Chapter 311: Nirvana 2
Hearing her say this, Song Zhao understood everything in an instant.
It turned out that since the moment Xiao Jingheng was assassinated in Lin'an, all the arrangements had been made.
Even if she turned down the title of "noble lady", she had already fallen into the trap and could not avoid it...
After a moment of panic, Song Zhao quickly calmed down.
She looked down at Qu Yanran and asked in a firm voice, "You asked me to save you, but you committed the unforgivable crime of plotting to assassinate the emperor. You knew that I couldn't save you, so you said these words in front of the emperor to tell everyone that I was the one who ordered you to do what happened in Lin'an that day, right?"
Qu Yanran froze for a moment, then looked around and said, "Could it be that the queen wants to get rid of me?"
"Kill the donkey after it has done its job? Ha~" Song Zhaoqing smiled coldly, then said in a deep voice like a bell: "If this matter was really ordered by me, then I should have killed you in Lin'an to silence you. How could I let you live until today and let you come to the emperor to make false accusations and slander my reputation!?"
Qu Yanran is obviously not smart enough.
Song Zhao asked her a few words and left her speechless, not knowing how to defend herself.
He could only turn to kowtow to Xiao Jingheng and said repeatedly:
"Your Majesty! Concubine Yi ordered me to do all this! I was short of money at the time, so she used an excuse to help me, but she actually wanted to force me to do this heinous thing! She also said that if I didn't do it, she would kill me to silence me!"
Qu Yanran's words and actions cannot stand up to scrutiny.
Xiao Jingheng was not a fool either. He stared at Qu Yanran, with sharp stars flashing in his eyes, and said coldly:
"You said Concubine Yi ordered you to do something? But this must have been a plan set up by someone long ago, so that everything could be arranged so carefully. Concubine Yi has no one at home, and she has always lived in the palace, so how could she order you to do something?"
At this moment, He Changzai, who usually kept silent, spoke up.
"But if it wasn't Concubine Yi who did it, and the assassin had never seen any female members of the harem, how could he have recognized Concubine Yi among all the concubines as soon as he entered?"
"How poor is your family?" Ning Wanshuang sneered and rolled her eyes at He Changzai, saying, "You are so poor at your age that you don't even have a portrait? If someone with ulterior motives had shown this bitch the portrait of Concubine Yi in advance, this bitch would certainly have recognized Concubine Yi."
Ying Fei also echoed, "Yes! Your Majesty, I think this matter is very strange."
Rong Yue also said: "Concubine Yi has always been favored by the emperor. What good can it do for her to do such a thing?"
Huipin also plucked up the courage to speak up for Song Zhao, "I think what you sisters said is very reasonable. Even if the emperor had not yet appointed Chengyu as the crown prince, he is still the emperor's eldest son, the emperor's noble son. Sister Song is favored, and Chengyu is also favored. Why would Sister Song want to harm the emperor?"
Concubine Yun sneered and said, "Look at Concubine Hui, who is not good at speaking, but she can always hit the point when she speaks occasionally. Yes, Concubine Yi is favored, and Chengyu is the only healthy prince of the emperor. If something happens to the emperor, then the country of Qi Dynasty will fall into the hands of Concubine Yi and her son, right?"
"Yun Fei, be careful with your words." Song Zhao stared at Yun Fei and said, "According to what you said, your father is far away in Jizhou, but he still wants to secretly contact the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue. What does he want to do?"
"you......"
When the concubines were arguing with each other, Huipin suddenly said angrily,
"Your Majesty! This matter is all because of the assassin's nonsense, which has tarnished Sister Song's innocence! I think she should be locked up in the Ministry of Punishment and tortured severely until she tells you who ordered her to wrongly accuse Sister Song!"
As she spoke, she subconsciously touched the red coral ring on her index finger.
This was seen by Qu Yanran, who suddenly shouted:
"Empress Yi! You have instructed me to murder the Emperor, and I know I have no chance of survival if I am caught today! I have had enough of the punishment from the Ministry of Punishment, and I don't want to be tortured before I die! Concubine Yi! You have hurt me to this extent, and I will not let you go even if I become a ghost!" She seemed to have some skills in martial arts, and when she took off her clothes, even the guards could not hold her down.
Seeing that she was about to hurt Song Zhao, the guard had to draw his sword and stab her in desperation.
The sword pierced through Qu Yan's back and chest, causing her to spit out a mouthful of boiling blood.
She glared at Song Zhao fiercely, her features twisted as she murmured,
"I won't...let you go!"
Then, he died.
"ah!!!"
The whole hall was in uproar, the concubines were terrified, and Xiao Jingheng ordered people to carry the dirty thing out.
Qu Yanran's death in front of Song Zhao was not enough to scare Song Zhao.
But now that she is dead, isn't there any evidence to prove this matter?
After a brief silence in the hall, Xiao Jingheng looked at Song Zhao and said in a relatively calm tone:
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly, but she is dying to tell me that you sent her to do this. Concubine Yi, do you have any explanation?"
Song Zhao looked up at him and said in a sonorous voice, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to explain for something I have never done?"
Xiao Jingheng frowned and stared at her for a moment, then he sighed.
"That's enough, today's business ends here, let's all go our separate ways..."
"emperor!"
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Yinzi hurried in again and took two quick steps forward to whisper in Xiao Jingheng's ear for a moment.
Xiao Jingheng's relaxed brows soon turned into a frown again, and he said coldly, "Then bring the person in."
Soon, the guards brought in a thin man.
Xiao Yinzi said, "Qu was a person who was offered as a tribute to the emperor by the county magistrate of Tonglu County in Lin'an. After the incident, the mansion of the county magistrate of Tonglu caught fire and all the family members died. However, this servant escaped because he was lazy and went out to drink that day."
The servant was terrified when he saw the emperor's face. He slammed his knees to the ground and trembled as he said:
"Your Majesty, I know nothing! I just saw you talking to a stranger before the fire broke out. That person ran into me when he was leaving the house, and gave me a banknote, telling me to just pretend I didn't see anything that day."
As he spoke, he rubbed his arms, took out a crumpled silver note and handed it to Xiao Yinzi.
Xiao Yinzi presented it to Xiao Jingheng, who glanced at it casually, but seemed to have seen something at the corner of the banknote.
He quickly sat up straight, took the banknote and examined it carefully.
After a while, his pupils suddenly tightened and his face turned as pale as earth.
He threw the banknote on the table and said angrily, "Take it to show Concubine Yi."
When the banknote fell into Song Zhao's hands, she saw a blurred and faded seal on the lower right corner of the banknote.
The seal was worn out like this, and it would be extremely difficult for others to distinguish it.
But Song Zhao recognized it at the first sight.
because......
That is the unique seal on the silver note issued by the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion!
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