Qu Moying recounted the entire cause and effect of the incident, starting from when Liu Jingyu sent the maid over, then Liu Lanxin came to talk about the matter, then asked for the maid back, and finally sent her to the General Fuguo's mansion.
The matter is actually not complicated, as Qu Moying explained it clearly. The ones who are confused are Liu Lanxin and Liu Jingyu.
"Miss Liu, what do you want to say?" After hearing Qu Moying's words, the Queen looked up at Liu Lanxin. This person was once the one favored by the Queen, but now she has become an assistant to her opponent. Of course, she would not give her a good face.
"Empress, this incident was caused by the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. We should ask the Crown Princess first!" Concubine He spoke, smiling sweetly and trying to stop them.
"My noble concubine, please be careful with your words while I am interrogating you." The Queen glanced at My noble concubine He coldly.
"Empress, I'm just giving you a reminder. I'm afraid that you'll be partial to one over the other. Just now I saw that the Crown Princess seemed to want to say something." Concubine He smiled indifferently and pointed at Liu Jingyu.
Liu Jingyu shook his head hurriedly.
The Queen snorted coldly, her eyes fell on Liu Lanxin, and she said sternly: "Miss Liu, why did you throw a maid into a mass grave? Even if this maid is guilty of heinous crimes, you shouldn't let her body be exposed in the wilderness. It's against human ethics."
If this maid had not been thrown into a mass grave, what happened afterwards would not have happened.
Liu Lanxin knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report."
"explain!"
"Your Highness, I grew up on the border and have seen the two armies fighting each other. Every time they fought, many people died. Some died directly on the battlefield, while others died after escaping. If civilians encounter such a situation, they can bring the dead back and throw them in a place. Someone will pick them up and leave. This is how it is handled on the border."
"So, you are following the customs on the border?" Concubine He asked with a smile.
"Reporting to the Imperial Concubine, I did follow the custom. The maid died not long after, and I did not bring her home. Instead, I threw her at the mass grave, thinking that someone would come to collect the body. I only now realize that this was inappropriate. It is my fault." Liu Lanxin readily admitted her mistake.
Qu Moying raised his eyes to look at her. From her expression he knew that she had already thought of a countermeasure. She answered calmly. And Concubine He was watching from the side, which meant that she was afraid that she would suffer a loss.
His eyes turned to Liu Jingyu. Compared with Liu Lanxin, Liu Jingyu looked very bad. She lowered her head and looked gloomy. There was no trace of the joyful feeling of a newlywed.
"Crown Princess, what do you say?" Hearing Liu Lanxin's gentle words, the Queen felt a tightness in her chest. She looked at Liu Jingyu without comment and asked in a deep voice.
"Mother, this maid caused trouble on my wedding day. I went through many people before I found this maid. This matter involved the Ying Palace and Jing Palace, so I wanted to ask about it first. I had her punished, but it was only a few hits. She was not really beaten to death. I didn't expect this maid to commit suicide in the middle of the night. When she was rescued, she couldn't speak. I was afraid that this maid would die without evidence, so I hurriedly sent her to Ying Palace."
Liu Jingyu was also prepared before entering the palace. After hearing the question, he calmed down and said.
"Why was the Crown Princess sent to the Prince of Ying's Palace instead of the General's Palace? I heard that it was Miss Liu who had an accident on the wedding day, not Ying.
Princess! " Concubine He smiled and interjected.
This shows that there is suspicion that there is something going on between Qu Moying and Liu Jingyu.
Qu Moying gently pinched the handkerchief and said nothing. It was not her turn to explain this matter now.
Sure enough, when Liu Jingyu heard Concubine He's question, she hurriedly explained: "On the day of the wedding, Miss Liu tore up the painting given by my grandmother. She was afraid that my grandmother would be sad, so she didn't dare to face her. She specially asked Princess Ying to mediate and agreed to give the maid to Princess Ying once she found her."
Since this person dared to send it, Liu Jingyu must have a story and is not afraid of being questioned.
Her words had already convicted Liu Lanxin; it was Liu Lanxin who tore the painting!
Liu Lanxin gritted her teeth in annoyance, but she also knew that she couldn't interrupt at this time.
"Empress, whose pearl is that? We can find out for sure." Concubine He asked the Empress a difficult question and smiled softly, "There is a certain number of pearl earrings given out from the palace. Since this maid has one, someone must be missing. Why don't you check them one by one, Empress?"
"There is indeed a certain number of colored bead earrings, but over the years, many people have received them, and it is not just the East Palace that has them. If I remember correctly, the Imperial Concubine also received a few pairs of colored bead earrings at that time. I wonder if they are still in the Imperial Concubine's possession now?"
The queen sneered.
There are not many colored beads, but after so many years, it is really hard to find out who has them. Moreover, after going through so much trouble, in the end, the one investigating is still her son's East Palace. The queen would not do such a thankless task.
The most important thing right now is who is responsible.
"Mother, I checked some people around that maid and they all said that she was acting suspiciously and had some connections with people outside the mansion. I don't know who was behind the wedding, but if it was really this maid, I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Liu Jingyu finally fought back and looked up at the Queen with a heavy expression.
"Is there anyone who instructed this maid to plot the prince's wedding behind the scenes?" asked the queen.
"My daughter-in-law doesn't know, but since the time when she sent the dowry, someone has been trying to plot against her and the prince. The prince said that he had found some clues, but they were eventually erased by someone with ulterior motives. As for the wedding, the prince and my daughter-in-law were not in a position to make any moves, but they were still plotted against."
Liu Jingyu lowered her head bitterly. "I know nothing about what happened to Miss Liu that day. It was Princess Changyu who told me about it later. When Miss Liu came to apologize, I was not in a position to speak, and I don't know what happened specifically."
At this time, Liu Jingyu pushed all the blame onto Liu Lanxin. She was desperate now. Someone had to take responsibility for this matter. Of course, she would not believe what Liu Lanxin had explained before, saying that all soldiers on the border were like this. Liu Lanxin was used to it and subconsciously thought that it was the same here.
Liu Lanxin is a lady from a noble family. Liu Jingyu doesn't know whether she has been on the battlefield, but looking at Liu Lanxin's appearance, he knows that she is a scheming person and would never do such a rash thing. The prince's meaning is also very clear, asking her to throw dirty water on others at all costs.
Liu Jingyu certainly didn't intend to let Qu Moying go, but the Queen had already left Qu Moying aside in her words just now, so she didn't dare to say more at this time.
Let’s talk about it first.
"Miss Liu, what happened to you when the Crown Prince got married? Why did you tear up the Crown Princess's painting of a fertility-giving river clam? Did this painting bother Miss Liu?"
The topic finally came to the time of the Crown Prince's wedding. The Queen sneered and attacked Liu Lanxin.
Liu Lanxin hurriedly raised her eyes to look at the Queen, "Queen, I... I was really deceived by someone, it was that maid..."
"There must be someone behind that maid, and several people in the Eastern Palace can testify against her." Liu Jingyu said calmly. This maid was originally hers and had connections with her subordinates. In order to avoid being seen, her behavior was naturally sneaky, and it would be easy to find out if someone wanted to investigate.
Especially since she was the one who embezzled money, it would only take a word to investigate this maid to find out if there was anything wrong.
"If you don't believe it, mother, you can send someone to interrogate those people again." Liu Jingyu said calmly.
There was someone behind the maid being bitten to death, and the maid's death implied that someone wanted to harm the East Palace.
"That day, the maid led the Princess of Ying, so why did Miss Liu keep staring at her? Young ladies from aristocratic families are the most rule-abiding. Miss Liu might have known nothing about it before, but it's different now. Now that she's in the capital, she'll be marrying Prince Jing, so how can she let people laugh at the lack of etiquette in the royal family?"
The Queen said in a cold voice, waved her hand, and a maid came over.
"This nanny will follow Miss Liu from now on and teach her the rules of the capital and the royal family. If something like this happens again, it can't be explained by habit. This is the capital, not the border. The one who makes the decision is the royal family, not the generals who support the country."
The Queen's last words were almost heartbreaking.
Liu Lanxin was originally unconvinced and wanted to say something, but was shocked by the last sentence.
All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects. No matter how well the general does on the border, he is still a subject and must listen to the emperor.
"Sister, I have someone to send over here. We already have a nanny, so there's no need to send another one." Concubine He said with a smile, helping her own daughter-in-law out of the predicament.
He spoke very affectionately, no longer calling her "Empress", but "Sister".
"My Lady, this is not okay. If it were any other matter, I would not disagree if you asked. But this is not the case with my brother. Miss Liu is the future Princess of King Jing. If she continues to do this, it will be a loss for King Jing and the royal family. No one can afford this. It is better to have one more person to teach than to slack off."
The Queen said with a wry smile.
The same "imperial concubine" was not called "sister", but even so, everyone knew that they should address each other as sisters. Being an elder sister in the imperial palace was not easy.
"Since the Queen said so, then I will do as you say." There was no annoyance on Concubine He's face. She smiled and accepted the Queen's intention.
Qu Moying's watery eyes slid across the face of Concubine He. This one looked unusual. She was indeed a favored concubine in the deep palace for many years. This could be seen from these few words.
At the beginning, he was still provoking the Queen to get angry, but now he has calmed down and is not directly confronting the Queen.
She tugged at the handkerchief in her hand twice, her eyes full of mockery. She came here today just to watch the fun, and she didn't think the fun would end here...