After being reborn, the empress only wanted to seduce the emperor and seize the empress's posit

Chapter 42 The Truth (Part Two)

At this moment, Eunuch Zhao rushed over, followed by several heads of the imperial kitchen.

"Your servants greet His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress!" They were all filled with fear, and knelt down to pay their respects.
Xiao Jingheng's gaze sharpened as he scanned the room before asking in a deep voice, "Who exactly poisoned the princess?"

His voice echoed in the hall with unquestionable majesty.

The heads of the Imperial Kitchen looked at each other, then denied it in unison: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Kitchen has done its utmost for this banquet and would never dare to be negligent in the slightest, much less do such a thing!"

Lu Jingning gently raised her head, her expression unwavering, and looked firmly at Xiao Jingheng: "This concubine is willing to prove her innocence. Please allow this concubine to question you personally, Your Majesty."

"Granted," Xiao Jingheng nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Xiao Jingheng then returned to the dragon throne and quietly looked at Lu Jingning.

Lu Jingning immediately stood up, moved gracefully, and stood in front of the head chefs of the Imperial Kitchen. Her eyes were sharp as she scanned them one by one.

Finally, the question landed on an older man, whose voice was gentle yet carried an undeniable strength: "May I ask, Your Excellency, have any unfamiliar faces entered the Imperial Kitchen recently?"

"No, those who don't work in the imperial kitchen are not allowed to have access to the masters' meals."

Lu Jingning nodded, his gaze sharp as a sword, and then asked softly, "Do you know her?"

As she spoke, she gently turned her head, gesturing for everyone to look at the palace maid who was already pale with fright.

The head chefs of the imperial kitchen followed her gaze, their faces instantly turning somewhat flustered, their lips moving slightly as if they were about to blurt out, "We don't know them."

But just then, Lu Jingning's voice rang out again, as cold as ice, interrupting their lie that was about to come out: "Don't say you don't know each other. Think carefully, every detail is related to your lives."

Her tone was calm yet carried an irresistible force, making everyone present hold their breath.

"The palace is short-handed, so Her Majesty the Empress ordered some servants from the Imperial Kitchen to come to the banquet to test for poison. The list is clearly written down. Should we take a look and see if this little palace maid is really from the Imperial Kitchen?"

One of the head stewards, his forehead beaded with sweat, replied in a trembling voice, "This young palace maid... she is indeed from the Imperial Kitchen."

"What does she usually do, and who does she come into contact with?" Lu Jingning stared intently at him and asked again.

“She usually delivers meals to various palaces.” He glanced at Lu Jingning, and seeing that her expression did not change, he mustered up his courage to continue, “She doesn’t have much contact with people. She mainly interacts with a few of us in charge of delivering meals, as well as other palace servants who come occasionally.”

Lu Jingning slowly turned to face the Emperor, who sat high on the dragon throne, his eyes flashing with determination: "Your Majesty, in order to thoroughly investigate the truth, I implore Your Majesty to order a search of this palace maid's residence. Perhaps some useful clues can be found."

Xiao Jingheng pondered for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement: "Zhou Shuo, this matter is entrusted to you. Be sure to handle it meticulously."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will search immediately." Zhou Shuo accepted the order, his body stiffened, and he led several guards to the palace maid's residence.

Upon seeing this, the young palace maid trembled even more violently, almost collapsing to the ground.

Lu Jingning's gaze fell on her again, his voice low and powerful: "I'll give you one more chance. If you don't tell me what you know, even a celestial being couldn't save you."

The young palace maid swayed, unable to withstand the immense psychological pressure, and fainted to the ground, unconscious. Lu Jingning frowned slightly, then turned his gaze to Xiao Jingheng on the high seat, his tone firm: "Your Majesty, there is another person who might know the inside story."

Xiao Jingheng's gaze sharpened slightly, signaling her to continue.

Lu Jingning slowly said, "This person is a palace maid working in the Imperial Kitchen. A few days ago, when I ordered someone to go shopping, I found that this palace maid was acting strangely. So I asked Her Majesty the Empress to arrest her. Unexpectedly, the palace maid has disappeared today. I request Your Majesty to issue an order to search for this palace maid."

Madam Lu was surprised that her people had revealed a flaw. Looking at Lu Jingning's calm and resolute face, she was not flustered at all, as if everything was under her control.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's expression turned grave, and he immediately ordered Eunuch Zhao, "Go and find that missing palace maid immediately! Find her alive or dead!"

Eunuch Zhao accepted the order, and in a flash, he hurriedly left.

Lu Jingning turned to the imperial physician beside him, a hint of urgency flashing in his eyes: "Imperial Physician, what exactly is the poison that the princess has been afflicted with?"

The imperial physician knelt tremblingly on the ground, clutching his medicine box tightly in his hands, his voice trembling slightly: "Your Highness, the poison that the princess has been afflicted with is peach blossom powder. This poison is colorless and odorless, and it is extremely difficult to detect when mixed into food. Unless the dosage is too large, it is difficult to diagnose in a short time."

Lu Jingning's gaze was resolute as he softly called out, "Xia'er, take Chun'er and Qingming, the Empress's maid, to investigate who in the palace has recently obtained peach blossom powder and who has used it."

"Yes, Your Excellency." Upon hearing this, Xia'er's eyes flashed with understanding. She immediately turned around and, together with Qingming and the palace maids, went to investigate.

A short while later, Zhou Shuo hurriedly returned, clutching a heavy bag of silver and a letter in his hand.

Lu Jingning quickly stepped forward, took the two pieces of evidence from his hands, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

She quickly tore open the envelope and looked at the letter inside.

"Someone, splash her awake!" He then waved his hand, signaling the guards to splash the unconscious palace maid with cold water to wake her up.

Water splashed everywhere, and the little palace maid suddenly woke up, trembling all over, her eyes wide with fear.

Taking advantage of this moment of clarity, Lu Jingning turned to face the high and mighty Xiao Jingheng, her voice calm yet urgent: "Your Majesty, the evidence has been presented. Look at this bag of silver; it is clearly bribery money. And look at this letter; it is clearly not my handwriting. This palace maid was bribed to murder the princess and frame me."

Xiao Jingheng frowned and ordered the eunuch beside him in a deep voice, "Go and fetch that letter."

"Yes, Your Majesty"

The eunuch presented the letter to her, examined it carefully, and then slowly said, "This handwriting is definitely not from Consort Lu."

Lu Jingning's lips curled into a cold smile. She gently raised her hand, and the heavy bag of silver coins fell like a silver lightning bolt onto the trembling palace maid's knees with a thud.

Her voice was deep and powerful: "This bag of silver must be your reward, right? Now tell me, who ordered you to do all this!"

The young palace maid trembled at the sudden weight, instinctively clutching the bag of silver tightly with both hands. Her face was as pale as paper, and her eyes were filled with terror and struggle.

(End of this chapter)