mynovelonline Chapter 256: Guilty Heart
Chapter 256: Guilty Heart
The government office wanted to refuse outright, but he was genuinely afraid.
If Lin Rusi were to actually take this matter to the emperor, he would likely face a great calamity.
Lin Rusi stared at him for a while, knowing that after she said that, the government office could no longer ignore her.
"Wanxia, let's go. Let's come back tomorrow and see what the officials in the prefecture have found out."
Public resentment was boiling over, and if the government were willing to investigate, they could easily bring Yuan Shao to justice with just a few questions.
With that thought, Lin Rusi stopped worrying and left with a soft hum.
And just as she had predicted, her actions forced the government to launch a major investigation.
Soon, the news reached the palace, and even the Empress, who was confined to the inner palace, knew about it.
"What?! How could Shao'er be targeted! What did she do?!" The Empress slammed down her teacup, her eyes wide with anger.
"I heard that the county government is conducting a thorough investigation into this matter."
The old woman kept her head down, not daring to say anything more.
The Empress slammed her hand on the table, striking it forcefully.
Immediately, a crisp sound rang out as the water glass fell to the ground, and she stood up abruptly.
"The county government? How dare they! Who gave them permission to investigate!"
Her expression was angry, and her tone carried a hint of confusion.
Upon hearing this, the old woman dared not speak further, cautiously raising her eyes. She dared not say that it was Lin Rusi.
"Speak quickly!" But how could the Empress give up? She questioned again.
"It's Princess Jinglie!" Faced with the Empress's questioning, the old woman trembled and hurriedly answered truthfully.
The Empress's face turned even more pale, her cheeks flushed red.
She clenched her fists tightly: "It's her again! It's her again!"
"Bring her into the palace!" The Empress was so angry that she trembled and sat down heavily on the stool.
Yuan Shao was the apple of their eye, and besides, with such a big incident, where would she, the Empress, put her face?
"Yes." The old woman was frightened and hurriedly ran out, her eyes filled with urgency.
……
Soon, Lin Rusi also received the news.
She was eating grapes and reading in her room when she heard Wanxia's hurried voice. She looked up and asked quietly, "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Your Highness, the palace staff have arrived again. The Empress requests your presence in the palace." Wanxia's eyes were filled with disgust, and there was also a hint of worry.
Just two days ago, the princess had taught Yuan Shao a lesson, even for opposing her, and directly demanded a public investigation at the government office.
Of course, how could the Empress not know!
But with such a deep grudge between the two, how could the Empress possibly let it go so easily?
It seems like they're going to settle scores this time.
“Tell my father-in-law that I am not feeling well and cannot get out of bed, and then have him say that it is inconvenient for me to enter the palace.”
Lin Rusi waved her hand, then casually picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth, in an extremely good mood.
She looked at the storybook in her hand and occasionally burst into laughter, which her father-in-law outside the door heard.
But he was helpless!
Wanxia quickly came out and said, "Father-in-law, Her Highness the Princess is ill and may not be able to enter the palace..."
Father-in-law: "..."
How could that be? He heard that person laughing!
He wanted to complain, but when he met Wanxia's determined gaze, he could only nod silently.
Soon, her father-in-law left, and Wanxia hurriedly returned: "Your Highness, please rest well. I have already sent him away."
Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi chuckled lightly: "If they're gone, they're gone. I think the Empress understands what I mean."
She's the kind of person who doesn't like to suffer losses, so why did the Empress have to provoke her for no reason?
Besides, Yuan Shao has gone too far and should be taught a lesson.
However, having gone this far, I suppose the Empress has already given up and will certainly not continue to pester me.
Thinking of this, Lin Rusi became even more relaxed.
"Your Highness, it's hard to guarantee that the Empress won't cause you trouble. We should be careful," Wanxia asked cautiously.
Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi gave a cold laugh.
"I think Her Majesty the Empress is still under house arrest, so she probably doesn't have time to deal with me." She clicked her tongue in disapproval.
He didn't take the Empress's matter to heart, while on the other side, the Empress almost gritted her teeth to pieces.
That damn Lin Rusi!
We really shouldn't have kept her!
The empress's face was contorted with rage, and everyone lowered their heads and dared not say a word.
Seeing this, the nanny could only cautiously probe.
"Your Majesty, in this old servant's opinion, Lin Rusi is doing this on purpose! She is clearly deliberately avoiding me!" How could the Empress not understand a principle that even the nanny understood?
But she didn't speak, only coldly asking, "Then what does the old woman think I should do?"
The old woman's eyes darted around, and she quickly came up with an idea. She immediately said, "Your Highness, why don't you write down the imperial edict and give it to Princess Jinglie? That way, she can see Your Highness's request and know what to do."
The Empress pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment, fearing that Lin Rusi would not listen to her at all.
Rather than that, it would be better to...
The Empress dismissed everyone and whispered something in the old nanny's ear, causing the nanny to look terrified.
……
On the other side, Lin Rusi had already gone to sleep when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
A man in black walked in. Wanxia frowned, her eyes showing some displeasure. Seeing her like this, Lin Rusi was puzzled.
"And this is..." A hint of displeasure flickered in Lin Rusi's eyes.
She wouldn't like receiving guests in the bedroom, and Wanxia wouldn't be so unruly, so why did she suddenly bring someone to see her?
Lin Rusi's eyes changed slightly, and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
The man in black made no attempt to conceal himself, slowly rising and removing his black robe: "It is I, the Empress!"
The person who came was the Empress. She was not surprised to see that Lin Rusi was perfectly fine and showed no signs of illness.
"It seems Miss Lin is more capable than I thought," the Empress said sarcastically with a cold face.
Seeing her swaggering manner, a flash of malice suddenly appeared in Lin Rusi's eyes, followed by a soft laugh.
"So it's Her Majesty the Empress! I didn't expect Her Majesty to be more..."
Lin Rusi hesitated for a moment, the sarcasm in her words self-evident.
"I wonder what business Your Majesty has with me?"
Actually, there was no need to ask; Lin Rusi already knew what it was about, but there was nothing more to say.
She thought the Empress had given up on the matter, but she didn't expect that she was still thinking about it.
"I came here for Yuan Shao. If you did this on purpose because of what happened in the palace that day, I apologize to you."
The Empress spoke seriously, which was actually a step backward. Lin Rusi was taken aback at first, then suddenly came to her senses.
"Does Your Highness intend to take the blame for Yuan Shao's mistakes?" Lin Rusi asked in return.
The Empress paused, clearly taken aback by the question, then shook her head, saying, "When did I say that?"
"If that's the case, then why does Your Majesty tell me to let it go?" Lin Rusi retorted, slowly lifting her sleeves.
A large wound was immediately exposed, and she smiled coldly: "With this, I can talk wherever I go, right?"
She scraped the ground hard to save the child, which is how she got the wound.
But upon hearing this, her expression turned extremely guilty.