Chapter 066 Original Sin
"Concubine Ying rarely comes to Yangxin Palace to see me. She must have something to ask. Let her in."
Yang Junyi waved his hands, and the eunuch went to announce the matter. Yuanbao suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Yuanbao said hurriedly.
"We'll talk about it after we're done."
Yuanbao answered "yes" awkwardly, but he was worried in his heart. He was afraid that Concubine Ying was also doing this for this matter, and it would be too late for him.
At this time, Concubine Ying walked in slowly, wearing a lake blue palace dress, with a solemn expression on her face.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"My beloved concubine, please stand up. Why did you decide to come to Yangxin Palace today?" Yang Junyi went forward to pull Concubine Ying, but she did not move.
"I am not good at managing the harem, so I dare not stand up."
Yuanbao thought to himself that something bad had happened.
"Why do you say that, my dear?"
"This..." Concubine Ying hesitated to speak.
Yang Junyi was a little unhappy. Women were always like this, hesitant and dithering. They were obviously coming to see him, but they were still hesitant and procrastinating.
"If it is inconvenient for you to talk, please leave."
Concubine Ying was a smart woman. When she heard the emperor's tone change, she immediately spoke up, "I recently heard some bad rumors in the palace about Hong Liangdi. At first, I punished the palace maid who was gossiping. Later, I heard it again and beat her with a stick. Later, I found that it seemed that the entire palace knew about it. The servants said that dozens of guards saw it at the time."
Yuanbao broke out in a cold sweat. It was true that good news never travels far, but bad news travels far and wide. There were clearly only a dozen guards at the time, but how come Tianming said there were dozens of guards?
However, the larger the number of people, the harder it is to handle, but the larger the number of people, the angrier the emperor becomes.
"What exactly is this rumor? What did you see?" Yang Junyi's voice turned cold.
"It is said that it was the night three days ago." Concubine Ying slowly told the story she knew.
"Bullshit!"
Before Concubine Ying could finish her words, Yang Junyi smashed the night pearl in his hand to pieces.
Yang Junyi suddenly remembered that three nights ago, a guard came to see Yuanbao, and Yuanbao evasively said that it was a palace maid.
Yang Junyi narrowed his eyes and looked at Yuanbao.
Yuan Bao knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is wronged. Please listen to what I have to say."
"You said"
"That night, I saw the guard on duty running to the other end of the Yu Garden. I stopped him and asked what happened. The guard replied that a palace maid was pretending to be the empress, and Commander Fu had already dealt with it. Then you came out. I felt that the palace maids and the newly promoted ladies were fighting for favors by all means. This kind of trivial matter certainly did not need to bother the emperor. Moreover, the emperor also asked me to go and take a look, so I left."
Yang Junyi continued to listen with no expression on his face.
"When I went to see her, I was shocked. The woman's condition at that time..." Yuan Bao paused, looked at Concubine Ying again, and continued, "It was indeed immoral. She saw everything she should see, and also everything she shouldn't see. And that woman kept saying that she was Concubine Hong."
Yuanbao took a breath.
"Looking at the guards standing in formation around me, I took the lead and kicked the woman, saying she was talking nonsense, a palace maid dared to pretend to be Hong Liangdi. At that time, Commander Fu also thought that this woman was pretending to be Hong Liangdi, so he followed me and took action."
Yuanbao looked at Yang Junyi's expression again.
"I really didn't dare to risk embarrassing the Emperor, so I took action on my own until the woman was silent. The guards said that the maid pretending to be a concubine deserved death, and then they dispersed and went on their own patrols."
"And then?"
"Then I took off the hood and confirmed that the woman was indeed Consort Hong Liang. I didn't dare to deal with her directly, so I sent her back to Consort Hong Liang's bedroom and asked Commander Fu to send someone to guard her and not let her out. I deserve to die, I deserve to die, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"Why do you deserve to die?" Yang Junyi said coldly.
"I shouldn't have made the decision on my own. I shouldn't have hurt Lady Hong Liang."
"You deserve to die."
Yuanbao broke out in a cold sweat.
"After following me for so many years, you should have dealt with her decisively at that time to prevent future troubles."
Yuanbao was stunned.
"I will punish you now. Complete what you did not finish three days ago. Also, pass on my oral order. Hong Liangdi was seriously ill and had been bedridden for more than ten days. She died suddenly today. Anyone who spreads any words that damage Hong Liangdi's reputation will be beaten to death."
"yes!"
"As you wish!"
"I'll take my leave!"
Overnight, the harem was in turmoil again. Some people said that Hong Liangdi had offended Concubine Ying, and Concubine Ying went to find the emperor, so she was executed directly.
Some people said that Hong Liangdi had been infected with a strange disease a long time ago, so what everyone saw that night must not be Hong Liangdi, but some shameless palace maid who wanted to seduce the emperor and was also beaten to death.
Others said that Hong Liangdi drugged the emperor, which backfired on him, causing his body to rot and die in an extremely ugly manner.
There were many different opinions, but no one dared to discuss this matter anymore because after Hong Liangdi died, her maids went around to plead for justice for Hong Liangdi and were also beaten to death.
From then on, no one dared to mention this matter again.
Xia Xue counted the days and realized that she had lived in the palace for half a month, so it was time to leave.
Jiang Baolin was restored to favor and promoted to the position, and now it is Jiang Xiaoyi.
"Sister, I really can't bear to leave you." Xia Lu said coquettishly.
"I've been staying here for so long this time that the Prime Minister has some complaints. Next time you miss me, I'll just have you come over."
"I have benefited a lot from Mrs. Chu's presence, and I can't bear to leave you." Jiang Xiaoyi said with deep affection.
"You entered the palace too early. Xia Lu is too naive. I hope Xiao Yi can take good care of her."
"Of course, Madam Chu, don't worry."
"I'm afraid Prince Lu will bear a grudge against Concubine Ying because of this matter." Xia Xue sighed.
"Empress Ying is just doing her duty, and she probably has no intention of targeting Concubine Hong."
"Of course. If it weren't for the suspicion that Hong Liangdi's incident had disturbed the harem, Concubine Ying wouldn't have been the first to do so."
"Concubine Ying's belly should be seven months old." Jiang Xiaoyi suddenly said this.
"According to the date, it should be about the same." Xia Xue said.
Xia Lu looked envious, "I wonder when I can have my own child."
"You can only have children when you are able to protect him."
"Just like Concubine Ying." Jiang Xiaoyi smiled bitterly, thinking of her poor child. Not only did he not receive any compensation, but Concubine Ying directly said it was menstruation.
She hated it, she hated it so much!
"Before you become strong enough, don't act rashly. You can protect yourself, but anything else may turn into a sin. Especially when a person without any background can stand firm in the palace for many years, this person is the most terrifying. This person must not become an enemy, at least not now."
"The Emperor Arrives"
Xia Xue was startled and hurriedly took out her veil. Before she put it on, she heard Yang Junyi's voice from behind her.
"Why, Madam Chu doesn't seem to want to see me?"