Thinking of this, the group of people all deflated, while Chu Xing took a few steps forward, picked up Zhao the cook, and went back.
After they returned to the Regent's Palace, Qi Guze had someone bring Zhao the cook up for questioning.
"Why is someone chasing you?" Qi Guze asked Zhao, the cook, from the seat of honor.
Cook Zhao's eyes darted around, and she shook her head: "I don't know either."
She would never say that; saying such a thing would surely lead to her death.
Qi Guze wasn't annoyed: "Oh? In that case, Chu Xing, go and throw her out."
These words sounded light and casual, but when Zhao the cook heard them, it felt like a storm of knives was falling on her heart. It couldn't be that he was just trying to scare her.
Cook Zhao was still trying to comfort herself, but the next second several guards in black came and picked her up and headed out the door.
This terrified her; she knew she might die if she told anyone, but she would die immediately if she didn't.
"I'll talk, I'll talk." Cook Zhao choked with fear. Although the men at the city gate hadn't explicitly said they wanted to kill her, their intentions were obvious.
"Wait a minute," Qi Guze said, raising his hand to signal the people to stop.
The cook, Zhao, confessed everything: "I am a cook in the Imperial Kitchen. Consort Min told me to take the money and leave, but when I got to the palace gate, someone stopped me."
"Why did she give you money and let you leave?" Qi Guze stared at her with a scrutinizing look.
"They told me to tamper with the food," Cook Zhao said, her voice trailing off.
"Is this Consort Jia's food?" Qi Guze asked sternly upon hearing this.
"My lord, spare my life! I'm just a lowly cook, I know nothing else!" Upon hearing Qi Guze mention Consort Jia, Cook Zhao panicked and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy.
Upon seeing this, Qi Guze understood the situation quite well.
After Chef Zhao finished explaining the whole story, Qi Guze narrowed his eyes. It was truly a case of finding something without even looking for it. He never expected to find the real culprit who poisoned Consort Jia through such a process.
"Chu Xing, this person is in your hands. He can be a witness in the future. Not a single hair on his head can be lost, understand?" Qi Guze instructed Chu Xing after thinking it over.
"Don't worry, I swear on my life." Chu Xing patted his chest to assure him. Qi Guze patted him on the shoulder upon hearing this, then walked to the window and looked out with his deep gaze.
...
"Your Highness, the matter was not handled properly. Qi Guze's men suddenly appeared and rescued the person." Aqi also received the report from his subordinates.
"Take care of everyone, and you should also go to the countryside to hide for a while. Come back when things have calmed down," Ah Qi said with a frown.
He then paced around the room for a while before immediately sending someone to find Consort Min, lest she panic upon receiving the news.
After receiving the news, Consort Min was restless. If Pingping hadn't been holding her back, she would have gone to find Aqi in broad daylight.
Doesn't that indirectly mean the Crown Prince was involved? There must be Qi Guze's spies everywhere. Going to the Crown Prince at a time like this is just adding more trouble than it already has.
Consort Min calmed down and finally made it to the middle of the night. She then insisted on going to find Ah Qi again. Although Pingping still felt it was inappropriate, she couldn't stop her this time and had no choice but to agree.
They were very careful on their way, and deliberately took a long detour to reach the East Palace.
Ah Qi had already heard the news and sent people to wait at the door early in the morning. When the two arrived, he welcomed them in directly.
"Your Highness..." Consort Min called out as soon as she saw Aqi.
“I know everything. The only way to save everyone on the ship is to kill Xu Yuehuai,” Aqi said, waving his hand.
“Absolutely not. Not to mention that she has the Duke of Zhenguo watching her from behind, Qi Guze is also a troublesome person.” Consort Min directly rejected Aqi’s suggestion.
"That's true, but if two other people were to handle it, things would be simpler." Two figures popped into Ah Qi's mind.
"Your Highness, are you referring to Xu Jingui and his son?" Pingping asked at the opportune moment.
"Not bad." Ah Qi clapped his hands approvingly.
"But yesterday, Xu Mingzhi's couplet in the Golden Hall was utter nonsense. The Emperor has already stripped him of his official title and is investigating the matter of cheating in the imperial examinations." No secrets stay hidden forever, and such news naturally spread throughout the palace. Pingping had already received the news long ago.
"It's alright, I'll take care of this. You all go back and wait for news," Ah Qi said, waving his hand.
Upon hearing this, the two cautiously returned to Consort Min's palace.
After the two left, Aqi walked to the window and looked out at the scenery. Qi Guze and Aqi's eyes seemed to cross through layers of barriers and collide in the air.
The next morning, Ah Qi took the things he had prepared the night before and rushed to the Golden Palace, where he told the Emperor the whole story.
"This article is completely different from the one I saw yesterday." After hearing this, the Emperor carefully read the article in his hand again and then asked suspiciously.
“That’s naturally different, because that day in the Golden Hall, someone deliberately tried to cause trouble for Xu Mingzhi,” Aqi said, his words clearly pointing the finger at the Duke of Zhenguo.
The Emperor was even more puzzled upon hearing this, since it was the Duke of Zhenguo who had made the suggestion yesterday, and he still trusted the Duke of Zhenguo's character.
Moreover, they not only read the article but also tried to compose a couplet on the spot, which Xu Mingzhi was unable to match.
"Because someone threatened Xu Mingzhi's father's life, he was talking nonsense at the time. Your Majesty, please leave this matter to me, and I will give you a satisfactory explanation as soon as possible." Aqi saw what the emperor was thinking and simply took on the responsibility.
"Very well, then you should investigate this matter thoroughly for me as soon as possible." The Emperor nodded. Firstly, it would allow him to hone Ah Qi's abilities, and secondly, such cases of cheating in the imperial examinations always involve many people, so if he were to oversee the investigation, it might delay many state affairs.
Ah Qi left the palace satisfied.
On the other side, led by Hengniang, Xu Yuehuai arrived at the place where Consort Jia had fallen and miscarried.
“Miss Xu, this is the place.” Hengniang looked around. After being exposed to the wind and sun, there were no traces left on the ground. She didn’t know why Xu Yuehuai still wanted to come here.
“Traces are useless; people are what’s useful,” Xu Yuehuai said, grabbing a handful of soil and stuffing it into the cloth bag she had brought. Then she looked up at the sky and said, “It’s still early; let the news spread for a while.”
Hengniang was completely baffled, not knowing what Xu Yuehuai was up to, but she dared not ask, fearing she would ruin her plans, so she could only follow behind her and leave the place.
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