“The Imperial Concubine never did that, it was the Empress who forced me! I don’t have any medicine at all, and I’m not familiar with Li Lu. It was the Empress who told me to say that!” He Bao cried.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
The Empress suddenly stood up: "You are slandering me! I have never forced you!"
That's not true, that's not true at all.
At this point, the Empress was well aware that she had been tricked.
Although her plan included having He Bao do things, she never controlled He Bao's family. This was a tactic to get her to admit that the Imperial Concubine controlled her family.
Now that Hebao dares to retaliate, it must be because someone instigated it.
He Bao kowtowed: "Your Majesty, this servant did not do it. This servant simply dared not speak, dared not speak, I did not do it. This servant did not go to see Li Lu, I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
On the surface, it was obviously He Bao who did it, but she didn't go?
The Empress was shocked and could not hide it.
Shu Chengfeng naturally knew what was going on, but didn't want to speak for a moment.
Consort Ye angrily said, "Your Majesty the Empress, you have gone to great lengths to frame me!"
"No, Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent! How dare this lowly servant slander me!" The Empress could only insist on her innocence and refuse to admit it.
"Your Highness, this girl is yours, you say so," Shu Chengfeng said calmly.
"Your Majesty, I know nothing." Consort Ye had already been taught by Granny Lu to simply say she knew nothing.
“If He Bao has any disloyal intentions, then punish her as you see fit. But if her family is threatened, then I have nothing to say. She did nothing wrong after all. I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness.”
Shu Chengfeng smiled.
If there were no problems with He Bao, how come she was chosen by the Empress in the first place?
The reason for their current betrayal is that they know the Consort is not pregnant, or perhaps their family members are now truly under control.
This is the Imperial Concubine's counterattack.
The imperial concubine didn't have that kind of brain; it can only be said that the nanny in front of her was quite capable.
“Your Majesty, the Empress is the Empress. No matter how many princes there are in the palace, she is still the Empress. If she gives birth to a son, he is the legitimate heir,” Yan Nangui said, rising to his feet.
"This matter may implicate Her Highness, but there must be more to it than meets the eye. He Bao says she didn't do it, so who did? Now that the Imperial Concubine is involved, this matter needs to be thoroughly investigated. However..."
Yan Nangui glanced at the Empress a few times and continued, "However, we are concubines, while Your Majesty is the Empress. If there is any inquiry, only His Majesty and the Empress Dowager can inquire. It is not appropriate for us to inquire. His Majesty is wise and will naturally be able to find out the truth of this matter."
Shu Chengfeng glanced at her a few times but didn't say anything.
“Sister Yan is right; there must be more to the story. Her Majesty the Empress is the mother of the nation, and it is indeed not appropriate for us to listen to too much here,” said Consort Xiangxian.
“Yes, Your Majesty must have suffered a grievance. Perhaps Your Majesty should question her privately,” said Luo Wanyi.
Consort Ye was about to say something when she was stopped by Granny Lu.
He just snorted.
"Although I am a victim, I believe Your Majesty is innocent. I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly," Consort Jiang hurriedly said.
Shu Chengfeng took a deep breath.
"Since everyone is pleading for the Empress, I cannot ignore it. In that case, you may all return home now. I will make the decision on this matter myself."
Everyone agreed and then took their leave.
Consort Ye didn't want to leave, but there was no point in staying.
He flew into a rage as soon as he got back: "Why won't you let me speak? How could she keep something like this a secret?"
“Your Majesty, even if it is found that the Empress did it, so what? His Majesty cannot depose the Empress. Consort Yan and Consort Xiangxian both understand this, which is why they rushed to speak out. Their excuses about not being able to hear or ask are simply because they know His Majesty will not and cannot depose the Empress, so they must cover it up. What good will it do you to speak out now? Even Consort Jiang has said so,” said Granny Lu.
"Why can't the empress be deposed?" Consort Ye glared.
"Your Highness," Granny Lu said, her voice becoming more forceful.
"So we're just going to let it go like this?" Consort Ye asked, dissatisfied.
"Of course not. This matter is so obvious. Even if everyone in the harem knows that the Empress will not be deposed, her prestige will certainly be greatly diminished. After this, the First Prince probably won't support her anymore. And His Majesty won't visit her for a while either. She has no legitimate son, so how can her position as Empress be secure? What good is letting her occupy the position? What you should be doing is taking care of your health and having a child."
“Now that this matter hasn’t been handled cleanly, His Majesty feels guilty towards you and Consort Jiang. Since you haven’t said anything, His Majesty wants to compensate you instead. This can also resolve the previous predicament between His Majesty and the Empress Dowager,” said Granny Lu.
Consort Ye pursed her lips and could only nod.
She really wanted to send the Empress to the Cold Palace, but unfortunately she couldn't. Anyway, it would be good to make her suffer.
Yan Nangui was lost in thought the whole way.
He sat on the carriage, frowning.
As soon as he got back, he said, "I can't understand this."
"Your Majesty?" Chanyi asked.
"He Bao is the Consort's person. The fact that the Empress was able to take her away means that the Empress did indeed contact her or direct her to do things. So why is she turning against us now?"
"Then it can only be that the Imperial Concubine threatened her and got hold of something against her?" Chanyi said.
"Yes, but Consort Jiang did see the medicine, which means the Empress really did poison her. So, does that mean He Bao was just someone the Empress used to frame the Consort? As for Consort Jiang, the Empress has other plans, right?" Yan Nangui asked.
"That must be it, right? It seems Granny Lu is quite shrewd. She probably had some doubts from the beginning about whether the Imperial Concubine was really pregnant. After finding out yesterday that she wasn't pregnant, she started to have doubts," Chanyi said.
“Perhaps the real threat to He Bao is the Imperial Concubine,” Yuan Hua said.
Yan Nangui nodded: "Then...why did the Imperial Concubine suddenly develop indigestion? Why did it suddenly seem like morning sickness?"
"This...Does Your Highness suspect that there are other people behind this?" Yuanhua asked.
"If the Imperial Concubine hadn't appeared to be pregnant, would the Empress have intervened at this time?"
"Could it be Consort Ning? With this incident, I'm afraid the First Prince will have to return it?" Chanyi said.
Yan Nangui didn't go inside, but sat down under the crabapple tree in the courtyard: "She does have that motive, but she's just a Jieyu, there are many things she can't do, right?"
“This… Physician Fang has always treated Consort Mu and her son, could it be her?” Chanyi asked again.
Yan Nangui hummed in agreement: "I don't know, but they're all very suspicious."
"Your Majesty, let me untie your hair." Yuanhua said as she worked, "No matter what, the Empress has really fallen this time. Consort Ye is unable to have a child for the time being, but Consort Xiangxian is the most pleased."
At this point, Yuanhua paused: "Is this Consort Xiangxian?"
Yan Nangui hummed in agreement: "That's possible, but I'm still not sure."
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