"Your... Your Majesty..." Qing Yi choked out the words, as if a hand had seized his throat.
He found it difficult to breathe.
He saw a chilling coldness in the young woman's expression.
His heart plummeted. The Empress was furious.
"Qing Yi, is Lin Gongzi's death related to you?" the young woman's lips parted, her seemingly calm tone filled with a sinister frigidity that Qing Yi could feel.
"Your Majesty, this commoner is wronged..." he kowtowed.
He truly was wronged.
The next moment, he heard the young woman's soft scoff, "Wronged? Someone saw with their own eyes that you personally served that cup of wine to Lin Yanzhi."
"Your Majesty, it was this commoner who served it, but this commoner truly did not know that poison had been added to the wine."
If he had known, how could he have served it to Lin Yanzhi, whom the Empress favored so dearly?
Did he have a death wish?
"Bring Cui He up," the young woman called for Lin Yanzhi's personal attendant.
Cui He pointed at Qing Yi, his face filled with anger, "Your Majesty, it was him! If he hadn't persuaded Gongzi to drink that cup of wine, why would Gongzi..."
Cui He choked, unable to speak further, and began to cry.
Qing Yi trembled all over, "Your Majesty, this commoner is wronged. This commoner truly did not know that the wine was poisoned."
"Your Majesty, this servant saw Gongzi Qing Yi put poison into the wine cup," a palace maid stepped forward to identify Qing Yi.
Qing Yi stiffened, looking up at the maid with disbelief, "A Xiu, you don't believe me either?"
The palace maid, named A Xiu, turned her face away, her tone icy, "Gongzi Qing Yi, admit what you have done. Denials will not shield you from your crimes."
Qing Yi trembled, slumping to the ground. He tremblingly raised his eyes and saw that the clear, pure gaze he once knew was now completely cold.
There was only a chilling coldness.
Someone wanted to frame him.
This was the only thought in Qing Yi's mind.
"Qing Yi, with witnesses and evidence, what more do you have to say?" the young woman's voice was as cold as frost.
Qing Yi looked up, gazing at the young woman whose eyes remained icy even as she looked at him, but he still kowtowed, "Your Majesty, although Qing Yi is untalented, he knows what is right and what is wrong. Qing Yi did not harm Lin Gongzi, and Qing Yi does not know why that cup of wine was poisoned. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth."
"Give me back my son's life!" a roar echoed, followed by a figure charging in, heading straight for Qing Yi.
Qing Yi saw a black shadow before his eyes, and the next moment, his neck was tightly gripped by this shadow.
"Mmf mmph..." Qing Yi struggled, but the shadow was too strong, rendering him immobile.
The feeling of suffocation filled his mind. Was he going to be strangled to death like this?
"Grand Tutor Lin, stop!" a clear, melodious voice drifted over.
Grand Tutor Lin did not release his grip, only saying, "This minister will first strangle this murderer who harmed my son. As for the rest, this minister will plead guilty to Your Majesty. Your Majesty may punish this minister however she sees fit; this minister will not utter a word of protest."
"Xue Yan," Xue Zining said coldly, frowning.
Xue Yan stepped forward and delivered a chop to Grand Tutor Lin's neck. Grand Tutor Lin fell to the ground.
Only then did Qing Yi feel reborn, gasping for fresh air. If it had been any later, he would truly have died.
"Thank... thank Your Majesty," Qing Yi knew that without the Empress's intervention, no one would dare save him. Da Feng Xiao Shuo Wang
"Qing Yi, with witnesses and evidence, are you still not confessing?"
Qing Yi trembled all over, instinctively looking up. He met the young woman's clear yet cold gaze, and for some reason, his heart chilled by half.
"Your Majesty, do even you not trust Qing Yi?" he asked slowly.
Xue Zining felt a slight jolt in her heart. Qing Yi's demeanor was too calm, not like someone who had murdered. Could there truly be someone else?
Qing Yi felt a sense of despair. He kowtowed, "Your Majesty, Qing Yi knows that all the evidence now points to Qing Yi, but Qing Yi truly did not poison the wine. Qing Yi has been framed."
"You say you've been framed, do you have any evidence? Wasn't that cup of wine served by you?" Cui He said angrily from the side.
Just then, Feng Yu hurried in from outside and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this was found in Qing Yi's room."
Feng Yu spread open his palm, revealing a packet of medicine.
"What is this?" Xue Zining asked.
Feng Yu replied, "We will need an imperial physician to determine its exact nature."
"Summon Imperial Physician Shen," Xue Zining said coldly.
Imperial Physician Shen arrived quickly. He looked at the packet of medicine, opened it, revealing a red powder within.
Imperial Physician Shen sniffed it and involuntarily swayed.
Xue Zining also noticed the anomaly and asked, "Imperial Physician Shen, is there something wrong with this medicine?"
Imperial Physician Shen nodded, "It is colorless and odorless, undetectable even by smell. This old minister was fortunate to have resided in Jinzhou for a period."
"Jinzhou? A place renowned for producing poisons?" Feng Yu suddenly asked.
Imperial Physician Shen nodded, "Yes, this medicine is produced abundantly in Jinzhou."
Xue Zining's gaze turned utterly cold. She looked coldly at the kneeling Qing Yi, "I recall Qing Yi is from Jinzhou?"
Qing Yi slumped to the ground. He was from Jinzhou, and even the poison was produced in Jinzhou. Who wanted him dead?
"Your Majesty, Qing Yi is indeed from Jinzhou," Feng Yu said.
Xue Zining took a deep breath, rose from her chair, and walked slowly to Qing Yi, asking him, word by word, coldly, "Now, are you still not confessing?" Da Feng Xiao Shuo
"Your Majesty, Qing Yi cannot confess, Qing Yi..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp slap landed on his face, so forceful it turned his head to the side.
Everyone was shocked. This was the first time the Empress had struck someone.
"How you compete for favor is none of my concern, but poisoning someone is wrong. With witnesses and evidence, you are still arguing..."
The young woman sighed softly, "Qing Yi... I cannot keep you..."
Qing Yi trembled all over and looked up, meeting those clear, cold eyes. Never before had they held such coldness.
It was so cold it made him shiver, as if his very bones were being invaded by the chill.
"Your Majesty..." he managed to utter only those two words.
He watched as the young woman turned away, her clear voice drifting back, "Qing Yi poisoned and killed Lin Yanzhi, resulting in his death. His crime is unforgivable. He shall be beaten to death."
The words "beaten to death" echoed in Qing Yi's ears.
Qing Yi felt completely devastated. He knew that at this moment, anything he said would be futile.
Perhaps this was his fate. Ever since he had fled Jinzhou, he had known that one day he might die somewhere.
He lowered his head and slowly said, "This... this commoner accepts the decree!"
"Drag him away!" the young woman waved her hand.
Two guards entered, dragging him out of the Zhaoyuan Palace. They pressed him to the ground. He closed his eyes, knowing his life had reached its end.
However, he still felt a pang of unwillingness...
"Wait..." a voice called out.
Qing Yi startled and looked up, seeing a white figure approaching.