Chapter 492 The Ninth Princess's Wedding
The incident at Chenxi Palace did not escape the notice of the other concubines. For safety's sake, Granny Wang also went to each palace. Fortunately, after a thorough investigation, no one else in the palace had been found to have been harmed.
Consort Song, Gao Qingtong, and others also came to Chenxi Palace to express their concern and condolences. It was the first time they had ever heard of such a method of poisoning and killing. They were all terrified and filled with lingering fear.
In Chaoyang Palace, Shu Yan heard about what happened at Chenxi Palace. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. How could someone have entered the palace to assassinate the Empress and the Crown Prince? She sent her trusted nanny to the laundry department to inquire about Xin'er's whereabouts, but she couldn't find any news about her.
Xin'er has disappeared in the palace?
The laundry department was filled with palace maids who were the families of disgraced officials and had been demoted to do menial work. They couldn't just come and go as they pleased. In one day, many people disappeared from the laundry department, and it was even the emperor's imperial guards who came to collect them. The whole palace was filled with panic.
Shu Yan then belatedly realized, muttering to herself, "Could Xin'er be the murderer who murdered the Empress and the Crown Prince?"
Shu Yan couldn't help but think, "Xin'er is so beautiful, she must have something to do with her to deliberately approach me. No wonder she's so obedient."
She belatedly realized that the two slaps the Empress had Wang Mama give Xin'er were far too lenient. It turned out that the Empress wanted to use her to climb the throne and leave a good impression afterward. Or perhaps Xin'er was actually trying to harm the Empress, otherwise why would she have suddenly disappeared?
Shu Yan was also completely baffled.
On the other side, Helan Yanran took the kite back from Commander Shang back to her room only to find out that she had made a mistake. This kite was not hers at all. Although the color and shape were similar, the patterns on it were different, and there were even two lines of poetry on it.
She murmured to herself, "Deep within the palace walls, my feelings are hard to express; I wish you would always be by my side."
Which palace maid in the deep palace is yearning for her lover this time?
Helan Yanran harbors a secret in her heart, a secret between her and the Emperor.
She remembered that night the Empress Dowager had people serve her to bathe and change clothes, and she was carried naked into the Qianqing Palace...
Even though she lay naked before the Emperor, he only glanced at her coldly and asked, "Did the Empress Dowager send you?"
She was extremely shy, thinking that she had finally won the Emperor's favor, but the Emperor's next words made her feel ashamed.
His voice was icy cold, devoid of any lust, "I will not touch you. Go to sleep. Someone will take you back at dawn."
Helan Yanran was stunned, her eyes red. She tried her best to ask why, but she still hadn't received an answer from the emperor.
The next day, a drop of blood was placed on a handkerchief stained with fallen blood and presented to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was overjoyed and begged her to conceive a royal heir as soon as possible. The Emperor had not even touched her, so how could she conceive a royal heir?
She dared not utter a single word, for the Emperor had said two more words to her, “Keep it a secret.” It was as if he were warning her that she could not imagine the consequences if she disobeyed.
In order to win the emperor's favor, she tried to create opportunities to bump into him, but...
Helan Yanran immediately understood that the Emperor would not listen to the Empress Dowager's arrangements at all. She thought that she had the Empress Dowager as a powerful backer like Tang Qianran, and that she could get the same status as Consort Tang by having a child. But she was wrong.
Tang Qianran rose to power with the help of the Empress Dowager, but ended up with a tragic fate. Her son died, and she was sent to the Cold Palace, where she would spend the rest of her life.
Now the power in the harem has fallen into the hands of the Empress. What is the Empress Dowager? She holds the reins of the Imperial Household Department. Whether she can be favored by the Emperor in the end depends on the Emperor's will.
Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, the Ninth Princess was getting married. Jiang Fenghua attended the wedding in her finest attire. Her belly was growing bigger and bigger, and she would give birth in another month.
Looking at the grand wedding before her, a smile remained on her lips. Xie Ling'er wanted to kill her and her child. Xie Shang dealt with the palace maid who had been with her and the secret agents planted by the Su family in the palace. He thought that was how he had given her an explanation.
Jiang Fenghua didn't argue anymore. Xie Ling'er was about to disappear from her sight, and she should be happy.
Xie Ling'er, dressed in the most noble princess attire of the Great Zhou Dynasty, walked up to her. Her eyes were devoid of any light, as if she were living a life worse than death. Following the rules, she knelt down and bowed to Jiang Fenghua, saying, "Farewell, Empress."
She took the tea from the tray presented by the nanny and brought it to her.
Xie Shang, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat to one side. After not seeing her for more than twenty days, he suddenly took her hand and said in a gentle voice, "Ninth Sister has gotten married. The Empress and I should be happy for her."
Jiang Fenghua understood the implied meaning, and her smile deepened. She knew that the palace had been quiet for the past month, and Xie Ling'er's situation in the palace had not been leaked out. She was in a state of waiting to be married.
Xie Ling'er's eyes have lost their sparkle, and she can no longer stir up any trouble.
She picked up her teacup, took a sip of tea, handed the gift to her, and said a few insincere words of blessing.
After the ceremony, the Hu prince personally escorted her out of the palace. Before leaving, Xie Ling'er turned and gave Jiang Fenghua a deep look. She probably wanted to avenge Su Tingwan and the Su family, but she didn't have the ability. So, the last look in her eyes was not one of hatred, but of confusion and uncertainty.
A month was enough time for her to think things through; she didn't even know if she should hate Jiang Fenghua.
Compared to Jiang Fenghua's cunning, what she couldn't understand even more was her brother's intention: why send her off to marry when he clearly disagreed?
Xie Ling'er was unaware that she was merely a link used by Xie Shang to eliminate the Hu tribe, and that he would not be ashamed of unilaterally breaking the agreement to attack the Hu tribe; he was determined to unify the northern frontier.
Jiang Zhiqin would become famous for his victory in the battle to eliminate the Hu tribe. At the age of seventeen, he was appointed as the Tiger General and stationed in the northern frontier to continue training soldiers. The northern frontier was indeed a treasure trove for training soldiers.
On the other hand, Xie Shang personally escorted Xie Ling'er to her wedding, and the entire city of Shengjing was in an uproar once again.
Jiang Fenghua remained in the palace, standing atop the high imperial city walls, overlooking the grand spectacle below.
At this moment, she seemed to see a group of strange people in the crowd. The person in the middle was wearing a veiled hat and squeezed in the middle of the crowd, while the people next to him were dressed in the clothes of ordinary people. Their eyes were not on the Ninth Princess's wedding carriage, but were looking around, as if they were always on guard.
Jiang Fenghua stared at the heads and said coldly, "Su Qingqing has finally shown herself."
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