Chapter 98 Sister Yi...
The Empress Dowager awoke and regained her senses.
The emperor was worried that she might still have some lingering effects, which is why he summoned Yu Zhiyi.
Yu Zhiyi, naturally, was obliged to share the emperor's burdens and inspected the Shou Kang Palace thoroughly. She then offered her advice: "Although the Empress Dowager is currently out of danger, there is one thing that, if not dealt with as soon as possible, could lead to her being invaded by evil spirits in the future."
At that time, the Empress Dowager was leaning against the couch. Although she was nearly fifty years old, she looked like a woman in her thirties because of her good maintenance.
Her face was pale, and she leaned weakly against the head maid, like a willow swaying in the breeze, a sight that evoked pity.
Who would have guessed that this man was once as fierce and powerful as a beast, and had single-handedly crippled a group of martial arts masters?
"What is it?" the emperor pressed.
The Empress Dowager also straightened up.
Yu Zhiyi said, "The jade bracelet on the Empress Dowager's hand."
It was a Hetian jade bracelet, smooth and delicate with a soft luster. Even someone who knows nothing about jade could tell that it was a fine piece of jade.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager's expressions changed simultaneously: "This jade bracelet?"
The Empress Dowager instinctively denied it: "Impossible!"
Yu Zhiyi didn't speak, but her expression was calm and her face was resolute; she didn't argue.
The Empress Dowager saw her face before she fell into a coma and developed a good impression of her.
But at this moment, the goodwill had greatly diminished, and his expression turned cold.
Fortunately, the emperor had already been convinced of Yu Zhiyi's abilities and asked before the empress dowager could speak, "Minister Yu, what's wrong with this jade bracelet?"
Yu Zhiyi said, "This jade bracelet was a gift from the late Emperor to the Empress. The Empress cherishes it very much and wears it almost every day."
The emperor wasn't surprised that she could calculate these things, but the empress dowager raised an eyebrow: "You're certainly well-informed."
Yu Zhiyi seemed not to hear the skeptical evaluation and continued, "Actually, the Empress Dowager wears consecrated Buddhist beads obtained from Huguo Temple. In theory, evil spirits should not be able to get close to her for a while."
"But unfortunately, the Empress accidentally broke her prayer beads some time ago and hasn't replaced them with new ones to ward off evil, which gave the villains an opportunity to take advantage of her."
"The Empress cherishes that Hetian jade bracelet very much, and she is almost inseparable from it. Except when she is bathing, she never takes it off, except for half a year ago..."
The Empress Dowager's expression changed slightly.
The emperor could tell from her expression that Yu Zhiyi had guessed correctly, but he was very curious about what had happened half a year ago.
Although he was the emperor, he couldn't possibly pay attention to everything that happened in the harem.
Especially since it concerns his mother's private belongings, he couldn't possibly have someone watching over them every day.
The Empress Dowager remained silent, clearly indicating that she wanted Yu Zhiyi to continue.
Yu Zhiyi said, "Half a year ago, when the Prince of Xiaoyao returned from his trip, he gave the Empress a jade bracelet with excellent water content and ice flower patterns. The floating flowers on the jade bracelet were very delicate and beautiful, almost as if they were painted on by man. However, they were indeed pure natural ice flowers. The Empress loved it so much that she temporarily replaced the Hetian jade bracelet."
"The mastermind knew that the Empress would wear the Hetian jade bracelet again sooner or later, so he tampered with the bracelet."
"The man ordered a craftsman to make an exact replica of the bracelet to mislead people. After stealing the real bracelet out of the palace, he buried it in an ancient, lonely grave deep in a mass grave."
“Mass burial grounds are already places with extremely heavy yin energy, and solitary graves built here are even more concentrated with yin energy.”
"Moreover, the owner of that lonely grave died unjustly and harbored deep resentment."
"Anything that has been in such a place will unconsciously become tainted with evil energy. And the person behind it all was afraid that this amount of evil energy was not enough, so he hired some wicked people to carve a trace of resentment from the owner of the lonely grave onto the jade bracelet."
"After doing all this, the man ordered someone to return the jade bracelet to the empress's dressing case."
"Sure enough, two months ago, Her Majesty took out this jade bracelet again."
"Because two months ago was the anniversary of the late emperor's death."
The Empress Dowager found the woman's ethereal voice very pleasant to hear.
Whether drawn in by her voice or by the meaning behind her words, the Empress Dowager did not interrupt Yu Zhiyi until she finished speaking before she came to her senses.
"you……"
The Empress Dowager's expression was complex.
She didn't know if the mass graves and isolated graves were true or not, but everything else matched the facts.
The emperor's expression gradually turned serious: "Where is the mass grave that Minister Yu mentioned?"
"It's located in the outskirts of Beijing."
The emperor immediately sent people to investigate.
Before long, the commander of the Imperial Guard returned and reported, "Your Majesty, there is indeed a solitary grave in the mass grave. The soil in one spot is different from the rest, as if it has just been renovated."
"Moreover, the tombstone of that lonely grave was already dilapidated, as if no one had taken care of it for a long time, but there were some offerings and something that looked like ashes on the grave."
The Empress Dowager straightened her body, her expression becoming tense.
The emperor's face also darkened.
Although he trusted Yu Zhiyi and did not doubt her words, he was still furious when he saw the evidence: "Who is so bold as to plot against the Empress Dowager!"
The Empress Dowager was also shocked and furious.
Yu Zhiyi remained silent.
The two people waiting for her answer: "?"
Yu Zhiyi sighed helplessly: "Your Majesty, I cannot arbitrarily interfere in other people's affairs."
emperor:"……"
Got it, he didn't pay.
Eunuch Hu immediately took out a gold bean from his pocket.
Although the gold beans are small, they are quite valuable, worth at least twenty or thirty taels of silver.
That was enough for Fu Qingyu to figure out the truth behind the Empress Dowager's scheme and the identity of the mastermind behind it all.
Yu Zhiyi accepted the silver: "It is from Consort Liang."
The number of concubines in the late emperor's harem was not large compared to other emperors throughout history, with only about twenty. Moreover, a third of them were women he had taken in before he ascended the throne.
Consort Liang was a concubine whom the late emperor married before he ascended the throne, and she was directly promoted to the rank of consort after he ascended the throne.
Consort Liang was kind and friendly, and had a good reputation both in the Prince's residence and in the harem.
Moreover, she has a heart that doesn't compete.
Therefore, neither the Eastern Empress Dowager nor the Western Empress Dowager trusted this person at all, nor did they have any suspicion of Prince Jing, whom she gave birth to.
In fact, King Jing has not demonstrated any talent over the years.
If it is said that the carefree prince did not want to compete because his own brother was the emperor, and only indulged in traveling and sightseeing, his own abilities and talents were quite outstanding.
King Jing was truly mediocre.
He was so mediocre that it was unimaginable what would drive someone to such despair as to seek refuge with him and cause trouble.
But now, someone is telling them that the person who plotted to kill the Empress Dowager is Consort Liang, who is known for her inaction.
The deeper meaning behind it is intriguing.
It concerned royal secrets, and although the emperor knew that Yu Zhiyi might have already seen through everything, he did not want her to continue speaking.
After all, royal matters are not as simple as black and white; sometimes the victims are not necessarily worthy of sympathy.
Thus, for the first time, Yu Zhiyi did not have to waste words explaining the cause and effect before the emperor magnanimously released her from the palace.
She naturally wouldn't want to be disliked, so after sending someone to inform Yao, she took the lead and headed towards the palace gate.
"Sister Yi..."
A trembling voice, like that of a pitiful abandoned puppy, rang out, and Yu Zhiyi paused slightly.
In just a moment, he continued walking forward without looking back.
Author's Note: Only one update tonight, will make up for it tomorrow. Goodnight, muah!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com