Chapter 46: Testimony
"What did you say?" Su Yuheng's words made Emperor Zhaohe and Empress Ye a little unbelievable.
Queen Ye stared at the girl kneeling on the ground, and felt that she was more and more like her best friend.
They really look alike, the more I look at them, the more alike they become.
"Did the King of Qi say this?" Queen Ye asked in disbelief.
Su Yuheng nodded, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi told this to me personally."
"But I don't believe that I am not of the Su family, but of the Shen family."
"At the time, I felt that His Highness's words were too outrageous, so I did not go looking for him. I was playing chess with Concubine Yu on the second floor."
"I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi had been drinking some wine that day. I wonder if he was drunk and mistook someone else for a servant."
"Today, the Supreme Court Judge will interrogate the young men and women on the pleasure boat one by one. I believe there will be results soon."
Emperor Showa frowned and looked at Su Yuheng, somewhat doubtful.
He didn't believe that King Qi would lie, but Su Yuheng had no motive to assassinate King Qi.
His cold gaze fell on Su Yuheng, his voice icy.
"I don't believe Che'er would lie to me."
"Did you kill Che'er? I'll call the King of Qin and ask him. I'll find out. Announce the King of Qin."
Not long after, the King of Qin was brought before the emperor. He looked at Su Yuheng and the concubine kneeling on the ground, as if he knew that his father did not believe it.
"Father."
When the King of Qin arrived, he immediately bowed to Emperor Showa.
Emperor Showa asked, "Was Miss Su really playing chess with your concubine in the chess room on the pleasure boat? Did she go somewhere else? I don't want to hear lies."
The King of Qin looked at Emperor Zhaohe intently, took a deep breath, and said, "Your Majesty, Miss Su is indeed with my concubine and has not been to the third floor."
"Brother Qi had a few drinks on the pleasure boat today, and I wonder if he made a mistake. Besides, Miss Su is just a weak woman, how could she have assassinated Brother Qi?"
"Father." Just at this moment, Princess Chaoyang came in from outside the imperial study.
She walked up to Emperor Showa and bowed.
"Father, I heard that Sister Yuheng has a cousin who loves to imitate Sister Yuheng's clothing style, makeup, and hairstyle, even her manners and movements."
"I wonder if my royal brother mistook Miss Liu for Sister Yuheng, and therefore mistakenly believed that it was Sister Yuheng who killed him."
"But then again, Sister Yuheng and my royal brother have never met before, so how could she assassinate him for no reason?"
"Liu Jinshu stole one of my grandfather's poems the other day and went to compete. He was nearly beaten to death by my grandfather's men. It was only because my brother personally went to my grandfather to plead for him that he was spared."
"I think my brother the emperor just wants to protect Liu Jinshu and shift the blame of the assassination onto Sister Yuheng."
Princess Chaoyang's words made Emperor Zhaohe frown. He knew about the affair between Liu Jinshu and Prince Qi.
He looked at the people in front of him with a serious expression, and then said, "Come here, go to the Su family and tell them to bring Liu Jinshu into the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Su family.
The moment Liu Jinshu learned that King Qi had been assassinated, he felt a hint of joy in his heart.
When she was mocked and ridiculed by those noble ladies in the pleasure boat today and was secretly upset, it was Yun Yi who came to her side and comforted her.
Her mind is now full of Yun Yi's figure.
Her relationship with the King of Qi is not very good now. It is not legitimate and she is at most a concubine. She has never been to the King of Qi's mansion to see him.
Instead, he was waiting for news from Su Yuheng at the Su family.
Liu pushed the door open and saw her sitting on the bed in a daze. She asked, "Do you know what happened on the pleasure boat? Someone from the palace has come and said they want you to go before His Majesty for questioning."
Liu Jinshu stood up and looked at Liu in disbelief.
"You want me to question you? Mother, what does the assassination of the King of Qi have to do with your daughter?"
Liu said, "Go if His Majesty tells you to. Don't reveal your identity and don't cause trouble for the Marquis' Mansion."
Liu Jinshu nodded, "My daughter understands."
When Liu Jinshu was brought before the emperor by the chief eunuch, she didn't even change her makeup and hair.
She had the same hairstyle and makeup as Su Yuheng.
The moment she stepped into the imperial study, Empress Ye's eyes lit up.
Sure enough, this figure from behind really looks like Su Yuheng.
Liu Jinshu walked to the front of the emperor and was about to pay his respects to his majesty, but he lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.
"Your Majesty, your servant!"
"How dare you!" Empress Ye suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, "This is the etiquette of Yanjing. Liu taught you this: you must kneel when you see the emperor!"
Liu Jinshu was so frightened that his eyes widened and he immediately knelt down.
"Your servant...your servant, please spare my life, Your Majesty!"
"Imperial Concubine?" Queen Ye was so angry that she almost laughed.
"Look at me, which concubine is this?"
Liu Jinshu looked up at Queen Ye. Seeing her graceful and elegant appearance with a phoenix crown on her head, he realized that he had said the wrong thing.
"Jinshu has just arrived in Yanjing, and this is her first time meeting Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Queen Ye snorted coldly.
She didn't have a very good impression of Liu Jinshu.
How good can the character of a woman who participates in a competition by stealing the emperor's poems be?
According to convention, stealing the royal poetry collection and participating in the competition would result in the death penalty.
If it weren't for the King of Qi, this woman would have died long ago.
Everyone in the imperial study was speechless seeing how stupid Liu Jinshu was.
Liu Jinshu's face flushed crimson as she looked towards the esteemed Emperor Zhaohe and Empress Ye, sitting high up in the imperial throne. She whispered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have been with my cousin since arriving in Yanjing from Yongzhou. I learned these etiquette rules from my cousin and have nothing to do with my aunt."
"Oh?" Empress Ye looked at Su Yuheng. "Did Fourth Miss Su teach Miss Liu all these etiquettes? She doesn't even know how to kneel before His Majesty."
Su Yuheng knelt on the ground and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I did teach my cousin etiquette, but every time my cousin came to my boudoir, her mind was always trying to imitate me."
Empress Ye saw clearly that Liu Jinshu, while following Su Yuheng, did not seriously learn the etiquette of Yanjing, but was completely focused on imitating Su Yuheng.
Even her current hairstyle and clothing style are exactly the same as Su Yuheng's.
Liu Jinshu argued, "Cousin, you've always taught me etiquette. You taught me how to salute Your Majesty. I want to imitate you simply because I want to learn faster. Your Majesty and Your Majesty, please understand."
"Enough!" Emperor Showa slammed his palm on the table.
"I asked you to come here because I have something important to ask you."
"I ask you, was the King of Qi injured by you?"
As soon as Emperor Showa finished speaking, Liu Jinshu widened his eyes in disbelief.
She was so frightened that she fell to the ground: "Your Majesty, Jinshu is also very distressed that His Highness was injured. How could you hurt him for no reason?"
"No matter how His Majesty treats me, I will never do anything to hurt him. Your Majesty, please understand!"
"Why don't you tell the truth?" Emperor Showa looked gloomy.
"Is the King of Qi deliberately trying to protect you, so he's pushing this onto your cousin? I'm asking you, why did you copy your cousin's makeup, hairstyle, and clothing style? Is there some other purpose?"
Emperor Showa's words left Liu Jinshu stunned.
Learning from Su Yuheng does have its own uses, but she can't say it.
She prostrated herself on the ground, trembling, "Your Majesty, my cousin is a model of a noble lady in the capital. I admire her very much and take her as my role model, so I learned her makeup and hairstyle."
"But it wasn't a servant who stabbed His Highness the Prince of Qi. It was her!"
She pointed at Su Yuheng.
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi has long had his eye on her and is determined to defile my cousin, so my cousin assassinated His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi!"
Upon hearing this, Su Yuheng lowered his eyes and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. This Liu Jinshu was indeed a fool.
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