The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

"Someone, bring me the hairpin," Zhang Zhiji ordered.

Kang Ziqing lay on the stretcher; as long as he didn't move, he would be fine.

"Please have my father-in-law take a look."

The servants placed the two gold hairpins in front of Kang Ziqing. Kang Ziqing examined them carefully and saw that one of them was stained with blood. He was timid to begin with, and his hand began to tremble.

“Father-in-law, there’s no need to be afraid. You just need to verify which one you personally made that day.”

Kang Ziqing was injured, but his mind was perfectly clear. He didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't afford to offend anyone here, so he could only examine the situation carefully.

Everyone watched from the sidelines, their eyes never blinking.

Meanwhile, at the Taiyu Palace.

At this moment, a man was being held kneeling in the palace, being personally interrogated by the emperor—a first since Emperor Jing ascended the throne.

The man in prison clothes, his hair disheveled, head bowed and silent, was the assassin from last night.

"Your Majesty, please, Your Majesty, grant us your request!" An old man stepped out from among the officials and immediately knelt in the main hall, pleading.

Emperor Jing frowned slightly.

The man had slightly gray hair, wore the robes of a third-rank official, and spoke in a sorrowful tone. He was none other than Yu Chong, the father of Consort Yu. Consort Yu had been demoted and had now died a violent death, so he was naturally furious.

"My dear minister, I will take care of things for you. Please get up."

Out of respect for Jing Fengyu, Emperor Jing waved his hand and said.

Knowing the situation, Eunuch Wei personally helped Yu Chong up.

Emperor Jing pointed to the kneeling prisoner in the hall and personally questioned him: "Who instructed you to attack the palace last night? Do you know that this is a capital offense!"

"His Majesty is asking you a question, so tell the truth!" an official from the Ministry of Justice shouted at the prisoner.

The shackles on the prisoner's hands rattled, and after a long while, he slowly raised his head. His hands were held down by strong guards, and only his head could still move.

The man was a large, burly man with a dark face and a coarse beard, suggesting he was a rough fellow. He looked up at Emperor Jing, his eyes already clouded, and mumbled, "I killed him."

His voice was extremely loud, and everyone could hear it clearly, causing an uproar in the court.

Emperor Jing had served in the army in his youth. This man was physically robust, unlike an ordinary person, and was often seen in the military camp. However, he looked so strange, as if he had been poisoned. He asked coldly, "You are just a commoner, what grudge do you have with Consort Yu, why did you kill her?"

"Since you killed her, why didn't you escape and instead returned to the palace?"

The kneeling prisoner remained silent.

"Be bold!"

"Your Majesty is asking a question, why don't you answer quickly?" an official from the Ministry of Justice demanded.

Suddenly, as if provoked, the prisoner broke free from his restraints, screamed wildly, stood up, and then collapsed to the ground.

Emperor Jing's guards rushed to check, only to find that the person was already dead.

"Your Majesty, the man is dead."

All the officials looked at Emperor Jing. Officials from the Ministry of Justice knelt on the ground and hurriedly begged for forgiveness, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us."

Minister of Justice Yang Rushan looked up and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is highly suspicious. Last night, the Ministry of Justice guarded us closely and did not even use torture. Today, it seems that someone is deliberately framing us!"

Emperor Jing's eyes darkened further. Putting aside the fact that the prisoner hadn't been properly interrogated and had died in the Taiyu Palace, it was truly unlucky. He waved his hand and looked at Yang Rushan, saying, "Then, in your opinion, who did this?"

“Your Majesty, the criminal just now only said that he killed someone, but Your Majesty asked about the crime of raiding the palace at night. This is an irrelevant answer and is very suspicious!”

Prince Qing was confined to his palace, but his lackeys were there, including Fang Ling. His expression was unusual; he showed no worry or fear, but rather a hint of triumph at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, a palace servant came to report: Yuan Hong, an official from the Ministry of Justice, requested an audience.

"pass!"

Yuan Hong rushed in and immediately spotted the man lying on the ground.

"See Your Majesty."

"No need for formalities, how is the investigation going?" Emperor Jing said.

Everyone in the court knows that he was asking about the hairpin. Yesterday, the Prince Qing's residence was placed under house arrest, and the whole court knew about it. Now that a day has passed, there should be some results from the investigation.

"Your Majesty, the matter of the hairpin has been resolved." Yuan Hong paused for a moment before continuing, "The hairpin that murdered Consort Yu belonged to the Prince of Qing's residence."

"what……"

"This……"

Yuan Hong's words were like a thunderclap, causing an uproar in the hall, and the officials immediately began to discuss them.

Emperor Jing frowned, his expression turning cold and stern.

“Your Majesty, this must be a slander.” The speaker was Zhou Hai, who was on good terms with Prince Qing.

Emperor Jing stared at Zhou Hai with his bright eyes, thinking to himself: What a loyal dog.

Zhou Hai bowed and scraped, every word he uttered was an attempt to exonerate Prince Qing, while Fang Ling waited until Zhou Hai had finished speaking before slowly saying, "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

"Enough!" Emperor Jing's voice was steady and powerful.

"Your Majesty!" the court officials cried out in unison, as if trying to appease Emperor Jing.

"Yuan Hong, tell me what happened?" Emperor Jing said.

Yuan Hong was merely a minor official in the Ministry of Justice, yet all eyes were on him. He swallowed hard and recounted the story of the real and fake hairpins in detail. Then he continued, "Lord Zhang Zhiji, fearing a misjudgment, specially invited Lord Kang Ziqing, the former supervisor of gold casting."

"Lord Kang said that there are only two such hairpins in the world, and their secret lies in the hairpin head. Not only can it be removed, but it also has the character 'Emperor' engraved inside."

"And then, as expected, this method was used to distinguish the hairpins, and Lord Kang fainted after saying this."

"Dizzy?" Emperor Jing was full of questions. What was going on?

"Your Majesty, I was ordered to fetch Lord Kang today, but Lord Kang was attacked. When I arrived, Lord Zhang was already lying in a pool of blood."

Emperor Jing rubbed his fingertips, closed his eyes slightly, and understood.

“Your Majesty, the country has its laws. Now that the truth has come to light, even if Prince Qing is a member of the imperial family, he cannot escape punishment,” said Prime Minister Chu.

Zhou Hai, still unwilling to admit defeat, continued, "That is not true, Your Majesty. The real culprit has clearly confessed, and is the person who died suddenly in this palace."

"What about the gold hairpin in Prince Qing's hand?"

"Of course, someone framed him."

The two began to argue back and forth.

Yu Chong initially thought that an assassin had killed Consort Yu, but now that Prince Qing was involved, he was at a loss for what to do.

Just then, a palace servant came to report: "The Third Prince requests an audience."

Emperor Jing glanced at Eunuch Wei, who understood immediately and shouted down, "Summon the Third Prince to the palace."