The little palace maid was woken up abruptly, shocked to realize that the poison pill in her mouth had been searched out. Her face instantly turned ashen.
The eldest princess of Sheng An calmly asked, "If you confess honestly who instigated you, we can spare you a quick death. Otherwise, you will wish for death but be unable to die. Having lived in the palace, you should not be so naive as to disregard the severity of life and death."
The little palace maid clenched her teeth, remaining silent.
The eldest princess of Sheng An ordered, "Retrieve the records of this little palace maid’s entrance into the palace. Everyone connected to her must be investigated. I want to know who is more stubborn, her or those associated with her."
The little palace maid remained indifferent.
The Crown Prince interjected, "Great Aunt, this little palace maid is called Caicai, a lonely orphan who sold herself three years ago to enter the palace. She first worked in the laundry department. Later, she gained the favor of Miss Lipin and was transferred to Liren Palace. After half a year in Liren Palace, she committed an offense that angered Miss Lipin. After being sent back to the laundry department, she fell ill and nearly died. She was saved by the people of the Consort’s Palace. After her recovery, the Consort took her into the palace after expressing her gratitude and finding her pleasant. She stayed there for a year and a half. A year ago, for unknown reasons, she angered the Consort and was thrown out, and was given the help of Eunuch Yu, who arranged her to go to the Music Bureau."
The eldest princess of Sheng An glanced at Yan Huisheng, surprised that he knew so much about even a small palace maid. She thought to herself, "Eunuch Yu? After entering the Music Bureau, why did she appear here as a attendant for old man Zhao and Zhao Fei?"
Yan Huisheng said, "That would be a question for Eunuch Yu. The Emperor tasked him with overseeing old man Zhao and Zhao Fei, and he must have gathered a few trustworthy people, including her."
The eldest princess of Sheng An ordered, "Summon Eunuch Yu."
All people involved in the case should be scrutinized.
Someone immediately went to summon Yu.
At this time, Eunuch Yu was reporting to the Emperor that the Crown Prince, Rui’an King, and Lady Su Qi had entered the palace together and were now seeking the eldest princess of Sheng An and the Empress. He was uncertain about what had transpired.
Upon hearing that Su Rong had entered the palace, the Emperor could no longer sit still and immediately said, "Let’s go, We will go there too."
Eunuch Yu agreed.
The Emperor and his entourage arrived quickly. The people whom the eldest princess of Sheng An had sent out had just reached the gate when they saw the Emperor and Eunuch Yu. They immediately knelt to the ground.
The call of "The Emperor has arrived!" echoed into the inner hall.
The eldest princess of Sheng An and the others immediately stood up.
The Emperor quickly strode in. Everyone paid their respects, and the Emperor immediately noticed Su Rong standing beside the eldest princess of Sheng An. Her appearance was very much like that of Princess Zhenmin from years ago, but her demeanor was quite different. Princess Zhenmin was gentle and elegant, while Su Rong was calm yet animated. If it weren’t for the resemblance in their faces, it would be hard to find similarities in their demeanours.
The Emperor was taken aback for a moment, and only snapped back to reality when the Crown Prince called out "Father." He looked at Su Rong and asked, "Are you, Su Rong?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Su Rong, while not formally recognized as the princess of Nanchu, was indeed the Nanchu Princess. She did not need to kneel before the Emperor of Daliang.
The Emperor’s eyes turned red, "You look so much like your mother."
Su Rong gave a small smile.
The Emperor looked at Su Rong, as if seeing the image of Zhenmin from the past, with a thousand words swirling in his mind yet not knowing what to say. He finally uttered, "We were planning to visit you at the Shen Residence today but didn’t expect that you would come to the palace."
He was hesitant about summoning her, ever since the national treasury was in deficit, he couldn’t even dare to admit the status of Su Rong.
Su Rong briefly mentioned the purpose of her visit to the palace.
Only then did the Emperor notice the bound palace maid on the ground. Her severed hands were extremely bloody, and slender, hair-like golden needles lay gleaming on the ground. His face turned grim, "Such audacity, daring to commit murder in broad daylight. Who gave her such courage?"
The Grand Princess Sheng An said in a languid tone: "Let’s ask Eunuch Yu about it."
Yu An was frightened out of his wits. He recognized the little palace maid tied up on the ground all too well. He dropped to his knees with a thud, "Your Majesty, Grand Princess, I... I also had no idea where she got the guts. I didn’t expect that she would dare..."
"Yu An, tell the truth, what is going on with this little palace maid?" The Emperor roared in anger.
Yu An quickly responded, "Your Majesty, I just don’t know. She’s always been well-behaved and dutiful. I saw potential in her, so I promoted her. Who would think, she... she actually dared to kill. Your Majesty, I am innocent."
"Dutiful and well-behaved? That’s your idea of being dutiful and well-behaved? Yu An, tell me, when did you go blind?" The Emperor was so angry that he wished he could kick Yu An right there. If something had happened to his aunt, the Grand Princess Sheng An, and the Empress in the palace today, the situation would really have gotten out of hand.
Of course, the current situation was also serious. After all, Grand Princess Sheng An’s near mishap happened while she was investigating a case.
Whoever was behind all this was certainly daring.
The emperor was so angry that his teeth ached, "Yu An, you had better explain it clearly to me, or your head won’t keep on your shoulders much longer."
With a pale face, trembling body, and a quivering lip, Eunuch Yu finally confessed, "Your... Your Majesty, I am really ashamed to tell you. This little girl... she seduced me, and that’s why I promoted her..."
The Emperor immediately grasped the situation and kicked Yu An disdainfully: "You filthy old thing. I knew she must have promised you something to earn your trust. So, this is it."
He was still angry and added another kick, "And to think that I trusted you. My aunt and the Empress nearly fell into the hands of such a repulsive, stupid creature like you."
The practice of palace maids serving eunuchs was nothing new in the palace, as was the arrangement of young maids serving old eunuchs.
As the chief eunuch of the Emperor, many sought to curry favor with Yu An. The palace was filled with gold, silver, and jewels that had accumulated over the years, and Yu An had lost interest in them. With advancing age, his interest in young, tender-skinned palace maids had grown. The Emperor had known about it and turned a blind eye as long as Yu An remained loyal. But who would have thought that Yu An would stir up such a big trouble now?
The Emperor was so angry that he had chest pains. Frowning, he ordered, "Tie up this old thing and interrogate him. I want to see what else he can reveal."
As soon as the Emperor spoke, the guards rushed forward, and in just a few moments had Yu An bound. Yu An felt his life was over. He hadn’t expected the cart to overturn on this day. He tearfully pleaded guilty, "Your Majesty, I have always been loyal to you, I would absolutely never dare to harm you. I like this little minx’s skin and flesh, but I have never betrayed Your Majesty. I never dared to leak a word from your sacred heart to her. I didn’t expect that she would be so capable. I was blind, Your Majesty, please spare me."
The Emperor clutched at his chest, and then a moment later, his head.
The Empress quickly moved forward to support the Emperor, "Your Majesty, calm down. The most important thing right now is to investigate clearly. You must not let anger damage your Dragon Body."
At this point, Grand Princess Sheng An also said: "Yes, Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Daliang is depending on you to hold things together. The Crown Prince is still young. If you were to damage your Dragon Body because of anger, what would become of us? It’s not worth it for a couple of servants."
Yan Huisheng also stepped forward. "Father, please calm down."
The Emperor allowed the Empress to guide him to a seat, where he rested for a moment before he finally said, "Aunt, please continue the interrogation. I also want to see who dares to belittle the imperial power and dares to turn up the soil under my eyelids."
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