The little palace maid spoke softly, "We're almost there. It's quieter here, and the prince will like it."
Song Hongshen hummed, seemingly without any suspicion.
Not far from the Imperial Garden is Guangling Palace. During the reign of the previous emperor, because Concubine Gao liked exotic flowers and plants, the previous emperor gave her Guangling Palace next to the Imperial Garden to live in.
When Emperor Xuande ascended the throne, Guangling Palace became vacant. However, it was not abandoned. Concubines would occasionally come here to enjoy the flowers and change clothes and rest.
After entering Guangling Palace, the young palace maid took Song Hongshen to the door of a side hall and said, "Your Highness, please rest here. It's quiet and there are few people here, so you won't be disturbed."
Song Hongshen looked around and there were really not many people around. He guessed they had all been taken away by the prince.
The little palace maid pushed open the door, gestured for invitation, and turned to leave.
Song Hongshen narrowed his eyes slightly, thought about it, and walked in.
He was a martial artist with sharp hearing. He heard it as soon as he entered the door and saw someone guarding the back window.
Song Hongshen smiled and walked inside.
On the large carved mahogany bed, the gauze curtain was half drawn, revealing the figure inside.
Song Hongshen's curiosity was also aroused, so he walked to the bed, pulled open the curtains and took a look.
Just one glance and Song Hongshen's expression changed.
I thought to myself, is the prince crazy?
The person lying on the bed was none other than Empress Chen, the most favored of the six harems.
And it seems that Concubine Chen is still unconscious at this time.
Song Hongshen stood by the bed without moving, but deliberately made some noise.
When he heard a noise at the rear window again, he lowered his voice and asked, "Who's outside?"
When the people guarding outside heard that what had happened inside was done, they were afraid of alerting Song Hongshen, so they quickly left quietly.
Song Hongshen waited for a while, and after confirming that there was no one around, he turned around and left the house, quietly leaving Guangling Palace.
He didn't go far, but found a pavilion in the imperial garden to sit down, drinking tea and looking at the scenery of the imperial garden in autumn.
At this moment, in the greenhouse where the banquet was held, Emperor Xuande and Concubine Xian had already returned to their seats, but Concubine Chen had not yet returned.
"Where is the Concubine Chen?" Emperor Xuande asked.
Hu Lu answered from the side, "The Concubine Chen has gone to change her clothes. Your Majesty, don't worry. I will send someone to check on her right away."
The virtuous concubine was talking to the Rong concubine on the side, and both of them had a hint of jealousy in their eyes at the same time.
Even though she was a little late in changing clothes, the emperor still wanted to ask about it. He really thinks Concubine Chen is the apple of his eye.
Not long after, Hu Lu hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress Chen is missing."
Emperor Xuande immediately frowned, "What do you mean 'missing'? Explain yourself to me clearly."
Hu Lu replied, "Originally, the Empress Chen was going to change her clothes, and she was accompanied by two senior palace maids who served her closely."
"It was said that the Concubine Chen was a little tired, so she lay down to rest for a while. The two of them also took a nap, and when they woke up, they were gone."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already sent someone to look for him."
When they heard that Concubine Chen was missing, everyone present was shocked, as she was pregnant with a dragon child.
Xian Fei also turned around and asked, "Why did she disappear?"
She continued, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't said something to Your Majesty just now, Your Majesty wouldn't have left Sister Chen Fei."
Although Concubine Xian said this, she felt relieved. Using Jiang Ziyan to bring down Song Hongshen was a great deal, and she could also get rid of a little evildoer at the same time.
Afterwards, Concubine Xian glanced at Su Zhilan. What a pity! She had wanted to invite Third Lady Shen to come and see the excitement. Perhaps Third Lady Shen felt sorry for her sister and would stir up trouble.
However, even if Su Qingyu didn't come, it would not affect the result.
When she withdrew her gaze, Concubine Xian suddenly glanced at the place where Song Hongshen had sat before, and there seemed to be something at the corner of the table.
She turned around and gave a few instructions to her trusted palace maid, then continued to care about the whereabouts of Concubine Chen as if nothing had happened.
Not long after, a young palace maid fell on Song Hongshen's table while serving tea.
Then the teacup fell to the ground and the little palace maid knelt down to apologize.
Emperor Xuande didn't care about all this at the moment. He waved his hand to signal Hu Lu to deal with it. He was instructing Puyi to take the Dragon Guards to find Concubine Chen.
Hu Luzi would not make things difficult for her and only told her to pack up her equipment and leave quickly.
The young palace maid picked up the teacup on the ground, then picked up a scattered purse. She said, "Eunuch Hu, I found this. Did His Royal Highness the Loyal and Brave Prince drop it? I've even stained this purse with water. Should I go and apologize to His Royal Highness the Loyal and Brave Prince?"
As she spoke, she raised her purse with both hands, waiting for Hu Lu's instructions.
Hu Lu looked around but didn't see Song Hongshen, so he thought about putting it on the table first.
Before she could speak, the virtuous concubine spoke, "Let me see that purse. It's very exquisitely made."
Upon hearing this, Hu Lu took the purse, walked to Concubine Xian and presented it to her.
Su Zhilan became anxious upon seeing this, and without thinking, she stood up and said, "My Lady, this purse is the amulet I asked for the King of Loyalty and Bravery."
The implication is that this is Song Hongshen's thing, and the virtuous concubine should not touch or look at it without permission.
But the virtuous concubine seemed not to understand what she meant. She simply opened the purse and tried to take out the things inside.
Su Zhilan was about to stop him, saying that the amulet couldn't be exposed to light.
But it was too late. The virtuous concubine directly took out a folded piece of rice paper from inside.
The virtuous concubine opened the paper and exclaimed in surprise. Then her face was filled with horror, as if she had seen something terrible.
Su Zhilan looked at the paper that Concubine Xian took out of her purse in surprise. She didn't put this thing in there.
When Emperor Xuande saw Concubine Xian like this, he also looked over.
Xian Fei handed the paper over, "Your Majesty, please take a look. Is this the picture of Chen Fei's sister?"
Emperor Xuande looked at the portrait on the paper. Wasn't it Consort Chen Jiang Ziyan?
The virtuous concubine spoke in a loud voice, and many people heard it, and they all looked puzzled.
Song Hongshen was away, and Empress Chenfei had disappeared. In Song Hongshen's purse was a portrait of Empress Chenfei.
When several things were connected together, many people began to imagine.
Song Zan's face was gloomy, and he glanced at Concubine Xian meaningfully, his eyes flickering. The veins on his hand holding the wine glass were bulging, clearly indicating anger.
Su Zhilan looked incredulous. How could this happen?
She suddenly remembered that on the way from the greenhouse to the bamboo forest, she was bumped by the little palace maid and her purse had left her hand.
Did someone tamper with it at that time?
After thinking for a moment, she decided to explain. She had requested the amulet and embroidered the purse. She wanted to prove that Song Hongshen was framed.
But just as he was about to speak, someone hurried up to the hall to report.
"Your Majesty, someone saw His Royal Highness the King of Loyalty and Bravery taking His Royal Highness the Consort Chen to Guangling Palace."
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