Chapter 20

The next day, dark clouds covered the sky, and a gloomy wind blew, as if it were about to pour down a heavy rain at any moment.

Before the morning court session, the Emperor had ordered the Jin Yiwei to conduct a thorough investigation into Liao Jingyi, the former maid from the Qin Wang Mansion.

They were particularly instructed to report in detail what she had been doing at the end of March in the 31st year of Yongfeng and whom she had been in contact with.

The Jin Yiwei were somewhat puzzled but immediately set out to investigate.

By noon, the commander of the Jin Yiwei, dressed in his Feiyu uniform, hurriedly arrived with an update.

“Your Majesty, Liao Jingyi, the former maid from the Qin Wang Mansion, has now been freed from slavery and is married to Pei Liuqing, a low-ranking official in the Guanglu Temple. Her lowly status did not raise suspicion,” he reported.

“It is not easy to shed one’s slave status. How did she manage to do it?” The Emperor’s eyes were cold and stern.

“Your Majesty, Liao Jingyi has been claiming for many years that she and the Noble Consort are like sisters, so the scrutiny at all levels was relaxed, and officials were willing to give face to the Noble Consort,” the commander explained.

The Jin Yiwei commander appeared calm, but felt uneasy internally.

This seemed to involve Concubine Kang, who had been favored by the Emperor for many years. He was unsure if getting involved in this matter might incur the Emperor’s or the Consort’s displeasure.

The Emperor’s tone was solemn: “Alright, tell me what she did in March of the 31st year of Yongfeng and whom she had contact with.”

The Jin Yiwei commander hurriedly presented the secret report. “In early March of the 31st year of Yongfeng, Liao Jingyi’s younger brother, Liao Caiwang, was imprisoned for a long time due to gambling debts. It was not until mid-April that Liao Jingyi redeemed him with a large sum of money.”

The Emperor’s brows furrowed. He had heard about the servants in the Qin Wang Mansion gambling in private.

Although the mansion was large with many servants, the only legitimate masters were the Emperor Yonfeng, his wife, and him. Consequently, many servants, belonging to the mansion for generations, were idle and unmanageable.

The late Emperor had severely punished such behavior many times. Despite strict prohibitions, some slaves still secretly went out to gamble.

“Aside from this, were there any other suspicious activities by Liao Jingyi?” the Emperor inquired.

“Your Majesty, since this is an old matter from seven years ago, and most of the palace servants have been dispatched to other royal residences, we have not yet been able to find out more,” the commander replied.

The commander secretly wiped his brow in relief.

The Emperor pondered for a moment, recalling Kang Yu Yi’s pitiful appearance last night when she sobbed softly due to her grievances. His heart tightened.

Regardless of who was behind it, the fact remained that Liao Jingyi had administered harmful drugs to his only Consort.

The Emperor coldly instructed, “Arrest Liao Jingyi immediately and bring her to Beizhen Fusi. I will personally interrogate her.”

The fact that the Noble Consort had been drugged was disgraceful. If this were to become public, Kang Yu Yi would face various rumors and slanders. Hence, even the Emperor did not want to elaborate on the details to the Jin Yiwei.

For some reason, the Emperor recalled his cousin Cui Mulin’s inappropriate behavior at the holy birthday banquet a few days ago, where he had stared intently at Kang Yu Yi.

Years ago, Cui Mulin had foolishly claimed he wanted to court Kang Yu Yi, and now it seemed he was still obsessed.

Could Liao Jingyi’s ability to redeem her brother with such a large sum of money after Kang Yu Yi was drugged involve Cui Mulin’s participation?

On the other side, at the Boling Marquis Mansion.

Just after lunch, Cui Mulin, along with his wife and children, was instructing their servants to pack for their upcoming trip to Rehe Palace.

Cui Mulin had been a dissolute person for many years and had taken the imperial examinations many times, yet he remained an undergraduate and had not even passed the scholar exams.

His father and brother had spent money to secure him a minor official position as a county magistrate in a county near the capital.

However, a few days after Cui Mulin went with his family, he returned in disgrace.

This caused the Marquis of Boling to angrily reprimand him, but since he was the Marquis’s beloved young stepson and had been doted on since childhood, the Marquis couldn’t bear to punish him severely.

Cui Mulin had married the concubine of the Minister of Rites, when he was eighteen, and he had also taken more than a dozen beautiful concubines, resulting in a large number of children.

Due to the limited number of places for accompanying people on the trip to Rehe, he could only bring his legitimate wife and legitimate children. Cui Mulin found this quite boring.

If he were not the nephew of Empress Dowager Cui, he would not have had a place to accompany the entourage in the Boling Marquis Mansion.

His wife, Mrs. was quite excited. “Now that our eldest son is eleven years old and enjoys riding and archery, it would be wonderful if he could attract the Emperor’s attention at the paddock!”

Cui Mulin inappropriately grabbed a handful of his wife’s breast and joked, “The Emperor is our eldest son’s cousin, so he will surely notice him.”

Mrs. was overjoyed by this but also deeply embarrassed by her husband’s actions.

Ever since she gave birth to their eldest son many years ago, her husband had been spending most of his time indulging in the concubines’ quarters or pursuing pleasures outside, rarely staying with her.

Cui Mulin, who looked like the fashionable slim scholar of the times with a boyish and feminine appearance, was very popular with women. His wife was no exception. She was thrilled to see his interest in her.

However, Cui Mulin, looking at his wife’s delicate and plain appearance and her slim and flat body, found himself unable to get excited.

Suddenly, he thought of Concubine Kang, who was radiant and voluptuous…

It would be wonderful if he could take advantage of the trip to Rehe while the Emperor personally led the army to patrol the borders and manage to get Consort Kang into his grasp. Even just once would be enough for him to savor for a lifetime.

【月醺阅读提示】本章内容仅供站内阅读，禁止批量抓取、搬运或未授权转载。