Bai Zheng lowered her head. Her soft voice held no trace of fear, only calmness as she said, "Your Majesty, this subject's daughter didn't steal. I hope Your Majesty can investigate clearly."
"Zheng'er."
It was Bai Sheng, the eldest daughter of the Bai family who had been mentioned earlier, who timely let out a soft cough. "To admit one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. If you really stole Ming Zhao's hairpin, you'd better admit it earlier. If it comes to Your Majesty searching your body, your reputation and that of the Bai Mansion will be completely ruined."
"Elder sister, what are you talking about?" Bai Zheng looked up. Her clear black-and-white eyes were free of any impurities. Looking at Bai Sheng, she said innocently, "How can Zheng'er produce something that doesn't exist? And how can Zheng'er admit to something she hasn't done?"
"Since Miss Bai the Third refuses to admit her mistake and flatly denies it. Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen, in this subject's humble opinion, now that Miss Bai has the support of the Marquis of Dingyuan, it's impossible to pry her mouth open. How about just searching her body!" Concubine Zhao's brows held a hint of coldness, and her voice was sharp and cold.
Queen Chu watched this scene coldly.
Because of the matters related to the Chu family and Chu Feng, Queen Chu harbored deep hatred for Bai Zheng. In normal circumstances, if she encountered such a thing, she might even have wished to trample on Bai Zheng.
But the situation was different now.
The one opposing Bai Zheng was Concubine Zhao, who was even more at odds with her and had even gone so far as to encroach on her position as the queen.
She disliked Bai Zheng. But she disliked Concubine Zhao even more!
Concubine Zhao deliberately mentioned Feng Linyuan, which stirred up Feng Linche's anger. As Feng Linche's wife, how could Queen Chu not understand the meaning behind Concubine Zhao's words?
She immediately said, "What does Concubine Zhao mean? In front of Your Majesty, who would dare to say something like 'give support'? Could it be that in Concubine Zhao's eyes, everyone is like you, disrespectful and daring to overstep their bounds?"
Concubine Zhao's face suddenly changed. She quickly said, "This subject, this subject didn't mean that..."
But Feng Linche's face had already darkened.
Queen Chu continued coldly, "This palace has previously heard many good stories about Concubine Zhao's kindness and tolerance. But now, what's going on? You keep insisting on searching someone's body.
Concubine Zhao, Miss Bai the Third is at least the daughter of a court official and the granddaughter of General Bai, who has fought bravely for our Great Zhou to defend the country.
If you search her body today and this matter spreads, how will the court officials view Your Majesty?
Or do you, Concubine Zhao, want the common people to think that His Majesty is an emperor without benevolence?"
As expected of Feng Linche's wife, Queen Chu's words hit the nail on the head. Concubine Zhao's face turned deathly pale.
Bai Zheng couldn't help but want to applaud her.
Feng Linche tightened his lips. His face was cold and his gaze was as cold as a knife. When he looked at Concubine Zhao, there was no trace of the previous tenderness.
Concubine Zhao was frightened. She quickly explained, "Your Majesty, this subject was just anxious. That was a hairpin personally made by Your Majesty! Now it's lost and can't be found anywhere. It must be on Miss Bai the Third! But Miss Bai just refuses to admit it. This subject really has no other way..."
"Has Your Highness the Concubine really searched the entire Wenrui Palace?" It was Feng Linyuan who spoke.
Concubine Zhao was crying on her own. It was the purple-clothed maid who answered, "Yes. Except for the bodies of the noble ladies, every place in the palace that could be searched has been searched."
"Really?" Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows slightly.
"What does Miss Bai the Third mean? Could it be that Miss Bai is implying that this palace's servants are incompetent or that they stole the hairpin themselves?" Concubine Zhao's anger showed on her brows as she shouted.
Bai Zheng shook her head and said gently, "This subject's daughter doesn't mean that. This subject's daughter just suddenly remembered that Your Highness the Concubine did send people to search the entire main hall just now, but not every place was searched."
Upon hearing this, both Concubine Zhao and Bai Sheng felt a jolt in their hearts.
They saw Bai Zheng's cherry lips part slightly as she said word by word, "If this subject's daughter remembers correctly, the side hall doesn't seem to have been searched yet."
The side hall?!
Concubine Zhao suddenly stood up.
An infinite amount of coldness appeared on Bai Sheng's cold face. She said harshly, "Zheng'er, in the side hall are His Highness the Third Prince and Di'er. They've already drunk too much and fallen asleep. You're not going to say that they took the hairpin, are you?"
"Of course not." Bai Zheng looked serious, as if she had made a major discovery. She said seriously, "There were so many people in the hall at that time. It was very convenient to steal the hairpin. As long as the person is smart enough, they won't hide the hairpin on themselves after stealing it, in case Your Highness searches their body. Instead, they might as well hide it in a corner where it's not easy to be noticed in advance.
Looking at the entire Wenrui Palace, only the side hall, because His Highness the Third Prince and the others are resting there, Your Highness the Concubine won't send people to search there to disturb their rest even if she searches.
The side hall is really a good place to hide the hairpin."
Bai Zheng let out a sigh.
Feng Linyuan looked at Bai Zheng lovingly and said with a smile, "Zheng'er is right. The side hall is indeed a good place."
Su Muxiao, who had been silent for a long time, also rarely spoke up in support, "Yes. And I can't be sure about others, but Zheng'er really didn't step out of this main hall from beginning to end and never went to the side hall.
If the hairpin is really found in the side hall, it can prove Zheng'er's innocence."
Feng Jingyi beside him nodded slightly without showing any emotion, indicating his agreement.
Concubine Zhao's face turned red and white. She wanted to refute, but for a moment, she didn't know how.
It was Bai Sheng who let out a soft sigh and said, "Zheng'er is right. It's just... in the side hall, besides His Highness the Third Prince and Di'er, Princess Yunxi is also resting there. The loss of the hairpin is after all a disgrace to our Great Zhou. If this foreign princess, Princess Yunxi, finds out, it's not good to air our dirty laundry in public."
Reminded by Bai Sheng, everyone seemed to remember Princess Yunxi's personality and immediately fell silent.
And the princess who had been on good terms with Princess Yunxi just now said bluntly, "Miss Bai the Eldest is right. Princess Yunxi can't keep a secret. If she finds out, I'm afraid the whole Western Liang will laugh at our Great Zhou in the future!"
"Yes! Your Majesty, the side hall can't be searched." Concubine Zhao immediately responded.
"The side hall can't be searched, but Zheng'er can?" Feng Linyuan snorted.
Bai Zheng also said aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, this subject's daughter has a lowly status, but she's also the daughter of a decent family. If someone searches my body here today, it will be a lifetime of stigma. Is Your Highness the Concubine deliberately trying to force this subject's daughter to death?"
The two sides refused to yield to each other. They both looked at Feng Linche sorrowfully.
Feng Linche frowned tightly. Both Bai Zheng and Concubine Zhao had valid points. For a moment, he was also a bit undecided.
It was Queen Chu who spoke up calmly, "Both Miss Bai the Third and Miss Bai the Eldest are right. However, if we search Miss Bai the Third's body without searching the side hall first, it won't be reasonable for our royal family if this gets out."
"But what about Princess Yunxi..." Concubine Zhao was anxious.
Queen Chu waved her hand and interrupted her directly. She said with a smile, "In this palace's opinion, this matter is actually quite simple."