I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 97: Layer upon layer of tricks

"Yes." Empress Zhong turned her head and gestured to Qiu Sui, "I sent people to search Xiao Xuanzi's residence in the cold palace carefully. They found a pear wood box in the hollowed-out wall. The silver bills of various sizes in it totaled three hundred taels."

Qiu Sui took the box that the little palace maid behind her had been holding and opened it to show Xiao Jingfan.

Xiao Jingfan tilted his head and took a look.

There were not only several silver bills in the box, but also two gold bracelets of good quality and a pair of red agate earrings.

A young eunuch like Xiao Xuanzi, who had just entered the palace, only received one or two taels of silver every month.

It would take him more than 20 years to save up three hundred taels of silver just from his monthly salary.

If it was a gift from his master, how could he, a little eunuch serving in the cold palace who had only been in the palace for a short time, get such a large reward?

Xiao Jingfan pointed at the pair of red agate earrings and said, "Bring them here so I can see them."

Qiu Sui held up a handkerchief and presented the red agate earrings.

Xiao Jingfan didn't take it with his hands, he just stretched his neck to look, his posture was a bit awkward.

Queen Zhong felt strange, "But what's wrong with these earrings?"

Xiao Jingfan did not answer, but asked Qiu Sui to pick up the red agate earrings and turn them around.

Qiu Sui did as she was told.

The red agate earrings slowly turned a circle, sparkling beautifully under the candlelight.

"This belongs to Lady Wen." Xiao Jingfan retracted his gaze and looked at Queen Zhong, "There must be something else behind this."

Empress Zhong immediately stood up and knelt down, "I was negligent, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Help your master up."

Qiu Sui bent down and helped Queen Zhong up.

Xiao Jingfan folded up the confession on the table and handed it over. "Don't trust everything this servant said. Investigate further and don't wrongly accuse innocent people."

"only."

Empress Zhong took the confession and asked, "Now that Concubine Xie and Lady Wen are both suspected, should we order them to reflect on themselves behind closed doors first?"

Xiao Jingfan thought about it and nodded: "Okay."

*
The sedan chair returned to Changchun Palace.

Not long after, Gao Yongfu went to Yihe Palace and Xuexiang Garden to convey the Empress's decree, ordering Concubine Xie and Concubine Wen to reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors and not to go out.

The two palaces reacted differently.

As long as you have done nothing wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. Concubine Xie did whatever she was supposed to do, and even planned to take this opportunity to clean up the Yihe Palace.

Concubine Wen was extremely nervous and kept trying to recall which link had gone wrong and why the Queen suddenly suspected her. It should be Concubine Xie who should take the blame for her.

She thought about it again and again, and told Bizhu: "Call Li Ping'an in, I have something to ask him."

Biju went out to call for help.

Li Pingan quickly followed Bizhu in and said, "Greetings to the master."

Lady Wen didn't shout, but gave Bizhu a look.

Biju stepped out and guarded the door.

Only Concubine Wen and Li Ping'an were left in the hall.

"Let me ask you, besides Lady Zhu and the maidservants beside her, who else saw you in the Imperial Garden that day?"

Li Pingan lowered his head and recalled carefully for a while, then shook his head and said, "There are only the two of them."

"Are you sure that the maid only saw the birthmark behind your ear and didn't see your face clearly?"

Li Pingan nodded, "I am sure." Lady Wen frowned, "Think about it again, is there any flaw in the things you gave Xiao Xuanzi?"

Li Pingan said: "I only gave him a plain gold bracelet without any patterns. With just that bracelet, there is no way he could have found his way to Xuexiang Garden."

The plain gold bracelet was taken from Lady Wen, and she knew clearly that there were no other marks on it.

But if there were no flaws, why would the queen suddenly suspect her?

There must be something wrong.

Lady Wen looked around the hall, her eyes passing over the various furnishings, and finally fell on the sandalwood jewelry box on the dressing table.

Something suddenly flashed through her mind, and she shouted, "Biju, come in."

Bizhu heard the shout and pushed the door open, "What do you want, Master?"

"Have I ever lost any clothes or jewelry?"

Bizhu thought for a moment and said, "I only lost two handkerchiefs, but I found them both."

"Bring the book here." Lady Wen walked quickly to the dressing table and opened the sandalwood box. "I want to count the jewelry."

While the master and his two servants in Xuexiang Garden were busy counting the jewelry, the Empress Dowager heard that the Queen had ordered Yihe Hall and Xuexiang Garden to reflect on themselves behind closed doors.

The Queen Mother leaned on the soft pillow, her lips curled down, and she looked disgusted: "This troublesome girl, what did she do again?"

Madam Zhao gently patted the empress dowager's shoulders and whispered, "I heard that Gao Yongfu brought people to the Yihe Palace this morning to investigate. They caught a young eunuch with a red birthmark behind his ear. He said he was the murderer of Xiao Xuanzi and took him away for questioning."

"Perhaps the Queen has found out the answer. She took people to Wenhua Palace and issued this order after returning from Wenhua Palace."

"My prince is really smart and persevering." The empress dowager, the winner of the previous palace fight, understood the key after a brief thought. She raised her chin slightly and spoke with a proud tone.

Nanny Zhao looked at her and said: You are the empress dowager, as long as you are happy.

"The Queen has been investigating this matter for a few days. If it was really Yu'er who sent someone in her palace to do this, they should have been dealt with long ago. Why would they wait until now for the Queen to find evidence? Yu'er must have been framed."

The Queen Mother spoke with certainty, and her expression became a little gloomy.

It's not that she wants to protect her niece Xie Anyu, but in her eyes, Xie Anyu is just an idiot with all the bad things written on his face.

If what happened to Xiao Xuanzi was really done by Xie Anyu, how could she not see it since Xie Anyu came to pay his respects to her every day?
Aunt Zhao echoed, "The Queen Mother is wise."

The Queen Mother glared at her and said, "Don't try to fool me with your words. Go to Wenhua Palace in person and tell them that if the prince is free, please invite him to have dinner at Wanshou Palace tonight."

"only."

*
In Nong Yun Garden, Chu Liuzheng, who had just finished taking medicine, also saw the related gossip.

[Tsk tsk, are these ladies in the harem playing nesting dolls here? These layers upon layers are full of tricks. ]

[The queen is a smart one, how could she not see that there was something fishy about capturing Fugui? But she still brought Fugui's confession to the tyrant. Wasn't she betting that the tyrant would not investigate the death of a little eunuch in detail, and wanted to use this opportunity to let the tyrant punish Concubine Xie? ]

[The Queen Mother is standing behind Concubine Xie. She usually has the Queen Mother's support. When facing Concubine Xie, the Queen is inevitably restrained. How can she feel happy? Of course, she will not be soft-hearted when she can take advantage of someone's misfortune. ]

[As for Lady Wen, everyone has figured it out, except for one person, Concubine Gao. ]

[Lady Wen is on the first floor, and Concubine Gao is on the third floor. Lady Wen must have long forgotten that she once used a pair of red agate earrings to ridicule Concubine Gao for imitating others.]

[To be honest, that was just a coincidence. Gaopin and Concubine Wen just happened to wear the same colorful dress that day, and the styles were different. It was just that one time.]

[Gaopin had kept the pair of red agate earrings, and took advantage of Xiaoxuanzi's purchase of three shares to reward Xiaoxuanzi with the red agate earrings and a hundred taels of silver, waiting for the day when the truth would be revealed to nail Concubine Wen as the murderer. This was also a way out she prepared for herself.]

[Well...Xiao Xuanzi was originally sent by Lady Wen, so Lady Wen is not the one to blame. But I was a little surprised that the Tyrant could recognize that this pair of red agate earrings belonged to Lady Wen at first sight.]

[Could it be that Wen Meiren is the tyrant's true love? ]

Chu Liuzheng curiously flipped through the gossip related to the pair of red agate earrings, with an ambiguous expression on his face.

[Uh... well, there is no true love. With this origin, it's hard to forget it. ]