It doesn’t matter, my boyfriend is a eunuch!

The queen pointed her slender jade hand with golden armor at Guard Zhan, who shuddered immediately and his back could not help shaking.

Is this guy scared? Why is he reacting like this?

Then again, it's understandable that a small guard would be afraid when faced with such a situation, and it might not be a big deal.

Guard Zhan immediately kowtowed loudly on the floor, his voice trembling: "Reply, reply to the Queen, I never did that."

The queen sighed lightly and looked at her aunt who was sitting in the main seat, but the old lady was only watching the fun and did not give her any hints.

She was in a dilemma. One of them said that they had an affair, but the other two parties said that it was not true. What should she do?

If she does it too seriously, people in the harem will think she is seeking revenge for personal gain; if she does it too superficially... Lin Zhihe's words were so certain that it didn't seem like nothing had happened.

"Ms. Lin, you said they were having an affair. How did you find out? Do you have any evidence?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. It was one night, yes, the night of June 12th. I was undressing and about to sleep, and when I saw the moonlight entering the house, I happily got up and strolled to the Jieyou Pavilion next to the Imperial Garden. Then I saw the two of them making love without knowing what was going on. Imperial Concubine Xi's red mandarin duck bellyband was still hanging on Guard Zhan's waist, and that's how I saw this vivid scene."

Seeing that Lin Zhihe spoke frankly without any shame as a lady from a noble family should have, the queen frowned. Could what Lin Zhihe said be true?

She looked at her aunt again, but her aunt listened even more enthusiastically and started to eat the nuts on the table.

"Is what she said true?" The Queen looked at Concubine Xi and Guard Zhan.

"Never before." The two people said in unison.

"I am not lying. If I had said even a single lie, I, Lin Zhihe, would have died without a burial place, and would have been haunted by evil spirits for generations to come, and would never..."

"Okay." The Queen interrupted Lin Zhihe hastily. This oath was too heavy. Even if Lin Zhihe dared to say it, she didn't dare to listen.

"You two, one swears to heaven that this happened, and the other says that this never happened. This concerns the reputation and dignity of the royal family. I cannot easily turn this over. Let's do this. I will search your two residences. If there is nothing, then..." The queen glanced at her aunt and saw that she was still concentrating on watching the show, so she continued: "If nothing is found, we will talk about it later."

Upon hearing about the search, Concubine Xi's face looked vaguely uneasy, and Guard Zhan's fear was written directly on his face, as if he was afraid that others could not see it.

When the queen saw the two people's behavior, she felt somewhat surprised and confused.

According to common sense, Concubine Xi would never do such a foolish thing. After all, she has a bright future and the emperor's favor. However, the reactions of the two people in front of her do not seem to be the case.

What surprised her the most was Lin Zhihe's reaction. Lin Zhihe was also stunned by the two people's performance and looked at Concubine Xi and Guard Zhan questioningly.

What's going on?

Wasn't it Lin Zhihe who reported it? Why was she so surprised?

Ignoring the performance of these people, the queen pointed at Li Xian and said, "Go and search."

Searching the bedroom is a big project, especially Concubine Xi's bedroom, which is large and full of things, and you have to wait for a while.

Under normal circumstances, the queen would not dare to order a search of the imperial concubine's bedroom. If nothing was found, she would be accused of being a jealous concubine.

Fortunately, the Queen Mother's close aunt was by her side at this time, and everything could be said to be the aunt's intention.

During this free time, the aunt looked at the little palace maid standing next to her and asked with a smile: "Did you listen carefully and remember everything clearly?"

The little maid nodded and said, "I'll remember it."

"Just remember it, and go and report to the Queen Mother. She must be waiting anxiously, so go now."

...

After a few incense sticks, Li Xian came in with a few young eunuchs and a bunch of things.

The queen looked at what Li Xian was holding in his hand, and she guessed about 80% of what it was, and her heart was in her throat.

"Your Majesty, I took a few palace servants to search the residence of Guard Zhan. At first, we found nothing. Later, I accidentally found a box. The box was hidden very deep and locked with a fine padlock. I thought there must be something fishy going on, so I asked someone to open the lock."

Li Xian stopped and looked at the queen's expression.

This Li Xian paused at this critical moment, which is really frustrating.

The queen quickly asked: "Then what? What did you find?" Her voice was surprised and even a little anxious.

"I found a bellyband inside. It was just as Lady Lin said. It was a red mandarin duck bellyband."

A bellyband proves nothing.

But when she looked at Concubine Xi's dejected face after her affair was exposed, at Guard Zhan's trembling back, and at the melon seeds in her aunt's hand, even a dumb person would understand, let alone her, the queen.

"A bellyband can't prove anything." The queen suppressed her inner excitement and spoke lightly.

Li Xian bent even lower, almost touching the ground. "My Lord, the bellyband really can't prove anything. I also found a hairpin in the box. It's inlaid with gold and jade. It looks like it was made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"If it was made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, each one would have its origin and reason."

"Go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to check."

In fact, there was no need to check. Looking at Concubine Xi's deathly pale face, it was clear who it belonged to.

"Yes!" Li Xian bowed, turned around and left Qianqiu Palace with the hairpin and ran towards the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This time it was very quick and Li Xian replied in a moment.

He lowered his brows and closed his eyes. "Your Highness, I have asked someone to check the register of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This golden hairpin with gemstones and peach and phoenix was made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs eight years ago. There were three of them in total and they were presented to the Empress Dowager at that time. The Empress Dowager was kind and gave these three golden hairpins to the Empress, Concubine Xi, and Concubine Li respectively."

Li Xian deliberately stopped talking here.

The Queen felt embarrassed when she heard this. "It seems that it is not good to slander Concubine Xi's innocence. Since there are three of them, let's find out where they are. If we can't find them, we can talk about it later."

She began to ponder, pretending to recall the past, "Alas, I am old and my memory is not very good. Li Xian, you have a good memory. Can you tell me where is the golden hairpin that the Queen Mother gave me?"

Li Xian bent down and said in a flattering and harsh voice, "Your Majesty, it's right on your head!"

...

At this moment, she seemed to have just remembered and stroked her hair with her hand, "Oh, so it's here!"

"Then go ask Concubine Li where her golden hairpin is."

In fact, everyone present could already confirm that the owner of this hairpin was Concubine Xi.

Everyone knew that the Queen's purpose in doing this was, firstly, to confirm the guilt and prevent Concubine Xi from overturning the verdict, and secondly, simply to torture Concubine Xi for a while longer.

Let Concubine Xi mistakenly believe that this matter can be fooled. What if, what if Concubine Li also lost her golden hairpin...

However, Concubine Xi did not hold such unrealistic hopes. Her face was as pale as a dead person, without any sign of life. "No need to look for it. It is my golden hairpin."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent. The aunt even stopped cracking melon seeds and stared at Concubine Xi.

The Queen did not expect that Concubine Xi would admit it directly.

In her imagination, Concubine Xi would at least have to struggle a little longer, at least have to wait for Concubine Li's golden hairpin.

"Why is the golden hairpin in Guard Zhan's hand?" the Queen asked hurriedly.

After asking this question, the queen quickly considered several possibilities in her mind and found solutions one by one, determined to kill Concubine Xi on this matter. However, what she did not expect was that Concubine Xi actually admitted it on her own initiative.

"It was given to Guard Zhan by me. I did something against etiquette and law with him."

...