Chapter 112 True is also false, false is also true
Su Jingyao followed Jun Zechen and walked to the third prince's crib.
The Third Prince had already fallen asleep at this time, but his little face was slightly red, which seemed to be caused by the respiratory obstruction and coughing just now.
Su Jingyao's eyes were filled with worry, her gaze seemed to be able to drip water, and she fell gently on the third prince.
With a tone full of pity, he said: "Your Majesty, the Third Prince is such a pitiful little thing. It's only been two months, and he has suffered such a hardship."
"If it is man-made, it must be severely punished."
Jun Zechen's eyes were slightly complicated as he stared at the third prince quietly.
He had seen the Third Prince very rarely since he was born. He had only seen him once during his baptism ceremony. Including this time, he had only seen him twice in total.
The third prince was the last compensation he gave to Concubine De (Ling Yue), so since the birth of the third prince, Jun Zechen never set foot in the Yikun Palace again.
Even earlier, he had not touched Concubine De for a long time. Perhaps due to some psychological factors, he could not touch her again.
"Your Majesty is kindhearted. You are in charge of the six palaces. I am relieved to leave this matter to you to investigate thoroughly."
Jun Zechen stopped talking and turned to Concubine De and said, "Concubine De, let Imperial Physician Li take good care of the Third Prince tonight. The Empress will investigate this matter tomorrow."
When Defei heard that His Majesty actually asked the Empress to investigate, she almost couldn't control the resentment on her face.
The culprit is obviously the Queen. What can she find out?
"Your Majesty, although it is still unclear why the Third Prince is vomiting, it is known that willow catkins were added to his bedding, which was provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
When Concubine De said this, she looked up at the Empress and continued, "The Empress is in charge of the Imperial Household Department. Now that such a big mistake has occurred in the Imperial Household Department, doesn't the Empress have anything to say?"
After hearing this, Jun Zechen asked directly before Su Jingyao could refute him, "Are you suspecting the queen?"
"Your Majesty, the only princes in the palace right now are the Queen's eldest son and my third son. I can't help but feel suspicious. I hope Your Majesty will take a closer look."
Concubine De looked directly at Jun Zechen with a determined look, her expression full of persistence.
At this time, the Queen Mother, who heard that something had happened to the Third Prince, also hurried over.
Everyone in the hall hurriedly saluted the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother walked straight to the side of the Third Prince without stopping and glanced down at him.
"Emperor, Empress, how is the third prince doing now?" The Empress Dowager's solemn voice sounded slowly, with a hint of majesty.
"Mother, the Third Prince is no longer in danger. I have arranged for Imperial Doctor Li to stay here and watch over him tonight."
"When I came in just now, I heard Concubine De was suspicious of the Queen. Does the Queen have anything to say?"
The Queen Mother turned her head slightly, her expression extremely serious, her eyes filled with unquestionable majesty, and turned to ask.
"Mother, I also found willow catkins in the eldest prince's bedding a few days ago, but I have always been very considerate of the eldest prince."
Su Jingyao had a serious look on her face and her eyes were full of determination.
"No matter where the eldest prince's personal belongings are sent from, I will check them very carefully and will not be negligent in the slightest."
As Defei listened, her brows furrowed more and more.
Did the Queen mean by this that she was implying that she didn't care about the Third Prince?
Su Jingyao continued slowly, "After discovering this, I secretly sent someone to investigate the matter..."
Jun Zechen was surprised. Why had he never heard Yaoyao mention this before? He immediately interrupted her.
"Why didn't you tell me that the eldest prince is my eldest son, and his status is extremely noble. Whoever dares to harm the eldest prince will be guilty of a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of his clan!"
Jun Zechen frowned, a fierce look flashed in his eyes, and his words were full of majesty.
The Defei standing by trembled slightly, but she quickly bit her lip and forced herself to remain calm.
"Your Majesty, I just found out the result today, but..."
Su Jingyao paused for a moment when she spoke here, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face.
Then he said, "The evidence we found points to Concubine Ye and Concubine Shu. Concubine Ye is pregnant with the royal heir and worships Buddha with her mother every day. Concubine Shu has also been in the palace for a short time."
"I suspect that the person behind this may have deliberately framed me, so I am still ordering people to continue to investigate further."
Su Jingyao frowned slightly, with a hint of solemnity in her eyes.
"The reason I didn't tell Your Majesty is that I know Your Majesty is very busy with state affairs. Since this is a matter of the harem, I, as the Queen, should help Your Majesty solve the problem."
Su Jingyao's tone was gentle but firm, and her eyes were full of care and concern for Jun Zechen.
"But before I could find out the truth about this matter, something happened to the Third Prince again."
Su Jingyao's expression was a little annoyed and helpless, with a hint of worry in her eyes.
Afterwards, she turned her gaze to Concubine De again, with a hint of helplessness and grievance in her tone, "If Concubine De really doesn't believe me, I wonder if Mother is willing to take on this matter?"
There was a hint of compromise in her tone, as if she wanted to come up with a result that would satisfy everyone.
The Queen Mother first cast her gaze towards Su Jingyao with a look of scrutiny, then she shifted her gaze towards the slightly panicked Concubine De with a hint of sharpness in her eyes.
"De Fei, the Queen is in charge of the six palaces. If there is no evidence, framing someone is a serious crime. This matter should be left to the Queen to investigate. If you are not satisfied with the results of the Queen's investigation, come and appeal."
The Queen Mother's expression was very serious, and every word she spoke carried a lot of weight.
Defei's expression suddenly turned ugly, her lips trembled slightly, and a hint of unwillingness flashed in her eyes.
But she quickly gritted her teeth, pursed her lips tightly, and squeezed out a few words from between her teeth: "Yes, Queen Mother."
She crossed her hands on her waist and abdomen, pinching them tightly, trying her best to control her emotions.
Su Jingyao couldn't help but sneer in her heart.
The empress dowager's standard for selecting an empress is that she must be able to handle the affairs of the harem and not let her son be tired. If everything has to be checked by the empress dowager or the emperor, how could the empress dowager agree to her becoming the empress?
Thinking of this, she revealed a barely perceptible sarcastic smile, and a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes.
When Jun Zechen and Su Jingyao returned to Kunning Palace together, they were both a little tired.
Su Jingyao's face was filled with fatigue. She walked to the bed, her body seemed to be shaking a little. She undressed lazily, and her movements revealed weakness.
Jun Zechen followed behind her and felt a little amused. He lay down, stretched out his arms, and gently held her in his arms.
Then he thought of the plot against Xingxing, and asked with concern in his tone, "When you found out that Xingxing was being plotted against, were you scared?"
He knew how much she cared about Xing Xing, and he always thought he had protected her well, but he didn't expect that she had been silently bearing everything in a place he didn't notice.
"I'm afraid. This time I discovered it early and didn't let Xingxing get assassinated. But what if the person behind the scenes comes up with a more sinister plan next time and I can't defend myself? What should I do?"
As Su Jingyao spoke, she hugged the man's waist tightly, as if she had used up all her strength, and her fingers tightly grasped the man's underwear, as if she wanted to gain strength from the man.
There was also a hint of helplessness and fear in his eyes.
Jun Zechen reached out and gently stroked her back, his movements gentle and soothing.
His deep eyes flashed with unknown emotions in the darkness, like a bottomless pool of water.
Even though he was the emperor, high above everyone else, he could not stop the disputes in the harem, just like in the court, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish...
"No matter who Yaoyao finds out to be the culprit, I will punish him severely." A look of determination flashed across his face.
She originally wanted to send An Shun to help her investigate, but after careful consideration, she realized that now that she was the empress, her help might cause her mother and the concubines to question her ability.
A gleam of light suddenly flashed in Su Jingyao's eyes.
This time, she will make sure that Concubine De will never be able to turn over!