PNB Chapter 287 Maid
Chapter 287 Maid
Chapter 287 Maid
Just as the birthday banquet was in full swing, the atmosphere suddenly changed, and a noisy commotion arose like a surging tide.
The chief eunuch, who had been diligently maintaining order at the banquet, heard the commotion and immediately realized something was wrong. He hurried outside the hall to check the situation.
Upon seeing this, his face instantly turned ashen, his eyes widened, and a deep fear surged within him as he realized the seriousness of the situation far exceeded his expectations.
He turned around in a panic, ran into the banquet hall with unsteady steps, and knelt heavily on the ground with a "thump" as soon as he reached the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
With a trembling and terrified voice, she said, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! News has come from the Imperial Kitchen."
It's said that the longevity noodles originally intended for the Empress Dowager were tampered with by some audacious person, and words cursing the Empress Dowager appeared at the bottom of the bowl!
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's originally kind and benevolent face instantly turned extremely ugly, as if shrouded in a layer of frost, her eyes filled with shock and anger.
The emperor was furious. He slammed his hand on the table beside him, making the cups and saucers rattle. His eyes widened in anger.
He roared, "This is outrageous! How dare they commit such a treasonous act at such an important occasion as the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet! Guards, launch a thorough investigation immediately and find the mastermind behind this!"
Su Yinyin's heart skipped a beat. She realized almost instantly that this must be Princess Siran and Princess Yinhan's doing behind the scenes again.
These two women are determined to achieve their goal and seem to want to use this opportunity to disrupt the birthday banquet, or even try to plunge her into an abyss of no return.
But at this moment, she knew she had to remain absolutely calm. Her top priority was to help the Empress Dowager and the Emperor find out the truth, otherwise she would be in an even more unfavorable situation and become the target of public criticism.
The Empress immediately stood up and said with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, Mother, this matter is too strange. How dare someone curse Mother? There must be a conspiracy behind this. We must find the mastermind and not let him off lightly."
The emperor turned to look at the regent, his eyes full of trust and expectation, and said, "Regent, this matter is now entrusted to you."
You must find out the truth as soon as possible. I will severely punish this audacious and wicked man to uphold palace discipline.
Regent Zhou Yuan, with a cold and stern expression and an icy face, slightly clasped his hands and said in a deep and powerful voice, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will not fail in my mission and will find out the truth as quickly as possible to give the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty a satisfactory explanation."
After speaking, his gaze swept across everyone present like lightning, as sharp as a sword.
His gaze seemed to capture every subtle change in the expression on everyone's face, trying to find a clue from their reactions.
Seeing this, Su Yinyin stepped forward and said firmly, "Your Majesty, Yinyin is willing to go with you to assist in the investigation."
This incident was clearly premeditated. Every additional person adds to the effort, and I believe that with the combined strength of the two of us, we can uncover the mastermind much faster.
Regent Zhou Yuan naturally understood Su Yinyin's meaning.
Nodding slightly, a hint of barely perceptible joy flashed in her eyes, and she said, "That's excellent. With the help of the Princess Protector of the Nation, this matter will surely be twice as effective with half the effort."
Without further delay, the two immediately led a team of well-trained guards and hurried to the imperial kitchen.
The imperial kitchen was in complete chaos. The chefs and palace maids were all trembling with fear, their faces ashen, as if the end of the world was about to end.
They were well aware of the seriousness of the matter, and everyone was afraid of being implicated.
As soon as Su Yinyin and the Regent stepped into the Imperial Kitchen, everyone knelt down with a thud, as if they had seen saviors or were afraid of being punished.
Su Yinyin looked around, her expression as serious as the ice of winter, and asked loudly, "When was the anomaly discovered in this bowl of longevity noodles? Before that, who had been in contact with it?"
An elderly royal chef stepped forward, trembling, and stammered, "Reporting to the Princess and the Regent, these longevity noodles were originally intended for the Empress Dowager."
Just as they were about to serve the dish, the young palace maid in charge of plating noticed the words on the bottom of the bowl.
Before this, it was always the imperial kitchen staff who were preparing it, and no outsiders came in during that time. Even when the young palace maid came to plate it, no one noticed anything unusual.
The regent frowned, a thoughtful glint in his deep eyes.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "In that case, the person who tampered with it probably took advantage of the time when the palace maid was setting the dishes and everyone was not paying attention, and secretly carved the word of curse on the bottom of the bowl."
Su Yinyin slowly squatted down, carefully picked up the bowl of longevity noodles, and examined it closely.
She noticed that the writing on the bottom of the bowl was crooked and haphazard, clearly an attempt to create the illusion of being hastily written.
A thought struck her, and she looked up at the Regent and said, "The handwriting is so deliberate; someone is probably faking it to confuse us and conceal their true identity."
The Regent nodded in agreement, a hint of wariness in his eyes, and said, "Indeed, this person seems quite cunning."
However, since this person dared to make a move in the heavily guarded imperial kitchen, he must be extremely familiar with the palace's layout, and there must be someone inside the kitchen assisting him; otherwise, it would have been very difficult for him to succeed.
Su Yinyin stood up, her gaze sweeping across the chefs and palace maids present like sharp arrows, and said firmly, "I know that this matter came suddenly, and you may have been quite frightened."
However, in order to give the Empress Dowager an explanation, please recall carefully whether you found any suspicious people or things during the preparation and plating process.
Anyone who knows a clue but conceals it will be severely punished once the truth is revealed.
At this moment, a young palace maid timidly stepped forward. Her body trembled slightly, and her voice trembled noticeably as she said, "Princess...Princess, just now when we were setting the dishes..."
"I heard and saw Consort Li's personal maid pass by the window. At the time, I assumed she was looking for food, so I didn't pay much attention."
Su Yinyin and the Regent exchanged a glance, a glimmer of light flashing in their eyes, as if they had seen a ray of hope in the darkness.
Su Yinyin stepped forward and gently comforted her, "Don't be afraid, tell me slowly. Why do you remember that she was Consort Li's personal maid?"
The young palace maid struggled to steady her trembling voice and said, "Your Highness, Consort Li once brought that maid to the Imperial Kitchen."
Moreover, Lady Li had previously made things difficult for the servants because of issues with the meals, so the servants remembered her well and thus recognized her maids.
The Regent narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of suspicion in them, and said in a low voice, "It seems that this Lady Li's maid is quite suspicious. Yinyin, what do you think?"
Su Yinyin frowned slightly, a thoughtful expression on her face. After a moment of thought, she said, "It is indeed very suspicious that Consort Li's maid is appearing near the Imperial Kitchen at this time."
However, we cannot conclude that she is related to the curse based solely on this; there may be other hidden stories behind it.
The most urgent task is to find this maid and get to the bottom of things; we can't overlook any detail.
The Regent nodded in agreement, then turned to his guards and ordered, "Go to Lady Li's palace immediately and bring her personal maid here."
Remember, proceed with caution and avoid alerting the enemy, lest the person behind it become aware and destroy the clues. After receiving the order, the guards vanished as swiftly as arrows released from a bow.
Su Yinyin then looked at the young palace maid, her tone softening slightly, and asked, "Besides seeing Consort Li's maid, did you notice anything else? For example, her expression and demeanor, or did you hear any strange noises?"