Chapter 667: Martyrdom
Nanny Ran looked at Tang Ning with resentment, her face covered in blood, but Tang Ning was not afraid at all.
"Your master didn't die because of me, so there's no need to be resentful of me. From the day I entered the palace, I have been obedient and only wanted to leave the palace safely after the Queen Mother recovered. It's you who don't want to live in peace with each other, and it's your master who is seeking his own death by harming others."
"And you don't have to look at me like that. The Queen Mother didn't do these things for me."
Tang Ning meant something.
Nanny Ran turned her head with bloodshot eyes to look at Emperor An.
She wanted to scold Emperor An for being unfilial, for killing the Empress Dowager, and for being heartless and worse than an animal for watching the Empress Dowager die without helping.
Emperor An's heart skipped a beat when he met Nanny Ran's gaze. Just when he thought Nanny Ran would say something, he heard her suddenly laugh.
"Yes, it's the Queen Mother's own fault. She knew she was inferior to the other party but still tried to force it."
Nanny Ran was crying and laughing at the same time, her tears stained with blood and covered her face. She knelt on the ground and carefully tidied up the empress dowager's hair, then wiped the blood from the corner of her lips with her sleeve.
"I have advised you long ago that it is not worth it. Nothing is more important than your life, but you insisted on doing it anyway. Now you have lost your life, but have gained nothing in return."
She murmured softly, her voice hoarse:
"Girl, you've finally made it to this day. You should have been enjoying your old age in wealth and glory, but you insisted on plotting to kill Song Tangning. In the end, no one remembered your kindness. Only you, only you, lost your life in vain... Hahahaha..."
Nanny Ran laughed out loud, but her tears flowed even more violently. She called the Empress Dowager "Girl" as if she were still in the boudoir, and then suddenly fell down and hugged the Empress Dowager.
"Stop her!"
Xiao Yan suddenly spoke.
Mu Feng stepped forward and grabbed Nanny Ran's arm to pull her away, but it was too late. He saw that Nanny Ran had a hairpin stuck in her chest that had been taken off the empress dowager's head at some point. The hairpin was almost completely embedded in her chest. Nanny Ran staggered and fell to the ground, her face covered with tears.
The Empress Dowager sacrificed her life to ensure the safety of Emperor An. He was her biological son, and she could not betray Emperor An against her master's wishes, but she still hated him.
Nanny Ran smiled softly. She would not betray Xie Tianyong, but she would not tell him what the Empress Dowager had discovered either. She would not tell him that the wronged souls of the Eastern Palace had come back to claim their lives, and that the throne he had worked so hard to regain was no longer stable.
No matter how he planned, he was already trapped.
He is just a turtle trapped in a jar, struggling to survive, but he still thinks he is in power and wants to plot against others.
Nanny Ran turned her head to look at Xiao Yan, her eyes falling on his completely unfamiliar eyebrows and eyes. She stared at Xiao Yan's face, her lips opened and closed twice, and then she suddenly closed her eyes and died.
Tang Ning, however, looked stunned.
Before she died, Nanny Ran seemed to call out to them.
His Royal Highness the Emperor's Eldest Grandson?
The Shoukang Palace became particularly eerie because of the successive deaths, and Nanny Ran's suicide was even more heartbreaking. No one expected that Nanny Ran would die for her master after the Queen Mother's death. Such a loyal servant, no matter how many evil things she did, people would not hate her.
Emperor An saw that Nanny Ran died with the Queen Mother. Although he always felt that there was something wrong with the look in Nanny Ran's eyes when she looked at him at the end, as if she was mocking him, after all, the person was dead and the dead could no longer speak, so Emperor An still felt relieved.
Emperor An said in a deep voice, "The Crown Prince died suddenly today. When I heard the news, I saw the Empress Dowager vomiting blood and unconscious. I just thought that Princess Xiangning offended the Empress Dowager by protecting the daughter of the Qian family, so she was furious and ordered her to be arrested. I didn't expect the Empress Dowager to do such a thing. Nanny Ran also helped the Empress Dowager hide it from everyone."
"Tang Ning, I misunderstood you."
Emperor An was flexible and bowed his head directly to Tang Ning.
Tang Ning was unwilling to let it go. She said to Emperor An, "Sister Qian was also murdered. How can you protect her?"
Emperor An said: "After all, the Crown Prince was injured by her..."
"So what?"
Tang Ning said coldly, "The maids in the Empress Dowager's palace had previously reported that the Crown Prince had been tampered with in the porch. Someone then conspired to lure the wife and daughter of Marquis Wenxin to the palace, escalating the situation. The Crown Prince was drugged and lost consciousness, and Sister Qian became part of their conspiracy to murder the Crown Prince."
"I was able to find out the whole story, but the palace maid was killed by Liu Tong'en."
Liu Tong'en's expression changed: "Your Majesty, I just made a mistake..."
Tang Ning taunted: "Whether it was a mistake or not, she died in your hands."
"The Crown Prince died today, and the Queen Mother seized on this matter to punish Sister Qian with a cane. She forced me to confront her in court and offend her. This is why she later had a sudden illness and tried to frame me. The Crown Prince's death and the Queen Mother's plot against me today are both one and the same."
"If that palace maid hadn't died, and Sister Qian had been cleared of her injustice, the Queen Mother wouldn't have been able to force her, and things wouldn't have gotten to this point. Commander Liu, can you cover up your mistake with just a simple "accident"?"
Liu Tong'en opened his mouth and wanted to defend himself, but Tang Ning's words were extremely sharp.
The sentence "It was his fault no matter the reason" stopped Liu Tongen from saying anything.
Emperor An pursed his lips and said, "Liu Tong'en is indeed at fault. Come, take Liu Tong'en away and give him twenty strokes of the cane, and fine him one year's salary."
"His Majesty!"
Liu Tong'en suddenly looked up at Emperor An. He was clearly acting on the imperial order, but now Emperor An wanted him to be punished?
He was filled with resentment, but when he met Emperor An's gloomy gaze, and the punishment was only twenty strokes of the cane, he knelt on the ground and said, "Your humble servant accepts the punishment."
Someone came in from outside and led Liu Tongen out, but Xiao Yan suddenly spoke.
"Wait."
Xiao Yan raised his eyes with a cold expression: "Liu Tongen made a mistake in front of others. If he is to be punished, why is it done behind his back? If I can't see the end of the person who made the mistake with my own eyes, how can I use these twenty strokes of the cane from Commander Liu to warn others?"
"Let's do the twenty strokes of the cane here. Jinyun, you and Mufeng will carry out the execution for Liu Tongen."
Jinyun smiled and said, "Yes, I have been in charge of the Criminal Department for many years and will definitely take good care of Commander Liu."
Liu Tong'en's face changed instantly. He agreed to take the twenty strokes of the stick because he knew that Emperor An would not really hurt him. As long as he could fool Xiao Yan and the others and let someone hit him a few times, the matter would be over. However, if the person who carried out the execution was Xiao Yan's man, it would be completely different.
He knew this Jinyun, who was quite skilled and had been in charge of the Criminal Department in the Privy Council for many years. He was best at punishment. Although Mu Feng seemed not as good as Jinyun, he had been following Gu Helian all these years. Many people who coveted the Gu family found it difficult to get close to Gu Helian, so how could he be an easy target?
If these two were to carry out the execution, I'm afraid that twenty strokes of the cane would be enough to kill him.
How could Liu Tongen dare to agree?
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