The lord turned his back and uttered a low voice: "Someone, go and investigate."
"Yes," the father-in-law replied. It was he who led the investigation.
“Your Majesty, isn’t it a bit inappropriate to simply ask the palace servants about such a matter?” someone said, stepping forward.
“That’s right. As for who saw it and where it came from, we should find out first. Besides, shouldn’t we also arrest and interrogate that person?” someone else chimed in.
Upon hearing this, the lord, who had turned his back, gently closed his eyes and then sighed deeply.
"If you have wronged me today, then I will certainly not let you off easily." The Empress was pushed to the limit, her eyes were bloodshot, and anyone who didn't know better would think she was extremely wronged.
Seeing the Empress's resolute expression, the two felt somewhat guilty and wanted to say something in rebuttal, but they couldn't utter a word.
"Alright, stop talking. His Majesty will make the decision on this matter. Besides, we don't even know the full story yet, so don't spread rumors." Yi Zexuan stepped forward to speak up. He didn't actually know what was going on either, as the investigation results hadn't been released yet, but Yi Zexuan believed they would be soon.
Soon after, the father-in-law returned and went forward to report.
"Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, the lord turned around and said, "Speak."
"We sent people around to ask, and indeed no one had heard of this matter. Even the Empress's personal maid didn't know anything about it."
At this moment, someone chuckled, "These are truly our own servants, their teamwork is so seamless. Since they're all personal maids, what questions could they possibly ask?"
The crowd was so dense that the Empress couldn't find who was speaking: "Who is it? Come out here and confront me face to face. I want to see who is slandering me like this."
"To know whether it's slander or not, we'll have to question him properly."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the doctor was pushed in, bound hand and foot.
Upon seeing this, the Empress tensed up instantly, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
The lord looked at him and knew that something terrible was about to happen.
Then Lin Ziwen walked in, and the master was taken aback, as if he understood something.
"Originally, I didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but since I've heard about it, I have to consider the reputation of the Empress and the Emperor. Besides, if the Empress really does something outrageous, then she is truly unworthy of the honor of being the mother of the nation."
After saying that, Lin Ziwen took two steps forward: "As for this person, although I have my suspicions, I am not sure if it is him. I found him in the Empress's backyard because his attire was really different from what I expected. He didn't look like someone from the palace at all. Instead, he looked a bit like someone from the Central Plains."
"Now that you mention it, it's true. This person's face definitely looks like that of someone from the Central Plains."
"How he entered the Empress's inner quarters is unknown, as is how he entered the palace."
At this moment, the lord spoke up, saying, "I know this person."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, even the Empress was incredulous.
"When I hosted the banquet for the princess, I invited a shaman from outside. One of their cooks was him." After saying this, the lord pointed at him and questioned, "Speak, why did you secretly escape and not even leave the palace until now? You even sneaked into the Empress's palace. You've been losing small pieces of gold jewelry these past few days. Could it be that you stole them?"
Yi Zexuan glanced sideways at the doctor kneeling on the ground. It was truly laughable that, despite such a thing happening, the emperor could only do his best to cover it up.
"Men, search this place for me!"
Upon receiving the order, the father-in-law went down to search himself.
A short while later, they actually found a jade bracelet in his sleeve.
The eunuch quickly took it up: "Your Majesty, please take a look."
"You audacious scoundrel, you've even dared to steal from my palace!"
The Empress reacted quickly and said, "Your Majesty, isn't that the jade bracelet that my mother gave me when I first entered the Prince's Palace?"
The lord gave a curt "hmm," while the doctor looked on with a face full of questions. Unfortunately, his mouth was gagged, so he couldn't spit anything out, let alone speak.
Seeing this, Lin Ziwen stepped forward and took the thing out of his mouth.
"I! I'm innocent!" The man was given a chance to speak, and he shouted so loudly that he wanted the whole world to hear him.
"You're innocent! Could it be that this bracelet is yours?" the Grand Tutor questioned.
"Although this isn't mine..." Before she could finish speaking, her lord seized on her weakness: "Well, you dare admit it's not yours? You shameless scoundrel."
After saying this, the lord looked towards the door and said, "Guards, drag this man out, give him twenty heavy lashes, and then throw him out of the palace."
My father-in-law breathed a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't my job anymore.
As soon as he finished speaking, two guards entered, grabbed him, and dragged him outside.
"As he struggled, he shouted, 'You ungrateful old thief! I helped you, and not only do you not repay the kindness, you even frame me! With a body like yours, it's no wonder you'll be cuckolded and your descendants will be childless for generations to come.'"
Everyone was discussing it, saying that there was something very strange about this matter, yet it was handled so simply. If this wasn't something fishy, what else could it be?
At this moment, the Empress suddenly cried out and knelt on the ground, her face pale, not knowing what had happened.
Upon seeing this, the emperor's father-in-law quickly stepped forward to inquire about the situation.
But the lord remained indifferent: "This matter today is very strange. I will tell you all before I find out the truth. Furthermore, if I hear any more rumors about this matter, no matter who said them, I will kill them without mercy, and the same applies to everyone in the palace."
Upon hearing this, the father-in-law nodded in agreement: "This servant will certainly inform everyone of the news."
The lord grunted and quickly left, leaving everyone puzzled and looking at each other. Was it really over so hastily?
Then, the emperor's father-in-law hurriedly called for the imperial physician, picked up the empress, and carried her to her palace, leaving a pool of blood on the ground.
Lin Ziwen chuckled and stepped forward to say to Yi Zexuan, "It seems this matter is even more complicated than it appears."
"No matter how difficult it is, this is all we can do for today. Let's go." With that, the two led the way and left.
After that, everyone had no choice but to drop the matter and leave together.
"Bring that person to my residence later; I'm going to have a good talk with him."
"Don't scare people when the time comes."
Yi Zexuan rolled his eyes at him: "Just do what I tell you to do."
"Yes, Your Highness."
At this moment, the lord returned to his study and began smashing things.
"I'm not feeling well, so what if I'm not feeling well!"
"What does it matter that I have no children!"
The lord remembered every single word the doctor said before he left.
Even though I had already smashed things all over the floor, I was still not satisfied.
Then he went to the murals on the wall and tore them into tiny pieces one by one.
When the father-in-law returned and saw the mess on the floor, he didn't dare to utter a sound.
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