Liang Jiugong acted swiftly, and soon the old nanny's identity became known to everyone in the palace, and then it was also quietly spread outside the palace!
Everyone inside and outside the palace knew the cause of Consort Dong'e's death. It was probably the Empress Dowager who did it. Since it was Consort Dong'e's maid, she only confirmed it once. It was all old news and nothing serious. It gradually faded away.
The Empress Dowager sent people to investigate, but Liang Jiugong was one step ahead. The Empress Dowager eventually found out that an old nanny who had served in Consort Dong'e's palace had suddenly died, and the Empress Dowager stopped investigating! She considered the matter over!
The Empress Dowager felt it was all in the past, but Yinzhen couldn't possibly feel it was all in the past either. Regardless of his current appearance or his inner thoughts, it was necessary to investigate what exactly happened back then, at least to know the whole story!
After the old nanny woke up from her drunken stupor, someone immediately reported it to the Emperor, and Yinzhen came over in person!
As someone who had once served in Empress Xiaokangzhang's palace, the old nanny could recognize the emperor, and when she saw him, she knew she was doomed!
Yinzhen said coldly, "Tell me everything you know. If you tell the truth, I'll consider giving you a favor!"
The subtext is that if you lie, the outcome is uncertain!
The old nanny knew she couldn't escape today. For years, she had been plagued by nightmares, fearing that Empress Xiaokangzhang would come looking for her and ask why she hadn't spoken up when she could have saved her. That's why she had said those things when she was drunk! Now that she had spoken up, it would save her from living in fear!
The old woman decided to speak out, without trying to embellish her story. She had been stealing all these years, and it was time to pay it back!
The old nanny explained in great detail. After listening, Yinzhen sent people to investigate according to what the old nanny said, and the result was just as the old nanny had said!
Yinzhen investigated deeply, even uncovering many old stories! Even though Yinzhen was used to the routines of the harem, he still found it extremely horrifying!
Only then did Yinzhen gain a new understanding of the Empress Dowager!
Yinzhen thought of his father in his previous life. When the Empress Dowager passed away, he wept bitterly, lost his appetite, and was ill for quite some time. It was clear that his father's affection for the Empress Dowager was genuine. He had also heard from the elders in the palace that his father was very filial to Empress Xiaokangzhang, personally serving her and feeding her medicine without relying on her help!
Yinzhen sighed, wondering what his father would think if he knew that the person he loved had harmed his own mother!
Yinzhen's soul was not that of Kangxi, so he didn't feel it deeply; he had never even met Empress Xiaokangzhang!
This is a royal scandal and must not be known to outsiders!
Yinzhen ordered the matter to be buried! Before Yinzhen could deal with the old nanny, she committed suicide—truly suicide! No one dared to harm her!
The old woman always felt that she had lived in fear and anxiety all these years, and she thought that death would be a relief!
Consort Shu was secretly keeping an eye on things. She found out that the Emperor hadn't paid his respects to the Empress Dowager for several days, so she knew that the Emperor knew! However, it seemed that the Emperor intended to cover it up!
Consort Shu realized that her days were numbered, so she secretly sent a letter to the Tong family, telling them that the Emperor already knew about it and intended to let the matter rest!
Although the Tong family knew that the Emperor was doing this for the greater good, and that the Emperor would not do anything to the Empress Dowager who had supported him just to avenge his mother, the Tong family was still deeply resentful!
The influence of a deceased empress dowager on the Tong family is different from that of a living empress dowager. Consort Shu and the Tong family were of one mind and the other had the intention. Together, they decided to take action against the Grand Empress Dowager!
It's also Yinzhen's fault for not taking it seriously enough. No matter how capable the Empress Dowager was, she was old after all. Over time, her subordinates inevitably developed their own agendas, and as a result, the Empress Dowager fell into her trap!
This time, the Empress Dowager has contracted the same illness as Consort Shu, both caused by wind and cold, and it is incurable!
This medicine was specially obtained by Consort Shu from the Empress! It's extremely effective; there's no antidote available!
To be on the safe side, Consort Shu deliberately administered a strong dose of medicine. In her heart, Consort Shu hoped that she could see the Empress Dowager die in front of her, and then she would be at peace!
Now that the Empress Dowager is surrounded, Consort Shu can no longer do anything underhanded. However, since the drug has already been administered, the Empress Dowager is powerless to reverse the situation.
Yinzhen naturally had to put in a lot of effort to investigate, but the Tong family and Consort Shu were working together seamlessly. Yinzhen could only have people investigate from the source. The Empress Dowager and Consort Shu had the same illness, and Yinzhen had suspected that Consort Shu was the one who was behind it!
Yinzhen suspected that the Empress might feel that the Grand Empress Dowager was too heartless towards her sister, so she made the Grand Empress Dowager suffer as well at the end. But upon closer inspection, this didn't make sense; it was too obvious! The Empress had no reason to do something like confiscating property and exterminating the entire clan!
Yinzhen sensed something was amiss, so he ordered his men to continue investigating along the Empress's trail to see if they could uncover anything.
Following the trail of people left behind by the Empress, Yinzhen searched high and low but couldn't find anything. Yinzhen felt that he had overlooked something!
Seeing that the Emperor was in a bad mood recently, Liang Jiugong comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty is worried about the Empress Dowager, but you can't joke around with your own health. Why don't you go out for a walk? It would be better than worrying here!"
Liang Jiugong is right, he really should go out! Yinzhen hasn't been to Yunrong's place for some time, and he wonders if that woman, whose eyes are only on research and food, has forgotten about him!
He should go and see for himself!
Just as Yinzhen was about to leave, he suddenly paused. Just because the Empress's people hadn't done anything didn't mean the Empress herself hadn't done anything, right? Yinzhen asked Liang Jiugong, "Where did the Empress go before she passed away?"
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