Chapter 88
In the main hall, Shu Guifei let people will debris on the residual soup medicine carefully to another eunuch examination.
That eunuch kneeled down in fear and reported back to the emperor, “That bowl of soup was blended with some …… things, what exactly is impossible to tell, still have to search and examine.”
The emperor let Shen Duzhi personally take people to go, search the few palace people and Zhaoming Palace, copied out a few packets of suspicious powder to.
The emperor has a hunch in his heart, asked in a low tone: “What is that thing?”
The doctor smelled one by one back: “This medicine is to hurt the root of the woman. If a pregnant woman takes, the fetus will not be guaranteed. If a woman who is not pregnant takes it, it will cause severe abdominal pain, like a moon letter, and it will be difficult for her to get pregnant again.”
The emperor was furious: “How dare those few lackeys do such a thing?!”
“This child …… life how also so bitter ah ……” the empress spoke has knelt by the footrest, caressing the heart tears: “Your Majesty, is the concubine did not Restrain the palace staff, please Your Majesty bestowed the sin.”
Hearing her say the word “also”, the emperor felt the same sorrow in his heart. He immediately lifted up the Empress, looking at the woman he had favored for many years, crying with such true feelings, arousing his endless pity and a trace of guilt, he should not have suspected that this matter had something to do with the Empress.
Wang vice governor entered the main hall at this time.
The emperor asked: “What did the lackeys say?”
Mr. Wang replied, “Your Majesty, those courtesans were tortured and have confessed. They said that when they were first allocated into the Yuhang Mansion to serve, they were treated harshly by the princess, and then sent back to the palace, they lost face, and had a lot of anger in their hearts, so they put the medicine in the soup, and wanted to swindle the princess into eating it. This medicine in addition to abdominal pain for a while, there are no other symptoms, just like eating something cold, they thought they could hide it from the world without leaving traces.”
The Emperor was skeptical, the Empress first looked like she was sitting down and scolded, “This group of lackeys are too lawless! Your Majesty, they must be severely punished!”
Shukui Consort was listening from the sidelines and couldn’t help but interject, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, I feel that this matter is fishy.”
“How so?” The emperor asked.
Noble Consort Shu said, “Today, a banquet was held at Ci Ning Palace, and Consort Yu came in through the Zhong Yu Gate, so how could she take the long way around to Zhaoming Palace?”
“Just now, Consort Yuh’s maid said that it was the offending palace staff who led the way there.”
“Yü Wangfei has grown up in the palace since she was a child and is familiar with the locations of the various palaces, how could she be easily misled by a palace servant? My concubine guesses that Consort Yu would not have received notice at all, not realizing that this year’s birthday banquet was changed to be held at Ci Ning Palace, and that the time had been moved up.”
When these words came out, the Empress’ left eyelid jumped a few times.
The emperor mused for a moment, “Wait for Princess Yu to wake up.”
Imperial Doctor Xu came to reply after helping Rong Xiangxian treat his wounds, “Your Majesty, Empress, Consort Yu has woken up.”
“How is she now?”
“From my pulse, I can see that the princess has the appearance of worry and fear, while other symptoms are not obvious. After asking carefully, I realized that the Wangfei fought back and broke the medicine bowl, and that the soup was not drunk in full. I think, if not the full amount of medication, with medication fine tuning, perhaps the future Wangfei is still expected to give birth.”
“Oh? That’s good, that’s good.” This is the emperor’s biggest worry, otherwise he still doesn’t know how to explain with Yu Wang with the British Duke’s House.
Just, the wound on her face is very appalling, even if it didn’t hurt the inside, the outside can’t be covered up. Then asked her face wound how is it, can grow full, how long can be good.
Dr. Xu’s face was a bit grave: “When the princess struggled, she was crushed to the ground by those lackeys and pressed on the pieces of the soup bowl, which cut a two to three inch long wound from her face to her jaw. Fortunately, the Princess is fortunate to have a long life, if the wound is a little longer, it will cut through the blood veins of the neck, and her life will be in danger. The healing of the wound depends on whether the Princess’ constitution is prone to scarring. I will immediately go and mix external medicine to prevent the wound from worsening.”
The emperor nodded and let him go, then instructed Shen Duzhi: “The empress dowager’s birthday, □□ killed and maimed Yu Wangfei, those palace men were all caned to death, not a single one was left behind.”
Shen Du Zhi led the Oracle, ready to go, Shu Guifei anxious, grabbed: “This matter is still some doubt, if you kill them is not dead without proof?”
She clearly saw a hint of displeasure on the Empress’s face when Dr. Xu said that Princess Yu did not drink all the medicine. She then gave Consort Hui, who had returned from the East Annexation Hall, a wink.
Rong Xiang saw that she had already told Consort Hui the ins and outs, Consort Hui could not directly say that the Empress was the mastermind, so she said: “Poor child, sensing that something was wrong, she lied and said that she already had royal blood in her womb. This group of lackeys afraid, afraid of life and death, immediately invited a doctor to see. Your Majesty, do you think these palace people can just invite a doctor? Today, the whole palace is celebrating at Ci Ning Palace, which eunuch came out to see the doctor, one check will tell you.”
Noble Consort Shu added: “The crown princess did not know that today’s birthday banquet was rescheduled to be held at Ci Ning Palace. Then it must be that the palace staff in charge of delivering the decree before the imperial court has concealed this matter. I wonder if there is a nobleman behind this? Otherwise, who could easily sway the people at the imperial court?”
The emperor glanced at Consort Hui and Consort Shu, his heart was clear, and he said to the people in the hall, “All of you go out.”
This meant to be handled privately. Consort Hui was full of indignation, but did not dare to disobey, and was pulled away by Consort Shu Gui.
Only when the door to the palace was closed and no one was around did the emperor ask, “You still don’t recognize your mistake?”
The Empress immediately stood up and sobbed: “Your Majesty is suspicious of my concubine? Consort Shukui and Consort Hui are singing together, so the Emperor doesn’t believe me? Who knows if they are joining hands to put on a show to slander my concubine?”
The Emperor said coldly, “Are you saying that Xiangmian tossed herself into that state, risking disfigurement and not being able to have children, all for the sake of slandering you? She has been at peace in the palace for so many years, what reason does she have to slander you!”
In the darkness of the palace room, only a few beams of sunlight penetrated in, wrapped in a slight dust flying.
The Emperor’s gaze was like a torch, penetrating the heart. He rarely looked at the Empress with such a gaze. The Empress in his eyes was arrogant, fragile, sensitive, but a straightforward and genuine woman, different from the rest of the harem, so the Emperor seldom second-guessed her.
The Empress was originally angry. She has long been cautioned that the lackeys must make sure to let Rong Xiangmei drink medicine, other places can not have half damage, so that the death of no evidence, the most insurance.
I did not expect this bunch of waste to do things like this, the medicine did not pour down, but let people search out the evidence, but also made Rong Xiang see face full of blood, no matter how can not be covered up.
At this moment, and want to Rong Xiang see no serious harm, the emperor is angry just being hidden, after several times of internal struggle to weigh, before finally kneeling, holding the emperor’s legs, tears.
“Your Majesty, my concubine so hate ah! Yu that bitch’s son grew to be so big, built a career, married and had a child …… She looks to have a grandchild, and my concubine can’t bear and raise a child for you for the rest of my life …… Your Majesty, if our child is still alive, nowadays it should be in the study to read, and in a few years If our children were still alive, they would be studying in the study now, and in a few years, they would be out of the palace to set up their own homes and discuss marriage……. Thinking about this, my concubine hates it!”
The emperor was furious and pained at the same time, loudly reprimanded: “You hate Yu, why do you want to take it out on Princess Yuh? Even if you make it impossible for her to give birth to a child, Xian Yang won’t be the only woman she’ll have, so do you want to victimize them all in the future?”
“Xian Yang is your child! Even though I hate his birth mother, I know I can’t hurt him! The Yu Clan caused you to be without a son, so what’s wrong with my concubine returning the favor? Besides, that Consort Yu, she has repeatedly neglected my concubine and disrespected the Middle Palace, my concubine is teaching her a lesson to keep her in peace.”
The emperor was so angry that he held his forehead and sighed bitterly: “Doing such a thing on the empress dowager’s holy birthday, you are not afraid of damaging yin de?”
“What other yin virtue can I damage? I have never done anything to harm the heavens before, how has God ever shown me mercy? My child is gone, what more can I do? Who else can I accumulate virtue for?”
The Empress completely threw off the motherly demeanor that she had learned little by little over the years and turned back to the arrogant Li Guifei, crouching on the Emperor’s lap and crying, “I’m so eager to go and tear Yu to shreds! Why don’t you kill her and avenge our children!”
“Are you crazy? I have already abolished her, do you want me to abolish you as well!”
“As long as Your Majesty is willing to lynch that bitch! I can not be this Empress!”
The Empress was so pained that she spoke out of turn, and even the Emperor was shocked.
The emperor simply said, “Fine, I will fulfill you. First, I’ll abolish you, then I’ll kill her!”
With that, he summoned Shen Duzhi, who was standing guard outside the door. As soon as the door to the palace opened, Shen Du Zhi hurriedly said, “King Li and Princess Li are outside the palace gates seeking an audience.”
“They are quick with their news, tell them that if they want to be punished just come and plead for mercy.”
Shen Du Zhi had to follow his orders, and before he left, he reminded, “Your Majesty, the sea pirates that robbed the tribute ships in the southeast have been eliminated, and the Marquis of Yong’an will be returning to the capital with the tributes from the kingdoms soon.”
The Emperor was originally in a fit of anger, but now calmed down and said, “Shen Ruoyu, you go and take care of that bunch of lackeys first.”
At these words, the Empress’ heart was relieved. Shukui Consort and Hui Consort were outside and didn’t say much more. For so many years, from the favored concubine to the empress, Zhang’s hands were not just one or two lives. The emperor always due to favor her, pity her, and take into account the Li Wang and Yongan Hou, extra indulgent some.
Palace to come into the hall, want to reorganize for the empress grooming, the emperor reprimanded: “you go, go back to your palace to meditate.”
The empress knew that she had escaped, but also deeply regretted that she had just been impetuous and almost spoiled the event. Immediately, she kowtowed and prepared to leave.
At this time, the inner officer of the Empress Dowager’s palace informed in a loud voice. The emperor immediately went out, the courtyard has long been kneeling on the ground. The empress dowager got out of the sedan carriage and came this way on her crutches.
“The empress dowager has a leg ailment, why do you need to come in person? My son is preparing to go to Ci Ning Palace to report back to the Empress Dowager.”
The empress dowager ignored, straight to the temple, leaving only the emperor and the two concubines, so that the empress returned to Chengqian Palace since.
Empress deeply feel bad in her heart, but not good to disobey, only had to go, leaving a palace in the vicinity to explore the situation.
The empress dowager sat into the Fu Ning Palace, listening to Princess Hui and Shu Guifei finished the ins and outs, the face is not worried: “kill a few lackeys to fool the past, the emperor is how to govern the harem? This gently let go, in the future there will be other concubines trouble, there is what face to clean up the palace?”
The emperor then said: “son is really pity her loss of son pain ……”
The empress dowager knew that this is the emperor’s heart disease, rebuked: “I know, since she entered the palace, you have been the most favored her, and pity her loss of a child. If she is pitiful, does she want to harm the grandchildren of the mourning family? Is it because she will kill and set fire to people in the future, form a party and plot against the emperor, the emperor will forgive!”
“My son wouldn’t dare, and the Empress wouldn’t dare to do something like that. Consort Yu was at least not really victimized. This matter has become a big deal and is a loss of royal decency, my son just feels that it’s best to keep it tightly covered.”
“How to cover tightly?” The empress dowager was furious, “Xian Yang went to Jiangzhou for you to provide disaster relief, only to leave for a few days, his own daughter-in-law was scratched all over her face in the palace, and her life was almost in danger, how can you cover it up tightly! The British public is also your loyal old minister, several generations of people for the country to fight for their lives, the girl married to the royal a few months, that face into that, how you want to go to explain to people yo!”
The empress dowager said so angry that she pounded the table.
She also said, “When Yang Hsien was first negotiating for a marriage, the Empress was not the least bit concerned. How come later often from the obstruction, you have thought about it? The Duke of England’s family is thin, see the family is few and far between. But in the past two years, the eldest son has won the high school scholarship, General Xiao Rong has made great achievements and his reputation is growing, and he is married to the princess of Danguo. A few girls in his family are all married, and it seems that the family of the Duke of England is thriving again.
Is the Empress using so many tactics just because of old grudges? Isn’t it because she is worried that with such a prominent father-in-law to back him up and remove obstacles for King Li, she is determined to stir up old quarrels, centrifuging your father and son, and centrifuging their husband and wife?”