Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 263

The woman in his arms had tears in her eyes, her face filled with grievance and desolation, which tugged at the heartstrings.

Zhao Xingjin couldn't help but pull the person into his arms, "Don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation."

Then, his gaze fell on the Empress, and he said in a deep voice.

"Take them all away."

At his command, Yang Zhian immediately ordered his men to step forward and take Tingyun away from the scene.

The Empress instinctively reached out and grabbed Tingyun's sleeve, but she couldn't stop her. She could only watch helplessly as Tingyun disappeared into the darkness.

She lowered her head, her eyes bloodshot with hatred, her nails digging into her palms to keep herself from losing control.

The Empress knew in her heart that Tingyun was beyond saving; the Emperor was truly enraged this time.

It's all her fault for not expecting the Imperial Guards to be so meticulous. They had already searched Wu Que the moment they caught him. Otherwise, if she had ordered Tingyun to secretly put poison in Wu Que's mouth, no one would have found out.

The torture methods used in the palace trials were horrifying. The Empress was afraid that Wu Jue would not be able to withstand the physical pain and would betray her. However, she did not expect that her cleverness would backfire and lead her to her own doom.

When the Empress left Xie Jiu's tent, she was completely disoriented.

Hongmei waited for her outside, barely daring to breathe, and silently helped her back home.

Guo Cairen also returned to her residence. Zhao Xingjin wanted to stay with Xie Jiu, but Xie Jiu advised him to rest, saying that he would continue to preside over the autumn hunt tomorrow. Considering the overall situation, Zhao Xingjin had no choice but to go back to rest as well.

However, before leaving, he stayed by Xie Jiu's side until Xie Jiu fell asleep before departing.

The next day.

News of Consort Jin's assassination attempt has spread throughout the camp.

Many people wanted to come and visit, but were afraid of disturbing her, so they didn't come. Xie Jiu, however, received quite a few gifts as a token of her sympathy.

However, Xie Wei did see her; after all, she was his own brother, unlike others.

"Who exactly wants to harm you? Wu Que couldn't have gotten in so easily." Xie Wei frowned, his eyes filled with heartache.

Xie Jiu smiled and said, "Brother must know the answer in his heart. Who else here, besides the Emperor, could have this ability?"

"Is she really the Empress?" Xie Wei clenched his fists. "She has never tolerated you, yet you have never intentionally harmed her. This time, she actually wants your life!"

"I'm afraid this won't be the first time."

Xie Jiu remembered the time she was poisoned at the crab feast.

"But I'm really lucky, I escaped another disaster."

Xie Wei slammed his fist on the table, filled with resentment, yet powerless to do anything about it.

That's the Empress, the mother of the nation. Even if the Emperor wanted to depose her, he would need a valid reason. The ministers would do their best to stop him for the sake of national stability. She's not someone he can bring down.

So at this moment, although the seat felt sorry for Xie Jiu, there was nothing they could do.

"Brother, don't be angry. Since she dared to do it, don't blame me for being even harsher," Xie Jiu said softly.

Xie Wei looked at her and said, "You must not take risks because of a moment of anger. It is easy to make mistakes when you are impulsive."

"Don't worry, brother, I know what I'm doing," Xie Jiu said.

After seeing Xie Wei off, she called Chunrong and Qingfang to her side.

"How's the investigation going? Who left the camp the night Wu Que was redeemed?"

“Zhang Liquan, the chief eunuch in charge of the Empress’s affairs, left the camp under the pretext of returning to the palace to inquire whether Princess Lingyi was sleeping peacefully,” Qingfang immediately said.

Xie Jiu lowered his eyes. "Immediately send a message to Consort Liu, instructing her to investigate thoroughly and see if Zhang Liquan personally returned to the palace that day." "Yes!" Qingfang responded.

So what if Wu Que is dead? So what if Tingyun, this loyal maid who accompanied him in his dowry, refuses to confess?

Zhang Liquan was merely a eunuch assigned to serve the Empress after she entered the palace; their master-servant relationship lasted only two years, so how deep could it be?

There's always a way to pry open the breach.

Just as Xie Jiu had predicted, Tingyun endured the torture and even fainted, but she did not betray the Empress in any way; her mouth remained tightly shut.

After all, she was a maidservant who accompanied the Empress, so she couldn't go too far. Therefore, Yang Zhian had to stop for the time being, for fear that if he really killed her, it would be difficult to explain.

The Empress waited anxiously in the tent, fearing that Tingyun would betray her, and that Tingyun would not be able to withstand the torture and die.

So much so that she overlooked the fact that Zhang Liquan had been taken away by someone at some point.

Inside Zhao Xingjin's tent, Xie Jiu sat beside him and recounted the events in detail.

“Your Majesty, this matter is too coincidental. Eunuch Zhang was ordered by the Empress to return to the palace to visit the princess, but he did not return to the palace to carry out his duties in person. That very night, Wu Jue was taken away from Jinming Tower. I have to think about this further. Could this matter be related to Eunuch Zhang? Eunuch Zhang has been serving in the palace since the previous dynasty. If he assassinated me because he still remembers the deposed emperor from back then, then this matter would be no small thing.”

She did not say that Zhang Liquan was working for the Empress.

That's not right. After all, it's against the rules for a concubine to suspect the empress and interrogate the empress's chief eunuch.

So she escalated the matter to a higher level, involving the previous dynasty. Anyway, she wasn't wrong; Zhang Liquan had indeed been in the palace for a long time.

"If you have something to say and it is all true, I may spare your life," Zhao Xingjin said in a low voice.

Zhang Liquan immediately cried out that he was innocent.

But this was not what Zhao Xingjin wanted to hear, so he was quickly dragged into the torture chamber.

In less than an hour, Yang Zhian returned with a sheet of paper covered in dense paper.

"Your Majesty, according to Zhang Liquan's confession, when Consort Liang was pregnant with the Fifth Prince, the first time she experienced miscarriage was caused by the Empress, who intended to prevent Consort Jin from entering the palace to serve her. Later, the Empress's cousin entered the palace, which was also arranged by the Empress. Including the death of Consort Yi, the poisoning of Consort Jin at the crab banquet, the false accusation against Consort Wei, and the drugging of Consort Wei, which caused her to be infertile for many years, all of these were the Empress's doing."

At this point, Yang Zhian paused, then added a final sentence.

"And Wu Que, the criminal who previously attempted to assassinate Consort Jin, was also redeemed from Jinming Tower by Zhang Liquan on the Empress's orders, and then brought to the hunting grounds to be hidden away."

"okay."

Zhao Xingjin closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with suppressed anger.

"Summon the Empress to see me."

"Yes."

Yang Zhian bowed and immediately retreated.

Seeing this, Xie Jiu also stood up, "Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now."

"You don't need to leave, just stay here." Zhao Xingjin raised his hand and rubbed his temples. "There are some things I need to ask you in person."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jiu lowered her eyes and sat back down.

Before long, the Empress was brought over.

She maintained her composure and dignity, and upon entering, she respectfully bowed to Zhao Xingjin. Xie Jiu did the same, bowing to the Empress.

Until Zhao Xingjin ordered his men to bring Zhang Liquan, who had been tortured, up.

A crack finally appeared on the Empress's face.

"Your Majesty, what's going on? What crime has Zhang Liquan committed that warrants such severe torture?"