Chapter 786 The Truth Comes Out (First Update)

If Consort Han hadn't taken the initiative to plant spies in the Qilin Palace first, they could have dealt with her later.

It's like the sky is going to rain, a mother is going to remarry, and a concubine is going to commit suicide—there's nothing that can be done about it.

After issuing the decree to depose the concubine, the king left with Xiao Heng, his expression icy.

After seeing the King off, Consort Wang and the others left the Noble Consort Palace in turn.

Consort Wang instructed the palace maids to take the Sixth Prince back first.

With Han's downfall, the position of Imperial Concubine was now vacant. There was no need for the other concubines to be promoted to Imperial Concubine, but Consort Feng, with her rank, was particularly eager to enter the Imperial Concubine Palace.

But today, Consort Feng had no mind to think about being made a concubine.

Her mind was filled with those little people.

She couldn't understand how there could be so many.

And what a coincidence that, just as the little girl was discovered, Consort Han's letter about usurping the throne was also unearthed.

Everything was too coincidental.

"Don't you guys think there's anything strange about what happened today?"

Just as Consort Feng was racking her brains trying to figure it out, Consort Dong spoke up in confusion.

In the imperial harem, the Empress was the most respected, followed by the Imperial Noble Consort, the Noble Consort, the Virtuous Consort, and the Four Noble Consorts. However, Consort Dong was originally a second-rank consort, but because the position of the Four Noble Consorts was already filled, the Emperor made an exception and conferred upon her the title of Consort Chen, which also placed her in the first rank.

Consort Dong voiced the doubts that were on everyone's mind.

Only five concubines who had an alliance with Shangguan Yan had this feeling. The other concubines were unaware of the cause and effect and simply assumed that Consort Han had indeed done the voodoo doll incident and written the imperial edict.

"Consort Chen...do you find something strange?" Consort Wang asked.

Unrelated people wouldn't find it strange.

Only those who framed Consort Han with a petty person would suspect that the imperial edict and the letter were also fabricated.

It's as if... this was originally a perfect scheme, and planting villains in Consort Han's palace was just one step in the game.

Consort Wang was testing Consort Dong.

Consort Dong also wanted to test the other concubines.

"Don't you think there are too many villains?" she asked cautiously.

"Then how many do you think there should be?" Consort Chen asked.

Nobody's a fool. After a while, everyone will realize the hidden meaning.

But no one was willing to say that number.

Consort Wang said, "How about this, I'll count to three, and everyone will speak together, so no one stays silent. At this point, I believe no one is a fool, and we shouldn't treat others as fools!"

The group exchanged glances.

Consort Dong thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I agree!"

Then Consort Chen and Consort Yang nodded in agreement.

Several first-rank imperial concubines agreed, but Feng Zhaoyi, who was only a fourth-rank concubine, naturally had no reason not to follow suit.

Consort Wang took a deep breath and slowly said, "One, two, three!"

"one!"

"one!"

"one!"

"No!"

"No!"

Those who said there were none were Consort Chen and Consort Yang, while those who said there was one were Consort Wang, Consort Dong, and Consort Feng.

As soon as the words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of the group underwent subtle changes.

Consort Wang frowned, cracked her knuckles, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Alright, the next question will be answered by the three of us: Where was the little one found? Let's count to three."

Consort Dong and Consort Feng became nervous and nodded.

Consort Wang: "One, two, three!"

"In the flower bushes!"

"Next to the doghouse!"

Under the bed!

Consort Wang's trusted eunuch buried the baby figurine in the flower bushes, Consort Dong's expert placed it near the dog kennel, and Consort Feng, who usually fawned over Consort Han, took the opportunity to get close to Consort Han and personally threw the baby figurine under Consort Han's bed.

After a confrontation to this extent, who wouldn't have the slightest doubt?

Consort Wang's gaze turned cold: "Are you all...?"

Consort Dong looked at her: "Are you...?"

Consort Wang thought to herself, "Of course I am! But I didn't expect you all to be too!"

Consort Wang's breathing trembled. Clinging to her last glimmer of hope, she solemnly looked at the other four people: "I'm sure you all already know what's going on, but I also understand your concerns. There are some things you're afraid of saying that might expose you, so I'll speak first!"

In this kind of thing, someone has to take the lead; otherwise, no matter how long you keep matching the codes, you won't get any substantial evidence.

"Shangguan Yan is faking it! She wasn't stabbed by the assassin!"

As soon as Consort Wang finished speaking, seeing that the others did not seem visibly shocked, she understood and suppressed her anger, saying, "She came to see you too, didn't she?"

Her anger was not directed at Consort Dong and the other three, but at the matter itself!

None of the four spoke, but their reactions said it all.

Among these women, Consort Wang was the oldest. She entered the palace around the same time as Empress Xuanyuan and Consort Han, followed by Consort Yang, and then Consort Dong and Consort Chen.

As for Consort Feng, she is relatively young, having just turned thirty this year.

Her age and seniority destined Consort Wang to be the leader among them.

Consort Wang had never suffered such a humiliation in her life. Her struggle with Consort Han was not due to a lack of strategy; her greatest weakness was that she had no son.

Otherwise, how could Consort Han have come to manage the six palaces!

Consort Wang's gaze swept over the four of them again, and she said angrily, "Stop pretending to be mute, it's no use pretending!"

"That wretched Shangguan Yan!" Dong Chenfei finally couldn't contain her shame and anger, and gritted her teeth to pluck a flower that was blooming beautifully beside her!

After Consort Dong's composure crumbled, Consort Chen stomped her foot in anger: "Shameless! Unscrupulous! I knew she had no good intentions!"

This is hindsight.

How come I didn't notice it at the time?

Isn't it because the allure of the Phoenix position is too great, making people lose their minds?

Empress Xuanyuan had been dead for many years, and the position of empress had remained vacant. The desire for it among the concubines grew stronger day by day, just like an addict seeing the addictive drug, which they could not control no matter what.

They regret it now, but what good is regret now?

Didn't they become tools in Shangguan Yan's hands, ultimately leading to the downfall of Consort Han?

Consort Yang asked doubtfully, "But out of the five of us, only three of us successfully put the little figures into the Guiyi Palace. Where did the other little figures come from? And those two letters are also very suspicious."

Consort Dong snorted, "She must have found someone else!"

Consort Chen was furious: "How shameless!"

Consort Wang said calmly, "Forget about the others. They're just pawns being used by Shangguan Yan. Let them swallow their anger and suffer in silence. But I can't let this go. What do you ladies think?"

Consort Dong asked, "What does Consort Xian intend to do?"

"In order to gain our trust, she left us with incriminating evidence..." Consort Wang paused, "Isn't I the only one who has her written promise?"

Now that things have come to this, there's nothing left to hide.

Consort Dong said seriously, "I have one too!"

"Me too," Consort Yang and Consort Chen said in unison.

Consort Wang looked at Consort Feng, who turned around and took out the letter of commitment from a very private lining of her inner garment.

The document above, written in black and white, details the deal between Shangguan Yan and Feng Zhaoyi, along with their signatures, fingerprints, and other markings.

Looking at the document that was exactly the same as the one in their hands, the men trembled with rage, wishing they could tear Shangguan Yan to pieces on the spot!

Consort Wang said, "It seems everyone has some, that makes things easier! Let's go together and expose her!"

Consort Feng Zhao was at a loss and said, "How can we expose them? With these written agreements? But we have our own signatures and fingerprints on them!"

"Who said we were going to use this? Don't you remember her injury was faked? As long as we take His Majesty to get her injury examined, her crime of deceiving the emperor will be confirmed! And she won't be able to escape the charge of framing the Crown Prince!"

Consort Yang was silent for a moment: "But wouldn't that mean the Crown Prince would be reinstated?"

Consort Wang had no sons and could not compete for the position anyway, but she had princes under her wing, and she did not want to see the Crown Prince make a comeback.

Consort Dong and Consort Chen shared the same idea.

Consort Wang glared at them with exasperation: "What about restoring the Crown Prince to his former position? Lady Han just committed treason; the sins of the mother must be visited upon the son. The Crown Prince won't be able to recover anytime soon! We've all been through so much today, I see you're all exhausted. Go back and rest first. Tomorrow morning, we'll go see His Majesty together and request to accompany him to visit the Third Princess. Once we reach the Imperial Preceptor's Hall, we'll see what happens!"

...

The group returned to their respective palaces.

Granny Liu followed Consort Wang and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, are you really planning to expose the Third Princess?"

"How could that be?" Consort Wang said calmly. "I was just testing them to see if Shangguan Yan had also made a deal with them."

Granny Liu asked in bewilderment, "Then why do you still want us to see His Majesty tomorrow morning—"

Consort Wang sneered, "That's just a delaying tactic to stall them. Go and make preparations; I'm leaving the palace."

Granny Liu exclaimed in surprise, "Your Majesty..."

Consort Wang said solemnly, "This matter must be handled by me personally!"

(End of this chapter)