The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 168 A lot of doubts

In the thick fog, Jing Anle felt incredibly heavy. She desperately tried to find her way, when suddenly she heard someone calling, "Anle~"

She turned around abruptly and found Qin Yin smiling at her.

"Queen Mother! Queen Mother!"

Jing Anle tried to pull him away, but was pulled back, which startled her awake.

"Princess, you had a nightmare. I couldn't wake you up no matter what I did. It scared me to death." Afang's tone was much more relaxed when she saw that Jing Anle had finally woken up.

"Dream?"

Jing Anle tentatively clenched his fist, his palms already soaked with sweat.

"last night?"

"What happened last night, Princess?" Afang asked curiously.

Didn't she kill Consort Yu last night?

"Where is Mu Ping?" Jing Anle asked again, momentarily lost in thought.

Just as Afang was about to answer, the palace maid Ahan rushed in anxiously, "Something terrible has happened!"

"Ah Han, you're becoming more and more unruly." Although they were all palace servants, A Fang naturally had to maintain a certain air about her.

Jing Anle waved his hand. "What is it?"

Ah Han glanced timidly at Jing Anle, then lowered her head and stammered, "It was...it was Consort Yu. Consort Yu is gone."

"What!" Afang blurted out almost immediately, covering her mouth in shock.

“Princess, this…” Afang looked at Jing Anle with an incredulous expression.

So this wasn't a dream; she really killed Consort Yu. Jing Anle's face remained expressionless.

"Afang, I am not feeling well, so I will take my leave today."

After speaking, Jing Anle collapsed onto the couch, her light-colored robe casually spread out on the bed like a flower. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling above the bed curtains, the events of the previous night still replaying in her mind.

Afang, unaware of what had happened, assumed that Jing Anle was genuinely unwell and busied herself with summoning the imperial physician.

In the blink of an eye, news of Consort Yu's passing spread throughout the palace.

Rong'en Palace.

Since Consort Li and Consort Lin formed an alliance, they have been in frequent contact, so they both learned of this news at the same time.

Even though she was used to the intrigues and backstabbing in the imperial harem, Consort Li was still shocked and clutched her stomach.

Upon seeing this, Consort Lin quickly rebuked the palace servant who came to report, "Get out of here!"

"Wait!"

Consort Li grabbed Consort Lin's hand; she wanted to hear what had happened.

Consort Lin was quick-witted and immediately understood her meaning. She continued to ask, "What exactly happened?"

"This servant...this servant dares not say."

"How dare you! What are you stammering for? I told you to speak, so speak!" Since becoming pregnant, Consort Li's temper has become increasingly erratic, and sometimes she can get angry over the smallest things.

"Yes..." The palace servant was so frightened that he quickly knelt down.

"When the person delivering the food went in this morning, they found Consort Yu lying on the ground covered in blood, lifeless."

"Blood?"

Consort Lin and Consort Li exchanged a glance, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Continue!” Consort Li asked again. Although she was the daughter of a civil official, she was not easily frightened by a few words.

"The person who delivered the food was so frightened that he fainted on the spot. The guards were alerted and when they arrived, they found that in addition to Consort Yu, her maid had also hanged herself in the room."

After the palace maid finished speaking, she lay prostrate on the ground, her body trembling, and continued, "I don't know about the rest of the servants."

"You may leave," Consort Li said. She knew that the whole palace probably already knew about this.

"What do you think, sister?" Consort Li asked.

Consort Lin was a true daughter of a military family. On the surface, it seemed like a wicked servant had killed his master and committed suicide out of fear of punishment. But upon closer inspection, there were many suspicious points. Why would she say such things in front of Consort Li? So she lowered her eyes and said as if pondering, "It must be that the palace maid had been harboring resentment for a long time and was determined to take revenge, but she knew that she could not escape death and could only atone for her sins with her death."

Consort Li also felt something was amiss, but before the matter was resolved, she nodded and agreed, "That should be the case."

Emperor Jing's study.

The one responsible for reporting was Eunuch Wei, who bowed very low. "Your Majesty."

"Consort Yu has passed away."

Emperor Jing paused for a moment, then continued reviewing the memorials without even looking up. "Was it suicide?"

Only then did Eunuch Wei raise his head. "The initial judgment is that it was done by the Consort's personal maid."

"A palace maid?" Emperor Jing put down his brush upon hearing this.

"What happened?" His voice was devoid of emotion. He had no feelings for Consort Yu, especially since he was a convict.

Eunuch Wei then recounted what the palace servants had seen at the time.

The emperor, being in a high position, had witnessed many things happening in the harem, and there was something obviously fishy about this matter.

Just then, a young eunuch announced from outside the door that Zhang Zhiji from the Ministry of Justice was requesting an audience.

"Let him in." With that, Emperor Jing closed the memorial.

Zhang Zhiji was only over thirty years old, but his hair had already turned gray. However, his face was still handsome, and his posture was upright, as majestic as a pine tree.

"See Your Majesty."

"How's the investigation going?"

Zhang Zhiji didn't waste any words and cupped his hands, saying, "The Imperial Concubine's neck and chest were both struck by sharp weapons, both of which could be fatal."

"Judging from the technique, the strength is insufficient. Although the wound is deep, there is no internal force."

Emperor Jing slowly raised his eyelids. "According to you, it was the palace maid who did it?"

This sounds like a question, but it's not.

Zhang Zhiji raised his head and denied it, saying, "No, according to the coroner, the palace maid was drugged and hung up before she was born. This is murder!"

The moment the words left his lips, the atmosphere turned icy. Such a thing happening in the heavily guarded inner palace was simply outrageous.

Emperor Jing closed his eyes for a moment before saying, "Feng Yu knows?"

"Half a month ago, the Third Prince accompanied Lord Hu on a visit to Lanzhou and has not returned since."

Eunuch Wei glanced at Emperor Jing and knew that he still had feelings for Jing Fengyu.

Zhang Zhiji lowered his head, waiting for Emperor Jing to ask him a question.

"Was anything else discovered at the scene?"

"When I went to investigate, I found a hairpin left on the ground." As he spoke, Zhang Zhiji took out a long, narrow, rectangular wooden box from his sleeve.

Eunuch Wei hurriedly went to fetch him.

Emperor Jing opened it, and inside lay a gold hairpin the length of a palm, with a lifelike peacock on the head, covered in bloodstains.

"This is?"

Eunuch Wei immediately recognized the origin of the hairpin, but he dared not speak. Emperor Jing noticed his suspicion and said, "Since you recognize it, speak."

"This is the Seven-Colored Gemstone Hairpin, a gift from the late Emperor."

After being reminded by Eunuch Wei, Emperor Jing remembered something.

"There are only two of these hairpins in the world. One was given as a reward to Consort Yu, who gave birth to the third prince, and the other..."

Eunuch Wei looked up and glanced at Emperor Jing.

"The other one was bestowed upon Prince Qing as a wedding gift for his princess!" Emperor Jing continued, his eyes blazing with icy coldness.