I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 291 Killing three birds with one stone

Xie Jieyu nodded.

She not only used it, but used a lot of it, because recuperating was really boring. She not only bothered the imperial physicians, but also messed with her own face.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingfan gestured to Feng Jing to take her pulse.

A moment later, Feng Jing said, "Consort Jieyu is in good health and has not been poisoned."

Qin Shu crossed her arms and glanced at him sideways.

She just examined Xie Jieyu. If Xie Jieyu were poisoned, she wouldn't be able to diagnose it.

Feng Jing quickly explained, "I have no doubts about your medical skills."

Qin Shu sneered: "If you really have no suspicions, what's there to explain?"

Feng Jing: "..."

Explaining doesn't work, and not explaining doesn't work either. So what should we ask him to do?
If things continue like this, I might not even get to see anyone roll their eyes at me anymore.

This is so frustrating!
Consort Xie realized something was wrong and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I have no grudge against Consort Shu and we get along well. Why would I poison her?"

Xiao Jingfan's eyes were cold and deep: "Of the cosmetics sent to the palace together, the one you used was not poisoned, but the one you gave to Consort Shu was poisoned. What a coincidence! How can I believe you?"

"Someone must have framed me." Xie Jieyu felt extremely wronged. If she had known this would happen, she would have kept everything for herself.

[Indeed, someone framed her; the man-eating flower wanted to use Xie Jieyu as a raft to cross itself.]

Chu Liuzheng finally revealed the whole story of this incident.

[Xie Jieyu is quite audacious. That Xiao Fuzi has repeatedly come to Yihe Palace to curry favor, but it's not for her at all; it's for Liu Mama, who serves by her side.]

[Granny Liu's son was a gambler. After losing all his money, he went to drown his sorrows in alcohol. In his drunken stupor, he killed someone, but relying on the Xie family's power, he suppressed the matter. Everything seemed to be over, but when Xiao Fuzi went out of the palace to do errands for Consort Shen, she happened to overhear her informant mentioning the incident. She immediately seized upon this as leverage against Granny Liu and used it to blackmail her.]

The Xie family was powerful, but if the Shen family wanted to seek justice for an innocent victim, they could easily make Granny Liu's son pay with his life. Granny Liu only had one son, and she couldn't bear to watch him die. She was forced to obey Xiao Fuzi's orders and mix the Cold Marrow Powder into the cosmetics that Consort Xie had given to Consort Shu.

Chu Liuzheng clicked his tongue inwardly.

Consort Shen's scheme is a triple win!

[First, she uses Consort Xie to poison Consort Shu, indirectly poisoning the little princess. When the time comes and both are about to succumb to the poison, she sends a pre-prepared doctor with the antidote into the palace to save Consort Shu and the little princess.]

[In this way, she could gain favor with Consort Shu, regain the emperor's favor by rescuing the little princess, and make Consort Xie, who was at odds with her, take the blame. It was truly a clever scheme that harmed others for her own benefit.]

[Tsk, once they make a move, it's nothing; but when they do, it's astonishing. That precious bag was just an appetizer.]

It's Consort Shen again.

Xiao Jingfan reached out and touched the Bodhi beads on his wrist, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I truly had no intention of harming Consort Shu, much less the little princess." Consort Xie cried, tears streaming down her face. "Your Majesty, just order an investigation. You can turn Yihe Palace upside down, I'm innocent!"

At this moment, Consort Shu, who had just finished washing up, came in carrying the little princess and pleaded softly, "Your Majesty, Consort Xie is straightforward by nature. This matter may really have nothing to do with her. In order to avoid wronging an innocent person, please send someone to investigate carefully."

Her plea was not because she believed Xie Jieyu, but because Xie Jieyu really liked the little princess.

The two lived in the same palace. Xie Jieyu not only visited often, but also went to great lengths to have the Xie family's craftsmen make many exquisite toys for the palace, just to make the little princess happy.

There might be an ulterior motive in trying to please the Empress Dowager, but time will tell, and Consort Shu believed she could distinguish between sincerity and pretense.

She felt that, given the current situation, Xie Jieyu wouldn't dare to harm the little princess, since it would not only bring her no benefit but also anger the emperor.

Most importantly, Consort Shu didn't want the person who truly harmed her and her daughter to go unpunished! Consort Shu's plea conveniently gave Xiao Jingfan an opening. He looked at Consort Xie, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Don't rush to cry. Think carefully, who has been in contact with these cosmetics?"

"Yes." Xie Jieyu sobbed and wiped her tears with a silk handkerchief, then looked at her head maid, "Liuli, you speak."

She entrusted all her belongings to Liuli, who was very familiar with the affairs of Yihe Palace.

After thinking for a moment, Liuli named seven or eight people, including Granny Liu.

Zhou Yuande brought all the people in, interrogated them outside, and then brought in one person.

He bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, when others came into contact with these cosmetics, they were in groups of two or three, so they had no opportunity to tamper with them. Only this person is the most suspicious."

Xie Jieyu turned her head to look, and after seeing who it was, her beautiful eyes widened slightly, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Granny Liu, it's you?"

"Your Majesty, this old servant is innocent!" Granny Liu cried out, kneeling on the ground. "This old servant was only following your orders to go to the storeroom to get those cosmetics. I didn't even open the lids. How could I have poisoned them?"

Xie Jieyu frowned, looking at her with surprise and uncertainty.

To be honest, she naturally didn't want to believe that Granny Liu was behind this, but... she turned to look at Xiao Jingfan, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

Seeing that she did not plead for her, Granny Liu cried even more pitifully, repeatedly shouting that she was wronged.

Xiao Jingfan's head was throbbing from her noise, and he shouted in a deep voice, "Slap yourself!"

Xiao Anzi stepped forward, swung his arm, and delivered two crisp slaps to the face.

The entire hall fell silent.

Granny Liu covered her face, not daring to make a scene anymore, but she refused to say a word, insisting that if anyone asked, it was because she was innocent.

Xiao Jingfan didn't have the patience to waste time with her, so he ordered Zhou Yuande to take the person away for questioning.

Before long, Liu Mama's miserable screams, filled with pain, came from outside, sending chills down everyone's spines.

Xiao Jingfan played with the Bodhi beads expressionlessly, his face and eyes even colder, like a block of ice.

Xie Jieyu was pale, and Liuli supported her with concern, gently comforting her.

Behind the screen, Consort Shu covered the little princess's ears and watched Qin Shu administer acupuncture to the sleeping princess. Her heart ached so much that tears welled up in her eyes, and she had no time to care about the screams.

Chu Liuzheng also wanted to cover her ears, but the situation didn't allow it, so she had to use the system to distract herself.

Who would have thought that a single swipe would reveal:

[Xiao Fuzi, a young eunuch at Zhaiyue Hall, committed suicide by poisoning himself, leaving behind a suicide note.]

She slowly widened her eyes.

[Holy crap! Little Fuzi is dead!!]

Xiao Jingfan was so annoyed by her shouting that his hair almost stood on end, and he felt like he was on the verge of deafness.

Chu Liuzheng clicked on the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) to take a closer look.

[Frog Fun, that man-eating flower is ruthless! It acted decisively after only hearing a whisper, even adding the Cold Marrow Powder to the sweet soup. Little Fuzi happily drank it down, and died within three breaths.]

That suicide note was also forged by the carnivorous plant, just to frame Xiao Fuzi.

[Tsk, now look what's happened. Even if Granny Liu were to implicate Xiao Fuzi, with that suicide note, Consort Shen would at most be accused of lax management of her subordinates, not even a scratch.]

Just then, Zhou Yuande strode in and reported, "Your Majesty, Granny Liu has confessed that she was indeed the one who poisoned the woman, and it has nothing to do with Consort Xie."