bestfiction Chapter 902 Bringing Witnesses into the Palace
Chapter 902 Bringing Witnesses into the Palace
Prince Su was taken aback: "Are you serious?"
His suspicions about Qiao Lian'er earlier were not based on much evidence, but simply because she often served food to the Emperor.
He felt that she was more suspicious than the others.
Besides that, he couldn't provide any other proof.
"Hey, this incident caused quite a stir back then. A lot of people went to see it, and quite a few people still remember it. Otherwise, how could I have found out about it so easily?"
Prince Jin smiled smugly: "Qiao Lian'er, Qiao Lian'er, I didn't expect it to really be you. You are too lawless, blatantly drugging the Emperor."
He originally just wanted to use this incident to provoke Qiao Lian'er and push her into the limelight.
Now, with such obvious evidence, it's almost a certainty that Qiao Lian'er can't escape.
“We’ll go see the Emperor now and reveal the truth, so he can see Qiao Lian’er’s true colors,” said Prince Su.
The emperor had already left the inner palace and was in his study.
Because of his poor health, he could not read memorials and documents for long periods of time; after reading for a while, he would put down the documents in his hand.
The emperor sighed.
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Qi immediately said, "His Majesty still needs to rest and recuperate. He shouldn't overexert himself, lest his condition worsen."
"The Imperial Medical Academy has been prescribing all sorts of remedies, but nothing has worked," the emperor said helplessly, then added angrily, "They don't even have a clue what caused my condition. They're really useless."
"Could it be that I am getting old and my health is not as good as before?"
"Your Majesty is only 45, in the prime of life. However, people eat grains and other foods, and it is inevitable that they will fall ill. Your Majesty is blessed by the heavens and is the Son of Heaven. I believe that you will recover after a few more days of rest."
Eunuch Qi's words softened the emperor's expression.
"Tell me, was my illness this time a coincidence, or was it intentional?"
Eunuch Qi thought for a moment: "Until the investigation is clear, we cannot rule out any possibility. Right now, the Imperial Kitchen is being extremely careful, and every dish is strictly controlled. The Emperor is also avoiding close contact with others and is just waiting for news from the Imperial Household Department."
At this moment, a eunuch outside announced that Prince Jin and Prince Su were requesting an audience.
The emperor didn't like either of these princes very much. One was fond of verbal sparring, and the other was suspicious by nature, which gave him a lot of headaches.
He's currently ill and doesn't want to see them, lest it affect his mood.
"Don't see them, let them go back."
The young eunuch said, "Prince Jin said that there is progress in the matter of the Emperor's illness."
"Any progress?" the emperor said irritably.
There was a moment of silence outside, presumably because the young eunuch was verifying the identities of Prince Jin and Prince Su.
The young eunuch added, "They say they know who harmed the Emperor, and the two princes even brought witnesses."
The emperor paused upon hearing this, but he still clearly did not believe it. These two men were always unreliable, but since the matter was of great importance, he figured it wouldn't hurt to listen.
"Let them in."
The two arrived outside the study but did not go in. Given the Emperor's current condition, messages had to be relayed through a door; they could not get close.
Behind them were three people: a young man, an older woman, and an older man.
The three knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor felt a throbbing pain in his forehead as he listened and said, "Speak."
Prince Jin said, "A month ago, there was a problem with the snacks sold at Qiao Ji Pu Lou. After eating them, customers experienced dizziness, abdominal pain, vomiting, and other discomforts, just like the Emperor's symptoms. These three people can testify to this."
The uncle said, "That's right. I was just watching from the sidelines when several customers went to Qiao Ji Pu to cause trouble. They said that after eating Qiao Ji Pu's snacks, they felt unwell all over and demanded an explanation from Qiao Ji Pu."
"Later, Princess Zhenguo appeared and accused them of spreading rumors. She had them taken to the Jingzhao Yin's office, and that was the end of the matter," the aunt continued.
The emperor listened silently, then said, "Has the Princess Zhenguo failed to prove her innocence?"
The aunt said, "Because those customers looked very healthy and didn't seem to have any problems with the food, Princess Zhenguo probably felt there was no need to prove herself."
The young man seemed somewhat frightened: "I heard that just half a month ago, these guests were all killed."
The emperor fell silent again.
"Besides that, is there anything else?"
"Your Majesty, there are none left."
Prince Jin said, “Your Majesty, isn’t it obvious? This was done by Princess Zhenguo. Her things are not clean, as guests have already verified. Yet she still wanted to present them to Your Majesty. It’s hard to say that it wasn’t intentional.”
"They even killed the guests; they must have a guilty conscience."
"Didn't you hear? Those guests look quite well," the emperor retorted.
“It might not have been that serious at first, with occasional reactions. Princess Zhenguo seized the opportunity when the guest looked well to prove her innocence, without even consulting a doctor. Whether she did it intentionally or unintentionally, with so many eyes watching, this shouldn’t be the way things are being handled,” said Prince Su.
"Now it's all good. All those guests have been silenced, and there's no way to prove anything. Princess Zhenguo can say that there was absolutely no problem with eating her food. Even my brother, the Emperor, can't prove her guilty," Prince Jin sneered.
"It seems you all believe that Princess Zhenguo was responsible. Now tell me, why would Princess Zhenguo do this?" the emperor said.
"The reason is easy to understand: she wanted to seize power. After all, her brother trusted her and entrusted her with many important decisions, which made her think inappropriately and become arrogant. She was given the title of Princess Zhenguo, and she thought she could protect the country. It's ridiculous. Besides her brother, there are so many princes and princes, all of whom are dead. It's not her turn."
Prince Jin decided to take this opportunity to crush Qiao Lian'er to death.
Anyway, she's not innocent either.
Seeing so many bold words uttered by Prince Jin, the emperor's temples throbbed.
But Prince Jin wasn't very bright to begin with. The emperor suppressed his rising anger and patiently said, "What happened a month ago might really just be a misunderstanding. It doesn't mean that my illness is the responsibility of Princess Zhenguo."
“It’s too much of a coincidence that the customers who ate Qiao Ji Pu Lou’s snacks said they had these symptoms, and Princess Zhenguo presented her family’s snacks to the Emperor, who also had the same reaction,” Prince Su said. “It’s hard to say that these two things are unrelated.”
The emperor rubbed his temples and said, "You may all go back now."
Prince Jin was very disappointed that the emperor did not seem to blame Qiao Lian'er. He said anxiously.
“Your Majesty, there are witnesses and physical evidence. You cannot blindly believe Qiao Lian’er. She was so bold this time. Who knows what she might do next time? No, it’s not even certain whether Your Majesty will recover this time.”