Chapter 214 The surname Hesheli is a crime

At dusk, the main hall of Kunning Palace was brightly lit by candlelight.

The concubines in the harem had already received the notice today, and the imperial rites would proceed as usual.

After yesterday's sudden death of Ma Jia, everyone knew that this was no ordinary greeting.

For many years, although there have been undercurrents in the harem, it has never been so direct as to kill pregnant women and imperial heirs.

This is undoubtedly a blatant provocation against the authority of the Empress.

The concubines exchanged whispered glances, some in awe of the audacity of the mastermind behind it all.

More than anything, it was fear of the impending wrath of the Empress Dowager, a fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Consort Hesheli, sitting in the corner, was even more pale and felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

Yesterday, no matter how she inquired, all she learned was that Ma Jia was dead and the midwife had been executed.

But she had no idea whether the Hershey family had been exposed, and immense anxiety nearly consumed her.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

All the whispers vanished instantly.

Jiang Nan, holding Chunlan's hand, slowly walked into the main hall.

Dressed in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, with a calm expression, she exuded an imposing aura of authority.

She sat steadily on the phoenix throne, her cool gaze sweeping over those below.

Led by Consort Niohuru and Consort Tongjia, all the concubines quickly rose and bowed in unison.

"Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well and live a thousand years."

"Get up, everyone."

Jiang Nan's voice was calm, but it made the other concubines even more anxious.

Once everyone was seated again, the hall fell completely silent.

Jiang Nan then slowly spoke, her voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.

“Yesterday, something big happened in the palace. I’m sure all of you sisters have heard some of it.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the entire room, and wherever it fell, the concubines all lowered their heads.

"When Consort Ma Jia was giving birth, she was ambushed and fainted due to sudden pain, which led to a difficult labor. In the end, she had to have a cesarean section to remove the child, which barely saved the life of the Third Prince. As for Consort Ma Jia herself, she has already passed away."

Despite having heard rumors, a suppressed gasp still rose in the hall upon hearing the Empress's confirmation.

Jiang Nan's tone remained calm, but it carried an increasingly chilling undertone.

"I haven't encountered something like this in a long time. Since I took over the Phoenix Seal, I've considered myself quite lenient, but there are always some people in this harem who don't know their place and think they're living too comfortably, insisting on testing my only bottom line!"

She emphasized the last two words slightly, as if they were a heavy hammer blow to everyone's heart.

As insiders, Consort Niohuru and Consort Tongjia both turned their gazes toward Consort Hesheli in the corner.

His eyes held undisguised schadenfreude and scrutiny.

The other concubines followed their gaze.

Consort Hesheli felt as if the gazes of the other consorts were piercing her, and she realized that the Hesheli family had been exposed.

Overwhelmed by fear of the unknown she was about to face, she almost collapsed.

"Hershey."

Jiang Nan clearly pointed out her name.

Consort Hesheli could no longer support herself and slid off the embroidered stool to the ground.

He then crawled and tumbled to his knees before the throne, kowtowing repeatedly, his voice trembling with sobs.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I truly do not know what crime I have committed. I beg Your Majesty to enlighten me and let me... let me die knowing the truth!"

Jiang Nan chuckled as she watched her terrified yet still clinging to a sliver of clarity and trying to argue her way out of it.

"If you're talking about concrete evidence, I certainly don't have any. So if you insist on claiming innocence, there's some truth to it."

Just as a faint glimmer of hope appeared in Hesheli's eyes, Jiang Nan abruptly changed the subject.

"However! I have concluded that the plot to murder Lady Magia, which nearly caused the death of the imperial heir, was the work of your Hesheli family. Whether you were personally involved or not is irrelevant, because you are surnamed Hesheli."

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze sharp as she stared at Hesheli, whose face was ashen.

"The principle of 'shared glory and shared loss' is something you, having grown up in the Hesheli family, should understand better than I do. This blood debt will naturally be settled on the head of you, a member of the Hesheli clan in this palace!"

The concubines were terrified. The Empress's words meant that she would not provide evidence and would instead use her power to intimidate them and impose collective punishment.

Hesheli was in utter despair and cried out.

"This humble servant...this humble servant knows that my family may be involved, but I truly have not participated! I beg Your Majesty to investigate!"

Jiang Nan coldly interrupted her.

"No need. The midwife who did it was thrown into a mass grave and fed to the dogs yesterday. There's no way to verify anything now, and I have no interest in investigating anything further."

Her nonchalant attitude, focused solely on the outcome, sent a chill down the spines of all the concubines in the hall.

They all hunched their necks, lowered their heads, and wished they could hide themselves.

Hesheli knew that there was no hope of survival, and that if the Empress was determined to deal with her, she would not be able to escape.

He collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"However, you don't need to be too afraid."

Jiang Nan's tone suddenly softened, her expression complex.

"I do not intend to kill you; you are still useful to the Emperor."

Hesheli looked up blankly.

Jiang Nan turned to Consort Niohuru, her tone becoming serious.

“Sister Niohuru, you were wronged and slandered by that midwife yesterday. You must still be holding this grudge.”

Amidst the curious yet fearful gazes of the crowd, Jiang Nan spoke clearly.

"I have prepared a bowl of medicine here early. Please feed it to Hesheli yourself, sister, so that you can vent your anger."

Seeing Niohuru's questioning expression, she looked at the surprised and uncertain faces of everyone present and stopped keeping them in suspense.

"This bowl of medicine contains safflower. Back then, Empress Hesheli used insidious means to cut off your path to having children. Now that she is long dead, the matter could have ended there. But the Hesheli family is still not giving up. Not only are they trying to kill you again, but they are also trying to smear you with false accusations! Today, let this younger sister of the Hesheli family repay this debt for her deceased sister! This will also settle the karmic debt between you and the Hesheli family!"

Upon hearing this, Consort Niohuru's eyes flashed with a sharp light. She immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

His voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace. I will obey your decree!"

Jiang Nan nodded and gave the instructions.

"Zhao Deyi, go and bring the medicine."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao responded readily and left, quickly returning with a tray.

On top was a bowl of thick, dark medicine, emitting a bitter and pungent smell.

Jiang Nan looked at the bowl of medicine and said meaningfully to the concubines.

"You all need to look carefully. Today, I have shown leniency and have not immediately executed the person who plotted against the imperial heir. This safflower has a potent medicinal effect. I have heard that after drinking a bowl of it, not only will one be unable to have children for life, but one will also suffer severe damage to one's vital energy, becoming a useless person. I do not know if the rumors are true or false. If this method is feasible, the palace will have another means of punishing people in the future."

The concubines felt their scalps tingle and cursed the Hesheli family a thousand times over in their hearts.

They brought this upon themselves and now they're being forced to witness this torture!

How could they not know the effects of safflower?

Looking at Hesheli, I couldn't help but feel pity; her days ahead would truly be worse than death!

"No! I won't drink it! I'm innocent! Your Majesty, you can't do this! Your Majesty! I need to see the Emperor!"

When Hesheli saw the bowl of medicine, she screamed in terror as if she had seen a ghost.

He struggled to get up and tried to run out of the hall.

"Stop her!"

Jiang Nan gave the order in a cold voice.

Several eunuchs immediately stepped forward, stopped and restrained the frantically struggling Hesheli.

Consort Niohuru took the medicine bowl from Zhao Deyi's hands and walked step by step to Hesheli.

She looked at the other person's face, contorted with extreme fear.

Thinking of Lady Ma Jia, with whom she shared the palace day and night, and of the Emperor's suspicion when she was slandered yesterday, she felt no pity in her eyes.

He grabbed Hesheli's chin tightly with one hand, forcing her to open her mouth.

Without hesitation, he used his other hand to pour the bowl of thick, dark safflower medicine down her throat!

"Ugh... gulp... cough cough cough..."

Hesheli struggled desperately, and black medicine spilled from the corner of her mouth, staining her clothes.

But most of it was still forced down his throat.

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