Chapter 187: Get rid of the thorn in the eye?
Zhao Hongling didn't know what she had done wrong. When she left, Concubine Rong was quite easygoing towards her. Why did she suddenly become like this?
She asked carefully, "Your Highness, did Hongling do anything wrong? I hope Your Highness can give me some advice."
Concubine Rong thought Zhao Hongling was pretending to be stupid, and she was so angry that she picked up the teacup and threw it at Zhao Hongling.
"How dare you pretend! Tell me, who ordered you to do this! If you tell the truth, everyone can still survive. Otherwise, the entire Zhao family will be implicated by you!"
Zhao Hongling didn't dare to hide, and was hit on the head by the cup. She didn't care about the pain on her forehead, and asked fearfully: "My Lady, I really don't know what I did wrong. Please let me go!"
Unsatisfied, Concubine Rong kicked him again, angrily saying, "The Emperor was fine before you came. After you left, he became like a mad beast. Not only did he demand the maids waiting in the house, he even ran outside the courtyard to get maids. In the end, he bled from his lower body and fainted! Tell me, was this you who did it?"
Zhao Hongling finally understood what was going on. She kept shaking her head and explaining, "My Lady, how could I possibly do such a thing? If anything happened to the Zhao family, I would be dead! Besides, from home to the palace, all of my family members are my grandfather's people. How could I possibly do that?"
Concubine Rong was stunned and subconsciously thought, could it be that her grandfather sent someone to poison her?
She was suddenly frightened by her own thoughts, shook her head, and said, "Impossible! The imperial physician is treating the emperor in the back now, so you just keep kneeling here! No matter who it is, you have to admit defeat! Anyway, the Zhao family can't be in trouble!"
Zhao Hongling knew she was going to be sacrificed, and she cried out, trying to pull at Concubine Rong's clothes, "My Lady, please let me go! I'm innocent! Please!"
Concubine Rong kicked Zhao Hongling's hand away, her eyes filled with indifference. "If anyone is to blame, you can only blame yourself for seducing the Emperor. Otherwise, why would the Emperor summon you so often? You have made my beautiful Jinhua Palace a mess. Kneel here and repent!"
Zhao Hongling said unwillingly, "Your Majesty! Don't you know that it was my grandfather's idea? He saw that you had no children, so he came up with this idea. If I could conceive a dragon seed, he would send me to the palace to be raised by you! You know all this! Why are you blaming me now?"
The more Concubine Rong listened, the angrier she became. Honestly, the Emperor had summoned Zhao Hongling more often than she had! She couldn't get pregnant, and it was all because the Emperor never came to Jinhua Palace!
I've spent my best years in this Jinhua Palace, but I've gained nothing!
"How dare you accuse me, you scoundrel grandfather! Come, beat me up!"
After Concubine Rong gave the order, the two servants swung their sticks and hit Zhao Hongling again.
The sound of "pa pa pa" dissipated a lot of the resentment in Concubine Rong's heart.
However, Zhao Hongling was knocked unconscious.
Concubine Rong wanted to have someone wake up Zhao Hongling and continue beating her, but someone from the backyard came with a message, asking Concubine Rong and Zhao Hongling to come to the audience together.
Therefore, Concubine Rong had to swallow her anger temporarily and had Zhao Hongling dragged to the backyard.
At the same time, Liang Jingyao put the tiles back on and went to the backyard.
In the same secluded room, Emperor Liang had regained consciousness, but the pain in his lower body left him with little strength to speak.
However, when Concubine Rong and Zhao Hongling appeared again, all the pain in Emperor Liang turned into anger!
He pointed at the two women in front of him and cursed, "Women have the most vicious hearts! I, I will exterminate all nine of your clans!"
Concubine Rong was terrified, her face pale and her previous arrogance completely gone. She knelt on the ground and begged bitterly, "Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with me! I have never been here. The people in the kitchen are all from the Imperial Kitchen. From beginning to end, it was all done by Zhao Hongling! I hope Your Majesty will consider my grandfather's sake and revoke your order!"
When Emperor Liang heard Concubine Rong mention Grand Tutor Zhao, his anger subsided a little, but there were only these people in Jinhua Palace, and the patrol force of the entire palace had been increased several times. Who else had the ability to sneak in without being noticed?
"Someone, go and invite Grand Tutor Zhao!" Emperor Liang ordered with gritted teeth.
After a while, Grand Tutor Zhao hurried to the palace. This was probably the most embarrassing time he had ever experienced since he entered the officialdom!
"Your Majesty, this old minister pays homage to His Majesty. Long live the Emperor!" Grand Tutor Zhao knelt respectfully on the ground, not even daring to raise his head.
Emperor Liang didn't let Grand Tutor Zhao get up. He said in a cold tone, "Grand Tutor Zhao, do you think that since I've taken in so many concubines and will marry a queen soon, and that Concubine Rong and Zhao Hongling haven't given birth to a prince yet, your Zhao family is getting restless, right?"
Master Zhao knelt on the ground and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "No, I would never dare to have such a thought! Hongling and Hongjin are so lucky to be able to serve the emperor!"
Emperor Liang asked with a dark face, "So, this is how you repay me? Grand Tutor Zhao, you've been in this position for too long and don't know who you are anymore. That's why you even dared to poison me! Are you, the Zhao family, tired of living?"
Grand Tutor Zhao knew that this must have been a frame-up, but the bad thing was that the incident happened in Jinhua Palace, and everyone inside and outside was either the emperor's people or his own people. No matter how he explained it now, he couldn't explain it away!
He kowtowed desperately on the ground, begging bitterly, "Your Majesty, I have always been loyal to you. There must be a traitor involved in today's incident! I think the most urgent thing is to seal off the palace and capture the traitor!"
Emperor Liang acted as if he had just heard a joke and asked, "Then tell me, who is this traitor? What does he look like? Where is he hiding?"
Grand Tutor Zhao was speechless for a moment and didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He walked up to Zhao Hongling and slapped her, cursing, "Tell me! Were you deceived by that brat Zheng Jiacheng? That's why you did such a bold thing!"
Zhao Hongling woke up from her coma. She didn't hear clearly what Grand Tutor Zhao said, but she knew that only Grand Tutor Zhao could save her!
She desperately tugged at the hem of Master Zhao's clothes and cried, "Grandfather, Hongling is truly innocent! I am truly innocent!"
Grand Tutor Zhao leaned over, winked at Zhao Hongling, and continued, "Grandfather, let me ask you one question. When you last met Zheng Jiacheng, did he give you anything? Did he ask you to enter the palace and poison the emperor?"
Zhao Hongling fell to the ground. She knew that her grandfather had given up on her to protect the Zhao family!
She nodded dully and said, "Yes! It was Zheng Jiacheng from the Princess's Mansion! He promised me that after I ascend the throne, he would make me queen and asked me to help him poison him."
Emperor Liang was no fool, he knew the grandfather and grandson were lying, but this seemed to get rid of the thorn in his side!
"Come here! Imprison Princess Mingzhu and Zheng Jiacheng. Execute them at the Meridian Gate in three days!"
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