The meaning was with sincerity, and children could come as they wished.
Yu Wan looked at Zi Su and Su Mu and said, “Go to the courtyard and look around. See if the Eldest Princess Consort lost it on the way.”
The two of them followed her instructions.
This safety talisman was related to the fetus in the Eldest Princess Consort’s stomach. Losing it was no small matter. Even if they had to dig three feet into the ground, they had to dig it out. However, the entire Zhaoyang Palace was mobilized. They searched the Zhaoyang Palace three times, but there was still no sign of the safety talisman.
The Empress was anxious.
She was still hoping that her daughter-in-law would give birth to a royal grandson for her. Why did such an important thing disappear? The Eldest Princess Consort was frightened and held her stomach guiltily. The Empress was worried that she have miscarriage-like symptoms and did not dare to reprimand her. In fact, she had long blamed her in her heart. Didn’t she know that the safety talisman was very important? She asked her to keep it well but she lost it!
Just as the Empress was burning with anxiety, an old granny spoke. “Could it be… some outrageous person stole it?”
When the Eldest Princess Consort entered Zhaoyang Palace, she had even shown the Empress the safety talisman. After that, she stayed in Zhaoyang Palace. The Empress was certain that the safety talisman must be here too.
The Empress said seriously, “Guard the door. From now on, no one is allowed to leave! Get everyone to come to the main hall!”
“Let’s stay too,” Yu Wan said.
Although the Empress did not suspect Yu Wan, this was a serious matter. It was best if she could take the initiative to stay.
All the palace servants were called to the main hall. Emissary Cui brought two capable eunuchs and old ladies to search them one by one, but they found nothing.
“This is strange. It’s not in the palace, nor is it on the palace servants…” The Empress frowned.
Suddenly, Su Mu’s body trembled.
The Empress keenly sensed her abnormality!
The Empress’s gaze was fixed on her face. She did not show any panic, but her hands were tightly clenched together and she was trembling slightly.
The Empress’s expression turned cold. Although this was a maidservant of the Young Master Manor, it concerned her imperial grandson. She did not care much for the Young Master Manor. “Bring her over.”
Yu Wan and Zi Su followed the Empress’s gaze and revealed confused expressions.
Yu Wan said in surprise, “Your Majesty, are you suspecting that my maidservant stole from the Eldest Princess Consort?”
The Empress said in her usual tone, “I’m just eliminating you as suspects.”
Speaking of which, they were indeed suspects. The two maidservants had both entered the Eldest Princess Consort’s room with fruit baskets. It was not that there was no time to attack.
“Then let’s search both of them together. I’ll have to trouble you to search me too,” Yu Wan said.
“This…” Emissary Cui looked at the Empress in a difficult position. It was fine to search the maidservant’s body, but it would not be good if word got out that she searched the madam of the Young Master Manor.
It was impossible for the Empress not to understand this logic, but the Empress actually did not stop her. It could be seen how much she valued this safety talisman. It was best if the people in the Young Master Manor were innocent. Otherwise, the alliance that they had painstakingly built would probably be completely destroyed.
Zi Su was not afraid and allowed Emissary Cui to search her body. When it was Su Mu’s turn, a trace of resistance appeared on her face.
Zi Su’s eyebrows twitched. Could it really be Su Mu? If it was her, then it was over.
Su Mu was Young Madam’s maidservant. Young Madam could not escape the blame when the safety talisman was found on her.
But why did Su Mu do this? Could it be that Su Mu held a grudge after Young Madam tricked her a few times and took the opportunity to smear Young Madam’s reputation? When the time came, the Empress would only have to insist that Young Madam was the one who instigated it. Then, Young Madam would not be able to clear her name.
That safety talisman was to protect the Eldest Princess Consort and give birth to the eldest grandson. If Young Madam stole it, wouldn’t she be harming the Eldest Princess Consort for not being able to give birth to a little heir?
The Empress would hate Young Madam to death because of this!
As these thoughts flashed through her mind, Zi Su’s face turned pale. She gripped her handkerchief tightly and silently prayed that it would not be found, it would not be Su Mu…
However, Zi Su understood that the possibility of this was too small. With her understanding of Su Mu, he was not someone who would panic. The reason why she deliberately lost her composure just now was to attract the Empress’s attention.
She wanted to be searched by the Empress!
As expected, Emissary Cui, who was behind the screen, shouted in surprise halfway through her search. “Safety talisman?!”
Zi Suhated herself to death. Didn’t she say that she would keep a close eye on Su Mu? Why did she still let her do this under her nose? What should she do now? Su Mu would definitely bite out Young Madam!
Zi Su turned around and glared coldly at Su Mu, who was led out of the screen by Emissary Cui.
Emissary Cui handed the safety talisman to the Empress.
The Empress took the red talisman pouch, and her face instantly darkened. “Kneel down!”
Su Mu knelt down indifferently and kowtowed to the Empress.
The Empress’s gaze was cold as she said, “To think that I even praised you for being smart. You don’t know how to appreciate favors! Who gave you the guts to steal the Eldest Princess Consort’s Safety Talisman?!”
Su Mu remained silent.
The Empress pointed at her nose and said, “Speak! Why did you steal the Safety Talisman? You’re being stubborn? Alright, I want to see how long you can be stubborn.”
She was going to torture Su Mu. Two strong nannies walked up and held Su Mu’s arms.
Su Mu seemed to be finally frightened and said in a low voice, “It’s Young Madam.”
The thread in Zi Su’s heart broke…
Everyone looked at Yu Wan.
She was the one who instructed Su Mu? What was her motive? Could it be that she wanted to cause the Eldest Princess Consort to have a miscarriage?
The Empress’s complicated and cold gaze landed on Yu Wan’s face. “It’s you?”
Yu Wan stood up and bowed. “It’s me. I was indeed the one who gave this Safety Talisman to Su Mu.”
Give?
Everyone was stunned again.
Yu Wan said unhurriedly, “Su Mu was frightened when she fell into the water, so I bought her a safety talisman. I hope nothing happens to her in the future.”
The Empress frowned suspiciously. She opened the safety talisman and poured out the things inside. How was this something that the Eldest Prince had begged for the Eldest Princess Consort? It was clearly an obsidian and an extremely ordinary talisman.
The obsidian was also known as a dragon crystal. It was rumored to have the effect of warding off evil spirits. Many people would place it in the Safety Talisman to protect themselves from danger.
Looking at the talisman pouch again, although it was very similar, Su Mu’s name was embroidered at the bottom. It was impossible to say that she was afraid of being discovered and changed the things inside at the last minute. After all, who could embroider their name in such a short time?
The Empress sighed. “I’ve wronged you. Get up.”
This time, it was Su Mu’s turn to freeze.
Yu Wan walked to Su Mu’s side and slowly helped her up. She sneered in her ear, “You want to frame me?”
Su Mu looked at Yu Wan in disbelief, as if asking her how she did it. The safety talisman was clearly on her. Yu Wan had never touched her at all. How did she swap the safety talisman?
