Chapter 417 All Come to Chengguang Hall to Compete for Favor
Zhu Zhenzhen and Granny Liu originally wanted to escape, but now they were terrified. They never expected Zhao Yuntong to actually fail. If it were Zhu Zhenzhen kneeling inside today, would she be doomed?
Only then did she believe what Granny Liu had said: Zhu Yiyi had told her to drug the Crown Prince, and then she would be executed, so Zhu Yiyi could take her place.
She wanted to scream in her heart: Zhu Yiyi, Father, are you really so heartless?
Granny Liu also tried to remain calm and whispered, "You must not panic when you see His Highness, my lady."
They had already planned that if Zhao Yuntong's secret was exposed, they would retreat quickly; if they couldn't retreat, they would admit that they wanted to run into the Crown Prince by chance. They never expected that they would suddenly encounter Consort Zhao, who seized the opportunity and returned to Chengguang Palace with His Highness.
Zhu Zhenzhen's current plan is to play the victim in front of the Crown Prince and gain his sympathy.
All that was left was for Zhu Zhenzhen and Granny Liu to be brought before Xie Shang, and then they would greet him, saying, "This concubine pays her respects to Your Highness."
Xie Shang saw that she was also wearing a plain white dress, and his pupils suddenly changed color. He said coldly, "What are you doing in Chengguang Hall? What are you wearing?" It's that color again.
They had already prepared a story for Cuizhi, and Cuizhi had received a lot of money from them. Even if she died, she couldn't reveal Liu Mama's name. Otherwise, if Cuizhi's family fell into the hands of the Zhu family, none of them would survive. Now, Cuizhi was kneeling on the ground, not daring to even lift her head.
However, before Zhu Zhenzhen could even open her mouth to argue, Granny Wang rushed over, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness."
When Xie Shang saw Granny Wang arrive, his expression softened slightly. He asked in a deep voice, "Granny Wang, what brings you here?" Did Ruan Ruan also find out about the young ladies of the East Palace vying for favor at Cheng Guang Hall?
Granny Wang said respectfully, "Miss Zhu has been recovering from her illness for more than two months, so we originally planned to have her serve the emperor tonight. However, after I escorted her to Chengguang Palace, I heard that another concubine had angered His Highness by vying for his favor, so I thought I would take Miss Zhu back first. But I didn't expect that Miss Zhu would turn back to see the joke at Chengguang Palace. I will take Miss Zhu back to learn the palace rules and reflect on her mistakes in seclusion."
Zhu Zhenzhen and Granny Liu were both startled when they heard this, as they had not received any news that she was to be arranged to serve the emperor!
Zhu Zhenzhen wanted to explain, but Liu Mama quickly pulled her back, telling her not to move. Wang Mama was the Crown Princess's person, and she happened to arrive at this time. It was likely that nothing that happened in Yuling Palace had escaped the Crown Princess's eyes.
If Your Highness rushes forward now, are you going to tell the Crown Prince that the aphrodisiac powder came from Yuling Palace?
Then she thought of how Granny Wang had spoken so calmly, clearly to help Consort Zhu. Otherwise, given His Highness the Crown Prince's temper today, he might have also turned his anger towards Consort Zhu.
Granny Liu was Madam Zhu's confidante. The fact that she could think of using food to harm Consort Song showed that she was somewhat clever. However, she encountered Jiang Fenghua, who was cautious in everything she did.
Xie Shang said, "The Crown Princess knows about this, right?"
"This servant hasn't had a chance to inform the Crown Princess yet. I will inform her when I return, and she will certainly keep a close eye on all the young ladies," said Granny Wang in a deep voice.
Xie Shang suddenly felt a little guilty. He heard that Granny Wang had not reported this to the Crown Princess. He said, "These are all trivial matters that are not important to the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess is pregnant, so Granny Wang should not trouble herself. Granny, please take Consort Zhu back."
Granny Wang was taken aback, but quickly replied, "Yes."
As Zhu Zhenzhen was leaving, Xie Shang suddenly asked, "Why is Consort Zhu dressed like this today?"
Liu Mama hurriedly said, "I heard that the Crown Princess looks extremely beautiful in white dresses, and that His Highness the Crown Prince likes them very much, so today I took the liberty of choosing a white dress for you, my lady."
Xie Shang put aside his doubts, "Let's go back!"
After Granny Wang took the two away, Xie Shang ordered in a deep voice, "Take Zhao Yuntong away and deal with her. Tell everyone she died suddenly."
Wu Xin replied, "Yes."
Seeing Cuizhi kneeling to one side, Wuxin suddenly had a question in his mind. Cuizhi insisted that Zhao Yuntong had drugged the Crown Prince, but Zhao Yuntong said that Cuizhi had instigated her. Moreover, Cuizhi had revealed the affairs of Consort Zhao's palace, and even knew about the Tenth Prince.
It's truly impressive that a maid can speak so eloquently!
Therefore, Wuxin said, "How should we deal with Cuizhi? She is Zhao Xiaozhu's maid, and can be considered an accomplice of Xiaozhu."
Cuizhi was terrified. "Your Highness, spare my life!"
Xie Shang said, "Send her out of the palace and let her go home!" Knowing so many scandals in the harem, such a palace maid cannot be kept.
Cuizhi was secretly delighted, unaware that she was about to die.
Wu Xin naturally understood the Crown Prince's meaning: once a woman entered the imperial city, no one could take the palace's secrets out of the palace.
Wuxin quickly took the person away and had the surrounding area cleaned up. Xie Shang's mood suddenly became depressed. He didn't even go to Chenxi Palace immediately. After instructing Wuxin to leave, he took out paper and pen to prepare to draw.
However, when he held the pen, he didn't know how to start and couldn't draw anything.
As he was leaving, he noticed a hint of sadness in the Crown Prince's eyes. He thought to himself: Why is His Highness so angry tonight?
It all started when His Highness bumped into Zhao Yuntong in the plum garden...
While he was trying to recall the Crown Prince's actions, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. It was something that happened to His Highness the Crown Prince that night. It seemed that the clothes worn by the ladies had displeased the Crown Prince, as they were all wearing white dresses.
Is white clothing a taboo for the Crown Prince? But that day, the Crown Princess also wore a white dress when she left the palace to wait for him, and when she returned, they were still inseparable and very affectionate.
Wu Xin couldn't figure out what was going on either. He found an opportunity to tell the Crown Princess the news, telling her to be careful and not to make a mistake in this matter.
Wu Xin took Cui Zhi away and locked her in a room. Cui Zhi said, "Eunuch Wu Xin, the Crown Prince said to let me leave the palace."
Wu Xin sneered, "Leave the palace? Since Miss Cuizhi has chosen to enter the palace, why is she still thinking about leaving!"
Cuizhi was terrified; the Crown Prince wanted to kill her?
Wu Xin said, "Tell me where Miss Zhao got the aphrodisiac from, and I will not pursue your crime of deception. Otherwise, even if you don't tell, your family will, and I have plenty of ways to investigate."
Cuizhi was terrified, her body trembling uncontrollably. The worst she had ever planned was to kill herself by smashing her head against a wall in front of the Crown Prince. Just now, Consort Zhao had been beaten and was covered in blood. She was so scared that she almost couldn't hold back anymore, thinking that the Crown Prince would have her tortured. Unexpectedly, Granny Liu and Consort Zhu arrived, and finally Granny Wang also came, allowing her to escape a terrible ordeal.
They also assumed that the Crown Prince wouldn't actually go to Consort Zhao's palace to search, and even if he did, he would find something like the aphrodisiac, and Consort Zhao's scandal would be exposed, thus escaping a disaster.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Wuxin said again, "It's the Crown Prince who wants to investigate. Surely your backer isn't as powerful as the Crown Prince's! You should think this through."
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