Chapter 625 A Shameless Act

Jiang Fenghua followed Granny Wang to Shou Kang Palace. As soon as they arrived, they heard a midwife shouting, "Consort Pan's baby is too big to be born! She's having a difficult labor and is bleeding a lot! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"

Another palace maid called out, "Consort Jing is also weak. Has the imperial physician arrived yet?"

"Hurry up, get a few people here! Over here..."

"What are you doing over there? Hurry up, Consort Jieyu is dying..."

"Consort Jing has fainted..."

Jiang Fenghua stood in the crowd and saw the palace maids and eunuchs running around busily. Zhang Jingjing and Pan Nianru were fine before, so why did something happen at the Empress Dowager's banquet?

She decided to put aside what Xie Shang had been hiding from her for now, but she never expected to face such a thorny issue as soon as she entered the palace.

Being the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty is really not easy; no wonder Lin Yu took her out of the palace.

Granny Wang had only heard that something had happened at Shou Kang Palace, and did not know how serious it was. She said softly, "When Her Majesty was in charge of the harem, she was most wary of anyone plotting against the imperial heir. Now that Her Majesty has just returned to the palace, this has happened. Fortunately, Her Majesty did not go to Shou Kang Palace for tea. It was Consort Zhu who alarmed the two ladies."

Jiang Fenghua walked up to Zhu Zhenzhen and saw that she was being held captive, and Liu Mama was also being controlled.

When Liu Mama saw the Empress arrive, she cried out, "Your Majesty, please save us! It wasn't my lady who harmed them! Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly! Your Majesty had clearly calmed down by then!"

The Empress Dowager was furious. "You vile women, how could you be so cruel? You dared to plot against the imperial heirs at my banquet! Everyone present saw that Consort Zhu was staring at Consort Jing and Consort Pan's bellies with lustful intent. In the end, she even ran up to them and said some 'crazy' things, scaring them so much that they fell down. Everyone saw it clearly. How dare you still try to deny it? Whose power did you rely on to dare to do such a despicable thing?"

Empress Dowager Cheng said to Jiang Fenghua, "Granny Liu has always been close to the Empress. I think the person behind this is definitely related to the Empress."

Granny Wang said, "How could Your Majesty say such a thing? The Empress did not attend the tea banquet hosted by the Grand Empress Dowager today. How could the Empress order Consort Zhu around when she is acting crazy?"

"The Empress would never do anything to smear herself, so it makes sense for her to create an alibi. Besides, the Empress must have been keeping a close eye on Qinghua Palace in private!"

Empress Dowager Cheng thought she had Wang Mama under control, so she said to Wang Mama again: "When I assigned Wang Mama to serve the Empress, I knew that Wang Mama was the most knowledgeable about etiquette. What, after only a few years, you have lost your sense of right and wrong? Or did you not recognize who your master was after Wang Mama became the head steward?"

Empress Dowager Cheng only realized belatedly that Granny Wang had betrayed her. During the time Jiang Fenghua was away from the palace, everyone in Chenxi Palace had been bribed by Granny Wang, and their mouths were tightly shut, impossible to pry open. Even Cheng Feng had become involved with the maids and servants around Jiang Fenghua.

Granny Wang was always calm and composed; she only interrupted because she was afraid the Empress wouldn't recognize Zhu Zhenzhen.

She replied respectfully, "It is my duty, and I would never dare to neglect it. Her Majesty the Empress always takes good care of the ladies of the palace and has instructed me to look after them."

This means that Granny Wang not only took care of Qinghua Palace, but also treated the concubines in other palaces equally. She kept clear records of the accounts of each palace, and Granny Wang believed that Empress Dowager Cheng could not find any mistakes in these records.

She wasn't taking care of Qinghua Palace. Granny Liu was loyal to her mistress, and as a fellow servant, she empathized with Granny Liu and became closer to her. She didn't do anything else, yet she was being subjected to such unfounded suspicions.

Shu Yan said, "Granny Wang did indeed take good care of Consort Zhu's Qinghua Palace. She would give out extra charcoal when distributing it. Don't think that no one knows what Granny Wang did."

She then tugged at Helan Yanran beside her, "Did Consort Lan see it with her own eyes? Granny Wang and Granny Liu met in private. I wonder what they were plotting?"

He Lan Yanran clenched her fists tightly inside her cloak. She didn't dare to raise her head or even look at anyone. Only after Shu Yan pulled her did she say, "I didn't see it very clearly either. It was pitch black, like charcoal."

Jiang Fenghua glanced around at the crowd. It was packed with people. Were these all Xie Shang's concubines? Quite a diverse array of beauties!

Granny Wang said that she used to be very kind to them, but now it seems that her kindness has not been rewarded. They all have resentment in their eyes!

At this point, she couldn't say that the Empress Dowager hadn't sent a message to the Empress to go to Shou Kang Palace for tea. Indeed, she didn't go. Although the Emperor told her that she didn't need to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, etiquette didn't allow her not to go.

Jiang Fenghua also realized that the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cheng were in cahoots. Xie Shang had said that they didn't get along, and it seemed that they couldn't get along because they didn't have common interests.

There is something more important now: two women in labor are in the house, their lives hanging by a thread.

Just then, the palace maid who was serving Zhang Jingjing ran out crying, "Consort Jing is not breathing! Why hasn't the imperial physician arrived yet? Summon the imperial physician!"

The midwife was terrified. "The cervix is ​​only half open. The baby is stuck. There's no hope."

The midwife was well-prepared, having delivered babies for Gao Qingtong and Song Qing before, and even Jiang Fenghua's child. At this moment, the midwife was terrified, saying, "There's no hope, there's really no hope."

Seeing that the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cheng were still pressing for answers, Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "The Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cheng have both given birth to children, haven't they? They are both mothers, aren't they? What's the point of you making sarcastic remarks here? You keep saying you're thinking about the imperial heirs, but right now they are giving birth to imperial heirs for the Xie family. The imperial physicians haven't arrived yet. Please, Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cheng, go and invite the imperial physicians before you punish me!"

She ignored the two old women, grabbed the midwife, and walked inside.

The crowd, who had been gossiping, dared not discuss loudly after hearing the Empress's sarcastic remarks, and could only whisper among themselves.

The Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cheng exchanged a glance, seemingly anticipating Jiang Fenghua's trial, unaware that Jiang Fenghua had lost her memory.

Upon entering the delivery room—which wasn't actually a delivery room, but rather a temporary guest room in Shou Kang Palace—the air inside was bone-chillingly cold. Giving birth in such an environment during the dead of winter would be an absolute ordeal for the mother.

Fortunately, the midwives were prepared in advance. Knowing that the empresses were about to give birth, Consort Gao hurriedly sent someone to invite them over.

But for some reason, the imperial physician has yet to arrive.

Two pale-faced women lay on either side of her, their eyes closed, as if they were truly dead. She felt a wave of nausea as she looked at Zhang Jingjing's torn lower body from childbirth, and her legs went weak with fear when she saw the dried blood on Pan Nianru's body.

She calmed down and coldly glanced at the midwives in the room, fearing they might deliberately prevent the child from being born.

She said coldly, "Deliver their babies. I order you to continue delivering their babies. I will personally oversee the process. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will not be spared."