Xiao Wang's words instantly froze the smile on Ruan Jiu's face.
Released?
She had painstakingly plotted for so long and even risked herself.
Yet Song Yanran was released from prison in less than a day!
She couldn't believe it and kept shaking her head. "How could this be? The evidence was conclusive, and there was even Lian Chun's public testimony. Why was Song Yanran released?"
Xiao Wang remained silent, looking solemn.
"Was it done by the person behind Song Yanran?" Ruan Jiu asked.
Xiao Wang nodded. "Lian Chun wrote a confession in prison and then committed suicide. She took all the blame on herself."
"Then who is the person behind Song Yanran?" Ruan Jiu pressed on.
"The Queen," Xiao Wang said in a low voice.
Ruan Jiu suddenly understood. No wonder Song Yanran dared to attack her at the palace banquet.
Well, if they could use Lian Chun's lover to coerce her into telling the truth, the Queen could surely use the same method to silence Lian Chun forever.
"What about the Emperor? What's his attitude towards this? After all, colluding with palace servants to poison someone is no small matter!"
That day at the palace banquet, Ruan Jiu had pretended to be poisoned to make a big deal out of it.
Xiao Wang pursed his lips. "To him, the poisoning incident can be either a big or a small matter. As long as it doesn't threaten his throne, he can turn a blind eye."
Ruan Jiu understood. This was the Emperor's art of balance.
Just as in the court, the Emperor needed the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor to check and balance each other.
In the palace, he also needed the Crown Prince and the Second Prince to be evenly matched.
The Queen was the Second Prince's mother, and the Gu family stood behind her.
So even if the Emperor knew that the Queen had colluded with Song Yanran to deal with Song Qingyu, he wouldn't blame the Queen for the sake of a legitimate daughter of a different - surname prince.
She had been wrong. In this imperial city, things were not just black and white.
All the schemes and moves she had made before were in the wrong direction.
-
After Xiao Wang left, after much thought, Ruan Jiu still decided to take the medicine to Lan Yu's room.
Actually, she didn't like Lan Yu very much.
Although Lan Yu called her mistress, she was actually only loyal to Xiao Wang.
But after all, Lan Yu was punished by Xiao Wang because of her. It would be hard for Ruan Jiu to feel at ease if she didn't go to visit.
Similarly, Lan Yu was also very shocked to see Ruan Jiu appear in her room.
"Lie down. I'll apply the medicine for you," Ruan Jiu said softly.
Seeing that Lan Yu wanted to refuse, Ruan Jiu pretended to be angry. "This is an order."
Then Lan Yu had to obediently lie back on the bed.
When Ruan Jiu untied Lan Yu's clothes and saw the whip marks all over her back, with the blood already coagulated, she couldn't help but gasp.
She couldn't help scolding, "This Xiao Wang is really so cruel!"
"It's not the Prince's fault. I violated the military order," Lan Yu said.
Hearing Lan Yu say this, Ruan Jiu felt even more guilty. She frowned tightly. "Does it hurt?"
She sighed again. "Alas, it's all my fault. I told you not to tell him."
She had thought it was a strategy that would harm the enemy by a thousand while hurting herself by eight hundred.
Now it seemed that it had become a move that harmed the enemy by eight hundred while hurting herself by a thousand.
After Ruan Jiu applied the medicine for Lan Yu, Lan Yu saw that Ruan Jiu's tightly - knitted brows hadn't relaxed for a long time, and her eyes were full of guilt.
She pursed her lips. "Mistress, this really isn't your fault."
Ruan Jiu knew that Lan Yu was just trying to comfort her.
She always considered herself smart and planned every step carefully.
But this time, she felt a great sense of frustration.
In the past, she never let anyone get the better of her and couldn't bear the slightest loss. But in this matter, she couldn't find any way to fight back for the moment.
She couldn't help but mock herself in her heart. Xiao Wang, what good deeds have I done to make you think I can avenge Song Qingyu?
"Lan Yu, actually..." Ruan Jiu bit her lip. "Actually, you don't have to listen to me in everything. Now it's all right. Not only is Song Yanran fine, but you've also been punished by Xiao Wang."
Lan Yu knew that Ruan Jiu was blaming herself. After all, it was Ruan Jiu's order to keep this from Xiao Wang.
"Mistress, you don't have to blame yourself. If they were so easy to deal with, the Prince wouldn't have been lying in wait for so many years and still failed to avenge Miss Song," Lan Yu advised.
Yes, Xiao Wang not only had to bear the pain of losing Song Qingyu but also endured the pain of marrying Song Yanran.
But there was one thing Ruan Jiu didn't understand.
If Song Yanran wanted to harm Song Qingyu because she wanted to become the Crown Princess, what was the Queen's motive?
The Song family had neither power nor wealth in recent years. Whether it was Song Qingyu or Song Yanran who married Xiao Wang, it made no difference to the Queen. So why did the Queen choose to help Song Yanran become the Crown Princess?
Was it just to annoy Xiao Wang?
However, Ruan Jiu quickly dismissed this conjecture.
The reason two people formed an alliance was either because they had the same enemy or for the same interests.
Obviously, they were not the first case.
"Lan Yu, do you know what connection there is between Song Yanran and the Queen?" Ruan Jiu frowned and asked.
Lan Yu thought for a while and then shook her head.
"Except that the Queen proposed to the Emperor that Song Yanran become the Crown Princess when Miss Song was sent out of the capital that year, there has been no connection between them since then."
Ruan Jiu stroked her chin. No wonder Xiao Wang hadn't found out that the person behind Song Yanran was the Queen for so many years.
But if the Queen really liked Song Yanran, why didn't she let her marry her own son but instead marry Xiao Wang?
If the Queen just wanted to make things difficult for Xiao Wang, now that Song Yanran had become the Crown Princess, why did the Queen risk poisoning her again for Song Yanran's sake?
Her train of thought was blocked again.
Ruan Jiu squinted her eyes and rubbed her tired eyes.
"Mistress, the Queen must have let Song Yanran enter the Crown Prince's mansion to harm the Prince so that the Second Prince could take the position of the Crown Prince," Lan Yu said.
Ruan Jiu opened her eyes and shook her head. "Song Yanran has liked Xiao Wang since she was a child. She definitely wouldn't collude with the Queen to harm Xiao Wang."
"What if the Queen has something on Song Yanran?" Lan Yu continued.
With Song Yanran's stupid brain, if the Queen sent her to stay by Xiao Wang's side, wasn't it like digging her own grave?
However, Lan Yu's words gave Ruan Jiu an idea.
It wasn't that the Queen had something on Song Yanran, but that Song Yanran had something on the Queen!
So the Queen had to listen to Song Yanran and cooperate with her to frame Song Qingyu again and again.
Thinking of this, Ruan Jiu quickly asked, "Do you know who Song Yanran's biological mother is?"
Lan Yu thought for a while and replied, "Song Yanran's mother was the daughter of a criminal official. She was punished and sent to the music and dance academy. Later, she was taken fancy to by Prince Song and brought back to the mansion as a concubine."
The daughter of a criminal official?
"What was her official position? What crime did she commit?"
"It is said that she once served in the Department of the Imperial Secretariat. Later, because some poems of the previous dynasty were found in her home, she was sentenced to be beheaded."
Ruan Jiu frowned. This sounded like she had been deliberately framed.
Wait!
Serving in the Department of the Imperial Secretariat meant being a tutor for the princes and princesses, right?
Could it be...
Ruan Jiu sorted out all the things again, and suddenly had some conjectures in her heart.
This matter might be related to the truth that had been covered up twenty years ago!
No, she had to find an opportunity quickly to tell Xie Jingchu about this.