Transmigrating into a book, seducing him to rise to power

As Qin'er entered Zhaochun Palace and stepped through the palace gate, she slightly raised her head and her gaze fell upon Consort Chunshu, who was sitting in the first seat.

Her expression hardened, and she quickly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said in a slightly nervous voice, "This servant, Qin'er from Yikun Palace, greets Consort Chunshu."

Su Jingyao sat calmly in her chair, a kind smile on her face.

Beside her stood female officials from the Censorate and the Palace Administration, their expressions serious, holding paper and pen, ready to impartially record all interrogation results at any time.

"Qin'er, you should also know that I was entrusted by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager to investigate the poisoning of the Consort. The reason I summoned you from Yikun Palace this time is that I have some questions for you."

Su Jingyao spoke slowly, her smile unchanged.

Qin'er quickly and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, please ask. This servant will answer to the best of my knowledge."

Su Jingyao tilted her head slightly, her gaze filled with a hint of inquiry.

She asked softly, "I heard that you prepared the meals for the Consort on the day she was poisoned?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Qin'er replied hastily.

Then, as if remembering something, she quickly added, "But the Imperial Concubine's meal that day was touched by Guo'er. Eunuch Anshun also came to ask me about it that day. Later, Eunuch Anshun even searched Guo'er's room and found that Consort An's dowry items were in Guo'er's room."

"Yes, I have seen all of these things in Anshun's records."

"However, I have already asked Consort An. Her pearl earrings were lost when she was in the Eastern Palace. Consort An also reported the loss at that time."

"At that time, Guo'er was still in the Imperial Household Department and had not yet been assigned to the Imperial Concubine's Palace."

Su Jingyao spoke slowly and deliberately, her gaze always fixed on Qin'er.

"In order to confirm the connection between Guo'er and Consort An, I went to look at the files of the Imperial Household Department on the allocation of palace maids after His Majesty ascended the throne."

"Guo'er was originally to be assigned to Consort Bai, but it seems that you and Guo'er have a good relationship, so the Imperial Household Department has transferred both of you to Yikun Palace." Su Jingyao's voice remained indifferent.

Upon hearing this, Qin'er's face instantly turned pale, and she felt a sudden panic, her body trembling involuntarily.

Then, with a "plop," he immediately knelt down, his voice filled with panic and fear.

"Your Highness, I didn't know at the time that Guo'er was Consort An's person. I always regarded Guo'er as a good sister. The Noble Consort is of a high rank. At that time, I just wanted Guo'er to live a good life with me."

"Since Guo'er entered Yikun Palace because of you, how did Consort An bribe Guo'er with her dowry pearl earrings in the Eastern Palace?"

Su Jingyao's voice suddenly rose, taking on a questioning tone.

Qin'er's face grew even more flustered, her lips trembling as she stammered, "This servant doesn't know anything, Guo'er... Guo'er..."

Her eyes were filled with terror and confusion, and for a moment she couldn't say anything, she just kept trembling.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible glint flashed in Su Jingyao's eyes, before a gentle smile returned to her face.

"Get up, don't be nervous. I just want to sort out all my thoughts today."

Upon hearing Su Jingyao's words, Qin'er was slightly taken aback at first, then breathed a sigh of relief as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart.

His body seemed to relax, and he slowly stood up.

Su Jingyao immediately followed up with, "Where were you yesterday at 7 PM?"

Upon hearing this, Qin'er's eyes immediately showed a thoughtful expression.

戌时 (7-9 PM)?

At that time, she wanted to inquire about the progress of Consort Chunshu's investigation into the poisoning of Consort Gui, so she arranged to meet Ping'er at 7 PM in the grove outside Yikun Palace and Zhaochun Palace.

Qin'er frowned slightly, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

Before Qin'er could think any further, Su Jingyao said directly, "Last night, my people saw you and Ping'er. Later, they dug up ebony powder from under the tree roots where you two met."

"When I summoned you here today, I already spoke with Ping'er. She said you buried it. You sought her out to bribe her into giving you information about Zhaochun Palace and to cover for you!"

When she said the last sentence, Su Jingyao's voice became noticeably stronger.

His expression turned extremely serious, and his beautiful eyes were fixed on Qin'er.

Although Su Jingyao interrogated Ping'er beforehand, Ping'er naturally didn't mention the ebony powder.

She was merely an informant for the Imperial Concubine to gather information about Zhaochun Palace, and had little to do with the Imperial Concubine's poisoning.

However, this did not prevent Su Jingyao from using Ping'er to get information out of Qin'er.

Upon hearing this, Qin'er's heart pounded wildly, and fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on her forehead.

She did meet with Ping'er last night, but she didn't bury any ebony powder at all. She had already dealt with the ebony powder issue long ago!

Qin'er's face turned deathly pale instantly, her legs went weak, and she knelt down again with a "thud".

With a sob in her voice, she cried out, "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Ping'er is from your palace. How can you only believe her side of the story?"

"Oh? His Majesty and the Empress Dowager entrusted this matter to me, which means they trust my impartiality. Each time I question someone, a lady-in-waiting will record it. If you have any doubts about other people's testimonies, I will naturally give you the opportunity to defend yourself."

Su Jingyao spoke expressionlessly, a hint of authority in her eyes.

Qin'er was extremely flustered at this moment, because neither she nor Ping'er had buried the ebony powder yesterday.

Was it because Consort Chunshu discovered Ping'er's betrayal and Ping'er framed her to protect herself, or was Ping'er originally Consort Chunshu's person and conspired to frame her?

However, Consort Gui and some elders of the Eastern Palace had previously said that Consort Chunshu was kind-hearted and never did anything scheming. Consort Chunshu had no reason to join forces with Ping'er to frame her.

Now Ping'er is pushing all the blame onto her. If it comes true, she's finished!

Her lips trembled slightly as she said in a tearful voice, "Your Majesty, Ping'er must have deliberately framed me. Ping'er buried that ebony powder."

"Qin'er, I'll give you one more chance. Ping'er is one of my people. You're in charge of the Consort's meals. Even if Ping'er has ebony powder, she can't possibly poison the Consort through connections."

"If you continue to spout nonsense and cannot provide evidence to prove your innocence, I will have to convict you."

Qin'er was completely panicked at this point, and her mind stopped working.

"Your Highness, this servant wishes to see the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine surely trusts this servant."

"This servant understands. Ping'er is from Zhaochun Palace. It was clearly Ping'er who buried the ebony powder, but Your Majesty, in order to exonerate Ping'er and clear Zhaochun Palace of suspicion, you actually framed this servant."

Qin'er knelt on the ground, her face covered in tears, looking extremely disheveled. She cried out desperately.

"Consort Chunshu, everyone in the palace says you are kind and fair, but little do they know that you are the murderer who poisoned the Imperial Concubine!"

In order to exonerate herself, Qin'er had no choice but to tie Consort Chunshu and Ping'er together.

Although Consort Gui originally intended to frame Consort An, since Ping'er in Consort Chunshu's palace had admitted to using ebony powder, it wouldn't hurt to frame Consort Chunshu as well.

His Majesty dotes on Consort Gui so much. If he knew that Consort Chunshu was so ruthless as to poison Consort Gui, His Majesty would surely despise Consort Chunshu. In that case, only Consort Gui would be favored in the harem.

She might even be promoted to a personal maid.

The personal maid of the head of a palace is a female official with a rank, and may even have her own room.

After saying these words, Qin'er knelt on the ground with her head down, constantly comforting herself in her heart.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible glint of triumph flashed in Su Jingyao's beautiful eyes, like a cunning fox's glint, gone in an instant.

Then, she parted her lips slightly and said slowly, "Ye Lan, every word Qin'er said today must be carefully recorded. I always investigate cases fairly and justly, and I will never be biased or corrupt. Take Qin'er to the Department of Criminal Justice immediately."

"No, this servant is from the Imperial Concubine's palace. Your Highness, you cannot punish this servant so arbitrarily!"

Qin'er's face was filled with terror, and her eyes were filled with horror.

After all, which person who enters the Censorate can walk out unscathed?

They either died a violent death or ended up crippled.

"I am in charge of the Palace Administration Department and have the power of punishment. Take him away immediately," Su Jingyao said calmly.

"Yes, I understand," Ye Lan replied respectfully. She was a female official from the Censorate, here to assist Consort Chunshu in investigating the case.

After Qin'er was taken away, Su Jingyao said calmly, "Chu Xi, send people to search Qin'er's room."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Chu Xi replied. She was a female historian in the Palace Administration Department, responsible for recording merits and demerits.

After everyone had left, Su Jingyao gracefully entered the warm pavilion and lay down on the chaise lounge.

I've been investigating the case these past two days, and I've really overused my brain.

She gently closed her eyes and rested. When she woke up again, Chu Xi was already waiting for her in the palace.

"Your Majesty, I found Consort An's pearl earrings in Qin'er's room. It seems that after Guo'er was taken to the Censorate, Qin'er took all of Guo'er's things for herself," Chu Xi reported respectfully, bowing slightly as she spoke.

"Besides these earrings, there are also some gold and silver jewelry bestowed by the Imperial Concubine. I also took out the clothes that Qin'er wore on the day the Imperial Concubine was poisoned and sent them to the Imperial Hospital for examination. Unexpectedly, the Imperial Hospital found some ebony powder in Qin'er's cuffs."

Chu Xi continued, her expression very serious.

"Have the clothes she changed into that day not been washed?" Su Jingyao asked, frowning.

Why didn't Anshun investigate such obvious evidence on that day?

"The ebony powder on Qin'er's cuffs was probably something she didn't notice. The clothes of all the palace maids in each palace were taken to be washed together on a set day, so Qin'er probably didn't notice it either."

"Have you checked Qin'er's roster and resume with the Imperial Household Department?" Su Jingyao raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in a slow voice.

The palace servants' rosters and resumes were managed by the Imperial Household Department, but the Empress Dowager granted her the right to view them because she was tasked with investigating a case.

"I have already checked. Qin'er and Guo'er were both second-class palace maids in Yikun Palace."

"It's just that Consort Gui's personal maid, Juxiang, is from the same hometown as Qin'er. She promoted Qin'er in front of Consort Gui, so Qin'er was promoted to a first-class maid of Yikun Palace in less than a month," Chu Xi answered in detail.

"Does the Noble Consort know that Qin'er has been taken to the Imperial Prison by me?"

"They should know."

"Alright, you've had a hard day. You may leave now."

After waving for Chu Xi to leave, Su Jingyao smiled.

Ling Yue, are you going to save Qin'er or abandon her?