Chapter 149: Concubine Xian Dies Suddenly
The lights in Fenghe Palace were bright.
Although the layout was exactly the same as it was during the day, Concubine Xie could sense a sense of majesty and oppression that she had not noticed before.
She was in it and felt more and more tormented.
She kept pondering the Emperor and Empress's intention in summoning her. In an instant, her thoughts turned a thousand ways.
Before Concubine Xie could figure out anything, she heard a call from a high seat. It was Xie Chen's voice.
"Xianfei."
Concubine Xie observed the solemn expressions of the Emperor and Empress, and suddenly stood up. She said humbly, "Your humble servant is here."
After the call of "virtuous concubine", no one spoke in the palace for a long time.
Time seemed to be stretched infinitely, Concubine Xie felt uneasy, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead.
She had never been so anxious since she entered the palace.
Xie Chen, who was sitting on the main seat, glanced at her coldly and asked, "Do you have anything to say to me?"
Concubine Xie forced a smile and asked cautiously, "But was I disrespectful at the funeral of Concubine Shunzhen?"
In the past few days, Yuchuan had a fever several times. She was worried about him and could not stay in Yongfu Palace. She would go back to Yichun Palace every once in a while.
After much thought, she concluded that this was the only matter worthy of the Emperor and Empress summoning her.
Xie Chen had no expectations of her in the first place, so he didn't say much and just clapped his hands.
Liang Yao brought a lame eunuch who was tied up and had a cloth stuffed in his mouth.
When Concubine Xie saw the eunuch's face clearly in the hall, her pupils suddenly shrank.
It's him!
Concubine Xie almost couldn't keep her balance. It felt like there was a huge iron ball weighing thousands of pounds on her throat, making her almost speechless.
Xie Chen said coldly, "Do you know this person?"
Concubine Xie's chest heaved violently.
Of course she knew him.
This is her confidant placed in the Imperial Household Department.
The eunuch in charge of the flower room.
"this…"
Xie Chen said slowly, "Please don't tell me, Concubine Xian, that you don't know him."
Concubine Xie Xian tried her best to steady her trembling body and pretended to be calm. "Of course I know him. The emperor asked me to assist in the management of the six palaces, so I know all the chief eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department. This is Jian, the head eunuch of the flower room."
She needs to stay steady.
Don't panic.
It is easier to reveal your true identity when you panic.
Xie Chen's brows were cold: "So, you admit it?"
Concubine Xie Xian looked confused: "What is the emperor talking about? Your Majesty..."
Before she could finish her words, Xie Chen looked down at her from his superior position, his imposing aura overwhelming her.
The emperor's pressure is truly terrifying.
Concubine Xie's heart trembled, and the smile on her face froze. She pinched her palms hard, barely able to maintain her sanity.
"What is the emperor saying? I...I don't understand."
"You don't understand?"
This rhetorical question came from the mouth of Queen Cui. She changed her usual soft image and her brows became sharp.
"Then I'll make you understand. It wasn't Lin Zhaorong who framed Pei Zhaoyi in Linde Palace that day. It was you, right?"
Concubine Xie gritted her teeth and said, "Your Majesty, you are the head of the harem. You must be careful with your words. Hasn't this matter been concluded? It was Lin Zhaorong who did it. How did she become a concubine now?"
Queen Cui sneered,
"Xianfei is really stubborn. I will talk to her properly."
"You first learned that Pei Zhaoyi had someone prepare an ointment using fresh roses, so before the banquet that day, you specifically instructed the flower room manager to have fresh roses delivered to Changle Palace. You also told the palace maids that these flowers would wither in just one or two days."
"He deliberately sent one of Pei Zhaoyi's maids away and asked her to prepare the rose ointment. This made it easier for Pei Zhaoyi to bring a maid to the banquet."
"At the banquet, the maid Xi Que, whom you bribed, successfully spilled wine on Pei Zhaoyi and led her into the Linde Palace."
"First, he lit aphrodisiac incense in the hall, and then used an excuse to send away the only palace maid who was guarding Pei Zhaoyi."
"Then you had the young maid Xi Que give Pei Zhaoyi's maid a drugged incense, knocking her unconscious but not completely. This allowed her to overhear Xi Que and Lin Qinglan's fake conversation, leading her to mistakenly believe that Lin Zhaorong was responsible."
"After completing this, you had Pei Zhaoyi's maid thrown into the empty dormitories where the palace servants lived. Taking advantage of the guards' shift change, you had Lin Qinglan lure a guard who had inhaled aphrodisiac incense into the harem. Then you locked up the Linde Hall, hoping to discredit Pei Zhaoyi and accuse her of causing chaos in the harem."
"It's just that you didn't expect Pei Zhaoyi to escape. But you didn't fail, because the other half succeeded."
"Pei Zhaoyi's maid really did identify Lin Zhaorong, and Lin Qinglan, who was coerced and bribed by you, also identified Lin Zhaorong, almost nailing Lin Zhaorong as the real murderer."
"You were afraid that the longer you waited, the more trouble you'd cause, so you started using the child again. You first told Yuchuan about this and lured him to the prince's residence to look for Yuqi. Sure enough, Yuchuan went there, and you got what you wanted and took Yuqi with you."
"After Lin Qinglan confessed, you had a palace servant accidentally tell Yuqi the news, causing him to run to Yongfu Palace. You pretended to follow him and, under the pretext of not being able to bear it, had the guards open the gates of Yongfu Palace."
"After taking advantage of the opportunity to enter Yongfu Palace, he brought this news to Lin Zhaorong, leaving her heartbroken and unable to express her determination, so she could only commit suicide."
"Not only did you allow the drugged guards into Linde Palace to frame Pei Zhaoyi, but you also diverted the blame and framed Lin Zhaorong. All of this forces me to say, Concubine Xian, you are truly resourceful."
Empress Cui finished her narration calmly and looked up at the figure in the hall.
"At this point, Concubine Xian, do you have anything to say?"
Concubine Xie felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She remained motionless in the hall, like an ice sculpture.
She never expected that her so-called brilliant plan would be completely exposed in front of the emperor and empress, without missing a single detail!
How should she go on the next journey?
At this point, is it any use for her to argue further?
I'm afraid that if she doesn't plead guilty, everyone in Yichun Palace will be sent to the Ministry of Punishment. In that place, under severe torture, even Hua Ying might not be able to withstand it.
Concubine Xie gave a bitter smile.
She never thought that this small oversight by the flower housekeeper would become the reason for her failure.
If she had known this, she should have been more cautious and not left anyone alive. However, this subtle detail was something that a brainless person would not have thought of.
If Pei Zhaoyi hadn't noticed that the flowers that day were deliberately sent by the Imperial Household Department, the Emperor and Empress would not have been able to follow this clue to find out.
This Pei Zhaoyi...
Is Pei Zhaoyi really as simple as she seems?
Concubine Xie suddenly got goosebumps all over her body.
She was wrong.
No, not only her, all the concubines in the six palaces were wrong.
They never saw the true face of Pei Zhaoyi.
She was involved in every incident, including the incident of Concubine Jiang Shufei losing her son, the incident of Shen Baolin's burn ointment, the incident of Linde Palace, and even the incident of the falling plaque of Bixiao Palace that caused the feud between her and Lin Zhaorong. But she was safe and sound every time. Was she really lucky?
Concubine Xie didn't dare to think about it too deeply, and the emperor and empress didn't allow her to think about it too deeply either.
Xie Chen said calmly, "Go back to the palace."
Concubine Xie looked up in disbelief.
What does this mean?
Won't she be punished anymore?
Let her return to the palace?
She was a member of the royal family and had given birth to a prince, but Concubine Xie did not think that this would keep her safe.
This incident killed Concubine Shunzhen and left the eldest prince without a mother.
The emperor and empress will not let her go so easily.
So what does it mean to let her return to the palace...
Xie Chen's eyes were dark as he said, "Tomorrow morning, I will announce to all the six palaces that Consort Xian has died suddenly."
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