"Your Highness, I have been ordered by His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the case of the missing red carp from Mingjing Lake. Since the remains of a red carp have been found in Your Highness's palace, may I trouble Your Highness to accompany me to the Qianqing Palace to meet His Majesty?"
That's just a polite way of putting it. Since the stolen goods have already been found, even if Chu Nian says she doesn't want to go, she'll still be taken away.
Chu Nian said, "Please wait a moment, General. I will dress up and then go with you to meet the Emperor!"
Commander Liu: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Lian Xi quickly helped Chu Nian wash and dress up, and then helped the beautiful yet dignified Chu Nian out.
Commander Liu had met this Lady Lian before, but he never expected that when the inner palace door was opened from the inside, he would see a woman standing inside with a serene expression, an extremely bright and beautiful face, and wearing a red palace dress. His heart skipped a beat.
This startled the battle-hardened man for a moment, but he quickly recovered and bowed respectfully.
Consort Lian has been demoted to Consort Lian, and now she may even be punished for stealing fish, but she is still Consort Lian after all. Commander Liu is very tactful in his actions.
He was also puzzled: although Consort Lian had always liked flamboyant attire, she had never dressed so elegantly as she did now. Her makeup today was even more glamorous than usual, yet it couldn't be associated with the word "vulgar" at all.
Chu Nian smiled faintly and said, "I am still under house arrest. Would it be against the Emperor's will for me to go to see him with you like this?"
Commander Liu said, "The Emperor has already issued an order to take the suspects who stole the fish directly to the Qianqing Palace."
"What suspect?" Chu Nian said, then laughed again. "That fish was caught by me from the lake. Since the Emperor has already given the decree, let's go. I will go with you to meet the Emperor."
Commander Liu was shocked upon hearing this: This guy actually admitted it so readily? It saves them the trouble of interrogating him.
Over there, Lian Xi had already instructed the palace servants to prepare the palanquin.
Chu Nian, still maintaining her composure, was helped onto the palanquin by her, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, she leisurely boarded the palanquin.
Lianhuan followed beside the palanquin with her head down, cursing inwardly: Judging from her posture, it's not like she's going to admit her guilt at all, but more like she just received a great reward from the emperor.
She had already received a promise from the Empress that as long as Lian Nian was brought down, she would be arranged by the Empress to serve the Emperor in bed, and with her beauty, she would surely win the Emperor's favor.
Now that the fish theft has been exposed and Lian Nian's downfall is imminent, Lian Huan has begun to fantasize about riding in a palanquin like Chu Nian did today. Not only do the palace servants naturally feel respect for her, but even the guards who are always fighting and killing dare not look directly at Consort Lian.
When the group arrived outside the Qianqing Palace, Chu Nian dismounted from the palanquin and waited outside the hall for an audience.
Lian Xi stole a glance at Lian Huan beside her and saw that the girl was just bowing her head, her expression extremely submissive and obedient. She never imagined that this sister who had grown up with her, who had served the young lady together for so many years, from the Lian family mansion to the palace, would betray them and switch allegiance to the Empress.
Lian Xi knew very well that the Empress could not possibly look favorably upon a servant like Lian Huan who had betrayed his master. She feared that once Lian Nian fell, Lian Huan would be dealt with.
However, this was the path Lian Huan had chosen herself, and Lian Xi didn't feel it was necessary for her to remind her. Besides, Lian Huan had now sided with the Empress, making her an enemy of Xu Kun Palace and even the entire Lian family. She wasn't foolish enough to offer any advice to Lian Huan.
Lian Xi just felt a little sad.
Chu Nian keenly sensed that Lian Xi's emotions were a little off, and glanced at her slightly.
When Lian Xi saw her looking over, she quickly composed herself and resumed her previous respectful demeanor.
"I clearly...cough cough...issued an edict to confine her to her quarters, how did she...cough cough...steal the fish? And...and even roast and eat it?" Upon hearing Commander Liu's report, the Emperor asked in shock, "How did you guard Xukun Palace?"
He wondered if he could take this opportunity to replace the guards who were pro-regent with his own pro-royalists, when he heard Commander Liu say, "Your Majesty, we have been taking turns guarding Xukun Palace and have not dared to slack off in the slightest. As for how the Empress stole the fish, we... also find it hard to understand."
A cold smile forced across the emperor's sickly face. "Clearly it was you... cough cough... who neglected your duties, allowing her to... cough cough... come and go freely during her confinement..."
"Your Majesty!" Li Xiao was nearly ten years older than the emperor, but he had far more experience and had seen much more of the turmoil inside and outside the palace. He could see through the emperor's intentions at a glance, so he interrupted the emperor.
He said, “I heard that Your Majesty was furious because you lost your beloved fish, which almost made your condition worse. So I personally questioned these guards, as well as the people related to Mingjing Lake and Xukun Palace at that time.”
Many palace servants witnessed these guards faithfully performing their duties, never allowing anyone from Xukun Palace to leave even a step. I also find this matter very strange; perhaps I should summon Consort Lian to inquire about it, and perhaps she can find out the truth.”
Chu Nian was getting a little impatient when she finally heard the eunuch announce that the emperor summoned her. She immediately strode into the Qianqing Palace, performed the proper salutations, and shouted "Long live the emperor!" three times.
Today, she was even more glamorous than usual, but in a way completely different from her previous gaudy appearance. So, when the emperor and the regent in the hall saw her enter, they were both momentarily stunned.
But soon, the two highest rulers of the Great Yu Kingdom came to their senses. They both had the same thought: Could it be that this woman, having failed to drown herself, was courting death, knowing her end was near, and therefore deliberately dressed so flamboyantly, even wearing a red dress that accentuated her beauty?
The emperor coughed as he questioned, "Consort Lian, tell me... cough cough... tell me how you, during your confinement... cough cough... stole my beloved... cough cough..."
Chu Nian felt sorry for him and didn't want to hear him coughing so much, which was ruining her mood. So she said, "Your Majesty, yesterday my dinner was replaced with servants' food by someone with ulterior motives. I thought that although I have been demoted, I am still the Emperor's woman. Even if I don't care about my own dignity, the Emperor's face cannot be lost. Therefore, I did not eat those servants' food..."
The emperor coldly said, "Get to the point... cough cough..." But in his heart, he was wondering: When did this crazy woman become so reliable? Not only did she make him feel much better, but she also made him feel that those servants who gave her scraps were slapping him, the emperor, in the face for daring to treat her like this. They all deserved to be slapped!
Chu Nian continued, "Your Majesty, I did not eat the food served to those servants, but I was starving at night. I originally intended to come to see Your Majesty and beg Your Majesty to forgive my sins, so I came out of Xukun Palace."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
