The princess regretted it.

Chapter 234 Jinan Requests for a Thorough Investigation

"Father, please don't be angry. Could you allow me to ask this servant a few questions?" Jin An stood up and bowed to the emperor. He tried his best to suppress the anger surging in his heart and made his voice sound steady and restrained.

"Okay, go ahead and ask." The emperor trusted Jin'an; he knew her character. Hearing Jin'an's words, he thought that while he could suppress the matter with the emperor's authority, it wasn't the most appropriate solution. Perhaps Jin'an had her own way of proving her innocence, so he let her ask first. Proving Jin'an had nothing to do with the affair would be best, as it would also appease Concubine Cen. So, he agreed to Jin'an's request.

Jin An bowed again, then turned to look at Mingyue who was lying on the ground, "Mingyue, you are so sure that it was me who did it. Do you have any evidence? Is it just based on a few words from that eunuch?" Jin An asked calmly.

Mingyue raised her head slightly, letting her forehead leave the ground a little. "May I ask, Princess, have you seen Beibei in the imperial garden today and kicked it?" Although Mingyue's voice was trembling with fear, one could still clearly hear the resentment that was difficult to conceal in her tone.

"Now I'm asking you! You just need to answer me whether you have evidence? Did you see it with your own eyes or heard it from someone?" Jin An said in an increasingly cold tone.

Mingyue felt the coldness coming from Jin'an, and swallowed subconsciously, then slowly said: "I... Although I didn't see it with my own eyes. At that time, the maids found that Beibei was missing, and they looked for her everywhere but couldn't find her. Finally, a young eunuch said that he saw Beibei in the imperial garden, and said that Beibei seemed to have frightened the princess, and then the princess kicked Beibei. Then the maids found Beibei, who was already dead, in a secluded place in the imperial garden. The person who was responsible for taking care of Beibei said that Beibei had frightened the princess once before! So... So this maid determined that it was you, the princess..." Mingyue's voice became lower and lower, and the more she spoke, the less confident she felt! She had only heard about it and had no evidence, but she brought up the princess so bluntly in front of the emperor.

"Which eunuch did you hear this from? Did you ask him, or did he tell you on his own initiative? Have you seen this person before? Do you know where he is on duty?" Jin An continued to ask calmly.

Jin An didn't really remember what the eunuch looked like at that moment. She had simply called out to a nearby eunuch and hadn't really looked at him clearly. But if she had seen him, she would have recognized him. So she wanted to prove whether the eunuch Ming Yue was talking about was the same person she had ordered to bring the dog back.

"This..." Mingyue hesitated, recalling the scene in her mind. It seemed as if the young eunuch had come to ask her. And this person did look unfamiliar. Could it be that she was being used? Thinking of this, Mingyue broke out in a cold sweat.

"I guess he took the initiative to tell you, didn't he? Have you ever considered how he could be so bold as to tell you directly about something that concerns me?" Seeing her reaction, Jin An guessed that Mingyue was being used. She spoke slowly, her tone tinged with sarcasm, "Actually, I can tell you that I did see that dog in the Imperial Garden today and kicked it away when it pounced on me."

Mingyue suddenly looked up at Jin'an, then lowered her head again. Jin'an ignored her reaction and continued, "But I just kicked it away. I also called the eunuch on duty and asked him to return the dog to your palace. Then I left the Imperial Garden."

Mingyue remained silent, and Jin'an didn't care whether she believed him or not. Instead, he turned to Changsun Hongze, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I have behaved uprightly and have been upright. This incident was clearly orchestrated by someone to cause a dispute between you and Concubine Cen. I beg Your Majesty to send someone to investigate this matter thoroughly. Restore my daughter's innocence and give Concubine Cen an explanation."

Changsun Hongze also caught on. Jin'an must be in a good mood today, having celebrated a happy event. There was no reason for her to act this way over such a small matter. It seemed highly likely someone had done this on purpose, and it was most likely aimed at Concubine Cen. Concubine Cen was now in charge of harem affairs, and her health hadn't recovered. As the imperial physician had just said, she was frightened and in grave danger.

As Changsun Hongze was lost in thought, there was a quiet movement on the bedside: Concubine Cen's soft cough echoed from within the gauze curtains. Changsun Hongze immediately rose and hurried over to the bed. Jin'an, observing this, hurriedly followed. As for Mingyue, since the emperor hadn't signaled her to rise, she crawled on her knees to Concubine Cen's bedside.

The emperor gently lifted one side of the gauze curtain and saw Cen Bai, her face slightly pale, lying weakly on the bed. She had slowly regained consciousness, but her breathing was weak and disordered. When her eyes met the emperor's, her previously lifeless eyes instantly filled with tears, and she subconsciously tried to struggle to her feet.

The emperor raised his hand slightly and pressed down, and said softly: "Lie down and don't move." After that, he glanced at Mingyue who was lying in front of the bed, and ordered in a cold tone: "You, get up first and take good care of your queen." Then, he sat sideways on the stool beside the bed, and Jin'an stood quietly beside his father.

Mingyue kowtowed hurriedly to express her gratitude, then stood up and gently and skillfully placed a pillow on Concubine Cen's back, allowing her to half lie and half lean, feeling a little more comfortable.

Concubine Cen said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: "Your Majesty, Princess. Please forgive my impertinence."

"None of this matters. Your most important priority right now is to rest and recuperate. I will thoroughly investigate the rest." The emperor's tone now softened. He felt genuinely guilty towards Concubine Cen. It was for this reason that, after stripping Concubine Zhang of her power over the six harems, he had handed it over to Concubine Cen. Over the years, he had also promoted Concubine Cen's father and brother. However, he secretly hoped that Concubine Cen would not harbor any concerns about Jin'an. After a brief pause, he continued, "But I absolutely do not believe Jin'an was responsible for this."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Concubine Cen's originally sad face seemed extremely shocked. She said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, why do you say this? Why do you involve Princess Jin'an for no reason?" These short words seemed to have exhausted half of her strength.

Mingyue, who was standing beside her, shuddered and quickly knelt on the ground. Her kneeling immediately attracted Concubine Cen's attention.

Thinking about how she had just knelt and how the Emperor's attitude wasn't particularly kind, her heart tightened. "Mingyue, what did you do just now?" Concubine Cen's words were extremely gentle, yet they revealed an unquestionable majesty.