Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 554

Xia Huanyu glanced at the portrait indifferently and frowned, "I seem to have seen this person. She is a maid in Shuya Palace." Then he turned to an eunuch, "Take some people to Shuya Palace and bring this person here."

Yun Shang raised her eyebrows. The paper with Lady Shu's handwriting on it and Qian Shui's identification had made lady Shu the most suspicious person. But Xia Huanyu didn't mention bringing her to the Meeting Hall to confront her. He might plan to deal with her when there was some concrete evidence, leaving Lady Shu no chance to defend herself, so as to keep the Empress out of the case.

The Empress seemed relieved, but looked terrible. There was a murderous look in her eyes when she looked at Yun Shang, which made it difficult for Yun Shang to ignore.

While they were waiting for the maid from Shuya Palace, Liu Wenan came back. "Your Majesty, I showed the incense to several people. They all said that it is an incense for snoothing nerves made in the Imperial Palace."

Glancing at him, Xia Huanyu asked indifferently, "Which palaces have the incense?"

Liu Wenan hurriedly replied, "The incense is fiddly to make, but it's highly effective. Only Lady Shu, Lady Yun have it and the old Empress used to like it."

Now that there were only three people concerned, it would be easy to investigate. "The quilt was also from the Imperial Palace, but it's an ordinary one, which makes it hard to find any clue." Liu Wenan added.

Nodding slightly, Xia Huanyu asked, "What about the interrogations of those people?"

Liu Wenan hurriedly sent someone to inquire about the current situation. After a short while, the guard came back in a hurry and knelt down in front of Xia Huanyu. "Your Majesty, the three people from Zi Yan Pharmacy confessed that someone gave them some gold and asked them to identify Lady Rui. They didn't know who the person was because the one's face was hidden in a curtained hat. Judging from the figure, the person should be a woman. I've seen the gold they were given and there is a mark of Hui Tong Bank on the gold. It's difficult to find out the owner of the gold as countless amount of money is circulating through Hui Feng Bank every day."

Xia Huanyu nodded and then asked, "How about Lin Liu?"

"Lin Liu hasn't admitted. The guard I sent to his house for investigating found that his tow little kids were not at home. He asked his wife and mother where the kids were. They all said that they had been taken to their aunt's house by Lin Liu. The guard, however, went to his two sisters' houses, but didn't find the kids." The Commander of Yulin Guard lowered his head and said slowly.

Yun Shang thought for a while, "I'm afraid that someone has kidnapped his kids and threatened them."

Xia Huanyu nodded and whispered to Liu Wenan in a low voice. Then, Liu Wenan left in a hurry.

After a while, a guard escorted a maid in, and threw her to the ground. The maid, in a panic, looked up and glanced around the hall. She straightened up with her lips bitten, and curtsied. She said with a tremble voice, "Your Majesties."

"What's your name?" Xia Huanyu asked in a low voice. "Which Palace do you work for?"

The maid answered: "My name is Huai Min. I'm from Shuya Palace."

Xia Huanyu squinted his eyes and said, "The owner of Qianshui Pavilion said that you have bought a pair of earrings in her store?"

Hearing this, the maid called Huai Min was stunned and immediately shook her head in panic. "No, I haven't."

Qian Shui said in a hurry, "I remember that she came to my shop at about 2 p.m. three days ago. She was wearing a light green dress embroidered with jasmine. She looked around in the shop and then said she wanted the pair of earrings. The earrings were 130 taels of silver. She gave me 200. And I noticed there was a birthmark on her left arm."

She shivered and quickly drew back her hand into her sleeve, but was grabbed by someone. With her sleeve rolled up, a black birthmark was revealed.

"No, it's not me. I haven't been there." Hurriedly covering her birthmark, Huai Min said in a panic voice.

Lady Shu was silent for a long time, biting her lips. She looked at Xia Huanyu for a moment, and then turned to Yun Shang and the Empress. She sneered, "If you are out to condemn someone, you can always trump up a charge. I finally understand what the old saying means."

"Condemn someone?" Xia Huanyu sneered. "When Lady Rui was locked up in the prison, someone wanted to do harm to her. The incense, which was used to make Lady Rui fall asleep, is the kind with peach blossom fragrance in the Imperial Palace. Now, only you and Lady Yun are using it."

Lady Shu was silent for a long time. Biting her lips, she suddenly raised her head, "No. I have something to tell you."

"Really? What's the matter? Take the others out. " Xia Huanyu said flatly. While watching the guards take Qian Shui and Huai Min out of the Meeting Hall, he said with a sigh before Lady Shu could speak, "I didn't blamed you for the appalling matter of the Ya Clan. And I forgave you even the twelfth princess had such a defect. My son, Prince Qi is in Qi City, a barren land with tough conditions. He has been smart since childhood. If he hadn't been affected by the affair of the Ya clan, I would have kept him by my side and taught him in person. The Ya clan's incident has a great impact. And that's also why I didn't want to marry Lady Qing. Although I had to give her the title, I will never let her get pregnant."

Lady Shu felt a little weak and took a small step back, but was quickly held by the maids behind her. Lady Shu looked pale with a bitter smile on her face. She closed her eyes and said, "Ha-ha, it seems that it's all my illusion. I thought Your Majesty tolerates me because you're still fond of me. I always feel that I am special to you among all the ladies in the imperial household. I'm not from an influential family and I just entered the Imperial Palace as a maid. But you've been adoring me and never neglected me over the years, even after I was injured and not able to get pregnant anymore, even after the shocking secret of the Ya clan has been exposed. But I have finally figured it out. I see..."

"Haha..." Lady Shu smiled coldly, "Now I understand that the emperor's love is just an illusion. You cares about me not because I'm special, but because I still have some value. However, the value will be nothing to you when it threatens the interest of some more useful person. I'm favored by you because I'm not supported by a strong family. You don't have to worry that my family would wield too much power. And I lost your dote also because I wasn't born in a noble clan. If your Majesty wants to kill me, there's no need to worry about any opposition from my family..."

"The truth hasn't been found out yet. You'd better go back to Shuya Palace first." Frowning, Xia Huanyu interrupted her with a trace of displeasure on his face.

Lady Shu sneered, drew back her hand on the maid's arm, and stood up straight, "haven't been found out? What else can you find out? "Haven't Your Majesty already determined to accuse me? We have been married for eighteen years. Now that Your Majesty has decided to abandon me as a scrap, I will accept it. Your Majesty, you don't need to investigate anymore. I did it all by myself!"

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