Chapter 48 The Sober Consort Deals with Her Maid
Now that she's come to her senses, she should leave; the morale of the people in Kunning Palace cannot be allowed to drop.
Upon leaving the study, Fanghua saw several people guarding outside. She smiled at them and said, "I have nothing to do. You may go back."
Since she was under house arrest, she naturally had to act like one.
"Li Changfu, you should go out more often these days and listen to the winds blowing in the inner palace."
Li Changfu accepted the order, saying, "Yes, this servant has remembered."
"Granny Ji, you'll still have to trouble Chenghu a bit. Send some of the wet nurses away too, just keep two to serve him. Don't be stingy with the rewards."
We need to reduce our staff.
In contrast to Fanghua's life of seclusion within the palace gates, Niohuru, who was in Yongshou Palace, awoke from her coma to hear a heartbreaking piece of news.
She had been praying for a child for so long, but she miscarried.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. The imperial physician said that as long as you take good care of yourself, you will be able to have children again in the future." Xiangzhu saw that her mistress was immediately saddened after hearing about the miscarriage, so she quickly stepped forward to comfort her.
"No, no, Xiangzhu, what happened? Why did I miscarry?" She hadn't noticed anything, and she had no idea when the baby came.
"Who killed my child?" she roared with all her might at the last moment.
Seeing the Empress in such a state, Xiangzhu and the others were all heartbroken. Why was Heaven so unjust? Why did it have to make their Empress suffer like this?
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has examined you. It was found that someone had poisoned the charcoal in the Empress's palace, which clashed with the incense on the clothes you wore that day, causing your miscarriage. Your Majesty, it was the Empress, it must have been her."
As she spoke, Xiangzhu couldn't help but cry out, because she was convinced that this was the Empress's conspiracy.
The Empress must have discovered that her concubine was pregnant, which is why she poisoned her.
When Xiangzhu mentioned Empress Niohuru, her first reaction was disbelief.
If the Empress truly wanted to harm her, why would she help herself?
Yes, Niohuru had discovered the benefits of the things she used at the Empress's place for her health.
If she used it only a little, she might not notice anything, but over time, she would naturally notice some clues.
She had someone look into it privately, which is why she didn't suspect the Empress.
Furthermore, she herself didn't even realize she was pregnant. Does the Empress have three heads and six arms? How could she know she was pregnant before her, the mother?
"No, it can't be her." A hint of hatred flashed in Niohuru's eyes. "Who usually takes care of my clothes, Xiangzhu?" If the problem isn't with the Empress, then it must be with someone close to her.
She never trusted others to take care of her personal items like clothing; usually, a few close personal people took care of them.
"Your Majesty, it is Xianghuan who usually takes care of your clothes, but it's impossible that it's Xianghuan. She grew up with Your Majesty since she was a child." Xiangzhu believed from the bottom of her heart that this matter was the Empress's doing.
Upon hearing that her mistress suspected her sisters, she immediately spoke up to defend them.
Niohuru suppressed her hatred and stared intently at Xiangzhu. "Where is Xianghuan?"
Xiang Huan, Xiang Huan, it better not be her, otherwise, she won't let the person who harmed her child get away with it.
"Your Highness, Xianghuan is serving outside. Shall we call her in?" Xiangzhu felt a little uneasy under the Empress's gaze, but still answered respectfully.
"Let her in."
At this moment, Niohuru was so angry that she could hardly breathe, but she still wanted to find out everything.
Soon Xianghuan entered and knelt down by the bedside, saying, "Your Majesty."
Niohuru stared intently at her, remaining silent for a long while. Seeing Xianghuan's trembling body, she closed her eyes briefly. "Speak," she said, "who ordered you to do this?"
"Your Majesty, how... how is this possible?" Xiangzhu exclaimed in shock upon hearing this.
Niohuru glared at her fiercely, "Shut up, or get out of here!"
Niohuru looked at Granny Ru standing behind Xianghuan and said, "If she speaks again, I will have Jiang Qingyuan send her out of the palace. I cannot tolerate a servant in my master's household."
Upon hearing this, Xiangzhu was so frightened that she immediately knelt down, but she dared not utter another word.
She had served the Empress since she was a child. Although the Empress usually had a good temper, she was ruthless when it came to important matters.
"Yes, this old servant obeys." Granny Ru stared at the two kneeling on the ground, her eyes blazing with anger.
As soon as Xiangzhu returned, she went around telling everyone that the Empress had harmed her master.
Whether this matter is true or false, with the Emperor present, how could she be allowed to act so recklessly? The Empress is not someone she can associate with.
Other people's servants only think about how to solve their masters' problems, but she creates problems for her masters at every turn.
Granny Ru had long disliked Xiangzhu, feeling that she was too impulsive and needed to be taught manners again.
But the Empress liked her to serve her, so the matter was delayed. I never expected that she would be so bold today, daring to even implicate the Empress.
She would tell the Empress about this later, and she believed that the Empress would make her own decision.
"Xianghuan, I believe I have never wronged you. Xiangxun, shouldn't you give me an explanation?" Niohuru's tone was very calm at this moment, so calm that everyone thought that as long as she admitted her mistake, the matter would be over.
Xiang Huan kowtowed repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, I didn't, it really wasn't me. I just heard from the Imperial Household Department that they had acquired new incense, so I brought it back for Your Majesty to use. I truly had no intention of harming Your Majesty."
Xiang Huan never imagined that the new fragrance was a setup deliberately orchestrated for her.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
So Xianghuan explained in detail what happened when she went to collect her palace robes.
She only became interested in this incense after hearing about it from people at the Embroidery and Textile Bureau.
"Do you still remember who those people were who spoke to you?" Niohuru had been in the palace for several years and was well aware of the scheming in the harem.
When all these coincidences come together, it's no longer a coincidence.
"This servant remembers one of them is from Cining Palace." Xianghuan couldn't say anything more after that.
Niohuru also shed tears of grief, "Good, good, good." What else is there that she doesn't understand? If the Empress really wanted to harm her, why would she have waited until now?
They would not act within the Kunning Palace.
With her eyes closed, Niohuru slowly spoke after a long while: "Granny Ru, send the incense beads and incense rings out of the palace. I will not keep useless people around me."
With the arrival of new concubines, there will only be more trouble and disputes in the future, and incense beads and incense rings will no longer be suitable to stay by one's side.
"Yes, this old servant will escort them back to their residence today."
Both of them were servants born into the household, so sending them back to the mansion for the Fujin (princess's wife) to deal with was the best course of action.
But when the two women heard that the Empress didn't want them, they immediately burst into tears.
"Shut up, all of you. I've already shown you kindness by not making you pay for my children's deaths. Don't force me to end your lives myself."
She was never a kind person.
Two of the four personal attendants were gone, so naturally, the subordinates took their place.
Fortunately, some of the second-class palace maids were sent to the palace by their families, and they are now of good use.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com