Chapter 86 The Drug of False Pregnancy
Roufei's maternal family was the Zeng family, the residence of the Minister of Works. With the Zeng family in trouble, Roufei was the only one in the entire palace who still had a chance to beg His Majesty for mercy.
However, Consort Li wanted to eliminate even this small chance of hers.
Lan Wu was wondering why the Emperor had summoned Consort Rou, but a little while later she heard that His Majesty had summoned Consort Rong.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she began to understand what had happened.
"Your Majesty, there is chaos in the Imperial Palace right now. All three Consorts have gone there, and Consort Rong is among them."
It seems this matter should finally have a resolution.
She just didn't expect that it was Consort Li who reported it first.
I heard from Lian Qiao that Consort Bai was dissatisfied with Consort Li's handling of palace affairs. Now Consort Li has exposed such a big matter. I wonder if Consort Rou has any way to deal with it.
She was still curious, but she couldn't listen. She just sat in her own room and embroidered the purse in her hand, stitch by stitch.
Although she couldn't go, news travels fast in the inner palace. Before long, she heard that a young palace maid had been summoned from Consort Rou's palace, saying that she was to present the evidence.
Consort Rou appears kind to everyone, but upon closer inspection, she has offended quite a few people. With the Zeng family on the verge of collapse, her previous resentment has resurfaced.
Inside the side hall of the Imperial Study, the incense from the incense burner gradually dissipated. A large group of people knelt in the hall, each with their own thoughts, yet each holding their own opinion.
Chu Mingheng sat in the main seat. After hearing from the person next to him that the person had arrived, he slowly said, "Bring them in."
A slender palace maid walked in through the door, bowed her head, knelt down, and respectfully greeted Your Majesty: "This servant greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed."
Consort Rou suddenly recognized the voice, turned around abruptly, and saw Panxi behind her.
She glared at him angrily, wishing she could kill Panxi on the spot.
Panxi did not raise her head. Although her voice was timid, it was still reasonable and well-founded: "Your Majesty, I am a palace maid who recently entered Zhaoyun Palace. My name is Panxi. Consort Rou saw that I was quick and efficient, so she asked me to serve in the palace."
"One day, while I was tidying up Her Highness's clothes behind the screen in the inner palace, I heard Her Highness and Sister Wanxia talking."
"They were speaking in hushed tones. I was about to leave, but I overheard them talking about medicine and miscarriage..."
"I was terrified and dared not listen any longer, fearing that Her Highness would find out and silence me. I had no choice but to leave through the small door in the back hall."
"I pretended I hadn't heard these words, but I did hear them after all, and from then on I paid attention to Your Highness's words and actions whenever they seemed unusual."
"Later, it was noticed that Her Majesty paid special attention to a peony painting in the palace. It was painted by Her Majesty herself, and it had three peonies on it, one of which Her Majesty had just added a few days ago..."
At this point, Panxi clenched her fingers and revealed an even more shocking truth.
"This servant has also discovered that whenever a concubine in the palace suffers a miscarriage, Consort Rou will paint a peony on a peony painting. This is the third one."
Upon hearing this, all the concubines present were stunned.
Since His Majesty ascended the throne, some of the concubines in the harem have become pregnant, but none of them have given birth. Including Consort Rong, there have been three concubines who miscarried.
According to Panxi's words, could it be that those three concubines were all given drugs to induce a false pregnancy, which is why...
Suddenly, everyone looked at Consort Rou with even more disgust.
Consort Shu gently spoke up and said something: "Speaking of which, the late Consort Yang and Consort Rou had an extremely good relationship. Consort Yang miscarried because she fell down the steps, and Consort Rou happened to protect her."
Although she managed to protect the child, she was still frightened, and afterwards, Yang Guifei miscarried.
At that time, Consort Rou was only a concubine. She injured her leg while protecting Consort Yang, and the Emperor promoted her rank.
It is now clear that he had ulterior motives.
Upon hearing Panxi's words, Consort Rou's face turned deathly pale. She tried her best to remain calm, but it was not that simple.
This little palace maid, who had only been in Zhaoyun Palace for less than a month, had investigated her affairs thoroughly.
She originally thought the woman was pretty and wanted to keep her around for future use, but little did she know that she was just a decoy planted by someone.
Now that things have come to this, Consort Rou is unwilling to admit her guilt so easily.
"...Your Majesty, they are slandering me with baseless accusations. When have I ever done such a thing!"
"If Your Majesty does not believe me, please send people to search my palace. I have no knowledge of any false pregnancy drug whatsoever."
Consort Li scoffed and interrupted Consort Rou without any politeness: "Sister Consort Rou, who would openly hide evidence in their own palace?"
"But anything done should leave a trace. Even if there isn't one, it can't have been done by Consort Rou alone."
Consort Li turned her head and said urgently, "If Your Majesty arrests and interrogates all the palace servants around Consort Rou, you will surely get to the bottom of this matter!"
"Someone, go investigate," Chu Mingheng said calmly, ordering his men to leave.
Then the hall fell silent.
Chu Mingheng looked at the group of people below and felt increasingly annoyed. He didn't show it yet, but then he heard Rong Shuyi speak.
"Your Majesty, if... if I am being framed and this is a false pregnancy, I hope Your Majesty can compensate Consort Zhen. Consort Zhen is truly innocent."
She spoke these words with her head bowed and eyes lowered, extremely respectful. Perhaps because of such a great incident, her temperament had become increasingly calm. Now, she spoke these words softly, not for herself, but for Zhen Shuyi.
Consort Li stared in astonishment, looking at her as if she were a fool.
Consort Shu didn't look at her, but only slightly raised her eyes to glance at His Majesty.
This sight chilled her to the bone.
Even if Consort Zhen is dragged into this matter and unjustly stigmatized, she is innocent. What is she anyway? His Majesty has already given her the title of Consort and bestowed upon her unparalleled favor. Isn't that enough?
But now she saw His Majesty's expression, and the meaning in his eyes was clear—not enough, far from enough.
This seemingly insignificant little concubine, who enjoyed the emperor's favor, was the greatest enemy of all the concubines in the palace.
Chu Mingheng lowered his eyes to look at Rong Shuyi, as if to say that she was perceptive and knew when to advance and retreat.
"Get up. You're not unwell," he said slowly, then called to Consort Shu beside him, "You get up too. The harem is so big, it's normal for you to be negligent."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Consort Rong was helped up, but no seat was offered to her; she simply waited quietly to one side.
Consort Shu hesitated upon hearing his words, unsure of his meaning, but said nothing and rose to stand forward as well.
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