Rebirth of the High Family's Beloved

Yang Zhao bent his body and waited for Emperor Tianqing to tease the myna for a while before he turned around and sat down on the couch in the hall.

"Tell me, what did you find out?"

Yang Zhao became more humble, "Your Majesty, I found out that the maid served the soup to the Crown Princess on Yin Lu's orders."

Emperor Tianqing frowned. The name Yinlu sounded very familiar to him. After a little thought, he remembered who she belonged to.

Emperor Tianqing's face suddenly turned cold, "Is it the Queen's people? It was the Queen who did it!"

Yang Zhao did not dare to say a word. He only informed His Majesty of what he had found out from the interrogation. The rest was up to His Majesty to decide.

He looked at Emperor Tianqing's frowning brows and said quickly, "The maid has been executed, and I heard that the Crown Princess was just frightened and nothing serious happened. She just needs to rest for a few days and she will be fine."

Based on Yang Zhao's understanding of Emperor Tianqing, Emperor Tianqing would not fall out with the Empress unless it was absolutely necessary, and this incident did not produce any irreversible consequences.

Looking at Emperor Tianqing's hesitant expression, Yang Zhao knew that this matter was likely to be revealed secretly again.

But this time, Yang Zhao was wrong.

Emperor Tianqing thought about the causes and consequences, and felt threatened by the actions of the Xiao family in both the former court and the harem in recent times.

It's time to use this incident to give them a good warning.

He immediately stood up and said, "Go to the Phoenix Palace."

It was a custom in the harem for concubines to pay their respects to the empress on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In order to show her dignity and not be overshadowed by those young and beautiful concubines, Xiao Ling got up early and began to dress up.

But there were so many concubines, and when they sat together, a lot of messy things happened. There was constant gossip and flattery, and Xiao Ling felt overwhelmed.

Xiao Ling had been in charge of the harem for many years. Every time the concubines came to pay their respects to the Feng Palace, she would experience such a scene. She would just wait for them to start arguing with each other, then she would come out to mediate and send them back.

After sending off the concubines who came to pay their respects to Feng Palace, she returned to the inner hall exhausted. She sat in front of the dressing table, looking at her face which had obviously aged.

"Yinlu, do you think I'm old?"

Looking at the face in the mirror where wrinkles had already crept up to the corners of the eyes, Xiao Ling touched it with his hand. Although the skin was still smooth due to years of careful care, the wrinkles were real.

Yinlu took off the jewelry on Xiao Ling's bun and gently combed her hair with a comb.

"How could that be? The Queen is still as noble and beautiful as before. How could she be old?"

Xiao Ling was delighted by Yin Lu's coaxing, but she also knew that time was unforgiving and she was no longer the naive little girl who had just entered the palace.

"Time flies. I have been with the emperor for twenty-three years."

Suddenly thinking of Qiu Wenzhu whom she had just met, she said, "Just now in the main hall, Concubine Qiu looked so arrogant. I was really upset when I saw her. If you didn't know better, you would have thought she was the queen."

Yin Lu combed her hair and helped Xiao Ling get up to change her clothes. "Don't be upset, Madam. No matter how arrogant she is, she can't change her position. She just wants to show off in front of you. Back then, Imperial Concubine Qiu and you entered the Prince Qing's Mansion together. Now you are the Queen. At most, she is an Imperial Concubine and still ranks below you."

As the two were talking, Yin Shuang walked in, "Your Majesty, the Emperor is here."

Xiao Ling didn't know how long it had been since Emperor Tianqing took the initiative to come to her Chaofeng Palace.

Hearing Yin Shuang's report, Xiao Ling's face lit up with joy, and he immediately ordered Yin Lu, "Quick, bring the powder on the table to me to apply on me. I'm afraid that my face will offend the emperor."

"No need!"

A deep voice came from the doorway, and the maids in the Feng Palace all bowed and saluted, "Your Highness."

Xiao Ling didn't bother to hide her expression and bowed her head in panic, "Your Majesty." Yin Lu and Yin Shuang also followed suit.

Emperor Tianqing took one look at Xiao Ling and then looked away, turning around and sitting down on the small couch.

"I came here today to ask about the New Year's Eve palace banquet. Is this palace banquet in charge of your subordinates?"

When Xiao Ling heard Emperor Tianqing asking about the palace banquet, she knew it was because of the Crown Princess being frightened at the banquet. She took two steps closer to Emperor Tianqing and said, "Yes, it was arranged by my maid Yinlu and others. Because there were not enough maids to serve, they transferred a few from outside the palace. They did not act properly and frightened the Crown Princess. I am also responsible."

She knew that this matter had nothing to do with her, so she admitted it openly and also left a good impression on Emperor Tianqing.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Emperor Tianqing slammed the table and said, "Xiao Ling, you are so brave!"

The sharp voice startled Xiao Ling. She looked at Emperor Tianqing in confusion, "Your Majesty, I didn't employ people well and failed to do my job well, which caused the Crown Princess to be frightened. You don't need to be so angry. Isn't the Crown Princess fine?"

Emperor Tianqing sneered, "Oh, now he is just frightened and nothing serious, but what if the bowl of soup was not broken but drunk by the Crown Princess?"

Xiao Ling muttered to himself, "Just drink it, then there won't be any shock from the bowl falling."

Emperor Tianqing looked at Xiao Ling's indifferent expression and became even more angry. "If the Crown Princess really died, it would really match your feelings."

Xiao Ling also heard something wrong in these words. Having been in the harem for many years, she realized the deeper meaning behind these words as soon as she heard them. Could it be that someone had poisoned the soup, and the broken bowl was just an accident?

She did not dare to think too much about it. When she looked at Emperor Tianqing's expression again, her heart was pounding with excitement. It seemed that the person who attacked the Crown Princess wanted to poison her, not to scare her.

Xiao Ling suppressed her inner excitement and acted as if she was unaware of the situation. "How can this satisfy me? I am in charge of the harem and the person in charge of the palace banquet. Naturally, I don't want anything to go wrong at the palace banquet. Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will investigate it strictly."

"No need, I have checked everything. Yang Zhao, you go and tell the Queen."

Yang Zhao smiled like a good guy and said slowly, "Empress, the maid has confessed. The person who asked her to deliver soup to the Crown Princess was your personal maid, Yin Lu."

Xiao Ling's heart skipped a beat, as if it was burned by a fire snake, and he trembled violently, "Impossible!"

Now Yin Lu, who was behind Xiao Ling, suddenly knelt on the ground, "I didn't do that! I never ordered anyone to bring soup to the Crown Princess!"

But her excuses were feeble and no one listened to her.

Emperor Tianqing frowned and looked at the kneeling maid, "Are you Yinlu?"

Yinlu raised her head from the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I am Yinlu."

Emperor Tianqing said in a cold tone, "Drag him away and deal with him."

Just one sentence and the death sentence was passed.

Xiao Ling was anxious, because to convict Yin Lu was to conclude that she was the one who ordered others to harm the Crown Princess, and there was no way she would accept this guilt for nothing.

"Wait, Your Majesty, this is impossible. Yinlu has always been following my instructions. I did not arrange for her to deliver soup to the Crown Princess. Someone is framing me. Where is that maid? I can let Yinlu confront her face to face."

"She has been executed."

The implication is that there is no evidence left.