Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

Chapter 318 Three Pregnant Women

After Emperor Jing entered the courtyard, he strode towards Su Yue'e's bedroom without any hesitation.

At this time, the palace door was tightly closed, and two maids were standing upright in front of the door.

"Open the door!" Emperor Jing gave the order without any hesitation.

At this moment, a maid hurried out from behind Emperor Jing, fell to her knees with a thud, and said in a fearful tone, "Your Majesty, the delivery room is extremely filthy. I am afraid that it will pollute your eyes. I beg Your Majesty to move to the side hall to rest for a while. When the little prince is born safely, this old servant will bring him to Your Majesty for your inspection as soon as possible."

"Hold the baby up to me right away? I'm afraid you would have already changed the child by then!" Emperor Jing's eyes were wide open, and he pushed the door of the bedroom with both hands, trying to break in by force.

However, the tightly closed palace door did not move at all.

At this moment, a majestic and steady voice suddenly came from behind Emperor Jing: "Emperor, what are you doing? This is so disgraceful!"

Upon hearing the voice, Emperor Jing turned around abruptly and saw the Queen Mother walking slowly towards him, supported by many people.

The moonlight shone on the Queen Mother, reflecting her slightly haggard face, but her eyes were still sharp and wise.

"Mother, you are not feeling well. Why did you come here in person in the middle of the night? I am an unfilial son and have caused you worry." Emperor Jing hurried forward and said with concern.

The Queen Mother gently waved her hand, signaling those around her to leave, and then she said slowly, "I heard that the Queen had difficulty giving birth, and I was worried, so I came to see how things were going."

Emperor Jing snorted coldly, his face filled with anger as he said, "Hmph, which blind servant dared to disturb you! She's not having trouble giving birth, she's clearly desperate to switch the baby!"

Then, Emperor Jing told the empress dowager the whole story.

The palace maids standing by looked at each other and wanted to explain several times, but when they saw Emperor Jing's angry expression, they were so scared that they dared not say a word.

The Queen Mother frowned, shook her head in disapproval, and said, "How can you make such a serious conclusion based on the nonsense of a woman of unknown origin? I will go in and see the Queen."

After saying that, she walked straight towards the bedroom.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Jing hurriedly followed a few steps and anxiously called out, "Mother..."

But the Queen Mother waved her hand without even turning her head to stop him.

As time passed, the bedroom was filled with silence, which made people feel particularly depressed.

Not long after, the Queen Mother slowly walked out of the bedroom.

Emperor Jing hurried forward and asked anxiously, "Mother, what's going on inside?"

"The Queen hasn't given birth yet. The midwife asked her to drink some ginseng soup to slow down the process."

Emperor Jing was shocked. "She hasn't given birth yet? How is that possible? But just now, that woman was clearly holding a child..."

At this moment, the Queen Mother walked into the side hall with a stern expression, sat down steadily, and said in a deep voice, "This matter must be thoroughly investigated. I heard that Xiaowu was the first to discover the woman. Call her in for questioning."

Soon, Xiao Yuanyi was brought forward.

However, before the Queen Mother could ask, he couldn't wait and said anxiously, "Grandmother, I have made a great discovery this time."

Emperor Jing realized that he had wrongly blamed the Queen because he had believed Xiao Yuanyi's words, and he couldn't help feeling a little angry.

So, he shouted angrily, "Tell me the truth. Where did you find that woman and child?"

Seeing this, the Queen Mother glanced at Emperor Jing with a hint of dissatisfaction and scolded him, "Let Xiaowu finish his words first."

Xiao Yuanyi quickly knelt and kowtowed, then replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Imperial Grandmother and the Imperial Father, I accidentally discovered that there were five medicine stoves in the small kitchen of the Yikun Palace, all boiling medicine at the same time!"

The Queen Mother frowned slightly upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "It's not surprising that women do need to prepare some medicine before giving birth."

Xiao Yuanyi slowly shook his head and said firmly, "But, my grandson clearly saw that the medicine brewed in the five furnaces was exactly the same!"

When the Queen Mother heard this, she glanced at Nanny Jian beside her. Nanny Jian understood what she meant and quickly walked out the door.

Not long after, she hurried back and reported to the Empress Dowager in a low voice, "Your Majesty, when I went to the small kitchen just now, the maids there were pouring out the medicine. When I asked, they said that the medicine had been touched by the Fifth Prince before, and they were worried that something might happen, so they threw it away. I carefully examined the medicine residue and found that it was all medicine for inducing labor."

After hearing this, the Queen Mother's face instantly darkened. "Why would so many labor-inducing drugs be needed for just one birth? And how could such a so-called 'problem' arise out of nowhere just because Xiaowu took a quick look? In my opinion, someone must be guilty and is desperate to destroy the evidence, fearing it will be exposed! Send someone to investigate immediately!"

Nanny Jian did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and quickly bowed in agreement, then hurried away with a group of servants.

Emperor Jing was sitting aside, taking it all in. At this moment, he also vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

So, he temporarily put aside the interrogation of Xiao Yuanyi and just waved his hand casually, signaling the secret guards to follow and assist in the investigation.

Time passed by minute by minute, and everyone was waiting anxiously.

At this moment, Dequan trotted in with a solemn expression. After kneeling and bowing, he said, "Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, three women have been found in the tuckroom in the backyard. Two of them are full-term and in labor, while the third is almost due and has been given a labor-inducing soup."

After hearing this news, Xiao Yuanyi, who had been nervous, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Regardless of whether the queen gave birth to a boy or a girl this time, at least the seeds of suspicion had been planted in Emperor Jing's heart.

"I'd like to ask Su Yue'e carefully. She actually arranged so many pregnant women in this palace. Does she really want to imitate the story of the cat replacing the prince?" Emperor Jing was furious. As he spoke, he raised his foot to walk out.

"The Emperor and the Empress are in labor right now. If you rush over to question them, do you want to end up with two lives lost?" The Empress Dowager quickly spoke out to stop them.

"Are you going to let me go so easily?" Emperor Jing's face was full of anger.

"I'm sure this isn't something the Queen can do alone. Jianxin, go and get the Queen's personal nanny." The Queen Mother gave the order without delay.

At this time, Nanny Huang, who was beside the queen, had already learned that the woman in labor in the backyard had been discovered, and she was feeling very anxious.

After he entered the side hall, he trembled all over and knelt on the ground trembling, not even daring to breathe.

"Do you know why I called you here?" The queen mother's face was grim, and she stared at Nanny Huang who was kneeling below with a sharp gaze.

"In reply to the Empress Dowager, I...I...know..." Nanny Huang answered stutteringly, with beads of sweat the size of beans rolling down her forehead.

"Since you know, then tell the truth." The Queen Mother's tone was still cold.

"Those...those three women who had just given birth, are...are...they are the wet nurses that the Su family found specially for the little prince." Nanny Huang thought quickly and hurriedly made up an excuse to try to get away with it.