"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Jiang Bairen knelt on his knees and explained quickly, "Your Majesty, please understand. I was really too nervous. After all, the fourth prince was assassinated in the palace, and two more bodies were found in the imperial garden early in the morning. I was really worried and nervous to the extreme. I wanted to catch the assassin as soon as possible. I was afraid that the safety of Your Majesty and the ladies in the palace would be threatened. So I made a mistake in my haste and did not have time to ask Your Majesty for permission. I immediately sent people to search the bedroom of the murdered guard Fang and the palace maid named Qingxing. The purpose was to find clues as soon as possible and track down the real culprit. I was really sincere. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Concubine Hui hurriedly said, "Your Majesty. You see, Jiang Bairen is relying on this set of words of loyal service to the master, so he dares to act so recklessly..."
"Go on. What did you find?" Zhong Zhiheng raised his hand and waved it, interrupting Hui Fei's words. At the same time, he said to Jiang Bairen with a sullen face.
"Yes, I obey your command." Jiang Bairen breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued hurriedly. "After searching, I found that the guard and Qing Xing were in a * relationship, and they all took orders from Concubine Hui. Concubine Hui gave orders to the guard through Qing Xing. Usually, they only communicated verbally, or there were letters, but the guards destroyed the letters afterwards. However, guard Fang left a handwritten letter from Concubine Hui. Maybe he was afraid that Concubine Hui would kill him, so he left this letter to save his life. But he didn't know that it was this letter that he left on his own initiative that made Concubine Hui want to kill him."
"Jiang Bairen, you are slandering me! I don't even know a guard named Fang!" Concubine Hui roared, pointing her finger at Jiang Bairen, "I have no grudge against you, why are you framing me in front of His Majesty? Who is the mastermind behind you? Who gave you the courage?!"
"Empress Hui, don't be anxious. Listen to what he has to say first. If he really framed you, would I just sit there and do nothing?" Zhong Zhiheng said calmly, looking at Zhao Ruhai, "Ruhai, move an embroidered cushion for the Empress to sit on."
"Yes, I obey your command." Zhao Ruhai immediately moved an embroidered cushion over, and Concubine Hui sat down tremblingly, looking at Zhong Zhiheng with panic and anxious eyes. Her lips trembled, and it was obvious that she had something to say, but as soon as she met Zhong Zhiheng's indifferent eyes, she lowered her head in a hurry.
"Okay, keep talking," Zhong Zhiheng took a sip of tea and looked at Jiang Bairen again, "Just one thing, if you say anything untrue today, I will chop off your head."
"Yes, I obey your command!" Jiang Bairen kowtowed hurriedly, and then continued what he had just said, "If Concubine Hui just killed a guard and a palace maid, I would never dare to do so. But in the bedroom of Guard Fang, my people found Concubine Hui's handwritten letter and a large silver note of 3,000 taels. The most important thing is that Concubine Hui wrote clearly in black and white in the handwritten letter, asking Guard Fang to wait for an opportunity to kill the Fourth Prince during his night patrol. As long as the Fourth Prince died, she would help Guard Fang and Qing Xing, not only reward them with 3,000 taels of silver, but also personally send them out of the palace, so that they can live a rich and free life." At this point, Jiang Bairen took out the letter and the silver note of 3,000 taels from his front and handed them to Zhong Zhiheng with both hands, "Please take a look, Your Majesty!"
For a moment, everyone in the room focused their attention on the thin letter. Concubine Hui looked panic-stricken, Fang Zhiheng looked suppressedly angry, but Zhong Mingwei had a blank expression on his face. He just watched Zhong Zhiheng take the letter without saying a word.
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