Wearing a book, hooking him up

On the second day, Su Jingyao woke up slowly, her face was refreshed and her beautiful eyes were sparkling.

That’s great. At least I can have a few days off from serving a man and take a break.

However, Jun Zechen did not leave Zhaochun Palace last night, but moved to a side hall of Zhaochun Palace.

As an emperor, considering that leaving Zhaochun Palace in the middle of the night would definitely trigger all kinds of speculation about her in the palace tomorrow.

In order to avoid these, Jun Zechen chose to sleep in a side hall.

Su Jingyao also agreed. If he went back to the Qianqing Palace late at night, she would be the one being talked about tomorrow.

Last night, Jun Zechen was lying on the bed in the side hall, his eyes staring straight at the ceiling, he himself was a little dazed.

I don't know how I ended up here.

Why did he agree to sleep in the side hall!

He is the emperor!

Jun Zechen even felt annoyed.

Never mind. Her birthday yesterday made her so sad. It would be nice to help her calm down.

Su Jingyao found it funny when she thought about how Jun Zechen left her bedroom last night.

After yesterday's test, Su Jingyao had some idea of ​​Jun Zechen's thoughts.

At least Jun Zechen's attitude towards Ling Yue was developing according to her expectations. The mere word "first wife" to describe Ling Yue was enough to show the current position of Ling Yue in Jun Zechen's heart.

If Ling Yue let go now, perhaps Jun Zechen's slight sense of guilt would ensure her a life of wealth and glory.

Unfortunately, people are always greedy.

At this time, Miaoyun walked in with a look of worry on her face.

"Master, when His Majesty left this morning, his face was so dark, is he really okay?"

Su Jingyao raised her eyebrows slightly and replied calmly, "Nothing, I know what's going on."

After a while, Miaoxia hurried in and reported: "Master, Aunt Jinhua is here."

Su Jingyao was slightly startled and raised her eyebrows. Could there be any good news if the Queen Mother looked for her?

Then she walked towards the main hall, where Aunt Jinhua was already waiting respectfully.

Aunt Jinhua bowed and saluted, "This servant greets Concubine Chunshu."

Su Jingyao raised her hand and gestured, "Aunt Jinhua, please get up. But what does the Queen Mother want?"

Aunt Jinhua stood up and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the poisoning of the imperial concubine yesterday, the Queen Mother ordered you to investigate the matter. This is the evidence that His Majesty sent people to find yesterday. Your Majesty can take a look."

Having said that, he presented the evidence.

Su Jingyao reached out and slowly took the stack of papers from Aunt Jinhua.

His eyes immediately fell on the paper and he began to examine it carefully.

As she watched, her eyebrows couldn't help but frown slightly, and a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes.

"All this evidence seems to point to An Zhaorong?"

"Yes, your majesty." Aunt Jinhua responded respectfully.

"Your Majesty found these yesterday. Originally, Your Majesty wanted to convict An Zhaorong directly, but the Queen Mother felt that the current evidence was not enough to convict An Zhaorong, one of the Nine Concubines. If she were to be convicted like this, it would be too hasty."

"So what the Queen Mother meant is that she hopes Your Majesty can find out the truth within three days. If you cannot prove that this matter has nothing to do with An Zhaorong, Your Majesty will directly convict An Zhaorong based on the evidence."

The corners of Su Jingyao's mouth rose slightly, but the smile seemed a little forced.

She looked at Aunt Jinhua and said softly, "Aunt Jinhua, this case doesn't seem so easy to handle."

Aunt Jinhua said quickly, "Your Highness, the Queen Mother has always believed in your ability, and His Majesty and the Queen Mother both recognize your kindness and fairness. An Zhaorong and the Imperial Concubine both have a good relationship with Your Highness. In this case, the Queen Mother thinks it is most appropriate for you to investigate this case."

Su Jingyao nodded slightly and said slowly: "I thank the Queen Mother for her kindness. I will do my best to find the murderer who poisoned the concubine."

"Then I will take my leave." Aunt Jinhua bowed and left.

After Aunt Jinhua left, Su Jingyao walked to the couch with the stack of evidence in her hand and sat down.

Placing the evidences on the table, she stared at them and fell into deep thought.

What exactly do the Queen Mother and Jun Zechen mean?

Are you going to put her in the middle?

Obviously, Jun Zechen didn't want to continue investigating after he got to An Zhaorong. As an emperor, Jun Zechen had a deep mind and it was impossible that he didn't understand everything.

Since he sent out such a signal, Su Jingyao had to guess.

Because Ling Yue holds a certain weight in his heart, Jun Zechen wants to convict An Zhaorong no matter whether Ling Yue framed her or An Zhaorong poisoned her.

Some of An Zhaorong's previous tricks had completely made Jun Zechen disgusted with her. Even if Ling Yue fought back and framed An Zhaorong, Jun Zechen would definitely choose Ling Yue between An Zhaorong and Ling Yue.

But now the Queen Mother handed this thorny issue to her, obviously wanting her to get to the bottom of it rather than letting Jun Zechen deal with it as he pleased.

Humph, what a bastard. It’s fine that the Queen Mother is testing her.

This bastard agreed, so don't blame her for discrediting the 'first wife' in his mind.

Su Jingyao narrowed her autumn-water-like eyes slightly, with a thoughtful gleam in her eyes.

The slender fingers gently turned the delicate bracelet on her hand.

Yesterday she said she didn't like the jewelry Jun Zechen sent her, which was naturally intentional.

Only in this way can she better demonstrate her noble character and her indifference to external things. She also doesn't want Jun Zechen to always be condescending and reward her with gifts that he thinks are precious.

The gift that Jun Zechen put so much thought into is always more important than these external things.

However, the things he sent were indeed very good. The jewelry in the palace has always been exquisite and luxurious.

What's more, these offerings are equivalent to modern limited edition items. They are not only extremely precious, but also very rare.

The bracelet on her hand was the one Jun Zechen had received not long ago when he saw that she had beautiful hands. Thinking of the purple jadeite bracelet in his warehouse that was sent by a vassal state, he gave it to her.

Regardless of how high the quality of this jade is, the color alone is already top-notch, not to mention the kingfisher feather inlay craftsmanship on it, which is extremely complicated.

It is necessary to carefully select emerald feathers with bright colors and soft texture, decorate them on gold and silver through extremely delicate inlay techniques, and then tightly wrap them around the bracelet.

Now that I wear it on my hand, I find it pleasing to the eye.

"Master, how do you plan to investigate this case? If you find out in the end that it was the Imperial Concubine who framed An Zhaorong, will you report it truthfully?" Miaoyun asked softly.

Su Jingyao looked indifferent.

"When you are in the harem, you have to be careful every step you take. The imperial concubine made such a scene yesterday, and I am angry because Your Majesty broke his promise yesterday. If I tell Your Majesty directly that it was the imperial concubine who carefully arranged the trap, even if I present the evidence to Your Majesty, Your Majesty will inevitably suspect that I framed the imperial concubine out of jealousy."

"But if it was the Imperial Concubine's conspiracy, the master is just trying to find out the truth." Miaoyun had a puzzled look on her face.

"Oh, Miaoyun, now that we are all in the game, even Your Majesty is part of it. Does it matter what the truth is?"

The corners of Su Jingyao's mouth slightly raised with a faint smile.

"What's important is how our Emperor views it, who he thinks is the murderer, and how to investigate the case to the satisfaction of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty. This is the most important thing."

"So no matter whether the imperial concubine is the real murderer or not, I will not let her be openly punished this time."

Su Jingyao's short-term goal is not to make the imperial concubine miserable, but to make Jun Zechen not care about the imperial concubine, even if he feels guilty about it.

If she told Jun Zechen and the Queen Mother, all this was a conspiracy carefully planned by the Imperial Concubine.

The Queen Mother will certainly be fair and enforce the law strictly to punish the Imperial Concubine. However, once the Imperial Concubine is punished, Jun Zechen will inevitably feel distressed.

One might even feel that the imperial concubine is isolated and helpless in the harem, and is framed and bullied by everyone.

After all, some of men's thoughts are always inexplicable.

Now that the Imperial Concubine has already started to take action, her original image of "kindness and purity" no longer exists. Su Jingyao will only make Jun Zechen more annoyed with the Imperial Concubine in the process.

She would try her best to avoid letting Jun Zechen feel even the slightest bit of guilt and pity towards her.

When she investigated this case, it was not important whether the truth came out or not. What was important was to let Jun Zechen know clearly that it was the imperial concubine who had carefully planned and framed others.

Su Jingyao will stand firmly on Jun Zechen's side, do her utmost to protect the imperial concubine, try her best to help the imperial concubine, and give the imperial concubine the dignity she deserves.

"Master, An Zhaorong is outside asking to see you." Miaoxia walked in lightly and reported respectfully.

"No, let her go back."

Su Jingyao frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes, and her tone was a little cold.

She had just accepted the important trust from the Queen Mother and His Majesty. An Zhaorong came here at this time. Could it be that she was blatantly trying to bribe her?

idiot.

Miaoxia just turned around and prepared to leave when Su Jingyao suddenly spoke.

"Come back and tell An Zhaorong that I will handle this impartially."

When Su Jingyao said this, she even deliberately emphasized the tone of the word "impartial".

Miaoxia naturally understood the meaning of her master's words, nodded quickly, and then quietly retreated.

The reason why Su Jingyao said this was that she was worried that An Zhaorong would lose her temper.

After all, Jun Zechen did intend to use her as a scapegoat, so it was understandable that An Zhaorong was so anxious.

Letting Miaoxia tell An Zhaorong that she would handle the matter impartially was also to make An Zhaorong feel at ease.

Su Jingyao unconsciously turned the bracelet on her hand again, her brows slightly furrowed, and a thoughtful look appeared on her face.

But there must be a scapegoat for this matter. An Zhaorong is still useful, and she is not going to let An Zhaorong be deposed just like that.

So who should be the scapegoat?