Concubine Li said loudly, "Although that dog slave took out my jade pendant, the palace maid who guards my personal belongings said that on the day of the arson, Juxiang, a young palace maid from Kunning Palace, came to borrow a flower pattern, and the jade pendant was stolen after that."
...
Juxiang was brought in soon.
She was a plain-looking maid in charge of cleaning the Kunning Palace. Although she loved to take advantage of small opportunities, she was timid.
Seeing the emperor now, she knelt on the ground and trembled, "Your Majesty."
Murong Hong glanced at Su Man, then said to Juxiang on the ground, "Noble Lady Li said that you went to her palace the day before the fire in Kunning Palace. Is that true?"
“Yes…yes.”
Juxiang stammered in response.
Concubine Li pointed at Juxiang and said, "Okay, it was you who stole my jade pendant and put the blame on me! Tell me, was it the Queen who ordered you to do so?"
Juxiang was timid, and when she saw such a huge mountain coming towards her, she immediately gave in.
"I am innocent. That day I went to borrow flowers and went with Dongmei from Fragrance Palace. But when we arrived at Zhongcui Palace, Dongmei felt sick, so we went back..."
Su Man smiled slightly.
Dongmei is Shu Guiren's personal maid, and it is very intriguing that she is also involved in this matter.
Hearing this, Concubine Shu, who had been watching from the sidelines, became nervous. Seeing that the fire was about to burn her, Murong Hong said in a deep voice, "Dongmei, is this true?"
Dongmei knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I went to borrow Juxiang's flower pattern that day, but she said she didn't have it, so she took me to Zhongcui Palace to ask for it. But after we got there, she sent me away. I didn't know why, but I thought she had something private to tell her sisters, so I went back."
Juxiang was anxious. "You're talking nonsense! It was you who said that Concubine Shu liked that pattern and that you wanted to make a handkerchief for her. You also said that we should split the reward money equally. Why are you talking nonsense now?"
“That’s enough!”
Murong Hong scolded, "The evidence is irrefutable, yet you're still trying to accuse others. Tell me, who ordered you to do this?"
Seeing Murong Hong anxiously trying to get rid of Shu Guiren, Su Man said, "Your Majesty, please calm down and let me ask a few questions."
Murong Hong looked at her steadily, his eyes warning.
Su Man ignored him and looked at Dongmei. "You said that Juxiang sent you away when she arrived at Zhongcui Palace. Then I want to ask you, if she wanted to send you away, why did she ask you to go with her? Was it just to send you away?"
"this..."
Dongmei's eyes rolled. "Perhaps she was ordered to get the jade pendant, but she was afraid that it would be too obvious if she went alone, so she dragged this servant over."
"So, it's a coincidence that you came to her to borrow her flowers?"
"yes."
Su Man smiled, "Did you get the trick?"
Dongmei didn't know if Su Man was setting a trap for her. After thinking for a long time, she said, "Uh, no."
"That's strange. You came here to borrow some flowers, but you were sent away halfway and returned to the palace. You didn't come back for more afterwards. So, what were you doing here?"
"Uh, slave...slave..."
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