A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 326 Corpse Hidden in Wine Jar (6)

"emperor!"

The Empress Dowager's expression quickly cracked, her dignified and noble demeanor vanished, replaced by a hint of ferocity. "Ningchang's mistake was unintentional. Does it warrant a demotion? After all, the Prince of Zhongshan is the Emperor's cousin and a regional prince! How can the Emperor chill the hearts of his royal relatives because of a single word from Song Shuyu?"

At this point, the Empress Dowager's phoenix eyes swept over the ministers below, her gaze full of profound meaning. "I wonder what you ministers think of this matter?"

"hehe."

Song Shuyu suddenly smiled, turned around, and said casually, "I'd also like to see which colleague intends to disobey the imperial decree?"

Those who support the emperor need no introduction. The ministers who are attached to the empress dowager are ultimately loyal to the Song family, the empress dowager's maternal clan. But now that the eldest son of the Song family is clearly going against the empress dowager, and with this potentially fatal label pinned on him, who would dare to speak out rashly?
And now it seems that it is difficult to say whether the emperor is really afraid of the Song family or whether Song Shuyu has fallen out of favor. But it is obvious that the emperor wants to take this opportunity to warn the Prince of Zhongshan and cut off the Empress Dowager's wings!

Seeing the ministers bow their heads one after another, and the whole room falling silent, the Empress Dowager trembled and almost fainted on the spot!
"Does the Empress Dowager think that I, as the ruler of the country, am blindly listening to Song Shuyu and have no ears or eyes?" The Emperor finally spoke, his voice cold and devoid of warmth. "Or perhaps, I, the Emperor, am nothing more than a puppet; my decrees can be changed at will?"

When the emperor is angry, the earth shakes and mountains tremble!

Everyone knelt down in panic, crying out, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

The Empress Dowager desperately suppressed her overwhelming anger, her lips moving stiffly as she managed to utter, "Your Majesty has misunderstood; that's not what I meant."

"That's good then. I believe my mother is reasonable and will support my decision." The emperor smiled slightly, as if mentioning it casually, and said, "Prince Zhongshan, neither your son nor your daughter is easy to deal with. Effective immediately, Ningchang is demoted to a county princess as punishment! As for the heir apparent Shen Che, since he is a defeated opponent of Mu Qingcheng, he shall remain in the capital and work harder to improve himself!"

Princess Ningchang's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground!

The Prince of Zhongshan was stunned for a long time until Zhou Chun reminded him, "Your Highness, quickly accept the imperial decree and express your gratitude!" Only then did he react, his face stiff, and he kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for the Emperor's grace!"

Princess Ningchang quickly knelt down again, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Your Majesty, I accept your decree! I will certainly remember Your Majesty's teachings and live up to Your Majesty's grace!"

A farewell banquet held for scheming purposes not only failed to bring Mu Qingcheng into their camp, but also resulted in Ning Chang being demoted and Shen Che being held hostage in the capital!
The Prince of Zhongshan and the Empress Dowager were furious, but then they thought that if the pawns they had planted had worked, then the culprit, Song Shuyu, would soon suffer a major setback and be trapped in a dead end from which he could not recover!

Thinking of this, their expressions became less unpleasant.

The emperor told everyone to rise and return to their seats. Then, the emperor himself ordered, "Master Mu, continue the investigation. I'm waiting for the results!"

Mu Qingcheng bowed and said, "This humble woman obeys your decree!"

It took Mu Qingcheng a quarter of an hour to check all twenty-odd tables.

Instead of immediately submitting a report, she whispered to Zhou Chun, "Please ask Eunuch Zhou to investigate and detain the palace servants who came into contact with the imperial wine today, find out which wine jars these imperial wines came from, and don't let anyone get close!"

After listening, Zhou Chun looked up at Song Shuyu. Although Song Shuyu did not know what Mu Qingcheng had said, he replied without hesitation, "Do as Master Mu says. I will go and report to the Emperor."

"Yes!"

Without further hesitation, Zhou Chun led all the palace servants who were pouring wine out.

Countless eyes were fixed on Mu Qingcheng, filled with doubt, unease, and tension throughout the Yaochi Pavilion!
At the same time, everyone was amazed. How could Mu Qingcheng, a mere commoner, have such strong composure, as if everyone else didn't exist, remaining calm and composed?
She walked steadily to the emperor's presence and said in an extremely calm tone, "Your Majesty, based on my preliminary examination, all the palace wines served today have a putrid stench of corpses..."

"The stench of a corpse!" The emperor's pride in his composure crumbled instantly, and he almost jumped off his dragon throne!

Mu Qingcheng quickly reassured him, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, there is nothing wrong with the imperial wine that you and the Empress Dowager drank! This humble woman suspects that there may be a dead person in the wine jars that held the palace wine!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the sounds of vomiting rose and fell, echoing throughout the entire room!

Including the King of Zhongshan and the Princess of Ningchang!

The emperor quickly took the handkerchief presented by Xiao Xuzi, covered his mouth and nose, and said, "No wonder Shen Che suddenly vomited, it turns out that... Ha, Ning Chang who doesn't know what's good for him!"

Song Shuyu was also shocked by this result, his handsome face turning pale. He quickly took out the handkerchief he always carried and personally covered Mu Qingcheng's mouth and nose, saying with lingering fear, "Qingcheng, luckily you knocked over my wine glass in time and saved my life!"

"Just take care of yourself, sir." Mu Qingcheng tore off a piece of her clothes and tied it behind her head like a face mask. "I need to go find the source of the corpse now and confirm whether my guess is correct."

Song Shuyu suddenly turned his head and looked at the Empress Dowager beside him. He saw that the Empress Dowager was frowning and had a very disgusted expression, but she was sitting firmly on the phoenix chair and did not have any intention of leaving the seat in time!
At this moment, the emperor spoke up: "Master Mu, I order you to investigate this matter as soon as possible. If you need anything, just tell Zhou Chun."

"I obey your command!"

After receiving the decree, Mu Qingcheng strode out.

Seeing Song Shuyu standing there, not following Mu Qingcheng, the emperor was surprised. "What are you standing there for? This place is no longer safe. I'm quite curious about how Master Mu solves cases. Song Qing, come with me and take a look."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Song Shuyu calmly withdrew his gaze.

The emperor descended the steps, cupped his hands to the empress dowager, and said, "Your Majesty, you have been frightened. I will send someone to escort you back to the palace to rest."

However, the Empress Dowager said, "I am fine, Your Majesty is kind. Why don't I go and see for myself just how capable the female advisor promoted by Shuyu really is?"

The emperor nodded. "Good."

……

The place in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace where wine was stored was called the Jade Brewing Pavilion, located near the Imperial Kitchen.

Zhou Chun was thorough in his work; he specifically left someone behind to bring Mu Qingcheng over.

When they arrived at the courtyard of the pavilion, there were already more than a dozen eunuchs and palace maids kneeling in the courtyard, each of them pale and trembling.

Zhou Chun said, "Master Mu, I've found out that the imperial wine served today was taken from wine jar number three, which is on the first floor."

Mu Qingcheng nodded. "Please take me to see him, Father-in-law."

Suddenly, a jumble of footsteps sounded behind me.

Mu Qingcheng turned around and saw that the Emperor, Empress Dowager, Song Shuyu, and many female officials and their families had followed them!
(End of this chapter)