After saying this, she suddenly realized something, looked up at Luo Lan timidly, and asked cautiously,
"Is this the Empress?"
Luo Lan saw a different look in her eyes, she frowned and nodded,
"Um."
The old woman swallowed hard and then tugged at the corner of Xiaoling's clothes.
Xiaoling seemed to realize something, and she waved her hands and shook her head in fear.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we won't sue anymore. We won't sue anymore. We'll go back right now. We'll go back right now."
Luo Lan was surprised by their sudden change, and Leng Yu was also confused.
Ah Hong reminded loudly,
"If you want to take back what you said, that would be a false accusation, and false accusations are punishable by death."
Ah Hong's words frightened the old woman so much that she fell to the ground with a pale face. Xiao Ling wiped her tears and kept complaining.
"I told you not to come, but you insisted. Now we can't go back. We're left with a blind father and two children. What's going to happen to this family?"
The old woman wiped her tears and sobbed loudly.
"How could I have known it would be like this! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please spare us two illiterate women. We won't sue you."
Leng Yu was somewhat surprised by the sudden change in the mother and daughter. He and Luo Lan exchanged a glance and asked in confusion,
"Old man, do you have any concerns?"
The old woman bit her lips tightly and shook her head vigorously. Xiaoling looked at Luo Lan timidly and shook her head without saying a word.
This scene suddenly made Luo Lan realize something. She took two steps forward and asked softly:
"When I was mentioned just now, you stopped what you were about to say. Could it be that this matter is related to me, the Queen?"
Her question made Xiaoling and the old woman wave their hands in fear.
"No, no, everyone knows that the Queen is kindhearted. How could such a wicked thing be related to the Queen?"
Although they shook their heads to deny it, Luo Lan still felt that they changed their minds and did not want to seek justice after they knew she was the queen. This matter was most likely related to her.
She took a deep breath and spoke again solemnly.
"You only have this one chance to redress your grievances. If you don't seize it, you'll never have another chance. No matter who is involved in this matter, I hope you can tell the truth. The emperor will not favor anyone."
Leng Yu also nodded seriously.
"The Queen is right. I will not condone any acts of harming others or killing others, no matter who is involved. If you have any grievances, please speak up. If you refuse to speak up, no one can help you."
Just as Xiaoling was about to speak, the old woman pulled her back and straightened her back as if she had made a great decision.
"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Xiaoling was unaware of this matter. I was the one who instigated her to come. No matter what I said was wrong, I beg Your Majesty and Empress Dowager to forgive her. I have two small children at home who are left unattended. She cannot afford to get into trouble."
Leng Yu looked at her with sharp eyes and nodded, then pulled Luo Lan back to the chair, waiting quietly for the old woman to speak.
The old woman hesitated for a moment, then clenched her fists in grief.
"The reason I just said that the Emperor must personally handle this matter is because... because the person backing Hu Tian and Boss Wang is the Empress."
These words exploded above Luo Lan's head like a bolt from the blue.
When did she instigate others to do this? Most importantly, she didn't even know where Yilan County was. How could this matter be related to her?
Leng Yu also looked at Luo Lan in confusion, and then said coldly:
"The Empress has never left the capital. How dare you frame her? You are so audacious."
Hearing this, the old woman kowtowed in panic.
"Your Majesty, please spare me, Your Majesty, please spare me. How dare I, a humble woman, frame the Empress? This isn't just what I said; the people around Yilan County all say the same thing. Because of this, the people don't dare to go to the capital to file a complaint, and no one dares to make a big deal out of this. I beg Your Majesty to investigate and act on behalf of the people."
Looking at Leng Yu's slightly angry expression, Luo Lan reminded him softly,
"Your Majesty, you know I am innocent, but the people do not. This matter should be investigated."
Leng Yu frowned and looked at her.
"In your opinion, who should be sent to investigate this matter?"
Luo Lan pondered for a while and whispered in his ear:
"If this matter is really as this lady said, we must not act rashly, lest they kill to silence the witnesses. Not only would we not find the person, but we would also alert the enemy, and this matter would become an unsolved case..."
"So what do you mean?"
Luo Lan blinked cautiously.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to leave the palace to understand the people's sentiments? Why don't you go and investigate this matter yourself? This way, you can clear my name and rid the people of this scourge..."
Leng Yu frowned, nodded slowly, and then looked at Xiaoling and her daughter.
"I know about this matter. Someone must have framed the Queen. I will investigate it myself. You all should go home and wait!"
Xiaoling and the old woman looked at each other, then looked at him expectantly.
"Your Majesty, will you really investigate? You won't lie to us, will you?"
Ayu stepped forward and scolded:
"How dare you! What the Emperor says is his word, and you are not allowed to question it."
Xiaoling shuddered at Ayu's words. Leng Yu glared at him, then nodded slowly.
"Don't worry, now that I know about this matter, I will definitely see to it. I will never allow anyone to tarnish the reputation of the Empress."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
