Chapter 57 Ling Yue jumps into the pit

"Miaoxia, come and give me a lighter makeup."

Su Jingyao tilted her head slightly, blinked her eyes, spoke softly, and then added.

"Also, find me the light blue feather-embroidered wide-sleeved waisted skirt that His Majesty sent me earlier."

After hearing this, Miaoxia showed a look of surprise and her eyes were full of confusion.

I couldn't help but ask, "Master, are you going to the Qianqing Palace to see His Majesty?"

"Um."

Su Jingyao hummed lightly, then frowned, with an extremely aggrieved look on her face, tears glistening in her eyes, and she looked completely pitiful.

"I have been investigating the case for the whole day, and it has been really exhausting. In the end, I was splashed with dirty water. I am so miserable that I must seek comfort from Your Majesty."

Miaoxia looked at her master's expression and secretly laughed in her heart, knowing that her master was acting again.

But she still said cooperatively: "Yes, it is really not easy for the master, I really feel sorry for the master."

"I will definitely paint a clear, innocent face for you that will make people feel pity for you, especially the eyes. I will paint them carefully according to the method you taught me before."

Su Jingyao raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a sly smile.

Miaoxia is becoming more and more lovely.

Then she sat in front of the dressing table, stretched out her jade hand and gently placed it on the table, tilted her head slightly, and signaled Miaoxia to start dressing herself.

After dressing up carefully, Su Jingyao sat dignifiedly in the sedan chair and headed to the Qianqing Palace.

When they arrived outside the gate of the Qianqing Palace, the eunuch saw Concubine Chun Shu and a bright smile immediately appeared on his face. He hurried forward and bent his waist very low.

He said respectfully, "Your servant is here to see the Concubine Chun Shu. His Majesty has ordered that if you come, you can just go in directly."

Su Jingyao smiled, nodded slightly, then lifted her skirt and walked slowly into the hall.

At this time, Jun Zechen was sitting at the desk, looking focused and serious, and the red pen in his hand was making comments on the memorials from time to time.

Su Jingyao stood not far away, took a deep breath, tried hard to hold back the tears in her eyes, and then slowly put away the smile on her face.

A trace of pitiful sadness gradually emerged on the delicate face.

She walked slowly towards Jun Zechen with her lotus steps, and when she reached him, she bowed slightly.

The voice was so soft that it seemed to drift away with the wind, carrying with it a vague sense of grievance.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Get up, why did Yaoyao take the initiative to come to the Palace of Heavenly Purity today?"

Jun Zechen did not notice the strangeness in her voice. He stopped writing with the red pen in his hand and asked jokingly with a faint smile on his face.

Su Jingyao lowered her head slightly and said nothing, looking particularly pitiful.

Jun Zechen then realized that something seemed to be wrong with her mood, so he put down the memorial in his hand and began to look at her carefully.

She was wearing a light blue dress today, looking as graceful and elegant as a fairy from heaven.

The hair is simply half-tied up, and the long hair hanging down is tied in the middle with a headband of the same color, adding a touch of softness.

His eyelashes drooped slightly and trembled gently, as if he had been wronged.

"Come here, what's wrong?" Jun Zechen asked softly, with a hint of concern in his tone.

Su Jingyao walked slowly in front of him, biting her lips tightly, as if trying hard to hold back tears.

Jun Zechen turned his body and looked up at her, his brows tightly wrinkled, then he stretched out his hands to hold her waist and gently held her in his arms.

After Su Jingyao sat on his lap, she gently rested her head on the crook of his neck. She still said nothing, but just hugged him tightly, as if he was her only support.

"Since you have come to see me, why don't you say anything? Who else in the harem can let my Yaoyao suffer injustice?"

Jun Zechen held the delicate and soft girl in his arms. Her helpless dependence made him feel pity and distressed.

"I don't want to investigate the case anymore..."

Su Jingyao's voice was very small, but now it was filled with an obvious crying tone, so soft and tender that it made people's hearts soften.

"If you don't want to investigate, then don't investigate. I'll go to your mother and tell you how you can investigate a case and end up crying."

Jun Zechen's hand gently stroked her waist, his voice gentle.

"Did you find anything today?"

"Your Majesty, I can't even manage the people in my own palace. It was Ping'er in my palace who poisoned the concubine. It was my fault. I am now a suspect and have no right to investigate the case."

Su Jingyao's voice was full of grievance and self-blame, and her slightly trembling tone made people feel particularly distressed.

Jun Zechen's brows suddenly wrinkled tightly. How could it be related to Yaoyao!

"Anshun, bring me today's case record of Concubine Chunshu. I want to take a look." His eyes darkened instantly, and the expression on his face became extremely serious. He turned around and instructed Anshun who was standing beside him.

He then lowered his head slightly, speaking softly, "What are you afraid of? Don't I know you? You were able to sacrifice yourself to save the Imperial Concubine even when you were pregnant. How could you possibly poison the Imperial Concubine?"

As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Su Jingyao with special concentration, with a hint of doting in them.

"Besides, the day when the noble concubine was poisoned was Yaoyao's birthday. I believe Yaoyao would not do such a thing."

The doting in Jun Zechen's eyes became more and more obvious, as if Su Jingyao was the treasure in his palm.

After Su Jingyao heard this, a look of joy appeared on her aggrieved face.

"Your Majesty trusts me, and I am very happy."

"Yesterday, I carefully checked the timeline of the loss of An Zhaorong's dowry. An Zhaorong has been completely cleared of suspicion."

She frowned slightly, revealing a trace of distress, and then continued: "It's just that now I am involved in this matter, I don't know how to investigate further..."

She bit her lower lip and said, "Even if I investigate further, I'm afraid Your Highness will think I'm being unfair."

When Jun Zechen heard that An Zhaorong had been completely cleared of suspicion, his brows instantly wrinkled.

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 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, An Shun presented the records he had obtained from the Palace Administration Office.

Jun Zechen reached out, took the record, and read it carefully.

Qin'er should be the palace maid who had access to the noble 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 one of her palace maids?

Jun Zechen's eyes darkened instantly, and his face became somewhat gloomy.

Su Jingyao saw that he had finished reading the case, so she pursed her lips slightly and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I have already taken Ping'er and Qin'er to the Ministry of Punishment for questioning. It would be unfair for me to intervene at this time, so I will just let the female officials of the Ministry of Punishment investigate."

In short, 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, saying, "Your Majesty, the 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 Qianqing Palace 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 about Qin'er being imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment, but she didn't expect that he would come directly to the Qianqing 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 might be interrogated in the Ministry of Punishment.

I think the reason why Anshun didn't investigate Qin'er that day was probably because of the imperial concubine's obstruction.

When the noble concubine came in, she immediately saw Jun Zechen sitting on the dragon chair and Concubine Chun Shu grinding ink nearby.

The atmosphere between the two of them seemed to be full of mutual affection and tenderness.

The noble 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 couldn't 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 greeting.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Su Jingyao also bowed to Ling Yue with graceful movements.

"Get up, what brings you here, Noble Concubine?" Jun Zechen asked calmly with a calm expression as he looked at Ling Yue calmly.

"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. Her eye sockets were slightly red, and it seemed that she was about to cry in the next second.

When Jun Zechen heard this, his brows suddenly wrinkled and he glanced at 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, strictly 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 silently beside him.

Is he so desperate to protect Concubine Chun Shu?

Concubine Chun Shu 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 she was the victim, but why were her maids imprisoned? What was the logic behind this?

Even with her head down, Su Jingyao seemed to be able to feel Ling Yue's anger at this moment.

Since she wanted to provoke 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 maidservant, 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 an instant, but it disappeared 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 stayed in your palace, 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 closely.