Chapter 438: A Common Heart and a Disaster 3

Li Changzai walked in slowly, stood beside Rong Yue, bowed to Xiao Jingheng, and said:

"Long live the emperor."

Xiao Jingheng raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite. Concubine Yun said you have something to tell me. What is it?"

Li Changzai glanced at Rong Yue and said firmly:

"Your Majesty, do you still remember that day when the concubines and the Empress saw Prince An and Concubine Shun fighting? Later, the Empress said that it was because Concubine Shun picked up Prince An's jade flute and gave it to the Crown Prince, so the two of them had a fight, so the Emperor did not pursue the matter.

But I felt very strange in my heart. I saw it clearly at that time. When Prince An and Concubine Shun were fighting, Concubine Shun seemed to have tears in her eyes. But if Prince An had lost something and asked her for it, why would she be in tears? But later, the emperor did not pursue the matter, and I dared not make any more comments... "

"When Li Changzai said this, is she saying that I intentionally helped Prince An and Concubine Shun to have an affair?"

Outside the door,

Zhao Hua's powerful question cut off Li Changzai's nonsense.

Li Changzai suddenly heard Zhaohua's voice and was so frightened that he staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Everyone looked towards the palace door.

Rong Yue, Concubine Yun and Li Changzai all bowed respectfully to Zhao Hua and said:

"May the Queen be blessed with good health."

But Zhao Hua didn't even look at them, he just walked straight to Xiao Jingheng, took out the cakes from the food box, and placed them in front of him.

"It's dry in autumn, so I made some autumn pear paste. I originally wanted Yunshan to bring it to Xiao Lang, but when Yunshan came back, she said that there was a commotion in the imperial court, and she didn't dare to disturb them. So I could only bring it to Xiao Lang myself, but I didn't expect..."

She narrowed her eyes, glanced at the three people who were still polite in the hall, and said coldly:

"I actually caught up with such a big drama."

As he spoke, his eyes fell on Concubine Yun and he said solemnly:

"Empress Yun, do you no longer have me as your queen in your eyes?"

Concubine Yun hurriedly said: "I dare not!"

Zhao Hua said, "You don't dare? You go beyond me and bother the emperor with these trivial matters in the harem. Are you trying to take over his job?"

Ever since Zhao Hua severely punished Concubine Yun last time, Concubine Yun has been extremely dissatisfied with Zhao Hua.

At this moment, she was too lazy to pretend, so she simply said with sarcasm:

"Don't worry, Queen. I just think that the crime committed by Concubine Shun is no longer considered as trivial matters in the harem. The right and wrong reasons must be determined by the emperor himself."

Zhao Hua sneered at her and let her continue to be so polite without paying any more attention to her.

Then he picked up a piece of Qiuli Paste and put it into Xiao Jingheng's mouth.

Xiao Jingheng had no appetite, so he swallowed the food in two gulps and then said:

"I believe what happened that day. Zhao'er would not and has no reason to deceive me. It's just that Concubine Shun..."

Zhao Hua said meaningfully: "Gossip can melt gold, but it may also be like a layer of gold paint on a stubborn stone, and the flowers gradually dazzle the eyes. If it were me, the emperor should not only not punish Concubine Shun, but should reward her instead."

"Reward?" Concubine Yun seemed to have heard something incredible and was stunned. "Did I hear it correctly? Concubine Shun..."

"I'm talking to the Queen, why are you butting in?"

Xiao Jingheng's cold words hit Concubine Yun in the face. She was embarrassed for a moment and could only say more:

"I know I was wrong..."

At this point, Xiao Jingheng softened his expression and turned to ask Zhao Hua,

"What do you mean by that, Zhao'er?"

Zhao Hua didn't say anything at first, but glanced at Rong Yue and shook his head helplessly.

"Shun Fei, you are too honest. Just answer whatever the emperor asks you. For the sake of a precious person, do you have to let people throw dirty water on your face and not tell the truth?"

Zhao Hua's words were incoherent, not only did others not understand, even Rong Yue was kept in the dark.

But she knew Zhao Hua was definitely trying to save her from danger, so she responded by saying:

"Your Majesty, the Queen knows everything? I, your concubine..."

Before she could finish her words, Zhao Hua interrupted:

"Xiao Lang, some things should be answered by the precious people themselves."

As soon as the words fell, everyone saw Ru Ge step into the hall.

When they got closer, they could see clearly that she was holding a love knot in her hand.

The workmanship and style of the love knot were exactly the same as the one that Rong Yue was holding in her hand that was burned.

Everyone was shocked, especially Rong Yue...

At this time, Ru Ge had already shown courtesy to Xiao Jingheng.

She respectfully placed the knot in her hand in front of Xiao Jingheng, and then said:

"Your Majesty, this knot is mine, and the one that was burned in Concubine Shun's hand was also mine. I originally planned to give one of the two knots to Your Majesty when I was serving you in bed, and keep the other for myself. But after I moved into Zhuixia Palace, Concubine Shun saw the one with Your Majesty's name embroidered on it first."

As she spoke, she knelt down, her face full of guilt. "I have just entered the palace, and I am not familiar with many of the palace rules. I did not know that the love knot can only be given between husband and wife. I did overstep my bounds. Concubine Shun understood that I was young and ignorant, so she took the love knot and asked someone to burn it, and even said that she would keep this secret for me. But I didn't expect... such a big mess to happen the next day."

While she was talking, Xiao Jingheng was carefully fiddling with the love knot that she had just handed to him.

The workmanship, stitching, and degree of yellowing of this love knot are exactly the same as the burned one.

The only difference is that the word "容" (Rong) is embroidered in the middle of this heart-shaped knot.

Xiao Jingheng was puzzled and asked, "You said that this knot was for me, but why isn't your name embroidered on it?"

Ru Ge replied: "My nickname is 'Rong Rong'. It is because it is similar to Concubine Shun's name that such a big mess happened."

Seeing that the suspicion on Xiao Jingheng's face had not diminished at all, he added,

"My nickname is known to all my relatives. Sometimes officials come to our house and may have heard my father call me that. If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can ask them one by one."

"容" and "蓉" have the same pronunciation, and the wet nurse never used it in formal writing.

So Ru Ge’s explanation is naturally plausible.

However, Yun Fei did not believe this explanation at all.

"You said this thing is yours? The silk on it is yellow and old. It would not have been worn down to this point if it hadn't been there for five or six years."

He said with a cold laugh, "You were only ten years old then, but you fell in love very early."