Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 278 Interrogation
Song Yi was somewhat frightened. She looked at Jiang Lanye, her voice trembling:

"This time it was a fan, what will it be next time? Everything I touch now could have been tampered with, so what about my clothes, my rouge, could they all have been tampered with?"

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Lanye pulled her into his arms.

Jiang Lanye's warm hand firmly gripped the back of her head.

The unique, refreshing scent emanating from him lingered around Song Yi's nose, and Song Yi slowly relaxed.

Jiang Lanye's voice was hoarse: "These things were all prepared by my orders, there will be absolutely no problem, you can rest assured about that."

Song Yi realized that her reaction was too extreme, and nodded slightly.

The effects of the poison hadn't worn off yet, and after the emotional rollercoaster, Song Yi was truly exhausted. She was also pregnant, and her face was pale. Jiang Lanye felt a pang of sympathy upon seeing this, so he carried her to the dragon bed. He leaned against the headboard, took the book Song Yi had been reading, and began reading the story from the beginning.

Jiang Lanye's voice was deep and gentle, and it was particularly clear in the quiet bedroom.

His slender fingers gently turned the pages, reading the story in a calm tone, pausing occasionally to check if Song Yi was asleep.

As the sun sets.

Jiang Lanye summoned Xichun into the palace to keep Song Yi company, lest she be frightened if she woke up and couldn't see anyone. He then strode off to the imperial prison.

The imperial prison mainly held palace servants who had made mistakes in daily life. The number of people was not large, but there was still a strong smell of blood.

The moment Jiang Lanye stepped inside, the surrounding jailers were shocked to see him: "Your Majesty, how can your noble body enter such a bloody place? We are afraid we will offend you."

Jiang Lanye casually raised his hand, stopping him from continuing, "Where are the people who were locked up today?"

"This servant will take Your Majesty there."

Two palace maids had contact with Song Yi's round fans: one was in charge of embroidery, and the other simply took the finished fans with her.

He walked in slowly.

Accompanied by the dull thud of whips striking people, faint groans of pain could be heard.

The two palace maids were imprisoned together, one on the left and one on the right, both tightly bound to clamps with hemp rope. Thin whips lashed their bodies repeatedly, leaving two more bloody welts in the blink of an eye.

They were still conscious and gritted their teeth to endure the punishment, but when they saw Jiang Lanye's figure, their expressions changed completely, and their whole bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

Compared to these punishments, the emperor before them seemed more frightening.

The two jailers who had just been wielding whips were somewhat surprised to see this and quickly bowed.

"What's the question?"

"Your Majesty, they didn't say anything."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the two palace maids eagerly began to loudly defend themselves:

"Your Majesty, spare me! I am truly innocent! I had no idea there was any powder in that fan. It wasn't me!"

Comparing the two, it is clear that the person in charge of the embroidery is more suspicious. After all, once the fan is completely finished, it is difficult to find an opportunity to stuff any powder inside and still not show any signs of damage.

Jiang Lanye ignored the two women's incessant pleas for mercy. He casually picked up a dagger from the table beside him, stood in front of the embroidering maid, and looked down at her coldly.

Just as the palace maid was about to speak, something cold pressed against her chin.

Jiang Lanye did not touch her directly, but gently lifted her chin with the hilt of his dagger, his eyes unusually sharp:
"I advise you to think it over carefully. As long as I don't want you to die, I have a thousand ways to torture you."

The palace maid's face turned deathly pale: "Your Majesty, please forgive me... this servant truly knows nothing."

Seeing that she still refused to budge, Jiang Lanye suddenly drew his sharp dagger.

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Lanye flicked his wrist, and the dagger flashed— "Pfft!"

The sharp blade pierced her palm without mercy, pinning her hand firmly to the wooden board behind her.

Blood gushed out instantly, splattering onto Jiang Lanye's dragon robe sleeves, spreading a dark red stain.

"Ah—!" The palace maid's shrill scream echoed throughout the prison cell.

The entire prison fell into a deathly silence.

Even the prison guards, who were used to torture, froze on the spot, staring blankly at the emperor who remained calm.

Jiang Lanye remained unfazed, slowly gripping the hilt of the dagger. "Now, can you speak?"

The palace maid looked at her palm in horror.

Seeing that she was still biting her lip tightly and not saying a word, Jiang Lanye chuckled softly.

Then, he slowly turned the dagger.

The palace maid instantly convulsed in pain, tears and snot streaming down her face: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

"You only have one chance. If your answer does not satisfy me, I will take action myself and will not listen to any more of your honesty."

The palace maid had never seen such a method before, and immediately choked up, saying, "This servant truly doesn't know who the real culprit is, but I made that fan. Two nights ago, a palace maid met with me with her face covered, gave me a packet of powder, and said that if I put it inside the Imperial Concubine's fan, she would give me thirty taels of silver."

Even if she stayed in the palace for another twenty years, she wouldn't earn thirty taels of silver. Such generosity made her momentarily blinded by greed. She thought, "It's just some powder, how poisonous could it be?" and agreed to the task.

She received the silver, but the man still gave it to her with his face covered, and it was all placed in a heavy wooden box.

Not only that, but she was also warned that if she told anyone about it, someone would secretly kill her.

The palace maid was terrified and torn between two options. Even after being tortured, she stubbornly refused to confess.

How could she dare admit it! This is practically a capital offense.

But His Majesty came in person.
She told him everything she knew, and Jiang Lanye casually pulled out the dagger, causing the palace maid to scream in pain again.

With a crisp sound, Jiang Lanye tossed the blood-stained dagger at the jailer's feet, his voice indifferent: "Next time you encounter someone stubborn, do the same. As jailers, do you expect me to teach you how to interrogate prisoners?"

The men immediately knelt down, cold sweat beading on their foreheads: "Yes, we are humbled."

Jiang Lanye strode away.

His face looked extremely pale.

The palace maid's words actually conveyed only one message.

The person behind the scenes must first and foremost be in a high position and come from a good family. Otherwise, even if she were a concubine in the harem, a woman of low rank would not be able to easily take out thirty taels of silver.

Moreover, that person did more than just this one thing to Song Yi, and it must have been more than just thirty taels of silver.

Upon returning to Qingliang Palace, Jiang Lanye did not rush to the main hall. Instead, he led Eunuch Cao to a side hall. He first took off his dragon robe and casually tossed it to Eunuch Cao.
"Throw this away."

Eunuch Cao was taken aback: "Yes."

"How is Consort Yun?"

"She woke up once in the middle of the night. Xichun was trying to calm the Empress down. Then she fell asleep again. I don't know if she's awake now."

He responded, feeling that he should take a bath first, so that Song Yi would not smell the blood again.

(End of this chapter)