Chapter 976 Must I, the Emperor, come and ask in person?
As if drawn by some force, everyone raised their heads and looked out in unison. Sure enough, they saw that familiar figure hurrying to the front of the Liangyi Hall. Whether it was due to exhaustion or something else, he even leaned against the door to catch his breath before stepping inside.
It was none other than Eunuch Yu, who had disappeared long ago.
As he approached the Liangyi Hall, he saw the corpses outside the hall. Upon entering the main hall, he saw these people again, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
But he immediately understood what was going on, and calmly walked to the center of the hall and kowtowed to Yuwen Yuan, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty, greets Consort Zhang, and Consort Tao. This servant greets Princess Qin."
Seeing him, Shang Ruyi was still somewhat surprised, but at this moment, no amount of surprise could make up for the regret in her heart.
She could only nod slightly before turning her face away.
But the moment her gaze met that of the man, she saw a strange glint in his eyes, which were always smiling and seemed kind, yet always concealed a great deal of shrewdness and calculation. She felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had sensed something, and immediately held her breath and stared at him.
Upon seeing Eunuch Yu arrive, Yuwen Yuan's expression became even more complicated.
He said, "You... have you finished your business?"
Eunuch Yu said, "This servant will not fail in my mission."
"how?"
"The person has been taken outside, and the matter has been investigated and clarified."
"Bring them in."
As Yuwen Yuan spoke, he sat back down behind his desk, appearing quite calm. However, Shang Ruyi heard a very faint cracking sound. She was familiar with this sound; when Yuwen Ye clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles would crack like that. Usually, it was a sign that he was trying his best to suppress some emotion, or even that some emotion was on the verge of collapse.
Shang Ruyi looked at Yuwen Yuan's fist, which was clenched so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand were bulging, and turned her head away without making a sound.
After receiving the order, Eunuch Yu immediately went to the door, waved his hand, and saw several guards escorting a young palace maid in.
Cherry blossom tattoo!
Upon seeing the pale-faced, terrified palace maid, Shang Ruyi immediately widened her eyes.
Han Yuhui cried out in a low voice, "Wen Ying! You—"
She was somewhat flustered. Looking at Wen Ying, who had fallen to her knees with a thud, she immediately turned to look at Yuwen Yuan, who was sitting silently above the main hall. At this moment, the atmosphere in the Liangyi Hall was so tense that everyone was almost suffocating. Han Yuhui wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't utter a single word, or even make a sound.
The only one who could speak was Yuwen Yuan.
He said in a deep voice, "Yu Mingli, explain clearly what you have found out."
"yes,"
Eunuch Yu walked to Wen Ying's side, looked down at her pale, tear-streaked, and disheveled face, and said, "This servant has investigated and found that this palace maid named Wen Ying has a seriously ill elderly mother who needs more than ten taels of silver a month for medicine. She spent all her salary in the palace on this, and even sold her family's land, but still incurred a large debt. Just a few days ago, her family suddenly paid off all their debts and had extra money to buy medicine for her mother."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth bag. He opened it and found several banknotes and some loose silver coins inside.
He presented it to Yuwen Yuan and said, "Someone gave her three hundred taels of silver to fabricate a rumor on the night of the Emperor's palace banquet that she saw a man rummaging through the backyard of Qianqiu Palace. She agreed. Twenty-seven taels and six qian of this three hundred taels of silver have already been spent, and the rest is here."
"...!"
At this moment, although no one dared to utter a sound, the entire hall seemed to boil over.
Chu Ruoyan and the others looked at Wen Ying with hatred in their eyes, yet they were also overjoyed. They had originally thought that since the little eunuch who had done the deed was dead, they would not be able to find any witnesses, and the matter would probably become an unsolved mystery. But they did not expect that the witnesses would be found by Eunuch Yu.
Tushe'er even secretly clasped his hands together and silently prayed, "Amitabha, Heaven has eyes."
Changwan walked to her side and gently tugged at her sleeve.
Shang Ruyi was also frozen in place, but unlike the helplessness and despair she felt after watching the little eunuch bite his tongue and commit suicide, her stiffness at this moment was due to disbelief and bewilderment after great joy.
It turns out that Yuwen Yuan was also investigating this matter!
He may not know how his calligraphy was stolen and forged, nor may he know the flaws in the bamboo vinegar and the tattered garment, but with his years of experience in managing his household, leading his army, and now governing the world, he understood long ago that this matter required a real witness.
The key to this matter is Wen Ying, who supposedly witnessed everything.
Therefore, he sent his trusted eunuch, Grand Eunuch Yu, who had always been by his side, out of the palace to Wenying's house to find out the situation. In this way, when they found Wenying, she would have no way to deny it and would have no choice but to tell the whole story.
This is what it means to strike the target with a single blow!
Shang Ruyi looked at Yuwen Yuan, her heart surging with emotion, yet unsure what to say. She could only clench her fists tightly and whisper, "Father—"
But before she could say anything, she shut her mouth.
Because she could see that Yuwen Yuan at this moment was different from everyone else in the hall. Chu Ruoyan and the others were overjoyed. If they weren't still mindful of His Majesty the Emperor, they would have already celebrated and danced with joy. Unlike Zhang Jieyu and Tao Jieyu, although one was somewhat disappointed and embarrassed, and the other was relieved and happy, it didn't really concern them much... Also, the person standing on the other side of the hall who remained silent the whole time had a deathly pale face and stiff limbs, as if she were half dead.
Yuwen Yuan was different from everyone else.
His eyes suddenly turned very dark and deep, like a bottomless abyss. He didn't look at the eunuch Yu who had explained everything, nor at Wen Ying, who was so terrified that her muscles ached and she could only kneel on the ground and kowtow repeatedly. Instead, he kept his head down and stared at the silver notes and loose silver.
Then, there was silence.
The long silence suddenly became very abrupt, as if it had crashed heavily into everyone. Even Chu Ruoyan and the others, who were originally overjoyed, sensed something and held their breath, carefully kneeling on the spot.
All eyes were now focused on Yuwen Yuan.
He remained staring at the pile of banknotes and loose silver, his eyes devoid of emotion, not even a trace of warmth.
After an unknown amount of time, he said, "Must I come and ask in person?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com