Consort Zhang then turned her gaze to Li Heng and Empress Jiang. "Your Majesty, Empress, Concubine Wan has had an affair with a guard, defiling the imperial harem. Such a shameless woman deserves no mercy and is unfit to live. I implore Your Majesty and the Empress to execute Concubine Wan swiftly as a warning to others."
Li Heng’s face darkened considerably upon hearing this.
Empress Jiang remained expressionless, calmly sipping her tea. The execution of Qi Wan'er was of no consequence to her; Qi Wan'er was merely a consort in the harem and had no bearing on her and Prince Ding's plans.
Yue Qing raised an eyebrow, looking at Consort Zhang with a knowing glint in her eyes. It seemed this Consort Zhang was determined to see Qi Wan'er dead.
Qi Wan'er’s expression remained unchanged, only a slight flicker of emotion crossed her face when she looked at Yue Qing.
Having faced the accusations of the guard and her personal maid, Qi Wan'er knew she could not clear her name and that death was inevitable. Her heart had already turned to ash.
But upon seeing Yue Qing arrive and speak on her behalf, wanting to defend her, a warmth spread through her heart.
Qi Wan'er was deeply grateful for Yue Qing's defense. Even if it ultimately proved ineffective, she was still happy.
Meeting Yue Qing was the only fortunate thing that had happened to her since entering the palace.
Yue Qing’s expression was calm. "Consort Zhang need not be in such a hurry. Allow me to question these individuals a few more times, and then Concubine Wan may be dealt with."
She turned to Li Heng. "Your Majesty, may I proceed with my questioning?"
"You may. Proceed," Li Heng replied tonelessly.
"Very well, but I must first make some preparations," Yue Qing said.
Li Heng nodded.
Yue Qing glanced at Xue Mei. "Xue Mei, make your move."
"Yes," Xue Mei responded and walked towards the guard and the personal maid.
Yue Qing had already instructed Xue Mei on what to do before they arrived, so she quickly bound the guard and the personal maid, blindfolded them, plugged their ears, and then inserted several silver needles into their bodies.
Consort Zhang, worried about any unforeseen developments, angrily questioned, "Consort Yun, what are you attempting to do? Coerce a confession? They have already confessed their crimes; do you intend to make them give false testimony?"
Yue Qing smiled, ignoring her, and said to Li Heng, "Your Majesty, my actions are intended to lower their guard, allowing for a better interrogation to ascertain the truth."
"Will this be effective?" Li Heng had never heard of such interrogation methods.
Yue Qing secretly thought, of course, it wouldn't be effective. This was merely a cover for her to use her mental powers to interrogate these two.
These two had been instructed by the mastermind and had their stories prepared. Yue Qing did not want to waste time on them and intended to directly interfere with their minds using her mental power to resolve it quickly.
Yue Qing looked at Li Heng and explained with a smile, "This is something I read in an old miscellaneous book. When a person's five senses are deprived, they experience intense fear, and their defenses lower. I noticed earlier that this guard and the personal maid appeared somewhat tense, indicating their will is not particularly strong. I thought I would try this method, perhaps it would yield different interrogation results. Of course, for those with strong wills, this method might be ineffective."
Li Heng nodded in understanding.
During the previous interrogation of these two, they had also been subjected to torture, yet they persisted in claiming that Qi Wan'er had indeed committed adultery.
Therefore, faced with their unwavering statements, he had begun to doubt Qi Wan'er's loyalty and felt immense anger.
Consort Zhang, upon hearing Yue Qing's explanation, felt relieved.
The torture they had endured earlier had not made the guard and personal maid reveal the truth, so Yue Qing's little trick would be useless.
Everyone waited for about fifteen minutes, then saw the faces of the guard and personal maid turn somewhat grim.
Seeing this, Yue Qing said, "Xue Mei, release the guard first. I will question him."
"Yes," Xue Mei removed the items from the guard.
Yue Qing stepped forward to the guard and looked at him, directly asking, "What is your relationship with Concubine Wan? Why were you in her chambers? Concubine Wan's chambers are guarded by maids; how did you get in?"
As she asked these questions, Yue Qing stared directly at the guard, subtly interfering with him using a trace of her mental power.
Yue Qing did not intend to proceed slowly, preferring to finish quickly.
When the guard heard Yue Qing's questions, he was about to recite his prepared statement. These questions had already been asked by the Emperor during his interrogation, and he had prepared for them.
However, upon seeing Yue Qing's eyes and being affected by her mental interference, his gaze gradually became unfocused, and the prepared statements instantly slipped from his mind.
Consequently, when faced with Yue Qing's questions, he could only speak the truth. "This subordinate has no relationship with Concubine Wan. This subordinate was instructed to come to Concubine Wan's chambers. When I arrived at the entrance of her chambers, her personal maid led the other maids away. This allowed me to avoid the crowd and sneak into Concubine Wan's room."
After the guard's reply, everyone present underwent a complete change in expression.
They were all surprised that Yue Qing's method had actually worked, eliciting a different answer to the same question.
Li Heng was enraged, hating the person who had framed Qi Wan'er.
A flicker of panic flashed in Consort Zhang's eyes.
Empress Jiang felt a growing sense of wariness.
A hint of joy appeared on Qi Wan'er's face.
Yue Qing glanced at the expressions of the four and then continued to ask the guard, "Who was behind you in framing Concubine Wan? Explain the entire incident."
The guard replied, "This subordinate does not know who wanted to frame Concubine Wan. This matter began half a month ago. That day, I was off duty and returned home. Late at night, a man in black came to find me. He knew my difficulties and gave me one thousand taels of silver, asking me to do something for him. My parents live far away in my hometown, and I had recently received a letter saying my father was unwell and needed a large sum for medical expenses. After considering the black-clothed man's proposal, I agreed."
"The man in black instructed me to hide in the garden during the palace banquet held half a month later. When Concubine Wan appeared, I was to ruin her reputation. Upon hearing this, I knew it was a capital offense and felt apprehensive, wanting to refuse. However, the man in black turned around and threatened me with my parents in my hometown. I had no choice but to comply. On the day of the banquet, I waited in the garden as the man in black instructed, but Concubine Wan never appeared, even after the banquet concluded."
"At that moment, a palace maid approached me and said the plan had changed. I was to go to Concubine Wan's chambers, and someone would let me in. Following this maid's instructions, I went to Concubine Wan's chambers and indeed saw her personal maid lead others away, bringing me into Concubine Wan's room. As soon as I embraced Concubine Wan and covered her mouth to prevent her from crying for help, and was about to do more, someone rushed in."