Chapter 168

Chapter 168

“However…” The Queen glanced at Maria. “Judy was invited to the Royal Palace by you. Now that she has been implicated in this matter, you are also under suspicion.”

“Yes,” Maria said calmly. “Then please question me, Queen.”

The Queen frowned slightly. Looking at Maria’s composed expression, she felt inexplicably uneasy.

She turned to Tu Nan. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

Tu Nan looked indignant. “Tonight, I went to greet my father and younger brother. After arriving at the banquet hall, I danced with Prince Dennis, then spoke with the Saintess for a while. After that, Princess Maria’s Maid came to find me.”

“The princess felt a little bored and asked me to keep her company and chat with her. After I left, I stayed with the princess the entire time and never went anywhere else.” She pointed at the Maid beside the princess. “She is the princess’s personal Maid. Many people know her, and someone must have seen us. They can all prove my innocence.”

Whispers rose around them.

“That’s right…”

“I did see her.” A woman’s voice rang out, and then others nearby chimed in in agreement.

What had happened tonight was completely beyond the Queen’s expectations. Judging from Eugene’s reaction, the poisoning did not seem like his doing. He would not be that foolish, either.

Aside from her, there was someone else who wanted the King dead.

Could it be Judy? If it was not her, why would the cook accuse her? If it was her, why would she do such a thing?

Whatever the truth was, Judy was certainly not simple.

The Queen had long suspected that the theft of the Magic Mirror was connected to this person. After all, on the night the Magic Mirror was stolen, she had seen Judy and Monica near her bedchamber.

Monica, who came from the forest…

Several thoughts turned over in the Queen’s mind. She steadied herself, then looked again at the cook on the floor. “Since you claim you saw Judy, what proof do you have that your words are true?”

A look of recollection appeared on the man’s face. He thought for a long time before finally smacking his forehead. “Miss Judy was wearing a dark purple dress at the time.”

Surprise flashed across Tu Nan’s face.

Dennis froze. He vaguely remembered that Judy had indeed been wearing a dark purple dress at the time.

And the one she was wearing now was not the one from earlier.

He had not originally believed that Judy was the one who had poisoned the King, but now he could not help but begin to doubt.

If the cook truly had never seen her, how would he know she had been wearing a dark purple dress?

He was hesitating over whether to speak when someone in the hall suddenly said, “I remember. When Miss Judy was dancing with Prince Dennis, she was indeed wearing a dark purple dress.”

“It must have been because of tonight’s heavy rain. When Judy came to the Kitchen, the hem of her dress got stained with mud and water. To keep others from noticing, she deliberately changed into another dress,” the cook said shakily.

The corner of Eugene’s mouth lifted slightly.

The Queen’s eyes sharpened. She looked at Tu Nan and demanded sternly, “How do you explain this?”

Tu Nan looked utterly bewildered. She stared at the man on the floor. “How did you know I wore a dark purple dress? Did someone deliberately tell you, so you could come frame me?”

She covered her mouth and lowered her head, her voice sounding faintly choked. “Queen, you must uncover the truth and clear my name… This is a complete setup.”

The man on the floor was named Ronnie.

Perhaps because he had worked in the Kitchen all year round, his waist was as thick as a barrel, and his body was round and fat. Flesh crowded his neck until it could not even be seen, and his eyes were squeezed by the heavy folds of his face into narrow slits.

Even among all the cooks, someone this fat was one of a kind.
Maria had told her back then that this man belonged to Eugene.

Now that he was trying to drag her into this, first, it was because he really had seen Tu Nan; second, it was probably because he wanted to pin the plot to murder the King entirely on her. That way, Eugene would have nothing left to worry about.

And letting a man like him see her had been part of her plan.

Ronnie’s eyes went wide, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Queen, I had never met Miss Judy before tonight! I have no reason to frame her!”

The Queen rubbed her brow in irritation and said impatiently, “Judy, since someone saw you wearing a dark purple dress, why have you changed into another gown now?”

Tu Nan lifted her head, looking aggrieved. “When I was talking with the princess, I accidentally spilled red wine on my dress. On such an important occasion, how could I wear a stained dress? So I changed.”

“Where is that stained dress?” Eugene asked, his voice edged with mockery. “Don’t tell me it just happened to disappear… or perhaps it’s already been washed?”

“Of course not.” Tu Nan’s calm tone was completely beyond his expectations. “The banquet was about to begin, so there was no time to deal with that dress. It is still in the princess’s bedroom. Just send someone to look for it.”

The Queen glanced at Maria.

“Don’t worry about me,” Maria said with a faint smile. “Finding the culprit who tried to murder Father is what matters most right now.”

Only then did the Queen raise a hand to summon her own Maid, sending her to Maria’s room together with Maria’s Maid.

A few minutes later, the Maid returned, holding a dark purple dress.

“There was indeed a dark purple dress stained with red wine in Princess Maria’s room,” the Maid reported in a precise, formal manner. “The hem of this dress is not stained with mud.”

“Everyone knows that to get to the Kitchen, one must first pass through a corridor. With the heavy rain tonight, no matter how careful a person was, the hem would definitely get muddy,” Tu Nan said unhurriedly. “Since this chef insists he saw me tonight, how could the hem of my dress be perfectly clean?”

Ronnie’s face went pale.

Back then, it had clearly been this Woman who came to him and asked him to call Eddie out. How could this be…

Subconsciously, he looked toward Eugene.

“Chef, at a time like this, why are you looking at the Eldest Prince?” Tu Nan asked lightly.

Eugene’s expression changed. He shot Tu Nan a vicious look. “What do you mean by that?”

Tu Nan seemed startled and instinctively took a step back, saying in an injured voice, “This man lies through his teeth and loves biting at people at random. I was afraid he might suddenly take a bite at the Eldest Prince too.”

The Queen’s expression turned ugly as well.

No one present was a fool. A subtle, strange atmosphere began to spread through the hall.

The affairs of the royal family had always been shrouded in mystery. But now that they were seeing it for themselves, it was nothing but filth.

“I… I…” Ronnie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“I don’t know what exactly is going on, but I really did see Miss Judy…”

“Enough.” Maria finally spoke, her expression icy. “Everyone knows Judy is the guest I invited. Accusing her is the same as accusing me. It seems that the person behind tonight’s incident not only wanted to poison the King, but also wanted to get rid of me.”

Tracy, who had been silent the entire night, stepped forward as well.

“Princess Maria is my fiancée. I cannot stand by and do nothing about this. Queen, please find the culprit and clear Maria’s name.”