Did you steal your sister's credit in Chapter 23?
Jiang Baoqing was so frightened that her legs went weak and she trembled like a leaf.
Fifty strokes of the cane?
If she really received fifty strokes of the cane, she would be crippled even if she didn't die!
"Your Majesty, I truly did not harm Guo Zilin. I was framed!"
Jiang Ning, standing to the side, sneered coldly, "Jiang Baoqing, do you really think the Emperor is stupid enough to be fooled by you?"
Then, she changed the subject.
"Besides, you just said that if you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility. Now is the time for you to show your worth."
Jiang Baoqing was so angry that she started cursing.
"Jiang Ning, it was you! You framed me!"
Emperor Ming, already impatient, coldly ordered, "Drag him out!"
Eunuch Su immediately led the Imperial Guards and escorted Jiang Baoqing outside.
Jiang Baoqing burst into tears, nearly wetting her pants in fear.
"Your Majesty, I have been framed! Please spare my life!"
The sound of a eunuch announcing something came from the gate of Shou Kang Palace.
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
Jiang Baoqing saw the person behind the Empress from afar and burst into tears of joy.
"Your Majesty, Father, save me!"
Jiang Ning's eyes sharpened, and she couldn't help but look outside.
The Empress, dressed in elaborate and luxurious palace attire, hurried over, supported by two young palace maids.
She wasn't wearing makeup, her face was pale, and her lips were also pale; she looked very haggard.
The person behind her was dressed in a dark blue court robe, bowing and kneeling, holding a box in his hands.
It was her adoptive father, Jiang Yuanshan.
Jiang Ning curled her lips into a cold smile.
The Empress rushed in and weakly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I greet you. The Emperor Emeritus, I greet you."
Emperor Ming nodded slightly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.
"Why is the Empress only arriving now?"
The news of the retired emperor's suicide by hanging first reached the Imperial Study and the Mingluan Palace where the empress resided.
However, the Empress has only just arrived.
The Empress looked guilty and explained, "Your Majesty, my headache flared up today, so I took a nap. I never expected such a big thing to happen in the palace."
No one informed me. When I return, I will certainly punish those servants severely.
After saying that, she looked at the retired emperor with a guilty expression.
"Your Majesty, are you feeling better? Why did you choose to hang yourself?"
The retired emperor sneered.
"Someone dislikes me and wants to kill me."
The Empress was taken aback and quickly said, "Your Majesty, if that's the case, we must investigate thoroughly. Who would dare to be so audacious?"
Emperor Ming interrupted her impatiently.
"Your Majesty, please do not worry, the Emperor Emeritus is alright."
His cold, impatient gaze fell on Jiang Yuanshan, and he asked, "Lord Jiang, what brings you to the palace?"
Jiang Yuanshan stepped forward, holding a box, and respectfully bowed.
"Your Majesty, I am worried about my two daughters, so I wanted to come to the palace to see them."
I also brought this thousand-year-old ginseng, intending to give it to the Emperor Emeritus to help him recover, but I never expected such a big thing to happen in the palace..."
As he spoke, he said obsequiously, "The fact that the Emperor Emeritus was able to turn misfortune into good fortune must be a sign of divine intervention, protecting my great cause."
The retired emperor instructed Eunuch Fu to accept the ginseng and said calmly, "Lord Jiang, it was your daughter who saved me. Your Marquis Jiang family has done a great service."
Jiang Yuanshan was overjoyed, but also somewhat puzzled.
"Your Majesty, since Baoqing saved you, why did those guards still arrest her?"
Could it be that Jiang Baoqing said something wrong?
But such a great deed as saving the Emperor Emeritus shouldn't warrant being investigated...
The retired emperor gave a cold laugh, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.
"Lord Jiang, do you only have one daughter, Jiang Baoqing?"
He had noticed the anomaly long ago.
Jiang Ning was the legitimate daughter of a marquis's family and also the Princess Consort of Ling, yet she was dressed in tattered clothes and looked thin and pitiful.
Although Jiang Baoqing was born to a second wife, she was dressed in gorgeous clothes and adorned with gold and silver, clearly indicating that she was very favored.
Although Jiang Ning had a bad reputation, after spending this short time together, the Emperor Emeritus knew that Jiang Ning was not as bad as the rumors made her out to be.
This woman is resolute and unassuming, but she has suffered injustice, causing her brilliance to be obscured.
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