The Queen was a little surprised by the news that Concubine Jing had died. Although she had already known that the incident in Yuehan Palace last night would definitely involve the concubines in the palace, she did not expect that there would be news so soon.
She asked Fangyi: "How did he die?"
Fang Yi said: "The palace maid reported that he had torn off a sheet and hung it on the roof beam, and hanged himself by the neck."
"Oh?" The queen thought for a moment, "Suicide?" Then she thought about Concubine Jing's performance at the gate of Yuehan Palace last night. Although she said something, it did not seem too outstanding. She was far worse than Concubine Yuan Shu. Why was Concubine Jing the first to die at this time?
Just when His Highness was puzzled, another palace servant came to report: "Report to the Queen, there is news from the Imperial Clan Court that the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards who was in charge of guarding the palace last night has confessed that he was the one who set the fire. His purpose was to burn Concubine Yun to death in Yuehan Palace, so that the harem would be evenly distributed. Even if the Emperor is still partial, at least the concubines will have a chance to fight, instead of just sitting... eating and waiting to die like now."
"How dare you!" The queen's nose almost became crooked with anger. "A mere deputy commander of the Imperial Guards is actually meddling in the affairs of the harem?"
The palace servant continued, "To answer your Majesty's question, the deputy commander's biological sister is none other than Consort Jing in the palace. He acted this way only to secure a good future for his sister. However, the deputy commander said that Consort Jing knew nothing about this matter, and it was all his own idea."
Fang Yi's heart moved, and then she said, "In this way, things are right."
The queen thought about it and nodded, "In those years, because of the affairs of the harem, the emperor promoted some people's maternal relatives in order to appease a group of concubines. At first, I remembered who got what position, but then, as time went by, I didn't deliberately remember those things. Now that I think about it, it seems that Concubine Jing has a brother who is on duty in the palace. That's it!" She sighed, and then said, "The deputy governor has already confessed. He will not survive this crime. Concubine Jing has also been hanged. It's time to close this case." As she spoke, she waved her hand and asked the palace servant to leave.
Fang Yi waited until the palace servant left before she continued, "Have you decided to leave it at that? Have you been able to convince the Emperor?"
The Queen knew she would ask this, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "It depends on what he wants to say. This incident clearly shows that Concubine Jing was used as a pawn, and her and her brother's death and confession were clearly to exonerate each other. But they didn't expect that they both had the same idea, and in the end, no one could save the other."
"The Queen believes that the mastermind behind this is..."
"Keep a close eye on Concubine Yuan Shu in the coming days, and report any movement there immediately." The Queen said this with a cold face. She was not confused. She didn't care about the right and wrong in the palace, but none of them escaped her mind. But Concubine Yuan Shu was the mother of the Eighth Prince, so she had to suppress all of this for the time being, at least until the Eighth Prince returned to Beijing to see what the situation was, and then make a decision.
Speaking of Concubine Yuan Shu, Fang Yi remembered something: "It is said that after the fire in Yuehan Palace last night, someone saw Concubine Jing go to Cunshan Palace, but she didn't stay there for too long and came out. When she came out, her face didn't look good, as if she had been crying."
"Yes." The queen nodded, not surprised, and only ordered: "Keep watching." Then she sighed: "Because of Concubine Yun's existence, the harem has been silent for so many years, and finally someone can't stand the loneliness anymore."
Tianwu was very excited about the restoration of Yuehan Palace and supervised the work personally. The money he used was not from the national treasury, but from his own pocket.
The emperor had hidden a lot of private money over the years, but if it was all used to repair the Yuehan Palace, Zhang Yuan would still feel distressed. The eunuch had an idea and simply spread the news that the emperor used his own money to repair the Yuehan Palace. Within half a day, he received donations from the princes, princes and ministers. The amount was huge, more than enough to repair the Yuehan Palace, and Emperor Tianwu was very relieved.
The palace was in chaos overnight, but the outside of the palace was not affected at all. After noon that day, Wu Lisheng brought the fruit box into the gate of Feng Mansion and was led by the housekeeper to the hall, where Feng Fendai received her.
When the housekeeper came to report, it was about the new neighbor who had just moved in next door. It was a coincidence that Fen Dai had seen the Lotus King before she moved in next door. Although she didn't know who he was, she was shocked by his appearance at first sight. Even a proud girl like Fen Dai couldn't help but secretly marvel at the beauty of the Lotus King, and developed a deep inferiority complex. She knew that even if she was retrained, she couldn't grow such a good face. But thinking about it again, she was not that good-looking, and Feng Yuheng was not that good-looking either. Thinking of this, she felt much more open-minded.
When she heard that her neighbor was visiting her today, she thought it was that stunning woman, so she wanted to take a closer look. After all, she still remembered the sight of her from afar that day. But she didn't expect that the person who came into the hall, although also beautiful, was overshadowed by such stunning beauty, and was just ordinary.
When Li Sheng saw Fendai, she quickly stepped forward and took the initiative to greet him, saying, "I am Li Sheng, a humble woman, meeting the young lady of the Feng family."
The word "common woman" caught Fendai's attention, and she took a closer look at Li Sheng's attire, and she really looked like a young woman. Fendai asked her, "Are you a servant from the mansion next door?"
Li Sheng was stunned, then she looked down at her own clothes. Although they were not very valuable, they were much better than those of the servants. Why did this Miss Feng think she was a servant?
Seeing that she was stunned and didn't admit it, Fendai remembered something and quickly said, "I know, you are the sister of the beautiful girl next door? A few days ago, I heard people say that there was a new couple next door, a stunning beauty with her sister." While talking, she looked at Li Sheng again and asked in confusion, "Since you are already married, why are you still living with your sister? Oh, right, your sister just moved into a new house, and you came here to help take care of it, right?"
Li Sheng was confused by these words, but she understood that the Miss Feng in front of her must be someone who thought the Lotus King was a woman. Since she left the Northland, she had been warned again and again by the Lotus King that she must not mention her original identity in the capital of Dashun. They were just ordinary people and had absolutely nothing to do with Qian Zhou.
Although they were not allowed to reveal their true identities, they could always tell about their relationship. So Li Sheng told Fen Dai in a serious tone, "Miss Feng has misunderstood. I think the stunning beauty that Miss Feng was talking about must be my husband. My husband is so handsome that he is bound to be mistaken for a woman."
"What?" Fen Dai was a little confused. A man? "Impossible! Impossible!" She stood up and said, looking a little excited. "That day I heard someone ask that woman, and she admitted that she moved to the capital with her sister. It must be true." She looked at Li Sheng in confusion and asked her angrily, "Do you think I'm blind? To say whether a person is really good-looking or not, this may be a matter of personal opinion, but even if I am clumsy, I can't even tell the difference between men and women. She admitted that you are her sister, so don't lie to me anymore. I tell you, I am the future principal wife of Prince Li's Mansion, and His Royal Highness Prince Li is the fifth prince of the current dynasty. Think carefully about what crime you would be charged with for coming to my house and deceiving me."
Li Sheng stepped back, not frightened by Fendai's words, but with a hint of sadness on her face. Her mind was in a mess at the moment, and her mind was full of Fendai's words "She admitted that you are her sister". She didn't understand, she was obviously the wife of the Lotus King, how could she become his sister?
The maidservant who came with her knew that her young lady was going to have a seizure, so she quickly said, "Madam, don't be sad. I think it was because the master wore women's clothes again that day, so he said this casually to avoid misunderstanding. Madam, you also know the master's temper, don't take it to heart." After saying that, she took the initiative to put the fruits and snacks in her hand on the table beside her, and then leaned towards Fendai and said, "Miss Feng, my wife prepared some small gifts. There is no other purpose. She just felt that as a neighbor, she should come to recognize the door and take care of you in the future. I really didn't know that the young lady had such a noble status. Sorry for disturbing you. These fruits are really a bit shabby. I hope you can forgive me, Miss Feng."
Fendai didn't care about this. She was quite interested in the person who moved in next door. The woman was really pretty, so pretty that she made people not jealous, but full of envy and the desire to get close to her. She said hurriedly, "It's okay. It's not shabby. It's only natural for you to come and get to know each other. We will be neighbors in the future. If you have any problems, just come and find me." After saying that, she asked, "Is the owner of the house next door that beautiful woman?"
The little girl corrected Fendai again: "It's not a beauty, but our master."
Fendai frowned and said, "Master? Then the master is the beauty's father?" This was the only possibility.
"No." Unexpectedly, the little girl shook her head again, "The master is the master, the husband of our lady, and should be the beauty that Miss Feng mentioned!"
Fendai was completely confused, and unwillingly asked again: "What's her last name?"
The little girl said, "My last name is Lian." After that, she didn't stay any longer. She took Li Sheng and bowed to Fendai again, then said goodbye and left.
Fendai did not stop him, and stood in the hall in confusion, thinking over and over again about the stunning woman she had seen that day. She clearly heard the woman say that she was the owner of the house, and she also heard a well-informed citizen ask her who she lived with, and she said it was with her sister. Could it be that she really saw it wrong? That was not a woman, but... a man?
Fen Dai shuddered and then shook her head. It was impossible. If the man looked like that, who would he be?
Wu Lisheng returned to the house next door in a daze. He was still a little confused when he returned to his own courtyard. He kept thinking about what Fendai had just said and the relationship between her and the Lotus King. Later, he even asked the maid beside him: "Who am I?"
This has been Wu Lisheng's common behavior in recent years. The maid is no longer surprised and can only coax her to lie down and take a nap. There is nothing else she can do.
On the other side, King Lian came out from another corner of the mansion, led a group of people and went straight to the gate, directing the servants to hang the newly made plaque on the gate.
At this time, Feng Jinyuan was riding in a carriage back to the mansion. He stopped the carriage when it passed next door, but his eyes were fixed on the woman who was directing the servants to hang the plaque at the gate of the new mansion. At first glance, he was shocked by her beauty——
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