This is simply manipulating the Emperor and the Prime Minister. After all, the last time Qu Qingran acted like that with another man in the palace, the Emperor welcomed her into the palace, which meant that she would have to wear a green hat in the future.
"Didn't you find anything?" Qu Qingxi glanced at Qingdai. Although she was very careful, it was inevitable that some oversights would occur. If anyone discovered anything, she would have to go and deal with it in time.
"No, there are so many palace maids and eunuchs in the palace. When the Emperor was taking a nap, Eunuch Lai Fu was personally guarding the door. He didn't find anything. By the time the Empress arrived, the Emperor and Qu Qingran were already lying together. The people at the door only found out after they went in. Who knows how Qu Qingran got in?" Qingdai shook her head, feeling very puzzled.
The prince certainly had spies in the palace, but he found nothing.
Hearing this, Qu Qingxi breathed a sigh of relief. Normally, nothing would have happened, but last night was the first time she had used her space to store people. There were many people in the palace, so it was inevitable that she would be seen by someone by accident. Fortunately, she did not leave any clues.
"Qingdai, tell me, why did the Emperor and Qu Qingran have a relationship? Is it because the Emperor thought Qu Qingran was beautiful?"
"Ah? Your Highness, I don't know about that. However, His Majesty witnessed what happened at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet last time. I think any man would find it unbearable, let alone someone who stands at the pinnacle of power."
However, according to news from the palace, last night, the imperial physicians found aphrodisiacs on both the Emperor and Qu Qingran's clothes, indicating that someone had likely drugged them.
"I see." Qu Qingxi nodded knowingly, then asked with feigned curiosity, "I wonder who drugged them, and yet they haven't been found out."
"I don't know. The Emperor is investigating this matter, the Prince is investigating this matter, and the Prime Minister's men are also investigating this matter, but so far, they haven't found anything." Qingdai didn't know that Qu Qingxi was testing her, so she answered honestly.
Having learned what she wanted to know, Qu Qingxi remained silent, only thinking that she still needed to find time to have the people from Qinglan Pavilion investigate the matter as well, because it was better to stir things up further.
After Qu Qingxi finished breakfast, He Liufeng suddenly pushed the door open and came in.
Qu Qingxi was reading a medical book when she saw He Liufeng come in. She casually asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you busy today?"
"Qingxi." He Liufeng called out Qu Qingxi's name, his voice slightly serious.
"What's wrong?" Qu Qingxi noticed something was off about He Liufeng's tone, closed her book, and looked at He Liufeng.
He Liufeng walked straight to Qu Qingxi's side, glanced at her, sat down, and then took something out of his sleeve and placed it in front of Qu Qingxi. It was a small piece of purple cloth.
Qu Qingxi stared at the piece of cloth for a moment, recognizing it as something from her own princess consort's attire. Qu Qingxi's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure, pointed to the things on the table, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong with this?"
"This was found on a sharp stone under the right-hand window of the palace where my brother and Qu Qingran had their accident last night," He Liufeng said slowly, staring at the person in front of him.
"So, you suspect me?" Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow. The princess's attire was rather heavy, and she really hadn't noticed that a piece had been torn off and left there last night.
This small piece of cloth, in terms of color, fabric and workmanship, clearly belongs to the Princess Consort. Among the current Princess Consorts of the Ling Dynasty, she is the only one who can wear purple. So He Liufeng has come to interrogate her.
He Liufeng stared at Qu Qingxi for a long time, then looked down at the things on the table. "In the future, when you're dealing with things, remember to check the crime scene again before you leave, so as not to leave any traces."
“This time, my men got there first and retrieved this item. If someone else had found it, you would have been discovered by them.”
He Liufeng was silent for a while, then continued, "You can completely trust me. You are my queen, my woman. No matter what the circumstances, I will always choose to protect you."
"Qingxi, from now on, you can trust me more." He Liufeng's tone was tinged with sadness and sorrow.
He received this last night. Of course he knew Qu Qingxi's clothes and recognized that this was from the dress Qu Qingxi was wearing. He wasn't angry that Qu Qingxi had made the move, but he felt that Qu Qingxi didn't trust him.
Qu Qingxi said that someone took her to the artificial hill yesterday and she saw him talking to Xu Yanyan. Later, Qu Qingran appeared in the palace where the emperor was resting.
In other words, Qu Qingxi knew last night that Qu Qingran had orchestrated her trip. Qu Qingxi didn't have any connections in the palace, so it was impossible for her to know in a short time that Qu Qingran was behind it. Therefore, Qu Qingran must have appeared in person last night and met with Qu Qingxi.
Therefore, Qu Qingxi had the opportunity to send the person to the place where the emperor was resting.
However, when she returned to the banquet, she did not say that she had seen Qu Qingran. She only said that a palace maid had taken her to the rockery. This clearly showed that she did not trust her.
Upon hearing this, Qu Qingxi lowered her head and chuckled, then asked in return, "He Liufeng, you and the Emperor are brothers. What I did yesterday was, after all, a scheme against the Emperor. Your own brother, wouldn't you have stopped me if you had known?"
"Is that why?" He Liufeng asked, somewhat surprised, then gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Brother? I treat him like an older brother, but he doesn't treat me like a younger brother."
"What do you mean?" Could there be some hidden story behind this? Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The poison of madness I suffered before was personally fed to me by the Emperor." He Liufeng looked out the window and said this in an unusually calm tone, as if it were just a trivial matter.
Qu Qingxi's eyes widened instantly. The Emperor had labeled He Liufeng as arrogant and unruly? How could that be?
Didn't they say that the Emperor doted on his younger brother, He Liufeng?
"As for the Emperor's previous hint to the Empress to find a way to get rid of you, it was because he felt that you had brought me good fortune, which is why my madness was relieved, not because of your status."
Moreover, if it really was because of your status, then why did he bestow your marriage upon me in the first place?
He didn't even believe me, and even had the imperial physician take my pulse to determine my physical condition and whether the poison of madness was truly still in my body.
"This..." Qu Qingxi also fell silent. She hadn't expected that she had thought too highly of the royal family. The emperor actually turned against his own brother and didn't even trust him.
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