An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

After finding the prostitute, the subsequent verification was much faster.

She was not a tough person. Before she was thrown into the Ministry of Punishment, she gave away the person who gave her the money - it was Cuizhu from Changchun Palace.

Now, all the clues are connected.

It was Cuizhu who asked Liuying to sprinkle water in Xianfu Palace to make it into ice. When the Fifth Prince came over to play, Concubine Jing fell to the ground.

It was Cuizhu who asked Shuangshuang to observe Xianfu Palace every day, and then told Yuer, hoping to take the opportunity to frame Chun Changzai.

As for who this Cuizhu belongs to, it is clear and explicit.

But Concubine Qi refused to admit it no matter what, because of what Lingrong said that day, she insisted that there must be evidence to support Cuizhu's words.

"Empress, Cuizhu keeps saying that she was ordered by me.

But she has no witnesses, no physical evidence, and she is just accusing me without any evidence. I naturally do not recognize her."

At this moment, Concubine Qi looked somewhat like a concubine, but she looked really strong on the outside but weak on the inside, which made people just laugh.

"Concubine Qi, I naturally don't believe that you would do such vicious things.

But you also need to know that this witness is also very important.

Cuizhu has suffered almost all the punishments in the Ministry of Punishment, but she still points out that you, her master, are the one who ordered her to do so.

Even the emperor has to believe her words, do you understand?"

Concubine Qi was speechless for a moment, and for a moment she didn't know how to refute.

She couldn't believe that the emperor would doubt her because of the words of a maid.

"Cuizhu, tell me exactly what Concubine Qi told you."

"In reply to the Queen, Concubine Qi wanted to attack Concubine Jing at the banquet.

She asked me to bribe Lingjing and harm Concubine Jing at the banquet."

Cuizhu knelt on the ground and slowly told the story of the past, "But that time, Concubine Jing escaped, and our queen was punished by the emperor and lost the right to educate the third prince.

It is precisely because of this incident that our queen holds a grudge and wants to…"

"How dare you talk nonsense, you slut!"

Concubine Qi immediately became angry. She raised the teacup in her hand and wanted to smash it directly on Cuizhu.

“Concubine Qi!” When the Queen saw that Concubine Qi was trying to smash and destroy things in Jingren Palace, she immediately stopped her. “What do you want to do? You can’t do whatever you want in Jingren Palace!”

Hearing the Queen's scolding, Concubine Qi put down the teacup in her hand angrily.

She is not Nian Shilan, and she does not have the courage and confidence to slap the Queen in the face in Jingren Palace.

The Queen's expression was very cold. She watched Concubine Qi withdraw her hand and bow her head repeatedly to admit her mistakes. Then she set her eyes on Cuizhu who was kneeling, "Cuizhu, continue."

"Yes, Queen." Cuizhu also looked at the cup. She swallowed calmly and said, "My Queen resents Concubine Jing. If it weren't for her, the Third Prince would not have left her side.

Therefore, my queen has always wanted to attack Concubine Jing again, so that Concubine Jing can also taste the pain of losing a child. "

"You, how can you talk nonsense like this."

Concubine Qi couldn't help but interrupt Cuizhu again. She did have this thought, but she soon changed her mind because of Concubine Jing.

The one who harmed me was obviously the Queen, how could I possibly do anything to Concubine Jing?

"I did something wrong in the past and almost harmed Concubine Jing.

Because of this, she lost the Third Prince and could not look at her son for a long time.

The pain of separation between mother and child makes it difficult for me to sleep day and night.

Now that I have realized my mistake, how could I repeat it and murder Concubine Jing?

If it is discovered, I am afraid I will lose my life, and Hongshi and I will be separated from each other forever."

The more Concubine Qi spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. She raised her handkerchief and pressed the corners of her eyes, and tears began to flow down.

Plus, she had a loud voice, which made people feel sorry for her while also thinking she was very noisy.

After listening for a while, he wanted to rush over to cover Concubine Qi's mouth and tell her to stop talking.

"But that's not what Your Majesty said before." Cuizhu also raised her voice, trying to suppress Concubine Qi's crying.

But Concubine Qi was half really scared and half pretending. When she heard Cuizhu wanted to talk, she cried even more miserably.

Even the Queen Mother, who was used to hiding her emotions, looked a little uneasy. She had suppressed her anger time and time again, and finally couldn't bear it anymore.

The Queen started with Concubine Qi's status as a concubine and mentioned that she was the biological mother of the Third Prince, and reprimanded her for not setting a good example for other concubines despite being so noble.

When the maidservant testified, she started crying like a child, hindering her, the mistress of the six palaces, from finding out the truth.

"Concubine Qi, if you don't consider your own face, you should at least consider the Third Prince.

If you lose your status like this, how are you going to face people after you call yourself the Third Prince? "

As soon as Concubine Qi heard the name of the Third Prince, she immediately stopped crying. She folded the handkerchief in her hand again and again, and even turned back to glare at Cuiguo.

Lingrong saw it all, and thought that Concubine Qi's ungentlemanly ways were probably taught to her by Cuiguo.

It was clearly said well before that if she wanted to cry, she could just cry a little bit, but she just couldn't hold it in and cried loudly, which made her lose face.

Fortunately, those words could still defend her. Once the emperor knew the whole story, he would not immediately conclude that it was Concubine Qi who did it.

"Empress, Empress..." Cuizhu spoke tremblingly. It was obvious that she was also frightened by the Empress's harsh tone. "Do you want me to..."

"Go on." The Queen looked at Concubine Qi again. The meaning of her eyes was clear. She told Concubine Qi to be quiet and listen to Cuizhu finish her words.

“My queen knows that the last plot was too crude, and the frame-up was not done well enough.

Therefore, this time I asked my servant to bribe Shuangshuang in advance, and taking advantage of the good relationship between Shuangshuang and Yu'er, I asked Shuangshuang to reveal what she observed to Yu'er during their casual chat.

Yu'er was completely unaware of this matter. Shuangshuang thought she knew, but since they were sisters with a good relationship, she didn't go out of her way to pass her any notes.

As for the servants..."

Cuizhu looked up at Concubine Qi, then lowered her head pretending to be scared, "I followed my majesty's instructions and bribed the prostitutes serving in Xianfu Palace. I was able to learn the frequency and time of Fifth Prince's entry and exit of Xianfu Palace.

He could also ask prostitutes to sprinkle water to turn it into ice, waiting for the right opportunity to murder Concubine Jing.

In fact, Shuangshuang and Yuer were simply bribed... to confuse the Empress and the Emperor.

In fact, it was the prostitute who actually did it, and I was just a small follower who passed on the message."

Cuizhu cleared herself of all charges. Her only crime was delivering a message for her master.

She kowtowed several times in succession, repeatedly asking Concubine Qi to forgive her, "Your servant, your servant is really scared, Your Majesty. The punishment in the Ministry of Punishment is too horrible. Your servant absolutely does not want to go through it a second time."

Cuizhu was obviously better at crying than Concubine Qi. She sobbed softly and whimpered occasionally, looking particularly aggrieved and pitiful.

It’s a pity that none of the concubines are kind and gentle to women. It’s a great blessing that they don’t feel annoyed when listening to this slave crying like this.

"So, you were the one who was in charge of communicating with Liuying. Do you have any evidence to support this?"

Lingrong coughed. She really couldn't bear to hear the crying any more, so she asked Cuizhu.

Cuizhu hummed, and her sobbing gradually subsided, "I gave Liuying a lot of money, and Concubine Qi also took care of Liuying's family outside the palace.

All this money came from my wife's hands. We can find out everything clearly by just checking the expenditure account book."

"This... Your Majesty, the monthly allowance in this palace is fixed.

However, the rewards from the Emperor, the Empress Dowager and the Empress were countless, plus the subsidies from the families of the concubines, so it might not be so easy to calculate the amount of money.

It would be fine if Concubine Qi had the habit of keeping separate accounts in the palace, otherwise..."

Chun Changzai who was standing by suddenly spoke up. She looked pale, as if she was about to fall down at any moment.

Lingrong was terrified and felt that something was wrong with Chun Chang's pregnancy. Could it be that the accusation last time really scared her into having a miscarriage?

Or... this baby was just like her previous life, and she got pregnant because of the Queen's trickery.

"Yu'er in my palace was also accused of being involved, but I brought her from home, so I naturally believe she would not do such a vicious thing.

Therefore, I am willing to let the Queen send someone to Sui Yuxuan to check the accounts one by one.

I only ask... ahem, Her Majesty the Queen to clear my name and Yu'er's name."

Chun Changzai also acted pitifully, but she took a step back to advance, asking the Empress to investigate further, leaving everyone speechless.

However, her words did put Concubine Qi in an awkward position. Apart from saying that there were no account books in her palace, she really had no other way to shirk the responsibility.

"Every time my queen gives instructions, it's late at night. It seems that the queen is deliberately avoiding Sister Cuiguo."

Cuizhu suddenly spoke up, and she looked at Cuiguo, "I wonder if Sister Cuiguo has ever seen the Queen go out alone late at night?"

Cuiguo didn't expect that Cuizhu would ask about her. She was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at Concubine Qi.

"When will it be your turn to interrogate in Jingren Palace?" Concubine Qi was not stupid. She glared at Cuizhu fiercely and said, "Cuizhu, you said that I went to see you late at night. This is too funny.

You are just a slave in Changchun Palace. Whenever I want to see you, you must come here obediently.

I said that I would go to look for you when no one was around, but you think you are worthy?"

Somehow, Concubine Qi seemed to have opened up her Ren and Du meridians. Her mind became much clearer and she could refute Cuizhu with reasoning and evidence.

But Cuizhu was obviously prepared. She bit her lip and seemed to have made a great decision, "Since that's the case, I will no longer help you cover up.

When Her Majesty asked me to give Liuying some silver that day, she also gave her some jewelry as a substitute. Among them, there is one piece that I remember very clearly, as it was a reward given to Her Majesty by the Emperor in the past.

It is a bracelet with eighteen jade beads and a tourmaline Buddha head on it. It is now in Liuying's hands!"

This eighteen-bead emerald bracelet was given by the Emperor to Concubine Qi when she was first conferred the title of imperial concubine.

Not only Concubine Qi had an impression, but even the Empress had a strong impression - after all, Concubine Qi had been showing off for a long time, which made Concubine Hua so angry that she quarreled with the Emperor for many days until the Emperor gave her an eighteen-bead bracelet with agarwood incense and gemstones.

How could Concubine Qi throw away such a meaningful bracelet? !

"Well, I haven't seen that bracelet for a few days, and I was so anxious that I got a sore in my mouth. It turned out that a lowly servant like you stole it."

Concubine Qi was already furious, and when she found out that the beloved gift given to her by the Emperor was stolen to frame her, she could no longer suppress her anger.

She didn't care whether this was Jingren Palace or Shoukang Palace, she would immediately ask Cuiguo to smash her mouth.

But Concubine Qi could ignore it, but Cuiguo couldn't. She hesitated and didn't dare to leave behind Concubine Qi at all.

"That was given to me by the Emperor when he made me his concubine. I always treasure it like a treasure, and you actually dared to steal it.

Just the crime of stealing your master's property is enough to have you beaten to death!

Cuizhu, I pride myself on treating you well, how could you do such a shameful thing as betraying your master?

Regardless of whether I can clear my name in the end, you can forget about saving your life."

Concubine Qi's words were so powerful that even the Queen looked at her sideways, secretly wondering if she had underestimated Concubine Qi too much in her daily life.

Once these threatening words were spoken, I was afraid Cuizhu would immediately turn against them in order to save her own life.

"Okay, why are you making a fuss again?" Without waiting for Cuizhu to beg for mercy, the Queen stared at her and said, "Although Concubine Qi's words were harsh, they did make some sense.

Cuizhu, you have a family too. If you don’t take care of yourself, you should take care of them too!"

Others don’t know, but when Lingrong heard what the Queen said, she knew that the lives of Cuizhu’s family were in the Queen’s hands.

But I don’t know if God is kind to Concubine Qi, who is so simple-minded. Cuizhu could have stolen anything else, but she had to steal Concubine Qi’s most treasured bracelet.

Not only did this fail to incriminate Concubine Qi, but it also became strong evidence for Concubine Qi to prove that she was framed.

After all, the emperor has the best memory. Especially since he gave this thing to Concubine Qi, Concubine Hua also made a fuss about it, so it would be difficult for him to remember it.

Under such double threats, Cuizhu had no choice but to shut up. She didn't dare to say another word, for fear that she and her family would be beheaded in the next second.

"So... Sister Qi Fei was also wronged." Chun Changzai coughed twice again, and her eyes looked at Cuizhu, "If you really stole the bracelet, you must return it intact."

"I didn't steal that bracelet! The queen grabbed a handful of things from her dressing box and threw them to me. It's possible that she put the bracelet in it.

Liuying has received many things from Concubine Qi, and each one of them may be a reward from the Emperor. If Concubine Qi says that they are her treasures, then I really have nothing to say."