When Princess Xihe heard this, her face instantly turned as pale as paper. She opened her mouth but could not utter a word.

The ministers in the hall exchanged glances, and no one dared to defend her.

At this time, a young minister whispered: "Your Majesty, Princess Xihe colluded with Xijiang, not only endangering the peace of the palace, but also almost murdered the little princess. This is an unforgivable crime!"

Another military minister echoed, "I think this matter should be thoroughly investigated and all the participants should be arrested to prevent future troubles."

"That's right! He must be severely punished!" More voices came one after another, and their indignation was beyond words.

At this moment, Princess Xihe suddenly raised her head and stared at Su Jinyue with her eyes, as if she wanted to eat her alive.

"Su Jinyue! This is all a trap you designed! You——"

"Shut up!" The emperor shouted coldly, shocking everyone. "You don't repent! Come, take Princess Xihe to the cold palace immediately, and make a decision after a thorough investigation."

When Princess Xihe was dragged away, she continued to struggle, her voice piercing and harsh: "Your Majesty, I am innocent, I am innocent!"

“It’s so pitiful and sad.”

A minister nearby shook his head and sighed.

"If she had no ulterior motives, she wouldn't have ended up like this." Another minister continued.

And through all this, Su Jinyue just listened quietly without saying a word.

When the noise subsided a little, Xiao Duo took a step forward, knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, although the rebellion has come to an end, we still need to eliminate the hidden dangers in the palace. Please give us your instructions."

The emperor nodded slightly, and said solemnly: "This matter must be handled carefully. All the nobles must work together to maintain the peace of our dynasty."

"Xiao Duo, you and Miss Su have performed a great service in this matter. You have worked hard to hide your whereabouts and guard me with Ruan Liuzheng these days."

Xiao Duo and Ruan Liuzheng saluted together, "This is what we should do."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "It's getting late. All the ministers please leave. Xiao Duo, the three of you stay."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After everyone had left, the emperor said to Xiao Duo, "I'll have to trouble you in the next few days to help me clear out the remaining evil in the palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Please rest assured." Xiao Duo said.

The emperor then said to Ruan Liuzheng who was kneeling below him, "Ruan Liuzheng, you have worked hard these past few days. The reward will be sent to the Ruan Mansion tomorrow. I will give you a legitimate position to lead troops at the border."

Ruan Liuzheng's eyes turned red, and he kowtowed to thank the emperor, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Then the emperor looked at Su Jinyue again, "Miss Su, the matter in the palace has been settled. You can leave the palace and return home tomorrow. I can give you any reward you want."

"Your Majesty, I would like to see Princess Xihe again. Please grant me a favor."

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, "Why?"

"If the princess reveals the mastermind's hiding place, His Majesty can spare her life."

After hearing Su Jinyue's thoughts, the emperor was silent for a moment and said, "Okay, go ahead."

Su Jinyue did not dare to respond rashly, "Before I go, I would like to ask your Majesty for one thing."

"Just tell me, I won't blame you."

"Yes." Su Jinyue said: "If the princess... is determined not to give out the person behind the scenes, Your Majesty..."

The emperor's eyes darkened, and after a while he spoke, "I will not let her stay."

"Thank you for your explanation, Your Majesty. I understand."

Leaving the emperor's palace, Su Jinyue said, "Miss Ruan, please go to the little princess' place and keep watch for me. I need to go to Princess Xihe's cold palace first."

"No trouble." Ruan Liuzheng held the sword in his hand and raised his chin towards Su Jinyue, "You guys go ahead."

"Thank you very much."

Su Jinyue and Xiao Duo walked quickly towards the cold palace. The atmosphere in the cold palace was gloomy and depressing. Several guards lowered their heads and remained silent. When they saw them coming, they immediately made way.

Su Jinyue walked into the tightly closed wooden door. The sound of the iron chain rubbing against each other was particularly harsh in the quiet air.

The light in the room was dim. Princess Xihe was locked in a corner of the room. Her gorgeous clothes were disheveled and her face had lost its former radiance.

"Su Jinyue, even though the game is over, why are you still here? Do you want to see how I die?" Princess Xihe raised her head and looked at her with complicated eyes.

Su Jinyue stood still, her eyes calm but not without dignity, "Princess, I don't want to put you in a desperate situation, I just hope you can tell me who is behind this, so that you can still survive."

Princess Xihe laughed sarcastically, "Hand it over? If I hand it over, what will happen? Can I still turn back?"

Seeing that she was unmoved, Su Jinyue continued to speak gently, "By doing this, at least you can save your life. Princess Xihe, you are also a princess of a country. You don't want to watch the two countries go to war and hurt innocent people."

Princess Xihe sighed to the sky, her eyes flashing with complex emotions, as if she was having a fierce inner struggle.

"Whether it was worth it or not, only I know. It's a pity that in the end, I still lost." There was an inexplicable vicissitudes in her voice.

Su Jinyue watched her slowly lose her resistance, and whispered: "Princess, why are you so stubborn? Your decision is also to save the people from danger."

At this moment, Princess Xihe was silent for a long time, and finally sighed, "Okay, I'll tell you--"

However, before she could finish her words, a trace of blood suddenly flowed out of Princess Xihe's mouth, her eyes widened, and she seemed in disbelief!

"Princess Xihe!"

Su Jinyue immediately stepped forward, held her pulse, and wanted to give medicine to Princess Xihe.

Princess Xihe suddenly raised her hand and held Su Jinyue's hand, trying to open her lips, and black blood flowed out from her lips!

"Come...it's too late!"

"Empress...Empress!" Princess Xihe felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She tried hard to hold Su Jinyue's hand tightly, then she lowered her head weakly and fell silent!

Su Jinyue was horrified and immediately went forward to check, only to discover that the deadly poison had already been sealed in Princess Xihe's body!

At this time, Xiao Duo squatted down beside Su Jinyue. Seeing this scene, his brows knitted tightly, "Does someone want her to die, or... does she want to commit suicide?"

Su Jinyue shook her head. "If she wanted to commit suicide, she wouldn't have to wait until now. Someone wanted her dead."

She raised her eyes to look at Xiao Duo, "She just mentioned the Queen..."

Xiao Duo raised his hand to cover Su Jinyue's lips, shook his head at her, and lowered his voice, "Walls have ears, I understand."

"But you are tired too, so you should go back and rest early and leave the palace early tomorrow."

Su Jinyue knew what Xiao Duo meant. She nodded and stood up. "After you finish dealing with the affairs in the palace, go back early. The Duke's wife is very worried about you."

"Um."

This night was not peaceful. After Su Jinyue left, news of Princess Xihe's death spread from the cold palace.