bookcurios Chapter 136 The Emperor Becomes Suspicious
Chapter 136 The Emperor Becomes Suspicious
Qiao Xi would not save Cao Ying, but she would save Qiao Chengwang. Could it be true, as Qi Niang said, that Qiao Xi deliberately made a scene yesterday just to take the opportunity to take Qiao Chengwang away?
Regardless of whether it is true or not, it should be investigated thoroughly.
The emperor returned to the imperial study and looked at the people kneeling on the ground. He pointed at Qi Niang and said, "Tell me the truth. Have you concealed anything from me all these years?"
Qi Niang and Lin Yuanbo were both sent by him to find the whereabouts of the queen. The emperor is now suspicious that they deliberately concealed the news, which is why he has not been able to find the queen until now.
Servants are also human beings, and as human beings, they have their own selfish desires, and Qi Niang certainly has them too.
But how could she admit it? She hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wronged. I am loyal to Your Majesty and have never dared to hide anything."
The emperor glanced at Lord Zhan and said, "Take him away and interrogate him strictly. If you can't find out the truth, or if he escapes, you can't keep your head."
Lord Zhan did not dare to delay and took the person away before Qi Niang had a chance to protest.
The emperor looked at Wuming again.
Although Wuming had a friendship with Cao Ying, it was all about money. Without waiting for the emperor to ask, he said truthfully, "I deserve to die. Cao Ying once asked me for a few unskilled assassins, and I couldn't resist the temptation of money and gave him a few."
The emperor looked at him intently.
Wuming was stared at and broke out in a cold sweat. "This is the only thing I haven't reported. I haven't concealed anything else from Your Majesty."
"I'll give you seven days. If you can't find Cao Ying and the people she took away, you'll bring them to me with your heads."
He was angry that Cao Ying had escaped, but Qiao Chengwang could not be left behind. He was the only male heir of the Qiao family, and his blood was needed to summon the ghost army.
He has been searching for the ghost army for many years and it has become an obsession that he will never give up.
After Wuming left, the emperor summoned the other managers of the secret factory and made some arrangements.
Eunuch Wu stepped forward and said, "There was a palace maid serving in Linghua Pavilion last night. Princess Chaoyang didn't get up after she fell asleep."
Qiao Xi's behavior yesterday also made the emperor suspicious, so he asked the palace maids to watch her all night.
She didn't leave the room all night, so this matter really has nothing to do with her.
But thinking of Su Heting's request, he asked again, "What did you take away?"
Realizing his current situation, the emperor felt something was wrong, as if a pair of hands had pushed him into his current situation.
"They were packed in two boxes. I checked them and found that they were all filled with the princess's old belongings."
The emperor was silent for a moment, "Go to the Ministry of Punishment and see what Qi Niang said."
Qi Niang had been beaten by Su Heting and Qiao Xi and was already seriously injured. Lord Zhan had lost Cao Ying and felt uneasy. After receiving the emperor's warning, he dared not show mercy and used severe punishment on Qi Niang right from the start.
Qi Niang couldn't bear it any longer and had to confess.
She was indeed instructed by Cao Ying to conceal clues about the Queen.
The emperor clenched his fingers and tried his best to suppress his trembling voice, "What clue?"
Although the Ministry of Punishment belonged to the emperor, only Cao Ying and some secret agents knew that the queen was still alive. When Lord Zhan first heard the news, he was also shocked.
However, after digesting all the information along the way, he now looked calm and replied, "A merchant once saw someone who looked like the Queen in the Kingdom of Wuli."
"Uli."
The emperor stood up suddenly, "It is indeed him, he is not dead, and he took her away.
The late emperor was soft-hearted after all. He spared his life. He deceived me, and she also deceived me. They both deserve to die..."
Lord Zhan didn't know who the emperor was talking about, but he knew that this was a palace secret, so he lowered his head.
Then the emperor said, "Let's investigate carefully again. When we have found out all the information, we will cut the body into pieces and throw it into the mountains to feed the dogs."
Qi Niang dared to betray him like this, he wanted her to die without a burial place.
Then she thought that she was instructed by Cao Ying, and she hated Cao Ying even more.
"Search for me, search for me, even if I have to dig three feet deep into the ground, I will find him for me."
"I will interrogate everyone in the Dark Factory one by one. Anyone who dares to betray me will be killed without mercy."
Thinking of something, the emperor ordered again, "Those people in the harem and the princes should also be thoroughly investigated for me."
Cao Ying has been in the palace for many years. He was able to bribe people from the Secret Office and the Ministry of Punishment. He may not have had any connections with the women in the harem, as well as his ambitious but brainless princes.
He was worried that they were being used by Cao Ying, that woman, who was full of schemes and lies.
The emperor slowly sat back in his chair. He had also been deceived by her for many years.
After a long while, he added, "The King's Palace in the north of the Yangtze River should also keep an eye on it."
Since Cao Ying is a lie, her medicine may not be trustworthy either.
What if Qiao Xi's memory is restored...
On this side, after Su Heting took Qiao Xi out of the palace, the two went to Qiao's Mansion.
After the Qiao family encountered trouble, the house became empty, with only a few servants taking care of it. When Qiao Xi grew up, he would often come to visit.
When the servant saw that it was Qiao Xi who came back, he happily opened the door and the carriage drove directly into the Qiao family's house.
Qiao Xi said to the servants, "I brought some old things back from the palace. I want to keep them at home. I can sort them out myself. You don't have to follow me."
Whenever she returned to the Qiao family before, she was alone, and the servants were used to it. Moreover, this time her son-in-law was with her, so the servants retreated as soon as they were told.
Su Heting brought down a box and asked, "Where should I put it?"
Qiao Xi said, "Put them together with my mother's old things. Please follow me, Your Highness. I want to take some of them back to the palace, and I'll have to trouble Your Highness to help me move them back later."
Su Heting glared at her, "After just one night apart, you're already alienating me?"
Qiao Xi smiled and said nothing more.
The couple led the way, one in front and the other carrying a box behind. Several guards from Chenshan followed behind. The group slowly walked into the courtyard where Mrs. Qiao had lived before her death.
After entering the yard, Qiao Xi clenched her hands under her sleeves.
Su Heting freed up one hand and supported her silently.
Qiao Xi looked at him with red eyes, her lips moving, but she didn't say a word for a long time.
Su Heting hugged her tightly with pity, but he comforted her, "If you feel bad, cry if you want to. If my mother-in-law was really harmed by someone, I promise you that I will avenge her.
But you have to promise me that if you feel uncomfortable in the future, you must let me accompany you."
Qiao Xi's tears fell.
Her heart had already flown into the house, but her legs seemed to have no strength left. Su Heting supported her.
The door was pushed open, and Chen Shan and others were guarding outside the door. Su Heting put the box on the table and led her to the bed.
The bed curtains were drawn open, revealing a haggard face, disheveled hair, and a figure covered by a quilt, so flat as if there was nothing underneath.
Qiao Xi bit her lip and lifted the quilt with trembling hands. Under the quilt were dirty and tattered clothes, and further down were twisted and deformed legs and feet covered with frostbite.
She couldn't bear it any longer and threw herself on the bed, crying heart-wrenchingly.
What she was shouting was, "Mother, my daughter is unfilial, my daughter is incompetent..."
What she cried in her heart was, "Fourth brother, Xi Bao'er is useless. I only found you now. I'm sorry, fourth brother, for making you suffer so much..."
She covered him with the quilt again, touched his face carefully, and then buried her face in his palm, letting the tears flow.
Su Heting looked at the brother and sister with heartache, found a pair of socks from the closet, walked to the end of the bed and put them on Qiao Chengwang.
After they determined where Qiao Chengwang was imprisoned, Qiao Xi pretended to go crazy and took a look around the secret factory.
He also took the opportunity to seriously injure Qin Niang so that she could not keep an eye on Qiao Xi and the movements in the palace all the time.
Since Cao Ying was reluctant to confess, they guessed that Cao Ying must have a backup plan.
Qiao Xi beat her again. Cao Ying was already suffering in the Ministry of Punishment, and Qiao Xi was taking advantage of her misfortune to kill her.
They forced Cao Ying to try to escape, and they took advantage of Cao Ying's escape route to take Qiao Chengwang away, and then framed Cao Ying and the secret factory to confuse the emperor.
In fact, Cao Ying was still in the palace, just waiting for the palace to send a group of people to bring her out mixed in with the corpses.
Cao Ying was not the only one who had someone in the Ministry of Punishment, Su Heting also had one. The reason why he was able to successfully bring Qiao Chengwang out and hide him in the Qiao Mansion this time was thanks to that person's help.
But because they didn't know what Qiao Chengwang's current condition was and were afraid that he would not cooperate, they fed him drugs in advance.
Su Heting looked at the time. Normally, Qiao Chengwang should have woken up by now.
If he had lost his memory and did not recognize Qiao Xi, he could only drug him again and wait until he brought him into the palace.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the unconscious man slowly open his eyes. He first glanced at Su Heting who was standing there, and then fixed his gaze on Qiao Xi...