Chapter 90 An Lingrong 31
Su Peisheng ran over with a look in his eyes, picked up the note, patted it and placed it in front of the emperor, his nose twitching inadvertently.
Yinzhen glanced at it and nodded, "It is indeed peach blossom paper."
"This paper is extremely valuable and rare, mostly used by the emperor. There are probably only a few people in the palace who can use this kind of paper to pass on messages."
When Zhen Huan said this, it was almost obvious that she was trying to provoke someone.
After all, in the entire palace, apart from the Queen who loved calligraphy and always had various kinds of good paper on hand, only the palace of Concubine Hua, which was known for its extravagance, had no shortage of these good things.
As for Concubine Qi and Concubine Jing, they either lacked favor or status, or were just stupid. The emperor was simply reluctant to let such good things go to waste.
That’s right, it’s Concubine Qi.
At this time, she actually asked Jingpin beside her, "Isn't it just a piece of paper? What's so surprising?"
"I remember that the Queen seems to have quite a few, right?" Seeing everyone looking at her, Concubine Hua still looked calm and composed, but her lowered hand was tightly clutching the handkerchief.
But the emperor at the top of the table held the note in his hand and looked at Hua Fei with an obscure look: "This matter really has nothing to do with you?"
The paper also has a special fragrance, which was produced under his personal order. The fragrance is unique and lasts for a long time.
"I really have nothing to do with this matter. Doesn't Your Majesty believe me?"
Yinzhen closed his eyes, unwilling to speak again. Su Peisheng, who was standing by, immediately stepped forward to take the note and handed it to Concubine Hua.
She took it, unsure of what it was, and examined it. The handwriting on the note wasn't hers, nor was it Cao Qinmo's. She scrutinized it for a long time but couldn't find any clues.
It was Jingpin who was standing by that moment who understood immediately: "This paper smells so good."
With just one sentence, everyone knew why the emperor seemed to have convicted Concubine Hua. The Huanyi incense was a symbol of Concubine Hua's status. It was made by the Imperial Hospital and several incense-making masters. I don't know how many precious spices were used. Who in the harem would not envy her?
Concubine Hua burned this incense in the palace day and night, and even her body was permeated with this fragrance, so she could not smell the faint fragrance on the note.
"Even if this paper is stained with the scent of Huanyixiang, it doesn't mean that it was done by me." Concubine Hua looked at the expressionless emperor, her eyes full of anxiety and grievance.
"While Empress Hua's Huan Yi Xiang is indeed rare, it's hard to guarantee that others haven't done anything wrong. It's a bit far-fetched to rely solely on this."
When Concubine Cao saw Concubine Hua's eyes sweeping over her, she knew that if she didn't speak up, she would be in trouble in front of Concubine Hua in the future, so she had no choice but to speak up and plead for her.
"Sister Cao is right. Although Concubine Hua's Qingliang Palace is impregnable, it was previously confined and no one was allowed to get close to it. But there's still you, Sister Cao. It's inevitable that something will be brought out when you go in and out, and Concubine Hua has to take the blame." Zhen Huan's half-smiled words not only made everyone look at Concubine Cao, but also caused the emperor to look at her meaningfully.
Unfortunately, Zhen Huan was so immersed in playing with Hua Fei's group for the first time that she did not notice the emperor's fleeting glance.
Only Lingrong lowered her eyelids. Since she proved her innocence, she no longer spoke casually.
Seeing the typhoon sweeping towards her, Cao Qinmo hurriedly knelt down. She knew that if it was really said that she was the one who did it, Concubine Hua would definitely not plead for her, and then she would have to bear the blame.
"I already have Wen Yi. How could a mother have the heart to harm someone else's child? Furthermore, I'm not the only one allowed in and out of Concubine Hua's Qingliang Palace. There are countless palace maids delivering meals and eunuchs on duty. Concubine Hua's palace has been freed from restrictions these past few days, so there are even more servants coming and going. It's possible that one of these people sneaked in and smuggled the Huanyi incense out."
As she was speaking, something suddenly flashed through Cao Qinmo's mind. She quickly crouched down and said, "Yesterday, I saw the weather was nice, so I took Wen Yi for a walk in the garden. I ran into someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs delivering Huanyi incense to Concubine Hua. Seeing that the eunuch was in a mess, I asked him about it. He said that he was bumped into by a servant from Concubine An's palace and almost spilled the Huanyi incense for Concubine Hua..."
How did Concubine An get involved again? Everyone sitting in the hall felt that this story was getting more and more exciting.
"It's my turn again?" Lingrong was stunned for a moment, but she quickly knelt on the ground. This time, even others could see her speechless expression of despair.
"Since Concubine Cao saw it with her own eyes and heard it with her own ears, and it happened to a servant in my palace, then please ask the Emperor and Empress to send someone to capture and interrogate him."
Cao Qinmo, kneeling on the other side, saw that she didn't show any unusual expression, and her heart tightened, guessing that she had made a bad move. But at this point, she could only comfort herself that An Lingrong was just pretending to be calm.
But when the slave was brought up, she knew that everything was over.
The person who was brought up was the spy they had planted, Xiao Luzi.
"I'm asking you, did you collide with any of the servants from the Imperial Household Department yesterday?"
Little Luzi knelt on the ground, not understanding what was going on, and nodded nervously, "It's true that I accidentally bumped into that eunuch, but nothing was damaged."
"Then did you take the opportunity to steal the Huanyixiang from Concubine Hua's palace?"
"Your Majesty, how dare I do such a thing? I just bumped into him accidentally, I really didn't steal anything from there."
"Whether it's stolen or not is not something you can decide with just one word."
The Queen had sent people to search Xiao Luzi's residence long ago, and sure enough, they found a purse hidden in a hole under his kang. There was also some perfume powder left in the hole, which had the same smell as the Huanyi incense in Concubine Hua's palace.
"What else do you have to say?!"
"Slave, slave, I really don't know anything!"
"I don't know." The emperor looked at the eunuchs kneeling below him and actually smiled: "Good, they are all loyal servants."
The servants poured out the contents of the purse, and silver ingots of extremely fine quality fell out one after another with a clang. Finally, the eunuch shook his hands, and two or three pieces of crumpled gold paper fell out.
"I remember that in this palace, you are the only one, Concubine Hua, who likes to reward people with silver wrapped in gold paper, right?" When Concubine Qi saw that the evidence was turning back to Concubine Hua, she felt that today's drama was really to her liking.
"...Send someone to search Hua Fei's Qingliang Palace." It had come to this, and Yinzhen was tired. While he didn't want to punish Hua Fei, she always acted with a superficial eye. He'd turned a blind eye to minor matters before, but now that the heir to the throne was involved, even he couldn't help but feel irritated.
Forget it, just think of it as a lesson for Concubine Hua.
Su Peisheng naturally received the emperor's signal, and was very cautious when searching with the guards, taking Hua Fei's dignity into consideration.
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