She frowned slightly, a trace of distress in her expression, and then continued: "It's just that now that I'm implicated in this, 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 wants to drag Yaoyao into this?
Thinking of this, Jun Zechen's dark eyes became even deeper, as if staring straight ahead like an endless abyss, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking at the moment.
After a while, Anshun presented the records he had taken from Gongzhengsi.
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 whispered, "Your Majesty, I have already taken Ping'er and Qin'er to the Ministry of Punishment for questioning. If I were to intervene at this time, it would be unfair. I will simply let the female officials of the Ministry of Punishment conduct the investigation."
After saying this, there was a hint of worry and uneasiness in her eyes.
"But if they enter the Ministry of Punishment, these two palace maids may suffer."
"It doesn't matter. These two palace 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 said, "Your Majesty, the imperial concubine requests an audience."
Upon hearing this, Su Jingyao immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will return first."
After saying that, she got off Jun Zechen's legs and made a gesture to leave.
"Why leave? Since you're 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 gave him a coquettish look, her eyes full of reproach.
"Yes, Your Majesty, you only know how to order me around."
She walked to the side of the table, stretched out her delicate hand, 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 him, and Qin'er was an accomplice.
She was naturally afraid of what might be revealed about Qin'er during the interrogation at the Ministry of Punishment.
I think Anshun didn't investigate Qin'er that day, most likely because the imperial concubine stopped him.
When the imperial concubine came in, she saw Jun Zechen sitting on the dragon throne and Concubine Chunshu grinding ink nearby.
The atmosphere between the two seemed to be one of mutual affection and tenderness.
The imperial concubine placed her hands in front of her, 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 servant pays homage 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 with a calm expression as he looked at Ling Yue.
"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 eyes were slightly red, and it seemed that tears would fall in the next second.
When Jun Zechen heard this, his brows suddenly furrowed 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 silently.
Is he so desperate to protect Concubine Chunshu?
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 with her head lowered, 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 in her voice, "Your Majesty, I have been poisoned. I do not ask you to punish anyone, but why did you imprison my maid in the Ministry of Punishment?"
"I suspect you, a palace maid, are the real murderer who poisoned you, so I'm bringing 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 trace of panic flashed across Ling Yue's eyes for a moment, but the panic disappeared like a shooting star.
Jun Zechen continued calmly, "Perhaps this Qin'er is a spy planted in your palace by someone else. If she stayed in your palace, wouldn't you be in danger every day?"
Ling Yue heaved a sigh of relief when she heard that Jun Zechen didn't suspect her.
Then, impatiently, she asked, "Your Majesty, may I know what evidence you have 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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