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

Chapter 43 The Truth (Part 3)

The young palace maid's eyes flickered, her lips trembled slightly, she wanted to speak but dared not.

Lu Jingning keenly sensed her wavering and softened his tone: "If you tell the truth, I can guarantee you a lenient sentence, but if you continue to conceal it, your whole family will pay with their lives because of you."

The young palace maid trembled slightly. After much deliberation, a resolute glint flashed in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, yet with exceptional clarity.

"It wasn't Consort Lu who instructed me, it was...it was Consort Lu. She...she gave me five hundred taels of silver and told me that during the poison testing, I had to make sure the eldest princess ate it, no matter what. But I didn't administer the poison. That's all I know."

Upon hearing this, Consort Liang was furious: "That Lu Consort!"

When Madam Lu saw that the young palace maid had confessed, she felt a chill run down her spine. It was all over.

No, there's also that palace maid. As long as she isn't caught, she still has a chance to turn the tables on Lu Jingning.

Madam Lu could only console herself with this thought.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng slammed his fist on the armrest of the dragon throne in anger: "I never expected Consort Lu to be so unrepentant and dare to plot against me! Princess, bring that vile woman here!"

His voice echoed like thunder in the hall.

"Yes, Your Majesty"

At this moment, Zhou Shuo escorted a pale-faced, disheveled palace maid into the main hall.

"Your Majesty, this servant girl is Jiao Hua, a palace maid in charge of pastries in the Imperial Kitchen. She was just about to escape from the palace when I caught her and brought her back."

Upon seeing this scene, her legs went weak, and she almost crawled to the center of the hall on her knees.

Lu Jingning's eyes were sharp as knives. He stepped forward and interrogated her sternly: "Was the princess's food poisoned? Was that your doing?"

She dared not raise her head, and stammered, "What poison? This servant does not know. Please do not wrong this servant, Consort Lu."

"You don't know, do you?" Lu Jingning stared at her, finding it somewhat amusing.

She then asked the palace maid standing beside her, "Do you know her?"

The palace maid looked up at her and quickly said, "It was she who gave me the silver to do things for Consort Lu."

“You’re talking nonsense,” Jiao Hua grabbed her arm and retorted.

Lord Lu's face was ashen, his eyes filled with fear. He grabbed Madam Lu's wrist, his voice trembling and low: "Did you do these things for Consort Lu?"

Madam Lu panicked, her eyes darting around. She tried to break free from Lord Lu's grasp, her voice tinged with grievance: "It wasn't me, it really wasn't me! How could you suspect me without reason?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Lu's eyes widened in anger. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, and his voice unconsciously rose a few decibels: "Not you? You're still trying to deny it even now! Do you know that doing this will kill the entire Lu family!"

"I...I just wanted to drag Lu Jingning down with me, I never imagined it would turn out like this."

Madam Lu felt some regret; she hadn't expected things to develop to this point.

Lu Jingning's eyes were calm: "Separate them."

Then, turning to Jiao Hua, who was cowering on the ground, his voice carried an undeniable authority: "Then why did you run away? Are you hiding something?"

Jiao Hua's face was deathly pale, tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked out, "My father is seriously ill, and I... I just wanted to escape to see him."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingning frowned slightly, his gaze sharp: "Whether your father is seriously ill or not can be found out with a simple investigation. Who did you meet last night?"

Jiao Hua's face turned even paler, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, her lips trembled, and her eyes darted around: "I didn't see anyone."

Lu Jingning pressed on relentlessly, his voice as cold as a gust of wind piercing through the hall: "You're lying. You saw a nanny last night, am I right?" "I, I..." Jiao Hua trembled all over, as if struck by lightning. She tightly gripped the hem of her clothes with both hands, and a look of despair flashed in her eyes.

"What else do you have to say for yourself?" Lu Jingning stared at her intently.

Jiao Hua finally broke down, tears streaming down her face, and said in a trembling voice, "I...I can't say..."

At this moment, Consort Lu entered the main hall and knelt down to perform the obeisance: "Your Majesty, this concubine greets you..."

"You bitch!"

She was suddenly slapped twice across the cheek by Consort Liang, leaving red and swollen finger marks on her fair face.

She staggered a few steps, almost falling, but managed to steady herself, her eyes filled with shock and humiliation.

"Consort Lu, if you have a problem, come at me! Why did you hurt my daughter?" Consort Liang's eyes widened in anger, still not satisfied, and she was about to strike, but Xiao Jingheng gently waved his hand to stop her.

"Your Highness, please calm down. Let me ask you what's going on." His voice was calm and steady, carrying an undeniable authority.

Consort Lu raised her head, trembling, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at the emperor on the high throne: "Your Majesty, I don't know what happened."

She thought her pitiful appearance would soften Xiao Jingheng's heart, but to her surprise, he showed no mercy and coldly said, "Consort Lu, do you know your crime? Poisoning and plotting to harm the princess is a crime punishable by death!"

Meanwhile, Qingming and Xia'er had already arrived at Zhongcui Palace with the palace maids to search.

"Search thoroughly, don't miss a single spot," Qingming ordered loudly.

"Yes"

The group entered Consort Lu's bedchamber and searched it carefully. Granny Li hadn't had time to throw away the items yet, fearing they would be discovered, so she tried to stop them, but doing so would only arouse suspicion.

Granny Li was extremely anxious. Her eyes darted around, and she forced a fawning smile as she approached Qingming: "Oh dear, Miss Qingming, how could Consort Lu possibly plot against the princess? You know, Her Highness just returned and found things were in disarray. She'll punish us!"

Qingming raised an eyebrow, her gaze sharp as an ice blade: "Granny Li, if it has nothing to do with you, what difference would a search make? Besides, this is the Emperor's decree, who dares to disobey?"

After saying that, she waved her hand gently: "Search thoroughly, don't miss a single corner."

After searching, they found nothing. Just as everyone was about to leave, Xia'er smiled.

A series of hurried footsteps approached from afar. Yunlu rushed out anxiously, her gaze sweeping across Xia'er's face before finally settling on Qingming: "Sister Qingming, I want to report Granny Li for plotting to harm the princess."

"What did you say"

Ignoring Li Mama's gaze, Yunlu continued, "Li Mama wanted to poison the princess. The poison was under that tree. I saw her bury it there this morning."

"Someone, dig it up for me," Qingming ordered as she walked to the tree Yunlu had mentioned.

Granny Li was stunned; she never expected Yunlu to betray the Empress.

Soon, several palace maids worked together to dig out a tightly wrapped cloth bag under the tree, which was covered with damp mud.

Qingming took the cloth bag handed to her by the palace maid, gently lifted it with her handkerchief, and sure enough, it contained powder.

Her sharp gaze swept across the surroundings, finally settling on Granny Li and Yunlu.

Qingming's voice was icy: "Bring those two women before the Emperor and the Empress."

"Yes"

(End of this chapter)