Quick Wear: The host is really just a substitute!

Chapter 760: Five Kinds of Vegetables for the Deposed Empress in the Cold Palace (5)

In the side hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the candle flames flickered restlessly.

Due to unexpected events during the ancestor worship ceremony, the ceremony was forced to be suspended.

The imperial guards were stationed outside the palace tightly, and all civil and military officials were detained and not allowed to leave without permission.

Yan Wujiu was leading his men to collect the jade cups one by one. The bottom of each bowl was reflected with the eight small blue characters, which looked very strange under the candlelight.

In the center of the hall, Su Zhenhe knelt on the ground and could clearly feel the sharp gaze from above.

"All jade cups have words on the bottom of the bowls."

Wen Yu's voice was low, and the sound of his fingertips tapping on the table was particularly clear in the silent hall.

Every sound seemed to strike at the tip of Su Zhenhe's heart.

"The Imperial Kitchen Department is in charge of the wine vessels for ancestral sacrifices, yet you tell me that no one is allowed in or out?"

"Your Majesty." Su Zhenhe's voice trembled, "After the wine utensils were put into storage, I sealed them myself and sent people to guard them day and night. No outsiders were allowed to approach..."

"No outsiders?"

Wen Yu sneered and suddenly raised his hand.

"Snapped!"

A green jade cup exploded in front of Su Zhenhe, and fragments flew everywhere.

The eight small blue characters twisted strangely in the candlelight, as if mocking his explanation.

"Did this word grow out of thin air?"

Su Zhenhe's Adam's apple rolled: "I really don't know..."

“I don’t know…” Wen Yu slowly stood up, his black cloak with dragon pattern cast a huge shadow under the candlelight.

"Or are you protecting this person just like you protected Duan Ning from stealing food ingredients from the Shangshansi?"

Su Zhenhe looked up suddenly and met the emperor's cold gaze.

His lips trembled, and he finally said dejectedly: "Your Majesty, Queen Duan Ning...used force to coerce this humble minister..."

"But this jade cup... I really don't know."

Before he could finish his words, the palace door was suddenly pushed open.

The chief eunuch Pingxi walked in quickly and said, "Your Majesty, Lin Jian is asking to see you. He said he has some clues to report."

Wen Yu's eyes darkened: "Xuan."

Lin Wuxia strode in.

He stood up after his salute, a meaningful smile on his lips: "I have a clue as to who did it."

The candlelight in the hall suddenly flickered violently.

"Who?"

Lin Wuxia spoke word by word, his voice like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue:

"The former Duan, Ning, Huang, and Empress."

Lin Wuxia raised the corners of his lips slightly, and spoke each word with pause: "Duan, Ning, Huang, and Hou."

Su Zhenhe's pupils suddenly shrank, and the scene of the night when he suddenly received the imperial edict suddenly emerged in his mind.

The cold wind was howling. After receiving the imperial edict, Su Zhenhe checked the wine utensils for ancestor worship overnight.

When he pushed open the door of the warehouse, two eunuchs on duty were leaning against the door and yawning. When they saw him coming, they stood up in a hurry.

"Sir, why are you here again?" One of them rubbed his eyes, "The wine utensils are all sealed, there is absolutely no mistake..."

Su Zhenhe frowned: "Open the box, I want to check it again."

The eunuchs looked at each other and took their time to unlock the door.

Under the candlelight, the green jade cups are neatly arranged, and the glaze is as smooth as new.

Su Zhenhe checked one by one and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was nothing abnormal.

But now that I think about it...

The drooping eyelids of the two eunuchs looked very similar to what he had seen before - the scene when Song Yuesheng used a sleeping pill to knock down the guard in the vegetable warehouse.

"absurd!"

Su Zhenhe came to his senses and saw Wen Yu slamming the table so hard that the teacup fell over.

"How could Duan Ning sneak into the Imperial Kitchen when she is confined to the cold palace?"

Lin Wuxia calmly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, do you think that the cold palace can really hold Empress Duan Ning, who grew up in the general's mansion?"

He glanced meaningfully at the heavily guarded imperial guards outside the palace.

Wen Yu's eyes suddenly became sharp: "Are you questioning the ability of the Imperial Guards?"

"I dare not." Lin Wuxia took out a charred piece of paper from his sleeve, "A few days ago, Empress Duan Ning came to the Imperial Observatory late at night and handed me a note."

He presented the fragment, and only the words "Painted Skin" could be vaguely seen on the burnt yellow edge.

The pen strokes are as sharp as a knife.

"The original sentence is 'It is easy to paint the skin, but difficult to change the bones.'" Lin Wuxia sighed, "I had burned it originally, but I saved this part because I thought it was of great importance."

"Your Majesty, please compare the handwriting and check the paper used in each palace."

Pingxi's hands holding the fragments trembled slightly.

Wen Yu lowered his eyes and glanced at him, his hands in his sleeves clenched unconsciously.

He had never seen Song Yuesheng's handwriting.

But that didn't matter at this moment.

What matters is that someone wants her dead.

The wind outside the palace was howling, making the window frames rattle.

Wen Yu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was indifferent.

"In that case..." His voice was emotionless, "Wait until the Minister of Justice and Yan Wujiu have examined everyone, then return to the palace."

It's easy to want someone to die.

same.

It is also easy to keep a person alive.

The next day's time.

"Your Majesty." Yan Wujiu stepped forward quickly and lowered his voice, "I have interrogated everyone according to your instructions, and found nothing unusual."

Wen Yu nodded slightly, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Lin Wuxia whispering to He Yingxue.

The latter was visibly relieved.

Something to do with her?

But how did she know his secret?

Amid Pingxi's singing and shouting, the imperial carriage slowly drove away from the Taimiao.

Wen Yu leaned against the sedan chair, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the piece of paper.

The edges of the paper were charred and curled, as if they had been licked by flames and then hastily pulled out.

【Painted Skin】

These two words made his eyes hurt.

Duan Ning.

If what you did was revenge for being sent to the cold palace?

But there is another problem.

How did Duan Ning know his secret?

——The woman that Prince Yi hid in the cold palace?

We set out at 7:00 am and arrived at the palace at 12:00 pm.

The team set out at 7:00 p.m. and returned to the palace at 2:30 p.m.

The snow fell again.

Winter always seems to be like this, with the snow falling heavily and seemingly never stopping.

A thin layer of snow soon covered Wen Yu's black cloak.

The imperial guards surrounded the cold palace courtyard. The flickering flames reflected on the snow, making it appear blood-red.

The palace door was ajar, and warm yellow candlelight leaked out from the gap, drawing a thin golden line on the snow.

"Squeak-"

The door opened.

Song Yuesheng stood at the door, a corner of her white dress lifted by the night wind.

She glanced at the imperial guards in the courtyard, and her eyes finally fell on Wen Yu, the leader. The corners of her lips slightly raised: "I didn't expect that His Majesty would kill me after returning from the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

She tilted her head.

"But I'm curious about what the charge is this time?"

"Duan Ning."

Wen Yu stood still at the bottom of the steps, a shadow covering half of his face, "Do you admit your guilt for what happened in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

"Ancestral Temple?"

Song Yuesheng frowned in confusion, "What happened to the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

Wen Yu coldly told the story of what had happened during the ancestral worship ceremony.

With every word, Song Yuesheng's expression changed.

He completely portrayed the image of someone who knew nothing.

"I see."

After hearing this, Song Yuesheng suddenly laughed.

"Why go to all that trouble to search?" She turned and picked up a dry branch from the corridor. "There is no writing material in the cold palace. Your Majesty, please bear with it."

Under the gaze of everyone, she squatted down and the dead branch left deep marks on the snow.

The character “画” starts with a sharp stroke, while the character “皮” ends with a gentle touch.

The writing on the snow was completely different from that on the fragments.

Song Yuesheng threw away the dead branch and raised his head with sarcasm in his eyes: "Lin Jianzheng, I have no grudge against you, why are you targeting me like this? Is there someone instructing you?"

The night wind blew up snow particles and extinguished the nearest torch.

In the darkness, Lin Wuxia's face looked extremely ugly.

In the flickering firelight, one could clearly see the bulging blue veins on his forehead and the slightly twitching corners of his mouth.