At this time, Qin Yining already understood that even if she argued, it would be useless. Everyone who understood the current situation would only "observe the Emperor's will" and not care about the truth of the matter.
Qin Yining's lips curved into a smile. Originally, she had been frightened into a cold sweat, but now, she had completely calmed down.
She didn't do anything wrong. She had a clear conscience. If she really lost her life today, there was nothing she could do about it. From the day she married Pang Xiao, she had already made a choice for her future. Even if she lost her life, she would have regrets, but she would not regret it.
When Li Qitian saw that Qin Yining was tactfully silent, the rebuttal she had prepared was now useless. Her chest was choked with anger, and she felt inexplicably suffocated.
She really was as difficult to deal with as Pang Zhixi!
"Who would have thought that the Qin Clan would actually do such a thing." Finally, a clever noble lady spoke up, so that Li Qitian's words would not become awkward.
Soon after, some people reacted and followed the Emperor's will to condemn Qin Yining's "numerous crimes." Qin Yining looked at them coldly. Among those who condemned her, there were several Marquises' wives and Shizi's wives who used to be polite to her when they met. Although the men didn't gossip as much as the women, they all shook their heads and sighed. Those who called Pang Xiao brothers didn't come out to say anything either.
The fickleness of the world was just like that.
Li Qitian said, "Since that's the case, zhen will …"
"Replying to Your Majesty. Chenqie has something to say. "
Just as Li Qitian was about to issue an edict to punish Qin Yining, the Empress suddenly stood up and bowed, interrupting Li Qitian's words.
The Empress Dowager's hand, which had been counting the jade beads like a Maitreya Buddha, suddenly stopped and glared at the Empress.
Li Qitian's words were interrupted, and his heart was very unhappy. Ever since he stepped on the throne and became the emperor, it had been many years since he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
However, with so many outsiders present, Li Qitian couldn't lose his temper. He could only say, "What does the Empress want to say?"
There was a layer of sweat on the Empress' palms. Li Qitian was her husband. He was supposed to be the closest person to her for the rest of her life. Now that she was in front of him, she had to think twice before she dared to speak. It was the first time for the Empress to interrupt Li Qitian in public.
She nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva and bowed. "Your Majesty, I feel that there's something fishy about this matter. There's no evidence to prove that the Qin Clan murdered the imperial heir. I don't believe it either …"
"Shut up!" Li Qitian's face was livid. She slammed her palm on the table so hard that the teacups on the table clinked. "You're Hao's mother, how dare you speak for the murderer! Insufficient evidence? You're already being held by the wrist, what evidence do you still want?! "
The Empress's face was pale after being reprimanded. She nervously twisted her sleeves.
Concubine Yu understood the situation and stood up. Her beautiful face was filled with tears as she timidly said, "Your Majesty is right. This concubine saw her poisoning that day. If this concubine bumped into her halfway and let her fall into the poisonous bird's nest, I don't know what would have happened to His Highness!"
Concubine Yi also said, "Yes, although the Empress is kind and gentle, she also has to distinguish the occasion. Your Majesty is doing justice. Your Majesty is the noble Son of Heaven. How can you slander a woman from the Qin Clan?"
"Yes." Princess Tana only hated that Da Zhou's words were useless at the critical moment. She couldn't get a word in, so she could only add this sentence.
Li Qitian's face was as calm as water. He said in a deep voice, "I know that the Empress is kind on the surface but soft-hearted. But it's really wrong to be soft-hearted when facing the criminal who murdered the imperial heir. "
The Empress gritted her teeth. She already had the intention to retreat. But this matter wasn't investigated at all. It was obvious that there was something fishy going on. She didn't want to wrongly accuse people, nor did she want to let the real culprit go unpunished. But Your Majesty insisted on it. The arm couldn't go against the thigh …
"I thank the Empress for speaking up for me." Qin Yining turned around on her knees and bowed to the Empress.
The Empress shook her head. Her eyes flashed with guilt. She shook her head and took two steps back. She didn't dare to speak anymore.
Li Qitian let out a sigh of relief. Just as he made up his mind to speak, a familiar looking eunuch suddenly trotted in. Looking carefully, he should be the eunuch who served in Chengqian Palace.
"Reporting to Your Majesty." The eunuch bowed and leaned close to Li Qitian's ear to whisper for a while.
Li Qitian's expression didn't change at all. But those who knew him well enough would find that his expression was gradually becoming numb.
This was Li Qitian's expression of suppressing his anger.
The eunuch left after replying.
Li Qitian pursed his lips and looked expressionlessly at Qin Yining. It was as if he wanted to use his gaze to cut off a piece of flesh from her body.
The Empress Dowager, Consort Yun, and the others didn't understand.
The nobles and titled ladies also looked at each other in dismay.
No one knew what had happened. Everyone was waiting for Your Majesty's order. The beautiful Prince Zhongshun's head would be separated from her body. But Your Majesty still refused to speak.
A suffocating silence spread through the hall. No one dared to breathe loudly.
Qin Yining remained kneeling in place, calmly waiting for Li Qitian's punishment. But as time passed, Li Qitian still didn't say a word. It was as if he had turned into a statue. Qin Yining began to make all sorts of guesses.
Something must have happened.
After the time it took for two sticks of incense to burn, Li Qitian slowly opened his mouth. "Qin Clan, what explanation do you have for the assassination of the imperial heir?"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. The Empress Dowager was even more shocked and dumbfounded.
No one could imagine why Li Qitian, who originally didn't investigate the matter and only wanted to kill Qin Yining, would suddenly change his mind and give Qin Yining a chance to explain himself!
Li Helan, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't restrain her temper. She anxiously stood up and bowed. "Imperial Brother, it's an indisputable fact that the Qin Clan tried to assassinate the imperial heir. Imperial Brother is benevolent, but you shouldn't condone the guilty and let them get away with it."
Li Qitian shook his head at Li Helan and gestured for her to leave.
Li Helan frowned. Her face was filled with anger as she anxiously said, "Imperial Brother, you can't …"
"Leave." Li Qitian's voice was gentle, but his aura was so overbearing that it scared Li Helan so much that she broke out in a cold sweat.
The Empress Dowager saw that Li Qitian was truly angry and had no intention of changing his mind, so she gave Li Helan a fierce look.
Li Helan didn't know where she had gone wrong. She felt wronged and tears welled up in her eyes. Imperial Brother Gao Ming wasn't like this just a moment ago. Why did he suddenly change?
Qin Yining bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this subject's wife has something to say."
"Speak."
"Yes." Qin Yining bowed and carefully recounted what had happened that day, including how the bird's nest had been made in the Empress Dowager's small kitchen, how the Empress Dowager had made things difficult for her, how Concubine Yu had suddenly appeared when she had brought people to deliver the bird's nest, and how she had inexplicably blamed her.
"There are many suspicious points in this matter. The bird's nest was made in the Ci 'an Palace's small kitchen, and it had been delivered by the palace servants. There were many people who had handled it, so it should be investigated in detail.
"When this subject's wife was delivering the bird's nest, Concubine Yu had seen this subject's wife pass by and suddenly came out from the bushes on the side of the road. That road was a secluded path with no good scenery around it. It was also a path between the Qiankun Palace and the Ci 'an Palace. That day, Concubine Yu didn't come from the Empress Dowager's Palace to the Ci 'an Palace. The probability of bumping into her was not high. Of course, Concubine Yu could also be said to be a coincidence. However, she had coincidentally come out of the bushes and bumped into this subject's wife. This was definitely suspicious.
"Furthermore, this subject's wife asks Your Majesty to carefully investigate the poisoned bird's nest and the poisoned pug dog. Even if something had happened among the people, there would still be a coroner who would conduct an autopsy. No one can be sure that the pug dog was poisoned. Perhaps there was no poison in the bird's nest."
After Qin Yining's detailed explanation, everyone present finally had a better understanding of what had happened that day. They were no longer clueless.
There were indeed many suspicious points in this matter.
However, the most suspicious point was that Your Majesty didn't even investigate the matter. He only locked the person up for a few days before directly convicting her.
Everyone understood what this meant even if he didn't say anything.
Li Qitian's face darkened. Now that Qin Yining had exposed this matter, his attitude just now was very likely to become a topic of discussion for others behind his back.
This cunning and troublesome person was as difficult to deal with as Pang Zhixi!
Li Qitian's face stiffened. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Immediately after, a young eunuch came in to report.
"Your Majesty, the two servant girls of the Prince Zhongshun's consort said that they have important evidence to report."
When Li Qitian heard this, he said in a deep voice, "Send it in."
The eunuch outside the door immediately sent the message in a loud voice.
Qin Yining's expression was solemn.
The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, widened her eyes.
How could she have forgotten about this! That day, Consort Shun had come to tell her that the two servant girls of Qin Yining had disappeared. She had sent people to look for them in private, but they hadn't been found. She didn't pay much attention to it and gradually let it go.
She didn't expect these people to appear at this time!
"Your Majesty." The Empress Dowager said quickly and anxiously, "These two servant girls can't be trusted. That day, they followed the Qin Clan to deliver the bird's nest. However, when the guards arrived, the two people were already gone. They only caught the Qin Clan. These days, Aijia has been secretly looking for these two people. Unexpectedly, they appeared today. Your Majesty, please be careful that they have evil intentions! "
The Empress Dowager said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Those two servant girls don't have evil intentions. They have always been by my side. "
"What!" The Empress Dowager was shocked and angrily glared at the Empress, "You're crazy! How dare you shelter two fugitives! "
The Empress Dowager felt that she was about to be killed by the dissatisfied looks of Li Qitian and the Empress Dowager. However, seeing the Empress Dowager jumping about in public, she wasn't afraid at all.
"Empress Dowager, please calm down. These two servant girls aren't fugitives. The Qin Clan aren't fugitives either. This concubine didn't shelter them to hide criminals. Even if they really did commit a crime, Your Majesty hasn't said anything. Who has the right to convict them of a crime? Besides, Your Majesty hasn't said anything yet. "
The Empress Dowager was so angry that her face and ears turned red. She felt extremely uneasy.
Li Qitian held her breath and said in a low voice, "Bring them in. Zhen wants to see what they have to say. "
At this time, Qin Yining was very grateful. She never thought that it would be the Empress.
She helped her hide Bing Tang and Ji Yun.
Not long after, the eunuch led two women in light green palace maid attire into the room.
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