Chapter 650: The Deposed Princess Strikes Back at the Female General 97
Concubine Wen was dragged into the yard by two imperial guards, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground. She cried until her voice became hoarse and kept begging for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please spare my life! I will not go to the cold palace. Please save me, Imperial Concubine... Please save me... I am only following your orders..."
Concubine Xiao said sternly, "Shut her mouth! Send her to the cold palace immediately."
The Queen stood in the corridor, "Stop! I want to interrogate Concubine Wen myself."
The imperial guards stopped, and Concubine Wen rolled and crawled to Concubine Xiao's feet, grabbing the hem of Concubine Xiao's clothes and crying, "My Lady Concubine, save me! I don't want to go to the cold palace. If I go to the cold palace, my life will be over!"
Concubine Xiao kicked Concubine Wen and said in disgust, "You made a mistake yourself. His Majesty is merciful and only punishes you to the cold palace. What else are you not satisfied with? Do you think you will be satisfied if His Majesty sentences you to death and implicates your family? Just go there honestly. At least you can preserve the wealth of your family."
Noble Lady Wen understood Concubine Xiao's warning and put down her hand dejectedly.
The Queen stared into Concubine Wen's eyes and said word by word, "Peony is dead, Huixiang is dead too. Do you think you can survive in the cold palace? The Wen family is not made of paper, it's not that easy to fall. Your father and brother are not very good to you. Do you really want to die for them?"
"As soon as you step into the cold palace, you will die of illness. You know too many secrets. If you don't tell them now, you will have no chance in the future. I never force anyone to do anything. If you don't tell me, you can go to the cold palace and wait for death."
Yue Lanshan clapped her hands and stood up, sighing, "What a strong poison! It's from the same source as the poison that poisoned the Duke's Mansion back then. It's probably from the Bauhinia Country. Even I don't have a way to detoxify it. How pitiful."
When Concubine Wen heard this, she felt a chill all over her body. She knew that Shaoyao was a spy trained by Concubine Xiao since she was a child and was loyal to her. She had been lurking beside Concubine Jiang for many years, observing her every move and guiding her every word and action.
But Concubine Xiao was ruthless in her killing. Huixiang was also sent by Concubine Wen to serve her, and now she is dead.
She took refuge with Concubine Xiao only because she wanted to use her power to gain a foothold in the palace. Those who entered the palace at the same time as her were either dead or disliked by His Majesty, but she was the only one who could gain His Majesty's favor.
She was complacent, thinking that she was about to become the master of a palace, but in the end she ended up with a dead end.
The Queen saw the hesitation of Concubine Wen and said calmly, "If you can explain the origin of the Tiannan flower, I will save your life and send you out of the palace to pray for the Queen Mother. But from the looks of you, it seems that you don't know the inside story. Just take her away."
"No! No!" Concubine Wen turned and threw herself at the Queen, hugged her thighs and cried, "I don't want to die, I am useful!"
"I want to report Concubine Xiao for plotting to murder the heir to the throne. The araceae flowers were given to me by Concubine Xiao!"
The queen slowly loosened her clenched hands, she knew she had won!
"In this case, you should explain it clearly in front of His Majesty."
The emperor's face turned pale. He didn't want to listen at all, but he had to.
Wen Guiren was afraid that if she spoke too slowly, Concubine Xiao would kill her, so she spoke out like pouring beans, "Ever since the news of the great victory in the north came out, Concubine Xiao has been planning to deal with Concubine Jiang. Concubine Xiao gave me the five-spice pills, which are hidden under the floor tiles in the southeast corner. I eat them every day."
"I stopped taking the medicine two days ago, and my period came. It was a good opportunity to frame Concubine Jiang for murdering the heir to the throne."
"As long as Concubine Lan dies and His Majesty takes pity on me and allows me to have a miscarriage, and Imperial Concubine Xiao mediates, I can be promoted to the position of imperial concubine and become the head of a palace. I was confused for a moment and listened to her lies, but I have never plotted to murder the heir to the throne, but Imperial Concubine Xiao has killed countless heirs to the throne!"
Concubine Xiao knelt on the ground and cried, "I am innocent! Concubine Wen is desperate and is biting me. She framed me!"
Lady Wen knew that this was her only chance, so she spoke even faster.
"Lady Lan was also killed by Concubine Xiao. She bled to death. Concubine Xi was an outstanding dancer and Your Majesty often showed her mercy. Concubine Xiao caused her to break her leg. If I had not surrendered to Concubine Xiao, I am afraid I would have also suffered at her hands."
"And the Ninth Prince, it was Concubine Xiao who drugged him and caused him to die young. The Tenth Prince is sickly and weak, and it was also a problem he brought from his mother's womb!"
"Empress Xiao took advantage of her position as the head of the harem to bring in some araceae flowers from outside the palace. She hid them all in a dark room, along with various poisons. I came across them by chance but didn't dare to say anything. Today I can finally tell you about it."
"Your Majesty, everything I said is true. If there is even a single lie, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can send someone to search Changle Palace!"
A eunuch rushed in, his face full of panic, "Oh no! There's a fire in Changle Palace!"
Concubine Xiao finally felt relieved.
Ever since the fake pregnancy of Concubine Wen was exposed, she had a hint of worry in her heart, so she hinted to the eunuchs around her to do the job.
She believed that she did things perfectly. There was a scapegoat in every case, and all the people who knew about it were dead. Only the physical evidence was difficult to destroy. After all, poison was not something you could get just by wanting it, and she liked to plan ahead, so naturally she had to prepare it early.
So that dark room was her only weakness, and now that the dark room was burned down, everything was gone.
Concubine Wen knelt before the emperor, grabbed the corner of his clothes, and cried, "Your Majesty, please believe me. I didn't do it. There was a fire in Changle Palace. I was really scared. I was innocent to begin with. Now that it's burned, I can't clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River."
"I am thinking of Your Majesty with all my heart. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, then just kill me. If I am sent to the cold palace and never see Your Majesty again in this life, I would rather die in front of Your Majesty!"
The emperor was half-believing and half-doubting, and could not make a decision for a while.
Tears welled up in Concubine Xiao's eyes. She made up her mind and rushed towards the pillar!
The palace maid tried to pull Concubine Xiao in a panic, but she still hit her forehead and a big bump appeared.
Concubine Xiao pushed the palace maid away and pretended to stand up and bang her head against the wall.
When the emperor saw Concubine Xiao like this, he believed her a little more. The murderer of the Ninth Prince's early death had been found, and the Tenth Prince was born with congenital defects. As for the concubines in the palace, he didn't care much even if Concubine Xiao punished a few of them occasionally.
"Alright! I didn't say I didn't believe you. As a noble concubine, how come you have no determination at all? You are looking for death, how can you be so shameless!"
Concubine Xiao lay on the emperor's lap, crying bitterly, "I just care too much about Your Majesty. I don't care what others think. If Your Majesty is suspicious of me at all, I don't want to live anymore..."
The emperor touched Concubine Xiao's head and no longer wanted to pursue the matter.
When he was suspicious of the Queen, she gave him the cold shoulder and opposed him in every way. But it was different with Concubine Xiao. She just loved him too much, and he really couldn't bear to blame her.
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