Chapter 36 (Urgent!)
Meanwhile, Cheng Huai bribed a palace maid in charge of washing and incense to leak the news that the Shenxing Division had found clues. With some embellishment and alarmist talk, the news had quietly spread throughout the servants' rooms in Yongchun Palace in less than half a day.
Wang En, the apprentice of the Grand Eunuch of Yongchun Palace, had been on leave for the past two days. While hanging clothes to dry, he overheard several palace servants whispering. When he heard the word "search," he immediately focused his attention and listened intently.
"I heard that His Majesty asked Prince Zhao to handle this case, and the investigation has already reached our palace."
"Previously, they only investigated palace maids, but now they're even investigating eunuchs. They say that anyone who wears makeup and speaks in a high-pitched voice might actually be a eunuch..."
"If this really happened in our palace, do you think Consort Li would hand the person over directly, or...?"
The eunuch who spoke made a throat-slitting gesture, and Wang En immediately felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.
How did the investigation lead to the eunuchs?
He hurriedly went to his master, He Maocai, to inquire about the news, but was told that he was not in the duty room and was probably serving Consort Li. The situation outside was tense, and Wang En dared not show his face easily at this time, let alone ask Consort Li for help, in case he was silenced.
Wang En was filled with anxiety and restlessness all day long.
Originally, this task was handled flawlessly. He had been castrated early, and his height was shorter and thinner than that of ordinary eunuchs, similar to that of palace maids. After applying makeup to cover his facial features, he looked no different from ordinary palace maids. Even the palace maids and guards who had dealt with him could not suspect his eunuch identity.
Since the palace couldn't find anyone named him, and the reputations of Princess Rui and the Eighth Prince were involved, they wouldn't make a big fuss about it, and it would eventually just fade away.
Who would have thought that when the matter was handed over to King Zhao for investigation, in just one day, the investigation would start with the palace maids and then move to the eunuchs, and it seemed that the investigation was about to reach him.
Once King Zhao discovers his existence, Consort Li will certainly not escape punishment. However, if we strike first and silence him, Consort Li will be able to rest easy.
Wang En was absolutely certain that he would die if he stayed in the palace.
He couldn't eat all day, his heart was in his throat, not knowing when the guillotine would fall. He was so frightened that he wet his underwear three times in half a day. In the end, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, make up his mind, and take out all the salary he had saved over the years.
He has a fellow townsman who works in the Imperial Garden Bureau and often goes out of the palace to buy fruits and vegetables. Perhaps he can ask him for help to escape. It would be better than sitting in the palace and waiting to die.
Just as he was about to sneak out with the silver to find his fellow villager, a guard with a sword immediately surrounded him with his men as soon as he stepped out of the back room. "By order of Consort Li, kill him immediately! Hold him down!"
After saying that, Cheng Huai made a move to swing his knife and chop off his head.
Wang En was so frightened that he wet himself and knelt down, kowtowing and begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant doesn't want any reward or promotion! Please plead with Your Majesty for me, and I will leave the palace today and stay far away, so as not to be a burden to Your Majesty!"
Cheng Huai feigned a shout: "You disguised yourself as a palace maid, secretly poisoned Princess Rui, and then slandered the prince and Princess Rui for having an affair. You even incited the heir to make this matter known to everyone. You deserve to die. What does this have to do with Your Highness?"
Wang En cried out in anguish, "This servant only works for Your Majesty! Your Majesty cannot discard me after I have served my purpose!"
Cheng Huai smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Take him away."
Wang En was still in a daze when his arms were already being held up. He saw two female officials dressed as leaders emerge from the shadows and search under the blue bricks outside his door, finding the remaining incense he had buried inside. Only then did he belatedly realize that he had fallen into a trap!
These weren't people sent by Consort Li at all! They were clearly tricking him to get the truth out of him!
The Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Yan Xue presented Wang En's confession. After reading it, Emperor Yongcheng flew into a rage and threw the confession at Consort Li, who was kneeling below him. "What else do you have to say!"
Consort Li was deathly pale and trembling all over, unable to understand how the investigation had led to Wang En!
Even if a eunuch were to impersonate a palace maid, someone familiar with Wang En in Yongchun Palace might not be able to recognize him.
She was extremely cautious, fearing to alert the enemy, and did not kill anyone to silence them at that moment. But how did King Zhao, who was blind, find out about it?
Consort Li clutched the confession tightly, forcing herself to remain calm, and cried out, "Your Majesty, I knew nothing about this! I have no recollection of who Wang En is, how could I have instructed him to frame the Eighth Prince? I have never even heard of that 'Warm Aphrodisiac,' what good would it do me to drug the Princess Consort Rui? Someone must have framed me, Your Majesty!"
Yan Xuecui chuckled lightly: "Never heard of Warmth Fragrance before?"
Consort Li suddenly raised her eyes and stared intently at him. "Prince Zhao, I have no grudge against you. Why are you slandering me?"
Yan Xuecui said, "I forgot to tell Your Highness that when I was arresting Wang En just now, I also invited Su Qing, the palace maid in charge of the accounts in Your Highness's room, to come and have a chat."
Consort Li's pupils contracted sharply, and she collapsed to the ground.
Yan Xuecui originally planned to wait for Kang Fu to investigate the source of the Warm Love Fragrance, but now he had no patience and directly arrested Consort Li's personal maid for interrogation.
A slight sneer crossed his lips: "It seems this palace maid isn't entirely loyal to the Empress. I only showed her a few cruel tortures, and before the whip even touched her, she was terrified and confessed everything. She said that every time the Emperor visits Yongchun Palace, the Empress orders her to add a little aphrodisiac to the incense burner, and that a small amount is also added to the angelica and turtle soup that the Emperor often drinks..."
Consort Li retorted sharply, "This is utter nonsense! How could I possibly use such despicable methods! You clearly tortured me into confessing!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongcheng's face turned extremely ugly.
Cheng Huai presented the aphrodisiac found in Yongchun Palace and reported, "The porcelain bottle contains the aphrodisiac that Consort Li hid in the hidden compartment of the antique shelf in the warm pavilion. In addition, the fragrance wrapped in this handkerchief was dug out from under the blue bricks at the entrance of Wang En's room."
Cheng Huai secretly observed from the back room of Yongchun Palace for half a day. Seeing that Wang En reacted too strongly after hearing the rumors, he immediately kept a close eye on him.
Seeing that he was restless all day, constantly packing up his valuables and occasionally stomping on the bluestone to try to cover up the marks, Cheng Huai arrested him and immediately asked the female official of the Censorate to lift the bricks and search. Sure enough, they dug up the leftover love incense he had used.
Emperor Yongcheng stared at the filth in front of him, his anger blazing as he glared at Consort Li.
In recent years, Consort Li has indeed often used herbs such as astragalus and angelica to make nourishing soups for him. After using them, he often felt hot all over, which he thought was due to the effects of the nourishing soups.
At his age, he heeded the advice of the Imperial Advisor and began to suppress his desires and cultivate his health, no longer frequently entering and leaving the inner palace as before. However, whenever he stayed overnight at Changchun Palace, he could not help but make love with Consort Li.
He thought that although Consort Li was no longer young, she still had charm and was quite alluring and lovable in bed, which was why he was so infatuated with her.
Who would have thought it was all thanks to this warming fragrance!
Emperor Yongcheng was so angry that he swept the teacup off the table and onto the ground. His face turned ashen, and his voice was stern: "You are simply audacious!"
Consort Li trembled with fear, and in her panic, she still vehemently denied it: "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and not to believe his one-sided story! I really didn't..."
Emperor Yongcheng said in a deep voice: "Whether it exists or not, a simple investigation by the entire Yongchun Palace will tell us!"
The Imperial Prison immediately ordered the detention of all the palace maids and eunuchs working in the inner chambers and kitchens of Yongchun Palace, to be severely tortured and thoroughly investigated. Consort Li was also temporarily confined to Yongchun Palace until the truth came to light.
After all this commotion, it was already late at night.
Emperor Yongcheng was so enraged by Consort Li that he was overcome with anger. It was only after Kangfu offered him a pill prepared by the Imperial Preceptor Dongyangzi that Emperor Yongcheng swallowed it and his anger gradually subsided. He then looked up at his son in the hall.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Emperor Yongcheng always felt that he was quite different from the cheerful and refined man he had been when he entered the palace.
In just two days, his face turned pale and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he were extremely exhausted. However, his tightly pursed lips and the veins on his forehead seemed to be suppressing some kind of hidden emotion.
He must be exhausted.
Emperor Yongcheng sighed, "You've had a hard time these past few days. I never imagined that Consort Li would not only slander the Eighth Prince and the Princess Consort of Rui, but also... use such methods against me! Well, it's getting late tonight. You should go back to Yongyan Palace to rest. Tomorrow..."
“Tomorrow,” Yan Xue urged, “I will return to my residence first. Once the results of the investigation by the Ministry of Justice are available, Father may summon me to the palace at any time if needed.”
"Alright."
Emperor Yongcheng looked into Prince Zhao's dull and lifeless eyes and felt a pang of regret.
If he hadn't gone blind, he would have been a brave and skilled general, a man of both literary and military talent. Even after two years of silence, he would still be sharp-witted and discerning. No matter how difficult the case, once it passed through his hands, it would quickly become clear and the truth would come to light.
Currently, various factions within the court are stirring up trouble, and the princes are vying for power, each eyeing the dragon throne beneath him. If the Seventh Prince could lend them a helping hand, that would be ideal.
It was late at night, and there was an early court session the next day. Emperor Yongcheng was furious about Consort Li's matter and was still feeling a splitting headache. So he raised his hand to signal that he should leave first.
As for what specific position will be assigned to him, that will have to be carefully considered and decided in the future.
Yan Xue returned to Yongyan Palace and suffered from insomnia again that night.
As soon as the morning bell rang, he got up immediately, intending to change his clothes and return to his residence, but the Eighth Prince came to express his gratitude before the morning court session for the banquet of beauties.
"Thanks to Seventh Brother for uncovering the truth, otherwise I would have been speechless! How about this, Seventh Brother, don't leave the palace today. I'll prepare a feast in Mingde Hall to entertain you, shall I?"
Yan Xuecui was eager to return to her residence, and after being chattered on by him, she almost lost her composure, only saying lightly, "No need."
Seeing his pale face and the rare, sinister glint in his eyes, the Eighth Prince felt a chill run down his spine: "Seventh Brother, you don't need to be so polite with me, I..."
Yan Xuecui's palm, gripping the bamboo cane tightly, bulged with veins, and for a moment she almost had the urge to kill.
Finally, she smiled gently and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Eighth Brother, but I say it's not necessary."
The Eighth Prince scratched his head sheepishly and had no choice but to give up, "Then we'll wait until the Seventh Brother goes to the palace next time..."
Before he finished speaking, his seventh brother, a blind man, strode out of the palace gate with his robes billowing in the wind.
The carriage sped along.
Yan Xuecui repeatedly twirled the jade ring between her fingers, but she could not suppress the restlessness in her heart that seemed about to burst out of her chest.
Upon returning to her residence, Yan Xue leaned on her bamboo cane and headed straight for Shuyu Zhai. Stepping into her bedroom, she found the room eerily silent, devoid of any trace of her presence. In that instant, it felt as if her heartstrings had snapped, and the anxiety of the past few days transformed into a raging inferno, burning her heart with intense heat.
Aunt Fangchun was quite surprised to see him return to the manor so suddenly, and quickly stepped forward to explain, "The Princess thought you wouldn't be returning today, so she decided to go back to the Earl's manor on a whim. The carriage has been gone for almost half an hour..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his master's face turn cold, almost as if water was dripping from it.
Fangchun and Yuande behind her looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yuan De, ignoring the cold sweat on his forehead, hurriedly said, "Your Highness wishes to see the Princess Consort? This servant will immediately send men on horseback to bring the Princess Consort back."
Yan Xuecui closed her eyes and sighed deeply, almost crushing the ring in her hand: "Prepare the carriage, I will go there myself."
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Author's Note: Ahhh, I'm so impatient, Xiao Yan! I can't wait to kiss my wife! I'm writing this in such a rush!
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