Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 115: The Self-Proclaimed Noble Serpent

Everyone in the hall immediately looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xie Jiu holding Chunrong's hand, standing at the door.

Zhao Xingjin stood up subconsciously, "Why are you up?"

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Xie Jiu bowed. "I have regained some strength now. I heard that Eunuch Yang found out that Concubine Wei was the one who murdered me. I was suspicious, so I came to see you."

"You are weak, so there is no need to bow. Come, please take a seat." Zhao Xingjin ordered, and then sat down again.

Concubine Wei looked at Xie Jiu being supported in, with a look of surprise on her face, and then a hint of wariness quickly appeared in her eyes.

However, Xie Jiu did not look at her. After sitting down next to Zhao Xingjin, his eyes fell on the palace maid named Dujuan.

"You had a sister named Xi Que. She entered the palace with you eight years ago and worked in the needlework department. She died of illness about two weeks ago, right?"

After hearing what Xie Jiu said, a strange look suddenly flashed across Du Juan's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

"Yes, my sister and I entered the palace to make a living because our parents both died and we had nowhere else to turn. My elder sister caught a cold and developed a cough last winter, and now she has died. Why did Concubine Xie suddenly bring this up? Everyone in Yinmeixuan knows that my elder sister has passed away. It's no secret. You were poisoned today by me, and everything was ordered by Concubine Wei. That's the truth. Although Concubine Xie is kind-hearted, there's no need to ask any more questions."

"I'm not kind."

Xie Jiu said lightly.

These words really choked Du Juan, and her face changed slightly.

However, Xie Jiu ignored her and continued with what he was saying.

"You and your sister entered the palace at a young age, and have been dependent on each other. Your sister worked in the needlework department, and you were initially assigned to the imperial kitchen, doing menial tasks there. It was dirty and tiring. In order to transfer you away, your sister spent almost all the money she had saved over the years, and finally sent you to serve Concubine Wei."

"I never thought that Concubine Wei had such strict rules. After your sister fell ill, you left your post many times without permission to take care of her, and you were punished several times. On the day your sister passed away, you were tied to an errand for Concubine Wei and couldn't leave, so you didn't get to see her for the last time."

"Although Concubine Wei heard about this and gave you funeral money to handle your sister's funeral, you still hold a grudge, thinking that Concubine Wei was too unkind and prevented you from taking care of your sister, which led to her death. Am I right?"

These words made Dujuan's expression even more unnatural.

She pursed her lips and said, "I don't know where Concubine Xie got this information from, but I have never held a grudge against Concubine Wei. On the contrary, I am very grateful to Concubine Wei for giving me the funeral money, which will allow my sister to have a decent funeral and a good coffin to rest in peace."

Wei Jieyu and Nian Ci, the master and servant standing nearby, felt complicated when they heard Du Juan's words.

Because they really believed that Dujuan should not and would not hold a grudge because of this matter. After all, it was a rule not to allow her to leave her post to take care of her sister. After completing the day's task, no one stopped her from going. Even though the person was gone, they still gave her money and condolences.

"Dujuan, do you really hate me for this matter, so you deliberately framed me?" Concubine Wei couldn't help but ask.

"This servant doesn't hate you, Concubine." Du Juan stiffened her neck, her eyes red. "It is precisely because of my gratitude to you that I am willing to do this dirty thing for you, which could get me killed. But, Concubine, you shouldn't just throw this servant away like a pawn. Isn't my loyalty worth it for you to think of even the slightest way to save me?"

At this moment, Du Juan still kept accusing Wei Jieyu, insisting that it was Wei Jieyu who ordered her to murder Xie Jiu.

To be honest, almost everyone present believed it.

Because Dujuan's performance was so genuine, it didn't look fake at all.

Concubine Wei was speechless for a moment and wanted to explain herself, but her emotions were so mixed that she couldn't speak.

Xie Jiu frowned, hiding the emotion in his eyes, and turned to look at Zhao Xingjin, "Your Majesty, Liu Baolin has something to show you. Please allow her to come in."

"Announce." Zhao Xingjin said in a deep voice.

Soon, Liu Baolin came in with a young eunuch. After bowing, she asked the young eunuch to come forward. Everyone then noticed that the young eunuch was holding an inconspicuous, sealed jar in his hand.

"Things like this shouldn't be brought before the emperor, but the circumstances today are special, so please forgive me, Your Majesty." Liu Baolin whispered.

Zhao Xingjin frowned, "What's in the jar?"

When he asked this question, Dujuan, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly raised his head, stared at the jar, clenched his fists, and his whole body was tense.

"Your Majesty, these are the ashes of a palace maid," Liu Baolin said.

This is difficult to say. After all, cremation is not accepted by the world nowadays. Our bodies and hair are given by our parents and should not be damaged. Burning the body after death is a great insult to the deceased.

Xie Jiu sighed softly, "Your Majesty, it was this palace maid named Du Juan. She had her sister's ashes. After her sister fell ill, the people in the needlework bureau said she had contagious tuberculosis, so they had kept her in isolation. After her sister died, they cremated her without waiting for her to arrive, using the excuse of preventing infection. She snatched back these ashes. Her sister hadn't been buried, and she didn't use the funeral money awarded by Concubine Wei. She secretly hid these ashes in her residence."

He was also a poor man. Xie Jiu didn't want to comment too much, so he just stated the facts.

These were all found out by Liu Baolin.

After Yang Zhian took Du Juan away for interrogation, she immediately took action.

Liu Baolin also thought that this was a serious matter. Xie Jiu was now poisoned and unable to be tracked down, so she had to show her value.

Unexpectedly, she really found the problem.

At this time, the palace maid named Dujuan finally broke down. She suddenly jumped up and pounced on the eunuch holding the urn. She struggled to snatch the urn away and held it tightly in her arms.

"It's all your fault, it's all your fault. I just wanted to live a good life with my sister. What did I do wrong? If I had always been by my sister's side to take care of her, she wouldn't have died. She wouldn't have died at all. She didn't have contagious tuberculosis!"

Dujuan's eyes were red, and she was accusing at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down like a broken dam.

"She is. She wants to save some money so that we can live better after leaving the palace. Palace maids can leave the palace when they turn 25. Sister, you can leave in half a year, just another half a year!"

"Wei Jieyu, do you think I'll be grateful just because you gave me a few lousy coins? Pah! You're always so arrogant and talk about etiquette all the time. It's ridiculous. Now that someone's dead, you're still being polite? But when my sister was alive, why didn't you compromise and ask me to take good care of her for a few days? You're the ultimate hypocrite, a self-proclaimed noble snake!"

This scolding made Concubine Wei feel cold all over and her eyes began to become uncertain. If it weren't for the maid beside her supporting her, she seemed about to fall.

Now that things have developed to this point, how could everyone not see that Du Juan's previous words were all slander against Concubine Wei?

"Come here, take her away for strict interrogation." Zhao Xingjin waved his hand.

Naturally, we have to find out who is really behind this.

But unexpectedly, at this moment, Dujuan suddenly pulled out the hairpin on her head and stabbed it into her neck without hesitation.

Without a word, as the blood gushed out, the man collapsed to the ground like mud, but the hand holding the urn still did not let go.

Everyone was frightened and shocked by her determination.

"She, she is dead. Doesn't that mean the clue is gone?" Nian Ci beside Concubine Wei said anxiously.

The truth has not yet been revealed, and Concubine Wei is not innocent enough.

Xie Jiu frowned, then his eyes moved slightly, "Isn't there another person over there?"