Chapter 87 The Last Laugh
It's late at night and everyone is asleep.
Zhaoyuan Palace.
The bedroom was quiet, with only Concubine Shen Liang half-sitting on the couch. She was still in the same posture as before, and it looked like she had been sitting there for a long time.
The palace maid Yuling was holding a small jar of ointment and was just about to enter, lifting the beaded curtain. "Your Majesty, this is the ointment that Xia Yuan has just prepared for you. I will apply it on you..."
Her voice suddenly stopped when she saw the situation on the couch. After a moment of blankness, Yuling rushed to the side of the couch and said hurriedly, "My Lady, why are you crying? Does your wound hurt?"
Concubine Shen Liang burst into tears. She covered her heart and said sadly, "Yuling, my wound doesn't hurt, but my heart hurts."
"Did you just see that? The Emperor slapped me in the face for the first time because of Concubine Pei."
Seeing her cry, Yuling couldn't help but feel grief-stricken as well, hot tears rolling down her face. "Your Majesty, perhaps the Emperor was temporarily bewitched by Concubine Pei's appearance, that's why he is like this."
Concubine Shen Liang cried sadly, but her thoughts were clear. "Do you think the emperor is someone who can be bewitched by a woman's appearance? He clearly has feelings for Concubine Pei!"
Yuling said hurriedly, "Even if the emperor has feelings for Concubine Pei, it's only a little bit, and can't be compared to the empress at all. Think about it, the emperor has never seen Concubine Pei in all these days, but he comes to Zhaoyuan Palace every day to apply medicine for you. It can be seen that in the emperor's heart, the empress is still the most important."
Concubine Shen Liang's palm was almost crushed, but even so, the pain in her heart still made her eyes go black. She murmured, "But I won't accept this!"
"Pei Jieyu is just a shield for me. What qualifications does she have to compete with me for the emperor's heart?!"
"The Emperor's heart should belong to me completely!"
"How could this happen... How could there be someone else..."
Concubine Shen Liang's tears kept falling like beads from a broken string.
She couldn't figure it out, and she couldn't understand it.
It seemed like I had entered an alley and couldn't find the exit.
Seeing her in so much pain, Yuling also started crying.
The master and servant cried bitterly for a while.
After crying, Concubine Shen Liang just sat there, looking haggard, neither speaking nor moving.
Yuling calmed down, took the ointment, applied it to her wound, and earnestly advised, "My Queen, have you forgotten the oath we made when we set the fire? It's only been a month since you were released. You must not lose your fighting spirit, even for the sake of your unborn child."
The word "child" woke Concubine Shen Liang up.
She touched her belly and murmured,
"Yes, I can't lose my fighting spirit because of this."
"When I set fire to the palace, I swore that I wanted the emperor's love and the position of empress."
At this point, the cruelty in Shen Liangfei's eyes was fully exposed.
"Pei Jieyu can escape from my hands once. I don't believe she can escape twice, three times, five times, or ten times!"
"As long as I get rid of her, the Emperor's heart will still belong completely to me!"
"And the Queen! I will sacrifice her life to commemorate my child!"
Seeing that she hadn't lost heart, Yuling smiled with relief, "Your Majesty, these things can't be rushed. We have to plan slowly."
"Although we didn't get rid of Concubine Pei this time, at least we got rid of Concubine Qin. Without her, we have one less rival for the Empress's favor."
"The most important thing for your Majesty now is to recover from your injuries, pass on the green card, consolidate the emperor's favor, and prevent the emperor from continuing to be interested in Concubine Pei."
"When Concubine Pei falls out of favor, it will be a good time for us to take action."
Concubine Shen Liang gritted her teeth, picked up the ointment, and repeatedly applied a layer to the wound, "This palace will definitely have the last laugh."
*
The rear hall of Cining Palace.
The palace maids came and went and soon cleaned up the hall.
Seeing that the room was tidied, Queen Mother Qin dismissed her attendants and slowly said to Qin Jie... Qin Baolin: "For the next six months, you can copy Buddhist scriptures in Aijia Palace. It's a good time to calm your mind."
Qin Baolin knelt down in front of Queen Mother Qin with a plop. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. "Aunt, Yan'er really didn't do this! They framed Yan'er!"
Queen Mother Qin twirled the Buddhist beads in her hand and said, "I naturally know it wasn't you who did it."
"Aunt, why don't you believe..." Qin Baolin was halfway through her protest when she realized something was wrong. She became excited and said, "Aunt, do you believe Yan'er?"
"It's not that I don't trust you." Queen Mother Qin closed her eyes lightly, "I know everything you do."
Qin Baolin suddenly felt that the back hall was gloomy. Even though it was summer, she felt a chill. "Aunt, what do you mean by knowing everything?"
Queen Mother Qin said nothing.
But Qin Baolin's personal maid Fuling knelt on the ground.
Qin Baolin pointed at her with a trembling finger: "You...you..."
She wanted to curse him as a traitor, but she didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Queen Mother Qin, so she could only withdraw her hand.
She quickly reacted and knelt down again. "Aunt, since you know Yan'er is innocent, you must think of a way to help her. The emperor doesn't believe her and has demoted her to Baolin and confined her to her house for six months. How is Yan'er going to live in the future?"
Qin Baolin burst into tears.
Queen Mother Qin glanced at her calmly and stopped what she was doing. "Shut up, Aijia."
Although the Queen Mother's voice was not loud, it was very effective. Qin Baolin really did not dare to cry out loud, but could only shed tears silently.
Soon, Nanny Meng, who was beside Queen Mother Qin, came in.
Looking at the scene in the palace, she sighed, "Empress Dowager, I have investigated thoroughly. You are right, it was she who did it."
Before Queen Mother Qin could speak, Qin Baolin suddenly raised his head and asked repeatedly, "What did she do? Who is she? Is she the murderer behind this?"
"Yes." Nanny Meng replied.
"Who framed me?" Qin Baolin said this with gritted teeth, obviously very angry.
Nanny Meng glanced at Queen Mother Qin and, seeing that she didn't stop him, said, "It's Consort Liang."
Qin Baolin's eyes widened. "I told you that Concubine Liang was directing and acting this out herself! She really used a great scheme. She could frame Concubine Pei or me. It's all good for her!"
As she spoke, she stood up, her face becoming increasingly agitated. "Madam Meng, you've found evidence, haven't you? Come with me to the Emperor and explain everything clearly. I'm going to make sure Concubine Liang gets the punishment she deserves!"
She turned around and was about to pull Nanny Meng out.
Queen Mother Qin slammed the Buddhist beads onto the small table with a "slap" sound and said, "Stop right there!"
Qin Baolin turned around and asked anxiously, "Aunt, why are you stopping Yan'er? Nanny Meng has already tracked it down and has the evidence. Can't she go and tell the emperor?"
Matron Meng broke free from her restraints and said, "There is no evidence. I simply followed the Empress Dowager's suspicions and uncovered a few clues. From these few clues, I was able to identify the true culprit."
Qin Baolin froze in place, motionless.
Queen Mother Qin glanced at her and scolded her lightly, "You have no patience at all! You are always suspicious!"
"You also know that you need evidence. What is the evidence? The evidence is your hair ornaments and hairpins found in Imperial Physician Gao's residence. That's the evidence! Not my guess!"
"You useless thing! All these days in the palace, you've been busy fighting with others. You can't even guard your own palace gates. Who do you blame for letting someone take advantage of you? You can only blame yourself for being useless!"
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