Was Chapter 41 intentional?
Reminded by her, Rong Shuyi's lips trembled, and she finally closed her mouth.
"This matter..." Consort Rou carefully considered her words and said softly, "You are the aggrieved party, but Consort Zhen also said that you bumped into her first. It remains to be seen how you will explain this to His Majesty."
Rong Shuyi closed her eyes, propped herself up with her weak body, and said after sitting up steadily, "Your Majesty, please let me think about it carefully."
Consort Rou didn't say much, but instructed several palace servants to take good care of her before leaving the side hall.
Upon seeing her return to the main hall, the concubines all turned their gazes toward her, yet dared not ask directly.
Consort Rou herself said, "Consort Rong is restless. Let her think it over herself; she will figure it out."
After saying that, she turned her gaze to the door of the inner hall and asked the people who remained inside, "How is Consort Zhen?"
"Your Majesty, Consort Zhen's abdominal pain is simply due to menstrual irregularities. The imperial physician has already administered acupuncture and the medicine has been given."
It wasn't a miscarriage after all.
Consort Li scoffed and said, "How could someone be pregnant before she's even been officially made a consort for a month?"
Judging from her appearance just now, anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was going to die here.
But His Majesty really falls for her charms. Look how much he spoils her. He doesn't even bother to visit Consort Rong, who also suffered bleeding and even miscarriage, but he feels sorry for Consort Zhen, who is perfectly fine.
Inside the inner palace, Lianxi fed Lanwu the medicine.
Not long after the imperial physician administered acupuncture, Lan Wu woke up on her own. Once awake, she dared not move around and simply opened her eyes to search for Chu Mingheng's direction.
Chu Mingheng had the palace servants feed her the medicine first. Seeing that she didn't dawdle this time, he sat casually on the chair in front of the couch, propping his forehead up, and waited for her to finish drinking before speaking: "I have something to ask you."
Lan Wu's eyes were a little hot. She didn't know what he wanted to ask, but she lowered her head as if she had done something wrong, sitting uneasily and waiting for him to speak.
"Was it done on purpose?"
The first question, even without naming names, is something both parties understand each other perfectly.
Lan Wu bit her lip, suppressing the sob and trembling in her voice, and shook her head as she said, "No..."
Seeing her like this, Chu Mingheng wanted to ask something, but stopped himself at that moment.
He could reach out and touch Lan Wu's face; at such close range, he could clearly see Lan Wu's disheveled state.
"Since it's not your fault, then stop crying, okay?" Chu Mingheng beckoned with his finger, wiping away the tears from Lan Wu's eyes, then pinched her cheek, his voice very slow, "I'll be going out for a while."
Lan Wu looked at him blankly. The warmth of the other person on her cheek was fading, but she no longer felt cold.
Chu Mingheng believed her...
In the main hall, the concubines were silently waiting for the emperor to come out. Upon hearing the voice, they all stood up and bowed to him after recognizing him.
Chu Mingheng glanced at it and said, "Rise."
"None of you saw what happened on the lake, did you?" He sat down and asked a single question that immediately put everyone to the spot.
This sentence was not accusatory; the tone was calm and the voice was even, yet it inexplicably made people feel oppressed.
Didn't see a single person? That's impossible.
Even though some people hadn't yet come ashore, there were already quite a few people on the shore. Even while talking, they would glance at the lake. Moreover, since Lan Wu and Rong Shuyi were traveling together in a small boat, everyone was naturally eager to watch the spectacle.
But now, they wish they hadn't gone to join in the fun.
Looking at it this way, Consort Shu and her entourage were really lucky to have escaped this trouble.
"Your Majesty, I did see some things." Someone in the crowd quickly spoke up and stepped forward to report, "I saw that the small boat docked, and Sister Yun had already disembarked. Behind her was Consort Zhen."
"When Consort Zhen was being helped ashore by the palace maids, a gust of wind arose, and the small boat began to rock... Behind Consort Zhen was indeed Consort Rong, who was unsteady on her feet... Everything happened too fast. Just as Consort Zhen was about to fall into the lake, she suddenly regained her balance and pushed Consort Rong, who was falling towards her, away."
In that case, Zhen Jieyu's claim that Rong Shuyi was about to knock her into the water and that she instinctively pushed her back makes sense.
Consort Li couldn't help but mutter, "It was unintentional for Consort Rong to bump into her. Instead of dodging, she deliberately pushed her. Maybe she did it on purpose."
She muttered softly to herself, but her words reached the ears of those around her, and they also considered this possibility.
"Your Majesty, didn't Consort Yun say that they had a conflict on the small boat? If it really was Consort Zhen who did it on purpose, who knows what she might do tomorrow if she dared to push someone into the water today? Your Majesty, please be wise—"
What will we make?
Chu Mingheng's thoughts drifted away for a moment, and he sneered inwardly. What could Lan Wu possibly do? With her thin arms and legs, she was a delicate girl who would complain of leg pain even after kneeling for a while. At most, she would just be holding her vulgar novels and seeking love in them.
"Bring that palace maid up here." After a moment, his thoughts returned, and Chu Mingheng lightly pressed his fingers on the carvings on the armrest, giving the order in a deep voice.
Soon, Zhilan was brought to the palace.
"Repeat everything you said on the small boat, and explain in detail what happened when Consort Shuyi fell into the water. If you dare to make a single mistake, you'll lose your head." Chen Kang'an, having received the emperor's signal, immediately stood to one side and interrogated the man.
Even without him saying it, Zhilan was terrified and confessed everything.
“My name is Zhilan. It was given to me by my mistress. When we were on the small boat, Consort Jieyu asked me which two characters were in my name. I told her, and she seemed displeased, but... but she didn't say anything. Then the boat docked…”
"The servant helped the mistress catch up, and the small boat started to rock... The mistress lost her balance and fell forward. The servant was about to go and support her when she saw Consort Jieyu push the mistress away! That's when the mistress fell into the lake..."
She finished speaking anxiously and kept kowtowing to the ground.
"This servant dares not utter a single lie. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy on my mistress, she—"
"How dare you! Who gave you the right to say such things here?" Chen Kang'an interrupted her coldly.
Zhilan immediately shut her mouth, nervously waiting for the emperor to speak.
"She asked your name, and what did you say?"
Zhilan finally heard the emperor speak, but she was surprised by his words. Her face turned pale, and she dared not answer.
So she knelt carefully on the ground and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this servant says that my name is... Zhi as in sesame and Lan as in orchid."
The concubines' expressions varied, and then Chen Kang'an looked at the emperor.
Chu Mingheng lowered his eyes slightly, his cold gaze like a blade, its chilling light penetrating to the bone. He no longer spoke a question: "Your master certainly knows how to squander words."
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