Everyone could hear that Emperor Xuande was unhappy. Some people were gloating, while others were worried about Shen Zhixiu.
Su Qingyu wanted to offer a vague explanation, but before she could open her mouth, Su Yuanzhou stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Shen has some urgent business to attend to. He will be here shortly. I'd like to ask you to first apologize to Your Majesty and Empress Chen."
If someone else had explained, Emperor Xuande might have reprimanded him. But since it was Su Yuanzhou who was speaking, Emperor Xuande did not embarrass him.
He just said, "Since he has something important to do, let him do it."
Princess Yongjia and Li Chaoyun looked at each other, and for some reason, they both felt a little uneasy.
Shen Zhixiu's absence from the hall gave them the illusion that they were out of control.
Princess Yongjia calmed herself down and thought everything was ready. Even if Shen Zhixiu discovered something, he would be powerless to save the situation.
After Su Qingyu presented the birthday gift, she returned to her seat.
Another quarter of an hour later, everyone finally presented their gifts.
Afterwards, the singing and dancing girls from the palace music troupe came up and performed festive programs.
After the singing and dancing, Sun Mao, the director of the Imperial Observatory, walked to the center of the hall. A longevity lantern, as tall as a man, was also carried to the center of the hall.
This was a ceremony only performed on the emperor and empress's birthdays. Lighting the longevity lantern symbolized longevity and a long life.
Everyone present was shocked. They knew that the emperor doted on this Concubine Chen, but they didn't expect him to dote on her to this extent.
Sun Mao was also a man who knew how to handle things. He invited Emperor Xuande to come forward and light the lamp for Empress Chenfei personally.
Emperor Xuande naturally agreed, walked forward, took the long candle, and lit the lantern.
When the lanterns are lit, the ceremony is considered complete. In fact, it is nothing more than seeking good luck.
Emperor Xuande returned to the main hall and said to Consort Chen: "My beloved concubine, I am sure you will live a long and prosperous life."
As soon as he finished speaking, the longevity lamp in the center of the hall suddenly dimmed. The wick inside was extinguished.
At the same time, Concubine Chen suddenly covered her abdomen and said, "Your Majesty, I suddenly feel unwell."
The sudden change caught Emperor Xuande off guard.
This longevity lamp uses a special oil, how could it possibly go out? And the concubine has a stomachache, could she have been poisoned?
Emperor Xuande didn't care how the longevity lamp went out and hurriedly ordered the imperial physician to come forward.
Fortunately, Liu Yuanzheng from the Imperial Hospital was also there today. He trotted to the main hall and knelt on the ground to take the pulse of Concubine Chen.
After a long while, Liu Yuanzheng finally spoke: "Your Majesty, I have checked your Majesty's pulse and there is nothing abnormal."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It is my incompetence."
This is how you serve the nobles in the palace. If the noble is sick, you have to apologize. If you can't diagnose the disease, you have to apologize even more.
At this time, Concubine Chen was holding her lower abdomen and biting her lower lip tightly, looking as if she was in unbearable pain.
When Emperor Xuande heard that Liu Yuanzheng said he could not diagnose anything abnormal, he immediately became furious. "She is in so much pain, and you tell me she is not sick? What are you doing? Where are the other people in the Imperial Hospital? Come and take a look."
Liu Yuanzheng had no choice but to kneel on the ground and apologize.
Sun Mao, the director of the Imperial Observatory, looked at the eternal lamp for a long time, then took out five copper coins from his pocket, lay on the ground and threw the coins, muttering to himself.
Seeing him like this, Emperor Xuande asked, "My dear Lord Sun, have you noticed anything unusual?"
Everyone present also looked at Sun Mao, wondering what he was doing.
Even when the emperor asked him questions, Sun Mao did not stop what he was doing, and stared at the copper coins on the ground.
A smile appeared in Su Qingyu's eyes, and she thought that the play being performed by the Imperial Observatory was even better than the one in the music troupe.
Princess Yongjia really played a big game this time. She used all the people she could to get rid of the Shen family.
After a while, Sun Mao stood up and said to Emperor Xuande, "Your Majesty, I observed the stars last night and noticed an unusual phenomenon in the Xuanyuan Seventeen Stars near the Purple Star. The Xuanyuan Seventeen Stars are responsible for the safety of the nobles in the harem, and this sudden unusual phenomenon must mean something is about to happen."
"Just now, the Wanshou Lantern suddenly went out again, so I did a divination. I saw that the lucky girl in the hall today was murdered by evil magic, and the perpetrator is in the hall."
Emperor Xuande was confused. "The girl of destiny?"
In ancient books, there is a saying that the queen of a country is a woman of destiny.
The queen's position in the harem has been vacant for a long time. With so many concubines, who is the one with luck?
Sun Mao continued to explain, "Today is the birthday of Empress Chen Fei, so today in the hall, Empress Chen Fei is the well-deserved daughter of destiny."
Emperor Xuande saw that Concubine Chen was still unwell and pondered for a moment, "Are you saying that Concubine Chen's sudden illness was caused by some evil spell?"
Sun Mao nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. Now we just need to find the evil creature and kill the person who cast the spell, and then the Concubine Chen will be safe."
Emperor Xuande suspected this was another harem ploy to win favor, and he was instantly enraged. It would have been fine if it were just a minor incident, but today, he was directly using sorcery to harm someone.
"Go ahead and investigate. Whoever you find out today will be killed without mercy."
While speaking, Emperor Xuande glanced coldly at Concubine Xian, Concubine Rong and others behind him.
Several people wanted to explain, but the emperor didn't say anything, so they didn't dare to speak rashly.
Concubine Rong was indignant. Why did Jiang Ziyan suffer and she became the object of suspicion?
Before Jiang Ziyan entered the palace, she and Concubine Xian could compete with each other and she had some power in the palace.
But ever since Jiang Ziyan entered the palace, she has been almost the only favorite, and the emperor's mind has been focused on Guanju Palace.
The virtuous concubine, who was on good terms with Jiang Ziyan, could often visit Guanju Palace, but she was treated coldly. If she hadn't had a prince, who knows what her situation would have been like.
After receiving the emperor's order, Sun Mao began to look around the hall, and finally focused his attention on the gift next to Concubine Chen.
"Your Majesty, I request your permission to inspect these gifts. Since the Empress Chen is clearly unwell, the evil being must be nearby."
"I am worried that someone might use the gift-giving as an excuse to harm Her Majesty."
Emperor Xuande naturally agreed and told Sun Mao to investigate. He also ordered Hu Lu, who was beside him, to bring the young eunuchs to help.
Three or four people began to check the pile of birthday gifts.
Su Qingyu saw Sun Mao reach over the gift box on the table and take the gift box she had given him from the middle.
While Hu Lu and others were still checking other things, Sun Mao had already opened Su Qingyu's gift and took out the round fan to look at it.
Sun Mao looked solemnly, turning the book over and over for a long time. Then he suddenly pulled off the pendant on the fan handle and took out the rolled silk paper from the handle.
He carefully opened it and glanced at the contents. The upper half of the silk paper was a hand-drawn lotus image, and the lower half was covered with runes he couldn't understand.
Sun Mao was a little suspicious. Wasn't it said to be Miao witchcraft? Why did it look like scripture?
But he couldn't think too much at this moment. He knelt down, holding the silk paper in his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have found the evil object. On this silk paper is a witchcraft spell from Southern Xinjiang. I have done some research on it, and the content on it is a curse on the Empress Chen and the Great Zhou."
Emperor Xuande's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he asked in a cold voice, "Who presented this?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
