Chapter 485: Rumors Begin

Qin Yuwei stopped in front of the rockery, listened for a moment, and her dark brows slowly frowned.

She glanced at Biyu behind her.

"Go, call them over."

The palace maids who were hiding behind the rockery and talking in low voices looked up and saw that it was Biyu, and they were all frightened out of their wits.

"Aunt Bi, Aunt Biyu..."

Biyu looked dignified, lowered her eyes and glanced at the faces of several people, and said in a cold voice:

"Come here, the Imperial Concubine wants to ask some questions."

Qin Yuwei asked someone to send Yan Jing back to Changyu Palace first, and she sat down in the Lanfang Pavilion in the Imperial Garden.

The palace maids knelt in front of her, their bodies trembling slightly.

Qin Yuwei took the tea that Biyu brought to her, and with her scallion-white fingers she lifted the lid of the bowl and gently skimmed off the scum.

"What interesting things were you talking about behind the rockery just now? Tell me again."

Her voice was not loud, but it made the palace maids feel cold all over.

They prostrated themselves, looking at each other, and no one dared to speak.

Qin Yuwei placed the bright yellow glazed tea bowl on the table. The sound of the porcelain bottom hitting the wooden table made several people tremble.

Qin Yuwei's eyes were slightly cold:

"Why, weren't you chatting happily just now? Now you are all mute?"

"It is we the servants who are gossiping. We deserve to die. Please spare us, Madam Queen. Please spare us, Madam Royal Concubine!"

Several palace maids began to kowtow non-stop. Qin Yuwei became annoyed and frowned slightly.

"I will ask you one last time, what were you talking about just now?

Tell the truth and I can spare your lives, otherwise..."

Qin Yuwei said this, and several palace maids knew they could not escape. The older ones could only say with trembling voices:

"Your Highness, we just mentioned the recent rumors in the palace...

It’s…it’s about the one in Fengyi Palace…”

Qin Yuwei winked at Biyu, who understood and dismissed the palace maids who followed Qin Yuwei. She also retreated outside the pavilion to wait.

"Tell me, what is the rumor?" Qin Yuwei finally spoke.

"Your servant...Your servant dare not say..."

"Then he will be beaten to death."

"I will tell you! I will tell you the truth! Madam Imperial Concubine, please spare my life!"

The maid begged, and then said fearfully:

"Recently, a rumor has spread from somewhere, saying... that the Queen and Commander Xiao... are having an affair..."

"Ridiculous!" Qin Yuwei's face darkened and she scolded.

The palace maid was so frightened that she fell silent and almost put her head to the ground.

Qin Yuwei said with a cold face:

"The Queen lives in the harem, and Commander Xiao is in charge of the Imperial Guards, so how could they have an affair?!"

The maid spoke in a trembling voice:

"The rumor is... it's about before His Majesty ascended the throne...

When the Empress was still the Crown Princess, she and Commander Xiao were in the East Palace..."

Qin Yuwei's expression froze slightly.

Her eyes flickered a few times, and she remembered many things in an instant.

Soon, she suppressed her surging thoughts and asked in a deep voice:

"When and where did this rumor come from?"

The maid replied:

“I just heard about this matter yesterday, and I think not many people know about it.

But I don’t know where it came from…”

"Since it is a baseless theory, it is even more proof that it is fabricated out of thin air.

Qin Yuwei's phoenix eyes were deep. She thought for a moment and said to the people in front of her:

"The most taboo thing in this palace is people like you who gossip and spread rumors.

The Queen is the mother of the country, and you dare to spread gossip about her. I'm afraid you don't know how many heads you have!"

Upon hearing this, the palace maids begged for mercy with all their might.

"Since you have confessed the truth, I will spare your lives.

Go down and receive twenty strokes of the cane each, expel them from the palace, keep your mouth shut, and never return to the capital again."

"Thank you, Madam Concubine, for your grace. Thank you, Madam Concubine, for your grace!"

Those palace maids were given a chance to live, and went down to accept their punishment with great gratitude.

Qin Yuwei sat alone in the Lanfang Pavilion. The tea in her hand had gone cold, but she was unaware.

"Empress, Empress?" Biyu stepped forward and called her softly several times before Qin Yuwei came back to her senses.

"Changzai Zheng has just recovered from her cold. Aren't we going to visit her today?"

Qin Yuwei thought for a moment, then stood up and said:

"Send someone to deliver the supplements we brought to Zheng Changzai and see if she needs anything else. Please feel free to ask for any help I can provide."

"Then you won't go there in person?"

Qin Yuwei's eyes calmed down and she walked out of Lanfang Pavilion.

"I am going to Fengyi Palace. Biyu, you don't have to follow me. Go and investigate another matter for me."

…

In Fengyi Palace, Dong Lanxin was admiring a pot of light yellow orchids. Seeing Qin Yuwei coming, she immediately smiled and ordered someone to seat her and serve tea.

"Ning'er went to the study. I was sitting here doing nothing. I was just thinking of you when you came."

Dong Lanxin smiled and invited Qin Yuwei to sit down.

"Come on, I lost to you in chess last time, let's play another game today.

Come, bring the chessboard."

"No." Qin Yuwei looked up at her, her expression not relaxed, "I am not here to play chess today."

Dong Lanxin noticed that her expression was different, and she couldn't help but feel more cautious, so she asked:

"What's wrong, but what happened?"

Qin Yuwei said nothing and glanced at the palace servants in the hall. Dong Lanxin then asked everyone to leave.

There were only two of them left in the huge Fengyi Palace.

Dong Lanxin personally poured her a cup of black plum tea and said with a smile, "What happened? I don't usually see you this nervous."

Qin Yuwei pondered and told what she had just heard in the imperial garden.

When Dong Lanxin heard this, the smile on her face froze.

"My lady, the tea is full."

It was not until Qin Yuwei reminded her that Dong Lanxin, who was holding the teapot, realized that the tea in the cup had already overflowed.

She put the teapot down in a panic and forced a smile.

"These slaves are so bold that they dare to talk about me behind my back. Do they have any sense of propriety?"

Qin Yuwei's eyes stayed on Dong Lanxin's face, "Don't worry, your majesty, I have already expelled them all from the palace."

"...You are just too soft-hearted. If they fell into my hands, I would never let them off so easily."

Dong Lanxin forced a smile and handed the teacup to Qin Yuwei.

Qin Yuwei stretched out her hand, but did not take the cup of tea. Instead, she gently held Dong Lanxin's wrist.

She could feel that the hand was shaking slightly.

In just a moment, she let go of Dong Lanxin's wrist, took the cup of tea and put it aside.