Chapter 301: Dark Punishment
Meimei comforted Lin Runan and lay with her on the couch, talking to her in private. Before they knew it, they fell asleep together. After a while, they woke up at the same time. The team was still moving. Lin Runan moved closer to Meimei and whispered something that surprised her: Concubine Shu's sudden illness was not accidental, it was premeditated! The mastermind was the queen, and the implementer was Lin Runan!
Meimei stared at Lin Runan in a daze: "You guys are so daring. Don't you see how much the emperor loves Concubine Shu? There are many guards around Concubine Shu. If someone finds out and reports it to the emperor for investigation, the consequences will be very serious!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I have bright eyes. If I plot against someone, I can only let it happen under my nose. The guards can't see it clearly. After you left yesterday, there were only a few of us left. I just stayed with them and didn't say much. Instead, it was Concubine Shu who took the lead and directed us here and there. We walked around the woods by the lake. There was a kind of vine in the woods, and the vines were full of golden flowers with delicate petals. I picked and chose in front of the flowers, and finally picked one and put it to my nose to smell it. Concubine Shu and Su De came over. Su De didn't like to wear flowers in her hair and was too lazy to do it, but Concubine Shu liked it. People in the palace knew her habit, and she would come as soon as she came. I picked two twin flowers, and her delicate fingers were accidentally scratched by the thorns, causing a little bleeding. Fortunately, she was still strong enough to put the flowers in her hair and let the maid bandage the wound on her hand with a handkerchief. No one knew that I had tampered with those flowers. While picking them, I sprinkled the special medicine powder in the small porcelain bottle in my hand on the flowers and vines, waiting for her to touch them. Once the medicine powder touches them, they will itch within an hour. As long as you scratch them, you will be infected and the disease will slowly develop. But I didn't expect that she would scratch her skin and the medicine would enter her blood vessels, which would be even more serious! What those quack doctors said about touching poisonous weeds is very true, but it is nonsense to say that it will start to develop when it touches the smell of alcohol!"
"That bunch of flowers is all covered with powder. What if someone else touches it? What if Sude picks flowers too?"
"Not all of them. Just a few of the more outstanding ones. With the personalities of Sude and Concubine Shu, the ladies outside the court dared not get too close to them, nor would they come to enjoy the flowers with the imperial concubine and princess. It was always the three of us walking together, and I would leave them from time to time to enjoy the scenery and talk with the ladies outside the court. It would be fine if Sude picked the flowers, because there is an antidote. Sude and the King of Qi have a deep brotherly relationship, and she is not on guard against me. I just need to wait for an opportunity to give her the antidote. After picking the flowers and putting them in her hair, Concubine Shu wanted to go somewhere else. When she came across another beautiful flower, she threw away the yellow flower with the powder on it and replaced it with a newly picked flower. It was exactly what I wanted!"
"Who gave you this horrible powder?"
"The Queen, before I left, she asked me to find an opportunity to punish Concubine Shu because she is becoming more and more arrogant and has offended the Queen in more than one incident. The Queen can no longer tolerate her!"
Meimei sighed, "The palace was not so chaotic before. The emperor favored Concubine Le and Concubine Rong and relied on Concubine Li. The queen could handle and control them. But now there is Concubine Shu. What is so lovable about this woman? The emperor actually forgot the deep affection he once had with the queen for her."
Lin Runan snorted, and after a long while, he said, "How could the emperor be so affectionate? The queen is a well-known smart woman. She had put a lot of thought into entering the palace and winning the emperor's affection. She should be able to understand all this!"
Meimei looked at her and said, "Runan, you are the Queen's...person. But you are also the Princess of Qi. You should also think about the Prince of Qi's thoughts and be careful in what you do."
Lin Runan smiled: "Of course I belong to the Queen, aren't you?"
"I... probably count as one. The affairs in the palace are too chaotic and complicated. It's better not to let me know. I don't want to get involved!"
Lin Runan sighed, "I don't want to either, but the queen and I have been close since childhood and she has been kind to me. I can't just watch her helpless. Fang Xuemei was introduced into the palace by Su De. The emperor saw her when he went to Cining Palace to visit the queen mother. He favored her that night and made her a concubine the next day. In just two or three months, she was promoted to the position of concubine. Her father was a third-rank official. Although her family background was not as good as the queen's, it was not low. You know that the queen mother doesn't like the queen. Now she is supporting concubine, and the emperor is favoring her. Yiyun Villa, which was built specifically for the queen, has become a special place for the emperor and concubine to have fun because of the spring that is warm in winter and icy in summer. I heard that concubine is very good at playing in the water, and the emperor can accompany her in the water for half a day without going out... A few days ago, the eldest prince caught a cold and had a fever in the middle of the night. The queen sent someone to Yuhua Palace to report to the emperor. The emperor had already put on his clothes and was about to go to Kun ” When the emperor went to Ning Palace, Concubine Shu only said, "My concubine has a stomachache!" The emperor then turned around to accompany her and ordered more imperial doctors to be called, so that the queen could take good care of the prince. What's more, the emperor actually listened to Concubine Shu's words and discussed with the queen. On the grounds that the queen was pregnant and inconvenient, he taught her to hand over the affairs of the inner palace to Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu. Fortunately, the queen was smart and said that Concubine Xian was too young and couldn't make decisions on many things, and Concubine Shu had been in the palace for a short time and had no experience. It would be better to let them follow the queen for a while, and wait for the queen to take charge before handing it over to them! The emperor agreed, but Concubine Shu went against the queen everywhere. Most of the people around Concubine Shu were given by the queen dowager. Those people were too shrewd. The queen was pregnant and was exhausted, but she tolerated her for so long until this opportunity came. I will personally go out and deal with her!"
"Can it be cured if we return to the capital? Imperial Physicians Su and Qiao are very skilled in medicine. Will they be able to recognize the powder?"
"It shouldn't be. The powder is as fine as flour, very light in color, and odorless. It fell on Concubine Shu's skin. She loves to pick flowers and brush leaves, so except for a small amount that seeped into her skin, the rest fell off. After returning to the tent to bathe and change clothes, the powder dissolved in water and no trace of it was left."
"Will she die?"
"She won't die, but I don't think the doctors will be able to cure her. She will be disfigured, and the emperor will lose his beauty!"
After a moment of silence, Meimei said, "She's not a good person either. I hope the emperor won't be sad!"
Lin Runan sneered: "Maybe he will be sad for two days, it's strange that he is sad! There are countless beauties in the palace, many of whom have not yet seen the emperor!"
"After Concubine Shu, who will come out to bully others? Will it be Concubine Le?"
Lin Runan glanced at her and said, "You don't know yet? Concubine Le was young and hot-tempered. She was jealous of Concubine Shu and tore Concubine Shu's skirt. The emperor banished her to the cold palace, but Concubine Shu did not let her go. She secretly had people torture her to the point of madness. Now no one in the palace dares to provoke Concubine Shu. Concubine Jing pretended to be sick and weak to ensure the safety of herself and the little prince. Concubine Li received the order from the queen and tolerated it blindly and did not conflict with Concubine Shu. Concubine Zhen could not give birth to a child. Because of the incident caused by A Yao, the emperor felt disgusted and stopped going to her palace, as if he had forgotten this person... If the emperor does not care about these old people, the queen and other pregnant concubines cannot sleep with him. It seems that he has to spend time looking through the beauty pictures and find new people!"
The two of them were laughing quietly when they heard someone knocking on the carriage. Lin Runan was startled. Meimei said:
"Don't panic, my car is surrounded by the guards of the Houfu and Bai Zhan is watching. No one can get close except our own people!"
She raised her voice and asked, "What is it?"
Bai Zhan said: "Reply to Madam: We have reached the posthouse ahead!"
"Got it! Where's Lord Hou?"
"The Lord is with the Emperor, and has ordered me and Baoju to accompany the palace guards to escort the Princess and the Young Madam's carriage!"
"Okay, get ready and wait for the princess to get off the car!"
Lin Runan said, "Where's your water? Let me have a sip. I haven't dared to drink water for fear of having to go to the toilet. Now that we are at the post house, I'll drink it."
Meimei smiled and took out a water bag for her: "Me too, it's fun to go out, but I hate it the most when I'm with men. It's inconvenient to do anything!"
The team rested for a while at the post house, and then continued on their way. They returned to the capital at dusk. The chief steward of the Qi Wang Mansion had already brought the princess's sedan chair to guard the city gate to take the princess away. The emperor also had to rush back to the palace to treat the concubine. Xu Junying returned to Meimei's carriage, abandoned his horse and got on the carriage, and sat with Meimei in his arms. Meimei said, "What did you talk about with the emperor all the way? You didn't even look at me!"
Xu Junying said: "Your Majesty is in a bad mood, so he has to keep you company. Am I not here to keep you company?"
"Because the Concubine Shu is seriously ill, the Emperor must be very sad. What did he say?"
"The Emperor said - it's a bummer! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have brought the women with me. They are too delicate and can't even touch flowers or plants."
"How can you generalize? It's just that his concubine is not good enough. We are very strong! He is a spoiler, but I feel spoiled too! I was thinking of going up the mountain again today and catching a beautiful pheasant for Heng'er to play with!"
Xu Junying smiled and said, "I don't feel disappointed. Whether I'm in the wild or at home, I'm happy as long as you're by my side!"
Meimei leaned in his arms, hugged his waist and sighed: "I am happy to be with you... I regret it now!"
Xu Junying was stunned, not understanding what she meant. He lifted her chin with one hand and said, "Meimei, what are you talking about?"
Meimei frowned slightly: "I regret giving them that lovely pheasant yesterday. I must have killed it and saved it for Heng'er as a gift today. We came back from the mountain without anything fun. Will he be disappointed in us?"
Xu Junying breathed a sigh of relief: "You scared me to death! You have to speak one sentence at a time, don't just talk nonsense all at once, understand?"
He lifted the carriage window curtain and said to the horse outside, "Go ask Marquis Changle if he has any live prey. Leave one for me!"
Bai Zhan said beside Baoju, "Replying to Master: Madam Changle Hou just sent someone to deliver a small chicken, saying that the young lady caught it yesterday and asked her to bring it back for Heng Ge'er to play with!"
"real……"
Meimei happily came forward, but Xu Junying lowered the curtain, hugged her and said, "You fool, you gave away what you caught with great difficulty. Fortunately, the wife of Changle Hou was willing to keep it for you."
"I thought I could go up the mountain and catch it another day. Who knew you would come back in such a hurry..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
