Chapter 26 Plum Blossom Banquet (Part 4)
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Plum Blossom Banquet (Part Four)
Consort Zhuang's heart pounded wildly, but she forced herself to remain calm and said, "Your Majesty...who are you referring to?...What do you mean? I don't understand..."
"Don't understand?" Li Qianche sneered and shouted, "Night Shadow!"
A dark figure appeared in response, like a ghost; it was Night Shadow, the leader of the secret guards. He knelt on one knee, his voice steady and clear: "Your Majesty."
"Tell everyone what you have found out."
"Yes!" Ye Ying raised his head, his sharp gaze sweeping over Consort Zhuang, and said loudly, "After investigation, I have found that the poison that Consort Wan was poisoned with this time is from the same source as the poison that Prince Ning was poisoned with that day, and it is called 'Like a Dream'!"
"What?!" "Like a Dream?" The crowd was in an uproar, whispering among themselves.
Nightshade continued, "This poison is no ordinary poison; it's a secret recipe from the Southwest, colorless and odorless, extremely difficult to detect. Ordinary people, even if they get close, won't smell anything unusual. Only those extremely close to the fragrance and those with a sense of smell far exceeding that of ordinary people can detect that faint, peculiar scent. Furthermore, this poison isn't ingested, but rather inhaled through the sense of smell, affecting the blood and qi. It's extremely harmful to pregnant women, causing blood and qi to surge, fetal restlessness, and even miscarriage! Even a full-term infant who inhales it will suffer heart and lung failure and die instantly! The Prince of Ning's son died from inhaling this fragrance!"
He paused, then turned his gaze to Consort Zhuang, whose face had turned deathly pale, and said, word by word, "After a thorough investigation by my subordinates, this poison, 'Like a Dream,' has only been secretly purchased by the Grand Tutor Zhuang Shijie's household through special channels in the past six months! And the person who brought this secret medicine into the palace and entrusted it to Yingchun, the head maid in Consort Zhuang's palace, was someone planted in the palace by the Zhuang family!"
“No…it’s impossible…” A barely audible groan came from the side. Princess Ning, Zhuang Shuran, trembled violently. She looked at Consort Zhuang in disbelief, her eyes filled with horror and broken pain, and murmured, “Eldest…sister? How could it be…you…? Why…?” Before she could finish speaking, everything went black, and her body went limp and fell to the ground. Fortunately, a quick-thinking palace maid caught her.
"You're talking nonsense!" Consort Zhuang screamed, her well-maintained face drained of color, leaving only panic and ferocity. She didn't even have time to look at her unconscious sister. "Your Majesty! He's talking nonsense! This is a frame-up! It's Consort Su! Consort Su bribed him to frame me!" She pointed frantically at Su Su as if grasping at the last straw.
"Framed?" Li Qianche's voice was even colder. "Bring witnesses!"
Soon, several eunuchs, bound tightly, and servants of the manor, who had been detained, were dragged in. They had already suffered a mental breakdown under the interrogation of the secret guards, and now, seeing the emperor and this display of power, they were terrified. Before any torture could be administered, they rushed to kowtow and confess:
"It was...it was the head maidservant of the First Madam of the Zhuang family who sent me to bring the things in..."
"It was Sister Yingchun who asked me to give her the face powder, saying that Her Majesty wanted to use it..."
"This servant knows nothing; I was merely following orders..."
With witnesses and physical evidence, the evidence points to something frighteningly clear.
Consort Zhuang trembled all over, yet still stubbornly insisted, "No...no! They conspired together! Your Majesty, you can't believe them! It's Consort Su! It must be Consort Su!"
"Enough!" Li Qianche interrupted her sharply, his last bit of patience gone. "Even now, you still dare to frame others? It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin! Drag Yingchun away and continue to interrogate her severely! And all those involved in the Zhuang family case, throw them all into the Heavenly Prison and interrogate them carefully to see if there's anything they haven't confessed!"
The guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Yingchun away, who was pale and unable to even beg for mercy. Seeing her trusted confidante being taken away, Consort Zhuang knew her power was lost, and a flash of utter madness crossed her eyes.
She abruptly raised her head, no longer looking at Li Qianche, but pointing at Zhuang Shuran. The Princess Consort of Ning had just been awakened by a palace maid using the styrax pills carried by the imperial physician, and was still weak and tearful. Consort Zhuang's voice was shrill and pierced the air:
"It was her! Your Majesty! It was Princess Ning! She's the one who poisoned us!"
Everyone was stunned by the sudden accusation; even Princess Ning's sobs paused for a moment.
Consort Zhuang, as if grasping at her last straw, wove a lie with lightning speed, her eyes filled with venom as she stared at her half-sister: "It was her! She was heartbroken at the loss of her beloved son, and she resented Consort Su and Consort Wan's pregnancy! She begged me, saying she would take revenge whenever she had the chance! That 'Dream Order'... Yes! That 'Dream Order' was brought into the palace by her! It's on her! If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can search her body! You'll definitely find evidence!"
She shouted it with absolute certainty, as if it were true.
Zhuang Shuran was stunned by this bolt from the blue. Supported by a palace maid, she collapsed, staring in disbelief at her elder sister, with whom she had grown up and whom she had always trusted and relied upon. She watched as her sister, in an attempt to escape punishment, actually pinned such a heinous crime on her! Not only had her sister killed her Sheng'er, but now she wanted her to take the blame for the unforgivable crime of murdering a royal heir?! This wasn't just about killing her; it was about ruining her reputation and ensuring the Ning Prince's mansion's utter destruction!
A chill more piercing and despairing than the pain of losing a child instantly froze her blood and heartbeat. She opened her mouth, but her throat felt as if it were blocked by a scalding hot iron, and she could not make a sound. Only tears, like a burst dam, surged out, carrying endless grief and utter despair.
She looked at Consort Zhuang, her eyes gradually shifting from initial shock and pain to a deathly ashes. It turned out that in the hearts of her elder sister and stepmother, her and her child's lives had always been nothing more than pawns to be discarded at will, or even used as stepping stones.
As Li Qianche watched Consort Zhuang's desperate struggle and her shameful act of pushing her sister forward as a scapegoat, all that remained in his eyes was the emperor's coldness and disgust.
"Search them?" Li Qianche's voice was not loud, but it carried absolute authority, instantly silencing all the whispers in the garden. "I think it's unnecessary."
His gaze shifted to Zhuang Shuran, who lay limp and vacant, her eyes vacant. His tone softened slightly, yet carried an undeniable resolve. "Princess Ning is a victim, her grief over the loss of her son damaging her spirit. I am aware of the truth here. Consort Zhuang, you have framed concubines, plotted against the imperial heir, and harmed members of the royal family. The evidence against you is irrefutable. Now you still try to implicate others. Your heart is utterly despicable!"
He gave Consort Zhuang no further chance to speak, and with a wave of his hand, declared: "Strip Consort Zhuang of her imperial robes and take her back to Changxiu Palace under strict guard. No one is allowed to visit her without my order! Once the trial is over, she will be punished according to the law!"
"No—! Your Majesty! It's Princess Ning! It's her!!" Consort Zhuang was roughly lifted from the ground by the guards. She struggled frantically, her hair disheveled, her hairpins falling off, her former beauty gone, leaving only hysterical screams and curses: "Your Majesty! Why are you so biased! Why do you only have eyes for that Su Su! You've all been deceived! It's that bitch! And Su Su! You'll all die a horrible death... Ugh!" Her mouth was stuffed with a wad of cloth by the guards, and she could only let out desperate sobs. She was forcibly dragged away from the plum garden, her resentful gaze as if it were real, lingering in the hearts of some people present.
The palace maid beside Mu Hanyan, who had just been crying and accusing Su Su of murdering Consort Wan, was now trembling with fear.
Li Qianche looked at her, and she immediately trembled with fear, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant did not know that it was Consort Zhuang who harmed Consort Wan, I thought it was Consort Su..."
Li Qianche sneered, "You dare to make baseless accusations without knowing anything? Who gave you the audacity?! Drag them all away for interrogation!"
The guards immediately stepped forward and dragged her away. She pleaded, "Your Majesty! I'm innocent!"
Inside the plum garden, all was deathly silent. Only the suppressed sobs of Princess Ning, Zhuang Shuran, like those of a wounded young animal, echoed in the cold air, telling of the excruciating pain of being betrayed by her closest relatives.
Li Qianche stood amidst the chaos, his gaze passing over the still struggling Consort Zhuang, past the unconscious Princess Ning, and finally settling once more on Su Su, who had been kneeling upright with a calm expression throughout.
Thunder and rain, are they not divine blessings? And at this moment, he only wanted to give all the rain and wind to her alone.
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