Chapter 135: Defense

It was less than half an hour from the time Shen Fu had her meal to when her allergy was gone, and the doctor had just arrived.

Before the news had even spread, Lady Ying got the message and rushed over immediately.

If it is a coincidence, it is too much of a coincidence.

"How did you know that Shen Ronghua was ill?" Xiao Yu's eyes were like sharp knives, falling on Ying Meiren.

There was no emotion in that look, and there was no warmth in the look he gave to the beautiful Ying.

Meeting the gaze of His Majesty, Lady Ying trembled and the smile on her face gradually froze.

As soon as she heard the news that Shen Ronghua was beaten, she rushed over immediately. How could she care about others?

After being asked this question by His Majesty, Ying Meiren gradually came back to her senses.

"Princess..." Lady Ying's throat was rolling, and she didn't dare to look at His Majesty.

"My concubine..." She was also crazy. She only knew that Shen Fu had been successfully tricked, so she couldn't wait to laugh at her.

Little did I know that arriving too early would arouse the Emperor's suspicion.

Lady Ying regretted it so much that her intestines turned green. If she couldn't pass this hurdle, she would anger the Emperor.

Not to mention returning to Kyoto, given His Majesty's love for Shen Ronghua, if it were discovered, I'm afraid my life would be in danger.

If she makes such a fuss, wouldn't she end up losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken?

"My concubine, my concubine..." Ying Meiren's mind was working rapidly, trying hard to think of some way to dispel this doubt.

But the more guilty she felt, the colder the Emperor's gaze became when he looked at her.

"Chen Ronghua just got sick, and you came here right away." Xiao Yu thought for a moment and moved closer: "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Wan..." Lady Ying's throat rolled, and when she raised her head, she saw the cold eyes of His Majesty.

That gaze was like an ice knife. Ying Meiren was frightened so much that her whole body trembled. Then her knees went weak and she slammed heavily to the ground.

The summer skirt was thin, and her knees hit the bluestone slabs with a loud noise. Lady Ying felt so painful that her whole body was shaking, and she was lying on the spot: "I...I am not..."

She looked extremely guilty and didn't even dare to look at His Majesty.

Just as she was about to speak, the palace maid Qinghong who was kneeling beside her suddenly said, "The young lady sent people to inquire about the news of Yuqing Palace because she has not heard from His Majesty for a long time and misses him too much."

"I hope Your Majesty will spare my life."

Compared to deliberately poisoning and framing Shen Ronghua, sending people to follow the Emperor and inquire about his whereabouts is a much lighter crime.

Lady Ying is not stupid, she was just frightened out of her wits. After being enlightened by this, I understood it instantly.

“Yes.” Lady Ying raised her head in a hurry, clenched her palms and calmed down instantly: “I admit it. I sent someone to follow Your Majesty, and that’s how I got the news.”

After all, she had lived in Yuquan Mountain for a year. Although she did not have many spies, she had bribed quite a few servants.

If His Majesty wants to investigate, there are plenty of witnesses.

Besides, Yuquan Mountain is not surrounded by the imperial palace like an iron barrel. Although it is possible to inquire about the news around His Majesty, there is still a way to find out.

After figuring it out, Lady Ying came up with a plan. She looked at His Majesty's face and said, "Your Majesty, please punish me to Yuquan Mountain. I am guilty and I am willing to accept the punishment."

When Lady Ying thought about the past year, she felt extremely aggrieved.

Kyoto is prosperous, but Yuquan Mountain is empty. How can she, who has been spoiled since childhood, get used to living in such a remote place?

"Although His Majesty punished me to come here, it couldn't stop my heart from staying in Kyoto. Since I came to Yuquan Mountain, I can't even get any news about His Majesty, let alone see him."

His Majesty has such great military strategies and tactics, and he is an emperor who is high above everyone else. Ying Meiren was a woman and also a concubine in the harem.

How can I not be moved by His Majesty?

When she said this, she thought of the grievances she had suffered in Kyoto over the past year. The tears in my eyes were about to fall, almost falling into:

"I am not used to the food and living here, but I deserve it and I can tolerate it."

"But there is one thing that I cannot stand. In the past year since I came to Yuquan Mountain, I have missed Your Majesty. I think about Your Majesty all the time, and even in my dreams I want to see Your Majesty once."

In addition to her good looks, Ying Meiren also has a great voice. Compared to Chen Fu's tenderness, Ying Meiren sings songs every day and her voice is as soft as water.

"That's why..." The last line of her voice rose, and at the end she added a hint of tears: "That's why I made a big mistake, secretly inquiring about His Majesty's whereabouts."

"I know I am wrong, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

The crying of Lady Ying was really wonderful. Compared with admitting to harming Chen Ronghua, this move could not only get rid of suspicion, but also express her friendship with His Majesty.

It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

But... With tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, Lady Ying raised her head and looked at His Majesty while crying.

I just don’t know whether His Majesty believes it or not.

All these decisions depend on His Majesty's one thought. If His Majesty has no reluctance to let her go, no matter how much she cries, it will be in vain.

After Ying Meiren finished speaking, she knelt on the ground and kept wiping her tears. She didn't dare cry too loudly for fear of upsetting the Emperor.

She just wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

But in her heart she was gambling, she was betting on the Emperor's love for her.

Before she was demoted to Yuquan Mountain, she had been favored. Compared with the current Chen Fu, she is naturally not much inferior.

Beauty Ying knelt on the ground, her mind in a turmoil. In front of him, Xiao Yu's eyes fell on her for a long time, and then he slowly moved his eyes away:

"You said you got the news because you sent someone to follow me?"

"Yes." After hearing this, Lady Ying felt completely relieved.

As long as His Majesty is willing to speak, it doesn't mean she has no hope.

What's more, even though she committed such a big mistake back then, the Emperor was reluctant to kill her, but instead kept her in Yuquan Mountain to save her life.

And today, as long as there is no evidence, His Majesty has no reason to punish her.

"I know that sending people to inquire about the whereabouts of His Majesty is a big mistake." Lady Ying refused to admit it and was sure that she only sent people to follow His Majesty.

"I deserve to die. I hope Your Majesty will punish me."

"So if you say so, then Chen Ronghua's affairs have nothing to do with you?" Xiao Yu asked directly.

"Of course not." I cried so hard just now, and on top of that I played the pipa and sang songs all night last night.

Ying Meiren said hoarsely, with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty loves Sister Shen so much, even if I have several lives, I dare not harm Sister Shen."

She would never admit it, not to mention... she didn't dare to admit it.

They insisted that they had sent people to follow the Emperor, and then changed their testimony halfway through, which was an even more serious crime, tantamount to deceiving the Emperor.

"Besides, I am just a little beauty, and Shen Ronghua is of noble status. How can I harm Shen Ronghua?"

"If that's the case, then who did you send to find out his whereabouts? When did you learn the news?"

Lin An brought the armchair and Xiao Yu sat back down. He played with the jade ring on his thumb, and his light tone made people tense up:

"Who prepared the meal in the kitchen today? Who is the person who leaked my whereabouts? Bring him here to me!"

The beauty Ying was so frightened by the last angry shout that her whole body tensed up, and her upright kneeling figure seemed to have shortened in fear.

His Majesty does not care about our friendship at all, and he is determined to get to the bottom of this.

"My concubine..." She hesitated, not knowing whether she should speak or not. She really didn't expect that His Majesty would pursue the matter in this way.

It is true that there were people there, and it is true that people were sent to gather information, but they had never colluded with each other in their testimony before. The truth will be revealed with just a slight examination.

Beauty Ying knelt on the ground, sweat dripping down her forehead with fear. I was hesitating, not knowing whether I should speak or not, when I heard footsteps in front of me.

As soon as Manager Zhou received the news, he went to the imperial kitchen.

If the person behind today's incident cannot be found out, he, the one in charge, will definitely be blamed.

As soon as Ying Meiren arrived, he hurried to the kitchen to search everything: "Your Majesty, the servants in the kitchen have checked everything, and there is nothing suspicious."

As long as it wasn't a problem with food, Manager Zhou also breathed a sigh of relief. At least it's pollen, if it's poison.

Then Long Live the Lord...

What's more, he was the one who prepared today's meal. If something goes wrong with the meal, his good days will surely be over.

"I had someone check the lunch just now, and there was no pollen." Manager Zhou lowered his head and said, "But there was a lotus petal in the water boiler where I boiled the digestive tea."

Manager Zhou said this as he walked forward holding a tray high, and a lotus petal the size of a fingernail floated up from the copper pot.

Chen Fu's allergy is severe. She couldn't even touch the lotus these days. Now she boiled the lotus petals in water and drank it. No wonder the allergy came back so quickly.

Xiao Yu paused while stroking the jade ring and asked, "Does the tea maker have any tricks?"

"I have already sent people to interrogate him." It's just that His Majesty likes to use spring water to make tea, and he uses water from the same place every day.

Nowadays, there are many lotus flowers in summer. They are just adding petals to the water. Even if you see them, you probably won’t make a fuss.

"I will investigate thoroughly."

Just as Manager Zhou left, wiping his sleeves, Lin An came forward with his men: "Your Highness." Lin An was followed by several eunuchs, and the young eunuchs were dragging someone forward in their hands.

"I have long discovered that this little eunuch is sneaking around, and has been approaching the palace under the pretext of sweeping the floor."

His Majesty came here this time without telling anyone in the harem, and he didn't bring any servants with him except himself.

Although Wang Mao led the troops in Yuquan Mountain, he guarded the entire mountain. But the servants serving outside still used the previous ones.

Lin An had long noticed that this little eunuch was acting sneaky, but he had never had the time to deal with him. He never expected that he would cause such a big trouble.

"Did you drug Shen Ronghua to frame him?" Lin An waved his hand and threw the little eunuch to the ground.

"Your Majesty is here, why don't you tell the truth?"

The young eunuch was not very old, and he carried him like a chicken, almost smashing his face on the ground.

After a loud noise, he quickly stood up and knelt on the ground: "This slave deserves to die, this slave deserves to die."

"I shouldn't ask about His Majesty's whereabouts. I shouldn't ask about His Majesty's whereabouts."

How could this little eunuch have seen the world? He was so frightened that he confessed everything before the trial.

“So, you just told Lady Ying about Shen Ronghua’s illness?”

As Lin An spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the beautiful Ying behind him.

The young eunuch turned around in panic and looked back. After seeing Lady Ying, he nodded in panic: "Yes... yes..."

"It was Lady Ying who gave me some money and asked me to inquire about his whereabouts. I saw him busy in the house and called a doctor to come. He then passed on the news that he was ill."

When Lady Ying heard this, the breath that had been held in her heart instantly dropped.

Fortunately, this young eunuch is not stupid. His Majesty has already discovered him and will definitely not let him serve him anymore.

If you offend me again at this time, you will be in trouble on both sides.

It would be better to admit that I was the one who leaked the information. At least the charge would be lighter.

"Drag him away!" As expected, the Emperor stopped stroking the jade ring and said, "The crime of leaking his whereabouts will be aggravated. Drag him away and beat him with fifty sticks, and throw him out of Yuquan Mountain."

This mountain is surrounded by water and has many wild animals. He might not even survive after fifty lashes of the cane, and if he is thrown out of Yuquan Mountain, he will surely die.

Lin An was standing behind the Emperor. Seeing this, his eyes narrowed slightly. It was obvious that the Emperor was very angry.

"Your Majesty..." The young eunuch probably didn't expect the punishment to be so severe. He was so scared that he knelt on the ground and shook like a sieve.

The guards stepped forward and immediately pulled him up from the ground. The young eunuch began to struggle desperately: "Mercy... Your Majesty, mercy..."

The yellow urine stains soaked half of the hem of his clothes. The young eunuch was dragged up, leaving urine stains all over the floor.

"Beauty Ying."

When Xiao Yu opened his mouth, Lady Ying trembled all over and then looked up at His Majesty.

“Then do you know why Shen Ronghua is so ill?”

What serious illness? It's nothing more than a rash caused by an allergic reaction. She had personally picked the pollen from the lotus and added it to the water to ensure that Shen Fu could eat it.

As long as she doesn't admit it, the Emperor can't do anything to her.

"I don't know." Outside the yard, the sound of a board hitting flesh could be heard from time to time.

It looked like it was going to break bones.

When Lady Ying heard this, she only felt her heart grow harder. If she lets the cat out of the bag today, she will be the one to be beaten.

"I was just jealous that Shen Ronghua was loved by His Majesty, so I came here after hearing the news that she was seriously ill. But I don't know how Shen Ronghua got sick, and I... don't have the ability to do that."

"I'll tell you." Xiao Yu sneered: "Chen Ronghua is not seriously ill, but has an allergy."

"I gave instructions before I came to Yuquan Mountain, but I didn't expect that there would still be a loophole."

Lin An followed behind and sighed deeply.

Chen Ronghua is allergic to pollen, but now is the season when lotus flowers bloom, and people come and go by the Lotus Heart Lake every day.

If one wants to find out who has approached the lotus pond and been contaminated by pollen, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Besides...there is also Manager Zhou. He might find someone for me...

Lin An was feeling depressed, and at this moment, a surprised voice came from the hall: "He's awake."

The maid ran forward and said, "The young lady is awake."