Transmigrated Female Official

Facing Xiao Fengsi, the Empress did not accept Tianyun with a beaming smile as usual. Instead, she solemnly raised her jade finger and instructed, "Nanny, take Tianyun away first. I have something to ask Xile."

"Yes." Upon seeing this, the wet nurse immediately hunched her shoulders and carried Tianyun away.

Princess Bajie rarely saw the Empress treat her with such an attitude. She was startled and wondered if she had been implicated in Long Kui's affair.

Logically speaking... this shouldn't be the case! Even if there is conclusive evidence that Longkui instructed Leitian to add arsenic to the teapot, it has nothing to do with her, especially since there is no further evidence yet.

"Xile..." The Empress stared intently at the Eighth Princess, who was lost in thought, and said seriously, "I ask you, have you ever done anything that I cannot forgive?"

When asked this by the Empress, the Eighth Princess froze and hurriedly blurted out, "Of course... no!" Even she herself felt guilty about this answer, so she quickly added, "Your Majesty knows Xile best. Xile has only ever made small mistakes since childhood, but she would never dare to make a big mistake!"

"..." The Empress glanced at her silently before saying to Chonghuan, who was standing at the palace gate, "Let them in."

As soon as the Empress finished speaking, the Sixth Princess, Chu Qingluo, and Jiang Sha walked in from the outer hall.

The Eighth Princess stared wide-eyed at the three people in front of her in disbelief; they were clearly up to no good! Although she tried her best to hide her nervousness, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest!

After the Empress waited until the group was settled, she said, "Lord Jiang, you said Princess Xile committed an unforgivable mistake, yet you insisted on waiting for her to come in person for a face-to-face confrontation. Now that Xile is here, can you speak?"

"As you command." Jiang Sha stepped forward and calmly said, "Your Majesty, please grant me permission to summon someone."

"That's right."

Then, a male attendant hurried into the hall. "Your Majesty, may you be well! I am the attendant who cleans the Buddhist hall."

The Empress gestured for him to dispense with the formalities, then looked at Jiang Sha, waiting for her next explanation.

Jiang Sha said, "Your Majesty, this attendant said that he saw Lord Ziyan at the entrance of the Buddhist hall on the day he died of poisoning."

Upon hearing this, the Empress raised an eyebrow and said, "It is reasonable that you would run into him since Ziyan did indeed tell me that he would go to the Buddhist temple to pray for me."

"When I saw Lord Ziyan, he... stood outside the Buddhist hall and didn't go in..."

"Why is that?" the Empress asked, puzzled.

"I was on my way to the Buddhist hall to exchange the incense burner when Lord Ziyan stopped me at the door. He told me to keep quiet and to come back later. I didn't know why Lord Ziyan was like that at first, but then I heard people talking inside the Buddhist hall... and that's when I understood."

"Who were the people talking in the Buddhist hall at that time?"

The attendant glanced discreetly at the Eighth Princess beside him before replying, "It is Princess Xile and Lady Longkui."

"Don't talk nonsense! I didn't go to any Buddhist hall!" The Eighth Princess hurriedly denied it as soon as she heard this. She was in a state of utter confusion, never expecting that someone else besides Ziyan had overheard her conversation with Long Kui!

The Empress glanced at her displeasedly, and the Eighth Princess dared not utter another word. Only then did the Empress say to her attendant, "You may continue."

The attendant continued, "I heard... Princess Xile and Lady Longkui are cursing His Majesty!"

Hearing her attendant's blatant lies, the Eighth Princess was instantly enraged; she had just believed him! She lunged forward and kicked him hard, roaring, "You damned thing! I never said that! How dare you slander me?!" Then, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine…

Oh no! We've fallen into their trap!

Before the Empress could speak, Jiang Sha quickly said, "So, Princess Xile did indeed go to the Buddhist hall with Lady Longkui back then?!"

"I..." The Eighth Princess was speechless, her face turning red.

The Empress was somewhat confused by Jiang Sha's commotion and said impatiently, "Lord Jiang, what exactly are you trying to say?" The Empress didn't really believe that Xi Le was cursing her.

Jiang Sha bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty, everything the attendant said before was true, except for the last sentence, which I instructed him to say. I dared to use it to test Princess Xile, and I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

"How dare you!" The Empress leaned forward and said sternly, "Lord Jiang, do you know your crime of instigating someone to deceive the Emperor?"

"I admit my guilt! I resorted to this underhanded tactic in order to get Princess Xile to admit that she and Lord Longkui were in the Buddhist hall that day."

"Even if Xile was in the Buddhist hall that day, what does it matter?" The Empress stared at Jiang Sha and warned, "If you can't give me a clear explanation, I won't let you off." After saying that, the Empress had Chong Huan take the attendant away first, and then turned to the Eighth Princess and said, "Xile, you were indeed in the Buddhist hall at the time, and you were with Minister Long. Why didn't you admit it just now?"

Seeing that she had been exposed, the Eighth Princess could only stammer, "...It's nothing serious, so I was just happy and forgot for a moment. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Only after the Eighth Princess admitted it did the Empress say, "Lord Jiang, you may continue."

"Upon my investigation, it is confirmed that Lord Ziyan went to the Buddhist hall at Chenshi (7-9 AM) on that day, but arrived at Guangren Hall at Wushi (11 AM-1 PM). That is to say, a full two hours passed. Your Majesty, where do you think Lord Ziyan went during this time?"

"What's so strange about that?" The Eighth Princess rolled her eyes at Jiang Sha and chimed in, "I already said that Lord Ziyan went to pray for the Emperor, so naturally he'll be staying in the Buddhist hall!"

The Empress did not express her opinion, but looked at Jiang Sha, signaling her to continue.

Jiang Sha raised her voice and said, "The truth is that Lord Ziyan never stepped into the Buddhist hall that day, because he overheard Princess Xile and Lord Longkui's private conversation outside the door. The content of their conversation was that they were plotting to harm Lord Chu! So, after much deliberation, he decided to tell Lord Chu, who had been kind to him back then, about this!"

Faced with Jiang Sha's shocking words, the Eighth Princess could no longer feign composure. She rushed to the Empress and put on an innocent expression, pleading, "Your Majesty, please do not believe Lady Jiang's slander! She is defaming Xile!"

At this moment, the Empress's mind kept replaying what Jiang Sha had just said. Although Jiang Sha had not yet presented any evidence, the Empress felt a vague unease, sensing that this matter was somehow related to Xi Le.

"Lord Jiang, you dare to say that, you must have evidence?" the Empress asked.

“Exactly.” Jiang Sha raised her head and said confidently, “Please allow me to summon another person, Your Majesty.”

"Quick pass!"

~~~Divider Line~~~

I have to say, it's incredible that such a nobody like me has a patron! What a true fan! Thank you to the first patron of this book—Dongdongqi!