Chapter 102 The Wrong Enemy
The coroner hadn't arrived yet, but Concubine Xu was already trembling like a sieve. The maids found musk in both Jinxiu's and Concubine Xu's rooms. Xue Zhaoyi happened to have miscarried because of musk.
The queen played with her armor and asked, "Concubine Xu, are you still insisting that Jinxiu died suddenly of a disease?" It's a pity that she could come up with such a poor excuse.
The queen knew that it was because the prince came in time, otherwise she would have been in Xue Zhaoyi's courtyard and would never have thought that the poisoner was right next to her. Once Jinxiu died, she would have been speechless.
If the other party had been more careful, and made Jinxiu's death look like a murder to silence the witnesses, everyone in the palace would have thought that Xue Zhaoyi's miscarriage was caused by her.
What she couldn't understand was why Xu Cairen would attack Xue Zhaoyi. She had no background, no connections, and most importantly, she didn't care much about the emperor's favor. It was impossible for her to attack Xue Zhaoyi's child for no reason.
The coroner's result came out soon, and Jinxiu died of poisoning.
The empress helped the trembling Xu Cairen up and said gently, "I know you have always been a non-confrontational person. You must have your own reasons for this matter. Tell me and I will take care of it for you." Xu
Cairen knew that she was to blame. She looked at the empress and asked doubtfully, "Now that things have come to this, I'm sentenced to death. What difference does it make whether I tell it or not?"
"Of course there is a difference. If you tell the truth, the empress will consider that you were deceived and will let your family go. If you are so stubborn and refuse to change your mind, you will be punished for poisoning the royal heir." The
speaker was Concubine Zhou, who had rushed over after hearing the news.
Seeing Concubine Zhou, Xu Cairen was obviously even more flustered. She shrank back and said, "I just can't stand Xue Zhaoyi's arrogant look. She entered the palace later, but she always humiliated me. I couldn't accept it, so I wanted to get rid of her child."
The queen asked, "There are so many people in the palace, why do you have to let the people in my palace do it?"
Xu Cairen gritted her teeth and said, "If the queen didn't come, Jinxiu would have committed suicide out of fear of crime, and they would not suspect me. . "
Concubine Zhou went up and slapped Concubine Xu in the face: "You bastard, you want the Empress to take the blame for you. You are really ambitious and vicious. My Empress, Concubine Xu is too vicious. She should be sent to the Ministry of Punishment for a thorough interrogation." Concubine
Zhou was the most favored by the Emperor. Her father and brother had powerful troops under their command. They had always been domineering in the palace. She didn't even take the Empress seriously. But today she came here specially to speak for the Empress. It was really abnormal.
Concubine Xu looked at Concubine Zhou and murmured to herself: "I'm going to die anyway. Now that things have come to this, how can I let you humiliate me again?" After that, she bit the poison in her mouth, vomited blood and died. Before she died, a tear flowed from the corner of her eye.
Concubine Zhou's tense body relaxed: "Why did they hide the poison? She died just like that. It's too easy for her."
The Queen saw all this, but said nothing.
Concubine Zhou once had a child, but she miscarried when she was six months pregnant because she drank the soup sent by Concubine Xiao, who had the best relationship with her.
Concubine Xiao naturally did not have a good end, but Concubine Zhou put the blame on the Queen, because no one else could threaten Concubine Xiao. The Queen
was young and impetuous at the time and could not see clearly, but now after the incident with Concubine Xu, she can see clearly that the one who asked Concubine Xiao to poison was either the Queen Mother or the Emperor who doted on Concubine Zhou.
At that time, the emperor's position was unstable and he had to rely on the Zhou family's military strength, so he doted on Concubine Zhou.
Because of his unstable position, he did not dare to let Concubine Zhou give birth to a prince.
Concubine Zhou was scheming and going through so much trouble to use Xue Zhaoyi's youthful vigor and revengeful nature to deal with her, but unfortunately she found the wrong enemy.
The queen had someone dispose of Xu Cairen's body, and she also said a lot of words of gratitude to Concubine Zhou, and then she returned to Xue Zhaoyi in a leisurely manner.
She did not like intrigue, but how could she stay out of it in this palace.
Xue Zhaoyi's fire of hatred had been ignited, so she had to make good use of it.
Now, even if the evidence is conclusive, the emperor will not do anything to Concubine Zhou.
The queen told Xue Zhaoyi the whole story and blamed herself: "It was because I didn't guard my palace strictly that someone with ulterior motives bribed the people in my palace. I am sorry for you!"
Although Xue Zhaoyi is young, she is not stupid: "Xu Cairen usually feels guilty for stepping on an ant to death. How could she kill my child, unless someone threatened her.
That person not only wants to kill my child, but also wants to make this matter public . "Put the blame on you, Your Majesty. I already know who she is."
The Queen said with regret: "It's a pity that Xu Cairen is dead. All the clues and evidence point to her. I can't touch her for the time being! You are still young, take care of yourself, and you will have other children in the future. Don't get stuck in a dead end."
The Queen did not deliberately pull Xue Zhaoyi, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Xue Zhaoyi has automatically stood on the side of the Queen.
After hearing what the Queen said, the Emperor only said that he had misjudged Xu Cairen and asked the Queen to comfort Xue Zhaoyi, without mentioning anything else. The Queen understood that he was pretending to be deaf and dumb.
In front of power, his own offspring is not that important. After all, what he lacks the least now is a son.
The queen felt sad for Xu Cairen, Xue Zhaoyi, and even for Concubine Zhou.
But she didn't blame the emperor for being cold-hearted. His weighing of pros and cons and his careful calculations were all for the purpose of securing this position.
He was not a good husband, but he was a good emperor. It was just that she had to face the bloody storm in the harem by herself.
When she returned to Kunning Palace, Gu Huaian had already fallen asleep, and Gu Huaiyu was reading beside him seriously.
Seeing the queen coming back, Gu Huaiyu hurriedly saluted: "My son greets my mother, thank you for your hard work!"
The queen touched his head and said, "Huaiyu, you must be anxious waiting!"
Gu Huaiyu raised his head: "I don't even feel how long I have been reading. Do you have anything to ask me, mother?"
The queen pulled Gu Huaiyu to sit down. Others said that Gu Huaiyu was mature and dignified at a young age, but in her heart, Gu Huaiyu was still just a child.
She said lovingly, "Huaiyu, why did you suddenly think of thoroughly checking the people in my mother's palace? If you were a step late today, my mother would probably be the scapegoat."
Gu Huaiyu thought for a while and said, "On the way back, I met Madam Zhao. She asked me to remind my mother to pay attention to the people around her. When I arrived at Kunning Palace, my mother went to Chuxiu Palace, so I took the initiative to check it out."
The queen thought for a moment, "It turned out to be her, but she has lived outside the palace for a long time. How did she know that there was a problem with the people around me?"