0p0 Chapter 113 Implicated
Chapter 113 Implicated
The concubines in the palace watched her actions in silence, only Noble Lady Fucha was sobbing quietly.
Sweat broke out on Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang's hands. They kept tearing off their handkerchiefs with both hands and looked at An Lingrong nervously.
The Queen suggested, "Your Majesty, the most urgent task now is to find the person who added musk to the scroll. Since this matter originated from Concubine Wen, why not send the palace maids of Yanxi Palace to the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation first?"
Fang Chunyi, who was standing by, suddenly spoke up, "Your Majesty, I've heard that the scent of musk lingers for a long time. Once a mortal touches it, the scent will remain on their hands. If you want to find out who has touched musk, just smell their hands!"
An Lingrong felt more and more uneasy as she listened to their words which seemed to have been discussed beforehand. She thought that there might be a follow-up to this matter.
Yongzheng agreed and ordered the investigation to start with the six palaces in the east and west.
The queen at the top still looked calm and composed, as if everything had nothing to do with her.
Su Peisheng worked very quickly. Half an hour later, he brought two young eunuchs into the palace. "Your Majesty, there is a musk smell on their hands."
The two men knelt tremblingly, "Your servants pay their respects to the Emperor and the Empress!"
The emperor closed his eyes and motioned for the queen to ask questions.
"Which palace do you two serve in?"
"My servant Xiao Linzi is on duty in the west wing of the Yanxi Palace."
An Lingrong recognized him. This was the young eunuch who did odd jobs in her palace. He was assigned here when she first entered the palace!
"My name is Fuxi, and I work in the Guangchusi Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
The Queen continued, "Why do your hands smell like musk?"
Their eyes darted around.
Seeing that they were not being honest, the Queen shouted, "Tell the truth! If you lie, I will immediately send you to the Ministry of Punishment!"
When Noble Lady Fucha saw these two people, she immediately realized that they were the direct murderers, "Who ordered you to kill my child?"
"Don't want to tell? Then it depends on whether your bodies can withstand the 72 punishments of the Ministry of Punishment. Come, drag them away, and bring them up when they confess!" The queen ordered coldly.
Several eunuchs came over, grabbed them and started to drag them away.
The two men were so frightened that they were shaking like sieves, and they shouted quickly: "Queen, spare my life, I confess!"
"Say!"
"It was Concubine Wen who ordered me to stuff the musk into the scroll. I feel so wronged!" Xiao Linzi spoke first. "My family is in Concubine Wen's care. I dare not disobey!"
Fuxi followed suit and said, "Someone gave me some silver and told me to give a purse to Xiaolinzi. I took it out and looked at it. I thought it was just some ordinary spices, not musk!"
"Go and get the purse!" ordered the queen.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao Linzi lay on the ground, crawled forward a few steps, grabbed An Lingrong's clothes and begged, "My lady, I am loyal to you, please save me!"
The clothes she was wearing today were the same color best friend outfit Shen Meizhuang had given her. Seeing him pulling at her, she suddenly felt disgusted. She took two steps back, pulled the clothes out of his hand and said, "You've already confessed me before I've even tortured you. Do you call this loyalty to me? If you say this again after you're in the Ministry of Punishment, people might believe it! What, you're not afraid that I might harm your family now?"
At this point, Xiao Linzi also threw himself into the fight, saying, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king. I am loyal to the young lady, and even more so to the emperor. With the majesty of heaven above us, I dare not lie. Moreover, with the emperor and empress calling the shots, my family will be safe!"
"You've been in my palace for over a year, and I had no idea you were so eloquent. I really wronged you!" An Lingrong sneered and continued, "Since you said I captured your family, then where do you live? Who are your family members?"
Little Linzi lowered his head and replied, "I live in Linjia Village, eighty miles east of the city. I have parents and two younger brothers at home!"
An Lingrong nodded and said, "If I want to capture your four family members without alerting the villagers, I'm afraid I'll need seven or eight people, right? My family is humble and my position is low. Do you think I have enough money to bribe so many people to work for me?"
Yongzheng and the concubines immediately became suspicious. An Lingrong had a low position and no family background. Part of her monthly salary and rewards had to be sent back to Songyang County. She really did not have the ability to bribe so many people.
But the question was soon answered - a purse with a musky smell was handed to the queen.
The Queen looked over it again and again and felt that the stitching was somewhat familiar. "I feel that the stitching of this purse is somewhat familiar, but I can't remember it at the moment. You can take a look too!"
The concubines all stretched their necks to look, and Cao Qinmo suddenly exclaimed, "This looks like the craftsmanship of Jinxi, who was by Concubine Wan's side!"
Zhen Huan quickly took it and looked at it, her face changed instantly. She recognized that this was the purse made by Jin Xi.
Jin Xi quickly knelt down to defend herself, "Your Majesty and Empress, I have no idea how this purse ended up in his hands. I've never even seen him!"
An Lingrong understood that after laying so much groundwork, she was planning to catch all three of them in one fell swoop! Zhen Huan was responsible for the raw materials, An Lingrong was responsible for the poison, and the tools were provided by Shen Meizhuang!
What a thoughtful thought!
She had already gotten rid of Shen Meizhuang, but Zhen Huan was pregnant and also had the motive to murder Noble Lady Fucha.
The Queen said in embarrassment, "Your Majesty, look..."
When Jinxi was involved, the emperor had already opened his eyes and looked at Zhen Huan, "What do you say?"
Zhen Huan looked at Yongzheng's scrutinizing gaze and said calmly, "Your Majesty, the eunuch might have stolen or picked up the purse. This evidence is not credible."
"I have more evidence," Fuxi said hurriedly, pulling out a banknote from his waistband. "This is the banknote that man gave me. I asked someone to check, and it's from the Hengchangli Bank in Beijing. It was deposited by Master Zhen!"
At the mention of "Master Zhen," Zhen Huan's face instantly turned pale, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and she felt a wave of panic. If this matter wasn't handled properly, it would implicate the entire Zhen family. She forced herself to calm down, her mind racing with ideas.
"Your Majesty, even if I wanted to bribe him, I couldn't possibly use the Zhen family's banknotes. Wouldn't that leave a huge handle? How could I be so stupid!"
Hua Fei replied sarcastically, "That's why you've been exposed, so you have something to defend yourself against, isn't it?"
Still feeling unsatisfied, he added, "Mr. Wan is well-versed in poetry and literature, and must have read Sun Tzu's Art of War. You're well-versed in the art of deceiving the world."
Zhen Huan defended herself again, "I have no grudge against Sister Fucha, how could I harm her child?"