Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 455 Interrogation

"Guards, take the palace maids around Consort Qu to the Yeting Palace for thorough interrogation," the Empress commanded coldly, her gaze suddenly shifting to Ruixue.

Zhixue stepped forward in response, but the eunuch behind her immediately grabbed Ruixue's arm. Just as they were about to drag her away from the main hall...

"Wait a minute!"

Qu Jieyu lifted her skirt and slowly moved to the center of the hall, kneeling down. Her back was straight, and her voice showed no sign of panic: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, Ruixue has served me since she was a child. After entering the palace, she has always been dutiful and has never violated the palace rules. I wonder why Your Majesty has taken her away today?"

Zhi Xue stood aside and said, "Lord Tong is interrogating the people from the Bureau of Clothing and Appearance. Anyone who has had contact with them recently must go to the Yeting Palace for questioning. The Yeting Palace will explain to Consort Qu what Rui Xue has done."

"I'm innocent!" Ruixue cried out, her arm gripped tightly by a eunuch until his knuckles turned white. She forced herself to remain calm and raised her voice, "I haven't set foot in the Bureau of Clothing and Apparel these past few days! The daily fetching and delivery of clothes is handled by the new maid from Chunxi Palace..."

Before she could finish speaking, Consort Mu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "If you are truly innocent, why panic? Lord Tong of the Imperial Household Department is fair in his dealings. Go and explain the whole story, and Lord Tong will make a fair judgment."

Qu Jieyu turned her head to look at Ruixue and said slowly, "In that case, Ruixue, you should go to the Yeting Palace with me."

"Lord Tong's judgment is clear and fair; he will surely clear your name. Go in peace; I will be waiting for you to return at Chunxi Palace."

Looking at her mistress's serene profile, Ruixue's initial panic subsided. She bit her lip, stopped struggling, and let the eunuch drag her out of the hall.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The Empress watched Qu Jieyu's still upright back and tapped her fingertips lightly on the armrest of the phoenix throne.

Most of the concubines in the hall also seemed to be thinking about Qu Jieyu.

Qu Jieyu has always given people the impression of being "unremarkable".

Even during her time in the palace when she was favored, she was never seen to be jealous or competitive. Furthermore, she had a "cousin" who lived with her and constantly kept her in check. When people in the palace spoke of her, they only described her as "gentle," "trouble-free," and even somewhat "timid." Gradually, even when she was promoted, people only attributed it to her good fortune and the merit of saving the princess several times; they never saw her as a threat.

At this moment, Qu Jieyu knelt there, her back ramrod straight. Suddenly, everyone felt that this Qu Jieyu, whom they had always overlooked, might not be as simple as she appeared, at least not timid.

Those who can remain calm when the Empress is angry and arrests people are either innocent and have a clear conscience, or they are extremely shrewd and can keep their secrets hidden. However, they are used to seeing Qu Jieyu's submissive appearance on weekdays, so it is difficult for them to associate her with the word "shrewd".

Therefore, most people couldn't help but secretly think: she probably didn't do it.

Consort Qi lowered her eyes, her fingertips tracing the temperature of the teacup.

Of all those present, she was probably the one who most suspected Qu Jieyu.

The Empress's fingertips paused on the armrest of the phoenix throne. She looked at Consort Qu kneeling on the ground and said calmly, "Get up. Before the matter in the embroidery workshop is investigated, I will not arbitrarily accuse you."

Qu Jieyu remained kneeling, slowly raising her eyes to look at Meng Shu, who was sitting in the first seat on her left.

"Your Majesty, I do not know how the Imperial Household Department found out about Ruixue, but I come from a humble background and have not conceived in the years I have been in the palace. I have no grudge against Consort Jin. Even if I had the greatest courage, I would never do something that would ruin my future. Please believe me this once."

Meng Shu held an ivory-handled fan in her hand and fanned herself lightly twice. Her voice was gentle and calm. "Whether Consort Qu has such intentions depends on whether the records of the Yeting Bureau are clearly stated. It is not something that I can decide by whether I believe it or not."

These ambiguous words startled Qu Jieyu slightly, and also made the Empress turn her gaze to her again.

“Just as Consort Mu said,” the Empress withdrew her gaze, her tone meaningful, “if Consort Qu and her servant are innocent, there is naturally no need to plead with Consort Jin. The truth will soon become clear.”

Consort Qing slowly looked around at the three of them. She had originally thought it was the Empress's doing, but now she was not so sure.

She stared at Yang Baolin and the other concubines, then suddenly chuckled and said, "Last year, the Xie and Li families who entered the palace at the same time as Sister Qu are no longer here. Even your Tang sister, Sister Qu, has fallen into the Cold Palace. On the contrary, Sister Qu, who was of 'humble origin,' has been promoted step by step to the rank of Jieyu. It's... quite interesting."

Qu Jieyu's eyes twitched. She stopped arguing, stood up, straightened her back, and walked back to her seat. Her fingers, however, clenched tightly in her sleeve. Where had things gone wrong? This matter should have been extremely safe; how could Ruixue have been targeted by the Yeting Bureau?

The sun outside the palace gradually rose higher, and more than half an hour passed, but there was still no sign of Ruixue returning.

The morning audience finally ended, and the concubines left Renming Hall in order, each going their own way.

Consort Qing stood below the steps, gazing absently at Meng Shu's departing figure, surrounded by Consort Qi and Consort Yun. Consort Yang beside her softly advised, "Your Highness, Consort Jin has just given birth to the Emperor's heir; she is currently enjoying great favor. It would be best if we kept our distance..."

Pei Baolin also said, "When things reach their peak, they must decline. Right now, things are at a critical juncture, so Your Majesty should focus on taking care of your health first."

Consort Qu walked last. She had only brought Ruixue with her when she arrived, and now she was all alone. The other concubines either chatted and laughed in twos and threes or discussed in hushed tones, all deliberately keeping their distance from her, and no one took the initiative to speak to her.

After leaving Renming Hall, she subconsciously looked up at the sky. The sun was blazing overhead, dazzlingly hot, yet she felt a chill run through her body. Entering the Yeting Palace was easy, but whether one could leave safely was anyone's guess.

Half an hour ago.

The Yeting Bureau, located in a secluded courtyard.

As soon as the people from the Bureau of Clothing were taken away, Tong Bo summoned Aunt Zhou from the embroidery room again.

There were two piles of clothes on the table. The ones on the right all had two stitch marks on the cuffs. Tong Bo pointed to the summer clothes on the left. "Aunt Zhou is very capable. Why did she forget to check these summer clothes that were to be sent to Lingcui Palace before leaving?"

Aunt Zhou knelt on the cold brick floor, bowing her head as she replied, "Reporting to Lord Tong, I was in charge of preparing the auspicious clothes those few days. The summer clothes for the wet nurses were originally the work of lower-class embroiderers, and according to the rules, I shouldn't have been in charge... I was distracted for a moment, and it was my negligence. I am willing to accept the punishment."

"What grudge did you have against Manager Chen before he assigned you this task?"

Aunt Zhou replied in a low voice: "Speaking of which, Manager Chen was originally an embroiderer under my command. Later, I don't know which noble person helped her, but she suddenly became the manager. Since then, she has always been a bit arrogant when she sees me."

Several months ago, a palace maid brought a bolt of brocade to Lady Qu (who had been banished to the Cold Palace) and asked me to embroider it into palace dresses. The head of the clothing department, Chen, assigned the task to me. However, I was busy making dresses for various palaces and didn't have enough people to embroider, so I declined…”

Tong Bo recalled the events surrounding Yun Jin's accident, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He leaned forward slightly. "When you refused, did you perhaps notice something unusual about the brocade fabric?"

Aunt Zhou quickly shook her head in denial.

Tong Bo leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. The grudges in the embroidery room were more complicated than he had imagined. The seemingly honest Aunt Zhou kneeling before him was actually more shrewd than anyone else.

Indeed, after serving in the palace for more than ten years, even a block of wood would know the principle of seeking advantage and avoiding harm.

"The Imperial Household Department will verify everything you've said. If even a single word is false, it won't be something that can be dismissed as 'negligence'."

Aunt Zhou kowtowed deeply, "Every word I have said is true. If I have lied, I will leave it to you to decide what to do with me!"

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, and a eunuch whispered, "My lord, the auspicious snow from Chunxi Palace has arrived."

Tong Bo looked up at the courtyard gate: "Bring him in."