Feng Guche stared intently at Lu Wei kneeling on the ground, his deep, old eyes seemingly lost in thought.
At this moment, a eunuch entered from the main hall and reported, "Your Majesty, Princess Jinhua and Consort Ling request an audience."
Feng Guche raised his eyes and gripped the armrest with his large hand. "Let them in!"
When Fenglian and Consort Ling arrived at the main hall, they bowed and curtsied.
"Your Majesty, I, your humble sister, pay my respects."
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
Feng Guche raised his hand in a gesture of respect, "No need for formalities."
"Thank you, Your Majesty/Brother Emperor."
"How is Jiajia's health?" Feng Guche asked.
"I'm much better now. The imperial physician said I'll recover in a few days with rest," Fenglian replied.
Feng Guche nodded. "That's good. Jinhua, what brings you here?"
Feng Lian glanced at Lord Zhang, then lowered her gaze and looked at Feng Guche, saying, "Your Majesty, I came because of that maid's confession. I do not believe that Madam Lu poisoned Jiajia in order to frame Mu Chenshuang."
Feng Guche responded with an "Oh," and asked, "Why does my royal sister say that?"
"Firstly, Madam Lu has managed the Mu family mansion on her own for many years and is a kind person. If she really framed Jiajia and framed Mu Chenshuang, wouldn't that disgrace the reputation of the Marquis's mansion and the Marquis? It would involve the Libei Prince's mansion, which is a big deal. How could Madam Lu not understand the danger involved?"
Secondly, after the incident, Madam Lu kept pleading for Mu Chenshuang. If she really framed Mu Chenshuang, why would she need to go to such lengths?
Thirdly, the maid could have insisted at the beginning that she was Mu Chenshuang. Once her identity was exposed, she could have given false testimony to save her life and implicate Madam Lu.
Moreover, what reason would Madam Lu have to frame Mu Chenshuang?
Feng Lian's words silenced Feng Gu Che.
Consort Rong then defended Lu Wei, saying, "Your Majesty, what the princess said is not without reason. Princess Weiyang's behavior is too fierce. After all, she grew up in the army and is not like a well-educated young lady. When she was still the Crown Princess, she offended many people, as Your Majesty knows. Later, Madam Lu came to apologize and calmed the hearts of the ministers' wives. We have all seen how good Madam Lu, the stepmother, is to Princess Weiyang. How can there be any reason to frame her?"
Consort Ling followed up, saying, "Your Majesty, I also do not believe that Madam Lu would do such a vicious thing. At the Summer Lotus Banquet four months ago, I accidentally fell into the water. It was Madam Lu who risked her life to save me. Your Majesty is aware of this matter."
Your Majesty also granted my request to personally deliver gifts to the Marquis's residence to express my gratitude. At that time, I saw Lady Lu personally making a cooling mat and iced soup for Princess Weiyang. Lady Lu treats Princess Weiyang so well, how could she do such a thing? I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly.
Consort Ling has been in the palace for 20 years. Her impression in the palace is that she is a person who does not compete or fight, never participates in the struggles of the harem, and is wise to protect herself.
Because of her culinary skills, the delicious food she made left a lasting impression on Feng Guche. As a result, Consort Ling still holds a place in Feng Guche's heart after all these years. Her elegant and refined demeanor also left a very good impression on Feng Guche. Therefore, she was not forgotten by the emperor because of the entry of the new imperial concubines into the palace.
She gave birth to a prince for Feng Guche, who is now the sixth prince, Feng Hao.
Therefore, what Consort Ling said still had some effect.
Although Lu Wei had her head down, she could sense Feng Guche's hesitation.
His heart calmed down immediately, and a fleeting, almost imperceptible smug smile flashed in his eyes.
Over the years, she has used the taxes from Mu Chenshuang's fiefdom to win people's hearts and maintain good relationships with the concubines and ministers' wives. This money has not been spent in vain.
Mu Chenshuang was ultimately too inexperienced to compete with her.
Without absolute evidence against her, even if the carefree king came, it would be useless.
“If the motive for the crime could be seen through at a glance, there wouldn’t be so many wrongful convictions. As for the relationship between Princess Weiyang and Madam Lu, Princess Weiyang knows it better than anyone else. What outsiders see is just the surface.”
Feng Ji said calmly, "Since the princess believes that Chunxiao's testimony is false, then we might as well wait for Zhang Mama's testimony."
Upon hearing this, Lu Wei's expression darkened abruptly, and her hands clenched tighter.
Fenglian frowned slightly, "Granny Zhang?"
"Chunxiao's confession clearly states that she only secretly put the poison into Princess Weiyang's room. As for who poisoned her, she doesn't know who Madam Lu would arrange for to do it. However, through the interrogation and investigation by the Court of Justice, the most likely suspect among all those who touched Miss Xue's food is Zhang Mama. So now we are waiting for Zhang Mama's confession, and Zhang Mama is Madam Lu's confidante."
Feng Ji's cold gaze fell on Lu Wei, and he noticed the fleeting tension and unease in her expression.
Half an hour ago.
Mu Chenshuang found him and told him that Lu Wei had entered the palace, so she asked him to go to the palace to appease the emperor.
Lu Wei would never have entered the palace to see the Emperor without absolute certainty. If she had gotten the upper hand and said something to the Emperor, Chunxiao's testimony would have been useless. And now it seems that this is indeed the case.
Two of the concubines and one of her younger sisters were all people trusted by the emperor, and they all spoke up for Lu Wei, which shows that this Madam Lu was truly extraordinary.
However, Granny Zhang is a cunning old fox, very stubborn, and refuses to confess anything. Now it remains to be seen whether Mu Chenshuang can get the most favorable evidence from Granny Zhang.
Inside the prison of the Court of Justice.
Granny Zhang had just been whipped and was now lying in the cell, panting in pain. Her messy, dry hair covered her wrinkled, pale face, her lips were cracked, and she looked extremely disheveled. Even when she heard the sound of the cell door opening, she didn't have the strength to look up and see who it was.
“Granny Zhang is truly a loyal slave; she would rather die than reveal the mastermind behind this.”
A voice as cold as ice slowly rang out.
Upon hearing this voice, Zhang Mama shuddered. She struggled to open her eyes, her yellowish, cloudy pupils looking at Mu Chenshuang. She spoke with difficulty, her voice heavy with gasps, "Miss, there's no need to waste your energy. This old woman... knows nothing."
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