The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

Compared with the two of them, Gu Jianchu seemed much calmer.

She ordered in a cold voice, "Zhu Xia, report this matter to the Emperor. Yun He, take your men and invite Ming Yue and Shu Zhaoyi over."

If they want to deal with Shu Zhaoyi, they have to go through the emperor.

Although the Annan Marquis Mansion behind Shu Zhaoyi has declined, her other backer, the empress dowager, is still holding strong in the palace.

The palace servants in Kunning Palace acted efficiently and quickly invited Mingyue and Shu Zhaoyi over.

It’s more like a forced delivery than an invitation.

After being escorted into the inner hall, Shu Zhaoyi struggled several times in Yunhe's grip, but failed to break free. She glared fiercely at Gu Jianchu, who was sitting in the main seat, and said, "The Queen must have gone mad. What did I do wrong that the Queen sent someone to abduct me and bring me to Kunning Palace? Even if I've been demoted to Zhaoyi, I'm still the Emperor's. I have the Empress Dowager behind me, and the Queen has no right to punish me."

Wen Zhaoyi frowned and said, "The Empress wouldn't bring Zhaoyi here for no reason. Why don't you think about what you did wrong?"

"A lackey of the Queen actually dared to yell at me like this. I stayed in my palace all day and never even left the door. How could I have done anything wrong? I think the Queen wants to take this opportunity to settle a personal grudge against me." Shu Zhaoyi still had a cursing tone.

Gu Jianchu, who had been silent all this time, waved his hand and asked Yunhe to loosen his grip on Shu Zhaoyi.

Shu Zhaoyi, who was released, rubbed her arm that was pinched by Yun He. "Your Majesty, you brought us to your Kunning Palace for no reason. You must give us an explanation."

Gu Jianchu threw a plate of qingtuan in front of Shu Zhaoyi. The plate slid across the tabletop, and one of the qingtuan broke away from the plate and flew onto Shu Zhaoyi's skirt. "Shu Zhaoyi, doesn't it look familiar?"

Shu Zhaoyi was frightened by Gu Jianchu's actions and screamed and took two steps back. Seeing the things on the table, she quickly regained her composure and said, "Why does it look familiar to me? I don't eat this kind of thing."

Although Shu Zhaoyi quickly calmed down, Mingyue, who was standing beside her, had a guilty look on her face and her nervous fingers were tightly grasping the corner of her clothes.

"Since Zhaoyi hasn't tried it, then this green dumpling will be given to her." Gu Jianchu suddenly remembered something and said to Zhuxi, "And the roast duck that County Master Wanning brought into the palace will also be served to Zhaoyi to try."

"The roast duck is from Wangxian Tower. I guess Sister Zhaoyi hasn't eaten it since she entered the palace. Considering that we entered the palace at the same time and have served the emperor for so long, I will give it to you as a reward. Sister Zhaoyi, please don't be polite."

Zhuxi brought the roast duck, which was no longer very hot on the table, to Shu Zhaoyi.

Consort Wen and Princess Wan Ning stared at Consort Shu.

As Zhuxi approached, Shu Zhaoyi retreated. "I am of low status, so how can I enjoy such a delicious treat? I'd better leave it for Her Majesty the Queen."

"County Lady Wan Ning brings roast duck to Her Majesty every time she comes to the palace. Her Majesty is tired of it. Since it has been given to Her Majesty Zhaoyi as a reward, Her Majesty must not let Her Majesty down. Do you want me to serve Her Majesty Zhaoyi?" Zhuxi stuffed the chopsticks into Zhaoyi Wen's hands and sent the roast duck directly to Her Majesty Shu's mouth.

Shu Zhaoyi screamed in horror and knocked over the roast duck in front of her.

Gu Jianchu adjusted his sleeves slowly, the smile on his face growing wider. "Sister Zhaoyi is so scared, maybe she knows the roast duck is poisonous."

"I don't know what the Queen is talking about. I'm so panicked because I don't like eating roast duck." Shu Zhaoyi's face was still pale, but she still argued firmly.

"Really?" Gu Jianchu looked at Mingyue, whose face had turned pale behind him.

"Although Sister Zhaoyi knows nothing, I think the maidservant beside her seems to know something, so I will send her to the Ministry of Punishment."

Gu Jianchu slapped him once, then quickly turned the situation around and offered him a sweet treat, "This palace doesn't like torture. If you confess the truth, this palace will not only spare your life, but also allow you to leave the palace and marry."

Mingyue was not Shu Zhaoyi's dowry, and was not that loyal to her.

The maidservant who came with Shu Zhaoyi as a dowry was not only ignored by Shu Zhaoyi but also sent to the menial service room because she and the empress dowager concealed the news that Shu Ying was going to enter the palace.

Later, he promoted Mingyue, the second-class palace maid beside him.

They only suspected that Shu Zhaoyi poisoned them, but they didn't have much substantial evidence. If Shu Zhaoyi refused to admit it, they wouldn't have much to do. It would be best if someone could confess.

Mingyue was trembling with fear, and even her eyes were a little erratic. After hesitating, she seemed to have made a major decision and knelt down in front of everyone with a plop. "Empress, are you telling the truth?"

Wen Zhaoyi said, "When has the Queen ever told a lie?"

"It was Consort Shu who wanted to murder the Empress. The food in Kunning Palace was very carefully prepared, and Consort Shu couldn't find an opportunity to kill her. Today, she accidentally heard that County Lady Wanning had entered the palace and brought some green rice dumplings for the Empress. So she had me and the palace's chief eunuch, Wang Fuhai, poison the green rice dumplings that the County Lady had brought. Wang Fuhai took advantage of the County Lady and her attendants helping me pick up things and put arsenic he had obtained from outside the palace into the green rice dumplings and roast duck."

"Empress, everything I said is true. It was all ordered by Empress Zhaoyi. I was forced into this situation. Otherwise, even if I had a hundred guts, I would not dare to murder the Empress."

Mingyue kowtowed continuously, and her forehead turned red from the force.

Shu Zhaoyi reacted and kicked Mingyue in the shoulder and neck.

Mingyue was kicked to the ground by the sudden force, and her head accidentally hit the round stool beside her, and blood gushed out instantly.

Shu Zhaoyi was like a shrew, hitting Mingyue with her tiny fists. "Bitch, I promoted you to be my chief maid to honor you, and now you turn around and slander me. Tell me, have you been bribed by the Queen?"

"I have not slandered Concubine Zhaoyi. It is obvious that Concubine Zhaoyi ordered us to do these things." Mingyue also knew that there was no way out now. In order to survive, she could only bite Concubine Shu to death.

[Is this considered a dog-eat-dog situation?]

If the fight continued, someone might die. After Gu Jianchu gave Yunhe a signal with his eyes, he immediately stepped forward to stop it and pulled Shu Zhaoyi's arm to pull her away.

"Please don't let anyone die. Doctor Lin, please help bandage it." Gu Jianchu turned the beads on his wrist.

Just at this moment, Zhuxi came in with someone, holding a tray with a rosewood box on it, and there was still dirt on the box.

"Your Majesty, I searched the entire Renshou Palace and found nothing. However, I did find traces of disturbed soil beneath the albizzia tree in the courtyard. I ordered someone to dig and found this wooden box."