Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 155 Finding the Spy, The Queen's Secret

It was already past 7:45 PM when the Empress suddenly ordered Shangguan Wan'er to deliver an edict summoning all the palace maids and eunuchs on duty in front of the Mingtang Hall to the front of the hall.

Many palace maids began to panic, whispering among themselves: "What happened? Why is the Emperor summoning us all to Jiayu Palace? That's where Consort Dou and Consort Liu died!"

"I heard someone died in the Mingtang today, could it be..."

"Stop talking, let's go to the palace first!"

Who would dare disobey the emperor's decree? Thus, a group of palace maids and eunuchs, guided by the Imperial Guards, arrived at the Jiayu Hall, where they saw Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan standing beside the empress, thoughtfully scrutinizing them.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense and stagnant.

"Is everyone here?" the Empress asked coldly.

A guard said, "Your Majesty, all the guards, palace maids and eunuchs on duty in front of the palace today are here."

"very good!"

The Empress turned her gaze to Murong Huan, who then took out a black cloth bag and said to everyone, "I have a lie detector stone here. Anyone who touches it will have their fingers turn red if they lie. Tonight, I want to ask everyone a question: Who released the cat in front of the Mingtang Hall at tonight's banquet?"

Because of Consort Xiao's dying curse, the Empress has strictly forbidden keeping cats in the palace. Anyone found to be keeping a cat is to be beheaded!
The palace maids and eunuchs became somewhat nervous and uneasy. At this moment, Murong Huan came to them with the black bag and ordered them to put their right hands into the bag one by one.

At first, the palace maids were a little scared, but Murong Huan said, "If you are not the ones who deliberately released the cat, this lie detector stone can prove your innocence, so you don't need to be afraid!"

With these words, the tension among many palace maids and eunuchs gradually eased, and they calmly reached their hands into the bag. This continued until the twenty-ninth palace maid reached in, when Murong Huan noticed something amiss and immediately grabbed her hand, saying, "You are the one who is lying!"

The palace maid's face changed drastically: "Me? No, no, how could it be me? I didn't even touch the stones in this bag, and my hands didn't change color. Look for yourselves!"

She held up her fingers to the Empress, her face beaming with confidence and smugness.

The Empress's face darkened instantly, and she said in a deep voice, "Wei Tuan'er? Was it you who spread the rumor that the demon cat eats people?"

So this palace maid is Wei Tuan'er!

Murong Huan couldn't help but take another look at this palace maid. She was indeed more beautiful and had a more alluring figure than the other palace maids.

Wei Tuan'er couldn't understand why the Empress, who had once been so fond of her, had suddenly changed her expression. She repeatedly protested, "No, Your Majesty, I didn't lie! Didn't Madam Xiao say that if you lie, your fingers will turn red? My hands haven't changed!"

"Do you really believe there are lie detectors in this world?" The Empress sneered. "Madam Xiao merely used a little trick to deceive you, saying that there were lie detectors in this bag. The fact that you didn't touch it proves that you were too guilty to touch it, which is why she judged that you were the liar!"

“That’s right, I just put an ink stick in this bag. Anyone who touches it will have black ink on their fingers!” Murong Huan received the message and then asked everyone who had touched it to stick out their fingers.

Wei Tuan'er saw that the palace maids and eunuchs indeed had black ink on their fingers, but because she was guilty, she hadn't touched the ink stick, so there was nothing there. At this moment, she realized that she had been tricked, sat down on the ground, and glared at Murong Huan hatefully.

"Tuan'er, I have treated you well, yet you have colluded with the envoys of Tibet to try to provoke a war between my Great Zhou and Tibet. Who sent you as a spy?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Tuan'er realized that the situation had developed beyond her comprehension and imagination. She hurriedly prostrated herself on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, this servant did not! This servant has grown up in the palace since childhood, how could I possibly collude with the Tibetan envoy? This servant was coerced into having no other choice..."

"Who?"

"It's...it's Lai Junchen, Imperial Censor Lai!"

Upon hearing the name Lai Junchen, the Empress frowned, her eyes filled with extreme anger and displeasure. At that moment, Princess Taiping entered and continued, "Imperial Censor Lai is merely an outsider. You are the most trusted palace maid by the Emperor's side. Why would you obey Imperial Censor Lai and collude with him? What benefit would that bring you?"

After saying this, she bowed to the Empress: "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"

"It's so late, why haven't you returned to your princess residence yet?" the Empress asked. "Mother, I have brought some evidence, hoping to help you see the truth."

"Oh, what truth do you want me to see?"

Taiping then took out a bronze effigy-shaped figurine and placed it in front of Wei Tuan'er, asking, "Did you have this bronze statue buried in the courtyards of Consort Dou and Consort Liu to falsely accuse them of cursing the Emperor?"

"Princess, I am innocent! I have never been to the Prince of Xiang's residence, so how could I have?"

"I have already caught the person who buried this bronze statue. Can you guess who it is?"

Wei Tuan'er's face changed drastically, turning as black as earth.

Taiping continued, "Wei Yu, she must be your former foster mother. Wei Yu has confessed everything about you. You once tried to seduce my fourth brother and become a concubine in the Prince of Xiang's mansion. My fourth brother refused you, so you took advantage of the Emperor's favor to use this despicable means to frame Consort Dou and Consort Liu. Then you had Lai Junchen spread rumors that there was a demon cat in the palace that ate people, in order to frighten people."

"I thought you were nothing more than a maidservant who wanted to rise in rank, but I never imagined that you and Lai Junchen were colluding with the Tibetan envoys. I'm afraid there's someone else behind you who's plotting this."

Upon hearing this, the Empress finally revealed an unusual disgust and murderous intent in her gaze towards Wei Tuan'er.

This disdainful killing intent sent a chill down Wei Tuan'er's spine, as if a thousand arrows were piercing her heart.

The so-called imperial favor, falling from the clouds to hell, is nothing more than a moment.

"Tell me who the mastermind behind this is!" the Empress demanded sharply.

Knowing she could not escape death today, Wei Tuan'er laughed bitterly: "Yes, I did it, so what? I have served the Emperor faithfully all my life, never wavering in my loyalty. I truly loved Prince Xiang, and I only wanted to ask the Emperor to let me be his concubine, but the Emperor refused. The Emperor has always valued and promoted Shangguan Daizhao, but what have I gained from serving the Emperor for so many years?"

"Even if I die today, I will never tell you who is truly colluding with the Tibetans!"

After saying that, Wei Tuan'er bit down hard, and blood gushed from her mouth. She fell straight to the ground, and her eyes remained open until the moment she breathed her last.

Murong Huan wanted to stop him, but it was too late.

Seeing this, the Empress seemed even more irritated and impatient. After a long silence, she finally said, "Enough, all of you go back. Take this lowly servant's body out and bury it!"

"Here!"

Two Imperial Guards responded and carried Wei Tuan'er's body out of the Jiayu Palace.

"Mother, where is Lai Junchen..." Princess Taiping couldn't help but step forward and ask.

The Empress then looked at her and said, "I will handle this myself!" She then turned her gaze to Xiao Muchen, "Zicheng, this matter is entrusted to you! Be sure to find out who is behind him."

"Here!"

……

When the two returned to the Xiao residence, it was already past midnight. Because they were so tired, they slept until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

When Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen got up and went to the hall for their meal, they found that Aunt Ning seemed to be hesitant to speak, and her eyes looked red from crying.

"Aunt Ning, what's wrong?" Murong Huan asked. "Is there something you want to say to Zicheng?"

Aunt Ning wiped away her tears and cried for a long time before saying, "Yes! I can't interfere with the young master's decision. It's just that this old servant can't bear to see the princess and the young master separated for twenty years. They finally met again, but now they have to part again."

"Originally, the princess told this old servant not to tell the young master anything, but this old servant simply couldn't help himself." As she spoke, she took out a scroll and a letter and handed them to Murong Huan. "This is a letter from Princess Huishan, who is also the young master's cousin, to this old servant, and this scroll as well. Please take a look for yourselves!"