Chapter 76 Forced into the Palace
Not long after Xie Lingxiao separated from Shen Jingxuan, he met Ling Feng who was preparing to leave the city, followed by the guards of the palace.
When he saw Xie Lingxiao, Ling Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He made a gesture towards the darkness, and the nearby secret guards quickly evacuated.
Ling Feng looked at Xie Lingxiao with red eyes: "Master, you are back. I was scared to death."
Thinking that at such a critical moment, Xie Lingxiao ignored him and asked him to retreat with his men, Ling Feng felt sad.
The meaning of their existence is to protect their master, but Xie Lingxiao is worried about the tragic death of the guards. Lingfeng suddenly feels useless.
Xie Lingxiao glanced at him: "Put away your cat urine and go back home quickly."
"Master, I don't think you can go back to the palace. The people from the palace are waiting outside the palace."
Xie Lingxiao narrowed his eyes slightly: "How long have you been waiting?"
Didn't expect you to be so impatient? Want to see if he's dead or alive?
"They were there when I brought people back home. Could it be..." Ling Feng raised his hand and pointed upwards.
"Let's go back and take a look, and then we'll know." Xie Lingxiao walked towards the Regent's Palace, and Ling Feng followed behind.
When they arrived at the gate of the palace, Eunuch Deng was waiting outside anxiously. He had walked back and forth countless times.
When he looked up and saw Xie Lingxiao, he was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't believe it, and rubbed his eyes hard.
When he saw clearly that the person coming was the one he had been waiting for for several hours, Eunuch Deng almost burst into tears.
He quickly stepped forward and saluted Xie Lingxiao: "Your Majesty, you are finally back. The Emperor summoned you to the palace."
Xie Lingxiao walked towards the palace: "What's the hurry?"
Eunuch Deng hurriedly blocked his way and said, "Your Highness, this is impossible. The Emperor wants you to enter the palace immediately."
When he saw Xie Lingxiao glaring at him, he realized how stupid he was.
I, a eunuch, actually dared to block the Regent's way. I really think I am ashamed of living too long.
Eunuch Deng was so frightened that he was sweating profusely: "My Lord, this old servant..."
"Enter the palace." Xie Lingxiao interrupted Eunuch Deng and got on the carriage directly.
Eunuch Deng had no choice but to swallow his words of apology and quickly catch up with the carriage in front.
Xie Lingxiao arrived outside the imperial study, and Eunuch Deng came in to report.
"Your Majesty, the Regent has arrived. I was at the gate of the Regent's Palace. When I saw him return, I let him into the palace."
The emperor said without even looking up: "Let him in."
"Yes," Eunuch Deng turned around and called Xie Lingxiao into the hall.
Xie Lingxiao bowed and said, "Your Highness."
"Royal brother, you are here." The emperor looked up and saw Xie Lingxiao's appearance and was surprised: "Royal brother, what happened? Why are you so embarrassed?"
Xie Lingxiao said calmly: "It's okay, he was assassinated on the way back to the city."
The emperor strode towards Xie Lingxiao: "Eunuch Deng, call the imperial physician."
Xie Lingxiao looked at the emperor: "No need, I have already applied the medicine."
Seeing the emperor's performance, Xie Lingxiao could be sure that it was still his good brother who did it this time.
I didn't expect that a person could be so hypocritical, trying every possible way to get me killed while pretending to care about me and being nice to me.
The emperor seemed to not believe him and looked at him in confusion: "Brother, did you really take the medicine? Where did you go this time? Why were you assassinated?"
Xie Lingxiao turned his head away and didn't want to look at him: "I went to find medicine for the Queen Mother, and I don't know why I was assassinated."
The emperor asked tentatively: "Empress Dowager? Do you know that the Empress Dowager is seriously ill now?"
"I don't know." Xie Lingxiao pretended to be ignorant.
"Let's go and see the empress dowager." The emperor walked in front, and Xie Lingxiao followed him out of the imperial study.
The Queen Mother had been in a coma for several days. No matter how the imperial physicians treated her or changed the medicine, she never woke up.
Xie Lingxiao looked at the Queen Mother and saw that she was still frowning even in a coma, so he knew that things were not simple.
He hurried out of the palace, ready to send someone to find a famous medical saint to treat the empress dowager.
As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, Ling Feng ran over and said, "Master, something happened in Miss Shen's shop, and now it has spread to the government office."
Xie Lingxiao flew onto the carriage: "Let's go to the government office."
Along the way, Ling Feng told Xie Lingxiao what had happened, and by the time he arrived at the yamen, he had already understood what had happened.
Shen Jingxuan and his group were kneeling in the court. Sitting at the top was a middle-aged man, whom the officer called Lord Zhao.
He looked down seriously: "Who is kneeling in the hall? What is he complaining about?"
Qiu You clenched her hands nervously, "Sir, I am the manager of Shengyan Tower. I want to accuse them of deliberately taking poison and framing me."
Lord Zhao slammed the gavel and said, "How many of you recognize it?"
Zhao Hu and his companions were so frightened that they knelt on the ground and trembled. They looked at each other, and no one dared to make a sound.
The officer next to them saw that they were silent and shouted, "The master is asking you questions, answer truthfully."
"My name is Zhao Hu, and I don't recognize him." Zhao Hu answered fearfully.
Dong Lian saw that Zhao Hu and the others did not admit it, and her temper flared up: "Why don't you admit it? You took poison and came to the shop to pretend to be dead. Do you have any shame?"
"Bang!" The gavel rang again: "Silence! Do not answer questions that are not being asked."
Donglian pouted and knelt down again. How long would this interrogation last? Her young lady was still kneeling with him.
Lord Zhao continued to ask: "Zhao Hu, is what this girl said true?"
"Sir, that's not true. Lin Han was poisoned while eating at the Feast House. Everyone who was eating inside saw it."
"Come here, go to the banquet building and bring the food back for inspection." Lord Zhao looked at the officials below.
The officer took the order and left quickly, and the group of people had to wait in the court.
"The Regent is here..." the officer at the door announced loudly.
As soon as Xie Lingxiao stepped into the courtroom, he saw Shen Jingxuan kneeling in the crowd.
He walked over quickly and helped her up: "Get up."
Shen Jingxuan looked at him in confusion: "Why are you here?"
"Come and see the progress of the case. Go sit over there for a while." Xie Lingxiao helped Shen Jingxuan sit on the chair, and he sat next to her.
Shen Jingxuan watched him carefully supporting her, afraid that she would bump into something. It reminded her of when they were in the village, Xie Lingxiao did the same thing, supporting her as they walked in the yard.
He does everything himself, for fear of tiring himself out.
After seeing Shen Jingxuan sitting down, Xie Lingxiao kept rubbing her knees, her face turning black with anger.
Lord Zhao trotted down and said, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Xie Lingxiao looked at him gloomily: "Master Zhao, how is the investigation of the case going?"
When Lord Zhao saw that Xie Lingxiao didn't let him get up, he knew that he was angry: "I have sent people to check the food in Shengyan Building, but the officials haven't returned yet."
Lord Zhao was panic-stricken and kept his head down, fearing that Xie Lingxiao would get angry and dismiss him from his post.
Xie Lingxiao glared at him: "It seems that Lord Zhao is old, and it is so tiring to try cases. Why not retire and return home?"
Since he has no ability to handle cases, there is no need for him to continue trying cases. It would be better to make room for someone more capable so that he doesn't have to be an eyesore here.