As Su Jinli rested in peace and tranquility during her pregnancy, the imperial inner court seemed peaceful and tranquil. However, in the shadowy corners of Yanxi Palace, a conspiracy was quietly unfolding. A petite eunuch peered stealthily around, making sure no one was watching before carefully delivering a message. This eunuch was the former trusted concubine of Concubine Shu, intent on finding a way to restore power for the now-disgraced and confined Concubine Shu.
Taking advantage of his daily meal delivery, he pretended to casually approach the rockery in the Imperial Garden. He quickly slipped a note into a crevice behind the rockery, seemingly carrying some unspeakable secret. All of this was witnessed by the passing Marquis Su. Having just delivered homemade snacks to his sister, Su Jinli, he was happily strolling through the palace, his wooden sword shouldered. Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon this bizarre scene. Curiosity piqued the young man's eyes, and an urge to uncover the truth surged within him, so he quietly followed.
Soon, the note was quickly taken by an unfamiliar palace maid. With a hurried expression and a wary gaze, the maid took the note, turned, and quickly walked into Changchun Palace. Seeing this, Young Marquis Su scratched his head, his mind quizzical. He knew that the virtuous concubine resided in Changchun Palace and that she and the virtuous concubine had a close relationship, a relationship that was unusual. After a moment's reflection, Young Marquis Su determined that this was anything but ordinary. He turned and ran to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, with a single thought in mind: he must inform the Emperor as soon as possible.
"Your Majesty!" Young Marquis Su rushed all the way and broke into the Palace of Heavenly Purity without any warning. His steps were so fast that he almost knocked over the kite that the emperor was fiddling with. The kite swayed a few times in the wind and almost fell to the ground. The emperor was leisurely playing chess with Jiang Yan and was startled by the sudden intruder. Hearing Young Marquis Su's cry, the emperor couldn't help but frown, and subconsciously slapped the chess piece in his hand on the table, making a crisp sound. "Oh? Wasn't Concubine Shu under house arrest? How come there are still remnants stirring up trouble?" The emperor's voice was filled with surprise and displeasure.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan put down the chess piece in his hand with a serious expression. A cold light flashed behind his glasses. He frowned slightly and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be underestimated. Although Concubine Shu has been under house arrest, there is no guarantee that her followers will not be unwilling to fail and will try to stand up for her and make a comeback." Jiang Yan was well aware of the complexity and cruelty of court struggles, and he never dared to take such incidents lightly.
At that moment, Su Jinli's personal maid, Lingge, also came running in, breathless. She had been running all the way, her expression frantic, clearly on a matter of urgency. "Madam sent me to report," Lingge breathlessly said, "someone just added something to Madam's pregnancy-preserving medicine. Fortunately, Nanny Zhang from the kitchen discovered it in time!"
Upon hearing this, the emperor abruptly rose from his seat, his robe swaying as he did so, overturning the chessboard beside him and scattering the black and white pieces to the floor. Furious, the emperor shouted, "Treason! How dare you lay hands on the wife of my 'Imperial Envoy'? How dare you!" His eyes gleamed with fury, clearly enraged by this audacious act.
When Jiang Yan heard this, his heart tightened. He immediately stood up, knelt on one knee, and asked for permission: "Your Majesty, this matter concerns the safety of my wife and the fetus in her womb. I request that you investigate this matter thoroughly and will not tolerate anyone involved!" Jiang Yan's voice was firm and powerful, and his eyes revealed an unquestionable determination.
The emperor nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Permission granted! You must investigate this matter thoroughly. I want to see who is so bold as to plot such a conspiracy right under my nose!"
After receiving the emperor's permission, Jiang Yan immediately dispatched his men to conduct a swift search of Changchun Palace. Soon, the crucial note was found within Concubine Xian's dressing box. Written on it were the eight words, "Eliminate the evil offspring and help me ascend to the throne." The handwriting was scribbled, yet shone with a fierce intensity. Upon seeing the note, Concubine Xian's face paled with fear. Her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees with a thud, kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead clattering against the ground with a dull thud.
"Xian Fei, you are so bold!" The emperor was so angry that his beard stood up, his eyes wide open, staring at Xian Fei who was kneeling on the ground, "How dare you plot against Madam Jiang, do you know your crime?" The emperor's voice echoed in the palace like a bell, full of majesty and anger.
The virtuous concubine was so frightened that she was shaking all over, with tears and snot streaming down her face. She cried and begged, "Your Majesty, please spare my life! It was the Shufei who promised me that if I got rid of that child, she would help me win the throne of empress... I was bewitched for a moment and made such a big mistake. Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!" The virtuous concubine's voice was tearful, full of fear and regret.
Jiang Yan looked at the kneeling Concubine Xian, and remembered how Su Jinli was uncomfortable last night because of the problem with the pregnancy-preserving medicine. Anger burned in his heart, and his eyes were as cold as a thousand-year-old ice. "Your Majesty, this trend cannot be allowed to continue. If it is not severely punished, I am afraid that someone will follow suit in the future and do even more outrageous things." Jiang Yan knew very well that such palace conspiracies must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.
The emperor nodded, his expression stern, and said in a deep voice: "The virtuous concubine is so vicious that she is unforgivable. She will be demoted to a commoner and sent to the cold palace to reflect on her crimes! All the eunuchs and palace maids in the Yanx Palace who were involved in this incident will be beaten with thirty sticks and sold to the border to correct the palace rules!" The emperor's words were decisive and left no room for doubt, demonstrating his majesty and decisiveness as a monarch.
The news quickly reached the Prime Minister's residence. Su Jinli, having just finished a bowl of red date and lotus seed soup, was leisurely sitting in the garden pavilion, basking in the sun. Lingge hurried over and reported everything that had transpired in the palace. Su Jinli simply smiled faintly, as if she had anticipated this outcome. "As expected. Such intrigues are commonplace in the palace." Her tone was calm, but her eyes held a hint of determination.
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