bookrandom 217 The most ruthless are those in the imperial family.
217 The most ruthless are those in the imperial family.
The Eighth Princess gave birth to a daughter in her first pregnancy; this is truly a blessing from heaven.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Long Kui led the others in congratulating the Empress.
He Yujie quickly handed the baby in her arms to the Empress. The Empress was overjoyed to see that the Ji Kingdom had gained another heir, and she rewarded almost all the physicians who helped with the delivery.
The Empress gently tapped the baby girl's cheek with her fingertip and asked, "Why has she stopped crying? I just heard her strong cries."
He Yujie replied, "Your Majesty, the little princess is exceptionally well-behaved. I only coaxed her a couple of times, and she fell asleep immediately."
Seeing that the baby girl's skin was rather dark, the Empress couldn't help but sigh, "This little thing really doesn't resemble Xile at all back then. When Xile was first born, she was so fair-skinned and fussy."
"...Your Majesty, the little princess is still too young. She will grow up slowly."
"Hmm." The Empress responded casually. "Whatever, she is still the heir of our Great Ji Kingdom." After saying that, she carried the baby girl towards the inner palace. "Let's go see Xile."
The Sixth Princess had been observing He Yujie's expression the whole time. She sensed that He Yujie was a little unnatural and was sweating profusely, as if she had done something shameful and was feeling guilty.
……
That night, Ji Qibo went to the prison to report to Chu Qingluo.
"Princess Xile gave birth to a daughter as her first child?" Chu Qingluo asked in surprise. In a country with a severe gender imbalance, this was truly an incredible stroke of luck.
"Yes, His Majesty was very happy today. As soon as he returned to the Phoenix Palace, he immediately bestowed a name upon the baby: Tianyun."
"Heavenly fortune? The great fortune of heaven, a great fortune bestowed by heaven..." Chu Qingluo murmured, letting out a soft sigh. For the Empress, this was certainly a joyous occasion, but at the same time... she couldn't help but feel a chill for Ziyan.
His presence might one day be diminished by a series of events. And the Empress, as the ruler of a nation, couldn't remain forever immersed in melancholy and sentimentality. Yet today, only a few days have passed since Ziyan's murder…
This truly proves the saying, "Beautiful women are often short-lived, and the most ruthless are those in the imperial family."
"Chu Qingluo, what are you thinking about?" Ji Qibai waved his small hand in front of her.
"It's nothing, just a bit sentimental." Chu Qingluo snapped out of her reverie and stared at him, asking, "Was the physician who delivered Princess Xile's baby Lady He Yujie?"
"Yeah, you're amazing! You even guessed that!"
She pursed her lips, dismissively saying, "I know without even thinking."
He Yujie was always trying to curry favor with Wu Lian, and Wu Lian was in cahoots with Ji Jie; clearly, they were both part of the Eighth Princess's faction. In a situation like this, it would be strange if He Yujie didn't deliver the baby.
"Then... think about it carefully again, have you noticed anything strange?" Chu Qingluo added, "Or, describe the scene to me word for word."
"Hmm..." Ji Qibo frowned, rested his chin on his hand, and began to think seriously...
After thinking for a while, he said, "When I arrived at Feixian Palace, His Majesty and Sixth Sister were already there, as was Lord Rui'an. The only people in the inner hall were the physicians, and there was nothing special about it. However, Eighth Sister took a long time to give birth. Not long after hearing the baby cry, Lord He came out carrying the baby girl."
Chu Qinglu nodded, thinking there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, and casually asked, "Isn't the baby cute?"
“She’s a particularly heavy sleeper,” Ji Qibo said. “I heard her crying earlier, but she was fast asleep when Lord He carried her out, and no one could wake her up by talking.”
"Oh..." Chu Qinglu responded thoughtfully.
There are only two days left until the five-day deadline that Longkui boasted about. I wonder if the Sixth Princess and Ji Qiran have come up with any countermeasures yet...
……
Morning next day.
Despite the joyous occasion of the Eighth Princess giving birth to a phoenix heir, Long Kui did not forget her boastful words and continued to make requests to the Empress, wanting to torture Chu Qingluo.
The Sixth Princess said, "Your Majesty, Eighth Sister has just given birth to a royal heir. It is really not appropriate for bloodshed to occur in the palace."
After listening, the Empress looked at Yu Fei, the second-rank priestess who had remained silent until now, wanting to hear her opinion. "What is your meaning, Minister Yu?"
When Yu Fei heard about Zi Yan's accident, she couldn't help but sigh. She had kindly warned him, but he still chose to be like a moth drawn to a flame, ultimately unable to defy fate.
"Your Majesty, as long as the blood does not leave the Heavenly Prison, the two... do not conflict." She had no intention of harming Chu Qingluo; she was simply stating the truth as usual.
"..." The Sixth Princess sighed helplessly in her heart. It was a great regret that she couldn't win over Yu Fei, who was so stubborn! But on the other hand, if Yu Fei were someone who could be won over, and she had chosen to join Eighth Sister, she would probably be finished long ago.
It's truly a bittersweet feeling!
At this moment, Long Kui revealed a smug smile: "Even Lord Yu says it's feasible, Your Majesty can rest assured."
"Fine," the Empress said, "Then I'll grant your request..."
“Your Majesty, Anyang is not against using torture on suspects, but apart from Lord Chu and Mo Shao, there are still suspects at large.” The Sixth Princess did not want to take action so soon, but now she had no choice but to.
"Oh? There are other suspects?" The Empress gestured for her to continue.
“Exactly,” said the Sixth Princess. “Your Majesty, please grant permission to summon a witness.”
"Quick pass."
Then, He Qi entered the Qingming Hall and bowed to the Emperor.
After the introduction, the Empress asked, "You said you were guarding the inner entrance of Guangrentang at the time? And that attendant named Du Yuan never came in from beginning to end? Let alone hear the conversation inside."
“Yes, Your Majesty,” He Qi said. “In Guangrentang, I am Lord Chu’s personal attendant, so I am basically always by her side, while Du Yuan rarely has the opportunity to get close to the inner hall.”
"So, Du Yuan is deceiving the emperor?" the Empress asked suspiciously. "He even fabricated a bunch of stories to try and fool me?!"
If Du Yuan is lying, then the dialogue between Zi Yan and Chu Qingluo is completely fabricated.
“Your Majesty, since He Qi is Lord Chu’s close attendant, it cannot be ruled out that he deliberately lied to help Lord Chu escape punishment.” After Long Kui finished speaking, she turned to He Qi and questioned him: “When I was in charge of interrogating everyone in Guangrentang, why didn’t you mention a single word?”
Faced with Long Kui's forceful pressure, He Qi remained calm and replied, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to lie. However, I did not realize at the time that my presence at the inner hall entrance would become a useful clue, because I did not hear the conversation between Lord Chu and Lord Ziyan at all. It was only after discovering that Du Yuan had slandered Lord Chu that I hurriedly came to report the truth, lest Your Majesty be misled by evil people."