The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

The first flock of autumn geese flew across the sky.

It turned into a black dot that gradually moved away.

The queen was standing against the light, and the autumn light was so bright that her figure was blurred.

Her words made the concubines feel complicated, and they also recalled the fleeting time in the palace.

Indeed, regardless of whether one entered the palace early or late, everyone was caught in a murky vortex, either sinking, struggling to rise, or drifting half-dead in the rapids, their future uncertain.

It was so complicated, so many things happened, but they seemed meaningless.

"Eldest sister, why can't you defend yourself? Are you admitting the guilt?"

The first person to speak out in anger was not the emperor, but Zheng Zhuyi.

Her bright face was slightly distorted in shock and disbelief, and her beauty was greatly reduced.

She walked a few steps to her sister and blocked the queen's view of the outside, so that the queen could come back to her senses quickly.

"Eldest sister! Your Majesty! You are the Queen!"

"The Queen has been giving concubines drugs for years, preventing the royal family from having children, and even murdering pregnant concubines. She also used coercion and bribery to instruct palace servants to kill people to silence them. What a sin this is, and you're just going to admit it like this!?"

"You're so determined to die, but what about your family? What about your clan? Have you ever thought about it?"

"What Concubine Xian gave us are all witnesses. Even if the soil was mixed with fertilizer, it's just soil. Who can prove that you personally had someone mix it in?"

"There's only a confession, no physical evidence. Could it be that Concubine Xian bribed these servants and fabricated evidence to frame you?"

"Eldest sister, wake up!"

What Zheng Zhuyi said is not without reason.

Except for Concubine Xian who sneered and retorted with a sneer, everyone else in the palace was waiting for the Queen's reaction.

"Queen, what do you have to say?"

Even the emperor urged him.

The queen turned and looked at him calmly.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Xian has gathered so many people, from Changle Palace, the kitchen, the needlework bureau, the flower room, as well as your favorite Concubine Zhao, and Concubine Shun and Concubine Kang, who are of mediocre qualifications but also hold the rank of concubine. They all stand on Concubine Xian's side. Concubine Qing seems to be impartial, but despite her intelligence, she has never said a word on my behalf. Is it because she can't see through the loopholes in Concubine Xian's scheme? No, she just doesn't want to speak."

The queen spoke slowly and gently, and every word she spoke was clear.

They seemed like elderly people, chatting about family matters in the warm sun, without any impatience at all.

"Even the maidservant in charge of my concubine's affairs has colluded with them. She claims loyalty to the emperor, but her actions are detrimental to her master. Bai Yuan can even frame her master, whom she lives with day and night. Do you think her loyalty to you is genuine?"

The queen turned her eyes away from the emperor and slowly scanned the entire palace.

"No one in the palace today stands on my side. Both the witnesses and the evidence are flawed, yet no one has raised a single question. The virtuous concubine is fully prepared and is coming with such force. Where can I find evidence to prove my innocence in such a hurry?"

"I say all this is fake, will you believe it?"

"You only take out all your resentment for being unloved and childless on me, and use your hatred for me to relieve yourselves. As for the truth, it is of no importance to you at all."

Hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

But Zheng Zhuyi couldn't bear it anymore and stepped forward to blame her sister again.

"The Queen said that no one speaks up for you. Does that include me? I've been campaigning for you from the beginning. Besides, even if no one helps you, can't you defend yourself?"

The queen smiled faintly.

"I was suddenly splashed with a bucket of dirty water, and you want me to clean my clothes immediately. Otherwise, you will say that I was dirty to begin with and that I soiled my clothes myself. In this situation, what is there for me to say? Even if I say a thousand words, it will be useless."

"Because you all originally wanted to convict me. You can always find excuses to accuse me!"

"And you, Zhu'er." The Queen's eyes became sharp as she stared at Zheng Zhuyi. "Are you running around and calling for me, or for yourself? Although I and you are sisters, we have never lived together since childhood, so there is no affection between us. You are just worried that if something happens to me, it will implicate you."

Zheng Zhuyi was so angry that her face turned red and then white.

After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm an innocent person, so of course I don't want to be implicated by you! But instead of blaming me, can't you just say a few words in your own defense? If a thousand words are useless, then say ten thousand. As long as you have a clear conscience and a clean record, why worry about what others think of you or how they treat you? I really despise your mild and obscure nature!"

The Queen sighed, "Not everyone has the right to be uninhibited and bold in love and hate. Don't I want to be free and unrestrained?"

She no longer paid attention to Zheng Zhuyi and spoke indifferently to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have nothing more to say, but I leave it to Your Majesty to decide. If you believe that I am guilty, then punish me accordingly."

Without bowing her head or saluting, she just stared at the emperor quietly.

The emperor's expression became even uglier at this moment.

After looking at the queen for a moment, he took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

"I will not wrongly accuse any good person, nor will I let any evil person go. The Queen and the Concubine Xian insist on their own opinions, so I will investigate thoroughly."

"Cao Bin, announce the decree. Order the chief envoy of the Palace Administration to investigate this case. All personnel from Fengyi Palace, Changle Palace, and anyone involved in the incident, are to be brought to the torture chamber for questioning!"

"The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple have entered the palace to assist in the supervision."

"Within three days, I want results!"

*

In the next few days, everything happened just as the queen had said.

It seemed like a lot had happened, yet it seemed like nothing had happened.

The torture chambers were overflowing, with scores of palace inmates being held for trial. Walking past the Palace Administration Office on quiet nights, one could clearly hear the screams and cries emanating from the underground cells, one after another, continuous and uninterrupted.

The news about the queen murdering concubines and the royal heir spread like a bird with wings throughout the harem, to the former court, and even to the people.

Inside and outside the palace, in the court, in the streets and alleys, and on the post roads and waterways to and from the capital, people were discussing this matter almost everywhere.

Some storytellers also took the opportunity to tell the unofficial history of a queen of the previous dynasty who tortured and killed her favorite concubine. Restaurants and teahouses were packed.

In this boiling clamor.

The results of the torture chamber investigation are out.

The evidence provided by Concubine Xian was true, and more than ten palace maids in Fengyi Palace confirmed the truth that the Queen had been secretly doing things for several years.

Late one rainy night, the emperor stepped into Fengyi Palace.

The huge palace was deserted, with only two candles burning. Beyond the small candlelight were large areas of shadows.

The queen sat on a Luohan bed carved with flowers and phoenixes, as quiet and silent as a clay sculpture.

His hair was disheveled, and his light yellow uniform was stained with dirt and blood, making it look mottled and messy.

The emperor walked to the door of the inner hall and stopped, feeling a little dazed for a moment.

The sloppy woman in front of me is so unfamiliar.

"Yulang, you're here."

The Queen spoke first.