It was with solid evidence that the emperor confined the empress.

  From the day the queen lost her power, Lin Yin had guessed - someone really wanted to harm the empress dowager! If not, no matter how hard the emperor investigated, he wouldn't be able to find more evidence of the queen's guilt. In the end, the "Chang Le Palace Murder" case could only remain unsolved, and the queen would only be suspected, but nothing would come of it.

  The emperor discovered a clue during the investigation, but mistakenly thought it was done by the empress.

  Lin Yuan made some moves in secret, and unexpectedly hit the mark.

  It is even unclear whether Xu Shi and the Empress Dowager are related, with two different accounts. It is likely that the person who actually wanted to harm the Empress Dowager had no connection with Xu Shi, nor with Empress Xiao, nor with the group of people including Consort Lin Yun who were muddying the waters.

  The emperor has now pardoned the empress - naturally, it was discovered that new evidence had been found by the officials of the Ministry of Punishment, and the empress was cleared of her crime.

  So the real culprit who harmed the Empress Dowager will probably surface too?

  This is what Lin Yuan truly fears. A case of this magnitude will likely implicate many people, and everyone is afraid of being splashed with dirty water.

  The situation in the harem changed drastically overnight. The Emperor remained inside Changxin Palace and did not come out, later issuing a decree stating that the Empress was unwell, so the concubines and imperial consorts did not need to go pay their respects today.

  This sentence seems simple, but it makes the harem tremble. The emperor's meaning is clear: the consorts should have gone to pay their respects to Empress Xiao, only they were excused this day.

  The Jing Fei in Huayang Palace... who has the qualifications to accept everyone's morning court?

  Everyone is a sensible person, and with this intention, everyone knows the emperor's thoughts and attitudes. Who dares to go to Huayang Palace for morning court again? The Huanhuan Hall of Huayang Palace suddenly changed from prosperity to deserted gates.

  Jing Fei didn't dare to make any moves, looking at the cold and empty grand hall. She sighed and suddenly remembered something, so she ordered the palace maid beside her to go to the warehouse to select some suitable gifts and send them to Changxin Palace.

  The queen's body is not suitable, and the quiet concubine specially sent medicine and supplements to express her intentions.

  Although Jing Fei was a gentle and reserved person, she had the quickest mind. The other consorts were still reeling from the shock of the empress's situation and hadn't yet regained their composure, staring blankly ahead until they saw Jing Fei's actions and suddenly understood what they should do, hastily sending gifts to Changxin Palace. Some lower-ranking consorts even went together to kowtow outside the gates of Changxin Palace, saying that although they were excused from paying respects, the thought and courtesy still had to be shown.

  The actions of the imperial consorts were seen by the emperor, who nodded slightly in satisfaction. His empress was indeed a capable woman; on the first day after the ban was lifted, everyone in the palace hastened to come and pay their respects, bearing gifts, which showed how much awe they had for the empress's authority.

  "What's the point of the emperor's decree? I'm not in a state to see anyone today, and probably won't be tomorrow either." Empress Xiao hugged her quilt, nestling into bed, her voice weak and accompanied by faint gasps.

  Tuoba Hong rarely saw the empress like this, Empress Xiao, who was always noble and elegant in front of people, never showing any weakness. He looked at Xiao Yueyi's pale face now, and couldn't help but feel a long-forgotten tenderness. He reached out to hold her hand in the quilt, and said warmly: "It's all over, you are still my empress, this will not change. I will never abandon you."

  Xiao Yueyi coughed lightly twice, without responding, but in her heart, she couldn't express what kind of feeling it was.

  Many years ago, she would no longer believe half a word from this man's mouth. This time, it was only two months ago that he really had the idea of ??abolishing the queen... From the moment he found that envelope, he was convinced that he was plotting against the empress dowager and refused to listen to any explanation.

  His importance in her heart is just that much.

  Xiao Huanghou lowered her eyelids, and the pain in her chest returned, becoming so unbearable that tears began to fall.

  For two months, the palace people still didn't dare to treat her harshly. However, when Xiao Yueyi and Tuoba Hong had a big argument one day, she got so angry that her illness worsened overnight. After being confined in Changxin Palace, she spent her days in darkness, with no way to vent her emotions, and her body became increasingly weak. The pain in her chest occurred daily, each time more severe than the last, and just a few days ago, she fainted from the pain.

  She had just remembered Tuoba Hong's ruthlessness, her emotions were in turmoil, and for a moment, it also affected her illness. Her palace cold syndrome had been going on for many years, although she couldn't give birth, but it hadn't bothered her much, usually eating and sleeping normally. Now this illness was acting up again, the pain was unbearable.

  It was as if a knife was stirring in her chest! Xiao Huanghou clutched the quilt with all her might, but tears couldn't stop flowing.

  It hurts so much!

  Tuoba Hong was frightened at the sight. He reached out to wipe away the Empress's tears, repeatedly saying: "Yu Yi, Yu Yi! It's my fault, I wronged you, don't be like this..."

  He had never seen Xiao Huanghou shed a tear before, and now that she looked like this, he thought she was just overly saddened.

  "Alas, it's all my fault, I've wronged you. I promise, from now on, I won't let you suffer again." Taizong Hong was still quite skilled at comforting women, having used the same tactics on Hui Bin and Tian Bin in the past; who would have thought that today he'd be using them on Empress Xiao?

  At the time of their wedding, the East Palace was filled with gloomy clouds. His father, the Emperor, was constantly thinking about deposing the Crown Prince and making his third brother the heir apparent. At that time, Xiao Shi was only 16 years old, with a strong and unyielding temperament. Even when her father scolded her in front of all the princes and concubines on New Year's Eve, she didn't shed a single tear.

  At that time, Tuoba Hong was also vigorous and young. He had not experienced many women, Wang Shu Rong was dull and incompetent, the crown prince's wife was tough on the outside but served him wholeheartedly on the inside, so he naturally liked her very much.

  It wasn't until he became the emperor that he was surrounded by stunning women, and only then did he discover that those delicate and weak girls had a unique charm, like Shangguan Li who was spoiled and willful, throwing tantrums every day, which was even more interesting.

  Compared to others, Empress Xiao's appearance was not the most beautiful. Every time she appeared in front of him, she only showed a noble and powerful image of a queen mother. In terms of personality, she was not the kind that men liked the most, no match for the likes of Shangguan and Wei families.

  The Empress Dowager Xiao had a severe attack, but she immediately recovered in a short while. She pressed her chest and cried for a moment, the pain disappeared like a ghost. Then she raised her head, wiped away her tears, and said to the Emperor: "It's nothing, I'm just being rude, making Your Majesty laugh."

  "Yu Yi, you are too willful!" Xiang Chengxiang, who was sitting under the emperor's hand, stood up and pointed at Empress Xiang, scolding: "At that time, the emperor had already investigated the evidence in Changxin Palace and confined you, which was justified. Now that you have been cleared of wrongdoing, don't be petty again! As the empress, you should understand the emperor's hardships, how can you make the emperor apologize to you?"

  Xiao Yue sat silently, lowering her head and saying nothing. Xiao Cheng's words made Tuoba Hong feel ashamed and guilty in his heart.

  Xiao Chengxiang again bowed his hands to the emperor and said: "Your Majesty accompanied the empress for a whole night, it's time to rest."

  Tuoba Hong grasped Xiao Huanghou's hand, not wanting to let go. He sighed and said: "Father-in-law says so, it's too much. Moon Yi's mood is not good, I'll stay here with her, and won't go anywhere."

  Tuoba Hong now really didn't know how to talk to Xiao Cheng. He seemed to have returned to more than a decade ago - at that time, the Zuo Chengxiang in his eyes was a knowledgeable and talented elder who treated him well, in the midst of the struggle for the throne, he often went to the Xiao Mansion, eating the lotus seed red date porridge cooked by Madam Yue's own hands, listening to Mr. Yue explain the anecdotes of the Qin and Han dynasties in the study.

  People's hearts are thin and cold, things in the world are unpredictable. He and Xiao family... have finally become like this today, suspicious of each other, plotting against each other.

  This time, he almost abolished the Xiao family. The Xiao family plotted against the crown prince, killed concubines, and all this he could endure, but what he couldn't tolerate was her laying hands on the empress dowager.

  Laying hands on the empress is equivalent to laying hands on the emperor. Now that we are going to get rid of the empress, will we also think that this emperor is in the way and want to get rid of him in the future?

  Tuoba Hong was just relieved that things hadn't developed to an irretrievable point. If the edict deposing him had really been issued, who knows what desperate measures Xiao would have taken, and the Xiao family would have been destroyed along with him.

  Xiao Chengxiang went to the Chang Le Palace to request Empress Dowager's help, asking her to intervene in the Ministry of Justice with him to thoroughly investigate this matter. The Empress Dowager actually didn't believe that the Empress would harm herself either, so she agreed to Xiao Chengxiang's plea and even used her own power, which hadn't been used for many years, to secretly investigate.

  This investigation really brought out some clues.

  He was a second-class inner guard in the Chang Le Palace, who had gone out of the palace to contact others and revealed many messages that should not be disclosed. The Empress Dowager thought he was bought by someone, but when she investigated, it turned out that this person had been replaced.

  Someone was brazenly murdered and replaced with an imposter within the imperial palace, a shocking event that has never happened before.

  The emperor and the empress dowager were both frightened out of their wits, and that very night they interrogated the culprit. The man had been prepared to take his own life, but fortunately the attendants beside the empress dowager were clever and had made preparations in advance, extracting the poisonous pill from under his tongue, crushing his jawbone, and binding him in the great prison of the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Zhang, was also a formidable figure, who used all the cruel tortures at his disposal.

  The final culprit confessed that he was instructed by someone to hide in the Changle Palace and pass messages to people outside, waiting for an opportunity to get rid of the Empress Dowager.

  It's not just Chang Le Palace, there is also a hidden line in Changxin Palace. The envelope found in Changxin Palace was what they did to frame the empress.

  Only Jianzhang Palace had more stringent security measures and they couldn't get in.

  Unfortunately, the man ultimately failed to reveal who was behind it all - Zhang Qingming did his best, and he reported to Tuoba Hong that the prisoner was not unwilling to speak, but really didn't know. The person he met outside the palace always wore a mask, and he hid in the palace, except for knowing his own task, everything else was unknown.

  These alone had already made Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei unable to sleep. What truly terrified the emperor was that after the convicted criminals were executed by being torn apart by five horses, silkworms were found in their internal organs.

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