Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 69

Chapter 69 Farce

Qiu Ning is dead?!

The entire hall erupted in an uproar.

Yun Si couldn’t help but look up at Xu Shunfu. Xu Shunfu was saying, “When this servant arrived, I had already sent someone to summon the coroner.”

At the very least, it had to be determined whether Qiu Ning committed suicide or was murdered.

Tan Yuanchu’s expression sank. For a moment, everyone in the hall couldn’t help but turn their eyes to Rong Zhaoyi. With Qiu Ning’s death, it was clearly suspicious, and since Qiu Ning belonged to Changchun Palace, if there was no other evidence, the biggest suspect now was Rong Zhaoyi.

Rong Zhaoyi said she hadn’t sent Qiu Ning to summon the Emperor, but who knew if that was true?

At this point, Xu Shunfu’s voice suddenly hesitated slightly. He looked up and cast a veiled glance at Yun Si.

Yun Si frowned slightly under his gaze. Qiu Ning had been found hanged in Changchun Palace, whether or not it was suicide, what could it possibly have to do with her?

Could she even be capable of killing someone in Changchun Palace?

Someone noticed Xu Shunfu’s expression and quickly asked, “Eunuch Xu, did you discover any other clues?”

The Empress also frowned and looked at Xu Shunfu. Xu Shunfu was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and gestured for someone to bring something forward.

“When this servant arrived, I also found a confession letter beside Qiu Ning’s body.”

The letter was presented directly before Tan Yuanchu. Tan Yuanchu glanced at Yun Si before taking the letter. After reading its contents, his eyes suddenly turned cold.

The letter was passed to the Empress. The Empress also looked at Yun Si in astonishment.

Yun Si was completely baffled. She vaguely sensed that this so-called confession letter must have something to do with her, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand what kind of connection there could be between her and Qiu Ning.

She frowned slightly and asked in confusion, “Your Majesty, what’s written in the letter?”

Tan Yuanchu said nothing and directly signaled Xu Shunfu to give the letter to Yun Si. Yun Si took it with a puzzled look. When she read the contents clearly, her apricot eyes widened.

The letter said that it was because she had always held a grudge against Su Jieyu and Rong Zhaoyi that she instructed Qiu Ning to harm Su Jieyu, and then framed the matter on Rong Zhaoyi.

Everything was said as if it were true.

After all, it was well known that she and Rong Zhaoyi had never gotten along, and she had also clashed a few times with Su Jieyu. When Changle Hall caught fire, Su Jieyu and Rong Zhaoyi had even joined forces to target her. If she were petty and held grudges, it would be completely understandable.

But—

Yun Si lifted her head, her delicate brows and eyes full of disbelief. “Your Majesty, surely you don’t believe the absurd nonsense written in that letter?”

Seeing this, Rong Zhaoyi’s gaze flickered. She wanted to speak up, but recalling the look in Tan Yuanchu’s eyes just now, she ultimately held herself back.

However, just because she held back didn’t mean others would remain silent. The always quiet Consort De glanced at Yun Si and said,

“I don’t know what was written in the letter, but since it concerns the imperial heir, why doesn’t Yun Jieyu read it aloud? Even if it’s absurd, the truth must be made known to all. Otherwise, people may feel justice has not been served.”

Yun Si glanced at Consort De and handed over the letter. It was passed around one by one, and murmured discussions began to rise in the hall.

An Cairen whispered, “Does Yun Jieyu have anything to explain?”

Yun Si shot her a glare and said speechlessly,

“You believe everything you hear? Do you have no brain?”

An Cairen was scolded so sharply her cheeks flushed red. She felt aggrieved, clearly Yun Si was the most suspicious one, so how could Yun Si still act so righteously?!

Yun Si said coldly, “The letter says this maid claimed I ordered her to harm Su Jieyu and then frame Rong Zhaoyi. She felt uneasy and could only atone with death.”

She slightly tugged at the corners of her lips and let out a cold laugh.

“If she was so guilt-ridden in the end that she sought death, then she must have been deeply loyal to Rong Zhaoyi. I truly had no idea I possessed such ability, to get a loyal servant like her to betray her old master?”

The Empress lifted her hand to press against the corner of her lips.

Whether Yun Si was innocent or not, according to what was written in the letter, Qiu Ning had already betrayed Rong Zhaoyi. And yet Yun Si called Qiu Ning a loyal servant, no matter how one heard it, it sounded utterly sarcastic.

She was just a newly promoted Jieyu, with even less rank than Qiu Ning’s former mistress, Rong Zhaoyi. How could she possibly have the means to bribe Qiu Ning?

Such a simple truth, Yun Si didn’t believe others couldn’t understand it. They simply didn’t want to understand. If they could conveniently get rid of a powerful rival, they were more than happy to play dumb once.

The only thing Yun Ni couldn’t understand was, why was Tan Yuanchu silent?

Yun Ni lifted her almond-shaped eyes and looked straight at Tan Yuanchu.

She could only think of one reason. If it were proven that the matter had nothing to do with her, then the most suspicious person present would be Rong Zhaoyi.
Tan Yuanchu was indeed angered by the matter of the little princess, but that didn’t necessarily mean he had truly given up on Rong Zhaoyi.

And once she took the blame, Rong Zhaoyi would be able to walk away unscathed.

For Tan Yuanchu, Su Jieyu’s miscarriage was already a fact. The best course of action would be to cut his losses in time and not allow the other imperial heirs to become further entangled in this dispute.

If Yun Si were in Tan Yuanchu’s position, she thought she wouldn’t know either, whether she truly wanted to get to the bottom of the truth, or whether she would prefer to simply make a choice.

Tan Yuanchu met her gaze, and seemed to realize what she was thinking.
He said, with difficulty, “When did I ever say I believed it?”

Yun Si was stunned. Her almond eyes were stained a beat too late with suspicion.

He didn’t believe it?

Then what did it mean when he said nothing and just sat there with that cold face?

Tan Yuanchu reached out his hand. Xu Shunfu quickly presented the letter to him. Tan Yuanchu waved her over. Yun Si, still dazed, rose and walked forward without understanding, habitually standing in her former position beside him. Tan Yuanchu paused, not even raising his head.

“Stand closer.”

Yun Si suddenly realized her current identity. She took a step forward and saw Tan Yuanchu’s knuckles tapping the last two lines of the letter.

“See that?”

Yun Si looked down, and only then did she realize she had missed something when she first read the letter.

The letter explained why Qiu Ning would obey Yun Si’s order to harm Su Jieyu.

Because Qiu Su from Panju Hall was Qiu Ning’s full-blooded younger sister, Yun Si had used Qiu Su to threaten Qiu Ning, that was how this whole incident came about.

Yun Si widened her almond-shaped eyes. “This concubine only went to Panju Hall for one day, I haven’t even finished recognizing all the palace maids yet. How could I possibly know their relationship?”

She realized she had wrongly blamed Tan Yuanchu earlier. Feeling somewhat guilty, she didn’t dare look at him and could only tug lightly at his sleeve. She pouted and said in grievance, “This is clearly an attempt to frame this concubine. Your Majesty, you must investigate the truth and uphold justice for this concubine.”

As she said this, Yun Si secretly marked Rong Zhaoyi down in her heart.

The other consorts present all felt a pang of sourness in their hearts upon seeing how the Emperor treated Yun Si. The letter had clearly stated why Qiu Ning betrayed Rong Zhaoyi and how she had harmed Su Jieyu.

Yet the Emperor said nothing. And it was precisely because of this silence that everyone clearly realized, he didn’t suspect Yun Si at all.

Consort De also looked up at Yun Si. She stood beside the Emperor, holding onto his sleeve, seemingly aggrieved but in truth acting coyly as she asked the Emperor to take her side. The Emperor’s expression was cold, yet he made no move to stop her, simply letting the woman pull at him.

Everyone in the hall had different thoughts, and the only one who truly wanted to find the real culprit behind Su Jieyu’s case was Bai Shao. Seeing the Emperor’s attitude, Baishao felt a chill in her heart.

She suddenly kowtowed to the Emperor,
Bang!
The sound startled Yun Si into silence, and she had no choice but to turn her head and look at Bai Shao.

Bai Shao’s forehead was bruised and purple from the kowtow, yet she seemed to feel no pain. She bit out.

“Your Majesty!”

Just at that moment, the beaded curtain of the inner hall swayed slightly, and someone came out carrying basins of bloodied water. The outer hall gradually filled with a thick stench of blood.

Seeing this, Yun Si let go of Tan Yuanchu’s sleeve.

Bai Shao looked up and said out her words, “I beg Your Majesty to send someone to Panju Hall to summon Qiu Su for questioning!”

She was not the Emperor, she did not believe Yun Si.

The evidence was laid bare. No matter how absurd, who could say it was completely impossible that Yun Si had harmed her mistress?

Yun Si’s dark brows furrowed slightly. Although she was annoyed by Bai Shao’s relentless suspicion, she also knew Bai Shao’s suggestion wasn’t wrong.

Moreover, if this matter wasn’t investigated thoroughly, even if Tan Yuanchu believed her, the palace would surely be abuzz with gossip.

Yun Si blinked her almond-shaped eyes lightly. She still stood beside Tan Yuanchu and spoke softly, “Your Majesty should indeed send someone to summon Qiu Su. I also want to know when I supposedly used her to threaten Qiu Ning.”

Qiu Su was soon summoned into the hall.

As soon as she entered, she fell to her knees with a bang. Tear stains were still visible on her face. When everyone saw this, they finally remembered that news of her sister’s death had just been delivered.
It was no wonder she looked like this.

The letter was passed to her, and the Empress asked her, “What is written in this letter, did Yun Jieyu truly threaten you and your sister Qiu Ning?”

Qiu Su’s body trembled and she nodded,

“Y-yes, it’s true…”

She looked frightened. Yun Si watched her performance coldly, and even the Empress was momentarily choked.
She asked, “When did Yun Jieyu instruct you to plot against Su Jieyu?”

Qiu Su said it was today.

Everyone in the hall was speechless.

Yun Si actually laughed in anger.
“According to what you’re saying, I moved into Panju Hall just yesterday, immediately uncovered your connection with her, and today used you to threaten Qiu Ning. Your elder sister, such a loyal servant, didn’t even hesitate before betraying Rong Zhaoyi? She didn’t even have the time for one meal before she was overcome with guilt, panicked, and committed suicide?”

Qiu Su was left utterly speechless.

Bai Shao’s muddled mind finally cleared a little. One of the most important reasons His Majesty believed Yun Jieyu was, Yun Jieyu simply had no time to commit the crime.

After morning greetings today, His Majesty went straight to the Changchun Palace, and then the matter of the mistress’s miscarriage occurred. In other words, ever since Yun Si moved into Panju Hall yesterday, she hadn’t had a single moment of free time.

The so-called confession letter was clumsy from beginning to end. Rather than targeting Yun Jieyu, it seemed more like someone deliberately dragged her in to muddy the waters.

Yun Jieyu knew it clearly in her heart, so ever since she saw the confession letter, all she felt was indignation, not a shred of panic or unease.

When the coroner entered and declared that Qiu Ning’s death was not a suicide but that she had been strangled, Yun Jieyu was completely cleared of suspicion.

—Qiu Ning hadn’t even taken her own life; the so-called confession letter could only be a fabrication.

Bai Shao was utterly bewildered. If it wasn’t Yun Jieyu, then who on earth harmed her mistress?

For once, she finally had a flash of intelligence. Thinking of how her mistress had always been close with Her Highness the Empress, she looked up pleadingly toward the Empress.

Yun Si raised her hand to lightly press her nose tip. Watching this scene, she even felt weary on the Empress’s behalf.

The clues were plainly laid out before them, yet Bai Shao still couldn’t see them.

The Empress didn’t even look at her but turned to Qiu Su instead.

“Who ordered you to frame Yun Jieyu?”

Qiu Su had already stopped crying the moment the coroner entered. She knelt on the ground, head deeply lowered. Hearing the Empress’s question, she said nothing at all.

The Empress asked in a slow, steady voice.

“Your sister is already dead. Do you not feel even the slightest sense of ‘the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold’?”

Qiu Su clearly trembled, but still said nothing.

Seeing this, the Empress knew that continuing to question her would yield nothing. She no longer pressed her and directly ordered, “Drag her to the Punishment Department. She’ll be released only after she confesses!”

Once she was dragged away, the hall fell into a deathly silence, the trail had ended with Qiu Su.

If she wouldn’t confess, then staying here an entire day would be pointless. No matter how unwilling they were, they could only leave Qingyu Courtyard.

Tan Yuanchu was persuaded by the Empress to go into the inner hall and visit Su Jieyu.

Once they finally returned to Panju Hall, Qiu Yuan couldn’t help but say,

“Wasn’t Qiu Su someone from Changchun Palace?”

The assignment of palace maids had always been arranged by the Central Province Hall.
Qiu Su was someone Changchun Palace had hinted for Eunuch Liu to assign into Panju Hall.

Eunuch Liu didn’t hide it from Xiao Rongzi. As soon as Xiao Rongzi received the news, he had Song Fu inform Yun Si.

Songfu had originally been placed in Panju Hall by Xiao Rongzi on purpose.

Yun Si had long known Qiu Su harbored ill intentions, but she never imagined that even though Rong Zhaoyi had specially arranged for Autumn Su to be sent into Panju Hall, Qiu Su would actually not be from Changchun Palace.

Yun Si couldn’t help but wonder, just how long had the person behind today’s events been scheming?