I wonder if they managed to escape...
Ye Qingxue went through each cell one by one. Whenever she saw a charred corpse, her heart would race and she would nervously step forward to check the person's height and other physical characteristics.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she was sure it wasn't Yun Zhuo.
A short while later, Cui Shao entered with his men.
"Princess Jing, have you discovered anything?" Cui Shao asked.
Ye Qingxue said, "We haven't found Prince Jing yet."
Cui Shao comforted her, "It might be the best news that we can't find him. So many criminals have managed to escape, so His Highness Prince Jing can too."
Ye Qingxue glanced at him again; this was the only kindness she felt tonight. She sincerely said, "Thank you, Lord Cui."
Many guards from the Palace Guard joined the search.
The prison had a limited number of prisoners and cells. In just half an hour, they had searched the entire prison but found neither Yun Zhuo nor Zhuang Xin, nor even a corpse similar to theirs.
Ye Qingxue breathed a sigh of relief. During the fire, Yun Zhuo must have already escaped with Zhuang Xin.
Cui Shao looked at her worriedly: "Since we haven't found His Highness Prince Jing, I'm afraid the Princess Consort will suffer. Has Princess Consort thought of a solution?"
Yes, as long as Yun Zhuo isn't found in the imperial prison, the people outside will definitely accuse him of "escaping from prison," and she is the one who transferred the emperor away and helped Yun Zhuo escape!
At the request of his ministers, the emperor will surely execute her.
How to deal with...
Ye Qingxue felt her foot step on something. She stopped, lifted her foot, and saw a black jade buckle lying on the ground.
As if she had thought of something, Ye Qingxue did not bend down to pick it up, but instead said to Cui Shao, "Lord Cui, look, what is this?"
Cui Shao was also very careful. He took a handkerchief, bent down and picked up the jade buckle from the ground. After examining it closely, he said, "It looks like a jade buckle from a belt."
"It must be very valuable, right? The prisoners in this jail certainly don't have anything like this, and the jailers aren't wealthy enough to afford such fine black jade. They can only see if it belongs to Lord Zhang."
Ye Qingxue fell into deep thought as she spoke.
Seeing her like this, Cui Shao stood aside and waited for her, not wanting to disturb her.
Ye Qingxue frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "If this jade clasp doesn't belong to Lord Zhang... Lord Cui, do you think it's possible that someone deliberately broke into the prison, set it on fire, escaped, and then framed Prince Jing? You know that someone is trying to kill me and Prince Jing."
Cui Shao paused for a moment, then gripped the jade clasp tightly in his hand and said, "I will inform the Emperor of Princess Jing's words. However, I'm afraid a single jade clasp is not enough to convince people."
Ye Qingxue said, "Let's hand the jade buckle over to the Emperor first."
Cui Shao, carrying the jade buckle, went out with Ye Qingxue.
The guards were responsible for carrying out the bodies of those who had been burned to death in the prison; some were jailers, and some were prisoners.
All eyes were on Ye Qingxue and Cui Shao.
The emperor asked, "How is it? Have you found Yun Zhuo?"
Cui Shaodao said, "Your Majesty, we have not found Prince Jing. However, I found this jade clasp in the imperial prison, but I do not know if it belongs to Lord Zhang Dezhong?"
Zhang Dezhong immediately crawled over to examine it: "It wasn't mine. Perhaps it was left behind by those who stormed in to break into the prison!"
The emperor slightly raised his chin, and immediately guards stepped forward and surrounded Ye Qingxue again.
"The evidence is conclusive that Prince Jing, Yun Zhuo, escaped from prison and Princess Jing, Ye Qingxue, assisted him. Ye Qingxue, are you now willing to die?" the emperor asked, his voice devoid of any warmth.
Ye Qingxue said, "Father, I am certain that the jade clasp does not belong to Yun Zhuo! Nor does it belong to any of his subordinates!"
"Someone must have deliberately broken into the prison and accidentally left the jade clasp in the dungeon. Once we find out who owns the jade clasp, we'll know who intentionally framed Yun Zhuo for escaping!"
The emperor snorted coldly: "If someone really set fire to the prison on purpose, pretending to break out, and released those prisoners to frame you and Yun Zhuo, then I ask you, where is Yun Zhuo right now?"
The other officials looked at her coldly.
Yan Shizheng asked, "Yes, if Prince Jing hadn't escaped from prison, he should have come to see the Emperor long ago, or he should have died in the imperial prison. Now, where is Prince Jing? Is Princess Jing refusing to die, so she's going to keep denying it?"
Cui Cairen's eyes were bloodshot. If she knew that Ye Qingxue had opened the coffin to examine the body in order to create an opportunity to rescue Yun Zhuo, she would absolutely disagree.
Now she was filled with regret and so angry that her chest ached and she almost vomited blood: "Your Majesty, it's time for Ye Qingxue to pay for our little Jiu'er's life!"
The emperor glanced at the guards, signaling them to take action immediately.
At this moment, countless gazes, like cold arrows, shot towards Ye Qingxue.
"Father!" Ye Qingxue frowned and spoke in a deep voice, while a similar cry came from not far away, overlapping with her voice.
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