Chapter 75: Shocking Old Grudges
Pei Tingyue's expression was stern: "What happened back then?"
Liang An sighed: "It was a very eventful spring."
"In the third year of Xining, just after the Lunar New Year, Concubine Liang, the most favored of the six imperial concubines, suddenly fainted while paying respects at Fenghe Palace. The Empress hurriedly sent for the imperial physician, who, after examining her pulse, discovered a happy news: Concubine Liang was three months pregnant."
"The Emperor and the Empress were overjoyed. Even the Empress Dowager, who was known for her indifference to worldly affairs, visited Concubine Liang twice at Yaohua Palace. Countless gifts were sent to Yaohua Palace. The Emperor even set a date and announced the appointment of Concubine Liang as a First-Rank Imperial Concubine before the child was born."
"She favored some over others. Naturally, such glory and favor bestowed upon Concubine Liang aroused the jealousy of the other concubines. Concubine Liang knew this very well. To prevent this, she cut off all contact with the concubines and ignored all the concubines in the harem."
"From then on, Concubine Liang was only close to one person, and that was the Empress. The Empress was known throughout the palace for her generosity, and since Concubine Liang entered the palace, she had become more reassured by the Empress. So, even though she had cut off contact with others, she never alienated the Empress. To show her respect, she even visited Fenghe Palace every day to pay her respects, even though she was pregnant."
"Even though Concubine Liang was so careful, she couldn't resist the evil intentions of the concubines. Her food and belongings were tampered with. If it weren't for her own carefulness and the Empress's repeated inspections, the child would have been gone long ago. It is because of the Empress's care and protection that Concubine Liang is extremely grateful to her."
Pei Tingyue was puzzled. "So, shouldn't Concubine Liang's relationship with the Queen be getting even better? But why do you say there's something hidden? Could it be that Concubine Liang's loss of her child is related to the Queen?"
"It's far from that simple." Liang An paused, "Not only does Concubine Liang hate the Empress, but the Empress probably hates Concubine Liang even more. It's a fight to the death between them."
Pei Tingyue's brows were stern: "A game of life and death?"
"That's right." Liang An spoke slowly, "In the past, Fenghe Palace had two female officials, one named Zhibi and the other named Zhiwu. Both were illegitimate children of the Cui family. When the Empress was the Crown Princess, they entered the Eastern Palace with her."
Pei Tingyue seemed to be lost in thought: "But since I entered the palace, I have only known Zhiwu and have never heard of Zhibi. Could it be that the knot of eternal rebellion has happened to her?"
Liang An praised: "Jieyu is very perceptive."
"During those days, the Empress was busy handling palace affairs and felt unwell. However, due to the numerous palace duties and the need to care for Consort Liang, she did not summon the imperial physician to take her pulse. It was only when the Emperor accompanied the Empress for dinner that he noticed that she looked unwell and summoned the imperial physician."
"After taking her pulse, I discovered that the Empress is pregnant!"
"Two great joyous events suddenly occurred in the palace. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager were overjoyed and celebrated once again. The Empress and Concubine Liang were both pregnant, giving them endless topics to talk about. Concubine Liang shared her experience with morning sickness, and the Empress prepared duplicates of everything for the baby. The two grew closer and closer, becoming like real sisters."
Pei Tingyue took a breath of cold air.
The Queen was pregnant?!
But now the queen has no children, which can only mean that the child had a miscarriage.
"So, how did Concubine Liang lose her child? And how did the Queen lose her child? And what did Zhibi do about it?"
Liang An took a deep breath and said, "That day, the Empress asked Judge Xia to prepare some medicine to maintain her pregnancy. She found it very good, so she sent Zhibi to give a bowl to Concubine Liang.
"The medicine had been inspected in Fenghe Palace, and Zhibi personally brought it there. It hadn't passed through anyone else's hands. Concubine Liang didn't suspect anything and simply took the bowl of medicine and drank it."
"It was this bowl of pregnancy-preserving medicine that completely turned the entire harem upside down."
The dim candlelight danced, illuminating Liang An's delicate features. His tone darkened, "After Empress Liang drank the medicine, she suffered from persistent abdominal pain that night. Yaohua Palace was thrown into chaos. Most of the imperial physicians went, but they still couldn't save the child."
"The Emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. The Imperial Physician examined the bowl of abortion-preserving medicine that Concubine Liang had taken that afternoon and found something that could harm the fetus."
"The Emperor was shocked, and the Empress was even more astonished. They ordered Zhibi to be brought to them, but she mysteriously disappeared from the palace and could not be found. The servants searched her apartment and found something hidden in the bed that could harm the fetus."
Pei Tingyue's hair stood on end: "What's going on?"
With the Queen's scheming, there are countless ways to harm Concubine Liang. There is no need to poison her under a real name, and she even sent her trusted palace maid to do it herself.
But if it wasn't the queen, who had the ability to bribe the female officials around her and set up this trap?
A flash of inspiration came to Pei Tingyue's mind, but when she thought about it carefully, it disappeared.
Liang An continued, "That wasn't the most fatal thing. The most fatal thing was that the guards found a half-burned letter from home in the brazier in Zhibi's room. It vaguely recorded how the Empress had instructed her, how she had left her a way out, and how she was terrified and struggling..."
"Also, according to the palace guards' confessions, Zhibi left the palace that evening holding the Fenghe Palace token."
"All these incidents, one after another, almost killed the Empress, blamed on the real culprit behind the incident."
"But the Emperor didn't believe it, and the Empress vehemently refuted it. The matter reached a stalemate, and we had no choice but to arrest Zhibi and bring her to justice for further investigation."
"But when Concubine Liang woke up and learned her child was gone, she went berserk and questioned the Empress, even disregarding her status and striking her several times. It was only when the Emperor himself knocked Concubine Liang unconscious that the farce was finally stopped."
Pei Tingyue seemed to be seeing a scene from the past. She speculated, "Could it be that Concubine Liang was too aggressive and accidentally hurt the Empress?"
"The Empress was already three months pregnant at the time, so she wasn't that fragile." Liang An sighed, "But the Empress's child could also be said to have been conceived by Concubine Liang herself."
"The Emperor originally wanted to have the Empress return to Fenghe Palace to prevent Concubine Liang from losing control of her emotions again, but the Empress said that those who are innocent will be innocent, and she wanted to explain everything to Concubine Liang."
"When Concubine Liang woke up again, the Empress apologized to her in tears, admitting her fault for not controlling her people. She even pledged justice to the Cui family with the entire clan. The Empress, always so high and mighty, had never lowered herself so low before, and her words were so sincere that Concubine Liang believed her and finally fainted in her arms."
"This 'letter' was just what everyone thought it was. The next day, an even bigger mess arose. Concubine Liang, forcing herself to go to Fenghe Palace, apologized, saying that she had been so emotionally over the loss of her child the previous day that she deserved to be punished for her insubordination. She even personally fed the Empress Dowager some medicine. The Empress Dowager was already feeling guilty, so why would she punish Concubine Liang? She held Concubine Liang's hand and said that the child in her belly was theirs alone, and that they would raise it together."
"Empress Liang felt the Empress's belly and found it normal at first, but then she became frantic, crying and laughing non-stop. The Empress then realized something was wrong. Blood was seeping onto her dress, and the palace maids hurriedly summoned the imperial physician."
Pei Tingyue asked with difficulty: "How did Concubine Liang poison you?"
Liang An said: "Hide it in the fingernail, and take it out secretly after the doctor finishes the examination."
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