Peach Blossom.

Tao Ye finally met Wang Jing again. In order to meet the emperor in the palace, his clothes and hairstyle were of course much neater than when he was at home. However, his skin color was darker, fine lines appeared more, and his face looked older than before. There were even a few strands of white hair on his head... This was really not the state a man in his twenties should be in.

But in fact, the biggest difference between him and before is that he now uses two crutches instead of one!

Wang Jing was about to kneel down, but Si Yu stopped him: "Don't kneel, Prince Consort! What if you can't stand up after kneeling? How can I interrogate you?"

Queen Mother Meng nodded and said, "The Prince Consort has difficulty walking, please give him a seat."

The chief eunuch Xie Cheng hurriedly brought a chair and placed it behind Wang Jing.

Wang Jing was trembling, and although he was struggling with crutches, he was able to stand straight. He could not kneel, so he could only bow his head as a courtesy: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, for your consideration, but since ancient times, no plaintiff has ever sat in court. I do not want to make an exception, so please allow me to stand!"

Si Yu nodded and waved to Xie Cheng.

Xie Cheng moved the chair away again.

Si Yu began to ask questions: "I heard that Prince Consort Wang has been going to various government offices to file complaints and seek justice for his first wife, Man. Is that true?"

Wang Jing replied: "That's right. My wife Mantangjiao and her maid were forced to leave home. The master and the servant were walking on the road at night and were both hacked to death by men in black. The murderer has not been arrested yet."

Si Yu asked again: "Do you know who the murderer is?"

Wang Jing shook his head: "I don't know, but I have reason to suspect that the princess hired a killer."

"You're talking nonsense!" Si Yao couldn't help but jump up and refute: "If I sent someone to assassinate her, would I not know that Man Tang Jiao had died long ago? And how could I have been fooled by a fake Man Tang Jiao for half a year?"

Tao Ye thought this reason was very reasonable: if the assassin was sent by the princess, then the assassin should report back to the princess after completing the mission! And the princess's previous behavior definitely did not seem like she was pretending to be unaware.

Queen Mother Meng turned her gaze towards Wang Jing and asked with a smile, "My dear son-in-law, I have to ask you a question first. How long has Mantang Jiao been dead?"

Wang Jing replied: "About a year."

"Then why didn't you come and complain when she just died?"

Wang Jing did not answer.

Queen Mother Meng asked again: "Why has no one known that Mantangjiao has been dead for so long?"

Wang Jing still didn't answer.

Tao Ye stood behind Concubine Zhou and immediately became nervous. The news of Mantangjiao's death was not known in time, of course, because she pretended to be Mantangjiao. The way the empress dowager was questioning the case was clearly an attempt to divert suspicion.

Sure enough, the Queen Mother could not wait for Wang Jing to remain silent, and she answered her own question directly: "Of course, this is because someone buried Mantangjiao's body in a remote and deserted place, and then pretended to be Mantangjiao and went to the Wang family, which blinded her eyes! Shouldn't the person who hid the body and pretended to be Mantangjiao be the most suspicious person?"

Wang Jing finally responded in a low voice: "Tao Ye is indeed a suspect."

Tao Ye said nothing, but just lowered her head. She felt that there were too many important people here, and if no one asked questions, it really shouldn't be the turn of a small person like her to speak.

Si Yu immediately spoke up: "If Tao Ye was the culprit, she should have run away long ago. How could she run to the Wang family and fall into the trap? Besides, what motive did Tao Ye have to harm Man Tang Jiao?"

"Why doesn't she have a motive?" Si Yao couldn't help but interrupt again, and said confidently: "On the night when Wang Jing and Mantangjiao got married, I don't know how many young ladies in Jiankang City cried their hearts out. Who didn't want to kill Mantangjiao?"

Si Yu smiled coldly and sarcastically said, "Yes, Wang Jing was praised as the most handsome man in the capital at that time. He held a pen with both hands on the city wall, writing official script with the left hand and cursive script with the right hand. He wrote a couplet with one stroke. He was truly "famous with one stroke" and won the hearts of countless girls... It's a pity that eight years later, this talented and handsome young man has been turned into a lame man with a haggard face by you! I don't know how many young ladies want to kill you now!"

Si Yao glared at Si Yu, with nothing to say in response, just gritted his teeth.

Tao Ye had not witnessed the event described by Si Yu with her own eyes, but unknowingly, she had begun to picture in her mind the scene of "becoming famous with one stroke", and it was so vivid: on the city wall that everyone was looking up to, there were two scrolls hanging high, and Wang Jing, dressed in white, holding a pen in both hands, was writing freely from top to bottom, with his handsome and elegant figure slowly descending from the city wall, and when his feet landed on the ground, the words were already completed... Countless people were cheering under the city wall, and the girls fell in love with him one after another, but Wang Jing only walked towards one woman - Tao Ye imagined that woman to be herself, but she soon came to her senses and realized that the woman should be Man Tang Jiao.

Queen Mother Meng smiled faintly and reminded Si Yu: "My son, the prince consort is here to file a complaint, not to chat. You should interrogate the suspect!"

Si Yu paused and called out, "Tao Ye."

"I... am here." Tao Ye suddenly jumped back to reality from her fantasy, left behind Concubine Zhou, and knelt on the ground beside Wang Jing.

Si Yu's attitude towards Tao Ye was indeed much gentler than his attitude towards Si Yao just now: "Since the Queen Mother and the Prince Consort both think you are suspicious, I will give you a chance to defend yourself."

Tao Ye didn't have much time to think, so she could only answer truthfully: "I just had nowhere to go on the night I left the Princess's Mansion, and I happened to see two women being chased by a man in black... After they were slashed in the vitals, the man in black left, and I went over. When Mantang Jiao was dying, she told me her identity and entrusted her daughter to me, so... I pretended to be her and went to the Wang family..."

Before Tao Ye could finish, Si Yao retorted impatiently: "What nonsense! How could she trust her daughter to you after only meeting you once?"

Si Yu tapped the table beside him with his index finger: "I am interrogating a case now. People who are not interrogated are not allowed to interrupt. This is the rule! How can my sister break the rules again and again?"

Si Yao had no choice but to shut up.

Si Yu said to Tao Ye again: "You continue."

Tao Ye said: "Logically speaking, Mantangjiao really shouldn't trust her daughter to me after only meeting her once. I think it may be because she only has me by her side, so there is no one else to entrust her daughter to... and I am willing to agree to her because I have no home, so it doesn't matter where I live..."

"I see." Si Yu nodded, and smiled at everyone, "I think Tao Ye's explanation is reasonable. She is a weak woman, and she comes from a poor family. She really doesn't have the ability to kill two people at the same time, and she doesn't have the financial resources to hire a killer, so she can't be the culprit."

Empress Shen, who was listening in, smiled and seemed to be talking to herself: "The emperor really has complete faith in Miss Taoye."

Si Yao couldn't help but answer, but he didn't dare to speak too loudly this time: "What do you mean by 'firmly believe'? I think it's just a deliberate cover-up!"

Queen Mother Meng asked Si Yu with a smile: "Is the interrogation of the emperor over now?"

Si Yu nodded and replied: "Tao Ye has already finished the interrogation. The murderer is someone else, and further investigation is needed."

"Okay! Now that the prince has finished asking, it's my turn to ask!" Queen Mother Meng was still smiling, looking at Tao Ye behind Concubine Zhou: "According to you, you and Mantang Jiao only met once, and it was when she was dying?"

Facing the Queen Mother's questioning, Tao Ye was inevitably nervous and answered weakly, "Yes."

Queen Mother Meng looked curious, "You only met her once, and she was on her deathbed. You didn't have the chance to understand Mantangjiao's personality... But you stayed in the Wang family for more than half a year, and every day you met people who were very familiar with Mantangjiao. How could you not be recognized? In the end, it was a princess who was not familiar with Mantangjiao who revealed her true appearance... This is really a bit strange!"

"I... I was also very surprised at first, but later... later I slowly realized that it might be because she and I just happened to have many similarities..." Tao Ye was obviously telling the truth, but she found it hard to be convincing. Unconsciously, her nervousness became more obvious.

Xiaowan noticed Taoye's nervousness and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Empress Shen, who was listening in, smiled and said to herself, "You are pretending to be her, and she happens to be very similar to you. It's really a coincidence!"

Si Yu was very angry when he heard this: "Flowers are similar, and people are similar. There are many people in the world who are born alike. What does the queen mean by this?"

Empress Shen smiled slightly and said, "I am just sighing at the coincidences in the world, but I don't understand why the emperor is so angry."

Si Yu couldn't respond and was just angry.

Queen Mother Meng smiled and nodded, then continued to ask Tao Ye: "I will believe what you said. Since you witnessed the murder of Mantangjiao with your own eyes, you should know the place where she was murdered, right? If you tell me, I can send someone to investigate and see if there are any clues."

Tao Ye was stunned. She was just walking casually at that time and never paid attention to the location. Later, when she left, Chen Ji led the way, so she had even less sense of direction.

Tao Ye could only seek truth from facts: "The place where she was killed was very remote, there was nothing to mark it, and once I left, I... I couldn't remember it clearly."

Queen Mother Meng smiled and nodded again: "It was the master and the servant who died at that time. I heard that you not only buried Mantangjiao, but also carried the body of her maid back to the Wang family. So when you buried Mantangjiao, was the body of the maid temporarily left there? Or was it taken to the Ghost Mountain with you?"

Tao Ye was stunned: If she said that she left the maid's body where it was, the Queen Mother would definitely ask her how she found the original place and took the maid's body away; if she said that she also took the maid's body to Ghost Mountain, the Queen Mother would definitely ask her how she could carry two corpses by herself?

She couldn't bring herself to tell Chen Ji about it, because then the Queen Mother and the Princess would definitely say that she and Chen Ji had conspired to kill Mantang Jiao... Even Chen Ji's fake death might be exposed, and she would be accused of even more crimes...

Tao Ye didn't answer for a long time, which made others suspicious.

With no other options, Tao Ye could only bite the bullet and make up a story: "I picked up an old mat nearby, dragged the master and servant away from there, first buried Mantangjiao in Guishan, and then took the maid to Wang's house..."

The Queen Mother asked again, "To go to Ghost Mountain, you must take a boat. Where did you find a boat in the middle of the night?"

"I... when I arrived at the other side of Ghost Mountain, there happened to be a boat parked there..." Tao Ye's eyes flickered, and she made up a story so fictitious that even she found it unbelievable.

The Queen Mother still smiled and nodded, and continued Tao Ye's words with a humorous tone: "Not only did you encounter a boat, but there was no one on the boat. You put the body on the boat, and even though the boat was stained with blood, it was lucky that no one found it. On the way to Wang's house, you dragged the body of the maid, and the mat was broken and could not be used anymore, so you threw away the mat, and finally appeared outside the gate of Wang's house with the body on your back... Is that right?"

How could Tao Ye answer this kind of question? There were only two words written in capital letters on her face - embarrassment.

Queen Shen and Princess Si Yao couldn't help laughing. It was definitely a mockery!

Si Yu couldn't stand it, and without naming anyone, he scolded loudly: "Tao Ye is not the only suspect! Why do you keep arresting her and interrogating her? You scared a good person silly!"

He displayed the emperor's arrogance and immediately ordered: "From now on, we will interrogate the princess! My sister, kneel down in front and be interrogated!"

Si Yao has always been very proud, so how could he be willing to kneel in front of so many people? Therefore, he was very unconvinced: "Why are you trying me?"

Si Yu sat upright and said, "All suspects should be tried! Tao Ye has finished the trial, so of course it's your turn!"

"What a joke! A lowly servant is qualified to be compared with this princess!" Si Yao just sat on the chair and put on a noble attitude.

Si Yu smiled coldly: "From now on, Tao Ye will be canonized as a beauty. Beauty Tao has been tried, shouldn't the emperor's sister be tried too?"

Empress Shen, Concubine Zhou, Zhang Xiaowan, and Princess Si Yao were all surprised. Si Yu actually chose this time to enthrone Tao Ye?

However, what was even more surprising was the Queen Mother's attitude. She actually acted very happy: "Great! There hasn't been a new person in the palace for a long time. I have to quickly find some good things to give as a gift to the new daughter-in-law!"

The chief eunuch Xie Cheng hurried over to flatter her: "Congratulations, Lady Tao! Congratulations, Lady Tao!"

Tao Ye was panicking, and her instinctive resistance prompted her to kowtow deeply to Si Yu: "Please forgive me, my lord. I am no longer a virgin, and I am not worthy of being conferred into the harem!"