Chapter 160: Wet Nurse and Daughter
"Your Majesty, the wet nurse and Jinghong are not innocent! They are the ones who bullied Prince Liang!"
Chunzhi pointed her finger at Yu and the beautiful palace maid who had spoken before.
"Sister Chunzhi, how can you slander me like this?!" Jinghong's beautiful eyes widened in surprise, her face full of surprise and disbelief.
"Chunzhi, you failed to take good care of His Highness Prince Liang, and Mother only gave you a minor reprimand. Are you harboring a grudge and wanting to kill us? When did you become so vicious?"
Yu on the side was also shocked.
After the shock, she sighed deeply, her eyes full of disappointment.
"Chunzhi, I believe I've never wronged you. I always treated you like my own daughter. You caused the Prince of Liang to fall ill, and out of consideration for our past friendship, I didn't hand you over to the Ministry of Punishment. Yet, you've turned the tables...slandering me for harming His Highness the Prince of Liang. Do you realize that deceiving the emperor will bring disaster upon your entire family?"
Chunzhi's face turned red, and she looked obviously very angry.
She stammered and yelled, "You...you are talking nonsense!"
Jinghong looked at her with regret: "Who is talking nonsense? Your Majesty will make the final decision. Chunzhi, think about your family. Don't let them get involved. Hurry and admit your mistake to His Majesty."
She spoke sincerely, and her expression and eyes showed her helplessness and worry about a vicious sister.
Seeing her hypocritical look, Chunzhi almost vomited blood.
How shameless! How shameless!
Chunzhi kowtowed to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, every word I say is true. I dare not speak nonsense."
"Three days ago, Chunye, the head maidservant serving Prince Liang, died for no apparent reason. The nurse arranged for me and Jinghong to keep vigil for Prince Liang."
"I am just a maidservant, so it's not my place to serve His Majesty Prince Liang personally."
"But since the nurse has given the order, I dare not disobey."
"That day, when His Royal Highness Prince Liang went to sleep at night, he felt a little cold."
"I wanted to give the prince an extra quilt, but Jinghong wouldn't allow it, saying it was only autumn and one quilt was enough."
"I dared not disobey her wishes, so I put the quilt back and went to close the window."
"But Jinghong still doesn't allow it, saying that the room is too stuffy and needs ventilation."
"I was worried that Prince Liang might get caught in the wind, so I had an argument with Jinghong."
"But Jinghong slapped me, saying that I, a maid who just cleans the palace, was not worthy of questioning her decision."
"Jinghong is the daughter of the wet nurse. I dare not resist her anymore."
"The next day, when His Royal Highness Prince Liang woke up, he was already ill, and no one in Mingchang Palace went to call for the imperial physician."
"Seeing this, I decided to go and ask for it myself."
"But the wet nurse and Jinghong beat me with twenty sticks and put me in solitary confinement for a month, alleging that I had failed to take good care of His Highness Prince Liang."
"Today, I learned from the palace maids living with me that Prince Liang was not feeling well. So I waited until everyone was asleep and secretly escaped to ask for an audience with Your Majesty."
"What happened next is what you saw, Your Majesty."
When Chunzhi finished speaking, you could hear a pin drop in the hall.
Her forehead was bleeding, leaving a dark red mark on the bluestone tiles.
When she said this, her voice became much smoother.
Chunzhi's trembling hands were still pointing at the Yu mother and daughter, and her voice became more and more firm.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to understand. I personally saw Jinghong pricking the soles of Prince Liang's feet with silver needles, claiming it was to 'reduce his fever'!"
Jinghong's face changed suddenly when he heard this, and then he covered his face and sobbed.
"Sister Chunzhi, it was you who accidentally knocked over the medicine bowl that day, scalding His Highness. I just said a few words to you, and you accused me of stabbing His Highness Prince Liang with a needle. You're totally fabricating stories and confusing right and wrong!"
"Enough!" Yan Shixu slammed his palm on the rosewood table, causing the teacups to clink.
He swept his eyes across the three people kneeling in front of him, and then his gaze fell on Wu Junnian.
Wu Junnian immediately walked back to the bed, took off King Liang's white socks, carefully examined the soles of his feet, and shook his head.
"Your Majesty, no needle holes were found on the soles of Prince Liang's feet."
Chunzhi was shocked and looked at Jinghong in disbelief.
Jinghong grabbed her hand and urged her again earnestly, "Sister Chunzhi, please tell His Majesty the truth and stop courting death."
Chunzhi felt cold all over. She clearly saw Jinghong stabbing His Royal Highness Prince Liang with a needle.
His Royal Highness Prince Liang was sweating profusely from the pain, so how could there be no needle marks?
She often did embroidery and knew that even if the needle hole was not serious, it would take several days to heal.
How could there not be?
Yan Shixu also frowned.
He shouted outside, "Come here, interrogate all the palace servants in Mingchang Palace separately. Anyone who deliberately shields and deceives others will be killed without mercy!"
Zhang Siming immediately brought in a group of imperial guards from outside and led out all the palace maids who were trembling on the side.
When Chunzhi was taken away, Jinghong raised his eyes and glanced at her.
Just a faint glance made Chunzhi feel extremely cold all over.
She understood what this look meant.
If no one came forward to identify Yu's mother and daughter today, she and her family outside the palace would probably not live long.
Chunzhi closed her eyes, and her hands under her sleeves were shaking violently.
Then he resolutely followed the guards out of the hall.
Wen Li'er glanced at Chunzhi's back, seeming to be thinking about something.
Then she looked at Jinghong again.
Jinghong looked back at her without dodging or avoiding, and even smiled at her gently.
Wen Li'er was surprised.
The Yu mother and daughter were so calm.
Looking at it this way, he really looks like he has a clear conscience.
But Chunzhi didn't look like she was lying.
Wen Li'er thought for a moment and whispered something to Yan Shixu.
Yongtai stood aside and listened attentively, hearing Wen Lier's words clearly.
After receiving the signal from his Majesty, he immediately left the hall.
Yongtai found Zhang Sicheng and said, "Your Majesty and the Imperial Concubine are saying that if these palace servants have already colluded with each other, or if they have evidence against them, they probably won't confess."
Zhang Sicheng thought so too.
He was just thinking about how to pry open the mouths of these palace servants when he heard Yongtai say again: "Why not trick them?"
Zhang Sicheng's eyes lit up and he instantly knew what to do.
Isn't it easy to cheat these people?
Just go in and execute them, saying that so-and-so reported that he/she had bullied King Liang.
They're all going to die, so who would want to cover up for someone else? It's good enough if they don't drag a few people down with them.
Half an hour later, Zhang Sicheng obtained more than 30 confessions.
The old maid in charge of laundry confessed: "This old slave...this old slave has received the inner garment of His Royal Highness Prince Liang three times, and there are blood stains on it. The nurse said that His Highness dropped it himself..."
A young eunuch in the imperial kitchen confessed: "Every day, the meals delivered to Mingchang Palace were eaten by the wet nurse and Jinghong first before His Royal Highness Prince Liang could eat them. One time, I secretly saw them leaving no food for His Royal Highness Prince Liang. He was so hungry that he cried, and they beat him with bamboo sticks..."
Lai Fu, the eunuch who held the Prince of Liang in his arms, wept bitterly, "I deserve death! Nanny and Jing Hong have sent people to capture my loved ones. If I disobey, they will kill them! I dared not disobey them and allowed them to take away the gold, silver, jewels, and money left to the Prince of Liang by the late Emperor and Concubine Yang. I deserve death! I am so ashamed of His Highness the Prince of Liang..."
The gatekeeper eunuch also confessed: "Jinghong sent people to capture our family. If anyone tells anyone about their bullying of Prince Liang, they will kill all of us and dump our bodies in a mass grave! Sister Chunye died a few days ago because... because she saw the wet nurse and Sister Jinghong beating Prince Liang with bamboo sticks and planned to tell on them. She and her family died a miserable death—"
………………
After the interrogation, Zhang Sicheng's brows were tightly furrowed.
In Mingchang Palace, the families of almost all the palace servants were in the hands of Yu and Jinghong.
A wet nurse and a palace maid, could they really have such great abilities?
Who is the person helping them outside the palace?
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