Cuier tiptoed to pour tea for the Empress, her eyes red, but fearing the Empress's sadness, she suppressed her grief and retreated to the side.
Jiang Cheng's efficiency was first-rate. It only took him half a day to complete the task.
Before sunset, he summoned all the palace maids in the imperial palace whose names contained "Yun." There were over thirty of them, standing in a dark mass in the grand hall of Weiyang Palace, waiting anxiously and cautiously for the Empress's words, not daring to breathe.
Liu Liu scanned them broadly, a murderous glint rising in her eyes. One of these women had killed Qiao'er.
Although Qiao'er had betrayed her, Liu Liu could not forgive her. However, she felt guilt towards Qiao'er. If she hadn't entered the palace, how could Qiao'er have fallen victim to the wicked hands of a villain, or thought of harming her?
The thought made Liu Liu even more furious. It was that damned murderer, and she would find her.
"Jiang Cheng, send some eunuchs to record where these people were last night and what they did. Submit it all to me."
As soon as Liu Liu gave the order, Jiang Cheng immediately waved his hand and instructed several head eunuchs to record. Weiyang Palace was brightly lit, as bright as day.
The palace maids breathed cautiously, not knowing what had happened. As they answered the eunuchs' questions, they secretly glanced at the Empress on the high seat.
They had heard that the Empress was currently favored by the Emperor, so they had to be careful. They absolutely could not afford to lose their lives carelessly. The Empress's personal maid had been murdered that morning.
Could it be to investigate the murderer? The thought sparked a small stir among the palace maids.
Liu Liu sat motionless on the high seat, her gaze chillingly fixed on those below. She scanned them one by one. She knew that the guilty would be uneasy and dare not meet her gaze, so her gaze was sharp as a knife as she swept over them.
One by one, many were frightened but somewhat at ease, for those with a clear conscience have nothing to fear. Their fear was merely due to the Empress's icy gaze.
Liu Liu's sharp, knife-like gaze unconsciously fell upon a palace maid wearing red. She saw that the little maid's eyes darted about nervously, not daring to meet hers, constantly looking elsewhere.
Even the questions the eunuch asked her seemed absent-minded. Liu Liu looked at her a couple more times, then turned to Cai Xia beside her.
"Which palace does that maid in red belong to?"
Cai Xia looked up and then at the maid among the crowd. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head.
"Your servant doesn't know which palace she belongs to." As Cai Xia finished speaking, Ming Yue, standing beside her, quickly moved closer and whispered, "Empress, her name is Xiaoyun. She works in the Imperial Kitchen, just a small errand girl."
Liu Liu raised an eyebrow and coldly stared at the maid again. Such a low-ranking palace maid.
In the vast harem, she was insignificant, attracting no attention. However, Liu Liu's mind was always quicker than others. She could tell that this little maid was more afraid of her gaze than others. A cold smile flickered on her lips, and she instructed Cui'er beside her.
"Go and call Manager Jiang over."
"Yes, Empress," Cui'er nodded, walked to Jiang Cheng, and whispered into his ear, "Manager Jiang, the Empress wishes to see you."
"This old servant will go immediately," Jiang Cheng replied respectfully, withdrew his gaze from the palace maids, bowed, and followed Cui'er towards the phoenix couch.
Liu Liu's delicate, clear face was slightly raised. She pointed her finger at the palace maid in red and said in a deep voice, "Summon that palace maid in red to me. I want to question her myself. Where were you last night, and what were you doing?"
At this moment, a gust of wind blew past, like a whimper. The maid named Xiaoyun, hearing the Empress directly asking her to come forward and reply, her legs had long gone weak with fear.
Before Manager Jiang could speak, she walked out with a pale face and knelt with a thud before the phoenix couch of Liu Liu.
The dim palace lamp shone on Xiaoyun's face. Her face was frighteningly pale, like a ghost. Her lips trembled lightly, and she repeatedly kowtowed, "Your servant greets the Empress. Your servant kowtows to the Empress."
Liu Liu's dark eyes, like ink, were filled with frost-like coldness. Her whole body radiated anger, and a sinister smile flickered on her lips. Her voice rang out crisply in the grand hall, "Speak, where were you last night? Who were you with?"
"Your servant? Your servant last night?" The girl's voice trembled as she spoke. Her small body shook like a sieve, and she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Let alone Liu Liu, even the other palace maids and eunuchs in the hall suspected who this girl had been with last night and what she had done. Seeing her small body, she seemed very timid, but unexpectedly, she could kill. It was truly detestable.
Jiang Cheng, looking at Xiaoyun's appearance, not only did he not pity her, but he harshly said, "Stupid servant, aren't you going to answer the Empress's question? Where were you yesterday?"
Xiaoyun, pressured by everyone's gaze, became even more flustered. Her lips parted and closed several times in nervousness, but she couldn't utter a word. Liu Liu's chilling eyes suddenly darkened, and she said coldly.
"Say it, weren't you with Qiao'er last night? Did you kill Qiao'er? The sharp knife that was in Qiao'er's chest was from the Imperial Kitchen. Do you still want to deny it?"
As Liu Liu's chilling words, like those of a hellish ghost, fell, Xiaoyun's body stiffened. The entire person was stunned. She directly fainted with a thud. Liu Liu had not yet spoken coldly when Jiang Cheng walked over, kicked Xiaoyun, and turned back to ask Liu Liu for instructions.
"Empress, this old servant will go down and interrogate her. We must thoroughly investigate the matter?"
"Good, you must find out who ordered her to kill Qiao'er?"
A faint smile flickered on Liu Liu's lips, a smile carrying the coldest chill of an autumn night. A frosty aura enveloped her. The palace maids and eunuchs in the grand hall of Weiyang Palace dared not even exhale. In this moment, she had stunned everyone.
They never expected the Empress to be so formidable, to have seen at a glance that Xiaoyun was the murderer, and to have so accurately stated that the sharp knife was from the Imperial Kitchen. These people felt a cool breeze blow over their heads.
"Yes," Jiang Cheng took the order, waved to the other palace maids to return to their duties, and the eunuchs together carried Xiaoyun to the Department of Records for interrogation, determined to find out who had made her harm others.
The grand hall of Weiyang Palace finally quieted down. Liu Liu leaned back softly against the side of the phoenix couch to rest. It had been a truly exhausting day, but thinking of that girl Qiao'er, her heart remained uneasy. Despite her fatigue, she couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried.
Her eyes shone with a brilliant light, like gemstones, wide open, gazing at the palace lamp in the corner. The lampwick flickered, and she felt a sense of unease.
At the entrance of the grand hall, a eunuch's somewhat effeminate voice rang out, "The Emperor has arrived."
Liu Liu blinked, recalling yesterday's events. Her eyes darkened slightly before returning to normal as she slowly rose.
Last night's intimacy had left her body extremely sore. She hadn't felt it during her busy day, but now she felt exceptionally tired.
She looked up and saw a handsome man in a bright yellow dragon robe entering like a god. He flashed to her side like a whirlwind, and before she could bow, he reached out and steadied her arm.
"Empress, please rise."