Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1538: Chapter 1538: Stay in the Palace for Three Days_1

”Evidence?” Bai Ruozhu interrupted Liu Fei coldly, just staring at her, waiting for her to make sense of it all.

”I had palace maids and eunuchs by my side who saw you threaten me that night. You said I shouldn’t be out late at night. Tell me, was it you who had the eunuch issue the fake Holy Edict? Was it you who wanted me dead?” Liu Fei’s face twisted with fury as she spoke, as if she yearned to bite Bai Ruozhu to death. Paired with her presently cyanotic face, she bore a semblance to a green-faced, fanged fiend.

Frightened by this, the palace maid standing by couldn’t help but shudder, and the Empress also covered her face and stepped back.

”Liu Fei is ill, her emotions unstable. I can understand that as an officer. But think about it, if I could use someone to issue a fake Holy Edict to harm you, why would I bother to show my face and, moreover, why would I poison you again?” Bai Ruozhu said, shaking her head.

”That poison doesn’t take effect immediately. You were hoping for His Majesty to confine me to the Leng Palace, and then, after the poison took effect and no one cared for me, to let me die in isolation,” Liu Fei gritted her teeth and said.

”What are we doing now? Empress commands the six palaces; would she not care if one concubine fell ill?” Bai Ruozhu said and then extended her hand, ”Enough, I’ll just examine you.”

Liu Fei feebly moved her hand away, shouting, ”Don’t you touch me, I was harmed by you! Only a fool would let you poison me again.”

Bai Ruozhu laughed inwardly; she really wasn’t inclined to treat Liu Fei anyway, it was only out of consideration for the Empress’s presence that she made a show of offering help. Now, she didn’t even need to pretend, which suited her just fine.

Seeing how guarded Liu Fei was, the Empress had no choice but to say, ”Lie down, Liu Fei. I will summon Mao Yanshi, the Chief Doctor of the Imperial Medical Hospital, to examine you again. As for whether Bai Chief Doctor harmed you, I will see to it that the matter is thoroughly investigated.”

Liu Fei, struggling to speak, insisted, ”It’s her, it must be her!”

Bai Ruozhu was amused by Liu Fei’s display of cleverness that had now turned to sheer foolishness. However, one thing was certain; Liu Fei truly was poisoned, and she wasn’t employing any Decoy Strategy to frame her.

Would someone like Liu Fei turn herself into a monster with a green face and fangs just to harm Bai Ruozhu?

Bai Ruozhu followed the Empress out of the inner chamber. The Empress looked at Bai Ruozhu and said, ”Until this matter is resolved, Bai Chief Doctor, you should not leave the palace.”

”If merely encountering Liu Fei at the banquet is enough to make me a suspect, then what about those palace maids and eunuchs close to her? Shouldn’t they be more suspect? Moreover, Liu Fei probably met more than just my husband and me that night. After the banquet ended, many officials left the palace; surely there were encounters on the road. Your Majesty must not take Liu Fei’s words as the whole truth,” Bai Ruozhu argued.

”I have not convicted you, it is merely following the rules. If you have grievances, you are free to seek an audience with His Majesty or the Empress Dowager to plead your case,” the Empress said coldly, raising her status to suppress Bai Ruozhu.

Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath and said, ”If that’s the case, Officer obeys. However, I have family and affairs to attend to outside the palace, and waiting here for the investigation should have a time limit, right?”

Then, a shrill eunuch’s voice came from outside, ”His Majesty has arrived!”

The Empress’s eyes flashed with a cold light, which Bai Ruozhu noticed, thinking the Empress might believe the Emperor had come for her, only for her resentment to intensify.

Fortunately, upon his arrival, Tang Yin didn’t inquire about Bai Ruozhu’s situation. Instead, he looked at the Empress and asked, ”How is Liu Fei’s condition? Has it been determined what the illness is?”

The Empress curtsied to the Emperor, adopting a respectful and gentle demeanor, and replied, ”In response to Your Majesty, Liu Fei’s face is dark and doesn’t look good. I wanted Bai Chief Doctor to examine her, but she refused, insisting that Bai Chief Doctor would harm her. I, therefore, commanded Bai Chief Doctor to stay in the palace until the case is examined thoroughly. Bai Chief Doctor was just inquiring about how many days it would be.”

The Emperor swept a cold glance over Bai Ruozhu and said, ”Let’s proceed by the rules. Clear up the matter within three days. If there is evidence she is the culprit, conspiring against a palace concubine is a grave crime, and the Empress must not show any favoritism.”

The Empress rejoiced and replied, ”As you command, Your Majesty.”

At that moment, footsteps approached, and a woman dressed as a palace maid stepped forward briskly, curtsied to the Emperor and Empress, and announced, ”We have found the eunuch who issued the fake Holy Edict, but he is already dead.”

”How did he die?” the Emperor’s voice was so cold it seemed about to freeze over.

”Your Majesty, he drowned in the lake. It is currently unclear whether he was pushed or jumped into the lake of his own volition,” the guard replied.

”Summon the coroner to investigate thoroughly!” commanded the Emperor.

After the guard had left, the Empress’s expression also turned unseemly, as the situation seemed to become more complicated.

Standing to the side, Bai Ruozhu paid her respects to the Emperor and Empress, ”This humble official is willing to stay in the palace for investigation, but she needs to visit Consort Le and Princess Diao Bin regularly. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesties to allow this official to temporarily reside in Cining Palace for three days.”

The Empress felt that Bai Ruozhu was planning to seek the Empress Dowager’s protection and wanted to object, but the Emperor immediately said, ”Granted. But if you dare to escape from the palace, your entire family will be implicated!”

”Yes, this humble official will heed the Emperor’s teaching,” Bai Ruozhu hastily responded with a courtesy.

The Emperor waved his hand, signalling her to head to Cining Palace first, and then he and the Empress left Liuyun Hall together.

On her way, Bai Ruozhu encountered Hao Mu, sent by the Empress Dowager to fetch her. Patting his chest, Hao Mu said, ”The Empress Dowager is so anxious, fearing that you might be bullied.”

”I’m fine, but there is something fishy about this matter. We all need to be cautious. The security around Cining Palace needs to be tightened these next few days,” Bai Ruozhu whispered.

”Alright, I’ll discuss it with the Empress Dowager when I return.” Hao Mu’s eyes darkened with concern. Who could be behind all this? Even their meticulously laid plans had been evaded.

”Also, find a eunuch to send a message to my husband, telling him that I’m fine and to reassure the family,” Bai Ruozhu added after a moment of thought.

Hao Mu grinned, ”Got it. You’re afraid Jiang Yichun is worried, aren’t you?”

”Does he need to worry about me? Does he lack confidence in me?” Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows as she spoke.

Hao Mu laughed even harder. In fact, as soon as she had received the letter, she had sent someone to inform Jiang Yichun, and he had said exactly this, ”No worries, I have confidence in her.”

The couple indeed understood each other well.

That very day, Bai Ruozhu settled into Cining Palace. She visited Consort Le to check on her condition and saw the despondent Fen Wan; then she dined with the Empress Dowager and the princesses, and soon it was time to light the lamps.

She returned to her guest room, stuffed her clothes under the thin quilt to shape a human figure, and then found an appropriate angle to enter Space.

The large screen lit up, and then she leisurely took a hot spring bath, preparing for what might be a long night—she needed to get her spirit right.

Indeed, after the hour of Zi, extremely light footsteps echoed from outside the room, rustling like a small cat passing by, imperceptible without close listening.

Bai Ruozhu pricked up her ears; she could tell this person had some acrobatic skill, but little inner strength, likely someone who normally concealed their martial arts.

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Guess who the culprit behind the scenes could be?