She frowned slightly, revealing a trace of distress, and continued: "It's just that now I am implicated in this matter, and I don't know how to investigate further..."
She bit her lower lip lightly. "Even if I continue to investigate, I'm afraid Your Majesty will think I'm being unfair."
When Jun Zechen heard that An Zhaorong had been completely cleared of suspicion, his brows instantly frowned.
He originally didn't want to doubt Ling Yue, but...
If Ling Yue framed An Zhaorong, he would just turn a blind eye.
Could it be that she still wants to drag Yaoyao into this?
Thinking of this, Jun Zechen's dark eyes became even deeper, as if they were an endless abyss. He stared straight ahead, making it impossible to figure out what he was thinking at the moment.
After a while, Anshun presented the records he had obtained from Gong Zhengsi.
Jun Zechen reached out, took the record, and read it carefully.
Qin'er should be the palace maid who had contact with the imperial concubine's meals that day. She made an appointment with Ping'er from Zhaochun Palace to meet in the evening, and was also found buried with ebony powder.
She actually said that Yaoyao and Ping'er conspired to frame her, a palace maid?
Jun Zechen's eyes darkened instantly, and his expression became somewhat gloomy.
Seeing that he had finished reading the whole thing, Su Jingyao pursed her lips slightly and then said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I have already taken Ping'er and Qin'er to the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation. It would be unfair for me to intervene at this time. I will simply let the female officials of the Ministry of Punishment investigate."
After saying this, there was a hint of worry and uneasiness in her eyes.
"But entering the Ministry of Punishment, these two palace maids may suffer."
"It doesn't matter. These two maids have bad intentions. No matter what they did secretly, they must be severely punished. Yaoyao did a good job."
Jun Zechen's voice was calm, but his words showed his affirmation of her handling of the matter.
Just then, Fuquan walked in.
He looked respectful, bowed his head and saluted, "Your Majesty, the imperial concubine requests an audience."
When Su Jingyao heard this, she immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will go back first."
After saying that, she got off Jun Zechen's legs and made a gesture to leave.
"Why are you leaving? Since you are here, stay in the Palace of Heavenly Purity tonight and grind ink for me."
There was no room for doubt in Jun Zechen's tone.
When Su Jingyao heard this, she rolled her eyes at him coquettishly, her eyes full of reproach.
"Yes, Your Majesty knows how to order me around."
She walked to the side of the table, stretched out her delicate hands, and began to grind ink for him.
Su Jingyao's eyelashes drooped slightly and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
She guessed that Ling Yue would be worried because Qin'er was imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment, but she didn't expect that he would come directly to the Ganqing Palace so soon.
But it is understandable. After all, it was Ling Yue who poisoned the person, and Qin'er was an accomplice.
She was naturally afraid that Qin'er would be interrogated and find out something.
I think the reason why Anshun didn't investigate Qin'er that day was probably because the imperial concubine stopped him.
When the imperial concubine came in, she immediately saw Jun Zechen sitting on the dragon throne and Concubine Chunshu grinding ink nearby.
The atmosphere between the two seemed to be full of affection and tenderness.
The imperial concubine placed her hands in front of her body, her thumbs tightly pinching her palms, and the veins on the back of her hands were slightly bulging.
A trace of pain and unwillingness flashed across her face. She still could not accept that her husband had changed his mind and fell in love with someone else.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Ling Yue bowed slightly in salute.
"Your servant pays respects to the Imperial Concubine." Su Jingyao also bowed to Ling Yue with an elegant and graceful gesture.
"Get up, what brings you here, Your Majesty?" Jun Zechen asked calmly, looking at Ling Yue calmly with a calm expression.
"I came here today to ask Your Majesty to release my maid Qin'er from the Ministry of Punishment."
Ling Yue raised her head and looked at Jun Zechen, with a hint of pleading in her eyes and slightly red eyes, as if she would cry in the next second.
When Jun Zechen heard this, his brows suddenly frowned and his eyes swept over the woman beside him.
She lowered her head even more, and her thick eyelashes, which were as thick as small fans, fluttered slightly, like a barrier, tightly blocking all the emotions in her eyes.
However, with just one glance, he knew that Yaoyao must be sad.
"My Lady, I personally ordered Qin'er to be detained in the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation."
Jun Zechen's face was calm and he spoke in a steady tone.
When Ling Yue heard this, shock suddenly appeared in her eyes, and she looked at him in disbelief.
Then he shifted his gaze to Su Jingyao who was standing beside him without saying a word.
Is he so desperate to protect Concubine Chun Shu?
Concubine Chunshu was clearly abusing her power for personal gain and had her maid sent to the Ministry of Punishment for no reason.
It was clearly she who was poisoned and was the victim, but why were her maids imprisoned? What was the logic behind this?
Even though Su Jingyao lowered her head, she seemed to be able to feel Ling Yue's anger at this moment.
Since she wanted to anger Ling Yue, she naturally would not tell her the reason why Qin'er was imprisoned, let alone tell her that Ping'er was also imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment.
Ling Yue tried hard to suppress the anger and uncontrollable jealousy in her heart.
Her eyes were red and tears welled up in them. She cried with grievance, "Your Majesty, I was poisoned. I don't ask you to punish anyone, but why did you lock my maid in the Ministry of Punishment?"
"I suspect that you, the palace maid, are the real murderer who poisoned you, so I am taking you to the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation. This is also for your own good."
Jun Zechen looked at her steadily with calm eyes. A hint of panic flashed across Ling Yue's eyes for a moment, but it was fleeting like a shooting star.
Jun Zechen continued to speak slowly: "Perhaps this Qin'er is a spy planted in your palace by another palace. If she stays in your palace all the time, wouldn't you be in danger every day?"
Ling Yue was slightly relieved when she heard that Jun Zechen did not suspect her.
Then she couldn't wait to ask, "Your Majesty, may I know what evidence Your Majesty has to prove that Qin'er was involved in my poisoning?"
There was anxiety in her eyes as she stared at Jun Zechen.
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