My daughter was sold, I want to divorce her and go back to my parents' home to escape the famin

232. Qingxue goes to the imperial manor to find evidence

Soon, the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician for Lin Qingxue's health care was prepared, and Chuntao brought a bowl of pitch-black medicine into the room.

Under Gu Jinxuan's watchful gaze, Lin Qingxue could only gulp down the bowl of medicine with an expressionless face.

After resting for a while, Lin Qingxue ate a bowl of pumpkin millet porridge sent from the kitchen, and the twins started crying.

Lin Qingxue knew as soon as she touched the twins that they had urinated and were hungry. Fortunately, Nanny Jin acted quickly and arranged for servants to take care of the twins and a wet nurse to take care of them.

Seeing that Nanny Jin had made all the arrangements, Gu Jinxuan asked the wet nurse to take the twins to the next room, leaving the room empty for Lin Qingxue to live alone so that she could concentrate on resting.

Lin Qingxue was relieved that the twins had someone to take care of them. She was relaxed and sleepy at the moment, so Gu Jinxuan patted her back gently and she slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The twins next door would urinate or get hungry soon after, and they kept bothering the servants who were taking care of them.

It was only after dawn that Gu Jinxuan and Lin Qingxue woke up from their deep sleep. After washing up, the couple ate breakfast sent from the kitchen.

Lin Qingxue couldn't sit still any longer, but seeing that Gu Jinxuan was still eating slowly, she didn't dare to open her mouth.

Gu Jinxuan put down his bowl and chopsticks, looked at Lin Qingxue seriously, and said, "Take some nourishing items with you! We may need to stay for a few days before returning home. I will make some arrangements. Wait for me for an incense stick of time, and then we will set off for the imperial manor."

"Okay, I'll prepare it now," Lin Qingxue responded happily. Of course, she didn't need to prepare anything herself, she just needed to ask Donghe and Chuntao to do it.

Gu Jinxuan instructed Nanny Jin to take good care of the two young masters, and left Chuntao to assist. He asked Donghe and Dongzao from the small kitchen to go to the imperial farm with Lin Qingxue.

After everything was arranged, less than an incense stick of time had passed before Gu Jinxuan and Lin Qingxue rode their horses at full speed towards the imperial farm.

Dong He and Dong Zao naturally followed the servant in a carriage to the imperial farm. They took some supplements prepared by Lin Qingxue and followed slowly from behind, so they would not get lost anyway.

The couple Gu Jinxuan and Lin Qingxue rode on horseback for less than two hours and arrived at the imperial farm before noon.

The imperial manor was heavily guarded at this time. If the guards had not known Gu Jinxuan, the two might not have been able to get in.

After passing through many checkpoints, they finally arrived at Princess Anyang's tent, but they did not see Princess Anyang and the children.

When the servants were brought over and asked, they found out that the emperor had called Princess Anyang and the children over to interrogate the captured people together.

In the emperor's tent, not only Princess Anyang and the people from the Duke of Huguo's Mansion were present, but also the empress dowager, the queen, several princes and several ministers.

Fortunately, the emperor's tent was very large. It not only had a study and sleeping area, but also a large space for entertaining guests.

The atmosphere in the emperor's tent was extremely solemn. Princess Anyang sat in the corner, looking haggard and with red and swollen eyes, obviously having just cried.

She held Gu Xiaoya's three children tightly in her arms, with Gu Huaiyuan and his three brothers standing behind her, comforting them softly from time to time, for fear of disturbing the three sisters.

Everyone in the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion stood aside, each with a worried look on their face, as if things were not going as smoothly as they had expected.

The Queen Mother sat in the main seat, her face serious, her eyes scanning everyone.

The Queen sat next to the Queen Mother, with her head slightly lowered, a barely perceptible nervousness on her face.

Several princes and ministers were standing or sitting, whispering and speculating about how things would turn out.

The emperor looked at the men in black kneeling on the ground with an expressionless face, then looked in the direction of the princes and ministers.

"Your Majesty, this is what I found on the man in black. It is the token of the Eastern Palace," said the minister behind the man in black, Lian Zicong, the cousin of Concubine Lian.

He paused and continued, "After my humble investigation, I found that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has not been acting normally recently. It's obvious that someone is trying to frame him. As for who it is, I'm clueless and haven't figured it out yet."

After hearing Lian Zicong's words, the emperor's face became even darker, and the uneasiness on the queen's face became more obvious. She looked at the queen mother and Princess Anyang.

She turned to look at the Emperor and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, since that person was able to obtain the token from the Crown Prince's Palace, it shows that he is of extraordinary status. Moreover, if he was able to obtain the Crown Prince's token today, can he easily obtain the tokens from Your Majesty, my concubine, or the Empress Dowager's Palace? Fortunately, the three princesses of the Protector of the State Mansion are fine. If something really happened, it would be difficult to deal with. The most important thing now is to catch the mastermind behind this."

"What the Queen said makes sense. Emperor, you must make the decision for your sister. The three princesses of the Gu family have suffered an unprovoked disaster. They must be comforted and compensated."

The Queen Mother nodded and said with a stern face that, not to mention that the three princesses of the Gu family were her great-granddaughters, just based on the efforts and contributions of the Duke of Protectorate to the Great Zhao, she would not allow outsiders to humiliate her like this, which was an insult to the royal family.

The emperor nodded slightly and said, "Take him away and torture him. Make sure he confesses the mastermind behind this."

"No need, I'll come myself," the emperor was interrupted before he could finish his words.

Gu Jinxuan and Lin Qingxue walked quickly from outside to the emperor, kneeling and bowing. "Your humble servant, Gu Jinxuan, and your humble servant, Lin Qingxue, greet Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty! May the Empress Dowager and the Empress be well. I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and all the princes and princesses."

The emperor waved his hand, signaling them to stand up. "Rise! You all know what happened. We are now interrogating those people to see what they are up to."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for upholding justice for me," Gu Jinxuan said respectfully as she saluted the emperor.

"Qingxue, why are you here? Are you okay? Why are you here right after giving birth? The mother is here, no one dares to bully the children."

Seeing Lin Qingxue's figure, Princess Anyang was shocked. She put down her three granddaughters and walked quickly to Lin Qingxue and looked her up and down. After seeing her flat belly, she thought the child was gone. She suppressed the pain in her heart and comforted her.

Lin Qingxue had seen a lot of true feelings and false intentions along the way, so she naturally saw through Princess Anyang's thoughts at a glance.

She leaned into Princess Anyang's arms and said with a smile, "Mother, I'm so lucky to have fulfilled my mission. Qingxue has given you a pair of twin grandchildren. I was worried about Xiaoya and the others, so I left the children in the mansion to be taken care of by Nanny Jin and Chuntao. I also invited two imperial physicians to stay in the mansion to nurse the twins back to health."

"Okay, I'm glad you and the baby are okay." Upon hearing that Lin Qingxue had given birth to twins, Princess Anyang and the Duke of Huguo, as well as the emperor and the empress dowager, finally showed a long-lost smile.

Several big men smiled, and the atmosphere in the tent became much more relaxed. Everyone was happy for Lin Qingxue and Gu Fu.

"Mother, business is more important. I'm fine. The imperial physician has checked my pulse, otherwise Jinxuan wouldn't have brought me here," Lin Qingxue said with a smile. She naturally heard the worry in Princess Anyang's words, and also saw the concern of others for herself and the children.

Hearing Lin Qingxue's words, Princess Anyang knew that she couldn't stop him. Now that he was here, could she send him back? She could only let Lin Qingxue handle the matter personally.

"Princess Protector of the Country, you said you want to do it yourself? Are you physically able?" the emperor asked with a smile. He was also relieved. As long as Lin Qingxue and her child were safe, it would be good. At most, there would be some more blood.

If something really happened, he would inevitably be beaten. He was the emperor, but he was always beaten by his sister. Who could understand his sadness and pain?

"Sure," Lin Qingxue said firmly, even if it's not possible, it will work.

Seeing Lin Qingxue's firm attitude, no one else said anything. Lin Qingxue walked up to the man in black, and Gu Jinxuan followed closely and stood beside her.

"Go prepare salt water and pepper water. Jinxuan, give me your weapon," Lin Qingxue said with a smile. She wanted to squat down to talk, but she promised herself that she couldn't squat down. Once she squatted down, her lower body would hurt so much.

Gu Jinxuan looked at Lin Qingxue with heartache. Although he was reluctant, he knew that she had made up her mind. He could only hand over his sword as she said, and quickly ordered people to prepare salt water and chili water.

In a short while, everything was ready.

Lin Qingxue took the sword and gently pulled it out. The blade flashed with cold light and looked particularly cold in the dim light in the tent.

She looked at the man in black in front of her, and the smile on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by a solemn look.

"Tell me, who ordered you?" Lin Qingxue's voice was cold and emotionless.

The man in black tightly closed his lips with a determined look on his face, and it was obvious that he was prepared to never speak a word even if he died.

Seeing this, Lin Qingxue was not in a hurry. She picked up a bowl of salt water and slowly poured it on the ground. Then she dipped the tip of the knife in the salt water and gently scratched the wound of the man in black.

"Ah!" The man in black suddenly let out a scream, beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead, and his body kept twitching.

"I'll give you another chance, will you tell me or not?" Lin Qingxue's voice was still cold, as if the pain before her had no effect on her at all.

The man in black still gritted his teeth and refused to speak.

Lin Qingxue sneered, picked up the pepper spray and poured it directly onto the wound of the man in black.

"Ah!" The man in black screamed again and rolled on the ground in pain.

"It seems you really don't want to talk anymore," Lin Qingxue stood up and looked at the man in black with disdain in her eyes, "Then don't blame me for being rude."

As she spoke, she raised her sword and pretended to chop it down.

"Wait!" At this moment, the other man in black, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you..."

"Shut up, don't say anything," the tortured man in black roared, holding back the pain.

But Lin Qingxue would not let him off. With an expressionless face, he took Gu Jinxuan's weapon and neatly cut the tendons of the man in black's hands and feet.

Without his flexors and tendons, the man in black became a cripple. The pain in his limbs increased exponentially, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't even roll on the ground.

Without leg tendons, the man in black had trouble even kneeling. He collapsed to the ground as if he had no bones, staring at Lin Qingxue with eyes full of resentment.

But Lin Qingxue's actions completely frightened the other men in black. They thought that the torture would only be whipping, but they didn't expect that not only would salt water and pepper water be poured on their wounds, but their tendons in their hands and feet would also be cut, making them disabled.

How could the men in black endure such punishment? Naturally, they were all eager to confess the mastermind behind the incident.

A man in black turned pale with fear, his voice trembling as he spoke, "It's... it's the Third Prince's staff. He found us, gave us a large sum of money, and asked us to kidnap the three princesses from the Protectorate Palace. He also gave us tokens from the Eastern Palace and told us to blame the Crown Prince if we were caught."

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally quiet tent exploded as if a blockbuster bomb had been dropped.

People were whispering and talking to each other, and the noise was endless.

The third prince Zhao Xianjie, who had been silent all this time, turned pale as paper when he heard this. He hurried forward in two steps and saluted the emperor with his hands clasped together.

At the same time, he shouted in defense at the top of his voice, "Your Majesty, this is pure slander! I am loyal to you, as heaven and earth bear witness! I have absolutely no intention of committing such a heinous act. Your Majesty, please be clear-headed! There must be a traitor deliberately plotting to frame me. I hope Your Majesty will not believe such slander!"

At this moment, the emperor's face was extremely gloomy, as if water could drip out of it. He glared at the third prince with his sharp eyes and coldly scolded him, "Shut up! Before the matter is thoroughly investigated, no one is allowed to speak nonsense or make rash assertions here! Otherwise, you will be severely punished!"

After saying this, the emperor turned his gaze towards the mysterious man in black, his eyes revealing a sense of majesty and questioning. He then pressed on, "Since you dare to stand up and accuse the Third Prince, you must have solid evidence in your hands, right? Tell me the truth. How did he secretly contact you? If you lie, I will not forgive you!"

The man in black swallowed and said nervously, "He always came to see us secretly at night, and the silver he gave us had the seal of the Second Prince's palace. Moreover, before we took action, he specifically told us that there would be a generous reward after the mission was successful. If anything went wrong, we should put the blame on the prince, and he would keep our family safe."

When the queen heard this, a cold look appeared on her face. She subconsciously looked at the crown prince and the second prince. Seeing that her two sons looked normal, she knew that they had known about this for a long time, but had no evidence.

Thinking of this, the queen also understood. Perhaps Princess Anyang, the Duke of Huguo's Mansion, and the emperor all knew about this, but they just had no evidence to convict the third prince.

The Queen Mother's face turned livid with rage. She slammed the table and shouted, "This is sheer nonsense! How can the royal family maintain its dignity? Emperor, you must thoroughly investigate this matter and give an explanation to the Duke of Protectorate and the people of the world!"

Gu Jinxuan and Lin Qingxue looked at each other, and both saw seriousness in each other's eyes. They instantly understood that this was a good opportunity, but they didn't know what the emperor meant to the third prince.

Gu Jinxuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this matter concerns the Duke of Huguo's Mansion and the dignity of the imperial family. I implore Your Majesty to allow me to participate in the investigation and to get to the bottom of the truth."

The emperor nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I agree. We must find out the truth as soon as possible. If anyone dares to stir up trouble under my nose, I will not show mercy!"

Lin Qingxue looked at the disheveled man in black on the ground without any pity in her heart. She knew that this was just the beginning and the conspiracy behind it might be far more complicated than they imagined.

She secretly clenched her fists and swore in her heart that she must seek justice for her family and make those who had evil intentions pay the price.