Chapter 271 Suing the Queen Mother
Not to mention how ugly the Queen Mother's face was, Nie Danying beside her already hated Yun Qin to death.
She has never seen anyone who can seduce men better than her!
Yun Qin had no time to appreciate her resentful expression because she noticed that Li walked in from the door.
In order to prevent people at the table from eating cold dishes, the hot dishes are served in batches and then taken away.
Li, mixed in with the people serving the dishes, walked up to the hall.
Yun Qin just took a quick glance and immediately retracted her gaze to avoid being noticed.
However, her hands were clearly not as steady as before as she was peeling the lychees. She crushed the fragile fruit flesh and got her hands soaked with juice.
Above, the Queen suddenly spoke up, interrupting the confrontation between Huo Jinchi and the Queen Mother.
"It's rare to be so lively today, so don't get angry over a lychee. Since the emperor doesn't want to eat it, I'll give it to him." The queen reached out and put the lychee in her mouth, then smiled at Fang Ying and said, "Thank you, sister."
Fang Danying's expression became more and more unpleasant, but she had to force a smile, "It is what I should do."
The queen glanced at her, then naturally picked up the jug and filled the emperor with wine.
The Queen Mother also smiled and said, "Yes, it's rare to see such a lively atmosphere today. Don't you think I should offer you a toast?"
"As I should." Huo Jinchi picked up the wine glass and was about to drink it when he suddenly heard a "bang".
He raised his eyes and saw an old woman who threw away the food in her hands, rushed to the middle of the hall and knelt down.
Xu An reacted the fastest and immediately stood in front of Huo Jinchi. The imperial guards also rushed over and pinned the woman to the ground.
There was a sudden burst of screams in the hall, and Yun Qin was pulled up by Rong Xin and protected behind her. She did not forget to pick up the plate of lychees and was stuffing them into Rong Xin's sleeves.
"Who are you!" Xu An asked loudly.
"I am Li, a commoner who works as a servant in the imperial palace. I came to the palace today to ask Your Majesty to redress the grievances of the people! Your Majesty, please help my dead daughter!"
Her answer was very logical and she answered under the pretext of "seeking justice for the people". It was obvious that she was well prepared, which made the Queen Mother frown.
Huo Jinchi waved his hand to let the guards push him away, and asked calmly, "Who is your daughter? What injustice has she suffered?"
"Why don't you explain it clearly?" Xu An also shouted.
Li knelt forward and took two steps. "My daughter's name is Xiaoqin. She was a maid in the imperial palace. During the Dragon Boat Festival, she was found drowned in the lake. Later, I heard that she was bribed by Concubine De, who eventually killed her to silence her."
Yun Qin couldn't help but secretly glance at the Queen Mother's expression and saw that she had indeed realized it. Although her face looked ugly, she didn't look at Nie to agree.
"Do you want to sue Concubine De?" Huo Jinchi asked knowingly.
Li shook her head repeatedly, "No, I want to sue the current Queen Mother!"
Her voice was earth-shattering. Except for a few people who knew about it, everyone else was almost jaw-dropping. They all looked at the empress dowager who was sitting on the main seat at the top.
The Queen Mother's expression had become extremely sad.
"How dare you!" Xu An shouted, "How can you be so insolent here!"
"I have evidence!" she shouted, and then took out a letter from her arms. "I found this among my daughter's belongings. It was written by the Queen Mother herself. The letter said that it was the Queen Mother who instructed her to give the rice dumplings to Concubine Xi, and also said that she should put the blame on Concubine De afterwards!"
"My poor daughter didn't even have the chance to speak before she was killed by the Queen Mother's people!"
"This is sheer nonsense, so absurd!" The Queen Mother could no longer hold back and angrily slammed the table. "I don't even know who your daughter is, how can I order her around, or kill someone to silence them! Besides, she's just a little maid, do I need to write a letter to her in person?"
She had memorized these words by heart in advance, which was why she was able to say them so fluently in front of the palace. However, when questioned by the empress dowager, she was so frightened that she could not utter a word.
Xu An has already presented the letter to Huo Jinchi.
Huo Jinchi took the scan and glanced at it, his face darkened, and he immediately handed it to the Queen Mother, "Have a look, Mother."
The Queen Mother took it angrily and looked at it, her face changed, because the handwriting on the paper was indeed hers.
Seeing the two people's expressions change one after another, Yun Qin almost raised an eyebrow and turned her head to look at Nie Danying.
She was really amazing, she actually found the Queen Mother's handwriting.
Or did the Queen Mother really write a personal letter so that she could find someone to copy it?
This guess was soon verified, because the Queen Mother looked directly at Nie Danying. Although it was just a glance, it did not escape Yun Qin's eyes.
Yun Qin guessed correctly. The Queen Mother did write a personal letter to Nie to agree, but it was just to reassure her and let her work hard for her.
But she never expected that she could find someone to copy her handwriting, which turned the tables on her!
The Queen Mother slammed the letter on the table and said, "This letter is a forgery. I don't even know that palace maid, let alone anything about exchanging rice dumplings!"
The sound of "bang" made the old woman in the palace shudder. Although she was afraid, she was determined to seek justice for her daughter. At this time, she could only lie on the ground and shout: "Your Majesty, please help me!"
"Who is it? Who ordered you to slander me?" the Queen Mother shouted.
During this period, Li had already been brainwashed by Nie Danying and believed that the Queen Mother was the one who killed her daughter. She did not think that she was being instructed by someone else.
From her perspective, Cuixuan simply handed her daughter's belongings to her, read the letter to her, and kept persuading her, telling her not to come to the court to complain.
She was just an ordinary citizen, so she had to accept this and swallow it.
She also said that her daughter died unjustly and would not be able to rest in peace in the underworld if she did not get justice. So she gave her a lot of money and asked her to hold a funeral for her daughter and burn some paper.
Until now, she still thinks Cuixuan is a good person.
Even if the Queen Mother asked her to confess, she didn't know what it meant and still fell to the ground and cried, "My husband and son all died of the plague, leaving only this one daughter to depend on. She is a filial child who gives me money every month. I just hope she can leave the palace as soon as possible so that mother and daughter can be reunited. Now that she is gone, I don't want to live anymore!"
"I only ask the emperor to give her justice. I will die, but I cannot let my daughter die in obscurity and not be able to rest in peace!"
There was no falsehood in her words. Her voice was full of tears and it was obvious that she was willing to risk her life for justice.
Conspiracies can be dealt with, and lies can be exposed, but it is obvious that she has no conspiracies, and no lies to expose.
She believed that the letter was real, and naively yet determinedly wanted to use this letter to sue the empress dowager, the mother of the country!
Yun Qin sighed in her heart, maybe this woman's status was not as noble as these people, but she was still a great mother and a warrior who did what she knew was impossible.
However, listening to her, it is obvious that she has been deceived, but it is obvious who it is.
Yunqin glanced at Nie Danying's place, but did not see Cuixuan. It was obvious that she was afraid of being seen by Li and hiding.
And Li probably didn't even know who Cuixuan was. She probably just thought she was a maid in the palace and a good friend of her daughter.
In the eyes of others present, Li's behavior was stupid, ridiculous and unbelievable.
"An ignorant woman actually dared to sue the current Empress Dowager. I think she is simply crazy!" Fang Danying shouted from the side: "Why don't you drag this person away quickly and beat her hard until she tells the truth!"