The Zichen Palace was peaceful and calm, but the atmosphere on Rong Fei's side was particularly tense.
Emperor Qin Huan acknowledged Hu'an as the eldest son in front of everyone and appointed Bai Yuzhi as the queen. The speed was so fast that it caught people off guard.
Rong Fei supported herself on her bruised knees and wrote a letter to Zixing.
"After dark, find a way to deliver this letter to the Duke of Jin's Mansion."
The letter informed the whole story of Bai Yuzhi giving birth today, and also stated that the midwife who was arranged to come in did not succeed and was missing. Concubine Rong had a strange intuition that if this matter could not be resolved as soon as possible, then the future would definitely not be a good ending for her and the Duke of Jin's Mansion.
Fake pregnancy and midwife, these two things directly touched the bottom line of Emperor Qin Huan, and now there is no room for Rong Fei and others to turn back.
The victor takes all, and the loser takes all. If this fight cannot get rid of Emperor Qin Huan, at least Bai Yuzhi and his mother must be killed. Otherwise, once the incident is discovered, their property will be confiscated and the whole family will be destroyed.
Zixing took the letter. After Chu Yue's death, she became the only middleman between Concubine Rong and Duke Jin's Mansion.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with the deposed Empress Su now?"
In the past two months, Concubine Rong has sent people to torture the deposed queen every time, but now is a turbulent time, and Zixing thinks that such a thing is really unnecessary.
Concubine Rong was very paranoid. She pulled out an accessory from under her pillow. It was half a yin-yang fish carved from white jade. What else could it be but the one that the deposed Queen Su had in her hand that day?
Concubine Rong clutched the jade pendant tightly, her expression full of resentment: "No, I will make the deposed Empress Su suffer a fate worse than death."
Zi Xing didn't understand why Concubine Rong hated the deposed Empress Su so much, but seeing how crazy she was, he didn't dare to persuade her anymore. He just waited until nightfall and went to the Imperial Garden under the pretext of looking for something. He put the letter in a cowhide and handed it out of the palace along the running water under the rockery.
In the mansion of Duke Jin, someone had been waiting at the water's mouth for a long time. When he saw the cowhide letter coming down the water, he hurriedly brought it into the mansion. Duke Jin and Yue Chengliu once again secretly spied in the study.
The Duke of Jin opened the letter.
"My daughter has thoroughly investigated and discovered that there was no foul play during Concubine Heng's delivery. She is indeed pregnant, and this child is the Emperor's biological child. The midwife relayed the news, but she couldn't find him anywhere. My daughter suspects that the blood-dissolving water wasn't effective, and Concubine Heng is safe. The midwife has been apprehended. Furthermore, the Emperor has issued an edict to enthrone Concubine Heng as Empress. I'm afraid the enthronement of a Crown Prince is imminent. I implore my father and eldest brother to discuss countermeasures as soon as possible, otherwise, something unforeseen may happen."
The midwife was indeed planted by the Duke of Jin with great care. The potion poured into the basin could make the blood surge. If it was really used on Bai Yuzhi, a pregnant woman who had just given birth, heavy bleeding would be inevitable.
"She's truly lucky! She's escaped disaster time and time again! Could it be that Emperor Qin Huan was truly destined to have a son?"
Yue Chengliu looked depressed.
Previously, court officials had forced Emperor Qin Huan to appoint a young nobleman as the crown prince. He was of noble birth, brave and resourceful, and was the most popular candidate among the princes. The court officials all fawned over him, and he was highly respected wherever he went.
However, ever since Bai Yuzhi became pregnant, his status in the court plummeted. Many of his former supporters avoided him, fearing that they would be liquidated after the birth of Emperor Qin Huan's eldest son.
Now that the eldest prince has been born, Wang Chonghai came to announce the suspension of court during the morning court session today. Those civil officials and military officers were whispering about something behind his back. They might even be making fun of him after dinner!
Duke Jin said nothing. Mosuo was reading the letter sent by Concubine Rong, wondering what he was thinking.
"Dad! Do you really want to give up?"
Duke Jin is old and no longer as capable as before. Seeing that things have come to this point and Emperor Qin Huan has his own son, he wants to stop immediately.
Yue Chengliu understood what he meant and felt that his father was really getting old and confused.
"Dad! You're so confused! Do you think Emperor Qin Huan has really given up on investigating the fake pregnancy? And with the midwife who got arrested this time, there's no turning back!"
"Then tell me, what should we do?"
"Since Emperor Qin Huan is so happy to have a son, why not take a two-pronged approach and let them both die together."
Duke Jin was horrified: "You, you mean to rebel?"
Yue Chengliu was so disappointed: "Dad! Why don't you understand? This is the only way we can win!"
When Emperor Qin Huan was pacifying the world, Yue Chengliu was just a child. He had never witnessed Emperor Qin Huan's meticulous planning on the battlefield, so naturally his fear of Emperor Qin Huan was not as deep-rooted as that of Duke Jin.
It is one thing for the Duke of Jin to desire his son to be adopted into the royal family and become the crown prince, but it is another thing to let him rebel.
He felt a chill down his spine when he thought of Qin Huandi's murderous look, and he never thought that he would become a direct enemy of Qin Huandi.
"Absolutely not! Chengliu, Dad knows you and Emperor Qin Huan. You are absolutely no match for him. If you want to attack the prince, Dad will not stop you, but if you want to face Emperor Qin Huan head-on, you are simply seeking your own death!"
Yue Chengliu remained silent. Realizing that the Duke of Jin was genuinely opposed to this proposal, he stopped talking and pretended to give up the idea.
But in fact, he felt that Duke Jin's fear was simply nonsense. Considering how much Emperor Qin Huan cared about the prince, murdering the prince was not much different from murdering himself. In this case, why not take a risk.
Without telling Duke Jin, Yue Chengliu delivered letters and things to Concubine Rong in the palace, and Zixing immediately ran back to give them to Concubine Rong.
After opening the letter, Concubine Rong was thoughtful and went to the cold palace where the deposed queen was imprisoned again.
That night, the wild laughter of the deposed Queen Su echoed throughout the cold palace. That sharp and terrifying laughter was even more unpleasant than the howling of ghosts and wolves. The guarding servants went in and blocked her mouth.
"Bah, what a thing! Today is the auspicious day for the birth of the Emperor's eldest son. His Majesty has already appointed Concubine Heng as Empress, and you still dare to shout at me? Behave yourself!"
Su Shi was kicked to the ground by the servants she had once looked down upon, but she didn't care at all. She bounced nervously a few times and stared sinisterly in the direction of the Purple Palace.
Bai Yuzhi was in confinement after giving birth, and it was inconvenient for her to stay in the Zichen Palace, so she asked to return to the Yiku Palace.
Emperor Qin Huan refused to agree no matter what. He forcibly opened up another side hall in the Zichen Hall and moved in. He asked Bai Yuzhi to recuperate on the dragon bed, and his son Hu'an stayed in the original side hall.
"Your Majesty, why won't you allow me to return to the Yikun Palace? Do I have to stay here forever? That would only delay your Majesty's other matters. Since ancient times, it has never been law for a concubine to sleep with an emperor. I will be rebuked by the court officials."
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