Chapter 149 Interrogation
At the Dali Temple, various cries of agony echoed from the prison cells.
Xiao Ling and Xie Yunman were in Du Zhengming's office, looking at the confessions that had been extracted during the interrogation.
"Three people have already confessed to being the Ye family's secret agents. Their testimonies match the palace records regarding their entry into the palace."
And they all entered the palace through Jin Chun's connections.
Xie Yunman spoke while reading the confession.
Xiao Ling frowned: "They communicate through a single channel, and everyone has to speak up, otherwise they have no idea who their leader is?"
Xie Yunman nodded.
In the palace.
Consort Shu was arranging flowers in a vase on the windowsill.
"What did Du Zhengming find out during his two days of investigation in the palace?"
The palace maid beside her reported, "I went to see Princess Yongning today and took away her personal maid."
Consort Shu sighed: "Has the source of the Heartbreak Powder been completely dealt with?"
"We've already sent people to clean it up; the entire pharmacy was burned down," the palace maid replied.
"That's good. Even if they have suspicions, they won't be able to trace it back to us."
As Consort Shu spoke, she cut off a peony flower that was in full bloom.
"However, Your Majesty, the Emperor took two people from our palace away today: Granny Ma and Miss Hua."
Consort Shu chuckled upon hearing this: "I only just found out that this was someone left behind by Prince Rui."
However, since the eldest prince and Prince Rui are cooperating, they are allowed to stay.
Now that His Majesty has taken him away, I feel relieved.
No need to worry about suddenly being controlled by others one day.
"Then... His Highness the First Prince also has cooperation with the Northern Border... This..."
The palace maid hesitated.
"The cost of cooperation does not include us, so the deaths of these two are only beneficial to us."
Whether the Crown Prince's cooperation with the North succeeds or fails, at least we are safe.
Consort Shu said it casually.
The palace maid nodded in agreement, "Your Majesty is right."
"Should we conduct another investigation within the palace?"
Consort Shu sneered: "Of course, the sooner the better."
The palace maid accepted the order and went to make arrangements.
In Consort Rong's palace.
At this moment, she is in her room making hibiscus cake with the palace maids.
"Your Majesty, Aunt Feng and Aunt Yue from our palace were both taken away today, this..."
Consort Rong has always been a detached person, without desires or wants. It is rare to see a negative expression on her face. She is always kind and approachable.
From the Emperor and Empress down to the lowest servants, everyone in the palace spoke highly of Consort Rong.
He is a kind and gentle person who doesn't compete or fight, and he is also kind and tolerant towards his subordinates.
Upon hearing the maid's question, he answered gently:
"It wasn't just people taken from our palace."
Didn't you see that His Majesty, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager all took people away from their palaces?
So, even if something happened, it was related to Yongning's poisoning.
It shouldn't be targeting us specifically.
The palace maid nodded in agreement: "Your Highness is right."
Consort Rong placed the last pastry in her hand into the mold, pressed it down carefully, and then took it out and placed it on a plate.
"Alright, that's all for today. Have some steamed and send some to Qi'er later."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The palace maid answered.
Consort Rong stood up and washed her hands to the side.
Then I went outside, came to the courtyard, and looked up at the sky.
"Xinyue, please bring me the zither. I want to play it for a while."
Xin Yue's maidservant went in and brought out the zither.
Consort Rong played the zither in a shady spot where the wind was blowing, creating a harmonious and warm scene.
**
Those outside the palace knew nothing of what was happening inside.
Xie Yunyu only knew that Xiao Ling and her second brother were at Dali Temple and had sent someone to inform them that they wouldn't be coming back to stay that night.
Xie Yunyu sighed. Anyway, it had nothing to do with her. She could eat, sleep, and take care of the children as usual.
Before going to sleep, I was thinking about inviting Xue Weiyang and Wu Yumin to play mahjong together tomorrow.
Anyway, I'm just idling around.
Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep.
She slept quite well, but Xiao Ling and Xie Yunman didn't sleep a wink all night.
When Du Zhengming left the palace and returned to the Dali Temple, he found that his office had been occupied.
The three exchanged information briefly, and Du Zhengming realized that the two of them were quite important.
So he had no choice but to go to Huan Zi'an's office and work together with him.
Finally, as dawn broke, the interrogation of Xiao Ling and Xie Yunman came to an end.
The two returned to the Eastern Palace with bloodshot eyes to report their mission.
Seeing how exhausted the two were, the Crown Prince quickly arranged for them to rest.
He was flipping through the pile of testimonies on the side.
As he read on, the Crown Prince frowned again, and the final testimony pointed to Consort Shu.
Consort Shu?
The crown prince felt a growing suspicion, but the person who poisoned the emperor was clearly a cunning individual.
It's true that Consort Shu is a shrewd and calculating person, but if she were to use poison, it would only be the Heartbreak Powder, not the Delay Poison.
Forget it, let's wait until they've both rested before we talk about it.
The eldest princess sent people to monitor the Duke of Xing's residence, but they found nothing, because the pharmacy had been burned down, leaving nothing behind.
After Du Zhengming entered the palace again, the eldest princess gave him the clues about the Heartbreak Powder and the pharmacy, and asked him to investigate.
Meanwhile, he stayed in the palace with the Empress, keeping an eye on Consort Shu.
Just as Du Zhengming was about to leave the palace on business, a palace maid suddenly came and said:
"Du Shaoqing, Princess Yongning has summoned you."
Du Zhengming once again entered Princess Yongning's palace.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Princess Yongning remained leaning against the soft couch, her face still pale.
"Du Shaoqing, you may dispense with the formalities."
"Bai Zhi, please take a seat."
Du Zhengming was still sitting in the same spot as yesterday, but since it was still early today, there was no light shining from there.
Princess Yongning looked at Du Zhengming, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"Du Shaoqing, did the old woman get anything out of her interrogation yesterday?"
Upon hearing Princess Yongning's question, Du Zhengming thought to himself that she was indeed an impatient young lady.
However, he still answered Princess Yongning's question seriously.
"Yesterday, I brought the man back to the Dali Temple prison and intensified the interrogation."
She has some issues, but they aren't serious.
She just wanted to impress you and win your favor.
Yongning nodded in agreement.
“I told you she wasn’t that capable; she seemed like a rather unsophisticated person.”
"Yes. What the princess says is absolutely right. The poison was originally intended for the crown prince; the princess just stumbled upon it by accident."
Upon hearing this, Yongning suddenly chuckled.
"Luckily it was me. If it were my elder brother, the Crown Prince, or Father Emperor... then state affairs would be neglected..."
Du Zhengming was naturally aware of the emperor's poisoning, and he was pleased to hear Yongning say this.
My opinion of her has changed quite a bit.
He had heard many stories about Princess Yongning from others before, most of which described her as arrogant and rude, a proud little princess.
But Du Zhengming was very surprised by what he just said.
She prioritized national affairs and, after being poisoned in place of her brother, even said it was fortunate that it was her who was poisoned.
Du Zhengming then realized that she was a kind-hearted woman who always put the greater good first.
One can't help but marvel that not a single member of the royal family is useless.
Even such a young girl has such a broad perspective.
Du Zhengming comforted her, saying, "The princess is of noble birth and cannot be harmed in any way."
Princess Yongning smiled faintly after hearing this and asked:
"Is Du Shaoqing trying to comfort me?"
Du Zhengming looked at the slight smile on her face and said gently:
"Yes, I was comforting the princess."
In reality, Du Zhengming was just coaxing the child, but in Princess Yongning's eyes, it meant that he had feelings for her.
The two talked at length without understanding each other before Du Zhengming got up to take his leave and left the palace.
They immediately began investigating the pharmacy's clues and, sure enough, quickly uncovered the problem.
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