Chapter 138 Thunderous Fury
After Concubine Song had settled the people, she returned to Zhanghua Palace with a gloomy face.
Xie Chen on the high platform looked at her and found something wrong, so he made an excuse to come to the back of the hall.
His brows were furrowed tightly, and before the palace servants could even leave, he asked, "What's going on?"
Concubine Song didn't reply to him, but only looked at Liang Yao behind him, "Tell the Empress to let her preside over the banquet from now on."
Liang Yao glanced at Xie Chen, then took the order and left.
Xie Chen restrained his expression, staring at Concubine Song with his dark eyes, "Did something happen to her?"
Concubine Song turned her face away, her voice filled with bitterness, "The situation is not good. The person is in Chengming Palace. Go and see for yourself."
The situation is not good.
These few words made Xie Chen's aura turn cold.
Now he just wanted to see the woman, and didn't even have time to ask Concubine Song what was wrong.
He got on the sedan chair and said,
"Return to Chengming Palace."
Along the way, Xie Chen was anxious, with veins throbbing on his head, and he wished he could fly back.
The distance that seemed very short in the past seemed endless to him today.
After repeated urging, he lost his patience.
"Stop."
Xie Chen got off the sedan chair with a cold expression and strode towards Chengming Palace.
He took big steps, and the palace servants behind him almost had to jog to keep up with him.
Countless thoughts raced through Xie Chen's mind along the way. By the time he reached Chengming Palace, his aura was even colder than the biting wind outside. Just looking at him was like being immersed in a mountain of unmelted snow, a bone-chilling piercing pain.
As soon as he entered the hall, Xie Chen heard the woman's roar.
“Get out!”
"Everyone get out! No one is allowed to come in!"
“…”
She has never been like this before!
Xie Chen's heart was in a state of anxiety.
He lifted the curtain and entered the warm room.
A large number of palace maids and eunuchs knelt at the door of the bedroom. At the front were Judge Xia and Judge Ning. The two imperial doctors had sad faces and lowered their heads to discuss something.
Before Xie Chen could ask any questions, a little palace maid ran out from the bedroom, looking like she was about to cry, and said to the two imperial doctors,
"This servant is useless. Empress Zhaoyi still refuses to let anyone get close to her."
Judge Ning sighed, "What should we do? We must find a way to stop the bleeding for the Empress."
Judge Xia also sighed, "How about sending someone to Changle Palace to ask a palace maid close to Empress Zhaoyi to come over?"
From the moment Xie Chen heard the word "blood", blood began to seep into his eyes.
"Stop the bleeding?"
A cold voice sounded in the warm room.
Everyone was startled and turned around. After seeing the emperor, they kowtowed and greeted him.
Xie Chen looked across the crowd at the two imperial physicians and asked, "What kind of blood do you want to know?"
He looked horrible.
Physician Ning was startled and replied tremblingly, "The Concubine Zhaoyi injured her hand and bled profusely. I, along with Court Judge Xia, prepared an ointment for her, but because of the effects of the medicine, she has been reluctant to see anyone."
"What's the effect?"
Although the palace was warm as spring, Ning Yuanpan still shivered uncontrollably. He looked at the furious emperor and said with a fearless attitude, "It's the effect of the aphrodisiac."
Xie Chen closed his eyes tightly.
Try your best to suppress the violent emotions in your heart.
After opening his eyes again, he reached out and took the ointment from the little palace maid's hand and went into the inner chamber.
The bedroom was in a mess, with soft pillows and broken porcelain pieces lying across the floor tiles, the storybooks that were usually placed on the dragon bed and small table, and even the candlesticks were thrown on the ground.
After taking a look, Xie Chen searched for Pei Tingyue's figure, and finally saw her shadowy figure through the gilded bed curtains.
He took a few quick steps toward the couch.
A soft pillow flew over, and the woman's voice was heard in despair, "Don't come in! Don't come in!"
Xie Chen avoided the soft golden pillow and came to the dragon couch.
The moment he saw the woman, his eyes turned bloodshot.
She was curled up in the dragon bed, her clothes were disheveled, her face was full of red clouds, tears were hanging on her long eyelashes, and she kept wiping her face with a wet towel in her right hand.
Not only was her dress disheveled, but it was also covered in shocking bloodstains. Her left hand had been roughly bandaged, and the bloodstains had stained the white gauze.
Seeing this scene, Xie Chen's heart was tugged by an invisible hand, and the pain made him unable to stand steadily.
He lowered his voice, "Tingyue, I'm here."
Hearing the familiar voice, the woman on the couch looked up in disbelief.
The moment I saw him, tears started to fall from my eyes.
She seemed to be complaining.
"Your Majesty, why did you come so late?"
Xie Chen's heart was broken by her crying. He sat on the bed, held her waist and put her on his lap, comforting her.
"It's my fault. I'm late."
Pei Tingyue cried in his arms, but her hands did not stop moving.
Xie Chen originally thought that she was using the wet wipes to cool down and make herself feel more comfortable, but now that he was holding her in his arms, he didn't think so.
Her delicate face had been wiped red, and there were even signs of broken skin and blood oozing out, but she seemed unaware of the pain and continued to wipe.
Xie Chen held her hand, trying to calm her down, but as soon as he took off the handkerchief, the woman in his arms frantically tried to grab it.
Xie Chen touched her back soothingly, "Your face is clean now, no need to wipe it."
Unexpectedly, this sentence made Pei Tingyue even more upset. She cried and said, "It's not clean! It's not clean!"
Just as Xie Chen was about to ask something, Pei Tingyue almost fainted in his arms, "He touched me, he touched my face."
Xie Chen's body stiffened, and he asked in a hoarse voice,
"who?"
Pei Tingyue's eyes were extremely red and swollen, and her voice was broken. "They drugged me, locked me in the palace, and also brought a guard in."
“I can’t get out… I can’t get out…”
“…”
She cried intermittently as she spoke about what had just happened.
Xie Chen considered himself a wise ruler.
But today, for the first time, he had violent thoughts and he almost couldn't control the urge to kill.
His eyes were red and he let the smell of blood spread between his lips and teeth.
After crying, Pei Tingyue tried to grab the wet wipes again, but she had no strength and collapsed on him. The effect of the medicine rushed over again, and her vision began to blur again.
Her abnormality brought Xie Chen back to his senses suddenly.
After finally holding her hostage, Xie Chen first untied the white gauze on her hand, revealing the hideous wound.
Since seeing the wound, Xie Chen has been shaking all over.
The woman was clearly fine yesterday, but today I didn't keep a close eye on her and she became like this.
The thundering anger in my chest reached its peak.
No matter how gentle his movements were, the woman in his arms still cried out in pain. Her cry made Xie Chen's sharp pain in his heart even more painful.
After applying the ointment, he felt like a hole had been torn in his heart.
Xie Chen fell completely silent.
His features were terrifyingly calm.
If Liang Yao were here, he would definitely see that the emperor's expression today was exactly the same as the day he forced the emperor to abdicate four years ago, which was a precursor to a massacre.
After applying the medicine, Xie Chen relieved the pain of the woman in his arms.
The aphrodisiac was very effective, and it took him an hour to carry the unconscious woman to the side hall to take a bath.
He avoided her wounds, carefully washed away the smell of blood, and then carried her back to the inner bedroom.
While the emperor was bathing, the palace servants had already cleaned the bedroom and changed the bedding.
Xie Chen placed her on the bed, covered her with a quilt, then sat on the bed and stared at her for a long time. He gave her a kiss and left the bedroom.
"Tingyue, wait for me to come back."
*
“Boom!”
Thunder suddenly sounded in the sky.
The sun, which was originally bright, suddenly became gloomy, dark clouds gathered, and lightning and thunder flashed.
The wind, snow and cold rain fell down.
Xie Chen left the bedroom.
Countless palace maids were kneeling in the warm room, including Liang Yao.
Seeing him come out, Liang Yao replied in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the Empress and all the concubines are waiting in the side hall."
Hearing this, Xie Chen's eyes turned dark and he led people to the side hall.
"Your humble servant/concubine pays homage to His Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with good health and happiness."
After hearing the announcement, the beauties in the hall immediately knelt down and saluted.
As usual, Xie Chen would definitely help Queen Cui up and exempt everyone from the formalities.
But this time, he sat directly on the throne and did not speak for a long time.
The concubines became even more confused.
After the banquet, he asked them to come to Chengming Palace, but when they arrived, they behaved like this. What was the emperor doing?
Queen Cui and several concubines, who were in the lead, keenly noticed that something was wrong with his mood and became more cautious in their actions.
In just a moment, one of the concubines at the back lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Looking closely, it was Qu Cairen.
She was the concubine who entered the palace with Pei Tingyue. She was given the title of Qu Baolin and remained unknown until she played a stunning pipa piece at the emperor's banquet, which won everyone's praise. When the emperor conferred titles on the concubines in the harem, she was successfully promoted to a talented person.
She was a bit perceptive. Seeing the cold atmosphere in the palace, she hurriedly got up and knelt down to beg for mercy, "I have been disrespectful. I beg the emperor to forgive me."
After a while, Xie Chen opened his eyelids coldly and said something very ruthless, "Qu Cairen has been disrespectful in front of the emperor. She is demoted to a concubine and confined to her house for six months."
Qu Baolin turned pale.
She lost her strength and collapsed to the ground.
She never expected that just because she didn't stand firm, she would be demoted two ranks and grounded for half a year.
She didn't want to be reduced to a concubine.
The imperial concubine is of the eighth rank, which has been the position of a palace maid after serving the emperor in bed since ancient times. She is only served by one palace maid, and her allowance is pitifully small.
She cried and begged for mercy.
Xie Chen looked at Liang Yao and asked, "Are you waiting for me to drag her down?"
Liang Yao felt bitter.
How could he have the courage to think like that?
He hurriedly asked the eunuch to pull Qu...Qu Yu Nu away.
The hall became quiet again.
Now all the concubines understood.
The emperor is angry.
Although the reason was unclear, the emperor was furious and the concubines dared not offend him. They kept silent and held their breath, becoming more respectful.
Finally, an indifferent voice sounded in the hall.
"Get up and sit down."
The concubines felt relieved and stood up. As soon as they moved, they realized that their legs were extremely sore and numb. They rested in their respective seats for a while before they felt better.
Empress Cui glanced at Xie Chen's expression as he sat in the main seat and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty has asked me to come here, is there something you want to discuss?"
Xie Chen glanced at the concubines and said solemnly, "At today's banquet, a concubine tampered with the banquet."
Queen Cui's expression changed.
She was so smart that when she thought about Pei Tingyue's late return to the banquet and the emperor's early departure, she guessed what had happened.
"Did someone attack Pei Zhaoyi?"
Xie Chen responded.
Empress Cui frowned and asked, "Is Pei Zhaoyi and the dragon fetus in her belly okay?"
Xie Chen sneered, "If something happens to her, wouldn't that be exactly what you want?"
Even Queen Cui didn't dare to respond.
The palace was eerily quiet. The concubines looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.
Xie was silent for a moment, then ordered Liang Yao, "Go and summon all the palace servants who served in Zhanghua Palace today, as well as the guards of Linde Palace. Then order the imperial guards to find Pei Zhaoyi's maid."
"yes."
In about an incense stick's time, the Chengming Palace courtyard was filled with palace maids and eunuchs.
These are the palace maids serving in Zhanghua Palace today.
The chief eunuch headed by Zhanghua Palace knelt in the center of the hall waiting to be questioned.
Xie Chen tapped his knuckles on the armrest of the dragon throne and asked in a deep voice, "Among the palace maids serving today, is there a little maid named Fang Fei?"
The chief eunuch thought carefully and said, "Your Majesty, there is no maid under my command with this name."
Xie Chen nodded, not surprised at all.
He had guessed early on that it was a pseudonym.
He looked at a palace concubine in the hall, "Lin Zhaorong, do you still remember what the little palace maid who fell next to Pei Zhaoyi looked like?"
Lin Zhaorong, whose name was called, carefully recalled the scene. Because of the accidental fall, she glanced to the side several times, and indeed glanced at the young palace maid several times.
She stood up and replied, "If I saw it, I would definitely recognize it."
"Then go to the courtyard and identify it."
Lin Zhaorong stood up and went out of the hall.
It was snowing heavily outside, with heavy snow falling down. This was the second heavy snowfall in Kyoto since the beginning of winter. It seemed that this year would be a cold winter.
The snow, wrapped in a chilly wind, stung her face. It took Lin Zhaorong a while to adjust before she dared to open her eyes. A palace maid held an umbrella for her, and she glanced at the maids in the courtyard one by one.
I looked around but found nothing.
She returned to the palace and frowned as she asked the chief eunuch, "Are all the people serving in Zhanghua Palace here today?"
The chief eunuch replied, "Madam Zhaorong, they are all here, not one is missing."
Lin Zhaorong was puzzled: "That's strange, I didn't see that little palace maid."
The chief eunuch stammered in silence.
Suddenly, she realized, "The entire Zhanghua Palace is extremely busy with the banquet today. Perhaps these young palace maids have some close sisters who have come to help them."
Xie Chen, who was at the head of the group, narrowed his eyes and said, "Go and ask."
This time I really got something out of it.
There are a total of twenty palace maids in Zhanghua Palace. They are too busy to attend the grand banquet today, so five of the palace maids' sisters came to help.
Liang Yao took people to look for the five palace maids who helped him, but brought back bad news.
One of the palace maids, named Xi Que, had committed suicide by taking poison. When she was found, her body was stiff.
After hearing the news, Queen Cui sighed, "This must be that little palace maid."
Xie Chen looked at the concubines and said coldly: "You are good, it is best not to let me find out, otherwise-"
He didn't say what happened next, but all the concubines in the palace knew it.
The clues were cut off here, and the matter came to a standstill for a while.
The few guards who were originally guarding Zhanghua Palace had all left the palace after changing shifts, so it would take some time to find them.
But none of the concubines dared to say they were tired, and they could only be forced to wait.
Not long after, Liang Yao came in and said, "Found it, found it."
Empress Cui was surprised: "These guards entered the palace so quickly?"
"Your Majesty, we have found Pei Zhaoyi's maid, Yun Shu."
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