Chapter 234: Revealing

Chapter 234: Revealing

Xiao Lengshi hurried to the waiting hall.

"Eunuch Sun." Facing Sun Yan, all traces of cruelty vanished from Xiao Lengshi's face, replaced by nothing but politeness.

He dared not be otherwise. Eunuch Sun was the emperor's most trusted eunuch.

"Commandant Xiao, why did you make such a commotion over a single arrest?" His Majesty is not too pleased about it."

"It was my fault for mishandling the situation. I hope Eunuch Sun will put in a good word for me." Xiao Lengshi took out a banknote from his sleeve and slipped it into Sun Yan's hand.

Sun Yan glanced at it and accepted it, then relayed the imperial order before saying indifferently, "Commandant Xiao, I must remind you, His Majesty has a good impression of Miss Kou. You shouldn't treat her like an ordinary suspect. Show some restraint."

"I understand."

"Then I shall take my leave."

Xiao Lengshi saw Eunuch Sun off and returned to the interrogation room.

The young girl who had endured flogging and water torture looked pale, like a fragile piece of paper.

Remembering Sun Yan's reminder, Xiao Lengshi frowned.

With that imperial order, continuing the torture was out of the question. If anything were to happen to her, I would face severe consequences. Unless they could extract information about Songling's whereabouts, giving the emperor the result he most desired, he probably wouldn't pursue the matter of torturing Miss Kou.

For a moment, Xiao Lengshi considered disregarding everything for the sake of results. Fortunately, his rationality prevailed, and he suppressed the urge.

It was a risky gamble; if they injured or killed her without obtaining the information, it would be difficult to justify to the emperor.

"Miss Kou has suffered enough. Someone, take Miss Kou back to rest and think carefully."

Xin You was led back to the room from the previous night.

The musty smell lingered, and even though it was early summer, sunlight never seemed to reach this place. But to Xin You, this small space with only a bed and a window was much better than the blood-stained interrogation room.

Sitting on the hard bed, Xin You hugged her arms and silently pondered.

Based on what she overheard and the fact that Xiao Lengshi didn't continue torturing her, someone must have given specific instructions.

As long as there was no torture, she had nothing to fear. The longer this situation continued, the more it worked in her favor.

Xin You couldn't help but wonder who had spoken up for her.

The person she first thought of was Princess Zhaoyang.

There weren't many people who could enter the palace to meet the emperor, and Princess Zhaoyang was the most likely.

At the moment of Xin You's speculation, Princess Zhaoyang indeed entered the palace.

Unlike the timely updates from the Imperial Academy, she had heard the news of Miss Kou's arrest by the Jinlin Guard a bit late.

Before entering the palace, Princess Zhaoyang took the opportunity to scold her son, "Why did you not keep a closer eye on matters when others were already informed?"

Kong Rui, confused by the scolding, wondered why he needed to constantly monitor Miss Kou.

Not long after Sun Yan returned to report to the emperor, a palace attendant announced that Princess Zhaoyang requested an audience.

Emperor Xingyuan immediately suspected that her visit was related to Miss Kou.

Sure enough, when Princess Zhaoyang entered, she wasted no time in stating her purpose: "I heard that Miss Kou was abducted by the Jinlin Guard. Do you know about this?"

Emperor Xingyuan cleared his throat nervously, but his expression remained neutral. "I have only just been informed."

Princess Zhaoyang was surprised. "Does Your Majesty also believe the ridiculous claim that Miss Kou has locked up Mr. Songling?"

"How could I possibly believe such nonsense?" Emperor Xingyuan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Since you don’t believe it, why are you letting the Jinlin Guard target an innocent girl?"

Emperor Xingyuan took another sip, pondering how to respond to his sister.

Princess Zhaoyang turned serious. "Does Your Majesty forget that Miss Kou saved Fu'er's life? Fu'er is my daughter, your only niece. If you let the Jinlin Guard treat her like this, people will think the royal family has no compassion."

"Those are two entirely different issues."

"How are they different? Has Miss Kou made a mistake by saving Fu'er?" The more she spoke, the angrier she became.

She thought of the Empress Dowager.

Miss Kou saved her daughter, but in return? Her mother ruined Miss Kou’s marriage prospects, and her brother simply had her arrested.

This was the very definition of betrayal.

"Miss Kou is involved in other matters. Rest assured, Sister, I have already given orders that she be treated with respect."

Princess Zhaoyang snorted. "Is it enough that no torture is used? Miss Kou is still a young lady, and being held by the Jinlin Guard will affect her reputation."

Emperor Xingyuan felt some guilt toward the girl he had inexplicably taken a liking to, but that guilt paled in comparison to what he hoped to gain.

Seeing that he couldn’t easily dismiss his sister, he hesitated before revealing the truth. "The reason we are interrogating Miss Kou is that she is likely the only person who knows Mr. Songling’s whereabouts."

Princess Zhaoyang became grave. "Could the rumors be true?"

"What rumors?"

"I’ve vaguely heard that Mr. Songling is connected to the Empress." Princess Zhaoyang mentioned Empress Xin, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, she had secretly sent people to search for Mr. Songling but found nothing.

Emperor Xingyuan was silent for a long time before softly saying, "I suspect that Mr. Songling is not just any man—he is my son, and Xinxin’s."

"What?" Princess Zhaoyang stood up in shock.

"Sister, please don’t be so agitated—"

Princess Zhaoyang quickly sat down, instinctively lowering her voice. "Your Majesty, how did you come to this suspicion? Could Mr. Songling really be—"

Emperor Xingyuan was not yet ready to let Princess Zhaoyang know about Empress Xin’s situation, only saying, "We have found some clues about your sister-in-law. Many people say there is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man who is your sister-in-law’s son."

"Sixteen or seventeen years old—" Princess Zhaoyang murmured, "The age matches."

When the Empress left the palace, she was three months pregnant. If the child had been born safely and grown up, he would be seventeen years old now.

"So, I must find Mr. Songling at all costs. The only person who has been found to have seen Mr. Songling is Miss Kou. Investigating her is our only option, even if it's a last resort."

"I understand." Princess Zhaoyang nodded slowly.

"Sister, about the speculation surrounding Mr. Songling's identity, you must not reveal this to anyone."

"Do I really need you to remind me, brother?" Princess Zhaoyang felt like scolding him for a moment but stopped herself in time.

When her sister-in-law first went missing, she had argued with her brother several times. After all these years, it didn't make sense to keep dwelling on the past. What mattered now was finding her sister-in-law and her child.

"Since we have news about the child, what about my sister-in-law?"

Emperor Xingyuan felt a sharp pain in his heart, but his expression didn't waver. "We're still looking into it. You should head back now, sister."

"If you hear anything about my sister-in-law, please let me know, brother." Before leaving the palace, Princess Zhaoyang reminded him again, "Even if we can't release Miss Kou right now, we can't let her be mistreated."

"I understand, sister, don't worry."

With that, Princess Zhaoyang left the palace feeling reassured.