After watching Guan Zhiyue leave, Hua Quan quickly approached Li Qiji and earnestly advised, "Your Majesty, let's go back to Chengqian Palace tonight!"
"How can your body withstand being soaked in cold water!"
"Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance!"
"Besides, you are the Emperor, and the Empress is your wife. You are entitled to have her consummate your marriage with you!"
"But why don't you tell the Empress? If you had told her, and she shared the same idea, wouldn't Your Majesty have avoided this humiliation?"
"Moreover, it is only natural for emperors and empresses to consummate their marriage. Besides, you and the empress did indeed have a wedding ceremony, so it is perfectly legitimate for you to do this."
Hua Quan, like a machine gun, rattled off everything he wanted to say.
Li Qiji looked at Hua Quan and said, "Hua Quan, you've become quite the talker lately. What are you trying to achieve by saying all this?"
"Oh, Your Majesty! I'm saying all this for your own good! What else can I say?"
"Your Majesty, please stop making things difficult. You insist on waiting for the Empress's approval, but how can you expect her to agree if you don't say so?"
"The Empress once asked me if I loved her. I couldn't answer. I told her that I would learn how to love her. So I will wait until the Empress also falls in love with me before I will consummate our marriage."
"Moreover, I feel very happy just lying on the same bed with the Empress and looking at her sleeping face."
"You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of fish!"
After hearing Li Qiji's words, Hua Quan didn't want to say anything more. His emperor had changed. The man who once only thought about the country and its people had now become so indecisive because of his love for his children.
——
Changchun Palace.
Chunjuan looked at her mistress. Ever since the emperor ordered her to be imprisoned in the palace, the mistress had become less talkative and was always gloomy.
"Your Majesty, the truth has been revealed."
Upon hearing Chun Juan's words, Shen Na abruptly stood up from the kneeling cushion, her eyes bloodshot as she stared at the newcomer.
"What did you say? The truth has been revealed."
“Yes, Your Highness! But Consort Zheng did not implicate you,” Chunjuan said.
Shen Na relaxed a little, then took out a package from the box on the dressing table and handed it to Chun Juan.
"Find a time to deliver this to Consort Zheng! I only believe that the dead can keep secrets!"
Chunjuan respectfully accepted the package wrapped in oil paper and quickly stuffed it into her belt.
"How is the Emperor?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor is currently recuperating from his injuries, but I've heard he seems to be much better," Chunjuan said.
Shen Na smiled, closed her eyes briefly, reached out and picked up the scripture she had just copied from the table, then tossed it into the brazier beside her.
"Is that so? Then let's make His Majesty's condition worse!"
"Your Majesty, perhaps this is inappropriate?"
Shen Na looked at Chun Juan and said, "Why not? Since he is heartless, then I will be heartless too. Doesn't she like the one in the Cold Palace very much?"
"Then let's use that person's hand!"
"But eventually we still need to find a scapegoat. Go and search the harem and see who is more suitable to be the final scapegoat!"
Chun Juan nodded, then bowed and left, leaving the room once again cold and lonely.
*****
What happened in Changchun Palace was naturally unknown to everyone. And rightly so, who would bother to pay attention to the palace of a concubine who was imprisoned?
Three days later.
Heartbreaking news spread from the palace: Consort Zheng has committed suicide out of guilt!
These words shocked everyone in the harem, even Li Qiji, who was reviewing memorials in the imperial study at that moment.
Didn't he order a life imprisonment? How did he die? And he even committed suicide out of fear of punishment, how wonderful!
"I originally intended to stop here and not investigate further, but the person behind this is so stubborn. Is she trying to force me to expose her?" Li Qiji slammed the memorial in his hand onto the dragon table with a thud.
Hua Quan and Ji Wu were so frightened that they knelt down with a thud, pleading repeatedly, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
"Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance! Your health is of utmost importance!"
Li Qiji jumped up from the dragon throne, put his hands behind his back, and wandered around the imperial study a few times before finally giving up.
He knew perfectly well who was behind it all, but now was not the time for him to act against them. If he did, wouldn't that be no different from digging his own grave?
"Alright, let's bury Consort Zheng properly. Since she committed suicide out of fear of punishment, let's grant her wish. Let's confiscate the Zheng family's property and demote them all to commoners!"
After receiving the imperial edict, Hua Quan got up from the ground, quickly threw down his whisk, and ran away. He wanted to leave as soon as possible because the emperor was becoming increasingly fierce, smashing bowls and cups at the drop of a hat.
This old servant was terrified; he hadn't felt this excited in a long time.
——
The Cold Palace.
"Your Majesty, have you heard?" Bilian looked at Guan Zhiyue with a gossipy expression.
Guan Zhiyue looked up from the storybook at Bilian and asked, "What have I heard now?"
"Consort Zheng is dead~~"
"Dead? Who died? How did they die?"
"Zheng Bihan, Zheng Cairen, is the Cairen who lives in Yulan Palace. This morning, her personal maid found her dead."
They said he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, but now the emperor has directly confiscated their property, demoted them all to commoners, and banished them from the capital.
Guan Zhiyue listened with wide eyes, blinking rapidly. This was too exciting! It was even more thrilling than a storybook!
"What crime did she commit that made her want to commit suicide out of guilt?"
Bilian leaned closer to Guan Zhiyue and said, "I heard that she was the one who wanted to kill you. When we went to the flower viewing party last time, those assassins were hired by her. Do you think she committed suicide out of guilt?"
"I also heard," Bilian said, running to the door to look around and seeing no one in the courtyard.
Then he turned back and came to Guan Zhiyue's side, whispering, "Your Majesty, I heard that His Majesty knows about this matter, but His Majesty did not intend to kill this concubine. His Majesty only imprisoned her for life."
"I don't know why they're saying today that Consort Zheng committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
"Do you think the Emperor was furious, and then...?"
Bilian kept talking, and Guan Zhiyue fell into deep thought after listening to her.
If this so-called talented woman were truly the murderer, then given the Emperor's character, such a severe injury, almost fatal, should not have resulted in life imprisonment, but rather immediate execution as a warning to others. However, he did not kill her, but merely confined her to her quarters.
Furthermore, if he intended to kill someone, he wouldn't have waited three days before doing so, and wouldn't have resorted to this whole "suicide out of guilt" nonsense.
But now this Zheng Cai Ren has committed suicide out of fear of punishment. From my perspective as a modern person, there must be a conspiracy involved!
After Guan Zhiyue figured it out, she said to Bilian, "Alright, let's just treat this as gossip. We're all in dire straits right now, barely able to save ourselves, so let's not worry about such trivial matters. Let's just take care of our own cold palace and the crops on the back mountain."
Bilian nodded and said nothing more. Guan Zhiyue picked up her storybook again, but she couldn't concentrate on reading anymore.
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