Chapter 278 Fruitless

The windows in the hall were half open, and the summer evening breeze, with a hint of irritability and coolness, blew into the hall, blowing the thin gauze curtains in the hall.

The tassel beads hanging on the four corners of the gauze curtain gently knocked against the door, making a slight sound from time to time.

Rong Xin heard it and knew that Yun Qin was a light sleeper. She was afraid of disturbing her, so she immediately got up and closed the window.

It is estimated that the people searching the palace will soon find this place and there will be noise and commotion, so it is just right to close the windows.

After closing the window, she sat back down on the bed and whispered, "Aqin, please continue."

Yun Qin nodded, yawned slightly, and continued: "If it was the Queen Mother's order, then the wine would definitely not contain poison. If I'm guessing correctly, it should be an aphrodisiac."

"Ah?" Rong Xin was extremely surprised. This was not uncommon in the palace, but it was not a decent method. It was usually used by concubines of humble origins. It was really shocking for the empress to use such a method.

Seeing her shocked expression, Yun Qin couldn't help but smile, "Of course the Queen would disdain to use such means. I guess it's for Fang's consent. That makes sense."

But Rong Xin's surprise didn't diminish at all, "Isn't the Queen Mother a little too anxious?"

"It's not her who is anxious, it's the Fang family who is anxious." Yun Qin closed her eyes. "Although the things the emperor found out from the west have not yet happened, they are like a knife hanging over their heads. Now the Fang family urgently needs a legitimate son born by the queen to consolidate their position."

"Since the queen cannot give birth, Fang promised that the next life will be the same."

Rong Xin finally understood and shook her head, then said, "It seems that the Queen is indeed helpless and would not do such a risky thing for the Queen Mother."

Yun Qin nodded slightly, her eyes half closed, obviously feeling sleepy.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Go to sleep soon." Rong Xin covered her with a blanket and whispered.

Yun Qin nodded, reached out and held her hand, whispering: "Sister, tell Dan Xue and the others to come to the main hall, don't be scared by the imperial guards..."

"That's all you need to worry about. Go to sleep." Rong Xin patted her shoulder gently.

Yunqin then slowly fell asleep.

This time, I slept until dawn.

Rong Xin stayed with her all night, and when she woke up, she immediately came over and helped her up.

Yun Qin glanced at the sunlight coming in through the window, still a little confused, "Didn't the imperial guards come to search the palace yesterday?"

"I have been here." Rong Xin smiled and said, "Eunuch Xu brought people here. The emperor gave a strict order that you must not be disturbed. The imperial guards who came here were not wearing armor. They searched the palace with swords in hand and left. They came quickly and left quickly."

Hearing her say this, Yun Qin knew that the people coming were not the imperial guards at all, but were probably the Wude Envoy in disguise.

They must have found out something after taking action.

"The emperor hasn't been here?" Yun Qin still remembered that he would come back as soon as he said he would.

"I have been here." Rong Xin smiled more clearly. "Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, I just sat on the couch for a while and then went to court."

Yun Qin nodded, feeling that a lot of things had happened during this time.

She wanted to get up, but was stopped by Rong Xin again.

"The Queen knew that all the palaces were frightened yesterday, so she sent someone to tell you this morning that today's greetings are unnecessary."

Yun Qin couldn't help but laugh, "Did I just take a nap? Why does it feel like I slept for three days..."

"Pah, pah, what unlucky words are you saying so early in the morning?" Rong Xin pouted twice, gave her a glare, and said, "Since you are not in a hurry to pay your respects, just sleep a little longer."

Yun Qin shook her head and said, "I can't sleep." Then she asked, "Did the emperor say he would come for breakfast?"

“No.”

"Then ask Xiao Shunzi to invite the emperor to have breakfast." Yun Qin really wanted to know whether Nie Danying was found last night.

She was combing her makeup when Xiao Shunzi came back.

Yun Qin couldn't help but glance at the sky. The day was long and even though it was bright outside, it wasn't right to leave court so early.

"Why did you come back so soon?" she asked curiously.

Xiao Shunzi said, "Your Highness, Lord Xu told me that the Emperor had just finished his court session and wanted to visit the Empress Dowager first. He might have breakfast in Ci'an Palace. You can eat first and don't have to wait for the Emperor."

Hearing this, Yun Qin curled her lips, knowing that he had been specifically told about this.

I know I’m anxious…

Filial piety is also a virtue, so forget it.

Yun Qin nodded without saying anything more. She finished her makeup and had breakfast. Then she waited for another half an hour, until she was almost sleepy, before Huo Jinchi finally arrived.

Seeing him, Yun Qin was no longer in a hurry and asked about the Queen Mother's condition first.

"It's nothing serious, I just have some old heart palpitations. Just take a good rest." Huo Jinchi said, and then asked with a smile: "Have you been waiting for me?"

This look of asking questions even though you already know the answer is a bit annoying.

"I knew that the emperor was deliberately keeping me in suspense." Yun Qin turned her head away.

Hawking Chi chuckled, "Actually, I have nothing to say. We didn't find anything unusual last night..."

It turned out that after leaving Anlan Pavilion last night, Huo Jinchi had been sitting in the pavilion by the lake, waiting for the imperial guards and military envoys from various places to come and report.

He knew in his heart that it was most likely Nie Danying who did it, so the focus of the search was naturally Yanling Hall where Nie Danying was. However, he did not expect that Wu De could not find the broken ribbon after searching everywhere.

After all, she was a concubine, and she also had the identity of her daughter. Without evidence, Hawking Chi could not allow anyone to search her directly.

Nie agreed that he had seen it with his own eyes and it didn't look like he was injured at all.

After hearing what Huo Jinchi said, Yun Qin immediately asked, "What about Cui Xuan beside her? Have the people from the Wude Envoy seen her?"

But Huo Jinchi's answer made her idea come to nothing. "Yes, the maid behaved very normally. Neither the master nor the servant smelled any blood."

"Could it be that they are just too good at disguising themselves?"

Huo Jinchi nodded. "I am also somewhat suspicious, so I have asked someone to keep an eye on him. The imperial guards said that the knife had cut right into his back, and the wound was six inches long. It is impossible to cover up such a wound."

"Then why did the Empress skip the greetings today? Wouldn't it be easier to expose her true identity this morning?" Yun Qin wondered.

Huo Jinchi shook his head and sneered, "She just wants to cover up for others."

Yun Qin was puzzled.

"The Queen thought Fang Danying did it."

This answer surprised Yun Qin, but not surprised at the same time. She couldn't help but shake her head, "The Queen doesn't really understand Fang Danying."

She would only instigate others to do it, she doesn't have the courage to do it herself.

"Has the emperor tried Li again?" Yun Qin asked again.

Her intelligence always impressed Huo Jinchi. He let his fingers linger on her face for a while before saying, "I did take advantage of the gap when they were searching the palace to interrogate Li and got her confession that a palace maid had instigated her."

"I also had an artist draw a portrait overnight based on her description. The portrait looks 80% similar to Cuixuan who was by Nie Danying's side."

"That person..."

"I have sent her to a safe place."

Yun Qin stared at him for a while, and confirmed that the "safe place" did not refer to the underground, then she nodded slowly, not forgetting to compliment him a few times, "Your Majesty has really thought it through."

"I and Concubine Xi are in tune with each other."