The punishment of the female imperial court

"This old woman does not understand what Lord Yu means." The voice remained calm, like the clear sound of a singing bowl.

Consort Shang was stunned upon hearing this, feeling both surprised and amused, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Are you... are you crazy? Consort Cao was already a Consort in the Shou Kang Palace during the late Emperor's reign. What reason would she have to murder Empress Mingdao and frame Empress Mingde?"

This was the question on everyone's mind.

However, no one dared to ask.

Yu Qiansi turned to look at the emperor standing under the Buddha statue. He stood quietly with his eyes lowered, warming himself by a fire.

The flames flickered, but could not penetrate his eyes.

Does he know?

Yu Qiansi did countless audacious and reckless things throughout her life.

But this time, she was scared.

Even though Wang Song was prepared, she was still worried about the truth of what she was about to say.

But now, there is no way to retreat.

Only now, when I'm on my deathbed, do I realize that the child who once hated the palace and was afraid of the dark is gone.

He was swallowed up by the inner palace.

He knows the truth.

But why did he make me tell all this?
What does he want to do?
Yu Qiansi turned to look at Consort Cao.

She had only caught a fleeting glimpse of her at Taiye Pond before, but now, upon closer inspection, she realized that although Consort Cao held the title of Ning Temple Consort, she was not much older than Consort Shang.

However, deliberately wearing clothes that make one appear older makes them seem more dignified.

"Yu Qiansi!" Consort Shang could not bear her sudden silence and scrutiny of those around her, and she questioned her, but her voice trembled slightly in the suddenly quiet hall.

"Yu Qiansi! How dare you slander the Empress Dowager!"

“A wound so deep that the bone is visible is difficult to heal without affecting normal hand use. Moreover, if we don’t want a scar, we can only add musk to the medicine. I don’t need to tell you gentlemen how precious musk is, do I?”

The jade-faced woman stood calmly alone, dressed in white. She seemed like a figure formed from the cold wind outside the palace, exuding a chill from her entire body.

Not right.

Bo Yi frowned as he looked at Yu Qian Si in front of him.

Something is wrong with her.

In the past, she had been seen to act recklessly and offend court officials when handling cases.

But today, she was filled with hostility, and even her usual fake smile was nowhere to be seen.

But what exactly happened that made her feel so threatened?

Just now, she was unusually cold to him, as if she was deliberately keeping her distance.

Clearing his mother's name had been his long-cherished wish for many years. Now that the truth was right before his eyes, he looked at the person in front of him but hesitated.

“I checked the palace’s inventory and records of musk, and no one used it before or after the incident. Even if someone had extraordinary abilities, it would be impossible for them to bring such a substance into the palace, right?”

Therefore, the murderer must still have the hand injury from back then.

"There's another point. If the murderer wasn't someone who was in the Prayer Hall back then," Yu Qiansi paused, "the best solution would be for them to go through countless hardships to enter the Prayer Hall, kill someone, and escape in the chaos."

Only someone who is trapped in the situation and cannot escape will design a crime scene. After all, the best way to absolve oneself is to find a scapegoat who appears impeccable to everyone.

This makes the people in the three halls of the Prayer Hall even more suspicious.

Thinking of this, everyone's eyes couldn't help but turn to Consort Cao.

Apart from briefly asking Yu Qian Si a question, the person in question remained as calm as a winter lake, closing her eyes and silently reciting scriptures, only her hands tucked into her sleeves, moving rhythmically as she turned the prayer beads.

It was as if the current farce had nothing to do with her.

Such behavior.
Is Jade Rakshasa really going to stumble this time?
Yu Qiansi's gaze also fell on the fingers that were occasionally moving the prayer beads: "The medical records from the Imperial Hospital clearly state that the day after Consort Cao's incident at the Qifu Hall, she said she injured her hand while doing embroidery." Hearing this, Consort Cao paused in her prayer beads, and then heard Yu Qiansi ask her, "I'm just curious, what kind of needlework technique could leave both palms covered in crisscrossing wounds, and what kind of silk thread could leave wounds so deep that the bone is visible?"

Empress Zheng nodded slightly, and the old nanny Cui took out the medical records from that year.

"The medical records from back then confirm this."

Consort Cao opened her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. Her tone was calm and composed, full of concern and tolerance for the younger generation's unreasonable behavior, without a trace of anger at being slandered: "Lord Yu just said that the laws of Dasheng emphasize evidence. You are now curious about the silk thread that injured me back then, but I have no way of finding the silk thread from 10 years ago. Furthermore, if Lord Yu suspects me, shouldn't Lord Yu provide evidence? Otherwise, it's just empty talk."

His tone was gentle, yet his statement left no room for argument.

She returned to Yu Qian's words that had just been used to criticize Consort Shang.

"Who says I can't find evidence?"

Upon hearing this, even Jiang Jiqing, who had been standing aside, looked up.

He glanced at it with great interest, as if he was expecting something.

Upon realizing this, Yu Qiansi frowned.

He's really gone mad.

If she were to expose this in public, even if she were to die, would his throne be secure?
Watching the two exchange strange glances, Boyi felt as if he could hear camel bells, his hair stood on end, and he could hardly breathe.

This feeling was similar to the strange sensation he felt when he and the vanguard army blocked the armored troops of Beiliao.

That time, apart from him and Feng Qi, the entire vanguard army was wiped out.

He touched the scar on the end of his eyebrow left from that battle, and remembered Feng Qi's words of comfort.

"Aru!"

He didn't know what Yu Qiansi was going to say, but he knew it must be something very important.

He regretted it.

The past may be important, even worth his death, but it's not worth her giving up everything.

This soft call brought Yu Qiansi back to her senses.

She glanced at Boyi, who was trying to walk towards her, and coldly looked away.

He said firmly, "Although your wounds all resemble threads, there isn't a thread in this world strong enough to cut so deep that bone is visible, right? This must be some kind of special object."

At this point, Yu Qiansi paused slightly, as some images flashed through her mind.

But then she rejected her idea.

The murder weapon in the Lingyun Pavilion case had an uneven cut. The worm tendon found by Wuyawei at Steward Cao's place was also thicker than the wound.

“Such a special thing could not possibly be destroyed or buried at will. If it were accidentally discovered, it would inevitably be linked to the wounds of Empress Mingdao or Consort Cao. Therefore, this ‘silk thread’ must still be being properly preserved.”

"Does Lord Yu mean that this thing is still in the palace, but you don't know where it is?" Jiang Jiqing couldn't help but ask, a hint of disappointment in his voice: "But isn't it like looking for a needle in a haystack to find something you don't know in the Daming Palace?"

Yu Qiansi lowered her eyes and gave a bitter smile.

Good tactic, he's definitely forcing himself.

But she deliberately alerted them during the day, and then caused such a commotion at the Daming Palace. When it came to evidence, she evaded the question and didn't get to the point.

She refused to believe that the man could remain calm.

"There's more evidence!" Sure enough, a loud shout came from outside the hall, its trembling voice rushing into the hall along with the cold wind.

A middle-aged woman dressed in the attire of a low-ranking palace maid stood outside the hall. Although she was blocked by the imperial guards, she remained neither humble nor arrogant, saying, "I am the witness."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned around and looked outside the hall.

Only Yu Qiansi gently exhaled and slowly closed her eyes.

The truth she seeks may lie in this person's hands. (End of Chapter)