Chapter 546 Perhaps I had become a chess piece in Su Wan's hands...
Su Wan put down the medical book, looked at Chu Ruohan, and said calmly, "By the way, Sister Ruohan, one of my maids reported an interesting story yesterday."
"The young eunuch who delivered the cakes complained to someone after leaving Kunning Palace. He said that after the mission was completed, he would have to go to the Desheng Pawnshop in the south of the city to collect the reward money himself. It was really troublesome."
Chu Ruohan paused slightly while peeling the apple, and immediately understood.
"Chengnan Desheng Pawnshop?"
Su Wan nodded, her eyes far-sighted. "A warrior who was pushed out to die has to go and collect the reward money himself. This is totally unreasonable."
"Unless someone wants him to leave an indelible mark."
Chu Ruohan left the palace and immediately passed the clue to Gu Junze through a secret letter.
The power of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion is so complex that investigating a small pawnshop is just a piece of cake.
Soon, the news came back.
Gu Junze found out that a few days ago, a young eunuch went to Desheng Pawnshop to pawn a piece of excellent quality mutton-fat jade pendant.
The style of the jade pendant was almost identical to the ones that Concubine Hui bestowed upon her trusted palace maids last winter.
Concubine Hui thought that once the third son died, the matter would be completely settled and the storm would be over.
She began to move around the palace, sometimes inviting this concubine to appreciate flowers, sometimes inviting that noble lady to drink tea, showing everywhere that her favor had not diminished.
When she was serving in front of the emperor, she cried to Zhao Yunci several times about the great injustice she had suffered, and hinted that only a higher position could silence the gossips in the harem.
"Your Majesty, I don't want anything. I just want to be with Your Majesty peacefully."
She shed tears and spoke with sincerity, "But when I think of someone so vicious as to want to harm me and the Queen, I am terrified."
On this day, Zhao Yunci was reviewing memorials in the imperial study, and Chu Ruohan asked to see her.
She respectfully presented a traced drawing of a jade pendant.
"Your Majesty, this is a design I stumbled upon. I heard it was a pawn that a eunuch had pawned at a pawnshop in the south of the city a few days ago. It looks familiar, but I dare not take it upon myself, so I have come to ask Your Majesty for your decision."
Zhao Yunci didn't care at first and took it casually, but when his eyes fell on the pattern, his face suddenly changed.
He recognized this jade pendant!
This was one of the pieces of jewelry that he personally picked out as a reward for Concubine Hui when she entered the palace. Because of its unique carving, he took a closer look at it.
A surge of anger at being deceived rushed to his head, and he broke the red pen in Zhao Yunci's hand.
"Call the eunuch who's delivering the cakes!"
In the Ministry of Punishment, the young eunuch thought he had escaped, but now he was brought before the emperor again and was frightened out of his wits.
When the pattern of the jade pendant was placed in front of him, his last psychological defense completely collapsed.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, spare me!" He burst into tears and knocked his head loudly. "I confess! I confess everything!"
"It wasn't Little Sanzi who ordered this servant around! It was... it was the head maidservant beside Concubine Hui, Sister Cuihuan!"
"Sister Cuihuan gave me the medicinal powder. She said that after the task was completed, she would arrange for me to leave the palace and enjoy endless wealth and glory! This jade pendant is the deposit she gave me!"
"Capture Cuihuan!" The emperor's order was icy cold.
When the guards rushed into Concubine Hui's palace like wolves and tigers, Cuihuan was fanning her.
The moment she was dragged out, Concubine Hui was completely stunned. The teacup in her hand fell to the ground with a clang and shattered into pieces.
She could never have imagined that Su Wan and Chu Ruohan could bypass the third child who died without any evidence and traced Cuihuan from a small pawnshop!
Cuihuan is her right-hand man and knows too many of her shameful things!
Cuihuan was brought before the emperor, and at first she relied on the power of Concubine Hui to deny it.
But in the face of the young eunuch's identification and the physical evidence of the jade pendant, her defense seemed pale and powerless.
When the news reached Kunning Palace, Su Wan was being served with pregnancy-preserving medicine by palace maids.
After listening to the report, she simply said to Zhao Yunci who came to visit:
"Your Majesty, I remember this Miss Cuihuan. Some time ago, she contradicted me over a trivial matter. I didn't take it to heart at the time, and I wonder if she holds a grudge against me because of it."
Her words sounded like she was trying to find excuses for Cuihuan's behavior, but in fact, she attributed the motive to the personal grudges of the palace maid rather than the instructions of her master.
When Concubine Hui heard this, she felt a little relieved, but she was still more confused and worried.
Zhao Yunci was furious and would not listen to such "excuses".
"Torture!"
Under the torture, Cuihuan soon couldn't bear it anymore.
Concubine Hui was restless in the palace, like an ant on a hot pan, fearing that Cuihuan would betray her.
Chu Ruohan stood outside the palace, looking in the direction of the Ministry of Punishment, but her heart felt cold.
She suddenly realized that Su Wan's real purpose might not be as simple as overthrowing Concubine Hui.
What she wanted was to take this opportunity to eradicate Hui Fei's deeply rooted power in the palace.
Just then, news came from the Ministry of Punishment that Cuihuan had confessed.
But her confession shocked everyone.
She got close to another concubine named Li, who had a prominent family background and also coveted the position of empress.
"Your Majesty! It's Concubine Li! Concubine Li is jealous of the Empress's pregnancy and Concubine Hui's favor!"
"She found me, promised me great benefits, and asked me to use Concubine Hui to poison the Empress, and then pin the blame on Concubine Hui. Killing two birds with one stone!"
When the news reached Concubine Hui, she was stunned at first, and then she understood Cuihuan's intention.
Sacrifice the car to save the king, and also drag a strong enemy into the water!
A hint of vicious pleasure flashed in her eyes, and then immediately replaced with an expression of grief, and she stumbled towards the imperial study.
The situation suddenly reversed, Concubine Li was implicated, and the entire harem was in panic.
Chu Ruohan stood in the corridor of Kunning Palace and felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet.
This pool of water was much deeper than she had imagined.
And Su Wan's chess game was far more complicated than she saw.
At this moment, she suddenly realized that she might have become a precisely calculated chess piece in Su Wan's hands...
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