Chapter Seventy-six Interrogation

  Auntie calmly said, "At that time, it was not certain that she was the one who did it. Moreover, where her medicine came from and why she wanted to do this were not clear. They didn't dare to make a fuss, but just wanted to keep an eye on her while slowly investigating. This matter, Old Man Wei also knew about."

  Got it, Lord Wei, you old man are indeed a useful shield.

  "Hmm, cast a long line and catch a big fish...". Pei Zhangshi said this in a lukewarm tone, sounding like she was praising Li Gugu for doing the right thing. But her expression and tone didn't seem to be complimenting anyone at all. She paused for a moment before continuing: "And isn't that exactly what happened?"

  Auntie Li didn't respond.

  The eunuch continued: "Qiu Yan and Chen Sufen, a subordinate of Pei Zhangshi, were secretly discussing something in the house today. Chen Sufen even gave her a packet of medicine powder, forcing her to poison again, and they were caught red-handed."

  The eunuch pinched a medicinal paper package with two fingers and swung it at Li Auntie and Chao Sheng, then put it down again.

  "Auntie Li probably doesn't know what kind of medicine this is."

  "Madam Li remained calm: 'I don't know, please enlighten me, sir.'"

  That eunuch couldn't find any weakness in Li Auntie, and suddenly turned the conversation to Chao Sheng: "This little palace maid is the one who made that dish last time?"

  "Alright, sir, it was me who did it."

  "How did you tell that someone had tampered with the meat?"

  Because I was afraid of it being spoiled, I sealed it with wax. Later when I wanted to use it, I saw that the wax seal had been tampered with...

  "Hmm, quite meticulous indeed." The steward named Pei said with a tone.

  How did Qiu Yan "happen" to go find Chen Sufen and "coincidentally" get caught?

  No need to ask, Chao Sheng understands.

  It was Aunt Li's plan.

  No wonder that Pei Zhuan's face was gloomy, her subordinates had made a mistake, she lost face which is a small matter, but if she gets implicated, she'll be finished.

  "Bring Chen Sufen in."

  Li Aunt and Chao Sheng stepped aside, and someone pushed a woman in. Her hands were tied up, her hair was disheveled, and she looked to be around thirty years old, with a pale and rich complexion.

  As soon as she saw Aunt Li, her expression changed and she seemed to be about to rush over, but was firmly held back by the people behind her.

  "Your Majesty, I am being framed by this woman... She has previously violated the palace rules and has a bad reputation. This is her framing me."

  The eunuch listened to her words, his face expressionless: "Does she have a grudge against you?"

  Chen Suping licked her dry lips: "No."

  "So you say, why did she frame you? Also, your personal palace maid also testified that the medicine was obtained by your private arrangement, and the people involved all said so. Are these people also framing you?"

  "Your Excellency, how could I possibly think of harming the Fourth Prince? Even if I had the audacity to do so, I wouldn't dare... This is clearly someone trying to frame me and harm both me and Director Pei..."

  De, Pei Zhang Shi was also dragged into this matter.

  She immediately changed her face: "What are you talking nonsense about? Recently, during the holidays, things have been busy, and I've been neglecting to manage you all. I didn't expect you to do something like this. Now that there's both human and physical evidence, what else can you say for yourself? Just confess quickly!"

  It's every man for himself when disaster strikes.

  Chen Suping stared at Li Auntie with a fierce gaze, her eyes almost spitting fire.

  Yes, Qiu Yan and Chen Su Ping did indeed do those things, Aunt Li didn't wrong them.

  But about their goals, however, it was a trap that gave birth to the tide, and with a slight turn, it became poisonous to the prince and princess.

  This is a completely different story now.

  If it were just about dealing with a small palace maid, the nature of the matter would be very minor.

  Will Chen Suping defend herself by saying that they did not intend to poison the prince and princess? It's a capital offense, after all. Would she have the audacity to take the blame upon herself?

  She could argue that she was just trying to deal with Chao Sheng and had no intention of harming the princess and the prince.

  But they can explain clearly why they want to deal with Chao Sheng, a little palace maid?

  Besides, in order to deal with Xia Gong Nü, why not give her the medicine directly, but instead put it in the food for the master? Isn't this still harming the master? No matter how you explain it, the fact is that the meat was tampered with.

  And this time Chen Suping was caught red-handed by Qiuquan while giving him medicine.

  What would I do if I were in his shoes at this point?

  Could it be that I can still shout out that I am under the orders of Her Majesty the Empress?

  No, it's impossible. Even if Chen Suping wanted to save her life by mentioning the Empress Dowager a hundred times, she couldn't say that.

  This move is truly a double-edged sword.

  But... Chōsei couldn't help but worry.

  If the people above, such as the empress dowager, want to cover up this matter, which of the people in this house, eunuchs or female officials, Li Gugu and Xiao Xiao Chao Sheng, have the power to resist?

  It's too complicated, I don't understand it at all.

  She was completely unfamiliar with the struggle for higher rights. Not to mention that the queen and she, a small palace maid, were not even on the same level.

  "Really sharp teeth and hard mouth, even seeing a coffin doesn't bring tears."

  The eunuch didn't ask Chen Sufen anything else and had her taken out again.

  Maybe... he didn't want to ask more questions.

  Yes, a low-ranking female official in the imperial court, yet she wants to harm a prince who is far away in the Eastern Palace, why?

  She and the prince have no feud either.

  There must be someone behind who is directing this.

  As for who gave the order...the eunuch didn't ask any further questions.

  It's better not to ask further, or you might get annoyed yourself.

  This is not a trial in a public court.

  After all, the harem and the Eastern Palace are just the emperor's family affairs.

  The family is short, the public says that the public has reason, the grandmother says that the grandmother has reason... The big and small wives are jealous, the son and daughter quarrel, who can inherit the family business and other things, I'm afraid it's hard for the family members themselves to distinguish.

  Fortunately, he didn't ask them anything else and let them out.

  Aunt Li stood by the door and saw Chao Sheng wiping his cold sweat with his sleeve. She asked in a low voice, "Scared?"

  Chao Sheng nodded with effort.

  "What's this," said Aunt Li. "Besides, it wasn't us who got trapped."

  They walked a long way out before Chao Sheng couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, why did Qiu Yan admit to it? This matter... she would have been finished if she hadn't behaved."

  "I promised her, there's a way to keep her from dying." Li Auntie said: "After this matter, it's impossible for her to stay in the Yiqiu Palace, but if she can leave the palace, it might be a way out."

  Does Aunt Li have such great abilities?

  The tide does not know.

  It's just that she thinks this matter... actually from start to finish, Qiu Yan may not know the reason, she is only responsible for taking action, as for why she wants to take action against Chao Sheng, she may not be aware of it.

  It's possible... she might have been forced too.

  But isn't oneself innocent as well?

  Nobody knew what happened and almost got framed successfully.

  If she hadn't discovered that the pork had been tampered with, and the tenth princess and eighth prince had eaten it and gotten into trouble, then she might not have had the good luck as last time, and only received forty lashes. Even if she was beaten another forty times this time, she may not be able to survive.

  The high walls on both sides sandwiched a narrow strip of sky, and after looking at it for a long time, the two walls seemed to be slowly closing in, collapsing inward... as if they wanted to bury her under their eaves.

  Aunt Li glanced at her: "Don't worry, Autumn Ink won't die. She's now a person of the East Palace and not considered a person of the Rear Court. Whether she lives or dies, those people will hand her over to Duke Wei for disposal. It's not difficult to save her life."

  What Chao Sheng is worried about isn't this.

  But rather...

  There's a saying that when beating a dog, one must consider its master. With Aunt Li taking action like this, it's almost as if she's turned both Qiu Shan and Chen Su Ping upside down together, and the people involved in this matter will definitely not be limited to just these two.

  They may have fallen this time and can't get up again.

  But the people behind them are still there.

  What will he do?

  Chao Sheng is now really grateful that she belongs to the East Palace and not in the palace.

  Otherwise, maybe two people will come at night and drag her out like last time.

  Maybe just throw it into a well casually.

  Maybe strangled and then hung up...

  It's also possible that they were killed directly and thrown somewhere.

  In the palace, sometimes losing a needle is a big deal that cannot be tolerated, but sometimes missing several people is quiet and unnoticeable, with no one daring to ask an extra question. Everything leaves no trace, just like these people never appeared or existed.

  Just like now, she and Li Aunt left for no reason for a long time, but no one came to ask the reason.

  No one asked where Qiu Yan was going either.

  It's as if all the palace maids and eunuchs in Huaye Manor have collectively chosen to be blind.

  It's as if they had never been out before.

  Nothing happened.

  This is the imperial palace.

  Yesterday evening everyone was still warmly together eating glutinous rice balls and watching fireworks, but as soon as something happened, they all shrunk their necks, not daring to speak up since it didn't concern them.

  However, there were still people who cared about her.

  Before and after dinner, Han Xiang quietly came over, pulled her to a secluded spot and asked: "What's wrong with you? How did I hear that... someone saw you being taken away by Duke Wei?"

  "Who saw it?"

  "Oh, come on, answer me quickly!"

  Chao Sheng could only say to her, "In our palace, Autumn Ink sister got into some trouble and asked me a few questions. It had nothing to do with me, so I came back."

  "Really?" The eyes, which were as black as ink, were filled with skepticism.

  "Really", Chao Sheng's answer couldn't be more sincere than this.

  "Ah, scared me to death......" Hu Xiang touched her chest and slowly sat down against the pillar: "I was just thinking wildly for a while, I'm afraid you won't come back this time..."

  "Look at me, I'm back now."

  "Hmm, I'm relieved now. You... are you really okay?"

  "Really? If something happens, can I still come back?"

  "Then... what kind of trouble has Qiū Yàn gotten into?"

  Chao Sheng shook his head: "I don't know either, it was all Li Aunt's words, seems to be related to some official business with the Yueting Palace. I dare not ask more questions."

  "It's better not to pry into things you shouldn't know about; knowing too much isn't always a good thing."

  Chao Sheng sighed in her heart and let Han Xun worry about it instead.

  The second person of concern is the Fourth Prince.

  The fourth prince had finished his dinner and the table was cleared away, a cup of clear tea was brought up.

  The fourth prince held his teacup, lowered his eyelids, and casually asked: "You guys went out today - nothing happened, right?"

  Chao Sheng was somewhat surprised and couldn't gauge how much the Fourth Prince knew, so he carefully replied: "Uh, asked a few questions, then let us return."

  "Hmm..." The fourth prince took a sip of tea: "What did Qiū Zhàn say?"

  Chao Sheng shook his head.

  Qiu Yan has been saying nothing all along, and hasn't even looked at them.

  Does the fourth prince know about this?

  How much?

  The hand holding the tea tray trembled slightly.

  ——————————

  The weather suddenly dropped in temperature, and it's actually only 14 degrees today...

  The wind outside is blowing like a locomotive... The windows and doors are all closed, but the wind is still shaking them with a loud creaking sound.