flstandardbreds Chapter 118 Evidence
Chapter 118 Evidence
In Yonghe Palace.
"What, dead?" Zhen Huan slammed the table and stood up.
"Yes." Xiao Luzi's face flushed and he clenched his fists tightly. "The Ministry of Punishment sentenced them to forty strokes of the cane for murdering the heir to the throne. Neither of them survived."
"What about their families?" Shen Meizhuang asked hurriedly.
"Both houses are deserted. Whether they were murdered or moved away remains unknown!"
Zhen Huan frowned and asked, "Jinxi, how is Noble Lady Fucha doing?"
Jin Xi helplessly reported the situation to Zhen Huan, "Your Majesty, Noble Lady Fucha insisted that Lady Wen had killed her child. Before I could even ask her any questions, she kicked me out. The other servants also followed her orders and refused to speak to me at all!"
This noble lady Fucha was truly foolish. If there weren't people in her palace colluding with her, how could Xiao Linzi have entered her palace so easily and added musk to the scroll? It was a pity that even if I wanted to help her find the traitor now, I was powerless.
Shen Meizhuang then asked Zhen Huan, "How's the investigation going in Suiyuxuan?"
Zhen Huan clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. She said awkwardly, "There are no clues. My palace staff have checked every case, and there's nothing suspicious. Jin Xi has been in the palace for over a decade, and she's made countless purses. Even if someone wanted to imitate her stitching, it wouldn't be difficult. As for the banknotes, they were indeed deposited by the Zhen family, but my father was a fourth-rank official after all, so it's normal for him to spend them. There's no way to trace them."
The evidence is said to be irrefutable, but each piece of evidence has some minor flaws, and if you observe and analyze it carefully, you can find the problems. However, when these seemingly imperfect pieces of evidence are combined together, they seem to become ironclad facts.
The two men stood facing each other and were both troubled. The witness had become a deadlock, and the physical evidence was real. The case was temporarily at a stalemate.
At this time, Caiyue entered the palace to report, "Your Majesty, Hanzhu, who was beside Concubine Jing, is here!"
"Let her in quickly!"
"This servant pays respects to Concubine Hui and Concubine Wan."
"No need to be polite."
"My queen has made some pastries, please enjoy them, ladies and gentlemen." After Hanzhu said this, she placed a plate of water chestnut cakes on the table, bowed again, and left!
Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang knew that Concubine Jing would not send cakes for no reason, so they hurried to check the cakes. Sure enough, they found a note written by An Lingrong at the bottom of the plate, "Check the source of musk."
"Where does the musk come from?" Zhen Huan thought carefully.
Musk is a precious medicinal material. Although there are many ladies and empresses in the Forbidden City, musk-related items are prohibited. Although the Imperial Pharmacy has musk, the stock is extremely small and the control is very strict. Therefore, this musk must have been transported in from outside the palace.
There are many pharmacies in the capital. It is not an easy task to find out which one of them has sold musk to whom and then check them one by one. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack!
"Caiyue, what day is it today?"
"My Lady, today is February 12th."
It’s February 12th!
I thought I would have to stay for at least a month, but unexpectedly, after just seven days, the emperor's oral order came, pardoning An Lingrong from the cold palace and returning her to live in the Yanx Palace.
An Lingrong packed her things in confusion. Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang were moving too fast. She hadn't enjoyed this leisurely time enough!
"Goodbye, young lady. You are such a blessed person. No one has ever been able to leave the cold palace so quickly!" Nanny Liu smiled flatteringly. During the few days that Concubine Wen was here, she not only had the best food and drink, but her wallet also became fatter. The rewards she received in these few days were enough for her to buy a small courtyard outside Beijing. Now that she was leaving, she was really reluctant to let her go!
"Thank you, Ma'am Liu, for taking care of me these past few days. I appreciate your kindness." Although Ma'am Liu was only doing this for my sister's money, she still took care of me wholeheartedly and attentively.
Caixing quickly took out a piece of silver and handed it to her.
"Thank you, my lord."
The door opened and Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang were waiting at the door.
"elder sister!"
An Lingrong looked at the familiar faces in front of her and felt excited. She ran over with a smile and gently hugged Shen Meiyu and Zhen Huan.
Shen Meizhuang reached out and gently stroked An Lingrong's face, her eyes full of concern: "Rong'er, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"
An Lingrong smiled and shook her head. She took Shen Meizhuang's hand and said coquettishly, "Sister, I'm fine! You bring in so many delicious foods every day, including Sister Zhen's cakes. Look at Caixing and me, haven't we gained weight?"
Shen Meizhuang looked at Caixing who was standing beside her and said with a smile, "Caixing, you've worked so hard."
Cai Xing quickly shook her head and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This servant is not tired at all."
Su Ye, who had been standing nearby, finally couldn't help it and rushed to An Lingrong, hugging her tightly. Tears welled up in her eyes and dripped onto An Lingrong's shoulders.
An Lingrong sensed Su Ye's emotions and comforted her softly, "Good Su Ye, don't cry, I'm fine."
Seeing that they were in good spirits, Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang felt relieved.
Back at Yonghe Palace, servants and maids from all three palaces arrived, standing in a respectful row to welcome An Lingrong back to the palace. They had prepared pomelo leaf water and a brazier, allowing An Lingrong and Caixing to wash their faces and step over the brazier to exorcise bad luck. After a comfortable bath and change of clothing, the three of them sat together to prepare for dinner.
"Sister Zhen, what's going on? Have you found out the truth?" An Lingrong asked impatiently.
Zhen Huan explained, "We found a letter that Fuxi had hidden in his room in the pagoda. The letter explained that his confession that day was instigated by someone. The person who instigated him was none other than Ma Yong, Xia Dongchun's father's follower. He was afraid of his life, so he left a letter. Xiao Linzi was also bribed by that person to give false testimony!"
"It's that simple?"
"of course not!"
"What do you mean?"
"I only found out that Fuxi and Ma Yong had contact a few days before the incident, but no one knows why!"
"So, what's with that letter?"
"I wrote the letter, impersonating Fuxi's handwriting."
"You..." An Lingrong was startled and stood up suddenly, "You're crazy! If the Emperor finds out, we'll all be doomed!"
"It's not that serious. The Emperor knows it wasn't you who did it. He needs a way out."
"But... didn't you receive my letter? Check the source of the musk!"
"received!"
"Why don't you check?"
“It takes a lot of time to find a needle in a haystack.”
"That's better than this risky method!"
“There’s not that much time!”
"Isn't my sister still two months away from giving birth?"
Zhen Huan looked at Shen Meizhuang.
Shen Meizhuang patted An Lingrong, signaling her to relax, "Because tomorrow is February 19th."
"what?"
"Tomorrow is your birthday. You always say that turning eighteen is important. Tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday."
"elder sister……"
"We can't let you spend your only chance to be eighteen in a place like that."
An Lingrong's tears instantly flowed down, and all the grievances and injustices she had suffered in the past few days disappeared with her tears.