Jingpin watched this scene and chimed in:
"Your Majesty, I believe that this matter has nothing to do with the Imperial Concubine. Xiao must have some misunderstanding about the Imperial Concubine!"
Ning Wanyin had helped her clear the blame before, so this time she stood up and spoke for Ning Wanyin.
Only in this way can we leave the impression of being grateful and repaying kindness in the eyes of the emperor.
But Jingpin knew very well...
No matter what she said, it doesn't matter. Everything depends on the evidence.
Helian Qi's face was as gloomy as water, "Investigate the imperial kitchen strictly!"
The ingredients and food from the imperial kitchen were inspected before being sent to the various palaces.
The final clue led to the palace maid who delivered the food - Fangcao.
"I am responsible for delivering meals to Miss Xiao every day. I would never dare to poison her!" Fangcao kowtowed hurriedly.
"Did anything happen today that was different from usual when you were delivering meals?" Wu Mi asked.
He thought that this palace maid delivered meals every day.
Once Xiao Yunyao was poisoned, no matter whether the murderer could be found or not, she would be guilty of negligence.
If she had not been determined to die with Xiao Yunyao, someone must have taken advantage of her unpreparedness and tampered with the food.
"Today... today..." Fangcao looked flustered, "Today, on the way to deliver the food box, I accidentally bumped into Eunuch Ping from the Cining Palace. Eunuch Ping punished me to kneel for an hour, so... so the food delivery was a little later than before."
Wu Mi's eyes lit up instantly, "When you were kneeling, you were looking at the food box the whole time?"
"This food box is placed on the stone table beside. I...I knock my head to the ground and cannot raise my head..." Fangcao replied.
Everyone then noticed that there was a deep red spot on her forehead.
Wu Mi immediately asked someone to bring Xiao Pingzi from the Cining Palace.
"I didn't punish her..." Xiao Pingzi stammered and didn't dare to admit it.
They were both palace maids, and Xiaopingzi had no right to make Fangcao kneel as punishment.
But because he was a eunuch in the Cining Palace, and the chief eunuch Liu Zhen was his godfather, he was usually arrogant, and those little eunuchs and palace maids who had no background could only tolerate him.
Fangcao said hurriedly, "What this servant said is the truth..."
Wu Mi asked Fang Cao in detail about the time and place where she was punished to kneel. Based on her account, he found seven or eight witnesses who passed by.
They were all palace maids from various departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were responsible for delivering things to various palaces. They passed by and saw this.
More than one person saw it at the same time.
Naturally, these palace servants did not dare to lie, for fear of implicating themselves in Xiao Yunyao's case.
"Xiao Pingzi, you keep denying it, but it seems that the poison in the food box has something to do with you!" Wu Mi stared at Xiao Pingzi and questioned.
Xiao Pingzi panicked, "I... I did make her kneel, but I really didn't do anything to her..."
"Then why did you let her knock her head on the ground and not allow her to raise her head?" Wu Mi asked back.
"This...this...when I asked her to kneel down, she glared at me, so I...punished her..." Xiao Pingzi stuttered.
Because Fangcao glared at him, he made her knock her head to the ground and was not allowed to lift it up.
Ning Wanyin's eyes flickered slightly, and she asked coldly, "Why are you punishing me? Which palace are you the master of?"
Xiao Pingzi kowtowed to the emperor and confessed his guilt. "I know I was wrong, I know I was guilty! But I really didn't poison the food."
"I've been delivering it so many times before and nothing happened, but today I met you and something went wrong. What a coincidence." Ning Wanyin said, and deliberately reminded him:
"Some time ago, Concubine Ri De was almost killed by Xiao Yunyao..."
Therefore, if Empress Dowager Xue intended to avenge Concubine Dowager De, then tampering with the food would be a sufficient motive for the crime.
Wu Mishen agreed and looked at Helian Qi for instructions, "Your Majesty, I request that Xiao Pingzi be sent to the Criminal Court for strict trial."
Helian Qi said in a deep voice, "Take him away."
Xiao Pingzi turned pale with fright, and shouted in panic, "I really didn't poison you... I am innocent..."
Before Xiao Pingzi could finish shouting, Wu Mi covered his mouth and dragged him away.
Who wouldn’t cry out for injustice when entering the Criminal Justice Department?
When Concubine Jing saw this scene, she remained very calm.
This is just the first layer of "murderer" she left. It seems that it was instructed by Queen Mother Xue, but if you look closely, you will find that Xiao Pingzi was wrongly accused.
The person who actually did it was Fangcao, and the one who instigated her was Ning Wanyin.
It was she who instructed Fangcao to deliberately hit Xiaopingzi in order to divert the blame.
She knew very well that Xiao Pingzi was very domineering because his godfather was the chief eunuch. If he was bumped into by a palace maid, she would definitely teach him a lesson.
In the eyes of everyone, this gave him enough time to commit the crime.
By then, the Xiao family, because of Xiao Yunyao, and the Xue family, because of being framed, will both stand up to stop Ning Wanyin from being promoted to the position of noble concubine, and she can reap the benefits.
The more severely Xiao Pingzi is interrogated, the more Empress Dowager Xue is slandered. The Xue family's revenge will be even more severe.
Concubine Jing began to look forward to it.
Xiao Pingzi was taken away for a strict interrogation, and Fang Cao, the palace maid who delivered the food, was temporarily detained in the Criminal Court. Her crime of negligence would be determined after the case was investigated.
Three days later...
Xiaopingzi confessed everything.
He confessed under torture. He will admit anything as long as you don't beat him.
The key is...
Because he was ignorant of the situation, he didn't know what the poison was in the food.
Even when he was asked to write a confession, he couldn't write it clearly.
Finally, she cried and said to Wu Mi, "What kind of poison do you want me to give you? Then I will use that poison... Stop beating me, I did it all, I confess..."
It was rare for Wu Mi to meet someone who confessed so readily, but what he confessed was all useless.
The clue hit a wall here at Xiaopingzi.
Wu Mi turned to interrogate Fangcao because after the food left the imperial kitchen, only Fangcao and Xiaopingzi had contact with it.
If it's not Xiaopingzi, then Fangcao is highly suspicious.
But there is no progress on Fangcao's side...
She insisted that she had done nothing and kept shouting that she was innocent.
Wu Mi searched the two people's residence carefully but found nothing.
In the end, Wu Mi had no choice but to report to the emperor.
After listening to this, Helian Qi said calmly, "Both of them will be executed, and the case will be closed as Xiaopingzi's conspiracy."
Since Xiao Pingzi confessed, no matter what the truth is, this is the emperor's explanation to Xiao Yunjing.
Of course the emperor was happy, as Xiao Yunjing and the Xue family were incompatible.
"Yes." Wu Mi accepted the order.
The news that the Criminal Justice Department had closed the case spread.
Although the concubines were shocked, they thought it was normal if it was done by the Xue family.
Only the person involved, Jingpin, couldn't understand: Wu Mi, how did you investigate the case? How could you not find the clues hidden in Fangcao House?
The lotus-core handkerchief was mixed with Fangcao's own handkerchief. Even with the experience of the Criminal Justice Department, one could tell by careful identification that the embroidery was different.
You can find Yonghe Palace by following the clues.
It's impossible not to see.
unless……
Concubine Jing suddenly realized that unless the handkerchief had been taken away in advance.
It’s Ning Wanyin!
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