Chapter 56 The concubines will not go
There were blooming flowers in the paddy fields, heavy rains on the dikes, and repeated mentions of them being washed away.
Chu Mingheng knew exactly which embankment she was referring to.
The Sanzhou Canal is located near three prefectures. The dike was inspected just two years ago and the imperial court allocated funds to repair it. Logically, it shouldn't be washed away as Lan Wu said.
Kelanwu spoke with such certainty, describing a dream as if it were about to happen.
Upon hearing the exact location from Chu Mingheng, Lan Wu immediately shook her head, looking at him with confusion, and said, "What Sanzhou Canal... I've never heard of it."
She simply said she had never heard of it. Even when Chu Mingheng tied her up and interrogated her today, she still refused to reveal a single word more.
Lan Wu's eyes were filled with tears, her expression anxious and uneasy. She asked Chu Mingheng instead, "Will the canal that His Majesty mentioned be washed away?"
Chu Mingheng remained silent, only turning his head to look at the fine rain outside the window.
The sound of rain entered the hall, pattering softly, and the air was damp.
Lan Wu thought that she had asked enough questions. Chu Mingheng should be confident. She gave him a hint, but how to handle the matter was up to Chu Mingheng himself.
Listening to the sound of rain, Lan Wu felt drowsy. She leaned against Chu Mingheng and listlessly raised her eyelids to look at the bookshelf next to her.
My ear was pinched.
It's a little itchy.
She hid inside.
But then Chu Mingheng spoke, not about the dam, but about Rong Shuyi.
Lan Wu sat up abruptly, somewhat stiffly waiting for Chu Mingheng to continue.
"Consort Shu said that Rong has not seen outsiders for a long time, and she is afraid that Rong is deep in thought and may be having some trouble."
Chu Mingheng was still hooking Lan Wu's ear, slowly sliding down from the tip of her ear to tug at her soft earlobe.
Speaking of Rong Shuyi, Lan Wu asked Chen Yinu to help her find out about Xu Taiyi's situation last time. She did get some information, but she couldn't understand why the medicine sent by Xu Taiyi had no effect on Rong Shuyi.
"I have already granted Consort Jia permission to go and see her, and to comfort her."
Chu Mingheng pinched the small round bead hanging from Lan Wu's ear with his fingers. The crimson gemstone refracted light from its facets—it was a gemstone that Lan Wu had obtained herself.
His mind raced, and he glanced at Lan Wu, casually asking her as he released her hand, "Wu, would you like to take a look?"
Lan Wu swallowed hard, her eyes widening slightly.
What is Chu Mingheng trying to do? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
When she went to see Rong Shuyi, the roof of Qiushui Pavilion was practically blown off.
"...Your Majesty, I will not go..."
Lan Wu dared to say that Rong Shuyi's miscarriage was not caused by her. The more she looked at it, the less it seemed like an accident, but in the end, Rong Shuyi only recognized her as her enemy.
Hearing her say she dared not, Chu Mingheng frowned slightly.
"Didn't I say that this matter has nothing to do with you?" he said meaningfully.
Yes, yes, she knows.
Lan Wu nodded repeatedly, but she was afraid that she and Rong Shuyi would fight.
Chu Mingheng knew that Lan Wu was investigating this matter in private. It had been so long, and he wondered what she had found out. She was still saying that she dared not go. Didn't she find out that Rong Shi was faking her pregnancy?
I'm afraid that by now, the Rong family themselves should understand this.
-
Inside Qiushui Pavilion, the lingering stench of blood was made even more repulsive by a heavy rain.
Rong Shuyi lay on the bed, her body thinner, her face pale, and her lips bloodless. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, her pupils dark and unfocused. Even when she heard a sound, she didn't blink, as if she had lost her soul.
She had laughed enough. From guessing the idea to receiving the definite answer from the imperial physician, she had laughed like a madwoman.
She was not pregnant—she was not pregnant at all—nor did she have a miscarriage.
It's laughable that she grieved and was heartbroken over the child she hadn't yet lost, only to find herself empty-handed and nothing at all.
His Majesty was already aware of the situation, but perhaps because he felt she was faking her pregnancy to deceive him, he was merciful and did not kill her or expose her, but instead gave her this punishment.
What a lesson, what a act of kindness.
Why not just kill her?
No, she can't die yet!
Rong Shuyi’s eyes flashed with deep hatred.
The imperial physician said that she would never be able to conceive again. Her body had been damaged because she had taken a drug that could induce pregnancy in the short term. However, that drug was not a good thing, and she would experience signs of miscarriage within a few days of taking it.
The timing of her miscarriage was absolutely perfect.
Zhen Shuyi had just pushed her when she miscarried.
That day, Consort Rou invited her to go boating on the lake. Among those of lower rank than Jieyu, only she went.
Consort Rou is so clever! This is a win-win situation. She can no longer have children, so there is no threat. If she doesn't know about this, she will naturally regard Consort Zhen as a thorn in her side. How can she accomplish anything great on her own? At this time, Consort Rou will extend an olive branch to her.
She was really stupid to be so easily outmaneuvered.
No, it's not that she was unguarded; it's that Consort Rou was too shrewd. She had helped Consort Shu out of a difficult situation when Consort Shu had been sarcastic towards her, which made Consort Rou grateful.
Consort Rou had already planned this against her.
There was a knock on the door.
Zhu Xia spoke softly from outside, her voice just loud enough for the people inside to hear: "Your Highness, it's almost time for dinner. I'll send someone to serve you the meal shortly. What would Your Highness like to eat?"
Rong Shuyi sat up from the bed, her dark gaze sweeping over the ground. She exhaled, her voice hoarse, like that of a seventy-year-old woman.
"……Come in."
Zhu Xia pushed open the door and went inside.
The hall had been tidied up and looked neat and clean, but the smell of blood still lingered.
She stood a few steps away from Rong Shuyi, letting Rong Shuyi look her over. At that moment, she showed more respect.
Rong Shuyi looked at her carefully, then asked, "His Majesty summoned you here... what does he want me to do?"
Zhu Xia seemed not to understand, neither nodding nor shaking her head, only saying, "This servant was sent here to help Your Highness."
Help her...help her?
Rong Shuyi chuckled softly as she lay on the bed, then asked Zhu Xia in a low voice, "If I were to kill Consort Rou, would you help me?"
Zhu Xia's expression remained unchanged, and her tone was as calm as ever. She merely reminded Rong Shuyi, "Your Majesty, by making your intentions so open, you will not accomplish anything significant."
Zhu Xia had been asking her if she had figured it out.
She was wondering what His Majesty wanted her to understand.
Now that the truth has come out, she realized that His Majesty had given her a huge 'surprise'.
Zhu Xia was an official in the Emperor's court. She wanted to kill Consort Rou and make her suffer the same pain as her. His Majesty had guessed this.
They know, but they don't stop it.
So Consort Rou was just like that after all.
“You’re right, it was reckless.” Rong Shuyi’s eyes gradually brightened, and she nodded in agreement.
Zhu Xia continued, "His Majesty has one more thing he wants me to tell Your Highness."
"What did you say?" She looked directly at Zhu Xia and asked.
"His Majesty said that Consort Zhen is young and should not be allowed to have bad thoughts."
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