Help! I just woke up and was stabbed by a big kid

"Is what's written here true?" The emperor's hands were shaking.

"The witnesses have already arrived in Luoyang with the team, and the physical evidence is still on the way." Qin Zhaohong said, "Father, please forgive me. I have arrested several officials involved and brought them back to the capital. They are awaiting their fate."

Upon hearing this, the emperor closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

He looked at Qin Zhaohong with a complicated look.

The prince stepped forward and said, "Father, please forgive me. It was I who sent a secret letter to ask the princess to investigate Su Muying's matter. She did not act on her own initiative."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "It's okay. If you hadn't prepared in advance and sent Zhao Hong to Jiangnan, I wouldn't have known that Su Muying would be so bold as to swallow up 80% of the relief money and grain!"

Qin Zhaohong said: "Officials in Jiangnan Province compiled the disaster situation in various places and then reported it to the court. Now it seems that they may have exaggerated it."

The prince also said: "When I contacted my sister earlier, I thought it was just a minor epidemic, so I didn't take it seriously. And these epidemics were clearly under control very quickly, but then there were memorials, which described the situation as very bad. So I worked with my sister to investigate the Jiangnan Road and the officials who submitted the memorials, and indeed found their connection with the Su family."

The emperor nodded: "That's very good."

Qin Zhaohong lowered her head and looked submissive. The emperor looked at her and felt that he had never been so pleased with this woman.

Where is the prince? The emperor turned his head and saw that the prince was also keeping his head down and not saying a word, looking gentle and obedient.

It was a bit too much to contact Qin Zhaohong privately to investigate the Su family. The emperor stroked the fine rice paper with his fingertips and thought for a moment.

That's it.

With the evidence Qin Zhaohong brought back, the Su family's biggest worry could finally be resolved. Thinking of this, the emperor's expression improved visibly, and he laughed: "I really have a pair of good children! When the matter is settled, if you have anything you want, just tell your father directly."

"Thank you, Father." They both bowed together.

"Go now," the emperor said. "Your mother must have missed you after such a long separation. Your father was not right in the past, and he made your mother worry. Don't blame her."

"Yes." Qin Zhaohong lowered his eyes and replied.

The emperor is like this and has always been like this.

She could see that the emperor was already impatient to deal with the Su family's affairs, so she stood up and left the imperial study with Qin Zhaoyue.

The two men walked out of the hall, and there was no one around.

"It went smoothly. Say hello to Gu Xu for me." Qin Zhaohong said to the prince, "Thanks to the information he provided, otherwise some troublemakers would have been difficult to take down for a while."

"The master told me that the eldest princess is wise and brave, and has closed the net, but Luoyang has not received the news yet." The prince said with a smile.

Qin Zhaohong glanced at him and said, "Did you polish it yourself? With Gu Xu's personality, how could he say such a thing?"

The prince's smile froze and he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"You said Luoyang had not received the news... Su Muying is still unaware of it?" Qin Zhaohong frowned again, "This shouldn't be the case."

"My master doesn't understand why either." The prince said, "From all the signs, Su Muying really didn't do anything special, and Wumen didn't see any secret moves from them. It's really puzzling."

Qin Zhaohong frowned.

After a moment, she said, "This is unusual. Tell Gu Xu to keep an eye on the Su family. My people will be deployed in several strongholds of the Su family in Longyou. Once they start a rebellion, there will be action here first."

The prince nodded: "That's for sure."

Qin Zhaohong said: "Wait, there is one more thing."

"Please speak, Princess." said the prince.

"What are you going to do about the marriage with Jing?" Qin Zhaohong asked, "Do you really want to get married?"

"Of course not..." The prince was embarrassed.

"If this is a play, it's a little too real." Qin Zhaohong laughed, "It's inevitable that I will misunderstand."

"I don't know what the master is thinking...but according to several leaders, they are not really going to get married." The prince could only answer politely.

Before he could explain something else, two people came over from a distance.

The prince immediately regained his dignity as the crown prince.

The eunuchs and palace maids soon came closer, and the prince recognized them as palace maids from the Queen's Fengyi Palace.

The two knelt and bowed, and then the eunuch said, "Your Highness the Princess... The Queen asks you to come over."

Qin Zhaohong raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "I'm just about to go to see the Queen Mother, let's go now."

The prince asked, "My mother, are you free to see me?"

The eunuch was obviously stunned, hesitating and unable to speak. Seeing this, the maid stepped forward and said with a smile: "The queen hasn't seen the princess for a long time, and wants to have a good chat, to talk about some private matters between mother and daughter."

The prince looked at her and nodded, "I see. Sister, please go ahead. I will go to my mother's palace tonight and we will have dinner together."

"Okay." Qin Zhaohong said.

……

Qin Zhaohong arrived at Fengyi Palace.

Stepping into the familiar palace gate, she stopped and looked around.

The water in the pond in the palace garden was still flowing, and the trees beside the rockery were already lush and green. The palace servants walking around saluted him one after another when they saw him, but their eyes were unfamiliar.

After all, she hadn't set foot here for nearly ten years.

"Princess?" the eunuch asked doubtfully.

Qin Zhaohong then turned around and walked into the main hall along the stone path.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw the queen sitting in the main seat. Perhaps because she saw that her daughter didn't need to wear formal clothes, or perhaps because the queen herself was not in good condition, she only wore a casual dress, clenched her fists, and seemed a little restless.

Seeing Qin Zhaohong entering the hall, she stood up straight, rushed over and held Qin Zhaohong's hands.

Qin Zhaohong looked at her quietly but did not shake her hand back.

The queen's eyes were red and her cheeks were swollen and pale, completely different from the glamorous appearance she had at Qin Zhaoyue's wedding. Her eyes were filled with anxiety, and seeing Qin Zhaohong was like seeing a life-saving straw.

Qin Zhaohong's heart softened slightly.

The Queen said, "Zhao Kong! Have you seen the Crown Prince? Something is wrong with your brother. Do you feel it?"

Qin Zhaohong remained silent and helped her back to the main seat: "What's wrong?"

"Don't you feel it?" the Queen cried, "Zhaoyue is different from before. He is not my Zhaoyue! You are back just in time. Come on, help mother, help Zhaoyue!"

The surrounding palace maids had already left the main hall, leaving only one of the queen's personal maids by her side.

Qin Zhaohong also sat down on a small stool nearby and looked at the palace maid.

The maid hurriedly said, "In the past few days, the queen was unwell first, and then she met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a few times, and then she became like this... She kept saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was different from before, and was no longer His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."

Qin Zhaohong frowned.

"Zhao Kong, I am absolutely not wrong about this matter. The current crown prince is definitely not Zhao Yue!" The queen said with red eyes, "My Zhao Yue... I dare not tell others about this matter. I was just afraid that they would take advantage of it, so I have been forbearing. Now you are here, you came at the right time!"