BLHO Chapter 43

Chapter 43: A Shameful Affair

Chapter 43: A Shameful Affair

Upon arriving at the Three Divisions, those who had been arrested were not directly taken to the court, but instead locked in a dark and gloomy room.

Lin Shuangxu did not receive any special treatment due to his status as *shaozhu*, and was imprisoned with all the servants.

“What’s going on, *shaozhu*? Why are we all locked up? Could it be that the General…”

The steward fearfully stepped forward to speak to Lin Shuangxu, but before he could finish, he was ordered to be silent by the Jinyi Guard on duty.

Everyone stood quietly against the wall, truly no different from prisoners.

“You! Come here!”

The Jinyi Guard pointed at the steward.

No one expected that a servant would be called for questioning first.

The steward felt uncertain. As he walked away, he looked back at Lin Shuangxu every few steps, expecting him to give some instructions.

But he said nothing.

Seeing the current situation, preparing in advance was futile; he could only play it by ear.

The steward was escorted to the court, one on each side. The old man’s bones ached, and when he saw his own General kneeling on the ground, bound, his sorrow overshadowed his fear.

“General…”

His eyes reddened as he stepped forward, wanting to see if He Yuncheng was injured, but he was forcibly pressed aside and ordered to kneel obediently.

He Yuncheng stared at him with a slightly distant gaze, observing the subtle expressions on his face.

Having been cared for by this old servant since childhood, He Yuncheng still didn’t believe the steward had been bought off.

“You are the steward of the General’s Manor/Residence?” Gu Huan asked.

The steward snapped back to reality and repeatedly kowtowed. “This humble citizen greets Your Majesty! Please investigate thoroughly, Your Majesty. Our General is innocent! He could never have murdered the princess…”

Li Yuliang frowned slightly and stepped forward to question on behalf of Gu Huan, “On the night of the incident, you delivered chicken soup to the princess, is that correct?”

The steward was shocked by these words, his face instantly becoming tense.

Such a simple question, yet his mouth opened and closed, unable to answer for a long time.

He Yuncheng noticed his strange expression and narrowed his eyes, staring sharply at him.

“Speak.”

Li Yuliang’s voice was not loud, but it was enough to intimidate.

The steward’s hands trembled as he prostrated on the ground. How could he dare to lie in front of the Emperor?

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this old servant did indeed deliver chicken soup to the princess that night.”

Hearing this, no one was more shocked than He Yuncheng.

He was displeased and sternly questioned the steward, “You really delivered the soup? Who told you to deliver it? How come I didn’t know?”

“It was… the *shaozhu* told me to. He said that the princess was constrained by rules and etiquette all day during the daytime ceremony and hadn’t eaten or drunk a single drop. He was afraid that her stomach would be unwell, so he ordered the kitchen to brew a bowl of chicken soup and send it over.”

Hearing that Lin Shuangxu was being implicated, He Yuncheng’s suppressed emotions exploded instantly.

“Why didn’t you say so before?!”

The steward was frightened by him, stammering as he explained, “These past few days, the General has been at the military camp. The *shaozhu* has been handling the princess’s affairs. He knew about this matter…”

“You…”

He Yuncheng wanted to scold him, but Shen Tan sternly warned, “This is a court of law, General He. Please be quiet.”

A palace maid by the side said indignantly, “Your Majesty, he admitted it! The poison was in the soup, and it was put there by someone from the General’s Manor/Residence!”

The steward was dumbfounded upon hearing her words.

When Li Yuliang asked about it just now, he had suspected that singling out the chicken soup might be related to the princess’s poisoning.

But he never expected that these people would dare to join forces and openly slander someone in front of the Emperor.

“You’re talking nonsense!” The steward trembled with anger, pointing at the palace maid. “The *shaozhu* kindly sent soup to the princess. How could he possibly poison the soup! You’re making baseless accusations!”

“Your General’s Manor/Residence is being too unreasonable! Two big men joining forces to bully the weak princess. It’s a pity for the princess, dying tragically after the wedding with no way to seek justice…”

The more the palace maid spoke, the more agitated she became, kneeling and kowtowing with tears streaming down her face. “Your Majesty, the truth is clear! It was General He and Lin Shuangxu, the *shaozhu* of the He family, who conspired to kill the princess! Please, Your Majesty, you must avenge the princess!”

The accusations became increasingly outrageous. How could the steward allow her to slander them like this? He stood up excitedly, wanting to fight her. “How dare you spout such nonsense! I’ll beat you to death, you black-hearted girl…”

“Enough!” Li Yuliang shouted loudly. The Jinyi Guards immediately stepped forward and pressed the steward to the ground.

“How can you, a troublemaking commoner, be so presumptuous in court! Men, drag him down and give him twenty strokes of the rod!” Li Yuliang roared.

“Yes!”

The steward was dragged away to be punished, his heart-wrenching cries of injustice echoing through the air.

And He Yuncheng, who was truly being wronged, remained silent, a chilling aura emanating from him.

The court fell silent. Li Yuliang was expressionless as he ordered, word by word, “Bring Lin Shuangxu up.”

Underneath the ropes, He Yuncheng’s fists clenched tightly as he gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to overturn the court.

The complexity of the situation had exceeded his expectations. From now on, every step had to be taken carefully.

Soon, the Jinyi Guard brought the man up.

Too familiar, he didn’t need to turn his head; he knew it was him just by the footsteps.

A moon-white robe floated into view. Lin Shuangxu was as calm and collected as ever, not making eye contact with He Yuncheng to avoid suspicion.

“This humble citizen, Lin Shuangxu, greets Your Majesty.”

He knelt and kowtowed, his body prostrating reverently on the ground.

Gu Huan looked down at his figure from above, asking Li Yuliang in confusion, “Who is this?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this person is Lin Shuangxu, the *shaozhu* of the He family.”

“Lin Shuangxu…” Gu Huan muttered to himself, then ordered, “Raise your head.”

Lin Shuangxu hesitated for a moment, a hesitation that was deeply hidden, unnoticed by others.

He raised his head, facing Gu Huan directly.

Gu Huan carefully scrutinized him. There was silence all around, the air seemingly frozen.

After a long while, he opened his mouth and questioned him, “Is it you who poisoned and murdered my imperial sister? Why did you do such a thing?”

Lin Shuangxu’s eyes narrowed as he quickly pondered how the blame had fallen on him.

He observed his surroundings imperceptibly, and saw the palace maid kneeling to the side.

He Yuncheng was anxious to clear him of suspicion, disregarding everything as he said, “This matter has nothing to do with him! Please, Your Majesty…”

“General He!” Li Yuliang rebuked, cutting him off. “You were already allowed to speak just now. Now, he is the one being interrogated. Please be quiet.”

He Yuncheng’s fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. Beneath his sleeves, the veins on his arms were bulging.

Lin Shuangxu remained calm, kneeling upright, answering cautiously, “Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble citizen did not poison the princess. I do not know why Your Majesty has such suspicions.”

Li Yuliang said, “Was it you who sent the chicken soup that the princess drank before the incident?”

With that one sentence, Lin Shuangxu understood the reason.

Taking another look at the palace maid, he saw her hateful gaze, acting with great sincerity.

“Yes,” Lin Shuangxu replied truthfully. “This humble citizen did instruct the servants in the manor to send chicken soup to the princess, but absolutely did not poison the soup.”

“If you didn’t poison the soup, then why did the princess become poisoned after drinking it?!” The palace maid questioned him agitatedly.

Lin Shuangxu turned his head to look at her, his sharp gaze sending chills down her spine.

The palace maid was momentarily flustered by his gaze.

“Then you should ask this girl,” Lin Shuangxu said to her. “This marriage was bestowed by the Empress Dowager herself. Even if you gave ten times the courage to the people of my General’s Manor/Residence, we would never dare to harm the princess. You are the only outsider who handled the bowl of chicken soup. You should know best how the poison was administered.”

“You… you’re turning the blame on me?” The palace maid’s face flushed red as she retorted, “I have served the princess in the palace since I was young. She treated me with great kindness. What reason would I have to harm her!”

“Yes, you also know that to harm someone, there must be a reasonable motive. So, what reason would the people of the General’s Manor/Residence have to seek their own deaths?”

The calmer and more logical Lin Shuangxu was, the more infuriated the palace maid became.

Unable to gain an advantage verbally, she knew it was useless to argue with Lin Shuangxu any further. She turned around and kowtowed to Gu Huan again. “Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has more to report!”

“Speak.”

“Yes.”

The palace maid knelt upright, looking as if she was ready to die for her cause, and said, “That night, after the wedding banquet ended, the princess waited alone in the New Room for a long time, but the General did not return. Later, it was too late, so the princess told me to go back and rest first. But I couldn’t bear to see her spending her wedding night alone, so I thought about finding the General and urging him to return quickly. Then, by chance, I found the courtyard where the General used to live…”

He Yuncheng’s heart jolted upon hearing this.

He wanted to stop her from continuing, but to shut her up now, he would have to kill her on the spot.

Doing so would only confirm her statement even more.

“And then?” Gu Huan pressed.

The palace maid raised her voice and continued, “Reporting to Your Majesty, as soon as I entered that courtyard, I heard strange noises. Curious, I quietly approached the window and peeked into the room, and then I saw…”

She hesitated, and the more she did, the more anxious Gu Huan became, pressing her to continue, “What did you see? Tell me quickly.”

The palace maid’s face was full of disgust as she said indignantly, “Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant saw that General He and Lin Shuangxu, the *shaozhu* of the He family, were engaging in shameful acts!”