The next day, Su Rong, wearing a white fox fur cloak, went directly to the Imperial Palace.
She held a token that granted her unrestricted access to the palace, but she still went to see the Emperor in the Imperial Study Room first.
When she arrived, it was perfectly timed, just as the Emperor had finished the morning court. Hearing that she had entered the palace, he left several court officials waiting to the side and had her ushered in first.
Most of the court officials had never seen Su Rong, with only a few who had.
Those who now waited outside the Imperial Study Room had not met Su Rong before. To them, it was hard to imagine that this delicate young girl, cloaked in white fox fur and possessing a strikingly beautiful face, was the one rumored to be the illegitimate daughter from the Inspector Residence of Jiangzhou, no, the daughter of Princess Zhenmin, allegedly the Nanchu Princess.
As Su Rong walked past, the court officials exchanged glances before silently bowing to her.
With a sigh of emotion, Su Rong thought that the court officials in Daliang were exceptionally friendly. She smiled at them and followed the young eunuch into the Imperial Study Room.
Inside the Imperial Study Room, the Emperor was seated at his jade table.
Su Rong bowed in respect to the Emperor, "Uncle."
The Emperor was delighted with her use of this term and warmly asked while gesturing for her to sit, "Do you need something? Why have you come to the palace again?"
Su Rong nodded and replied bluntly, "There is something. Since Prince Rui’an has fallen ill, I have to take over the investigation. I must question all the mistresses of the palace and the involved maids."
The Emperor nodded in understanding, "I heard that Prince Rui’an’s illness is quite severe?"
"I haven’t seen him, but it must be severe, right? After all, they called in Imperial Doctor Xu and prescribed the fever remedy that I once gave to Zhou Gu." Su Rong said, "Considering the severe cold weather and Prince Rui’an’s old age, it is not surprising that he fell ill from overworking."
She sighed, "Uncle, you must push for the examination results. New officers are needed in the court. Otherwise, the elderly ones can’t withstand the workload. We can’t afford delays when they fall ill."
The Emperor nodded, "Hmm, I’ve been urging them. It should be any day now."
Su Rong took the opportunity to inquire about the examination results. With a clear mind, she asked the Emperor, "Can I go now? Could you appoint someone for me who can lead the way?"
The Emperor nodded without further words, gesturing towards a young eunuch who was on duty.
Without wasting time, Su Rong followed the young eunuch as he led the way.
Su Rong didn’t immediately meet the Empress, instead, she had the young eunuch lead her first to see Miss Lipin.
Miss Lipin had fallen ill and was running a high fever. In just a few days, she was in a pitiful state. As she was accused of a crime, the Emperor only ordered the Imperial Doctor to attend to her but did not assign anyone to take care of her. Her fever had not abated despite taking the medicine.
Upon Su Rong’s arrival and seeing Miss Lipin in this condition, she thought that if it continued like this, Miss Lipin might not even live long enough to see the end of the investigation.
She took Miss Lipin’s pulse and initially thought about instructing the young eunuch behind her to go get a fever-reducing potion for Miss Lipin. But then she decided to reach into her pocket and fetched a fever-reducing pill that she always carried, giving it directly to Miss Lipin.
Looking at Su Rong, Miss Lipin asked with a flushed face, "Did the Emperor send you to treat me?"
"I came here to investigate the case. It so happens that you have a fever, so I might as well treat you to avoid delaying the investigation," Su Rong responded candidly, "Miss Lipin might not be aware, but the Fourth Prince has taken a stand in the morning court, asking the Emperor not to jump to conclusions, but to continue investigating your case. He is even willing to stake his own life to prove your innocence. So, for the sake of the Fourth Prince, you must not die. If you were to die, your innocence might never be proven."
Miss Lipin was suddenly overwhelmed, "How could the Fourth Prince...how could he..."
She started crying, "It’s all my fault. I brought harm to him."
Su Rong held the pill waiting for her emotions to calm down. In the palace, the women are the most respected people in the world, but also the most pitiable ones. Those without offspring place their honor and disgrace in the hands of the Emperor, while those with offspring always fear harm from others.
Lipin is the saddest example, because her father and uncle were involved in such a huge case, and yet, they’re obviously not on her side.
Su Rong didn’t quite understand. Why would they, who have their own daughter, niece, and grandchild by their side, betray their own blood and die for outsiders? And even more, implicating their own daughter and grandchild in taking the fall for someone else?
However, the people involved had died and the truth was not yet revealed. They would probably only find out the reason after the case was solved.
After a while, Lipin managed to calm her emotions, eyes swollen from crying, and asked Su Rong, "Do... do you believe me?"
Su Rong replied, "It’s not about believing, it’s about me thinking that you are not capable of doing such a thing."
Lipin suddenly laughed bitterly, "Yes, how could I have such capability? Someone really overestimated me. This must have been a game settled long ago, just like the former deputy inspector, Qin Yuan. They forced him till his death. They want to do the same to me."
Su Rong raised her eyebrows in surprise, "You, Miss Lipin, also thought of the former deputy inspector, Qin Yuan?"
Lipin opened her mouth, "Give me the medicine."
Su Rong put it in her mouth.
Lipin chewed the medicine laboriously and swallowed it. After taking a breath, she said, "Isn’t it obvious? I’m not that stupid."
Su Rong nodded.
Indeed, how many women in the palace were truly foolish? If they were, they wouldn’t have even lived to hold a consort’s title or raise a prince.
Perhaps the medicine pill was bitter, making Lipin cough for a while. A eunuch handed her a cup of water which Su Rong inspected before giving to Lipin.
After Lipin had sipped some water and regained some strength, she leaned on the bed and told Su Rong, "Ask your questions, go ahead!"
Su Rong shook her head, "I won’t ask. You can take the lead, Miss Lipin. Use this time to tell me about anything that has seemed out of place or anyone who has been acting strangely over the years. Or perhaps, if you are holding any secrets over anyone. Perhaps we can find some clues."
Lipin looked at her, "If you’re saying this, then there’s a lot."
"No problem, I have plenty of time." Su Rong sat down.
But Lipin didn’t start talking immediately. Instead, she asked, "How is the Fourth Prince now?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"The Fourth Prince went to seek the Crown Prince a few nights ago, declaring his loyalty. The Crown Prince accepted it and promised to help him." Su Rong pointed to herself, "Otherwise, as a major suspect, you could have been convicted. Do you think I would have had time to come in for your interrogation? The Emperor would have already sentenced you."
Lipin was silent for a long time before murmuring, "So that’s how it is."
She coughed a couple of times, then suddenly laughed, "Well, that’s good. The Crown Prince is a future king with both virtue and talent. Now that the Fourth Prince has pledged loyalty to the Crown Prince, as long as he doesn’t make a big mistake and wholeheartedly supports the Crown Prince, when the Crown Prince takes the throne, he can argue for a prince’s title."
Su Rong nodded, "That’s one way to put it. The Fourth Prince is intelligent. Originally, the game was deadlocked between you and him, but things changed once he knocked on the door of the Eastern Palace."
After all, if the Fourth Prince hadn’t come himself, she wouldn’t have taken over the case and continued the investigation. As for her and the Crown Prince, as long as they could bring down the First Prince and the Second Prince and make the situation favorable for the Crown Prince, it would be enough for the time being. As for the rest, the Crown Prince could take his time as there was no rush.
"That means I can trust you." Lipin said softly.
Su Rong nodded, "You can indeed trust me, Miss Lipin, you actually have no choice but to trust me. Besides me, you can’t even see the Fourth Prince or the Crown Prince."
She paused for a moment, "Of course, once Prince Rui’an recovers from his illness, you could see him in a few days. However, your condition is quite critical. Are you sure that you can live to see Prince Rui’an in future? More importantly, even if you manage to live until you see Prince Rui’an, can you really trust him? If you do really trust him, you wouldn’t be keeping evidence to yourself even when you have it."
Lipin looked at Su Rong in shock, almost speechlessly stuttering, "H-how do you... know I have the evidence?"
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