The fate was changed, the mistress of the Hou family was slapped in the face and made money to win

Chapter 587: Do you have people in the Ye Ting Prison?

Xiao Yi shook his head, "Nothing, I just think that mother is deceiving herself."

"Why did I deceive myself?"

"You have been in the harem for so many years, don't you understand that the emperor is heartless? If you really have to rely on your father's love, then it means that there is no possibility of turning things around."

Xiao Yi paused for a moment, but continued with a sneer on his face.

"Moreover, although everyone in the palace says that you, mother, have been favored for many years and no one can match you, and even the queen cannot overshadow you, there are always new people selected in the harem every year. I have never seen my father give up on selecting concubines for you or expanding the harem."

"Your father said that only because..."

"Because we need to balance the political situation, the harem and the court have always been closely related. Father may not like the newly selected concubines, but he needs to use them to influence the previous dynasty and balance the forces." Xiao Yi took over his mother's words, "So, doesn't this further illustrate what is more important in Father's heart?"

For an emperor, love always comes after court affairs.

In other words, no matter how much one dotes on a person, as long as it affects the court, the image of the emperor, and the royal dignity, he or she can be abandoned.

This is true for both sons and concubines.

Isn’t Xiao Ling an example?

Xiao Yi's eyes made Concubine Cheng's already uneasy heart beat faster again.

In fact, she knew very well that what her son said was right. In that situation just now, she was just subconsciously trying to find some reasons to comfort herself.

Concubine Cheng pursed her lips tightly, and after a long while, she spoke again: "Yier, this time it was mother who was impulsive, but don't worry, mother will be able to handle it well, and will never implicate you."

"Mother, you and I are mother and son, how can there be any involvement? Now everyone is staring at you, and your every move will be infinitely magnified. The best way in this situation is to do nothing. As for this matter, your son will naturally solve it for you." Xiao Yi's eyes and tone returned to gentleness, without any blame.

But compared with the sneering and mocking look just now, it always feels like he is now wearing a mask, foggy and making it difficult to see his true heart.

Concubine Cheng looked at her son and asked, "How are you going to solve this?"

"Although mother did not admit that you were responsible for this incident, I have already thought of a scapegoat. Of course, I also want to thank mother for giving me a push, saving me the effort."

"You mean Wei Yao?"

"Yes." Xiao Yi nodded, a nonchalant smile on his lips, "Since it is still just a suspicion and has not been fully investigated on your head, mother, put the blame on Wei Yao. Then you can go to father and cry a few words of injustice. Due to the face of the royal family, he should not continue to investigate."

"But Wei Yao is a stubborn person. She refused to confess even under the torture of the Imperial Guards. Now that things have turned around, it is even more impossible for her to admit it."

Xiao Yue had met Yi'er privately before, and she was suspicious, so she planted a spy there. So when Xiao Yue summoned Wei Yao, she knew about it immediately, and she also knew everything about their conversation. It was because of this that she thought of taking advantage of the opportunity to divert the blame.

But I didn't expect that Wei Yao was such a stubborn person who refused to admit anything.

"It's not up to her whether she wants to admit it or not. It was just that the time hadn't come yet. Now we can't let her delay any longer. As long as we get her to confess and sign a confession, and then let her commit suicide out of fear of the crime, there will be no way to confront her."

"But she is now in the Ye Ting Prison, a place where even I cannot go without the Emperor's order. How can I force her to sign and confess, let alone kill her to silence her?"

"I have already said it, so there is no need for you to worry about this, mother." Xiao Yi said calmly.

This confident look made Concubine Cheng startled again, "Yier, could it be that you have someone in the Ye Ting Prison?"

Xiao Yi looked at Concubine Cheng, "Mother, you don't need to ask any more questions. Anyway, I came here today just to remind you that no matter in front of your father or the Empress, you must insist that you have no knowledge of the matter. The poisoning is nonsense. No matter what others confess, it is a false accusation. Other than that, mother, you don't need to do anything."

Concubine Cheng agreed to these reminders, and Xiao Yi left soon.

At the same time, Queen Shi had also interrogated He Qingrui.

However, He Qingrui knew nothing about anything she was asked. No matter what she was told, she just kept saying that it was unfair and she had no idea.

Even when she was asked to confront the captured eunuch face to face, she only said that she had never known this person and had never passed on any information.

When the interrogation was halfway through, Emperor Xiao also arrived at Empress Shi's palace. Faced with He Qingrui's silent attitude, Emperor Xiao was furious.

She ordered the Imperial Guards to take He Qingrui away for interrogation, but Empress Shi stopped her temporarily because she was an official's wife. In the end, she was just locked up in an empty room, asking her to think it over carefully and confess everything as soon as possible.

Although He Qingrui said nothing, the eunuch had already confessed everything about Concubine Cheng.

In the harem, the rumor that Concubine Cheng was the mastermind behind the poisoning and murder of Empress Shi became more and more widespread.

Many palace concubines had long been dissatisfied with Concubine Cheng's favor, and they immediately came to instigate her under the pretext of visiting Empress Shi. Their words were full of dissatisfaction and anger towards Concubine Cheng. On the one hand, they expressed their sincerity, on the other hand, they also hoped to further arouse Empress Shi's anger and use her to completely suppress Concubine Cheng.

But as the victim of this poisoning incident, Queen Shi seemed much calmer than others.

Faced with those overt and covert instigations, she either responded with a smile or shook her head helplessly, saying that there was insufficient evidence in this matter and that the final results of the investigation had to be considered. Moreover, even if it was really Concubine Cheng who poisoned the person, the final decision on how to deal with the matter would depend on the Emperor's wishes.

Such an attitude made the concubines helpless.

When Jiang Suining came to ask for an audience with Queen Shi, he happened to meet two other concubines who failed to persuade him and said goodbye and left.

The nanny at the side was serving tea to Queen Shi to soothe her throat. "Your Majesty, I think you are too kind-hearted. These people are clearly here to stir up trouble, so why bother yourself to meet them? And as for Concubine Cheng, it's clear that she is the murderer, but you are trying to excuse her. It's really unfair."

Empress Shi took a sip of tea and spoke gently, "I am the Empress. Since they are here to visit, there is no reason to stop them outside the palace. As for Concubine Cheng... I have already said that this matter has not been finalized yet, so you cannot make any rash judgments."

Putting the teacup in her hand aside, Queen Shi shifted her gaze to Jiang Suining who came in.

"Madam Jiang, you came to see me, what's the matter?"