It’s okay to give her some more time. After all, good things are always worth waiting for.
After the two of them washed up, Commander Ma came in to report on what happened last night.
Xuan Ling threw the erotic painting in his hand to the ground and said majestically, "Concubine Jia has dirty thoughts and frivolous behavior. I will punish her by making her kneel and copy the palace rules two hundred times."
"As for Concubine Chun, she secretly possessed the Aphrodisiac Powder and attempted to cause chaos in the palace and harm my health. She will be immediately banished to the cold palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As the two had guessed last night, the palace search yielded no clues of a fire.
Before Xuan Ling went to the morning court, he stroked Sheng Xiyan's face and said, "Yanyan, I punished Concubine Jia by making her kneel and copy Buddhist scriptures to avenge you. Are you happy?"
"Happy." She nodded and smiled.
"Don't overthink the fire, don't feel any burden. Just have the palace servants take more careful precautions in the future. Go to Guanju Palace today and ask the head steward of the Imperial Household Department to find out if you need anything. And get all the furniture and supplies you'll need. Remember that?"
"I've made a note of this, Your Majesty. Can I borrow books from the West Warm Pavilion in the future?"
Xuan Ling smiled and said, "Of course I can. I'm worried that I need someone to study my many precious ancient books."
After breakfast, Concubine Jia and Concubine Liang were sent to the Cining Palace.
The two were nervous all the way, not knowing what was going on.
When they arrived at the Cining Palace, they found the atmosphere extremely heavy. The empress dowager sat on the upper seat with a gloomy expression, which was in stark contrast to her usual kind attitude towards her nieces and nephews.
"Get down on your knees, you two idiots!"
The empress dowager shouted angrily, and Concubine Jia and Concubine Liang were so scared that they knelt down quickly, at a loss as to what to do.
Concubine Jia said aggrievedly: "Aunt, what happened?"
Concubine Liang was extremely nervous and agreed, "Yes, Auntie, did you not get enough rest last night? You look very bad. How about I give you a back massage?"
The Empress Dowager waved her hand, and Nanny Li brought out the food box that she had brought from Chuxiu Palace yesterday.
After the food box was opened, what came into view was a green dumpling placed in the middle of a yellow glazed plate.
Concubine Jia and Concubine Liang looked at each other, both with confusion on their faces, not knowing what the empress dowager meant by this.
Nanny Li held a handkerchief and carefully broke open the skin of the green dumpling, revealing a ball of white powder inside.
Upon seeing this, Concubine Liang was so frightened that her face turned pale, she collapsed to the ground, and backed away repeatedly.
And Concubine Jia asked foolishly: "What is this?"
Nanny Li quickly took the white phosphorus powder away and disposed of it, and rinsed her hands with plenty of water.
The Queen Mother said coldly, "Liang Fei, what do you think that is?"
Concubine Liang hesitated and said, "Aunt, Ping'er doesn't know."
"You thought you were clever, secretly throwing white phosphorus powder into Zhongcui Palace and then sending an anonymous letter to the Imperial Guards to denounce Concubine Shu. But she's not stupid. She immediately threw the stuff back into your courtyard, and you were completely unaware. If Nanny Li hadn't discovered it while picking mugwort in the backyard, you would have been taken to the Shenxingsi last night!"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Liang quickly knelt before the Empress Dowager and pleaded, "Auntie, Ping'er knows she was wrong and will never do it again. Please don't tell the Emperor, or Ping'er will be banished to the cold palace."
Concubine Jia covered her mouth and laughed. The Queen Mother asked, "Luan'er, tell me the truth. Were you involved in the fire in the small kitchen?"
Concubine Jia's smile froze. She glanced at Concubine Liang, lowered her head, and stammered, "Yes, I did a little."
The Empress Dowager's face was horrified, and Concubine Jia continued to confess tremblingly, "I only had someone throw a tinderbox into the wall of the small kitchen. There was nothing else. The tinderbox couldn't have caused such a big fire that it would have burned the Zhaochun Palace next door. So, aunt, my responsibility in this matter is very small."
The Queen Mother shook her head speechlessly. Who did she inherit this brain from? Why was she so stupid?
"Liang Fei, did you throw away the flames too?"
Concubine Liang twisted the corner of her clothes and said nothing, which was considered as her agreement.
"Aunt, seeing that the Queen is getting pregnant, you don't want to give the power of assisting the six palaces to outsiders, right?"
The Queen Mother twisted the jade Buddhist beads in her hands and calmed down after a while. Neither of the two trump cards in her hand could be used reliably.
"Why are you so stupid? Is it necessary for you to be so stupid over a widowed concubine? Don't be so narrow-minded. You don't just rush to take down whoever the emperor favors. Use your brains. A true master doesn't need to do it himself, let alone use such stupid tricks.
I know that this time you set the fire not only to deal with Sheng Chongyuan, but also for the heir that Shen Wanrong is pregnant with. I am putting my word here, this child is not allowed to be touched again, do you understand? "
Concubine Jia and Concubine Liang said respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
At noon, in Zhongcui Palace, Concubine Shu had not slept the whole night before and made up for it with a whole day's sleep. After waking up, she still looked listless.
She rubbed her temples and asked lazily, "How is Shen Wanrong's situation? Has the bleeding stopped?"
Hongxiu stood aside and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the pain has stopped. She is now lying in bed to protect the fetus and cannot walk."
Concubine Shu nodded gently, then asked, "What do you think should be done with the families of Imperial Physician Li and Palace Maid Lan'er?"
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