Chapter 319 Wei Yanwan 59
As expected, in August, during the Mulan Autumn Hunt, Ruyi still managed to go.
A high platform was built on the flat and open grassland. Ruyi and the concubines watched the emperor riding on his horse, and then he rushed into the distance with his son and guards in high spirits.
Wei Yanwan lowered her head, occasionally chatting with Ruiji and Yihuan, ignoring the gaze from Ruyi behind her. After a while, Ruyi, who had lost her patience, told them to do as they pleased and returned to her tent.
Wei Yanwan also declined Yihuan and the others' invitation and deliberately walked slowly along the route to her tent. Before she reached her tent, she was stopped by Sanbao.
"Your Highness, the Queen invites you."
Wei Yanwan didn't ask any questions, but raised her chin with an indescribable dignity: "Lead the way."
Sanbao grumbled in his heart, but appeared respectful. He led her all the way to Ruyi's tent and sent someone inside to pass the message. Not long after, Rong Pei, the head aunt of the Queen, came out and welcomed her in with a curtain.
The queen was already seated in the main seat. Seeing her come forward to pay her respects, she didn't hesitate. She called out to her and asked her to sit down. "How about trying my freshly brewed tea?"
"Did the Empress ask me to come here just to have a cup of tea with you?"
Wei Yanwan said this, but she still picked up the tea and took a sip politely: "The Queen's Rain-Predawn Longjing tea is indeed excellent."
"If you like it, I'll have them pack a copy for you later."
Ruyi finished her words with a smile, then her expression turned hesitant. Hailan's words still affected her, and Ruyi didn't know whether she should ask so rashly. What if Wei Yanwan really had evil intentions? Would she alert her?
Yan Wan just sat down below, watching her silently struggling without getting anxious. The Queen didn't speak, so she also drank tea and ate cakes in silence.
An unknown amount of time passed, so long that Wei Yanwan wanted to call for another cup of tea, before Ruyi seemed to have made up her mind and looked up at her: "Yanwan, I asked you to come here today because I have something to ask you."
"Please speak, Your Majesty. Yan Wan will tell you everything she knows."
Ruyi's eyes were filled with confusion, and she didn't know if she believed him or not. But she had already spoken, so the rest of the conversation came much easier: "Before our Mulan Autumn Hunt, had you met Hailan?"
"Yes, I have indeed been to the Yanxi Palace."
Wei Yanwan admitted it very straightforwardly, not even letting go of the smile on her face: "Is this all the Majesty wants to ask?"
"You...Hai Lan became like that, is it you..."
Seeing that Ruyi was hesitant in her question, Wei Yanwan kindly added, "Your Majesty, you want to ask if it was me who framed Concubine Yu and then nearly killed her, correct?"
"If that's what Your Majesty wants to ask, I can tell you the truth. It wasn't me, but I knew about it and chose to acquiesce."
Seeing that she didn't evade the question but instead gave a straightforward answer, Ruyi was already convinced: "Who is that?"
"Your Majesty, the reason you came to ask me today must be because Concubine Yu told you about what she did in the past." Wei Yanwan touched her round belly, and her smile became ironic and sad:
"In fact, I have long known that Concubine Yu disliked me from the beginning. At that time, I had just become the emperor's promise, and my life and property were in the hands of Concubine Chun. However, she repeatedly provoked me, forcing me to be very careful in my dealings."
"But I didn't hate her at that time, nor did I feel like hating her until I became pregnant with Yongqi."
Wei Yanwan's eyes were reddened, but the look she gave Ruyi was so resolute that she instinctively turned her head away. "Your Majesty, you should know better than them what I was like back then. Family, lover, freedom—all lost in a single breath. This was the outcome I chose, and I can't blame anyone else."
"I never told anyone about the pain in my heart, but I'm just an ordinary woman. Do you know how desperate I was at that time?"
Seeing her like this, Ruyi felt very uncomfortable and quickly picked up a handkerchief to cover her wet eyes.
Wei Yanwan continued, "Just when I was completely despairing, Yongqi arrived. He is a treasure bestowed upon me by God, my only bond in this world. Your Majesty, tell me, someone wants to kill my most precious child at this moment. Will I forgive her?"
Ruyi opened her mouth, wanting to explain that Hailan had not intended to kill her child, but she was too ashamed to open her mouth.
"So, Your Majesty, for the sake of my child, I don't really want to be tainted with too much sin. But Concubine Yu, her current fate is her own fault. You won't learn from me who did it."
After Wei Yanwan finished speaking, she saw Ruyi's face was hesitant to speak, so she ignored her and just picked up the handkerchief to gently wipe away her tears. Then her expression changed, and she looked at the Queen with some sarcasm:
"Since she told you that she put cinnabar in my food, did she tell you how Empress Xiaoxian's second prince died?"
"Yonglian? Isn't it because his servants weren't paying attention and let the catkins drift into the room that triggered his asthma..."
Wei Yanwan couldn't help laughing. It seemed that Concubine Yu was still unwilling to completely break off her relationship with Ruyi. Moreover, Fu Cha Langya and Gao Xiyue were dead, so even if she didn't say anything, it would not affect Ruyi.
But it doesn’t matter, Wei Yanwan is happy to serve.
"It turns out she didn't tell the Empress everything."
Wei Yanwan pulled a rag doll from her sleeve and handed it to Ruyi. "If you really want to know, when we get back, take this and ask Concubine Yu in person. Ask the sister you've always trusted how many good things she's done behind your back."
"The blood on her hands is from many innocent children."
Wei Yanwan's words made Ruyi uneasy. She ordered people to send the imperial concubine away in a daze, but she sat in the tent completely confused.
Ruyi had been hoping to reconcile the two and put an end to their past animosity when she ventured to question the Imperial Concubine today. However, she hadn't expected this to lead to the discovery of an unknown person behind the scenes, and even more unexpectedly, to the revelation of Hailan's past deeds.
Ruyi knew that Wei Yanwan's words might not be true. But her mind kept replaying Wei Yanwan's expression at that time, her half-smile, her mocking smile, and she kept converging into one thought:
The imperial concubine may not have lied.
That Hailan...did she really do so many things?
Ruyi thought of Hailan's personal admission that she had harmed Yanwan's child, and how she had tried to sow discord between the eldest prince and the emperor during Empress Xiaoxian's funeral. She also deliberately let the fourth prince overhear her conversation with Yongrui, causing the child to become ill in order to show off, and he has not fully recovered until now.
One by one, Ruyi realized that there were so many things that she knew about.
What about Yonglian? Did that poor child also die in the harem's infighting?
Ruyi didn't think about it anymore, but she already had the answer in her heart.
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