Chapter 934 Gone Mad
"Who caused Zhang Jingpin and Pan Jieyu's troubles? Were you not involved in their difficult childbirths?"
Jiang Fenghua continued, "Although I haven't found any evidence, and I know that it's difficult to find evidence of this kind of harmful method, you were almost harmed in the same way when you were pregnant. How can you bear to harm them? They have no grudge against you. Consort Zhang even made a tiger-head hat for your child. How can you bear to harm her?"
Song Qing's pupils widened in shock, and she was speechless.
Jiang Fenghua continued, "Four lives lost! You'll carry their lives on your shoulders and spend the rest of your life repenting!"
"I didn't." Song Qing could only say things to comfort herself. "Isn't the Fourth Princess alive and well? I didn't harm her."
Jiang Fenghua sneered, "Zhang Jingpin's child survived, but have you forgotten how Tang Qianran's child died?"
Song Qing was completely dumbfounded. She kept denying it: "I didn't, I didn't kill their child. It wasn't me who killed the child. She killed her own child. It wasn't me."
Suddenly, Song Qing saw the Third Prince's tender little face in her mind. He was crying loudly and seemed to be in great pain. The room was too cold, so she suddenly covered him up more tightly with the swaddling clothes, and then the child stopped crying.
Song Qing shook her head frantically, as if she had gone mad, "I didn't kill them, I... I didn't."
Song Qing was completely driven mad by Jiang Fenghua. She curled up on the ground, messing up her hair, her pupils wide open as if she had seen something terrifying. "Don't come any closer! I didn't kill you! I didn't kill you!"
"Dong'er, quickly call the Second Prince in to recite his lessons. If he can't recite them, he'll get a spanking..."
“Rui’er, be good. Recite your lessons for your father, and he will like you. Hurry up and recite your lessons…” she shouted.
"Dong'er, he's crying. Don't let him cry. Cover him with a blanket. It's snowing outside. He's so cold. Cover him with a blanket."
Song Qing suddenly screamed, "Why isn't he crying anymore? Is he dead?"
She waved her hands frantically, "It's not my fault. It was his mother who was stupid. How could she feed such a small child so much licorice? It was his mother who killed him."
Song Qing lunged at Jiang Fenghua, but Hongxiu and Aoxue quickly stopped her, saying, "Your Highness, be careful."
Song Qing had no sharp weapon in her hand. She stood up and muttered to herself, "I will make sure they have a good pregnancy and give birth to a plump and round prince. The Empress will be happy when she returns."
"Your Majesty, they are pregnant with the imperial heirs. Are you happy?" Song Qing continued, "There are already so many princes in the palace. If a few more princes are born, what will happen to my Rui'er? Your Majesty, please help me. I don't want to harm them, but what about my second prince? The Emperor doesn't like him either."
Song Qing started to cry, "Mom, please don't hit me. I'll be good, and I'll earn lots of money..."
She recalled how her whole family doted on her like a princess because an imperial edict had been delivered to the Song family. The whole family was overjoyed, and the Song clan prospered from then on.
No one would have imagined that the daughter, who had always been neglected, would become the hope of the whole family.
Jiang Fenghua approached Song Qing, "Song Qing."
Song Qingchao said to Jiang Fenghua, "I'm going to the palace to become a concubine. Are you going to the palace to become a concubine too? You're so beautiful. The Emperor will definitely like you. But I'm not pretty. I don't know if the Emperor will like me."
Jiang Fenghua looked at her and said, "Aoxue, do you think she's really crazy or just pretending?"
Ao Xue grabbed her wrist and tightened her grip, causing Song Qing to cry out in pain again, "Mother, it hurts!"
After examining the body, Ao Xue said, "It doesn't seem like an act."
Ao Xue released her wrist, but Song Qing hid behind Jiang Fenghua instead. "Mother, she's so fierce! Mother will protect Qing'er, right?"
Jiang Fenghua didn't speak, but Song Qing saw some pastries on the table. She put a few in her mouth, then took another piece and handed it to Jiang Fenghua, saying, "Mother, you should eat some too! They won't let you eat any if they see us later."
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Hongxiu, send her to the East Palace, and let Dong'er go with her to take care of Consort Song."
Hongxiu stepped forward and pulled her, "Please, Consort Song!"
Song Qing kept trying to avoid me, saying, "Mother, don't you want Qing'er anymore? I'm not going anywhere. I want to stay with you. I'll earn money for you, and then you'll be happy!"
When Dong'er was brought in, she burst into tears upon seeing her mistress's appearance. "Miss, what's wrong? It's me, Dong'er!"
Song Qing no longer recognized Dong'er and only regarded Jiang Fenghua as her mother. "Mother, who is Dong'er!"
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Did you grow up with Consort Song since you were little?"
Dong'er said, "I was taken in by Miss when I was ten years old. I was starving to death at the time, and Miss saved me. But how could the Song family take me in? Miss secretly hid me and shared her food with me, which is how I survived."
Dong'er continued, "Miss is actually very kind-hearted. She was forced into this situation by Madam Song and her brothers, who forced her to give them money and official positions. Madam Song, in particular, never treated Miss like a daughter. If it weren't for the Song family's bloodsucking, Miss wouldn't be so desperate to make money."
Jiang Fenghua did not feel sorry for her, which gave her a reason to murder others. None of this could absolve her of the crimes she had committed.
"So, the difficult childbirths of Consort Zhang and Consort Pan were really caused by Song Qing?"
Dong'er bit her lip, her voice trembling, "It can't be entirely blamed on Consort Shu. Consort Pan was afraid that the baby in her belly wouldn't eat enough and wouldn't grow well. She herself was greedy and didn't encourage her to eat more. Consort Jing's body was too weak. She had to save her pregnancy several times. It was only because Consort Shu invited the imperial physicians that Consort Jing was able to save her pregnancy. As for why she had a difficult childbirth in the end, this servant doesn't know."
Since things had already come to this, Jiang Fenghua didn't want to ask any more questions. She added, "Just because I won't punish you doesn't mean you've escaped this ordeal. You still have your head on your neck for now."
Dong'er knelt on the ground, "As long as Your Majesty allows me to stay by Consort's side to take care of her, I will not complain about whatever punishment Your Majesty may impose on me. Although Consort has some ulterior motives, I have never thought of harming Your Majesty the Empress, let alone harming Your Majesty the Empress's children."
Jiang Fenghua never expected that there was still someone in the world who truly cared for Song Qing. Looking at the Song family, she felt like she wanted to skin her alive and suck her blood.
Hongxiu personally escorted Song Qing to the East Palace.
Ao Xue said, "She has done so many bad things, the Emperor should just give her a white silk noose and make her a Noble Lady. That's too lenient on her. Your Majesty doesn't need to talk to her about these things."
Ao Xue believed that Song Qing did not harm the Empress's child because they protected the princes and princesses very well, making it almost impossible for others to get close. Otherwise, Song Qing probably would not have let them go either.
Jiang Fenghua didn't expect Song Qing to go mad. She said, "The Emperor has already ordered Song Pengshi to be beheaded. There's no need to spare her life. Kill her! The reason Song Qing is alive is because she is the birth mother of the Second Prince. The Song clan has already been punished. If Song Qing is killed, her uncle is still guarding the borders of the Great Zhou. The Emperor will have a hard time explaining it to her."
She had already witnessed firsthand how ugly Madam Song's face was, and Madam Peng also had evidence that Madam Song had accepted bribes outside the palace. The Song family had indeed gone too far.
Is she now worried that Xie Shang's expression changed because of what's hidden in the ancestral hall?
Xiao Shang had made his intentions very clear: he didn't want her to die, but he would make sure she didn't live a happy life.
She also wanted to find the answer, so she didn't send anyone to the ancestral hall secretly. She believed that Xie Shang's people were not blind, otherwise the palace would really be riddled with holes.
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