webnovelfull Chapter 398 Interrogation (1)
Chapter 398 Interrogation (1)
Princess House.
"What did you say!"
Li Zhilan slammed his fist on the table and stood up, glaring angrily at his personal maid, Zhuyu.
Zhu Yu swallowed hard before repeating it.
"A scout reports that Lord Shen... suddenly returned to the manor, just in time to witness Miss Wen poisoning him..."
"Bitch!"
wow-
Li Zhilan violently pushed over the things on the table, which instantly shattered into pieces.
"I already said five days later, yet she dared to act on her own!"
Li Zhilan's eyes were bloodshot as she asked in a hateful voice, "Did she mention my name? Did she?"
Zhu Yu swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "Miss Wen said that you, you are the mastermind behind this, and now Lord Shen and Madam Shen have taken Miss Wen to the palace."
"I really misjudged you," Li Zhilan laughed angrily, "You're more trouble than you're worth!"
Zhu Yu hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"
"That depends on what my younger brother thinks," Li Zhilan said calmly. "If he protects me, my throne will be secure. But if he wants me to become a prisoner for such a trivial matter..."
She snorted coldly and looked at the pearls and jade.
Zhu Yu quickly lowered her head, fearing that the princess would make an example of her.
“Zhuyu, over the years, I’ve treated you quite well, haven’t I?” Li Zhilan recalled. “You’ve been by my side since you were a child, and your food, clothing, and daily necessities are no different from those of a princess.”
"Yes... Your Highness's kindness is beyond my ability to repay."
"In that case, I need you to do something."
Li Zhilan leaned down, whispered something in her ear.
Zhu Yu responded with a "yes" and quickly walked outside.
Li Zhilan stood up, pondered for a moment, and then Eunuch Zhao arrived.
She pretended not to know anything and continued to smile radiantly.
"Eunuch Zhao, what brings you to my humble abode today?"
Eunuch Zhao bowed and said with a forced smile, "Your Highness, the Emperor requests your presence in the palace."
"It has been a few days since I last saw His Majesty, and I was just thinking of going to the palace," Li Zhilan sighed. "His Majesty and I are truly of one mind."
Eunuch Zhao smiled without saying a word and made a "please" gesture.
Li Zhilan took light steps, boarded the sedan chair, and headed towards the palace.
"Princess Yongzhen has arrived—"
Inside Hanliang Hall, everyone looked out of the hall.
Li Zhilan, dressed in flamboyant red, slowly and deliberately entered the hall.
She looked around in surprise and said, "Lord Shen, Madam Shen? And this is...?"
She looked at Wen Ruohuan, and after a moment's thought, said, "Third Miss Wen?"
Li Zhixu asked calmly, "Does Your Majesty recognize her?"
“I’ve met her a few times at banquets and exchanged a few words with her,” Li Zhilan said with a smile. “Miss Wen is lively and enthusiastic, and she always likes to get close to me. I’ve become acquainted with her even if I don’t want to.”
This was a clever way of putting it, attributing their acquaintance to Wen Ruohuan's flattery, while she herself was passively introduced to her and therefore not familiar with her at all.
Wen Ruohuan was furious. Even at this point, Li Zhilan was still trying to exonerate himself!
She held up the purse and asked, "Does Your Highness remember this?"
Li Zhilan glanced over casually, her pupils slightly contracting.
No wonder her purse disappeared that day. At the time, she thought it had fallen somewhere and sent her servants to look for it, but to no avail, so she didn't pay much attention to it. She never expected that Wen Ruohuan had taken it!
But what about that?
Does this prove that she and Wen Ruohuan have a close relationship?
Li Zhilan frowned and said, "So you stole my purse, and you even dared to take it out!"
She turned the tables on him, and Wen Ruohuan angrily retorted, "You're spouting nonsense! This is the token you gave me when we met the other day, to put my mind at ease!"
"Meet with you? What a joke! My purse is missing, and I've sent people to search for it with great fanfare. Go ahead and investigate," Li Zhilan said coldly. "Why are you slandering me!"
Having been a favored princess for over twenty years, Li Zhilan's aura was naturally not to be underestimated and was extremely intimidating.
Wen Ruohuan's momentum immediately diminished, her mind went blank, and she stammered without being able to utter a word.
Li Zhilan pressed her advantage, continuing to ask, "What heinous crime have you committed that you would want me to take the blame for you? How dare you!"
As she spoke, she slapped him across the face.
Wen Ruohuan closed her eyes tightly, but unexpectedly, the slap did not land on her face.
She opened her eyes and saw her brother-in-law holding the princess's wrist, stopping her.
Wen Ruohuan was immediately touched. Even if she had poisoned Wen Jiayue, did her brother-in-law still care about her?
My brother-in-law must know that she was forced into this situation!
"Lord Shen," Li Zhilan narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, "what do you mean by this?"
Shen Fuhan released his hand and said calmly, "One must not be rude in front of the Emperor."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhixu frowned and glanced at Li Zhilan.
If his elder sister is so presumptuous and disrespectful in front of him, wouldn't she be even more unreasonable and domineering in front of others?
Li Zhilan glanced at Li Zhixu's expression, pursed his lips and said, "I acted rashly in a moment of panic, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
She took a deep breath and changed the subject, saying, "I've been in the palace for so long, and I still don't know what happened. Lord Shen, could you tell me about it?"
She pretended to be ignorant, and Shen Fuhan couldn't directly accuse her of being the mastermind; everything required evidence.
So he finished explaining the whole thing in just a few words.
Li Zhilan astutely seized upon the loophole.
It takes three days to see the effects of the bone-corroding powder, and there will be no vomiting of blood.
But if she spoke, it would reveal that she knew about the bone-corroding powder, so she turned to look at the imperial physician.
"Imperial Physicians, I know very little about the Bone-Corroding Powder. Could you please explain it to me in detail?"
One of the imperial physicians bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, the Bone-Corroding Powder originates from the Western Regions..."
After listening to the long and tedious explanation, Li Zhilan said casually, "If it takes three days to take effect, why did Lord Shen vomit blood as soon as he drank it?"
The two imperial physicians were also unaware of the cause and said with shame, "Your humble servants have not been able to find the reason."
Shen Fuhan said, "No matter the reason, the imperial physicians will find out. But the poisoning is a fact. Your Highness, why are you asking so many questions to exonerate Miss Wen? And why are you exonerating her?"
He pressed on relentlessly, and Li Zhilan grew increasingly disheartened as she listened. Shen Fuhan didn't believe her at all!
Were all those things I said before just for her to hear? Were they all just an act?
Pretending?
Li Zhilan was somewhat alarmed. The more she thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. How could it be such a coincidence that Shen Fuhan returned right after Wen Ruohuan had just poisoned him?
Li Zhilan clenched her fingers tightly. If her guess was correct, why would Shen Fuhan do this?
She never offended him!
But since he showed her no mercy, she had nothing left to worry about.
Li Zhilan looked up at him, her expression calm, and said, "Since this case involves me, I naturally want to get to the bottom of it. Moreover, I have something else I'd like to ask Lord Shen."
"Your humble servant is all ears."
"Lord Shen returned after only three days away from the capital. Has he completed the task assigned by the Emperor?" she asked, emphasizing each word. "Can Lord Shen bear the responsibility for dereliction of duty?"