I kicked out my vicious husband and married his great-uncle

Cui Shuyan was a little surprised by the Queen's invitation.

The only interaction between her and the Queen was the New Year's Eve palace banquet.

In this case, it was a bit strange for the Queen to invite her.

When she entered the Queen's Palace and saw Princess Heshuo sitting next to the Queen, Cui Shuyan's doubts deepened.

After she came in, the queen immediately asked all the palace maids and eunuchs to leave.

At this time, the Queen smiled and said, "Thank you, Princess. It is really abrupt to invite you to the palace at this time. But the matter is urgent and cannot be delayed any further."

Then, Princess Heshuo said, "Shuyan, don't be nervous. What the Queen's sister-in-law is talking about is the incident that happened at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve. Recently, the Queen's sister-in-law has had people investigate carefully, but found nothing. I know you are very meticulous, so I thought of inviting you over to investigate this matter carefully."

After hearing this, Cui Shuyan finally understood.

To put it bluntly, Princess Heshuo could have sent someone to invite her today, but she didn't do so. Instead, she asked the Queen to send someone.

Doing so would naturally help her save face.

After all, the position of the queen is there, and her invitation is extraordinary.

Although the queen has always been tolerant, she rarely invites ladies from other families into the palace.

Therefore, the Queen's invitation this time gave her a great honor.

Princess Heshuo did this for her own good, and Cui Shuyan naturally understood this.

It is not difficult to guess the intention behind this.

Princess Heshuo thought that Concubine Xian and she were at loggerheads, and if the Queen could come forward to support her at this time, then her situation would be better.

However, Princess Heshuo Chang overlooked one point. That is, if something that the Queen could not find out was discovered by her, an unrelated princess of a different surname, wouldn't it make the Queen appear incompetent?

However, Princess Heshuo has always been a straightforward person and grew up in a smooth environment, so she doesn't consider these twists and turns.

There are thousands of thoughts in my mind, but it only lasts for a short moment.

After Princess Heshuo finished speaking, Cui Shuyan smiled slightly and said, "Princess, you are too kind. Although I am more careful in my work, I am not as perceptive as the Empress. Sometimes, some things are hard to figure out for a while, mostly because you are in the situation and can't see clearly. On the contrary, people outside the situation will see more clearly."

Cui Shuyan meant that the Queen couldn’t find out the truth only because she was caught in a trap, not because there was anything wrong with her ability.

The Queen naturally understood what she meant. Her expression softened a little and she chuckled, "That's the truth."

Then the queen told everything she had found out in the past few days.

At the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, when the dancers perform, powder that can cause people to lose their minds will be scattered on their dresses.

And in the Queen's sachet, there was an extra spice called wolftail daylily. This fragrance had a fatal attraction to people who were drugged, which drove Princess Yun to strangle the Queen's neck.

In theory, this should not be difficult to check.

Because neither the wolftail daylily nor the medicinal powder made from the juice of the datura flowers scattered on the dancer's body were common things in the palace.

Logically speaking, if you follow this clue, you will find something unexpected.

But the queen searched again and again, but could not find out how these two things were delivered into the palace.

Of course, if this clue cannot be traced, we can also check who has touched the dancer's dress.

However, even though the people from the Ministry of Punishment checked everyone who had handled the clothes, they still found nothing.

Furthermore, you can also check who has handled the queen's sachets.

Logically speaking, this line is the easiest to find out something.

However, what surprised the queen was that there were more than a dozen people who handled her sachet, and after investigating these people, no clues were found.

In addition, this period of time is rather special and punishment cannot be used wantonly, so this matter has come to a dead end.

After listening to what the queen said, Cui Shuyan seemed to be thinking about something.

After a moment, she asked, "Empress, can you show me the list of people who handled your sachet?"

"of course can."

After saying that, the queen took out a list from a small box beside her and handed it to Cui Shuyan.

Cui Shuyan looked through them and remembered them all.

Although I remembered it, I had no idea what it was.

The Queen has been in the palace for many years and is surrounded by smart people. This investigation concerns the Queen's own safety. It is obvious that the Queen has done her best to investigate this matter.

But, even with all my efforts, I gained nothing.

That means that either the person behind the scenes is extremely skilled.

Or maybe someone around the queen interfered with her vision, causing the matter to come to a dead end.

Cui Shuyan frowned slightly.

This matter is indeed a bit difficult to handle.

First of all, she wanted to find out the truth behind this matter.

Secondly, we can’t let the queen feel uncomfortable.

After thinking for a while, Cui Shuyan came up with an idea: "Your Majesty, you haven't found anything so far, so it's the same for me. But I have a different way."

"What method?"

Cui Shuyan moved closer and whispered a few words into the queen's ear.

After hearing this, the Queen's frown relaxed and she said with a smile, "Shuyan, your method is indeed tricky. However, I think it will work wonders."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I have only provided a method. As for how to do it, it is up to Your Majesty to do it yourself."

The two of them chatted back and forth, and were extremely excited.

Princess Heshuo was puzzled: "What are you talking about? Why do you want the emperor's sister-in-law to control everyone in her palace? Isn't this too much of a fuss?"

The queen smiled faintly and kept the mystery going: "If you have any doubts, just bear with them for now. When we find the real culprit, Shuyan and I will explain it to you clearly."

"Can't you tell me now?"

Cui Shuyan touched Princess Heshuo's hand and said softly, "It's not that we can't tell you, but if we tell you now and don't catch the real culprit in the end, it will seem like we are just bragging. In this case, it's better to wait until later."

"OK then."

After coming out of the Queen's Palace, Princess Heshuo was in low spirits.

Cui Shuyan touched her elbow: "Are you still thinking about it?"

"Yes. I am a very curious person. If I put something in my mind, I will keep thinking about it."

"That's a coincidence. I have something in mind, too, and I'm waiting for you to help me solve it."

"what's up?"

"The Queen's eyes are slightly blue-gray. Is it because of the fertility-enhancing drugs she has been taking for many years?"

Hearing this, Princess Heshuo sighed, "Yes. She is the queen, the empress, and should have her own legitimate son. My brother was reluctant to appoint a crown prince because he hoped that the queen could give birth to a legitimate son. But in seventeen years, she has never been pregnant again."

Seventeen years?

Hearing this number, Cui Shuyan was a little confused.

As far as she knew, the Empress and Emperor Zhaowu had been married for more than twenty years, but why did Princess Heshuo say it was seventeen years?