Transmigrating into a book, seducing him to rise to power

Jun Zechen frowned slightly and explained with a solemn expression.

"Qin'er and Ping'er from Consort Chunshu's palace secretly met last night and did some unspeakable things. I have already imprisoned them both in the Shenxing Division and am preparing to interrogate them severely."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yue felt a surge of panic.

Ping'er in Zhaochun Palace was her spy planted there.

The news that His Majesty would take Consort Chunshu out of the palace on Consort Chunshu's birthday was delivered by Ping'er.

She originally planned to poison herself, which would both prevent Jun Zechen and Consort Chunshu from leaving the palace, causing Consort Chunshu to become estranged from Jun Zechen because of his broken promise, and also allow her to frame Consort An.

After all, Consort An has harmed her many times. Should she continue to tolerate it indifferently?

She was merely retaliating, merely protecting herself.

But His Majesty actually arrested Ping'er and Qin'er and brought them to the Censorate. If these two reveal anything during interrogation, then she...

Absolutely not!

Ling Yue forced a smile, but it was clearly strained.

"Since Ping'er is from Consort Chunshu's palace, and it is Consort Chunshu who is investigating my poisoning, isn't this unfair?"

Jun Zechen was surprised that Ling Yue would suspect Yao Yao. Had Ling Yue forgotten that Yao Yao had once saved her?

Jun Zechen's eyes grew even deeper, revealing a hint of disappointment.

"The Consort Chunshu came today to explain this matter. I will have Anshun continue the investigation afterward, so the Noble Consort need not worry."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

Ling Yue breathed a sigh of relief. This case was originally being investigated personally by His Majesty, and everyone in the palace knew how much His Majesty cared about and valued her.

His Majesty originally intended to punish Consort An directly to avenge her, but the Empress Dowager insisted on having Consort Chunshu investigate the case.

Why should a concubine of lower rank like her be investigated in a case involving a mere imperial concubine?

Moreover, Consort Chunshu investigated for two days and actually helped Consort An clear her name, and now she has even arrested her people and sent them to the Censorate!

After learning that Anshun was investigating the case, Ling Yue felt somewhat relieved and planned to leave.

But when he caught sight of Su Jingyao quietly staying beside His Majesty, a strong feeling of jealousy welled up in his heart for no apparent reason.

"Your Majesty, I see it's almost time for dinner, and the people from the Imperial Household Department will be here soon. I'm currently in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and after checking the records, it seems Your Majesty hasn't chosen any concubines recently?"

Ling Yue gritted her teeth, suppressing her displeasure, and used the excuse of managing the Imperial Household Department to try to get Jun Zechen to favor her and give her all his attention.

She didn't want Jun Zechen to spend all his time with Consort Chunshu.

Ever since the night Jun Zechen ascended the throne, she knew that his heart was full of Consort Chunshu, and Ling Yue had never been able to look at Consort Chunshu with a normal heart.

She would rather Jun Zechen favor concubines he didn't like than see him with Consort Chunshu.

A subtle, complex emotion flashed in Jun Zechen's eyes. Ling Yue had actually let him choose a concubine.

"I will stay in Qianqing Palace tonight, Anshun. Tell the Imperial Household Department not to send anyone over tonight."

Anshun, who was standing nearby, quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty is staying in Qianqing Palace today because you are busy with state affairs. In that case, why don't you come back to the palace with me, Consort Chunshu, so that you can keep me company?"

When Su Jingyao heard Ling Yue mention her, she looked up at the Imperial Concubine with slight surprise.

She then turned to look at Jun Zechen, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, her eyes filled with grievance.

Before Su Jingyao could speak, Jun Zechen frowned and responded.

"Your Highness, please return to the palace first. I will leave Consort Chunshu to grind ink for me."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave." Ling Yue's jealous expression was hidden beneath her eyelashes.

After performing the salutations, Ling Yue walked slowly and heavily to the entrance of the hall.

After she stepped out of the palace gate, she glanced back casually, as if she were still unwilling to give up.

That one glance made her body stiffen abruptly.

Jun Zechen affectionately hugged Su Jingyao in his arms, and the two of them were laughing and joking with smiles on their faces.

That scene was truly delightful!

Ling Yue bit her lip so hard it almost bled. She glared at the two of them, then quickly turned around and walked away with stiff steps.

Su Jingyao stayed in Qianqing Palace again tonight, and naturally, just like last night, nothing substantial happened.

Su Jingyao didn't really understand what love was; she had never loved a man.

However, whether in modern times or ancient times, her learning ability has always been outstanding.

She couldn't read Jun Zechen's mind, and she didn't know the extent of his affection for her.

However, she had seen other people's descriptions of liking and loving in her modern life.

Liking is a fleeting moment of attraction, love is a piercing heartache.

Liking is unrestrained indulgence, while love is careful restraint.

You can easily give up what you like, but you will never be able to give up what you love.

Liking someone is like meeting a worthy opponent; loving someone is like surrendering to their opponent.

Liking is appreciating strengths, while love is accepting weaknesses.

Although she didn't understand love, she knew how to make Jun Zechen identify with her.

At least Jun Zechen had felt heartache for her, restrained himself towards her, and was increasingly reluctant to let her suffer the slightest grievance.

However, this scoundrel is the emperor, and it's really difficult to make him admit defeat, except in certain situations...

It's even harder to tolerate her flaws. If he were to understand her vicious nature—that she kills and he would hand her the knife—it would be an incredibly difficult task.

After all, Jun Zechen has always loved pure and innocent women. If they suddenly turn into scheming and ruthless women, could Jun Zechen bear it?

Won't that make him so angry he'd die?

Today marks the third day of the investigation into the poisoning of the Imperial Concubine, which is also the final deadline set for her by the Empress Dowager.

However, Su Jingyao felt relaxed at the moment, as she had already achieved the purpose of the Empress Dowager's request for her to investigate the case.

This cleared An Zhaorong's name and stopped Jun Zechen from acting recklessly.

As for whether Jun Zechen is satisfied or not, he took the case himself, so whatever the final outcome, he has to accept it.

Qianqing Palace.

An Shun stood respectfully in the middle of the hall, his head slightly bowed, his expression solemn and cautious.

He began to report to Jun Zechen, who sat upright on the majestic dragon throne.

"Your Majesty, this servant has investigated and found that the poison was administered by Qin'er, and Guo'er was actually framed by her."

"Qin'er's clothes were stained with aconite powder, a fact confirmed by the imperial physician after a thorough examination."

"The reason I didn't investigate Qin'er that day was because I was stopped by the Imperial Concubine."

When Anshun speaks, he looks straight ahead and speaks in a steady tone.

"However, Qin'er insisted that Ping'er was behind all of this, and even claimed that Ping'er had buried aconite powder under the tree roots yesterday."

"But after careful investigation, I found that no one buried aconite powder under the tree roots last night."

"I dare to guess that Qin'er's remarks are an attempt to implicate Consort Chunshu as the true culprit in poisoning the Imperial Concubine."

As Anshun spoke, his eyes secretly and cautiously glanced upwards, subtly observing His Majesty's expression.

Jun Zechen's dark eyes stared straight ahead, his face expressionless.

One hand rested on the armrest, while the other hand gently turned the ring on his wrist.

He simply uttered two words: "Continue."

Anshun quickly continued, "Afterwards, this servant used some special methods to interrogate Ping'er. Ping'er said that she only passed on messages from Zhaochun Palace to Qin'er."

"She herself has never been exposed to aconite powder, and doesn't even know what aconite powder is."

Anshun paused slightly at this point, as if organizing his thoughts for the next sentence.

She continued, "Ping'er also said that she had told Qin'er that Your Majesty intended to take Consort Chunshu out of the palace on Consort Chunshu's birthday."

"Your Majesty is also aware of my interrogation methods; Ping'er is telling the truth."

Upon hearing this, Jun Zechen's eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light that seemed to penetrate everything, and a chilling aura instantly spread out.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound echoed through the main hall.

Jun Zechen suddenly swept the teacup off the table, sending shards of the teacup flying everywhere.

An Shun's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly knelt down, his voice trembling, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

"Is Qin'er one of the Imperial Concubine's people?"

Jun Zechen narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice low and authoritative, suppressing the anger that was about to erupt.

"Qin'er said she's Consort An's person..."

An Shun answered reluctantly, his expression showing a hint of helplessness and hesitation.

After all, even he himself didn't believe that Qin'er was Consort An's person, since the Consort knew the information Qin'er had gathered from Zhaochun Palace.

Even the Imperial Concubine had been helping to conceal what Qin'er had done.

It is obvious that the Imperial Concubine not only planted spies in Zhaochun Palace, but also attempted to kill three birds with one stone in this poisoning incident.

She wanted to prevent His Majesty from taking Consort Chunshu out of the palace, to frame Consort An and Consort Chunshu, and even more so, to regain His Majesty's favor.

Jun Zechen naturally didn't believe that this Qin'er was An Zhaorong's person.

In fact, he had a suspicion from the beginning that all of this was probably orchestrated by Ling Yue herself.

If she only wanted to get revenge on Consort An, then so be it.

Consort An has always been cunning and has been restless ever since she entered the Eastern Palace. It's only right to punish her now that we've had this opportunity.

He never expected Ling Yue to be so unreasonable. What had Yao Yao done to wrong her?

Even at the very beginning, after Yao Yao entered the East Palace, she deliberately avoided Ling Yue and distanced herself from him for his sake.

He then genuinely treated her as an older sister, even risking his life to save her.

Is Ling Yue really willing to resort to such unscrupulous means just to win favor and because of her uncontrollable jealousy?

"Qin'er and Ping'er are both to be executed by caning."

"Juxiang, a palace maid serving the Imperial Concubine, recommended a palace servant with impure intentions to her mistress. She shall be slapped thirty times."

"Tomorrow, all executions will be carried out outside the Yikun Palace, with the Imperial Concubine in attendance."

Jun Zechen's cold voice slowly rang out, without a trace of emotion, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Anshun quickly agreed, but he was truly shocked to hear this arrangement.

Qin'er and Ping'er certainly deserved to die. Although His Majesty did not directly punish the Consort on the surface, the fact that he carried it out in Yikun Palace was tantamount to telling everyone in the harem that the Consort's poisoning was actually orchestrated by her.

In that case, what face would the Imperial Concubine have left?

Jun Zechen sighed inwardly. He had indulged Ling Yue many times, and no matter what she did, even when his mother wanted to punish her, he had stopped her. Was that why Ling Yue was so unscrupulous now?

Jun Zechen didn't dislike women having the ability to protect themselves in the harem, nor did he care whether these women were scheming or not.

Because he doesn't care about them.

But Yao Yao and Ling Yue's innocence is precious, and he wants to protect it.

But now...