Chapter 61 It’s just the beginning
Only Ling Chan knew that her bones were really broken.
No, it was shattered.
She knew today's process very well. Qiu Lan and Ruan Yiyu confirmed it over and over again in Ling Mansion.
The most crucial person among them is the palace maid named Caihui.
Qiu Lan accidentally discovered Caihui and Zeng Hongbao's affair at a palace banquet, and she used this incident to threaten Caihui.
The bones in Caihui's wrist were broken and it hurt a lot if she didn't move. Moreover, she was being held by two palace servants, one of whom was holding her wrist.
"Your Majesty, when we found her, she was about to leave the palace."
The palace maids in the imperial kitchen were allowed to go out of the palace to purchase goods.
"Oh, it hurts, it hurts." She struggled desperately, but the more she struggled, the harder the palace guards pushed her.
"ah..."
Nanny Xian walked over and slapped Cai Hui on the cheek. "Why are you howling?"
"Don't you even look at who's in front of you?"
Cai Hui raised her head and saw the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, all the concubines, and also Ling Chan...
Ling Chan smiled at her, as kindly as possible.
But Caihui was trembling with fear...
Obviously, Princess Wanyue just held her wrist like that. Although she used force, it didn't hurt so much, as if it was broken.
"Tell me, what did you do today?"
When Caihui was discovered by Ling Chan, she knew that she could not escape today. At this point, she did not struggle anymore.
"Madam Ling and Madam Anyang Hou used the matter between me and Young Master Zeng to threaten me. If I didn't help them plot against Princess Wanyue, they would tell everyone about Young Master Zeng and me."
"They gave me a potion and told me to light it in a courtyard in the nearby Chunhua Palace... and tie a piece of cloth outside as a mark."
"Then, while serving the food, dirty Princess Wanyue's clothes."
"You won't need me for anything else."
She didn't tell Ling Chan what she had seen through, but instead said, "The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. So I came to inform Young Master Zeng to leave, and then went back to pack my things..."
Ling Chan raised the corners of her lips. She touched her wrist just now to remind Cai Hui not to talk nonsense.
Ruan Yiyu and Qiu Lan were already panicked when they saw Cai Hui appear.
At this moment, Cai Hui explained everything, and the two of them collapsed to the ground.
In fact, the other ladies had already guessed it almost exactly. This kind of thing was not the first time it happened, whether in their own backyard or in the palace.
In the past, Prince Cheng Xiao Ping, the father of Princess Anhe Xiao Wan, was caught having sex with a palace maid in the palace by the late emperor. At that time, Prince Cheng said that he was framed, but since it involved the reputation of the royal family, the matter was suppressed by the late emperor.
Today's incident involves King Huai, and the result should be the same.
"Madam Ling and the Anyang Marquis' wife asked you to plot against Princess Wanyue and Prince Huai?" The Queen Mother snorted coldly, "Princess Wanyue and Prince Huai are already engaged, why would you plot like this?"
Cai Hui shook her head repeatedly, "No, they should be plotting against Princess Wanyue and Prince Rui."
"Because I heard them say... When Princess Wanyue wakes up and sees that she's sleeping with an ugly freak, I wonder if she can still be so arrogant..."
"I don't know why Prince Huai came to Chunhua Palace..."
Xiao Yi's breathing was heavy. Why did he come to Chunhua Palace? He had drunk some wine and felt a little unwell. He told his brother the emperor and came to Chunhua Palace to rest.
"I am resting in Chunhua Palace, my royal brother knows."
Xiao Heng nodded. It was he who asked Xiao Yi to come to Chunhua Palace to rest.
"I have no idea how you ended up being knocked unconscious." Xiao Yi looked at Ling Xuehui with an inexplicable look in his eyes.
Ling Xuehui was stunned and shook her head subconsciously, "No, it's not me."
"I, I was, I was also knocked unconscious..."
Rong Ruxiang was holding a copper stove for warming her hands in her hand. She threw the stove towards Ruan Yiyu and the others in anger.
The loud noise frightened everyone and made them shrink their shoulders.
"What do the Ling and Ruan families want to do?" Rong Ruxiang was furious when she thought that they were plotting against King Huai.
In her mind, she had sorted out everything.
They wanted to plot against Ling Chan, so that Ling Chan and Rui Wang Xiao Jin would have something dirty, so that the engagement between Ling Chan and Huai Wang could be cancelled. In this way, according to the current situation, Huai Wang doted on Ling Xueyao, and if Ling Chan got into trouble, Ling Xueyao would have the opportunity to become Huai Wang's concubine.
But something went wrong and Ling Xueyao slept with the young master of the Zeng family.
Since Ling Xueyao lost the chance to become Princess Huai, they might as well let Ling Xuehui take her place.
So it must have been Ling Xuehui who made Xiao Yi faint.
"Since you want your daughter to enter Prince Huai's mansion so badly, I will satisfy you." Rong Ruxiang looked at Ling Xuehui, "Ling Xuehui, I grant you the title of Prince Huai's concubine. You will be admitted to Prince Huai's mansion on a certain day."
Looking at Ling Xueyao again, "As for Ling Xueyao, then she will marry into the Zeng family."
Zeng Fu was unwilling in his heart, but since the empress dowager had spoken, he had no choice. Just as he was about to express his gratitude, Zeng Hongbao suddenly raised his head.
"My Queen Mother, I cannot marry her."
The ladies have not stood up since the emperor arrived, and their legs and feet are so numb that they are about to faint at any time.
But after hearing Zeng Hongbao's words, everyone became excited and looked forward to his reasons.
"Empress Dowager, Ling Xueyao is not a perfect woman. I cannot marry her."
Sure enough, Zeng Hongbao's words did not disappoint everyone and caused an uproar.
Ling Xueyao came of age after the New Year, but she is no longer a perfect bride?
Everyone looked at King Huai...
Ling Xueyao didn't expect that this matter would be revealed in public. She couldn't accept it again and fainted in Ruan Yiyu's arms.
Seeing this, the emperor stood up from his chair and said, "Alright, let's end today's business here."
"Let's all go."
After the sounds of people leaving gradually faded away, only the relevant people were left at the scene.
"Put things in order and go to the side hall of Zhaoyang Palace to wait."
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had the same idea, so they didn't want to waste any more time listening to Ruan Yiyu and the others' sophistry.
The people from the Ling, Ruan and Zeng families stayed in the side hall of Zhaoyang Palace for half an hour.
After leaving, several imperial edicts were sent out from the palace one after another.
Due to the incompetence of the housekeeper, Ling Rui was demoted again, from the fourth-rank Wuwei General to the sixth-rank Yiwei General, and was no longer allowed to attend the morning court.
Anyang Marquis Ruan Fu had no real power, so he was fined two years' salary.
As for Ruan Yiyu and Qiu Lan, the emperor ordered Ling Rui and Ruan Fu to lock them up at home and never let them leave the palace.
This is equivalent to putting Ruan Yiyu and Qiu Lan under house arrest. If possible, Xiao Heng even wanted to ask them to divorce their wives directly. Unfortunately, he is the emperor and cannot allow ministers to divorce their wives.
Ling Xueyao and Ling Xuehui, as the Queen Mother said, one was taken into the Zeng family as a concubine, and the other was taken into the Prince Huai's Mansion as a maid.
Ling Rui really regretted it. If he had known the result would be like this, he should have stopped Ruan Yiyu.
Little did he know, this... was just the beginning.
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