Imperial Concubine Zhenmin was reluctant to give in.
She glared at Su Rong, gnashing her teeth, "If I let them go, you have to release me too."
Su Rong sighed, "Why doesn’t Your Highness understand? Opportunities only come once. Once lost, you can’t recover it." Before her words could land, she threw her gold needle at the few black-clothed men, seizing the Duchess and others. Despite their precautions, they couldn’t avoid it and fell to the ground.
The Duchess and the six young ladies were pale, but they understood Su Rong was rescuing them. Their hands and feet were bound, making it difficult for them to walk, so they cleverly lay on the ground and rolled to Su Rong.
Rolling was faster than walking.
Before anyone could react, they had already rolled far away.
In an instant, not only was Imperial Concubine Zhenmin shocked, but Su Rong was also caught off guard.
She silently watched as the Duchess rolled to her feet and quickly picked her up, unsheathing her dagger and cutting the ropes that bound her. Half-dragging the Duchess, she smiled at Imperial Concubine Zhenmin, "Your Highness, I’m sorry. My family is too clever and the guards you’ve trained are too useless."
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin exploded in rage, "Your skill with killing needles, why is it different from what I’ve learned?"
The trained men under her should not have been unable to evade Su Rong’s attack, but somehow, those pressing down on the Duchess and others didn’t manage to.
Su Rong explained, "That’s because my master taught me needles for killing, and yours are for healing. There’s a great difference between them."
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s eyes filled with hatred.
"I’ve been the target of assassination since I was seven. I can stain my hands with blood, but I’m not willing to let my family see it," Su Rong looked into her eyes, "You shouldn’t have threatened me by using my family."
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin was shocked by her calm and icy gaze.
Su Rong ignored her, "The Emperor is here. Your Highness, it’s time to explain to him!"
The complexion of Imperial Concubine Zhenmin changed drastically.
True to Su Rong’s words, the sound of a carriage could be heard in the distance. Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s guess was correct. It was the Emperor’s carriage, followed by the Crown Prince’s ceremonial procession, and... Rui’an King and Zhou Gu on horseback.
Zhou Gu was holding a child, Fan Yu.
They didn’t return to the Duke Residence at all but instead went to the Palace to fetch the Emperor. Only Su Rong was left behind to fall into the trap.
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s eyes clouded with despair. She realized her schemes had failed.
The best solution Imperial Concubine Zhenmin could think of was to destroy the evidence she held in her hand. She did just that, without caring about the threatening sword blade around her neck, she tore open the cowhide paper and crushed a stack of evidence inside.
Su Rong sighed at her actions, "Does Your Highness think that doing this means there’s no evidence left? You’re the naive one. What’s in your hand isn’t the evidence. The real evidence is held by people from the Eastern Palace. The person you should be looking for isn’t me, it’s the Crown Prince."
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s pupils constricted.
Su Rong paid her no more attention and turned to look at the Emperor getting down from the carriage.
The Emperor saw Imperial Concubine Zhenmin, his face a mix of rage and pain. "Why is it you?"
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin remained silent.
The Emperor shouted angrily, "Speak! Haven’t I treated you well enough? Why would you betray me?"
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin sneered, her tone light, "Has Your Majesty truly treated me well? All Your Majesty feels is guilt for Princess Zhenmin. I happened to resemble the Princess so you treated me kindly. Your kindness towards me is nothing more than compensation."
She looked at the Emperor, "If Your Majesty truly cared for me, you would pretend today’s events never occurred. If you can do that, then I will believe that you truly care for me."
The Emperor could not find words to respond, his face changing rapidly.
At this moment, Yan Huisheng said, "Father, it’s cold and snowing heavily. Wouldn’t it be better to send Imperial Concubine Zhenmin to the Imperial Dungeon? It’s wind and snowproof, you could question her at leisure."
The Emperor turned to look at Yan Huisheng but remained silent.
Rui’an King added, "Indeed, Your Majesty, you should care for yourself. It’s... better for investigations to be conducted in the Imperial Dungeon."
The Emperor took a deep breath, "Arrest all of Imperial Concubine’s men and execute them on the spot. Take Imperial Concubine... to the Imperial Dungeon. I will question her personally."
Upon his command, someone started to carry out the order.
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s men didn’t stand a chance. In no time, the streets were painted red with blood.
Fen Ling pulled out a pair of handcuffs from somewhere and skillfully handcuffed Imperial Concubine Zhenmin. Sheathing her sword, she told the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I am a man and it’s inappropriate for me to search Imperial Concubine in front of you. Why not have a palace maid do it? To prevent her from hiding any sharp objects that could hurt herself or others."
The Emperor glanced at Fen Ling, watched her move to Su Rong’s side, indicating that she was Su Rong’s ally. He nodded and ordered, "Send two people to search Imperial Concubine."
Two palace maids approached and thoroughly searched Imperial Concubine Zhenmin. They indeed found pills, golden needles, and daggers.
The palace maids were thorough; in the end, even the hairpins in Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s hair were confiscated.
Imperial Concubine Zhenmin’s face turned sickly pale, but she didn’t shout or scream. She maintained her beautiful appearance without distorting it.
The Emperor turned to Su Rong, then to the Duchess and group of ladies standing next to her. He asked, "The wife of the Inspector of Jiangzhou, Su Xu?"
"Your servant humbly greets Your Majesty." The Duchess felt that she should kneel in the presence of the Emperor, but Su Rong was holding onto her arm tightly, so she could only slightly bend her knee.
The Emperor nodded, "You and your daughters have experienced quite a shock today."
After saying that, he turned to Su Rong, "You must be tired, there’s no need to accompany me to the Imperial Dungeon. Take your mother and sisters home to rest."
Su Rong nodded. She wasn’t planning on going. With the matter mostly resolved, the Crown Prince and Rui’an King would handle the rest. Her presence would have no effect. The evidence had already been handed over to the Crown Prince.
Thus, she readily agreed, "Yes, I’ll take my family home. Uncle, try not to get too upset. After all, it’s just a favorite concubine. Should this one fail, there will be others."
The Emperor didn’t know how to react.
Cold sweat was breaking out on Rui’an King. He thought to himself, "Lady Su Qi has a sharp tongue! But only she would dare say such a thing!" The meaning behind her words was clear. She was telling the Emperor that having such a disaster by his side had caused many mishaps. He shouldn’t pardon her just because she was his favorite. Because there would always be younger ones. If he decided to let her go lightly, Su Rong wouldn’t stand for it. Not just Su Rong, the Crown Prince and court officials, too, wouldn’t let it go.
They wouldn’t stand back and watch.
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