TV Series: When the Villain Chooses to Stand by

Shunzi told everything he knew, but he insisted that he only took the bracelet and wanted to steal the fish, and he knew nothing else.

"If you don't know anything, why are you trying to pin it on me? Who ordered you to do that?"

Ruyi questioned with a look of humiliation on her face.

"Princess Xian, shut up. The Emperor and I will naturally investigate whether there is any problem or not. There is no need for you to come here and blame others."

"Empress, I have been wrongly accused. Can't I even defend myself? As the head of the harem, are you so overbearing?"

"boom!"

"Shut her mouth."

Langya was extremely irritable before she woke up, and she threw the teacup to the ground with a wave of her hand.

As for the emperor, Ruyi couldn't help but give him face, so there was no reason why she couldn't do the same.

Su Lian and Lian Xin received instructions and quickly pushed the person to the ground and blocked Ruyi's mouth with a handkerchief.

All the concubines present had never seen the queen so angry, and they all lowered their eyes and pretended not to see anything.

Hongli moved his lips, but in the end said nothing.

This was the first time he had seen the queen so angry. Although he didn't know the specific reason, he felt that what the queen said made sense.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Xian is merely raising reasonable questions."

"Why didn't Concubine Shu stay in Chuxiu Palace and recite your poems instead of coming out to join in the fun? Aren't you so devoted to the Emperor that you don't care about worldly matters?"

"Is Concubine Xian an official from the Ministry of Justice or a maid from the Ministry of Punishment? Are all the people in the palace useless? Is there any need for her to question this?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I made a mistake."

Yihuan is noble but not stupid. She knows that she cannot confront the queen head-on, so she quickly kneels down and begs for mercy.

At this time, A Ruo and everyone from the imperial kitchen were brought over.

Langya ignored Yihuan and let her kneel there. Hailan, who wanted to say something, was scared back.

Last time I mustered up the courage to finally persuade the emperor, but the little confidence I had accumulated with great difficulty was now gone.

"A Ruo, what's wrong with the wound on your forehead?"

As soon as A Ruo appeared, someone noticed the cloth wrapped around her head, and Jin Yuyan immediately asked.

It is against palace rules to secretly injure a palace maid's face like this. Judging from A Ruo's usual flamboyant personality, it is obvious that it was Concubine Xian who did it.

A Ruo seemed to be frightened. She lowered her head and her body was shaking unconsciously.

"This was an accidental bump from this servant, it's nothing serious."

Seeing that neither the emperor nor the queen had any intention of pursuing the matter further, Jin Yuyan tactfully stopped asking questions.

The Empress is obviously in a bad mood today. She will have plenty of opportunities to cause trouble for Ruyi another day.

After several young eunuchs pointed fingers at each other, they found out that besides Shunzi, the other two had ulterior motives.

What they do varies.

One of them was a eunuch in charge of purchasing. "I received some silver from Ah Ruo half a month ago behind the rockery outside the imperial kitchen. She said that Concubine Xian used to love eating fresh fish from the North City Treasure House, and asked me to buy some for her."

The other was a young eunuch who was in charge of food in the imperial kitchen. He was a palace servant who had been favored by the late emperor's Empress Ulanara.

After receiving the news, they were responsible for deciding the whereabouts of the fish. The original plan was to distribute the fish to the small kitchen in the Yanxi Palace.

But now the small kitchen in the Yanxi Palace cannot be used, so they can only use this method.

"A Ruo, do you have anything to say?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this was done by this servant alone. I was greedy and used the master's name. The master was completely unaware of this. As for the medicine in the fish's belly, this servant truly had no idea."

Langya signaled Su Lian to let go of Ruyi, and it was time for her to explain everything these people had said.

After hearing what A Ruo said, Ruyi was stunned for a moment and looked at her with complicated eyes.

She had already prepared to plead guilty, but she never expected that A Ruo would bear it all alone.

Shouldn't she be a villain who betrays her master? What went wrong?

Never mind, the most important thing right now is to save your own life.

"I was truly unaware of this matter. If I had done it, I would have found someone I trust to do it. How could it have become so public knowledge like this?"

"That's not entirely certain. Wouldn't it be better if each person was only responsible for a part of the task and had no idea what they were actually doing?"

"Sister Jiafei is right. If you don't know you are making a mistake, you will naturally be more courageous."

Huang Qiying would not miss any opportunity to take advantage of someone's misfortune, since they had already become enemies.

Ruyi said calmly, "If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext. This matter is already very clear. It is my fault for not governing my subordinates strictly. I am willing to accept the punishment."

"Not strict with your subordinates?"

"Princess Xian? Your personal maid can freely use the staff left by the late queen, just for greed? There are so many fish in the imperial kitchen, but you only chose this one that contains hidden drugs?"

Hongli's sharp eyes swept back and forth between A Ruo and Concubine Xian.

Of course he knew that things were not that simple. This was not a case of jealousy as in the past. A secret medicine from the previous dynasty had quietly entered the palace.

If I don't find out clearly, what will I do if the medicine falls into my body quietly one day?

Ruyi blinked her big eyes and looked at Hongli, hoping that he could understand her innocence from her sincere eyes.

"If your eye is twitching, go get it treated. Why are you blinking? I'm asking you a question."

Langya was really impatient. Who had time to watch her perform here in the middle of the night?

"A Ruo, you'd better tell the truth. The crime of deceiving the emperor is not something you can bear. If you were threatened or forced, you can explain it."

A Ruo bit her lip and shook her head, tears gushing out of her eyes. She kowtowed on the ground repeatedly, and blood seeped through the white cloth and flowed out again.

She kept muttering, "It's my fault. I did it alone. The master is unaware of it."

Langya rolled her eyes silently, not wanting to watch her acting, and turned to look at Hongli.

"Now, apart from the newly arrived concubines, only Concubine Xian has no children. It's obvious who needs such a disgusting thing. This kind of rare medicine is not easy to obtain, so it's not difficult to find out."

"Your Majesty, it's already late at night, and you have to attend court tomorrow. Why don't you lock them up first and wait until you find out the source of this drug before making any decisions?"

Hongli felt warmed in his heart when he saw Langya's eyes. It turned out that the queen cared about him.

"Just as the Queen said, send all of them to the Ministry of Punishment first."

Ruyi had just been embarrassed by what Langya said, and the blush on her face had not yet faded when she heard such bad news, but she still pretended to be calm.

"Your Majesty, I believe justice is in the hearts of the people. Since you have made your decision, I am willing to accept the punishment."

The armored finger lifted up, and Hongli knocked his head, as if he were under a curse.

"You don't understand what I'm saying. What does it mean to make a decision? Find out if you understand it or not before making a decision."

"Take them all away, Your Majesty. Go back and rest first. Your health is very important."

Facing Langya who was particularly abnormal tonight, Hongli glanced at Ruyi and finally turned and left.