tallest building

Chapter 380 Window Paper

While things were in turmoil in the palace, the eunuch whom the Empress had sent to deliver a message to the Dong family returned and said, "Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor's gout has flared up again."

"How come it's recurred? Didn't we say a few days ago that Physician Su's treatment was very effective and the patient was fine?" the Empress asked.

"This servant doesn't know, but when I came, the Empress Dowager repeatedly instructed me to make sure that Physician Su went out to treat the Grand Tutor again in the next couple of days." The eunuch was quite apprehensive. He knew that the Empress was in a bad mood at this time, and if he answered inappropriately, she might take her anger out on him.

Fortunately, the Empress was concerned about her father's health and didn't care about anything else: "Then tell Imperial Physician Su to leave the palace quickly! Anyway, it's not dark yet."

After the eunuch left, the emperor also arrived, and his expression was very unpleasant.

"Didn't the Empress go to see Ying Shan?" the Emperor asked as he entered. "How are we going to explain this to the Prince of Chu?"

The Empress sneered inwardly, but said perfunctorily, "Your Majesty, I couldn't bear to watch. If Your Majesty wants to blame me, I have nothing to say. Just now, I burned incense and prayed here, wishing that Heaven would bless this child with good fortune and a long life."

"Such a heinous thing has happened in the palace! It must be thoroughly investigated!" The Emperor's tone was more resolute than ever before.

"Your Majesty is right. The incident occurred in Mingjing Palace, and the people there are the most suspicious. I have already ordered people to look them over," the Empress said casually.

"Although the incident occurred there, it doesn't necessarily mean that it was someone from there who did it. We need to interrogate everyone involved along the way." The Emperor looked at the Empress, his eyes gleaming with coldness.

The Empress felt a chill in her heart. She felt deeply betrayed. If it weren't for the Dong family, the Emperor would be just one of the least favored members of the royal family. He was born to a maidservant of a prince and had a very low birth.

When he was ten years old, his father died early, and his fiefdom was reduced by more than half.

If it weren't for my own favor and my father's strenuous help, how could he have attained the supreme position?

Now that the unkillable bastard has entered the palace, he no longer cares about anything else.

She knew that the Emperor must know in his heart that Ying Shan was just a scapegoat.

He also knew that he was the one who did it, and his purpose was to get rid of Gong Chang'an.

However, even now, he is still unwilling to break the ice.

He did not want to bear the infamy of being a ruler who had broken his promises.

After all, he had proclaimed to the world that his daughter, Dong, would be the eternal empress, and that the Grand Tutor's merits were as great as Mount Tai, and that if he did not commit the serious crime of treason, he would be granted a peaceful end.

"Is Your Majesty going to interrogate me?" The Empress was no longer willing to pretend to be gentle and compliant; she was by nature a violent person.

"What's wrong with the Empress? I'm naturally worried about what happened, and I thought you were just as anxious. Why are you so worried?" The Emperor gave the Empress a meaningful look.

"Of course I'm anxious too, so I can't bear to hear such words." The Empress sat down. "To put it bluntly, I'm probably the one in this palace who's most afraid of Ying Shan getting into trouble! When Ying Bai injured his eyes, countless people jumped out to criticize me and the Dong family. Now that Ying Shan has gotten into trouble, I'm afraid I'll be drowned in their spittle."

The Empress was naturally frustrated. She knew that tomorrow people would start criticizing her relentlessly, but what frustrated her even more was that Gong Chang'an, that bastard child, was completely unharmed.

"Your Majesty, please refrain from interfering in this matter further. After all, it's best to avoid any appearance of impropriety until the truth is revealed. I will have Qi Yu conduct the interrogation, and no one involved can shirk their responsibility." The Emperor came here to personally inform the Empress of his decision, to prevent any evasiveness when questioning anyone later. "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will absolutely not interfere. After all, I am also very eager to know the truth." The Empress emphasized the word "truth."

Yu Lu was not in the Empress's palace; he was ordered to work on Ying Shan's side.

At this moment, he genuinely hoped that Ying Shan would not die: "Judge Wu, please think of another way, you must save the Second Young Master! I beg you."

"Steward Yu, can we not do our best to save him?" Judge Wu said helplessly. "But this is arsenic, a deadly poison! The dosage was so high, and the second young master is so young... Sigh!"

"Isn't it said that the Heavenly Rhinoceros Horn is the best antidote?" Yu Lu said anxiously, "His Majesty still has half of it!"

“He’s already taken quite a bit; using more would only have the opposite effect,” Judge Wu explained patiently. “Look at the Second Young Master’s condition now; can he withstand more medication?”

Yu Lu felt extremely guilty. Although he had served the Empress for several years and had done some bad things, he had never actually killed anyone.

Moreover, this was an accidental injury. Seeing Ying Shan on the verge of death, his conscience was awakened, tormenting him to extreme pain.

At this moment, someone came in and whispered to him, "Steward Yu, would you please come to the outer room and speak with me privately?"

Yu Lu was puzzled and went outside, where he saw Qi Yu standing there.

He quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Steward Qi, did you want to see me?"

"Is Steward Yu not busy right now?" Qi Yu asked him politely. "I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Oh...oh! No rush, no rush, please ask." Yu Lu hesitated for a moment before answering readily.

"There are too many people here, and it's noisy. It's not convenient to say certain things. How about... we leave here?" Qi Yu was still very polite, but his requests were not to be refused.

“Alright,” Yu Lu nodded, “then let’s find a place where it’s convenient to talk.”

In truth, he knew why Qi Yu had come to find him. Zhao Changming must have mentioned their encounter on the way. He hadn't intended to remain completely uninvolved, but he would grit his teeth and deny it.

Sure enough, Qi Yu led him to the vicinity of the room where the people from Mingjing Palace were imprisoned. There was a separate room there, which Qi Yu used for temporary questioning.

"Please have a seat, Steward Yu. Someone bring tea," Qi Yu instructed.

Yu Lu, of course, wouldn't show any guilty conscience. He thanked them and sat down gracefully.

"Here's what happened. As you know, the Second Young Master was poisoned after eating that bowl of water chestnut soup. The imperial physicians have also examined it, and it's true that someone poisoned the soup with a significant amount of arsenic."

This water chestnut soup was originally intended for Young Master Gong, but he was sick and asleep in bed, so he didn't eat it.

This water chestnut soup was received by Zhao Changming from Zhang Ma, and he was the one who brought it back to Mingjing Palace. Logically, he should be the prime suspect. However, during his interrogation, he said that he encountered Steward Yu on his way back from the Imperial Kitchen, and because he carried you for a while, the food box was in your hands for a period of time. Is that true?