Yue Qing listened until the guard finished speaking, understanding that he had revealed all he knew. She asked no further questions.
Everyone present had heard the guard's words, and their expressions varied.
Li Heng was instantly furious. He got up and rushed forward, kicking the guard fiercely.
The guard fell to the ground in pain. When he came to his senses and realized what he had said, his face filled with fear and panic. He quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging the Emperor for mercy, "Your Majesty, this humble servant knows his mistake. This humble servant was threatened and ordered. I beg you to spare my life."
Li Heng said angrily, "Guards, drag him away and beat him to death with clubs."
"Your Majesty, wait, you cannot kill him yet," Yue Qing interjected, stopping Li Heng from ordering the execution. "Although this guard doesn't know who the mastermind is, he saw the palace maid who delivered messages in the garden. We need him to identify her and bring to justice the true culprit hiding behind the scenes and framing Consort Wanmei."
Li Heng calmed down his anger upon hearing this. "Very well, we will do as you say. I will find out who framed Consort Wanmei."
After hearing the guard's words, his suspicion towards Qi Wan'er lessened considerably.
Li Heng walked to Qi Wan'er's side and helped her up from her kneeling position. "Wan'er, don't worry, I will uncover the truth."
Qi Wan'er nodded faintly, showing little warmth towards Li Heng, but her heart was filled with gratitude towards Yue Qing.
Consort Zhang's face turned ashen after hearing the guard's words. She was very worried and fearful that the investigation would lead to her.
Empress Jiang looked at Yue Qing with deep, contemplative eyes, finding her methods peculiar and feeling a sense of apprehension.
Yue Qing then approached the personal maidservant and instructed Xuemei to remove the restraints from her. She began to interrogate her, "You are Consort Wan'er's personal maidservant. Why did you betray her, and who ordered you to do all this?"
The personal maidservant's ears had been blocked earlier and she had not heard the guard's statement.
Her situation was similar to the guard's. Just as she was about to repeat her rehearsed story, she felt her mind become uncontrollable.
To Yue Qing's questions, the personal maidservant confessed everything, "My younger brother outside the palace fell gravely ill, and my family sent word that a sum of money was needed. A palace maid found me earlier and promised to give me money for my brother's treatment after I completed a task for her. Hearing the amount she offered, I was conflicted but eventually gave in to her proposal."
"After that, I did as she instructed. Today, at the banquet, I was supposed to drug Consort Wan'er, causing her to lose face and disgrace herself. But Consort Wan'er never touched the wine, and I thought I would be unable to complete the task arranged by that palace maid."
"Unexpectedly, after the banquet ended, she sent me another message, asking me to quietly bring that guard into Consort Wan'er's chambers. That palace maid also instructed me to give Consort Wan'er's jade pendant to the guard, and she even taught me what to say after being caught, so I could frame Consort Wan'er for having an illicit affair with the guard."
Yue Qing understood that this was another pawn controlled by family and money. "Do you recognize the palace maid who instructed you? Who is she, and whose palace is she from?"
"I recognize her," the personal maidservant replied.
Before the personal maidservant could reveal further details, the sound of a teacup shattering on the ground was suddenly heard.
Everyone turned to see that it was Consort Zhang's teacup that had fallen.
Consort Zhang masked the fleeting panic in her eyes and apologized guiltily, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This concubine did not mean to disturb everyone. This concubine was simply too shocked to hear this maid's words and accidentally dropped the teacup."
Li Heng's face was grim. "It's nothing. Consort Yun, please continue letting this maid speak. I am eager to hear who wanted to frame Wan'er."
Consort Zhang's heart leaped into her throat, but she thought to herself that she had always used intermediaries to contact the guard and Qi Wan'er's personal maidservant. Her people had contacted a minor palace maid from another palace, and after she delivered the message at the banquet tonight, her people had dealt with her. She believed she wouldn't be implicated.
Yue Qing said to the personal maidservant, "Please continue."
The personal maidservant replied, "That palace maid is a junior maid from the Imperial Kitchen. However, after I finished speaking with her one time, I followed her for a short distance and saw her speaking with a palace maid from Consort Zhang's palace. I then guessed that Consort Zhang was the one trying to frame Consort Wan'er."
Everyone was stunned by this revelation. However, upon reflection, some clues could be found. For instance, it was Consort Zhang who first discovered a man had entered Qi Wan'er's chambers and then rushed to inform Li Heng, leading him to Consort Wan'er's chambers to witness everything.
Li Heng was instantly enraged, his eyes burning with fury. He questioned Consort Zhang angrily, "Consort Zhang, did you frame Wan'er?"
Consort Zhang felt a pang of regret, never expecting that her meticulously concealed actions would be discovered by a mere maidservant. However, she could not admit to framing Qi Wan'er. She shook her head vehemently, her expression filled with feigned grievance, "Your Majesty, this concubine did not frame Consort Wan'er. This maid is slandering me. This concubine has no enmity with her; I don't know why she would do this. It is highly likely that the mastermind behind this is making her falsely accuse me. Your Majesty, please do not be deceived by her words."
She then turned to Qi Wan'er's personal maidservant, "You wretched girl, you had better tell the truth. Who ordered you to do this? Otherwise, framing and slandering a concubine of the harem is a capital offense, and your entire clan will be exterminated."
Yue Qing recognized the implicit threat in Consort Zhang's words, but her threat was useless, as the personal maidservant was still under Yue Qing's influence.
The personal maidservant stated, "I did not misidentify her. That person was Consort Zhang's palace maid."
"You wretched girl, why do you want to harm this consort? Who ordered you to frame this consort like this?" Consort Zhang was in a panic, but she maintained an appearance of grievance and pity. She looked at Li Heng and pleaded tearfully, "Your Majesty, you must believe this concubine. This concubine is truly being wronged. I never did anything to frame Consort Wan'er."
Yue Qing intervened, "Since Consort Wan'er's maidservant saw Consort Zhang's palace maid, why not summon her and question her? Then the truth will be known."
Consort Zhang suddenly looked at Yue Qing, her eyes filled with intense hatred.
Li Heng's face was stern as he said, "Very well, find that palace maid."
Yue Qing looked at the personal maidservant and asked, "Did the palace maid you saw come to Consort Wan'er's chambers tonight?"
The personal maidservant replied, "She did. She is waiting outside."
Yue Qing smiled and instructed Xuemei, "Xuemei, go and bring in those palace maids from Consort Zhang's palace, and have her identify them."
Xuemei acknowledged the order and left.