Transmigrated Female Official

215 Crisis

After Li Yu left the hall, the Sixth Princess first gave Jiang Sha a wink, then stepped forward and retorted, "According to Lord Long's meaning, Lord Chu has absolutely no motive to harm Lord Ziyan."

Jiang Sha also chimed in, "This humble official also believes that the solid evidence Lord Long mentioned is merely speculation and cannot prove anything."

The Empress, irritated, propped her forehead with her fingers and asked, "Minister Long, have you found any other evidence?"

Faced with their onslaught, Long Kui remained remarkably calm. She answered unhurriedly, "I also discovered that when Lord Ziyan went to Guangrentang to see Lord Chu, the two had a heated argument. Therefore, I have reason to suspect that a huge conflict had already developed between them, and that Lord Chu poisoned Lord Ziyan with tea at that very moment."

An argument? The Sixth Princess and Jiang Sha looked at each other in bewilderment...

At this moment, Longkui summoned another person, named Du Yuan, who was a male servant who did odd jobs at Guangrentang.

After Long Kui took control of Guangrentang, she ostensibly used the guise of investigating cases, but in reality, she did a lot of work behind the scenes to win people over. Du Yuan was one of those who were bribed.

Therefore, the clues provided by Du Yuan were obviously fabricated. He said that when he passed by the entrance to the inner hall, he personally heard Chu Qingluo and Ziyan arguing loudly inside.

"Du Yuan, report back to His Majesty truthfully what you heard them arguing about?" Long Kui asked.

"I heard... Lord Chu angrily questioned Lord Ziyan, asking why he hadn't come to see her for so long, and said that he was ungrateful and that now that he had the Emperor... he... stopped serving her."

"What?!" The Empress jumped up in a rage, but in her anger, she suddenly felt dizzy.

Chonghuan quickly helped him up: "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"Your Majesty..." The female officials in the hall were so frightened that they all took a few steps forward.

"I'm fine!" The Empress sat back on her phoenix throne, took a deep breath, and then asked Du Yuan, "Are you sure Chu Qingluo really said that?!"

"Your Majesty! I would never dare to make things up!" Du Yuan raised his hands, knelt down, and kowtowed to express his loyalty.

This time, the Empress actually believed it to some extent.

Longkui, on the other hand, appeared confident. Based on her years of experience serving the Empress, she knew perfectly well what the Empress feared most: her male servants having affairs with other women. Years ago, a similar incident had occurred, and the male servant and female official involved were executed along with their entire families. The Empress had shown no mercy then.

As if heaven were lending her a helping hand, Ziyan's appearance allowed her to seize the opportunity and finally throw a bucket of mud at Chu Qingluo, which could have blinded the empress.

Victory is so close.

"Your Majesty, please grant me permission to use torture on the suspect!"

Long Kui had already revealed her sharp claws; she intended to force Chu Qingluo to her death. However, the moment of confrontation still required time to prepare. The Sixth Princess knew that the most important thing at the moment was to save Chu Qingluo's life.

The sixth princess advised, "Your Majesty, you must not force a confession through torture."

The Empress was furious; her head was throbbing, and she was struggling internally.

Longkui pressed her advantage, saying, "It's just a little punishment; it won't take anyone's life."

Jiang Sha said, "Your Majesty, we must not judge Lord Chu guilty based solely on Du Yuan's one-sided account. Moreover, if torture is used excessively, it could lead to a miscarriage of justice!"

"..." The Empress frowned, still hesitating.

Long Kui, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity, and she continued to press on relentlessly. "If Your Majesty is still uneasy, this humble official can interrogate another suspect first, namely Mo Shao, Chu Qingluo's executor." As she spoke, a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. In any case, neither of them could escape severe torture.

Just as the situation was getting tense, someone rushed into the hall, quickly went to Chonghuan's side, and whispered a few words to him.

Upon hearing this, Chonghuan quickly relayed the news to the Empress: "Your Majesty, Princess Xile is about to give birth!"

"Quickly!" The Empress stood up abruptly again, took a few steps down the steps, and said as she went, "Court adjourned! We will discuss this another day!"

This made the Sixth Princess breathe a sigh of relief!

While Chu Qingluo certainly cannot be tortured, Mo Shao also cannot be beaten, because of Mo Shao's relationship with Chu Qingluo... It's hard to guarantee that Chu Qingluo won't stand up for this friend and disrupt the overall situation.

It has to be said that Longkui's plan was brilliant! Fortunately, the arrival of Eighth Sister's child was just in time, which can be considered a way to save the day.

Longkui's expression was not so good at the moment. She angrily flicked her sleeves and stormed out of the hall, heading straight for the Flying Immortal Palace.

……

Inside the Flying Immortal Palace, the physicians were already in place, bustling about. The Eighth Princess's biological father, Lord Rui'an, had also arrived and was staying close to the Empress.

The physician in charge of the Eighth Princess's delivery was He Yujie. In the outer hall, all that could be heard was her instructing the Eighth Princess to adjust her breathing and the Eighth Princess's piercing screams.

Long Kui had made thorough preparations for this moment. She looked silently at Li Yan beside her, who nodded firmly in return, indicating that everything was under control.

They only need to wait quietly, and soon the whole palace will be filled with the saying: "The Eighth Princess is blessed with good fortune, and has successfully given birth to a phoenix heir in her first pregnancy!"

Meanwhile, on the other side, taking advantage of Longkui and the others' relaxed state of mind, Ji Qiran went to Guangrentang to find He Qi and ask him what was going on.

"Where did that guy named Du Yuan come from?" Ji Qiran was furious. This was clearly a malicious frame-up!

He Qi looked around to make sure no one was there, then led Ji Qiran to an inconspicuous corner before saying, "Now there are spies everywhere of Lord Long's. This Du Yuan was also bribed. On the day Lord Yan came, only Shaoyao and I were outside the door. No one else passed by the door, let alone heard the conversation inside."

"That's great!" Ji Qiran said, "It seems you are the key person to prove Qingluo's innocence."

He Qi nodded helplessly and said, "This case was being handled by Lord Long. I only escaped by pretending to know nothing. Otherwise, I don't know where I would be now."

Ji Qiran thought for a moment and said, "You continue to pretend that you know nothing, ensure your safety first, and I will take you to meet the Emperor when the time is right."

"But... will His Majesty listen to me?" He Qi voiced his concerns.

Ji Qiran sighed softly and said, "We'll give it a try." Then she asked him, "Can you find evidence that Du Yuan was bribed by Long Kui?"

“Du Yuan is usually quiet and unassuming… I don’t know how he was bribed.” He Qi shook his head first, then thought for a while and suddenly remembered something. “Du Yuan has an older brother who is a terrible gambler. It’s said he’s lost a lot of money and is being chased by debt collectors, so he’s hiding everywhere. I wonder if that’s the reason?”

"This clue is extremely useful." Ji Qiran patted his shoulder and said, "You must stay alive." After saying that, he quietly left.