In the Yanfu Palace, everyone smacked their tongues one after another, and looked at the missing pearl in the direction of the palace maid's finger.

Murong Sheng's eyes tightened, and when he looked at the palace maid, his eyes crossed with cruel killing intent.

Before she could speak, the virtuous concubine beside her had already screamed, ", what did you say?" Make it clear! ”

The palace maid nodded again and again, pointed at Murong Xi and the relics and complained: "Qiyu Xian Concubine Niangniang, everything was instructed by the ninth princess to do this. ”

Everyone was in an uproar and looked at the pearl who was eating delicious food in surprise.

However, the person who was pointed at at this time couldn't see half of the embarrassment of being reported.

To be honest, although she knew that this scene was arranged by herself, she never thought that this Chang Ning would start when she was not present.

Isn't this something she did?

The missing bead tilted his head and glanced at Murong Xi beside him.

As if in response, Murong Xi also turned his head to look at the missing pearl.

The four eyes were facing each other, and the beads clearly saw a touch of lust under Murong Xi's eyes. She knew he was angry!

At that time, the palace maid was still desperately trying to slander the missing pearl.

She said eloquently: "In the afternoon, everyone was enjoying the flowers in the Imperial Garden. The slave maid was in a hurry to urinate at that time, so she went to the latrine, but when she walked back, she bumped into the ninth princess. The ninth princess stopped the slave and forced the slave to steal the pearl necklace on the virtuous concubine......"

"Nonsense!" Before the palace maid finished speaking, she was interrupted by Queen Yu angrily.

Queen Yu scolded sharply: "You, you actually spray people with blood!" The ninth princess has a noble status and is deeply loved by the emperor, will she covet a pearl that belongs to the virtuous concubine? ”

The palace maid cried with pear blossoms and rain, and explained tremblingly: "Queen Mother, what the slave maid said is true......

"Huh! As the servant of the virtuous concubine, you are willing to obey the orders of this palace. I'm afraid this doesn't make sense, what's more, this palace has no impression of you at all, how do you know that you are the personal palace maid of the virtuous concubine? The bead that had been silent all this time opened his mouth coolly.

Her eyes shot coldly at the maid kneeling in the center of the hall, and there was a look of smiling on her delicate face, as if she was laughing at the palace maid.

The palace maid trembled with the slightly murderous eyes of Murong Xi beside her, but when she thought of something, she raised her head again and continued to accuse.

She raised her voice and shouted: "Ninth Princess, the slave maid is loyal to Concubine Xian, and of course she is not willing to obey your orders. However, you have poisoned the slave's body, and if the slave does not help you steal the pearl, it will be a dead end! Besides, the slave maid has always been by the side of the virtuous concubine, and the princess has never seen the virtuous concubine, how could she not have an impression of the slave and maid, it is clear that the princess said that in order to get rid of the crime. ”

"Even if this palace recognizes you as the palace maid next to Concubine Xian. You said that this palace has poisoned you, so, if you tell the facts, you are not afraid, I will not give you an antidote? Lost beads asked aggressively.

The palace maid cried and responded: "Of course the slave is afraid! But the slave and maid were also afraid of pain, and could not bear the rod punishment. Rather than live or die, it is better to tell the truth and just want to die. ”

Speaking of this, the palace maid raised her head and shouted to Murong Sheng and Concubine Xian: "Your Majesty, Concubine Xian, what the slave said is true. If you don't believe it, send someone to search for the body of the ninth princess. ”

"Nonsense!" Murong Sheng roared angrily, obviously angered by the palace maid's proposal.

The palace maid immediately cried to Concubine Xian: "Concubine Xian, the pearl is on the body of the ninth princess, when the slave maid stole the pearl, and handed it to her under the pretense of colliding with her. All the ladies present can testify to this! ”

When the words landed, someone in the hall immediately responded: "This is indeed the case!" ”

In just four words, the missing pearl was pushed to the cusp.

The palace maid kowtowed on the ground again and again, "Concubine Xian, the slave is sorry for you, but the slave is really helpless!" Now that the slave and maid have told the truth, I hope the mother can forgive the slave and maid! ”

Before Concubine Xian could respond, the missing pearl stood up and shouted, "Forgive you? Oh, you little palace maid, you dare to slander this palace, and deceive my father in front of hundreds of officials, it is a capital crime! ”

The palace maid didn't care much, raised her finger and pointed to the pearl and shouted: "The pearl is on the body of the ninth princess, do you dare to let people search her body?" ”

The bead was silent, just looking at the palace maid with cold eyes.

However, this calm move seemed to everyone to be weak and afraid to let people search to verify their innocence.

Concubine Liu, who was on the fourth concubine, suddenly got up and asked worriedly: "Lost pearls, if you didn't instruct this maid to steal pearls, you naturally have a clear conscience, then let the palace maid search her body to verify her innocence!" ”

Yizhu raised her eyebrows, glanced at Concubine Liu, and saw that she was swept by herself, her eyes flashed a touch of emptiness, and her voice was a little cold, "If you have a clear conscience, do you have to accept a body search to verify your innocence?" So, everyone present felt that they had a clear conscience and were going to be searched? ”

"Nine princesses, don't confuse the public and divert everyone's attention! From beginning to end, the slave only gave you the pearl, how could it be on someone else? When you say these and that, you are nothing more than a weak heart. ”

The palace maid has sharp teeth and sharp mouth, and she bites the missing pearl as a manifestation of her heart weakness.

Concubine Xian lost an important treasure, and her heart was very messy. But she didn't have the heart to analyze whether what the palace maid said was true or false, she just wanted to verify the results with a body search!

"Your Majesty, the queen, please be the master of your concubines!" She cried out in mournful voice.

Murong Sheng opened his lips and wanted to say something.

However, she was preempted by Concubine Liu on the side.

She said solemnly: "Yizhu, you are the princess of Qianmu Kingdom. Hongu is absolutely confident that you will not do such a shameless thing! ”

There was a taunting glint in the eyes of the pearl.

In the end, she still understood, among all the concubines, who didn't know that her father loved her very much, and at the moment she was so slandered by a palace maid, and the other concubines didn't want to make their father unhappy, so they naturally didn't dare to say anything. But she couldn't figure it out, what was this Concubine Liu for?

Obviously, she and Ze'er have always been very good, right? She treats herself pretty well on weekdays, but now she actually ......

Lost her mind was suspicious, and she suspected that she had done it at all.

Yizhu was silent, looking at Concubine Liu and sneering.

But I heard Queen Yu speak: "Lost pearl, now the palace maid of Concubine Xian accuses you of pearls." In order to return your innocence, you should cooperate with the search! ”

The implication is that the missing beads cooperate with the body search, and if they can't be found, they will return her innocence. If it is found, it is the crime of stealing. And if she refuses to be searched, it is equivalent to a weak heart and the crime of stealing.

Yizhu didn't nod in agreement with the body search, but she didn't refuse to search her body, she saw that Murong Xi next to her wanted to speak, under the table, she reached out and grabbed him, signaling him not to act rashly.

All this, she thought it was Chang Ning's doing, and thought that Chang Ning had colluded with the palace maid, but Chang Ning was not at this banquet, but taught her a little accident.

"No search!" The man on the dragon chair suddenly said in a deep voice, "My princess, can you search for what you say?" ”

When everyone heard this, they all looked at the Son of Heaven on the dragon chair, only to see that his originally stern face had been covered with gloom, and everyone did not dare to speak.

It's not that Concubine Xian didn't see the emperor's angry appearance, and it wasn't that she didn't know how precious the emperor was to this princess with the pearl, but she couldn't lose her most precious pearl necklace like this, her voice weakened, and she cried, "Otherwise, what do you say, Your Majesty?" The concubines have cherished the necklace given to the concubines by the emperor so much for many years, and the concubines can't say that they will lose it. If it was said that the concubine was accidentally lost, the concubine also accepted the order to ask the emperor for guilt, but there was obviously someone who testified that it was stolen. Now the emperor still doesn't let people search, and the concubines ...... If the concubine doesn't follow, the emperor, you must help the concubine make the decision......"

Murong Sheng was upset by the voice of the virtuous concubine beside him, and looked at his daughter below, seeing that her delicate face was full of calm, and he knew in his heart that she must not have done this. Because of the character of the lost pearl, if she really wanted it, she would naturally ask for it, but she never mentioned to herself what gift she wanted. Therefore, Murong Sheng was almost certain and certain that Concubine Xian's black pearl necklace was not stolen by her at all, and all of this was deliberately framed by someone.

But who is this man?

Changning?

Murong Sheng denied in his heart that Chang Ning was taking care of the drunken eight horses in her previous dormitory at this time, if it was her doing, with her disgust for the lost pearls, she would have left the eight horses and ran to watch the show.

"Your Majesty, the concubines thought that Princess Yizhu would never do such a thing. In order to prove her innocence, it is better to have people search her body to prove her innocence. Concubine Liu spoke softly, as if she was thinking about the missing pearl.

Listening to it, I couldn't help but feel that something was more and more wrong.

When Queen Yu heard this, she just felt that her daughter was not at the banquet, and it was a pity that she couldn't see this scene.

She didn't look for a chance to clean up this girl, and someone would help her now.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is the only way to prove the innocence of the missing pearl." Empress Yu continued Concubine Liu's words.

"Your Majesty......" Concubine Xian called from the side, with urging in her voice.

Murong Sheng was silent, looking at his daughter below with distress in his eyes. Seeing that she threw a look at him that reassured him, he frowned and nodded, "So, then search it." ”

When Queen Yu heard this, she raised her hand and motioned to the two palace maids beside her to go and search her body.

The two had just approached the pearl when they saw her suddenly take a step back.

"Ninth Princess, what do you mean by this? Could it be that the pearl is really on you, and your heart is empty? Concubine Xian shouted at the top of her voice.

She was already sure that the pearl was on the body of the missing pearl, and looked at the other party's eyes as if she was looking at the enemy who killed her father and killed her.

The pearl will be full of questioning eyes present, and he will lift his lips and smile.

"Concubine Xian is too worried! The missing pearl was not stolen and the second was not robbed, how can you say that you are empty-hearted? Speaking of this, Yizhu paused for a moment and continued: "Yizhu just thinks that Concubine Xian Niangniang has such unclean hands and feet around her, but she still slanders the maid of others, she really should be killed!" ”

In the last four words, the words of the missing pearl were unusually calm, but they were faintly angry and threatening.

Concubine Xian was stunned for a moment, and then understood, "The meaning of the ninth princess, this palace knows." If you are innocent, this palace will not forgive this servant who slandered you! ”

The palace maid who was kneeling in the center of the hall trembled because of Concubine Xian's words.

The pearl was guaranteed by Concubine Xian, stretched out her hands, and let the queen's two palace maids search her up and down.

The two palace maids groped from top to bottom, and touched again from bottom to top, but they didn't find anything, not to mention the black pearl necklace, which the princess didn't even have a purse jade pendant on her waist.

Yizhu looked at the two palace maids lightly, and then her eyes fell on Concubine Liu on the high seat, clearly catching a touch of anger in her eyes.

"How?" On the high seat, Concubine Liu couldn't wait to ask loudly, more concerned than Concubine Xian, the party who lost the pearl necklace.

Lost Pearl sneered in his heart!

"Have you found it?" After Murong Sheng's heart was upset, he remained calm.

The two palace maids heard Murong Sheng and Concubine Liu's inquiry, and responded respectfully: "Emperor Qi, the ninth princess does not have a black pearl necklace on her!" ”

When Murong Sheng heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, no wonder the missing pearl was so calm, it turned out that he really hadn't done it.

"......" Concubine Liu's breath stagnated, and her eyes stared in disbelief.

Even Empress Yu on the side looked puzzled.

In the center of the main hall, the kneeling palace maid felt that the five thunders were thundering.

She screamed and shouted, "Impossible! The pearl is on the body of the ninth princess, it must be there! ”

Zhuzhu hooked his lips and sneered, his voice was dyed with a little coldness.

She faced the virtuous concubine on the high seat, and said lightly: "Virtuous concubine Niangniang, now that the concubine has been proven, please don't forget the promise just now!" ”

There is no doubt that these words are urging Concubine Xian to execute the palace maid who slandered her!

Concubine Xian only wanted to find the pearl necklace, and when she saw that it was not on the missing pearl, she inevitably felt angry in disappointment.

She frowned, got up directly and kicked down the white marble stairs, and took three steps and two steps to the center of the hall.

"Smack!" She raised her hand and slapped the palace maid kneeling in front of her fiercely.

", where is the pearl necklace? If you don't tell the truth, this palace will divide your five horses! Concubine Xian roared angrily.

The corners of the palace maid's mouth were stained with blood when she was beaten, and her brain was a little confused. Everything was done seamlessly, and the pearl necklace was put into her purse for the lost pearl, how could it not be seen?

She looked at the missing pearl suspiciously, only to see that the other party's eyes were mocking, and pitiful...... It's like looking at a dead person.

She remembered the smile of the other party when she hit the lost pearl in the Imperial Garden.

Suppose that the lost pearl knew the fact that she had planted it at the beginning, but she was greedy and accepted the pearl as soon as she planned it. Then, it is safest to find a way to transfer to Murong Xi beside her!

Thinking of this possibility, the palace maid screamed loudly: "The pearl must have been transferred to Prince Ping by the Ninth Princess!" Prince Soping's body must be on him! ”

"How can this be true? It's not enough for you, the palace maid, to slander the Ninth Princess, and now you want to slander the Seventh Prince, you really deserve to die! ”

Murong Sheng slapped the table in front of him angrily and shouted, "Come on, pull out this nonsense-filled servant and cut it down!" ”

"Slow!" Concubine Liu and Concubine Xian exhaled in unison.

Concubine Xian shouted: "Your Majesty, now that the whereabouts of the pearl are unknown, this maid is the only person who knows, can she be executed later?" ”

Concubine Liu said implicitly: "Your Majesty, in front of the hundred officials, this servant accused Prince Ping of having stolen goods. If you don't go through the motions of a body search, I'm afraid that it won't look good on Prince Ping's face! Or ......"

Murong Sheng gritted his teeth and interrupted Concubine Liu, "I don't ......"

Before the word "quasi" was spoken, I heard Queen Yu say angrily: "This cheap maid dares to slander the princess and prince of the royal family, it is simply an unforgivable crime, and it should be pulled out and cut immediately!" ”

"No...... No......" The palace maid was stunned, and when she heard Queen Yu speak, she met her vicious eyes, and she remembered that she had provoked someone who shouldn't be messed with, and she couldn't say anything she shouldn't say. Although this Prince Ping is sitting next to the princess, he is also the prince born to the queen.

"Huh! Want to slander this king? Murong Xi was silent for a long time, with murderous aura in his eyes. He looked at the palace maid kneeling in the center of the main hall, his tone was cold, and he burst out with bloodthirsty killing intent, "Good! This king is as you wish. ”

Murong Xi agreed to the request for a body search! This was unexpected.

Although Prince Ping has only been back in Beijing for a year, he has acted decisively and above board. has been appreciated by many ministers, if he hadn't been named the prince early, maybe this group of ministers would have supported him as the prince.

If he wants to prove his innocence, he directly said that it was not the work of this king, and the people present definitely believe in his character.

They didn't believe a word of what the palace maid said. But he actually chose to be searched, which is really surprising.

Everyone was puzzled, and heard Murong Xi's voice say coldly: "However, there is a price to be paid for searching for the body of King Ben." ”

As soon as everyone's hearts tightened, they knew that Murong Xi would not let people search him easily! Look, there's still something to say!

I heard Murong Xi raise his voice and say, "Today, this king will leave his words here." If the body is searched and found, the head of this king will be presented, and there is no ambiguity. ”

"......" everyone gasped.

Immediately afterwards, I heard Murong Xi say again: "On the contrary, those who slander this king will punish the nine clans!" ”

The last three words, he said word by word.

Every time she said a word, the palace maid kneeling in the center of the hall trembled.

When Murong Sheng heard Murong Xi say this, his eyes flashed with relaxation.

He waved his hand and immediately ordered, "Good! Since Prince Ping said this, he must be innocent. Someone, search! ”

The two guards stepped forward and said, 'Prince Ping has offended,' and then began to search his body up and down.

After a while, Qi Qi faced Murong Sheng, "Emperor Qi, Prince Ping doesn't have a pearl necklace on him!" ”

"How is that possible? How can it be? No, no! The palace maid kneeling in the center of the hall shook her head in disbelief, unable to accept such a result.

Queen Yu glared at each other coldly, and said sharply: "You son-in-law, first slandered her princess, and then slandered Prince Ping, you deserve death." ”

When she said this, her eyes were full of warning.

The palace maid kneeling in the center of the main hall received the color of warning, gritted her silver teeth, spat out black blood and fell to the ground.

A guard quickly stepped forward, and after a brief inspection, he reported in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this maid's teeth are highly poisonous, and she has committed suicide just after biting the poison!" ”

"Drag it out!" Murong Sheng waved his hand, too lazy to look at the straight and straight corpse.

Concubine Xian cried and shouted, "Your Majesty, how is this good? The concubine's pearl necklace, could it not be lost like this? ”

"......" Murong Sheng frowned, and there was nothing he could do for a while.

Previously, Concubine Xian's personal palace maid accused Murong Xi and Yuzhu of stealing the pearl necklace, and now the two have been searched to verify their innocence, which also proves that it was the maid who maliciously slandered.

But what next? The clues have been interrupted, and the ladies who have come into contact with Concubine Xian in the scene have become suspects. He is a dignified king, can he still order the search of all his courtiers, wives and daughters because of a pearl necklace?

Murong Sheng's sorrow was understood by the courtiers who could observe words and feelings, and they whispered to their wives and daughters.

In a short time, the wives and daughters of some officials took the initiative to stand up and asked to accept a body search to verify their innocence.

Murong Sheng's heart was overjoyed, you must know that the other party took the initiative to do a body search to verify his innocence, and the meaning was very different from his order to do a body search for verification!

For a while, the entire Yanfu Hall was lively!

In order to show the fairness of the body search, all the wives and daughters of the officials stood up and were searched by the palace maids.

The lost pearl and Murong Xi had been searched before, so they both sat down at the table at this time, one leisurely tasting food and the other drinking comfortably.

However, the eyes of the two looked at Concubine Liu on the high seat.

"At this time, who do you know?" Murong Xi whispered in her ear.

Yizhu sandwiched a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed the soft and chewy meat, and said lightly: "Presumably the imperial brother already has a clue." ”

Murong Xi was a little surprised, "Brother Wei is more curious, where did you hide that pearl necklace?" ”

The bead loosened his shoulders, "I threw it away." ”

At this point, Murong Xi was not surprised, "Then have you seen what that thing is?" ”

"I don't know, anyway, I just know that it's not a good thing."

Murong Xi smiled in his eyes, looking at her with a touch of imperceptible tenderness.

This scene fell in the eyes of Zhao Chuyao, who was diagonally opposite them, and she naturally knew that she saw the look in Murong Xi's eyes.

That kind of look is completely different from looking at Chang Ning or Leyang Yongping.

She struggled and doubted in her heart, and couldn't find an answer. The whole person is absent-minded.

When the palace maid searched for her, she inexplicably found the black pearl necklace of the virtuous concubine from her.

Out of caution, the palace maid opened the strap of Zhao Chuyao's purse and put her hand inside.

When her hand reached out again, a pearl that emitted a black light appeared in her hand out of thin air. The gold chain attached to the pearl was swaying and shaking.

"Ahh Concubine Xian's pearl necklace! The palace maid looked at the pearl in her hand and cried out in disbelief.