Dong Ling couldn't answer and seemed very troubled, so Yu Ying took the initiative to speak up, "May I ask Your Majesty, what kind of poison was put in that lampshade?"
She knew perfectly well what was going on, but how could she dare to ask? Hongli was too lazy to waste words with her, "You two, mistress and servant, know best what kind of medicine was used!"
"Your Majesty, I really don't know anything about this. This matter has nothing to do with me! I just want to know the truth. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."
Hongli was most annoyed by her acting, so he turned his head away impatiently and ignored her. Su Yushan had no choice but to reply for him, "Bodhi fruit."
"Bodhi fruit? The Bodhi fruit that is rumored to cause hallucinations, even madness?"
Hongli stared intently at Yuying and said coldly, "The Empress seems to know a lot about the Bodhi Fruit!"
Yu Ying's heart tightened, but she forced herself to remain calm and explained:
"Your Majesty, I have never seen this item before. I have only read a few books and have a vague impression of it. According to you, Dong Ling poisoned it as early as the first month of the lunar calendar. Why was Consort Chun perfectly fine until the ninth month when she was poisoned?"
"Your Majesty, that's a very good question!" Hongli had also been wondering about it. He and Yushan had guessed that the poisoning occurred in May, but after they left the palace, the date seemed to be wrong.
But when Hongli interrogated Xiao Xunzi again, he learned that there was more to the story.
“Xiao Xunzi, repeat what you just said in front of the Empress.”
Xiao Xunzi glanced at Dong Ling with difficulty. After hesitating for a moment, he finally steeled himself and told the truth.
“This servant remembers that in May, His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress were going to leave the palace. The night before their departure, Dongling came to see this servant and said that she was going to leave the palace with the Empress for a few months and bid farewell to this servant.”
That night, I drank a pot of wine with her. I have a low alcohol tolerance and passed out after only a few drinks. When I woke up, I found myself... I was sleeping with Dongling... My mind is a complete mess, I remember nothing, and I don't know why this happened..."
Emperor Hongli was furious. "Palace maids and eunuchs are not allowed to have illicit affairs! How dare you!"
Xiao Xunzi was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness. "Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant is a real eunuch. I absolutely did not do anything to Dong Ling. I was just drunk and that's why we ended up together."
Yu Ying was unconvinced and couldn't help but say, "Didn't Li Yu also marry the palace maid Yun Fang? Why is it that my palace maid committed a major taboo?"
Li Yu was slightly annoyed that the Empress was being brought up. She thought to herself that the Empress was being unreasonable. Why bring up Dong Ling when he had committed a crime?
Su Yushan couldn't stand seeing Yunfang being talked about, so she immediately corrected her, "When Yunfang married Li Yu, she hadn't entered the palace yet, so she wasn't considered a palace maid. Besides, it was a marriage bestowed by the Emperor himself, so they can't be compared."
The Empress avoided the main points, but Hongli wouldn't be swayed by her; he went straight to the point.
"Yunfang and Li Yu were together with my permission. As for Dongling, she will be of marriageable age next year. As a senior palace maid, she could have waited for the Empress to bestow a good marriage upon her before leaving the palace in style. Why would she secretly meet with a eunuch? She is probably deliberately getting close to Xiao Xunzi for some ulterior motive!"
Dong Ling, flustered and blushing, explained:
“Your Majesty, I do have selfish motives. It is because Xiao Xunzi once saved me, and I have always been grateful to him. However, his family later suffered a misfortune and he ended up becoming a eunuch in the palace. I feel sorry for his plight and have feelings for him. That is why I often find excuses to see him. That is all. I did not plot against Consort Chun!”
"Your Majesty, even if Dongling really had dealings with Xiaoxunzi, that doesn't prove she's the murderer who killed Consort Chun! She's been away from the palace for the past few months, how could she have had the opportunity to do it?"
Yu Ying argued her case forcefully, but Hongli glanced at the Empress with a cold look.
"You two, master and servant, are very clever. You thought that by delaying the time, you could clear yourselves of suspicion. Unfortunately, your cleverness backfired. Those who do evil in secret will always leave some clues!"
Hongli gave Li Yu a wink, and Li Yu reminded Xiao Xunzi to continue to the point and expose Dong Ling's true colors.
At first, Xiao Xunzi kept thinking, he was a eunuch and could not have sex, so what did he do to deserve Dong Ling's favor?
Looking back now, he finally understood. With this realization, he glared at Dong Ling, filled with intense grief and indignation, his eyes already reddening.
"Dongling, I originally thought you were genuinely kind to me because of our childhood friendship, and I was very grateful to you. Who would have thought that you had ulterior motives for approaching me!"
As I told you before, palace lanterns need to be replaced every year and maintained every six months. This year, I will be in charge of maintaining the palace lanterns at Jingren Palace.
I was just saying it casually at the time, but I didn't expect you to remember it. Before leaving the palace, you deliberately approached me and tampered with my nourishing cream. When I was maintaining the palace lanterns in July, the poison took the opportunity to seep into the lampshade.
I trusted you so much, and you actually used me to secretly plot against Consort Chun! Dong Ling, you've truly chilled me to the bone!
"No, that's not it, I didn't use you!" Dong Ling shook her head frantically in denial.
"I don't understand what you mean. What nourishing cream? I don't know anything about it! We were all drunk that night. I woke up before dawn and left in a hurry because I was afraid of being discovered. I didn't put any drugs in it. Can you believe me?"
This woman is cunning and has caused him a great deal of trouble. How could Xiao Xunzi dare to trust her anymore? He refused to pay her any more attention and turned to the emperor, saying:
"Your Majesty, this servant is ignorant and foolish, and was manipulated by Dong Ling. This servant did not know that the nourishing cream had been poisoned. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!"
Dongling cried and denied it, repeatedly saying she hadn't done it, but Hongli didn't believe her. Yuying vouched for her repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, Dongling wouldn't harm Consort Chun. Someone must have instructed Xiao Xunzi to frame Dongling!"
The Empress's words were utterly unconvincing. "The evidence is overwhelming, how dare you deny it? You're the one who ordered the poisoning! You still want to shirk responsibility?"
Yu Ying glared at Su Yushan with hatred, her eyes filled with disdain.
"Your Majesty, even if you dislike me, you shouldn't wrong me. I would never stoop to such a despicable act!"
In the past, Hongli might have believed her. But ever since he learned that Yuying had planted spies in Jingren Palace, Hongli had a new understanding of Yuying. This woman was two-faced, with a Buddha-like face but a heart of a serpent.
"Stop pretending to be innocent! Dongling has no grudge against Consort Chun, so she has no reason to harm her. On the contrary, you have a long-standing feud with Consort Chun, so you must have ordered Dongling to commit this heinous act!"
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