The palace people were already afraid.
When he heard such selfish words from Concubine Zhao, and thought about how he was often beaten and abused by her, and how he would be tortured if he did not do a small thing well, he suddenly felt very aggrieved.
One of the eunuchs in charge of arson immediately rebelled, "Your Majesty, it was indeed you who sent us to set the Yangxin Palace on fire! A few days ago, you were the one who wanted to push the little princess into the pool and drown her. After she escaped, you even sent servants to look for her!"
“That’s right!”
After he said this, the other eunuchs all followed suit, saying, "Your Majesty, we servants were ordered by the Concubine to set the fire and try to burn the little princess to death!"
"That's right! Your Majesty, we were coerced by Concubine Jieyu to harm the little princess! Please spare our lives, Your Majesty!"
"Please spare my life, Your Majesty!"
These eunuchs who were once close to Concubine Zhao collectively turned against her at this time.
"Zhao Jieyu, with witnesses before you, why don't you plead guilty?" Emperor Chengxuan asked in a deep voice.
Concubine Zhao's face turned pale.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent!"
As she spoke, she gritted her teeth and angrily scolded the eunuchs, "You dogs and slaves! I have always treated you well, but now you are colluding with outsiders to frame me!
"Tell me! What benefits did Princess Lingfu and the Queen give you that you would slander me like this!"
Upon hearing this, the Queen couldn't help but retort coldly, "Zhao Jieyu, it's come to this, why are you still trying to argue? If you'd been smart, you should have confessed your guilt immediately. That way, the Emperor might even consider our past friendship and give you a lighter sentence!"
"Stop slandering me! I'm not guilty at all. What crime should I plead guilty to?"
Concubine Zhao denied it with gritted teeth.
She looked at Emperor Cheng Xuan and demanded directly and firmly, "Your Majesty, as a wise ruler, you shouldn't be so confused about right and wrong. Just listening to the words of a little girl like her and wrongly accusing me like this!
"And the Queen! She and Princess Lingfu are colluding to harm me!"
"Then tell me, why did I work with Shuangbao to harm you?" The queen was so angry that her chest hurt, and she couldn't help but question her.
"Isn't it obvious? Queen, you are old and out of favor, and you are jealous of me! As for this Princess Lingfu, ah, she is just a cheap girl without a father or a mother. If it weren't for the Emperor's pity, how could she be qualified to be a princess? She even slandered me, she deserves to die!"
At this time, Concubine Zhao was like a mad dog, biting Xiao Shuangbao madly.
"Your Majesty, you cannot ignore the crimes of the Empress and Princess Lingfu and yet judge me for my crimes!"
After all, she is of noble status. Her father is a duke and her mother is a princess. She has been loved and pampered by her parents and elders since she was a child. Why should she bow down to a lowly girl who killed her parents?
Concubine Zhao asked herself if she could do it!
"Can't tell right from wrong?"
Emperor Cheng Xuan seemed to find her statement ridiculous. His voice was as cold as ice. "This is the first time I've heard someone dare to speak of me like this!"
With these words, Concubine Zhao, who had just been as arrogant as a mad dog, suddenly trembled.
She vaguely remembered that before entering the palace, her father had told her not to disobey the emperor, otherwise the consequences would be serious.
But Concubine Zhao was spoiled after all.
He was spoiled by his parents since he was a child and became lawless.
After entering the palace, she was favored by Emperor Chengxuan several times and was also praised by the people in the palace. Even though there was evidence now, she still refused to admit it.
"Your Majesty, what I said is the truth! As Your Majesty, you cannot be so partial! Otherwise, Princess Lingfu will be able to slander anyone she wants in the future. How can there be any justice in the harem then?"
Concubine Zhao said this in a sharp tone.
If it were in the past, Emperor Chengxuan would not have listened to all the nonsense from Concubine Zhao.
But what Concubine Zhao said reminded him of something.
If I don't explain it clearly today, even if I kill Concubine Zhao to vent my anger for Shuangbao, others will think that Shuangbao is bullying others at such a young age because of what Concubine Zhao said, which will damage Shuangbao's reputation.
"Zhao Jieyu, do you really think that I can't do anything to you?"
Emperor Cheng Xuan looked at Concubine Zhao with disdainful eyes, "In this world, no one who commits murder or arson will leave no trace.
"I believe what Shuangbao said. You killed an innocent young woman just to get a face, and even killed her entire family to silence them. If I send someone to investigate this matter, do you think I won't find out?"
His few words made Concubine Zhao suddenly feel scared.
But then she thought, things were done so cleanly at the time, it would be impossible to find anything.
When she thought of this, Concubine Zhao immediately became tough again.
"I haven't harmed anyone, so I'm not afraid of being investigated. Since Your Majesty doesn't trust me, then let someone investigate! However, if it's ultimately proven that Your Majesty has wronged me, and that Princess Lingfu and the Empress have slandered me, I hope Your Majesty will show no mercy and severely punish the Empress and Princess Lingfu!"
Concubine Zhao said fearlessly.
"Yes, I promise you."
Emperor Cheng Xuan immediately said, "But correspondingly, if I have people investigate and find out that you have indeed done these things, then Concubine Zhao, you and your family will all be killed! I will punish you severely according to the laws of Dongqi!"
Hearing these words, Concubine Zhao trembled all over.
"But if you admit what you have done now, perhaps I can, as the Queen said before, spare your life for the sake of our past friendship!" Emperor Chengxuan said again.
"I have never killed anyone! I have never done such a thing! If the emperor wants to investigate, then go ahead and investigate!" Concubine Zhao still said stubbornly.
"Okay, I gave you a chance, but you chose death yourself!"
Emperor Cheng Xuan glanced at her coldly again.
Just as he was about to order Concubine Zhao to be imprisoned and then assign officials to investigate the matter, someone suddenly came in and reported, "Your Majesty, Chen Cao, the maidservant of the little princess, requests an audience with you."
"Wow! Sister Chen Cao is back!"
When Xiao Shuangbao heard this, he immediately clapped his hands happily.
She turned to look at Emperor Cheng Xuan and said sweetly, "Daddy, Sister Chen Cao said before that she suspected Concubine Zhao had killed the ghost sister's family, so she left the palace and said she wanted to investigate. She must have found out!"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Zhao immediately turned her head to look at Xiao Shuangbao, her eyes filled with resentment and deep hatred.
There was a rare hint of guilty fear on her slightly twisted face.
Emperor Cheng Xuan glanced at her and pinched Shuang Bao's happy little face.
Then he ordered, "Let her in!"
Not long after, Chen Cao walked in.
She was followed by two men in tattered clothes and with haggard faces.
"Shuangbao said that you went out to investigate Concubine Zhao. How is the investigation going?" Emperor Chengxuan asked Chen Cao directly.
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