"I heard that Consort Qin wrote a confession before she hanged herself, only asking that her family not be implicated. She admitted to framing Consort Ming and explained why she did so. It was because Consort Ming entered the Prince's residence with her, but Consort Ming rose step by step, and she was so envious and jealous that she made a mistake."
He Yunzhong replied fluently.
Huo Qinghe sighed, "I understand. You may leave."
He Yunzhong glanced up at Huo Qinghe, responded, and quickly left.
As soon as he left, Green Cloud, always outspoken, felt a lingering fear: "Consort Qin, she just hanged herself like that? When the Emperor and the Empress find out, will they really let Consort Qin's family off the hook?"
Grandma Green Locust silently shook her head.
This whole thing sounds suspicious. There's such a big difference in rank between Consort Qin and Consort Ming, so why would she want to harm Consort Ming just because of some so-called resentment, and with such a clumsy method?
Furthermore, despite Consort Ming's gentle nature, it's not that everyone in the palace is on good terms with her, but since Huo Qinghe entered the palace, there's been no record of Consort Ming offending anyone.
This Qin Yingying was clearly used as a tool by others, not only being used to kill but also losing her own life.
This is the inner palace.
Huo Qinghe had been in the palace for three months when she first witnessed and heard of the deaths of imperial concubines.
"Find out carefully what the Emperor, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine mean, and how they will deal with Consort Qin. You've all heard what Consort Qin did. I don't want to end up like that."
Huo Qinghe stared at the two maids.
The two maids reassured Huo Qinghe, "Your Highness is already quite favored, so there's really no need to worry about that."
Huo Qinghe waved her hand: "You've been in the palace longer than I have, so you don't need to say these comforting words to me."
She wasn't a pampered young lady; she had witnessed all sorts of human nature and its coldness since she was a child.
"Alright. You really listened to the official and served bitter tea. My mouth is full of bitterness right now. Go get some sweet cakes to help me get rid of the bitterness."
Seeing this, the two maids dared not say anything more and went out to get new tea and pastries.
By evening, news of Qin's suicide had spread throughout the six palaces. Before Huo Qinghe could receive any decree from the Emperor, she was greeted by others.
"Oh my, it's so peaceful here. The whole palace is in an uproar over Qin Ying's matter. I heard that Consort Ming fainted again as soon as she heard that Qin Ying had hanged herself. The imperial physician almost went into miscarriage when he arrived. Oh, it smells so good here."
The voice arrived before the person.
The greenery and green heart outside had already bowed: "Greetings to Lady Meng, may you be blessed with good fortune."
Huo Qinghe, who was reading a book, first put the book under the bed, and then glanced at the green locust tree next to her.
Green Locust understood and hurriedly went out so that Changsheng and Baosheng could remove the two pots of peonies outside.
Mosquito repellent nets have been put up under the corridor, so you probably can't see them at a glance.
Just then, Lady Meng entered, and Green Locust bowed and said, "This servant will serve tea to my lady."
Meng Meiren stopped her, saying, "Don't serve me tea. Do you have any plum juice? I'll just have that. It's stuffy coming in from outside."
Upon hearing the sound, Huo Qinghe also stood up: "Why has the beauty come? What's going on outside? I was sleeping in today, and if the beauty hadn't come, I'm afraid I would have slept in a little longer."
Consort Meng stopped her: "Don't bow. The Emperor just left here, and then I heard that Consort Qin hanged herself. Don't be frightened. I'm also very scared. I can't talk to anyone in the palace. I thought you might be scared too, so I came here."
Huo Qinghe pressed her eyes together: "I took a nap as soon as the Emperor left. It's fortunate that you brought me this message. It sounds really... Did you go to pay your respects to Lady Zhou, sister?"
Green Locust quickly brought in the plum juice.
Lady Meng reached out and took the drink. She lowered her head and drank it first: "Who knows? When I came, the main hall seemed empty. I wonder where Lady Zhou went. Luckily..."
She realized halfway through her sentence that she had said something inappropriate, so she looked up and playfully stuck out her tongue.
"You'd better pretend you didn't hear that. I heard that Consort Ming woke up and then fainted again. I was just saying I was going to talk to you and then I went to visit Consort Ming. But halfway there, I heard the Imperial Concubine say that no one was allowed to disturb Consort Ming."
Huo Qinghe clutched her chest: "Is Consort Ming alright?"
At this moment, Meng Meiren did not seem to be afraid.
"I heard that the Imperial Concubine went to Chuxiu Palace as soon as she received the news. No one is allowed to visit Chuxiu Palace right now, so we don't know what's going on inside. And that Consort Qin, even her suicide has caused this kind of trouble..."
Consort Meng clearly cared more about Consort Ming's pregnancy than Consort Qin's suicide.
Huo Qinghe understood: "It's just that Consort Qin is like this..."
Consort Meng lowered her head and sipped her plum juice: "The plum juice here tastes different. Consort Qin brought this upon herself. I heard that the Emperor was busy with state affairs and only let the Empress and the Imperial Concubine handle the matter. Empress Xue, considering that Consort Qin had served the Emperor for many years and had always been respectful, and also thinking that the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming soon and that two imperial heirs were to be born in the palace, ultimately did not implicate Consort Qin's family. It is truly the Empress's mercy."
Huo Qinghe nodded in agreement: "Just hearing you say that makes me feel scared. Please stop talking, my beauty."
Hearing this, Meng Meiren chuckled: "See, I knew you'd be scared. Alright, I won't say anything more."
Huo Qinghe smiled shyly: "It's my fault for not being a good host since such a beauty has come to my place."
Consort Meng waved her hand: "The sour plum drink here tastes different from the one in my palace, but I like it very much. This is enough. I won't talk about those things anymore, let's just chat."
Huo Qinghe naturally responded without hesitation: "With a beauty by my side, I feel much more at ease. I couldn't ask for more."
Meng Meiren was quite talkative, and Huo Qinghe mostly chimed in. Although Huo Qinghe's words were somewhat off-putting, they pleased Meng Meiren, so Meng Meiren became even more talkative.
As dinner time approached, Consort Meng finally prepared to get up and take her leave.
He Yunzhong entered from outside and quickly greeted the two ladies: "Greetings to both ladies. A messenger from Chuxiu Palace reports that Consort Ming of Chuxiu Palace has given birth prematurely..."
Lady Meng was so shocked that she stood up abruptly.
Huo Qinghe was also surprised and her eyes widened slightly.
"Consort Ming is only eight months pregnant this time, this..."
Everyone says...
They say that seven months is enough to survive, but eight months is not.
When Meng Meiren turned around, she saw Huo Qinghe looking "dazed".
"Sister, don't just stand there, let's hurry to Chuxiu Palace. Consort Ming giving birth is a very important event."
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