Chapter 660 Confrontation
The Queen Mother seemed to be shocked by the Crown Prince's affairs. Her face was no longer radiant, and she looked at people with a gloomy expression.
"I only know that the prince is dead!"
"So, Your Majesty the Queen Mother, regardless of the reason and right or wrong, is going to take an innocent person and bury him with you for a prince you didn't even love?!"
Tang Ning's words almost broke off relations with the Queen Mother, and everyone else present gasped.
Is Princess Xiangning crazy?!
Everyone in the capital knows that the Crown Prince is not on good terms with His Majesty, and his relationship with the Empress Dowager is not harmonious either, but these are all secret matters after all. On the surface, everyone is kind to their father and filial to their son, and the relationship between the old and the young is harmonious. But Tang Ning revealed their relationship in one sentence, and questioned the Empress Dowager's act of seeking justice for the Crown Prince. She almost said directly that the Empress Dowager's caning of Qian Qiyue was not for the Crown Prince at all.
"You..." The Queen Mother was so angry that she almost staggered.
Nanny Ran shouted, "How dare you slander the Queen Mother like this!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Concubine Zhao quickly spoke up: "Princess Xiangning, please don't speak nonsense!"
Tang Ning took a deep breath, protecting Qian Qiyue behind him with a slight raise of her chin. "Your humble servant apologizes, but I really don't want the Queen Mother to let the real murderer go free out of anger, causing an innocent person to suffer injustice. Moreover, the Queen Mother is heartbroken over the Crown Prince's death, and I don't think she would want him to die in vain."
The Queen Mother knew that this woman was a sharp-tongued woman, and she was aggressive towards her. She held her breath and said, "You say Qian Qiyue is innocent. Where's the evidence? She injured the Crown Prince in public, and then pursued him relentlessly, severely injuring him. How dare you say it's not true?"
"Of course I don't dare, but the words 'in public'..."
Tang Ning's eyes were cold. "The Empress Dowager's banquet was held in the front hall. It's one thing for Sister Qian to have wandered out and taken the wrong road, but how did the wife of Marquis Wenxin and the others end up in the back porch? And how did the maids around the Empress Dowager and Consort Xianfei just happen to run into a suspicious-looking eunuch and follow him to the porch?"
She looked at Zhou Yuchang:
"Sister Zhou, why did you and the wife of Marquis Wenxin go there?"
"I……"
Zhou Yuchang's face turned pale.
Tang Ning said, "You don't have to be afraid. Just tell the truth. Did you go there on your own or was someone lured you there?"
Zhou Yuchang was stunned for a moment, then looked up and met Tang Ning's gaze. Her eyes were calm and soothing, as if she knew everything.
Zhou Yuchang had a moment of clarity, lowered her head and tried to remain calm:
"My mother and I didn't go there on our own. We were led there after hearing a woman's screams. My mother didn't want to get involved, but she was worried that someone innocent might have gotten into trouble, so she brought me along to check it out."
"We originally wanted to take a quick look from a distance and then call the eunuchs from Shoukang Palace, but when we got outside the porch, we heard cries for help. I recognized Sister Fu's voice and became anxious. It was because of my feelings for Sister Fu that I tried to force my way in, so Mother had no choice but to protect me as we faced off against the two eunuchs. Sister Qian arrived shortly after."
When Fu Jinrou heard the words of consideration for their friendship, her face twisted, but she just continued to cry without saying a word.
Madam Cui said, "Many people can attest to this. Miss Zhou and Madam Fu have a very good relationship. They were very close when they entered the palace a few days ago."
Madam Cao, who had been silent for a long time, also spoke up: "I can testify to this. At the previous banquet in the mansion, Miss Fu, Miss Zhou, and Miss Qian all came in and out together. The three of them are very close. We only need to send someone to investigate and we will know whether it is true or not."
Tang Ning said calmly, "That is to say, Sister Zhou and the wife of Marquis Wenxin were lured to the porch. Then the two palace maids from Shoukang Palace and Cuiwei Palace..."
Yun'er knelt on the ground and said hurriedly, "I dare not lie. Sister Cai'an and I were really bumped into by someone. Seeing that person's behavior was sneaky, we became suspicious and went to investigate. That's how we accidentally ran into His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and others."
"Really? Where were you hit? What did that person look like?"
"He was right over there in the corridor at the back hall. He was wearing the clothes of a palace eunuch and had his head lowered, so I couldn't see him clearly."
"How far is the corridor from the porch where the accident happened?"
Yun'er's face flashed with panic for a moment. Cai'an beside her whispered, "The corridor connects the front and back halls. All the way to the end is the porch where the incident occurred. Today, the front hall was hosting a banquet, and palace servants were everywhere. Only in the back hall were the guards lax. The eunuch was acting furtively and panic-stricken. I sensed something was wrong, so I went with Yun'er to take a look."
Seeing her calm expression, Tang Ning suddenly changed the subject: "Excuse me, Miss Cai'an, where are you on duty in Shoukang Palace?"
Before she could speak, Tang Ning said:
"I remember there was a Miss Cai Ling in Shoukang Palace. She was always by Madam Ran's side. Even when we came to serve the Queen Mother, she was the one who brought us medicine and tea. She was very close to Madam Ran."
"Although the palace is different from the outside world, palace maids also have ranks. Your name is so similar to Cai Ling's, so you must be someone who passed away before the Empress Dowager, right?"
Cai An didn't understand why Tang Ning asked this, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face: "Why does Princess Xiangning ask this?"
Tang Ning said calmly, "I'm just curious. What rank is Miss Cai'an a palace maid?"
Cai An glanced at Nanny Ran, feeling vaguely uneasy. However, her status in the palace was well known to everyone, and her rank was also recorded in the Inner Court Supervisor's register, so she couldn't lie at all. She could only whisper, "I am a first-class palace maid, but I am not as favored by the Empress Dowager as Cai Ling."
Tang Ning smiled and said, "No matter how much I dislike her, being a first-class maid means she is someone the Queen Mother relies on."
"I'm curious. Even if you weren't serving the Empress Dowager, you should have stayed in the front hall during the Shoukang Palace banquet to help the Empress Dowager supervise the palace and prevent any disturbances. Why did you personally lead Yun'er to add charcoal cakes to the Xianfei's hand warmer?"
"Is there no other palace maid in Shoukang Palace, or is the virtuous concubine more important to you than serving the empress dowager? How could you, a lady-in-waiting to the empress dowager, have the leisure to do the work of the lowest-ranking palace maid for a concubine who has fallen out of favor for a long time?"
Cai'an's face turned pale instantly, and Nanny Ran's expression changed even more.
Concubine Xian said, "Song Tangning, you are so presumptuous! How dare you humiliate me!"
Tang Ning tilted her head, looking at Concubine Xian with a cold gaze. "Since just now in the front hall, you have been making things difficult for me. After the Crown Prince's death, you even tried several times to instigate the Queen Mother to directly convict Sister Qian, and even kept saying that Sister Qian's words were false."
"I heard that after the Cui family incident, the virtuous concubine has been silent for a long time and has not asked about the affairs of the harem. I have also never heard that the virtuous concubine is on good terms with the crown prince. You repeatedly stand up for the crown prince, which makes me wonder if you already knew something."
The virtuous concubine said, "You are talking nonsense. I know nothing..."
"If you don't know, then just shut up, or does Your Majesty the Concubine want to make the decision for Your Majesty the Queen Mother?" Tang Ning said coldly.
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