latelenovela Chapter 197 The murderer is among them
Chapter 197 The murderer is among them
Shen Zhinian was not panicked.
During the enthronement ceremony, she analyzed many things.
Zhongcui Palace cannot be said to be an ironclad place, but under her management, not everyone can act recklessly here.
Anyone who dares to attack her and succeeds must be an extremely smart person.
She was now pregnant with the Dragonborn and was in the emperor's favor. Even the master of the harem did not dare to take her life during her canonization ceremony.
Because if I kill her or cause her to have a miscarriage at this moment, the matter will become too big and there will be no way to resolve it.
Since the other party is a smart person, how could he make such a low-level mistake?
Therefore, Shen Zhinian speculated that the purpose of the person behind the scenes was probably just to hurt her and prevent her from completing the enthronement ceremony.
The ceremony failed, and her position as a concubine was ultimately illegitimate and unjustified.
There were many taboos in the palace, and they could use this incident to label her unlucky. They said that the gods thought she was unworthy of the position, so the canonization ceremony went wrong.
But that person probably didn't expect that Shen Zhinian had asked Tang Luochuan to prepare various commonly used medicines for her a long time ago, just in case she encountered an accident. He also didn't expect that she could be so patient and could persist until the ceremony was over under such circumstances.
As expected, after Tang Luochuan checked the needle, he carefully looked at Shen Zhinian's wound and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief: "The needle is not poisonous, the queen only suffered a superficial wound."
Nanny Lin and the others finally put their minds at ease: "God bless you! God bless you!"
Sun Changzai said distressedly, "I never think it's wrong for women in the harem to compete for favor, but competing for favor is one thing, but it really shouldn't be done in such a vicious way to harm others."
"The person who harmed Sister Roupin must be found and severely punished by His Majesty!"
Shen Zhinian was wearing a solemn court robe, exuding a sense of oppression without anger. Looking at the thick and long needle, his eyes were gloomy and watery: "How is the matter that I asked you to investigate going?"
First, Fuqiu said, "Your Highness, I originally thought that someone had planted a spies among the newly sent palace maids from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But they only do rough work in the yard and are not allowed to enter the inner chambers."
"When I brought the court robes, crown and shoes, I checked them carefully and found no problems. Then I worked with the others to take care of the rest."
"The shoes were placed there until the Empress wore them, and only Qiuyue, Xiafeng and Liuxu had the chance to touch them."
All three of them had served in Tingyu Pavilion when Shen Zhinian was still a low-ranking imperial concubine. Shen Zhinian had investigated their backgrounds and origins, but found no problems.
After observing them for a few months, the three of them were always honest and conscientious in their duties. Although Shen Zhinian did not regard them as his confidants, he gradually gave them the job of serving tea.
After all, there were many places around her that needed help, and now that she was pregnant, she needed even more people to take care of her. Everything was done by Handan and the others, and they were simply too busy to handle it.
Except when serving tea, the three of them could not enter the inner room at will, but they did have opportunities to take action.
Madam Xiao continued, "Your Majesty, during the ceremony of enthroning the emperor, I have been observing everyone's reactions. But no matter whether it is the new palace maid, Qiuyue, Xiafeng, or Liuxu, they all showed no abnormality when they saw that you were safe and sound."
Shen Zhinian sneered: "The other party has been lurking around me for so long, his character is certainly not comparable to that of ordinary people."
"Go and bring these three people over!"
Handan stood up and said, "Little Zhouzi and Little Zhuzi have been watching them in secret. I will go over right away."
"and many more."
Shen Zhinian's eyes flickered with a hint of cold mockery: "Bring the three here one by one. Don't let them know. I want to see the other two too."
Handan understood what she meant instantly: "Yes!"
Shen Zhinian ordered again: "Xiao Mingzi, after they leave, go and search their rooms carefully."
"Slave, you obey!"
Nanny Lin said distressedly, "My lady, the court robes and crown are heavy. You are pregnant and cannot bear the burden. I will help you change your clothes first."
Shen Zhinian's neck was indeed sore from the heavy crown: "Okay."
When she changed into a light palace dress and came out of the inner room, Qiuyue, the first person brought in, was already waiting outside.
Shen Zhinian walked to the main seat and sat down, then looked up at her.
Qiuyue didn't seem to understand what was going on, but she could sense the tense atmosphere and looked a little uneasy: "I wonder what instructions the queen has for calling me here?"
"You are such a daredevil, you slut!"
Shen Zhinian picked up the teacup and threw it hard on the ground. His expression suddenly turned cold. He pointed at the bloody needle on the tray and his eyes suddenly became sharp: "How dare you put such a filthy thing in my shoes on the day of my enthronement ceremony? How many heads do you have to chop off?!"
She didn't know who the real murderer was among the three, and she couldn't send everyone to the Ministry of Punishment for torture.
Even if the perpetrator is found, the other two innocent people who have suffered inhuman torture for no reason will still feel resentful towards her.
This would not only spread her reputation for cruelty and affect her image, but would also make other palace servants feel grief-stricken and no longer be as loyal to her as before.
It is the safest way to use this method to trick someone first. After all, no matter how deep the other party hides, a person's subconscious reaction when he is most panicked cannot deceive others.
Qiuyue was completely stunned. She knelt on the ground in fear, tears streaming down her face. She kowtowed repeatedly, "My Lady, I didn't! I really didn't!"
"I am loyal to the Empress. Even if I have ten thousand guts, I would not dare to murder the Empress!"
"Please, Madam, please understand! Please, Madam, please understand!"
Madam Xiao said with a straight face: "If the investigation had not been thorough, why would the Queen summon you here for questioning? You still dare to quibble!"
She is the head nanny of Zhongcui Palace. She is usually very serious and all the palace maids are terribly afraid of her.
Qiuyue was even more frightened, with tears all over her face, and she was terrified: "Your Majesty has been promoted to a concubine. I am as happy as everyone else and hope for the best for you. How could I ruin your canonization ceremony on a day like this? I really don't know what's going on..."
"Perhaps, perhaps someone did something evil and put the blame on me!"
"I am a worthless servant, and death is not a pity. But Your Majesty thinks that I am the one who did it. If you let the real murderer go, you will continue to be in danger in the future."
"My lady, you must get to the bottom of this matter!"
Qiuyue's reaction didn't seem fake, but Shen Zhinian didn't completely believe her: "Handan, take the person away first."
"Yes."
Yuanbao quickly cleaned up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground and served new tea.
Soon, Xia Feng was brought in.