The visitor was another palace maid who often stayed in the room, named Xia Mei. Because Qiu Lian gave birth to a maid, she became a concubine, usually doing rough work such as sweeping and cleaning, and was not allowed to serve in the inner palace.
"Greetings to the Emperor, Empress, and all the ladies! I will tell you everything I know, and I will not lie a single word. Please spare my life, my nobles!"
"You slut! You're not allowed near the young master normally, and now you come here and talk nonsense?" Qiu Lian slapped her in frustration, wishing she could beat her to death. "Shut up!"
Seeing this, the servant immediately covered Qiulian's mouth and nose. After a knife strike, the hall returned to peace.
Rong Zhaoyi glanced at the woman lying on the ground. "Alas, it's hard for the emperor to grant me a name. What's going on in Heshun Hall? People are either yelling or beating people up in public without regard for status. I thought I had entered a den of bandits!"
Xie Yanci's expression wasn't looking good either. He took over the conversation and confirmed, "Perhaps she hid it well and deceived me. Just now she said that the maidservant was quiet, but from what I've seen, she's as good at scolding people as anyone else!"
The situation gradually reversed. He Changzai, who was lying on the ground and preparing to pretend to faint to delay time, took a deep breath, got up on his own, and knelt down properly.
The timing is so coincidental that it is hard not to wonder whether the scene just now was a stage play!
"The young lady relies on Sister Qiulian. I knew I was a handmaid assigned from the palace and was definitely not as good as the ones brought in from home, so I accepted the assignment and never asked about the young lady's arrangements." Xia Mei stammered, "Some time ago, the young lady became pregnant and received a reward from the emperor. Everyone in the palace was very happy! The Ministry of Internal Affairs specially sent people to serve her, but the young lady turned them all away. Then Sister Qiulian was so busy that she was nowhere to be seen all day, so I had the opportunity to go in and serve her."
Having said this, she timidly glanced at He Changzai, hesitating whether to continue.
Wei Shuyi happened to catch this scene: "And then? Just tell me, with the emperor in charge, what are you afraid of?"
"Yes! Yes! Then, the young lady didn't trust the laundry staff very much, so she always gave her underwear to Sister Qiulian to wash in advance, until one day, the young lady got up late."
He often started coughing abnormally, almost to the point of hoarseness.
Xia Mei heard it and moved aside as if startled, her voice becoming much softer: "I happened to see Sister Qiulian walking out, and there was blood on her panties in the wooden basin..."
Hearing this keyword, the concubines looked towards the main seat nervously again.
The emperor closed his eyes tiredly, trying his best to conceal his raging anger and chose to listen in silence.
"Anything else?"
"The young lady doesn't trust the people in the Imperial Hospital either. Every time she boils medicine, she orders them to secretly throw it away. I happened to see this happen a few times when I got up at night. The bonsai in Heshun Hall are often damaged, usually when the flowers are about to die, so..."
The rest is self-explanatory.
He Changzai suddenly turned around and looked at Xia Mei with great pain: "I know that I am not as close to you as Qiulian. You can blame me all you want in your heart, but why do you favor the real culprit when it comes to the issue of the royal heir? I had a miscarriage and lost the child, and you chose this time to kick me when I'm down and put me in an irretrievable situation!"
"My young master, this servant..."
"Xia Mei, the pain I'm feeling right now is no less than seeing a young person die! You've always been kind, so you probably don't want to experience this kind of pain, right?"
Wei Shuyi sensed a threat and quickly interrupted their conversation.
"Is it a palace maid who framed me, or are you the one crying 'stop thief'? Naturally, we need evidence to support this! Your Majesty, I beg you to send someone to search the palace! If I'm not mistaken, the evidence is still in Heshun Hall and hasn't been moved!"
"Your Majesty! I lost my child first, and have been bedridden ever since. Now, a traitor has found an opportunity, and they've colluded with the palace maids to smear me! If they search the palace again, even if there's no evidence, I won't be able to live in this world! The Empress Dowager is kind-hearted. If she knew about this incident, I'm afraid she would also..."
Xie Yanci interrupted her, his tone indifferent: "It's not up to you, a concubine, to decide what the Queen Mother wants."
He Changzai stood there in a daze, and called the emperor several times in a low voice. Seeing that his expression did not change, she lowered her head dejectedly.
"Yang Mingrui." "The servant is here!"
"Go, send someone to thoroughly investigate Heshun Hall!"
Another group of attendants followed and left, and Wei Shuyi's nervous mood was greatly relieved.
The concubines who were watching the show silently around them had different expressions.
The Empress had put down her teacup at some point and sat irritably in the main seat, her face filled with impatience. Concubine Jin, sitting to the side, remained as calm and composed as a chrysanthemum, as if winning or losing didn't matter to her; she was simply there to fulfill her mission and listen to a debate.
Only Rong Zhaoyi set her eyes on Wei Shuyi more than once, and from time to time she looked towards the main gate of Fengluan Palace, looking forward to it.
The remaining concubines exchanged glances with their friends nearby, trying to guess the outcome of the palace search.
"Your Majesty! Found it!"
As Eunuch Yang stepped over the threshold and reported this in a shrill voice, Wei Shuyi's heart finally settled down.
The Queen stood up and asked, "What did you find?"
"In Qiulian's room, they secretly dug a pit under the bed and buried these filthy things. Your Majesty, please stay away, the smell is terrible!"
The attendant lifted the brocade cloth on the tray, and several pairs of bloody underwear were exposed in front of everyone! They were stained with a lot of dust and had a pungent and nauseating smell!
"this……"
The queen covered her nose in disgust and sat down again, her brows furrowed, and she said no more.
After Xie Yanci took a quick glance, he waved his hand and asked everyone to leave.
He no longer wanted to continue sitting there, but walked down the stairs, slowly approached He Changzai, and observed her expression from above.
"How else can you argue?"
"I don't have any."
"You faked a pregnancy to win my favor, deceiving me first! You coaxed the Imperial Household Department, the Laundry Bureau, and the Shanglin Garden, earning a reputation for being gentle and kind! In reality, you are ruthless and vicious as a snake and scorpion! How long has Min been in the palace? How did she offend you? Why did you use the nonexistent imperial heir to frame her?"
He Changzai's lips were trembling, but he didn't say another word.
Everyone sat at attention, fearing they might break the rules in the face of the emperor's wrath and have his anger directed at them. However, Wei Shuyi quietly turned her head away, feeling that her small action was a little unusual.
It doesn't look like a normal person's reaction to fear, it's more like chewing something...
"Your Majesty, she wants to commit suicide!"
By the time Wei Shuyi exclaimed, several streams of thick black blood had already flowed from the corners of He Changzai's mouth!
The concubines saw the dead body up close, and some of the more timid ones were so frightened that they screamed. She reached out and touched He Changzai's neck, but only felt a weak beating.
This time, the blood-stained lips uttered a final whisper—
"My Lady, she, she is..."
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