The thoughts in Master Qiao's heart wavered once more.

"Greetings, Your Majesty, Esteemed Consort Hui!" Master Qiao said.

Jiang Chen waved his hand. "Master Qiao, no need for such formalities. Please, sit."

After Master Qiao was seated, Jiang Chen sighed and said, "Master Qiao, this time, I was too careless."

Upon hearing this, Master Qiao quickly stood up. "I dare not, I dare not!"

Regardless of the truth, he dared not accept an apology from Jiang Chen, the Emperor.

In this aspect, he was much smarter than Qiao Hongyang.

Jiang Chen gestured for Master Qiao not to be so restrained, saying, "Master Qiao, Beloved Consort, rest assured. I have already arranged for a trusted coroner to examine the body. We will surely uncover the truth behind Qiao Hongyang's death!"

Master Qiao hastily stood up and apologized upon hearing this.

He had also suspected the cause of Qiao Hongyang's death. His purpose in coming here was to have Consort Hui plead with Jiang Chen to return Qiao Hongyang's body so that the truth could be investigated.

He hadn't expected Jiang Chen to have already considered this step.

For a moment, Master Qiao felt a sense of shame.

He had previously suspected that His Majesty was deliberately doing this, but now it seemed he had been too suspicious.

Jiang Chen then said, "Rest assured, if there are other secrets, I will investigate them thoroughly! Even if the facts are as Wu Zuo says, I will still punish him for dereliction of duty!"

After saying this, Jiang Chen said gently, "Beloved Consort, from this day forward, you shall be Imperial Concubine!"

Master Qiao and Consort Hui, who had been very sad, were instantly overjoyed upon hearing this.

Imperial Concubine was a rank second only to the Empress!

And throughout the dynasties, the Empress was basically promoted from Imperial Concubine!

Consort Hui quickly got up and bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Master Qiao also got up and saluted.

Jiang Chen quickly helped Consort Hui up, saying, "Beloved Consort, there's no need for such formality. Please sit down quickly."

This news quickly spread throughout the harem.

The concubines who heard the news were all envious and jealous.

To be promoted from Consort to Imperial Concubine just because of the death of an older brother, it was simply too good to be true!

In their opinion, it was well worth it!

Master Qiao and Consort Hui thought the same way.

At the same time, Master Qiao made a decision in his heart.

That was, Qiao Hongyang's death must be an accident!

If it was murder, then His Majesty would not feel so guilty.

Only if it was an accident would His Majesty feel guilty towards Consort Hui!

Thus, the matter of Qiao Hongyang's accidental death quickly concluded with the explanation that he had died due to a stomachache and untimely medical treatment.

After being imprisoned for three days, Wu Zuo returned to the court and continued to serve as Minister of Justice.

The imperial court returned to tranquility.

But the harem became increasingly fierce.

Especially after Consort Hui was promoted to Imperial Concubine Hui, the other concubines also took action.

Some, knowing that they had no hope of competing for the position of Empress, took the initiative to approach Imperial Concubine Hui, hoping to be able to show their faces in front of Jiang Chen after Imperial Concubine Hui became Empress.

Others, unwilling to give up, paid even more attention to their performance in front of Jiang Chen.

Consort Yue was particularly diligent.

She not only told Jiang Chen about the results of her medical treatment, but also talked about some folk affairs.

Because she talked more, she occupied more time each day than the other concubines.

Imperial Concubine Hui, whose limelight was stolen, was very unhappy, found reasons to reprimand Consort Yue several times, and directly ignored her when she encountered her.

But after returning to her parents' home one time, Imperial Concubine Hui's attitude towards Consort Yue changed drastically.

Not only did she no longer find reasons to reprimand Consort Yue, but she even greeted her warmly and joked with her occasionally when she met her.

This situation puzzled the other concubines.

Jiang Chen frowned upon hearing the dark guard's report.

Imperial Concubine Hui was definitely not one to let things go so easily.

The last time she returned to her parents' home, she created a charity foundation.

This time, he wondered what idea the Qiao family had given her!

Just as Jiang Chen was considering whether to have the dark guard investigate, Wu Zuo, Minister of Justice, stepped forward and reported a case during the morning court session that day.

"Your Majesty, a case occurred in Yicheng, Jiangnan a few days ago. This subject dares not make a judgment and asks Your Majesty to decide."

Wu Zuo's words surprised the court officials.

The judgment of cases was the responsibility of the Minister of Justice.

If you want His Majesty to judge, then what do you do?

Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed, knowing that this matter must be extraordinary.

Otherwise, Wu Zuo would never have reported it so solemnly in the morning court.

"Speak."

Wu Zuo then said, "It's like this. A local wealthy merchant contracted a cold. At that time, there happened to be a traveling doctor practicing medicine in Yicheng, who was said to be able to cure any illness with his medicine."

"The wealthy merchant invited this traveling doctor home to diagnose and prescribe medicine, but unexpectedly, after taking the medicine, the wealthy merchant's condition not only did not improve, but he died."

"The wealthy merchant's family sued the traveling doctor to the yamen, saying that he was seeking wealth and taking lives. But the traveling doctor strongly denied it."

At this point, the ministers who were listening intently became even more puzzled.

They thought the same as Jiang Chen, guessing that there must be something unusual about this matter.

But hearing this far, it seemed like there was nothing.

Jiang Chen listened quietly, knowing that Wu Zuo would definitely not speak without purpose.

Sure enough, Wu Zuo continued, "This traveling doctor is a top disciple of Shen Wei'an, a famous doctor in the capital."

The ministers suddenly understood.

So the key to the matter was the identity of this traveling doctor.

Of course, Shen Wei'an was not the key.

The key was that Shen Wei'an had a daughter named Shen Wei, who was Consort Yue!

The ministers had all heard of Consort Yue's proposal for doctors to travel around, so they naturally knew that this matter was not as simple as someone dying after receiving treatment.

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and said, "What are the results of your investigation into this matter?"

Wu Zuo said, "This subject separately questioned the wealthy merchant's family and the traveling doctor. What both parties said was basically the same. The key point is that the wealthy merchant's family believes that the traveling doctor is a quack, but the traveling doctor believes that his prescription was correct."

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and said, "Have both parties come to the capital?"

Wu Zuo nodded. "Yes!"

"In that case, summon them to the palace. I want to question them personally," Jiang Chen said.

Soon, the wealthy merchant's son and a doctor in his thirties were brought to the palace.

Jiang Chen first looked at the two of them and found that the doctor looked calm, but the wealthy merchant's son was cowering and his eyes were darting around.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen had a rough idea.

Jiang Chen first looked at the wealthy merchant's son and said, "I heard that you are certain that the traveling doctor killed your father. Do you have any evidence?"

The wealthy merchant's son immediately said, "Your Majesty, my father died after taking the medicine he prescribed. This is ironclad evidence!"

In the hall, many ministers nodded slightly.

What he said was correct.

Jiang Chen remained noncommittal and looked at the doctor, "What do you have to say?"

The doctor cupped his hands to Jiang Chen and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject believes that the deceased definitely did not die from taking the medicine I prescribed."

"Why are you so sure?" Jiang Chen asked.