Chapter 86 She's trying to murder the imperial heir!
That night, when all was quiet.
In the narrow row of rooms in the palace where temporary personnel resided, Zhang Mama, who appeared kind and honest during the day, was now slowly and methodically arranging the fabric that Shui Xian had bestowed upon her.
Her face no longer held any of the naivety she had during the day; instead, a hint of sinister glint shone through her calm.
Suddenly, the wooden door made a very slight noise.
But then she noticed that Fangfei, the head maid beside Consort Li, was now dressed in the clothes of a low-ranking maid. She looked around the room to make sure no one else was there before lowering her voice and asking.
Zhang's mother paused, but did not look up. She simply folded the fabric in her hands carefully.
"Is everything taken care of?"
Zhang's mother looked up at Fangfei.
The dim light of the oil lamp illuminated her face, revealing a shrewd and even ruthless look in her eyes.
She twitched her lips into a sinister smile. "Don't worry, I've completely won over Consort Jin, and she trusts me implicitly. Today she even rewarded me with fabric and silver, which shows she trusts me completely."
A look of satisfaction flashed in Fangfei's eyes. She quickly pulled a heavy little cloth bag from her bosom and stuffed it into Zhang's mother's hand.
"This is a reward from your master. There will be a greater reward after the deed is done!"
Mrs. Zhang weighed the cloth bag in her hand, and her smile deepened.
"Don't worry, Miss Fangfei... The Ruan family has been a great benefactor to this old woman!"
"If it weren't for Master Ruan secretly pulling strings back then to help my good-for-nothing son take someone else's place, how could he have achieved what he has today?"
"No matter how clever that little bitch Jinfei is, she can't guard against me. I'll deliver a fatal blow when she's at her most vulnerable!"
Seeing the undisguised ruthlessness in Zhang's mother's eyes, Fangfei felt completely relieved.
She concluded by saying, "Things are getting tense lately, I won't be coming to see you again. Stay put, get plenty of rest, and don't give yourself away..."
Before he could finish speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the row of houses.
"Open the door for me!"
Emperor Zhaoheng's rebuke echoed through the quiet night.
The guards outside responded immediately, and the heavy wooden door was pushed open with a loud bang!
The dim light of the oil lamp suddenly poured out, illuminating the two unsuspecting faces in the room clearly.
Emperor Zhaoheng, dressed in ordinary clothes, stood at the door, radiating a chilling, icy rage.
His gaze instantly locked onto the two people inside the room, especially Fangfei's deliberately disguised low-ranking palace maid attire!
Behind him were guards holding torches, their expressions grim, surrounding the small row of houses.
Even someone as intelligent as Fangfei was completely blank at this moment, standing there motionless.
Zhang's mother was so frightened that her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.
Emperor Zhaoheng stepped into the room, each step feeling like it was treading on the hearts of Fangfei and Zhang Mama.
"Very well! I want to hear what you're plotting in the dead of night!"
Fangfei trembled violently and suddenly knelt down on the ground.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please calm your anger! This servant...this servant only...knows Zhang Mama, and upon hearing that Zhang Mama had entered the palace, I brought her some...some daily necessities this evening. There was absolutely no conspiracy, Your Majesty!"
As expected of Consort Li's confidante, Fangfei was able to come up with such an excuse in such a short time.
She even tried to take the blame upon herself and distance herself from Consort Li.
Emperor Zhaoheng laughed in fury, and his words made Fangfei's heart sink: "I'm right outside the door! I heard every single word you said!"
"Guards!" Emperor Zhaoheng shouted coldly, "Take this servant girl to the Censorate immediately! Interrogate her thoroughly!"
"Yes!" Two guards immediately stepped forward and roughly lifted the limp Fangfei up.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, spare my life!" Fangfei screamed and struggled in terror.
However, just as she was being dragged towards the door and about to be taken away from the room, she seemed to remember something, and a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.
She turned her head sharply and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Your Majesty! This servant confesses! It was this servant! It was all done by this servant alone!"
"It was this servant who was jealous of Consort Jin's favor and wanted to kill her! It had nothing to do with Consort Li! Your Majesty, she...she knew nothing about it!"
Her voice was shrill and piercing in the quiet night.
However, Emperor Zhaoheng remained motionless, his cold voice interrupting Fangfei's screams.
"I will personally go to Zhaoyang Palace and ask my Consort, her head maid, why she plotted to harm the imperial heir! I will see if her testimony matches that of you, this servant!"
Fangfei's pupils constricted sharply when she heard the words "go to Zhaoyang Palace in person"!
She knew she was doomed!
Given their master's arrogant and willful nature, and the fact that he was so well protected that he often overlooked details, it was impossible for him to lie flawlessly under the emperor's furious questioning!
If they don't match...
Fangfei dared not think any further. Her body went limp, and she was dragged out of the row of rooms by the guards, leaving only her desperate sobs drifting away in the night wind.
Zhang's mother was already terrified, and the area beneath her was filthy. She was dragged away by the guards, who were frowning.
Emperor Zhaoheng glanced at the filthy ground with disgust, turned around and strode away, heading straight for Zhaoyang Palace.
——
The inner chambers of Yongle Palace.
Narcissus leaned against a soft pillow, gently stroking her round pregnant belly.
The faint noise from outside broke the tranquility of the night.
Yinzhu strode in. She walked to the narcissus couch, lowered her voice, and quickly recounted all the information she had gathered.
"Your Majesty! You were right! That Zhang Mama was indeed harboring evil intentions!"
"His Majesty personally led a group of men and caught Fangfei, the head maid of Consort Li, red-handed in the row of rooms where Zhang Mama was staying!"
Yinzhu spoke quickly and clearly, "I heard that the Emperor was furious and arrested Fangfei and Zhang Mama on the spot!"
"Then the Emperor personally went to Zhaoyang Palace to confront Consort Li!"
"And then what happened?"
Narcissus's voice was unusually calm, as if she were listening to something that had nothing to do with her.
"result......"
Incredulity and deep resentment were evident on Yinzhu's face.
"In the end, the Emperor only demoted Consort Li to Consort Li! He stripped her of her power to assist in managing the six palaces and ordered her to confine herself to Zhaoyang Palace to reflect on her mistakes!"
"Fangfei and Zhang Mama were naturally thrown into death row, but... Your Majesty!"
Yinzhu's voice rose a few decibels, filled with confusion.
"Consort Li... no, Consort Li is plotting to harm the imperial heir! This is a capital offense! How could Your Majesty... how could you only demote her and confine her to her quarters? That's far too lenient! She almost harmed you and the young master!"
Narcissus listened to Silver Pearl's indignant accusations, but her face showed no surprise.
She even slightly curled the corners of her lips, a smile carrying a chilling insight into the ways of the world.
"Is it gentle?" she whispered, her delicate hand still gently stroking her lower abdomen.
Before my eyes, scenes from my past life flashed by.
In her previous life, Consort Li almost caused her and her unborn child to die because of a bowl of "pregnancy-stabilizing medicine" laced with something.
At that time, the emperor was furious and first demoted her to the rank of Consort Li.
Later, Consort Li was still not giving up. She had Zhang Mama tamper with her during childbirth, trying to strangle the little prince and cause her to bleed profusely.
Fortunately, Narcissus gave birth smoothly and still had some energy left at the end.
When Shui Xian was weak, she noticed that something was wrong with Zhang's mother. With her last bit of strength, she shouted out of the delivery room and caught Zhang's mother on the spot.
This time, the matter involved the imperial heir, and Emperor Zhaoheng was furious. He demoted Consort Li to the lowest rank in the harem and imprisoned her in Zhaoyang Palace, never to see her again.
Therefore, the moment Shui Xian saw Zhang Mama, she understood Consort Li's plan.
After choosing a midwife, she went to the Qianqing Palace and took out a letter she had prepared beforehand. She said that her mother had heard that she was about to give birth and had specifically asked her to pay attention to a kind of harmful midwife that was recently circulating in the capital.
The rumors circulating in the capital were spread by Zhou Yan, the manager of Dengdi Inn, a few months ago when Yinzhu went out under the pretext of visiting relatives.
The letter stated that these midwives would tamper with the woman's delivery.
Childbirth is inherently extremely dangerous for women, and these midwives are always highly skilled, so they are very discreet in taking money and harming people each time.
Shui Xian showed the letter from home to Emperor Zhaoheng, and then coaxed him to send guards to watch over the row of rooms, so that Fang Fei and Zhang Mama could be caught red-handed.
Narcissus blinked lightly, pulling herself out of her reverie.
She looked at Yinzhu's indignant face and sighed softly.
"He was utterly disappointed in Consort Li, even deeply resentful. But the heart of an emperor always weighs the pros and cons above personal likes and dislikes."
“The Ruan family has deep roots in the court, and their actions have far-reaching consequences. The fact that Consort Li committed such a serious crime and he was furious and personally punished her already shows his attitude.”
"But if we really want to execute the eldest daughter of the Ruan family, depose her and send her to the cold palace... that would mean a complete break with the entire Ruan family, and the court would be thrown into turmoil."
Narcissus's voice was as calm as if she were analyzing a chess game.
"He demoted her and stripped her of her power, which is already a severe punishment for the emperor. As for the death penalty... unless Consort Li commits suicide or... the Ruan family commits suicide themselves."
Yinzhu was stunned. Her anger turned into a deep sense of powerlessness under Shuixian's almost cold analysis.
She murmured, "So, Your Majesty, you had already foreseen this? You never expected... that you could completely bring her down this time?"
Narcissus gently shook her head. "In this deep palace, where is there a way to kill with a single blow?"
She paused, her voice tinged with barely perceptible weariness, "Besides, my most important thing right now is to give birth to this child safely."
Looking at her mistress's calm and composed profile, Yinzhu remained silent for a moment before finally letting out a soft sigh.
"With Consort Li confined to her quarters, at least... at least Your Majesty will be safer during childbirth."
Upon hearing this, Narcissus gently stroked the little life inside her womb and looked out at the deep black night sky.
"In this treacherous palace, where can one find true safety?"
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