Chapter 766 Xie Shang's Actions
When Jiang Fenghua woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Looking at the familiar layout, she realized she had returned to Kunning Palace. The bedchamber was quiet. She called out, "Someone come here!"
Hongxiu pushed open the door and came in. "Your Majesty, you've woken up."
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Hongxiu, when did you get back?"
“Last night, His Majesty sent someone to the Jiang family to fetch me and bring me to the palace to serve Your Highness.”
Jiang Fenghua was full of doubts. "He sent someone to pick you up and take you back to the palace late at night. Is there a shortage of maids to serve me in the palace?"
Hongxiu said, "This servant doesn't know either."
Jiang Fenghua felt dizzy after sleeping for too long. "What time is it now?"
"It's past 1:45 PM. The Empress has indeed slept for a long time. Lianye is taking the little princess for a walk outside."
Jiang Fenghua is usually a light sleeper. She slept from last night until the afternoon of the next day. She didn't drink much alcohol last night, but she felt dizzy. She thought she was drunk. Could it be that Xie Shang drugged her?
The next moment, she hurriedly got up and put on her shoes, and said in a deep voice, "Where is Xie Shang?"
At this moment, Lin Yu and Ao Xue heard the noise and came in. Lin Yu said, "The Emperor left the palace last night after sending you back. He left in a hurry. Before he left, he told us to take good care of you and the children."
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "Didn't he say where he was going?"
Ao Xue said, "The Emperor didn't say that Lin Feng and Xiao Liu went together."
Jiang Fenghua muttered to herself, "Why did he drug me?"
Lin Yu asked, "He drugged me? What happened?"
Jiang Fenghua shook her head. "I don't know."
Soon, Jiang Jinyan also entered the palace. "His Majesty has entrusted the affairs of state to several Grand Tutors and me. Has something happened to His Majesty?"
Jiang Fenghua was even more confused. What did Xie Shang mean? How could the emperor of a country just leave like that? What exactly happened?
Jiang Fenghua then said, "Aoxue, go and see if the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cheng are still in the palace?"
Soon, Aoxue returned. "They are no longer in the palace. I asked the guards, and they said that the Emperor took them out of the palace overnight."
She guessed that Xie Shang's departure was related to them. He probably drugged her to prevent her from interfering in royal affairs. In fact, she had no right to give advice on how he should deal with his grandmother and mother.
Xie Shang was actually very sad. His mother, grandmother, and all his relatives were causing him a lot of trouble.
Just then, Granny Wang arrived with Granny Xi.
Granny Xi knelt on the ground and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress."
Jiang Fenghua said, "Please stand up and speak, Granny Xi!"
Seeing that she was covered in bruises, she asked, "What happened? Who hit you?"
Granny Xi thanked the Empress Dowager and stood up. "It was the Empress Dowager. I don't know what's wrong with her. Yesterday, she suddenly went crazy and started beating me. Recently, her mental state has been getting worse and worse. She gets angry easily, like she has epilepsy. After I was beaten by her, she had me locked up and said that I was a spy and that I betrayed her."
"It was the Empress Dowager who personally carried out the beating," Jiang Fenghua asked.
Granny Xi looked aggrieved. "It was the Empress Dowager who did it herself. She even smashed the entire palace. There's something else very strange. The Empress Dowager seems to be ill. After she went crazy, she scratched her body with her fingernails and scratched her face to pieces."
Granny Wang was unaware that Consort Chang had poisoned the Empress Dowager. "The Empress Dowager has always had a bad temper and often couldn't control her emotions. Now, she's probably really ill."
Jiang Fenghua thought to herself: So the purpose of Consort Chang's poisoning of the Empress Dowager was to drive her mad and ultimately harm herself.
The Empress Dowager had a bad temper when she was young. Could it be that Consort Chang poisoned her back then, but the amount was so small that no one noticed she had been poisoned for a long time? Perhaps the poison made her temperament unstable. Now the poison must have seeped into her bones, which is why she went crazy!
Xie Shang took the Empress Dowager away. Could it be that he wanted to use her to lure out Prince Kang? But the Emperor isn't in the palace. What if Prince Kang really tries to storm the palace and rebel?
"Brother, did Xie Shang say when he'll be back, or where he went?"
Jiang Jinyan said, "He didn't say when he would be back or where he was going. He should be back soon! This time, the Emperor didn't let me come along; several princes were also accompanying me."
Jiang Fenghua paced back and forth. "He took them all away. Could it be that he went to the imperial mausoleum where the late emperor was buried?"
“That’s quite possible,” Jiang Jinyan added. “Back then, the Empress Dowager lived in the Hengyang Palace, and the late Emperor also built his mausoleum in Hengyang.”
"So the late emperor cared a lot about his mother. It's just a pity that his mother didn't have him in her heart, only her youngest son, Prince Kang. Xie Shang took her to the Hengyang Imperial Mausoleum because he wanted to take her to see the late emperor." Jiang Fenghua also deduced from Xie Shang's emotions. He was very strange when he returned from Jingzhao Prefecture last night. He must have been hurt by the Xie family.
Jiang Jinyan said, "I will leave the palace first. If Your Majesty needs anything, please send someone to inform me."
"Alright." Jiang Fenghua personally escorted Jiang Jinyan out of Kunning Palace.
When Granny Wang found her again, she said, "Your Highness, I want to keep Granny Xi in Kunning Palace. If the Empress Dowager comes back, she will definitely torment her again. Granny Xi has helped me a lot in the past."
Helping Granny Wang was helping Jiang Fenghua, and Jiang Fenghua understood this as well. She said, "Granny Wang, make the arrangements first. If the Empress Dowager wants to see Granny Xi when she returns, she will definitely have to go back to serve the Empress Dowager..."
"Please, Your Majesty, save me! I don't want to serve the Empress Dowager anymore. She really has mental problems. If I stay by her side any longer, I might not survive."
Granny Xi wanted to stay by the Empress's side, just like Granny Wang, and being a head steward would be very prestigious.
When Granny Wang first went to the Jiang family to teach Empress Jiang, the two developed a mistress-servant relationship. After Empress Jiang entered the palace, Granny Wang went directly to her side and became the head steward. All the servants in Kunning Palace listened to her, and even the stewards of the entire palace listened to Granny Wang.
Granny Xi and Granny Wang had a good relationship to begin with. Now that Granny Wang's life has improved, Granny Xi is still enduring Empress Dowager Cheng's wrath, so she is definitely unhappy.
Granny Wang didn't tell Granny Xi about Jiang Fenghua's amnesia. Granny Xi assumed Jiang Fenghua didn't want to take her in, and added, "Back when Your Highness was dealing with Consort Su, this servant did my best to help Your Highness. Your Highness, please consider..."
Before Granny Xi could finish speaking, Granny Wang quickly said, "The matter of Consort Su is over, Granny Xi, please don't mention it to the Empress again."
A hint of embarrassment flashed in Granny Xi's eyes. "Yes."
Jiang Fenghua already knew the purpose of Granny Xi's visit, and that she also wanted to become a head steward like Granny Wang.
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "Granny Xi, please stay in Kunning Palace for now and take good care of your injuries. When the Empress Dowager returns, I will speak to you on her behalf. I will make sure that such a thing never happens again."
Before Granny Xi could say anything more, Granny Wang said, "Your Highness, please continue with your business. This servant will take Granny Xi away first."
Jiang Fenghua said with concern, "Go and invite the imperial physician to give Granny Xi a good check-up."
"Yes," Granny Wang replied.
Granny Xi was somewhat dissatisfied. She thought that since she had helped Empress Jiang so much, Empress Jiang should promote her.
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