability to obtain aconite, but she was weak and had been confined to the palace for a long time. Why did she want to harm Concubine Jiang's child?
This doesn't make sense.
But just this speculation is not enough to dispel all doubts.
There might be someone in the harem who has the same idea as Concubine Huang.
The best way right now is to search the palace to prove Concubine Song's innocence.
Just go through the motions to shut up the gossips.
Pei Tingyue's heart tightened when she thought of this. She originally thought that today's game was set up specifically for her, but now it seems that things are not that simple.
It actually implicated Concubine Song...
Before she could point out the doubts about the weight of the gold hairpin, things had reached another uncontrollable point.
If stolen goods were really found in the front hall of Changle Palace again...
Pei Tingyue's eyes darkened and he swallowed his doubts.
She wanted to see how big a stage the person behind the scenes was going to set up!
The person who broke the silence was Liang Yao.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have something to say."
All eyes in the room fell on him.
Liang Yao bowed and said, "Just now, when I was ordered to search Pei Cairen's residence, I happened to meet the Imperial Concubine. After explaining the whole story, it was the Imperial Concubine who supervised the search."
"After finding something in Concubine Pei's residence, the Imperial Concubine was afraid of arousing suspicion, so she ordered the servants to search the entire Changle Palace. The servants searched, but found nothing else."
These words cleared Concubine Song of suspicion.
Xie Chen raised his eyelids and glanced at Huang Jieyu coldly, "Are you satisfied now?"
Huang Jieyu shrank back at the look. "I knew the Imperial Concubine would never do such a thing."
Concubine Song's suspicion was cleared and the situation became deadlocked again.
Where did the aconite found in Pei Cairen’s residence come from?
Did she do this alone, or was she instructed by someone else?
Everyone was thinking about it.
Huang Jieyu was still unwilling to give up. She threw the can down the drain and directly proposed, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, let's stop guessing here. Concubine Pei knows where this aconite came from. Why not take her to the Ministry of Punishment for a thorough trial?"
Empress Cui was displeased: "Are you going to torture her to extract a confession? Even if Concubine Pei didn't do it, she'll probably confess under severe torture. Moreover, torturing concubines is against the mercy of the royal family. If you really do that, I'm afraid there will be endless gossip inside and outside the palace."
"Then what does the Queen think we should do?" Concubine Xie said impatiently, "This Concubine Pei has been reluctant to admit his guilt, and we can't punish her. Are we just going to sit here and wait?"
Pei Tingyue was just wondering whether to reveal his doubts.
There was a "thump" sound in the hall.
Looking closely, it was Xu Baolin.
The concubine who entered the palace at the same time as Pei Tingyue.
She actually slipped off the embroidery cushion.
Xu Baolin looked pale and dazed. Her maid wanted to help her up, but Wen Baolin seemed to have lost all her strength and collapsed into a puddle, unable to get up at all.
Concubine Xie asked, "Oh, Sister Xu, what's wrong? You look so distraught. Could it be that you and Concubine Pei were in cahoots and orchestrated this whole thing, and now you can't handle the pressure?"
Xu Baolin shook his head vigorously.
“It’s not me…it’s not me…”
She even forgot her title.
Concubine Xie Xian's face was filled with disgust. She frowned and asked, "Then why are you acting like this?"
Xu Baolin didn't say anything and continued to sit on the ground.
"I'm asking you a question!" Concubine Xie's tone suddenly became sharp. "I think you have something to hide!"
"There are others..." Xu Baolin trembled all over and spoke vaguely.
She looked so abnormal that Xie Chen said, "Xu Baolin, finish your sentence."
"There are others..." Xu Baolin still said this.
Everyone was annoyed by her, but they had to guide her to continue.
After being encouraged again and again, Xu Baolin finally stopped trembling, but she was still a little scared.
After Xie Chen urged her again, she finally spoke.
She said, "There are still people who can order Pei Cairen around."
In order to bring Pei Tingyue down, Huang Jieyu was more anxious than anyone else. She hurriedly asked, "Who is that person?"
Xu Baolin said with tears in his eyes: "Yes... yes..."
I didn't say it for a long time.
Huang Jieyu raised her eyebrows: "Who is it?!"
At this scolding, the thread in Xu Baolin's brain completely broke, and she cried out, "It's...it's the Queen!"
The concubines in the palace all gasped, even Concubine Xie was surprised.
When she heard these words, a numbness crawled through her limbs and bones to Pei Tingyue's mind, then suddenly exploded, and a white light flashed before her eyes.
Pei Tingyue swallowed hard.
This game is too big.
The target of the person behind the scenes is actually the Queen!
She looked towards the emperor and empress.
Xie Chen's face turned pale, and Empress Cui remained motionless, as if Xu Baolin was not pointing at her.
After a brief moment of shock, Lin Zhaorong took action first.
She walked up to Xu Baolin and kicked him, "How can you associate with the Queen?!"
Lin Zhaorong's force was not small, and Xu Baolin was kicked to the ground. She coughed twice, then covered her stomach and sobbed.
"I'm not kidding... After paying respects several times, Pei Cairen stayed in the Empress's palace, and the Empress usually took good care of Pei Cairen. This is known to everyone..."
"Besides, the Queen is fully capable of obtaining this Aconitum..."
"How dare you say that!" Lin Zhaorong pretended to kick her.
"Alright!" Empress Cui stopped him, "Lin Zhaorong, come back and sit down."
She stood up gracefully and knelt in front of Xie Chen.
"I personally request to search the palace to prove my innocence!"
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