Commander Zhu was elevated by the Duke himself and has always regarded the Duke as his benefactor. Moreover, he had no idea whose sachet it was and had decided not to say a word, yet he couldn’t help but ask, "Why does the Duke say this?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Duke snorted, "That sachet you deliberately dropped was inadvertently lost by my daughter."

"Are you trying to bring the Jiang Family to ruin?"

Commander Zhu felt extremely ashamed as he faced the Duke’s gaze and mumbled while shaking his head, "I didn’t know that sachet belonged to your daughter."

The Duke stared at him, "Then someone must have instructed you to do this. Speak! Exactly who instructed you to assassinate the Second Prince and frame me!"

Commander Zhu closed his eyes and fell silent once more.

The Duke looked at his defiant posture and laughed in anger, "I brought you here for a personal interrogation, not wanting to humiliate you."

"Perhaps you think I’m too merciful, so you ignore me."

The Duke turned to his personal soldiers and said, "Gag him!"

The personal soldier casually pulled a piece of clothing from Commander Zhu’s bed and stuffed it into his mouth.

The Duke instructed the soldiers, "Take him over and hand him to Eunuch Quan, who specializes in penalties in the palace."

This might clear the suspicions surrounding him and Jiang Youzhi even more effectively by letting the Emperor’s men interrogate him.

The soldiers swiftly carried Commander Zhu away.

The Emperor had not yet retired for the night and coldly instructed Eunuch Yu upon hearing the report, "Make sure Quan Dahai carefully interrogates him, don’t kill him too quickly."

"We must find out who’s behind this."

A Vice Commander of the Forbidden Army cannot be easily manipulated by anyone.

Though he has always trusted Jiang Youzhi and his father, he couldn’t help but have doubts at this moment.

Commander Zhu is indeed the Duke’s man; if anyone could instruct him, the Duke would certainly be one.

Yet, injuring the Second Prince offers no benefits to the Duke or Jiang Youzhi.

If they intended to rebel, they should aim to kill this Emperor.

Having not yet established the Crown Prince, his death would plunge the court into chaos.

In the turmoil, they could perhaps seize control themselves.

The only one who benefits from the Second Prince’s death, the Emperor thought about it, is the Eldest Prince.

Traditionally, for the heir, the custom was to choose the legitimate; without legitimacy, choose the eldest.

If the Second Prince were eliminated, the Eldest Prince would be the obvious choice for the heir.

But the Eldest Prince is only thirteen or fourteen years old; it is hard to believe he planned such a thing.

As for Consort Rong, the Emperor thought of her and shook his head; she is merely a naive woman without any intelligence, unlikely to do such a thing.

The Emperor pondered many things instantly and continued to instruct Eunuch Yu, "I remember Commander Zhu is from Xiang City. Have Quan Dahai send someone on horseback to Xiang City and investigate everything about him from childhood to now."

He now strongly suspects Commander Zhu is the person behind the tree.

If Commander Zhu and that woman are old acquaintances, it should not be difficult to find out who she is.

It must be one of the palace maids or concubines.

Even if she’s a palace maid, Commander Zhu would not dare to touch her lightly.

Eunuch Yu told Xiao Xizi to inform Eunuch Quan, who immediately sent people to Xiang City.

As for Commander Zhu, Eunuch Quan wasn’t in a rush; once there is news from Xiang City, some things might emerge with little probing.

That night, Consort Rong heard the commotion outside, and her palace maid quickly returned after inquiring, saying the Second Prince was attacked.

Before Consort Rong could burst into laughter, the palace maid continued, "I heard the Second Prince was not seriously hurt, just injured on the arm."