"You're wrong, Princess Dowager. Anyway, since I'm in charge of this case now, you should tell me everything all over again."
Helpless, Princess Dowager Rui had no choice but to walk back and repeat what she had just said. This time, impatience flashed across her eyebrows.
"Can I leave now? National Preceptor, I've told you what you wanted to hear."
Cui Qizhou still shook his head.
"What I want to hear is far more than this. Princess Dowager, don't play dumb with me. You're from the Prince's Mansion after all. You should know the rules."
Hearing this, Princess Dowager Rui seemed to be greatly wronged. She lowered her head, with tears welling up in her eyes.
"So, the National Preceptor is reminding me of how excessive my family was? Are you here to settle accounts with me? Didn't the Emperor say that my family's misdeeds had nothing to do with me and that it's all in the past?"
She directly brought up the young Emperor, believing that the man in front of her wouldn't dare to defy the Emperor's face in front of everyone.
But she underestimated this man.
Cui Qizhou's fingers tapped gently on the table. He didn't say a word for a long time, just staring intently at her face, which made her shiver.
Finally, Princess Dowager Rui couldn't bear it anymore. She had no idea what this man would say next.
"Just ask whatever you want, National Preceptor. Please be quick. I'm not feeling well."
This was exactly what he was waiting for.
The man shifted his position and slowly walked down from the high platform.
"Then, Princess Dowager, please answer me one last question. Who saw what you just described? If you can find a witness here, I'll let you go."
Princess Dowager Rui was stunned. She recalled that in order not to be discovered, she quickly handed the item in her hand to Shi Muyuan and then started shouting. Who could have seen it? If there really was a witness, it would be strange.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across her face. Compared with the truth of the matter, she'd rather wait here for a while.
"I should be the only one who saw it at that time. I can't find anyone else to prove it for the moment. So..."
This time, Princess Dowager Rui's words were suddenly interrupted by a childish voice.
"I saw it clearly, National Preceptor. I, a common girl, would like to clear the Empress Dowager's name."
These words made everyone turn around. Even the little girl's father was a bit anxious.
"Qin'er, come back quickly. You're still young. What can you see? Don't talk nonsense. The National Preceptor is busy handling the case."
But the little girl took firm steps towards them with her short legs. Her eyes were full of determination.
"The Empress Dowager almost died to save my mother. Has Father forgotten? Just for this reason, I'm willing to believe that the Empress Dowager would never do such a thing. Moreover, I saw everything that happened at that time."
As she spoke, the little girl had already walked into the inner chamber.
Cui Qizhou was quite surprised by the appearance of this little girl. However, as long as it could save the Empress Dowager, he was willing to believe even a little girl.
"Qin'er, tell me. What exactly happened when the Empress Dowager and the Princess Dowager went to check the supplies?"
The little girl's small eyes were filled with a determination that was truly shocking.
She raised her little hand and pointed at Princess Dowager Rui without hesitation.
"It was the Princess Dowager who took advantage of everyone's inattention and replaced the supplies with stones. Moreover, I heard what the Princess Dowager said to those people."
"Oh? What did she say?"
"National Preceptor, that day, I was going out to play with my toy. But I found a lot of food on the roadside. Then, the Princess Dowager's men showed up and transported the food to a very hidden place. She also instructed them to sell it at a high price when all of us ran out of food."
Hearing this, Princess Dowager Rui's face turned deathly pale. She never expected that one day she would be betrayed by an insignificant little girl. But she wasn't a fool and could handle the situation calmly.
"The little girl must have seen it wrong. How could I do such a thing? Girl, you'd better not talk nonsense. I remember your name is Qin'er, right?"
This blatant threat made the man's face darken.
Even though he used to dislike the Empress Dowager, she never hurt innocent people. But this Princess Dowager wanted to harm a little girl just for her own self - interest. How could he tolerate it?
He immediately protected the little girl behind him and said coldly, "What does the Princess Dowager want to say? This little girl is still innocent and only tells what she saw. There should be nothing wrong with that, right?"
"Humph, of course there's nothing wrong. But she can't just slander me like this, can she? I never intended to scheme against my elder sister."
Shi Muyuan took the opportunity to interject.
"We haven't said anything yet. Why are you so sure that there's a scheme, younger sister?"
Princess Dowager Rui knew that she had messed up a good hand and that her original plan had been completely disrupted.
She gritted her teeth, endured for a long time, and finally knelt down in front of Shi Muyuan.
"Little sister knows that I did something wrong in the past. I also know that I've caused a lot of trouble for elder sister this time. Please forgive me, elder sister. I'll never do such a thing again. Moreover, I've thought it over. It was all because of the things my family did that I lost my composure."
Shi Muyuan sneered, "Younger sister is really good at making up excuses. You almost killed me, but you just gloss over it with a single sentence. By the way, even if I agree, the common people may not agree. Why don't you go and ask them?"
Princess Dowager Rui, with a brave face, did the most ridiculous thing.
She really walked to the door and looked at the common people, begging for forgiveness.
"Everyone, I was just temporarily blinded by greed. Can you forgive me?"
The leader was one of the common people who had caused trouble this morning. As commoners, they couldn't show any disrespect to the Princess Dowager. They could only keep talking about other things.
"Now that the supplies have been retrieved, we should have a good harvest next year. What are we going to do?"
"I still want to plant some peanuts. My kids like them. I think next year I won't sell them. How about we trade fairly?"
"Great. I was thinking the same. This year's sudden disaster has almost emptied everyone's pockets. It's a really tough time."
The common people discussed as they walked out, ignoring the people behind them.
Princess Dowager Rui never expected things to turn out like this. Anger flashed in her eyes.
"You! Are you listening to me? Forgive me quickly so that I can return to the palace."
Finally, one of the common people got impatient.
"Since the Princess Dowager is so high - and - mighty, why does she need the forgiveness of us common people?"