Chapter 471 Take Her Down
It was already late at night and Zhao Xian had already gone to bed. Upon hearing that the prince had summoned him, he put on his official uniform without saying a word and went straight to the East Palace with his sword.
Luo Qinghan ordered: "Take a team of Yulin Guards and capture a few people. As for who to capture, ask her."
He glanced at Baoqin beside him.
Baoqin understood, and immediately took a step forward with courage, bowing: "Thank you, General Zhao."
Zhao Xian was a man of action and didn't like to talk, so he said immediately, "Let's go."
They first went to the Golden Wind Palace.
Concubine Li had already woken up at this time. She originally thought that the prince would come to visit her, but she didn't expect that not only did she not wait for the prince, but instead she waited for a team of aggressive Yulin Guards.
Looking at Zhao Xian who was leading the group, Concubine Li felt a little scared, but she still tried to put on a strong look.
"What are you doing bringing so many people into the Golden Wind Palace?"
Zhao Xian said coldly, "I am here to arrest someone on the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Concubine Li: "Who are you going to arrest?"
Zhao Xian did not answer directly, but turned his head to look at Baoqin behind him.
Baoqin looked around the room and finally stopped at Caiyun. She whispered, "That's her."
Zhao Xian pointed at Caiyun and said, "Take her down."
Two Yulin guards rushed forward and tied Caiyun up roughly.
Caiyun was so scared that she screamed, "My Goddess, save me!"
Concubine Li was horrified: "What are you doing? She is my maid, why are you arresting her?"
Zhao Xian: "I'm sorry, this is the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, please don't embarrass us."
After saying this, he turned and left the Golden Wind Palace.
Caiyun was also taken away.
Concubine Li couldn't get out of bed, so she could only lie on the bed and scream, trying to get them to give an explanation.
Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her.
Afterwards, Zhao Xian took his men to the Yulian Palace without stopping.
This time they took Liu Xu away from Yulian Palace.
Then he took Yingxiang away from Ningwuyuan.
After the three palace maids were taken away by the Yulin Guards, they faced severe torture.
This matter was supervised by Zhao Xian personally. The Yulin Guards were extremely ruthless and had no mercy on women.
These three palace maids were very loyal to their master, but after all, they had not received any professional training. This kind of torture was more painful than death for them.
The Yulin Guards pried their mouths open with almost no effort.
Zhao Xian got the answer he wanted from the palace maid as he wished.
He went to Qingge Hall with his confession.
It was already early morning, and the sky was tinged with paleness.
Luo Qinghan washed up and changed his clothes.
As he had to attend a ceremony to worship the heaven later, he dressed extra solemnly today.
The outer layer was a dark black robe with wide sleeves, and the sleeves and hems were embroidered with dark gold cloud patterns. The inner layer was a white cross-collared brocade robe, and underneath that was a dark red undergarment, with only a little bit of the collar and sleeves showing.
The layers of clothes on him, instead of weighing him down, made him look even more imposing.
Even though he was only nineteen years old, he already had the outline of a young emperor.
It's like a young eagle has spread its wings and will soon be able to soar into the sky.
Luo Qinghan pinched his temple. After not sleeping all night, he inevitably felt a little tired.
Eunuch Chang asked someone to make a cup of strong tea and said respectfully.
"Your Highness, drink some tea, it will refresh you."
Luo Qinghan took the teacup, took two big gulps of strong tea, and felt his mind clearer.
Upon learning that Zhao Xian wanted to see him, he signaled for someone to come in.
Zhao Xian came in and knelt on one knee: "Your Highness, the palace maids have confessed. This is their confession."
Luo Qinghan took the confession.
There were three confessions in total. The first two only had two sentences and no content, but the last one was filled with words.
This is Caiyun’s confession.
According to Caiyun's confession, she secretly put arsenic in the tea of Concubine Li, Concubine Bai, Concubine Xiao, and Duan Liangdi when no one was paying attention.
As for who instructed her to do this?
She didn't say it explicitly, but from her implication, one can guess that the person who instructed her to poison and frame Concubine Xiao was most likely Concubine Li.
At this point, the case is very clear.
It was Concubine Li who, out of jealousy, deliberately poisoned Concubine Xiao, Concubine Bai, and Duan Liangdi. She even went so far as to poison herself in order to clear herself of suspicion.
But Luo Qinghan didn't believe it.
He put down his confession and said coldly: "Caiyun is lying."
Zhao Xian was puzzled: "How did your Highness know that?"
Luo Qinghan: "There is a big mistake in her confession. Concubine Xiao was not poisoned by someone else, but took the poison herself."
Zhao Xian was stunned.
He thought that Concubine Xiao was poisoned like the other three, but he didn't expect that Concubine Xiao actually took the poison herself.
Countless thoughts popped up in his mind instantly.
Luo Qinghan glanced at him and said calmly: "You don't have to doubt Concubine Xiao. She is not the murderer. Someone deliberately framed her and she had no choice but to take the poison."
Zhao Xian asked tentatively: "Where did her poison come from?"
Luo Qinghan: "Of course the murderer deliberately hid in Qingge Hall. The murderer wanted to frame her. Fortunately, she discovered it in advance, so she escaped."
Zhao Xian felt that this was too much of a coincidence.
He still felt that Concubine Xiao was a big suspect.
If he were the one presiding over this case, he would definitely focus the investigation on Concubine Xiao.
But the prince trusted Concubine Xiao very much and had no intention of investigating her. Zhao Xian could only suppress the doubts in his heart and obediently follow the prince's arrangements.
Luo Qinghan: "Wash Caiyun clean, bring her to Qingge Palace, and show her to Concubine Xiao."
Zhao Xian didn't understand the purpose of doing this, but he wisely didn't ask any more questions and just bowed and said, "Yes."
After Zhao Xian left, Luo Qinghan got up and went to the bedroom, and saw Xiao Xixi was still sleeping.
Her sleeping posture was very restless, with the quilt pulled into a mess, both arms exposed, her lips slightly open, and there was suspicious liquid at the corners of her mouth.
Luo Qinghan sat down beside the bed, wiped the saliva from her mouth with a handkerchief, and then pinched her nose.
Xiao Xixi was suffocated awake.
She pushed the prince's hand away and gasped for breath.
Luo Qinghan looked at her leisurely: "Awake?"
Xiao Xixi glanced at the sky outside and complained angrily, "Look outside, it's not even completely light yet. Can't you let me sleep a little longer? I'm a patient after all!"
Luo Qinghan didn't feel guilty about ruining someone's sweet dream, and said calmly, "I need your help with something, you can go back to sleep after I'm done with it."
Xiao Xixi was so angry: "Can't it be done later? Is it necessary to do it so early? Even Zhou Paopi is not as cruel as you!"
Luo Qinghan: "Don't you want the bamboo forest in the backyard? As long as you finish this matter, I will give it to you."
(End of this chapter)
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