Chapter 78 There is another important witness
"Concubine Chen, where does the farmer live? Tell the Second Prince to send someone to bring the man to the palace. You and I need to return to the palace immediately."
According to the address given by Concubine Chen, Jing Siye rushed to the farmer's house on the outskirts of the capital without stopping.
After explaining the reason, the farmer was horrified at first and waved his hands to refuse:
"Sir, I am of low status and do not know the rules of the palace. I am afraid that I may lose my head if I fail to observe etiquette."
Jing Siye's face darkened, and he turned his back to him: "Think it over carefully, this matter is of great importance. If you cooperate, you will be rewarded. If you insist on not complying, I'm afraid the consequences will be unpredictable."
A sinister look flashed across the farmer's eyes, and then he pretended to hesitate for a while, and finally nodded, and followed Jing Siye to the palace alone.
The Queen Mother hurried back to her own Yize Palace with Concubine Chen, and immediately sent someone to Qinghe Palace to tell the Emperor and the Queen to come and taste tea.
Emperor Decheng and Empress Xiao and their entourage arrived at the gate of Yize Palace in a mighty procession, and saw that all the guards had solemn and nervous expressions. Emperor Decheng sensed something was wrong and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
When I entered the hall, I saw the empress dowager leaning on the couch. Her face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. One hand weakly supported her head, and several palace maids were carefully massaging her shoulders and legs.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Decheng hurried forward and asked with concern, "Mother, are you feeling unwell? I will go and call the imperial physician right away."
Empress Xiao followed closely behind, her face full of worry:
"Yes, mother, he was fine yesterday. Could it be that he caught a cold?"
The Queen Mother slowly raised her eyelids, glanced at the two of them, and said in a cold voice:
"I have been chilled from the outside to the inside."
Empress Xiao's heart tightened, her eyes flickered, she looked at the Queen Mother, then at Emperor Decheng, and pretended to be calm and said, "Mother, has something happened?"
Emperor Decheng also heard the hidden meaning in the Queen Mother's words, frowned slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Mother, if you have something to say, just say it directly. I am listening."
The Queen Mother raised her hand to signal the other maids to leave. She slowly stood up with the help of her personal maid and walked to the Queen step by step, staring at her with a dagger-like gaze:
"Empress Xiao, you were born into a famous family. Your grandfather was the prime minister of two dynasties, and your father was also a general. He died on the battlefield for the country. Your family is full of loyal heroes. How come everything has changed when it comes to you?"
When Empress Xiao heard this, her heart began to beat loudly. She swallowed her saliva:
"Mother, did you... misunderstand me?"
The Queen Mother's eyes were full of disappointment: "Misunderstanding? Empress Xiao, don't you know what you did?"
Empress Xiao's heart was beating fast, and she thought to herself:
Could it be that Xiao Anzi betrayed him and complained to the Queen Mother? That's impossible. He has been under my nose the whole time and has no chance to meet with the Queen Mother's people alone.
She suppressed her inner panic and knelt down with a plop:
"I don't know what you mean, mother. Please explain it to me."
The Queen Mother looked at him coldly, and said, "Okay, then please see someone."
Empress Xiao slowly raised her head, feeling even more uneasy, her heart in her throat.
When two palace maids slowly helped Concubine Chen out of the inner room, Empress Xiao collapsed to the ground in fear, sweating profusely:
"You...you...are you a human or a ghost?"
When Emperor Decheng saw her, he was also extremely shocked. He hurried forward, holding her shoulders and looking at her:
"My dear, is it really you?"
Then he helped her to trim her hair.
"Where have you been? ...Where is your ...your ...child?"
Emperor Decheng also noticed something was wrong. He looked at Concubine Chen's flat belly and asked in surprise.
When asked this question, Concubine Chen burst into tears again. She threw herself into the arms of Emperor Decheng and told him again what she had said to the Queen Mother in Prince Zhaonan's Palace.
The moment Emperor Decheng heard the truth, he seemed to be frozen, his aura suddenly changed, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly unconsciously.
The hand that had been gently combing Concubine Chen's hair now clenched tightly as if in a spasm, with veins bulging on the back of the hand.
After a long while, he swallowed hard and squeezed out a sentence from the depths of his throat:
"Queen...you are so brave!"
Empress Xiao sat on the ground for a while before she came to her senses. More than 30 years of palace life had made her calm down. She slowly stood up, brushed off the dust on her body,
"Concubine Chen, you are really amazing. Now that the prince is gone, you are framing me without any evidence?"
The Queen Mother: "Empress Xiao, who said it was just empty talk?"
As soon as he finished speaking, two guards escorted the farmer into the palace. The farmer walked with his head trembling, secretly glancing at the luxurious palaces from time to time, and almost fell when he crossed the threshold.
"Watch your way. Watch your head if you bump into someone." The guard scolded sternly.
"Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you for your advice, sir." The farmer looked timid. Concubine Chen smiled with satisfaction, and then her sad expression returned to her original expression.
Emperor Decheng: "Who is this?"
The Queen Mother: "It was the farmer who saw the whole process with his own eyes."
Emperor Decheng looked at the farmer and asked, "Did you really save my beloved concubine?"
The farmer knelt on the ground in fear, speaking incoherently: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I deserve to die. I didn't know she was the imperial concubine at the time, and I neglected her. I deserve to die."
Emperor Decheng looked at Empress Xiao lying on the ground, his eyes full of disappointment.
"Queen, do you have anything else to say?"
Empress Xiao pretended to be wronged and argued, "Your Majesty, Concubine Chen found a random peasant as a witness to slander me. Do you believe this? I think this peasant is good-looking. Maybe Concubine Chen and him have some affair outside and she is reluctant to return to the palace. Otherwise, why didn't she come back earlier if nothing happened?"
Emperor Decheng turned to look at Concubine Chen, as if asking a question.
Concubine Chen looked at Emperor Decheng with disappointment.
"Your Majesty, do you think so too? I am not going back to the palace, not because I don't want to, but because I don't dare."
Concubine Chen wiped her tears and continued, "I don't even dare to go to the Second Prince's house, for fear of getting him into trouble. After all..."
Although Concubine Chen did not say the following words, everyone present understood. After all, this was planned by the Queen, the mistress of the harem. If things went wrong, there was a possibility of being bitten back.
Concubine Chen: "However, now that I have met my mother and the emperor, I feel relieved. I also have an important witness."
Emperor Decheng: "Who is it? Tell me quickly."
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