Chapter 961 Confinement
Yuwen Yuan pondered for a moment before saying, "Take Princess Qin to Chengqian Palace."
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "Father!"
Before she could say anything, Yuwen Yuan's face darkened, and he said, "I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. If you are innocent, I will clear your name; but if you—"
By the end, his gaze had turned completely cold.
Shang Ruyi wanted to say something more, but after looking at his expression and then at the surroundings, she finally said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Tushe'er, who was standing nearby, immediately said, "This servant also wants to go and take care of the Princess."
Yuwen Yuan glanced at her and waved his hand dismissively. Han Yuhui immediately summoned two palace maids and instructed them, "Send Princess Qin to Chengqian Palace and take good care of her. Do not neglect her."
Shang Ruyi glanced at her but didn't say anything before turning and walking out.
But just as she reached the entrance of the main hall, she suddenly stopped, turned to Yuwen Yuan, and said, "Father, this matter concerns my reputation. Not only does Father want to find out the truth, but I also want to prove my innocence. If I can think of anyone or anything that can prove my innocence—"
Yuwen Yuan said, "You can send someone to report to me at any time."
Shang Ruyi glanced to the side: "What if someone tries to stop us?"
Yuwen Yuan frowned, then said, "I will send Yu Mingli to Chengqian Palace. You can speak to him if you have something to say."
Shang Ruyi said, "Thank you, Father Emperor."
After saying that, he walked out.
The night passed quickly, and as soon as dawn broke, the news that Princess Qin had been confined to Chengqian Palace immediately caused a great uproar throughout the entire harem. Tao Wanyin, upon learning of this early in the morning, rushed to Liangyi Palace to inquire about the truth, only to be told that the emperor was still holding court that day and was not in the palace.
Tao Wanyin thought for a moment, then asked the young eunuch guarding the gate, "Then, is there any explanation for the matter of the Princess Qin?"
The little eunuch smiled and shook his head.
Tao Wanyin then asked, "When will the Emperor return?"
The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, then smiled apologetically and said softly, "His Majesty hasn't slept since the incident last night. He heard that His Highness was frightened, so he brought him here. The whole night was spent making a fuss, and His Majesty just went to the morning court. He probably has a lot of state affairs to attend to when he gets back. Consort, it would be best if you didn't come to see His Majesty at this time."
"I see..."
Hearing him say that, Tao Wanyin could only sigh and turn away.
Her maid, Qiaoshu, went to thank the young eunuch before running back to help her walk out, saying softly, "Consort, let's not concern ourselves too much with the Princess Qin's affairs."
Tao Wanyin turned to look at her: "What?"
Qiaoshu glanced around and whispered, "I heard that this time the culprit was caught red-handed. Although the Emperor was concerned about his reputation and only confined her to Chengqian Palace, he was really angry that he wouldn't let her return to Qianqiu Palace to see the young prince. Besides, that Sun Xianyue is in prison and we don't even know if she's alive or dead. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Princess Qin to get out of this mess."
"..."
"It's one thing that we had some dealings with her before, but if Consort Jieyu speaks up for her now, what if it angers the Emperor..."
"..."
Tao Wanyin listened quietly, her brows gradually furrowing.
Inside the Chengqian Hall, Shang Ruyi was sitting at the table, her brows furrowed tightly, her expression even more gloomy.
"princess……"
Tushe'er walked over, seemingly wanting to offer some advice, but knowing that nothing he said would make a difference at this point, he could only sigh and look around. This was the palace where the Crown Prince used to live. Since he left the palace to establish his own residence, the palace had been temporarily vacant. Although it was still clean and spacious, it was still quite inconvenient since no one had lived there for so long.
Tusheer had gone to great lengths to make the bed for Shang Ruyi last night, but as soon as she came in, she saw that the mattress and blankets were perfectly flat, indicating that she hadn't slept all night.
Thinking of this, she knelt down again, placed one hand on Shang Ruyi's knee, and said softly, "Your Highness, don't be sad. If you didn't do it, you didn't do it. The Emperor will definitely clear your name."
Shang Ruyi remained silent.
Tushe'er felt increasingly sad and subconsciously wanted to hold her hand, but felt her hand moving gently.
She thought Shang Ruyi was trembling, but when she looked down and looked closely, she saw that it was Shang Ruyi moving on her own, and only her wrist was turning gently, just like when she was writing.
Tushe'er hadn't slept much last night either, just thinking about what had happened before. At this moment, she couldn't help but ask softly, "Your Highness, the letter that Sun Xianyue received was written by someone who stole your handwriting from Qianqiu Palace and imitated it, right?"
Shang Ruyi then turned to look at her and nodded gently.
This wasn't hard to imagine; she had already thought of it yesterday when she saw the words on that note. But—
Tushe'er gritted his teeth and cursed fiercely, "Damn it!"
As she spoke, she looked up at Shang Ruyi again: "Then, were those people who came yesterday to fumigate the bamboo with vinegar to get rid of termites? They stole it?"
Shang Ruyi nodded again.
Tushe'er gritted her teeth so hard they were grinding, and punched her knee hard, saying, "It's all my fault. Why didn't I lock the cabinet? And why didn't I check it properly afterwards?"
Shang Ruyi said, "That cabinet was just storing some odds and ends. It wasn't locked for easy access, so you don't need to feel guilty."
Tushe'er's eyes reddened with anxiety as he asked, "What should we do now?"
"..."
"Will we be able to catch the thief?"
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "The incident happened yesterday. If it had been discovered during the day yesterday, there would have been some explanation. But now there is no evidence, and it is difficult to convince people just by saying this."
Tushe'er became even more anxious: "Then, what evidence do you have?"
Shang Ruyi thought quietly for a while, then suddenly turned to look at her: "She'er, you said yesterday that you were organizing the words I wrote?"
Tushe'er nodded hurriedly: "Yes, it's organized according to the days."
"So, which one is on top?"
"This servant can't remember exactly, but according to the dates, the earliest one is written on top."
"The earliest..."
As Shang Ruyi spoke, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Although her eyes were bloodshot from not sleeping all night and she looked very haggard, the light in her eyes was exceptionally sharp.
After a moment, she nodded gently: "Then I understand."
Seeing her like this, as if she were thinking of a solution, Tushe'er thought for a moment and then asked, "Your Highness, that Sun Xianyue—did he really come to our Qianqiu Palace?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "He probably didn't lie; he didn't come."
"And his clothes—"
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