Chapter 191: Bite Back
Three jars of ice in the palace melted.
But at this time, everyone was shocked by Concubine Yun's vicious intention to plot against the Queen.
I was so shocked that I felt naturally cool and no longer felt hot.
The people in front of the emperor pulled Concubine Yun down to execute her.
Concubine Yun struggled to break free from them, crawled to Xiao Jingheng's feet, pulled at his clothes, and cried for mercy:
"Your Majesty, please have mercy! I confess... everything was ordered by the Concubine Chen!"
Dozens of eyes, each with their own thoughts, looked towards the Concubine Chen.
It was as if he treated her as a target and wanted to shoot her through.
And what about the Concubine Chen?
Her eyes were vague and she was at a loss.
The Queen questioned her in a sad voice, "Concubine Chen! You and I are not on good terms on weekdays, but I can still tolerate you a lot! But... you really have a vicious heart!"
Concubine Chen turned her head and glanced at the Queen, and noticed that Xiao Jingheng's eyes were also cold.
However, she remained as unbridled as ever, and before Xiao Jingheng could question her, she raised her head and chest and said to the Queen,
"This is unfounded, don't look at me like that!"
The Queen sobbed, "If it weren't for you, why would Concubine Yun bite you for no reason?"
Concubine Chen sneered, "Whatever Concubine Yun says is true. If she says that I am the Queen Mother above the Ninth Heaven, then the Queen should stop worshipping the Bodhisattva and burning incense to offer sacrifices to the temple in the future. She should just worship me instead!"
"Empress Chen." Xiao Jingheng stopped her in a cold voice, "Don't be so presumptuous in front of the Queen."
The Concubine Chen bowed slightly and said in a gentle tone, "I understand."
After saying this, he lowered his head and glared at Concubine Yun, pacing around her.
"You said that I ordered you to do it? Then tell us, when did I order you to do it? And what benefit did I give you to make you willingly commit the death penalty for me?"
Concubine Yun stumbled and said, "You, you threatened me, saying that if I didn't follow your orders, you would let your father kill my father during the chaos!"
"Hahahahaha?" The Concubine Chen laughed as if she had heard some huge joke:
"You are really saying this. If I want to threaten you, you can tell the emperor about it. If the emperor knows about it, then if anything happens to your father in the future, the emperor will blame it on my father. How powerful am I? Can I cover up everything with one hand?
I understand this principle, and you are not stupid. Why are you so confused that you dare to help others do such a stupid thing that could lead to death?"
Seeing that Concubine Yun was speechless due to her questioning, Concubine Chen calmly said to the other concubines:
"You have all witnessed how incompatible I am with Concubine Yun on a daily basis. When I pay my respects to the Queen, I always have verbal disputes with her three or two out of five times."
She suddenly stopped and stood in front of Concubine Yun, her fierce eyes cast a fierce look on her body.
"If you are so afraid of me, why do you dare to offend me in front of so many people? Don't you sound contradictory when you say this?"
Faced with the continuous questions raised by Concubine Chen, Concubine Yun obviously didn't know how to answer.
She stuttered while she was explaining herself, and Xiao Jingheng found the matter even more bizarre when he heard it.
——"The Queen Mother has arrived~"
When the Kunning Palace was in chaos, the empress dowager came to join in the fun.
At that time, the Queen Mother was supported by Song Zhao and walked slowly into the room. The concubines showed courtesy to the Queen Mother, and Xiao Jingheng asked:
"Why is the Queen Mother here?"
The Queen Mother showed her annoyance and said, "How can I turn a deaf ear to the commotion in the harem?"
She stepped forward and covered the queen's hand, saying with heartache: "Good child, don't cry. If anyone really plotted against you, I will definitely give you an explanation."
After saying this, his eyes darkened and he glared fiercely at Concubine Yun and Concubine Chen.
Song Zhao explained to Xiao Jingheng:
"I was originally accompanying the Queen Mother to worship Buddha and chat. While strolling in the courtyard, I saw two young eunuchs discussing something outside. After calling them over to ask, I learned that the Queen Mother's heart disease had recurred. The Queen Mother and I were both worried about the Queen Mother, so we hurried here together."
Xiao Jingheng nodded in response and said softly, "You are most afraid of heat, and it must have been hard for you to come all the way here. Jiang Deshun, go and bring the ice jar to the Queen Mother and Concubine Yi."
While the palace maids were moving the ice jar, Song Zhao helped the Queen Mother to sit down.
After sitting down, the Queen Mother waved to the door, and an old man with white beard and cloth clothes bowed and walked in.
The Queen Mother introduced him to everyone, "This is Yu Shengshou. The Emperor has seen him before."
Yu Shengshou bowed to Xiao Jingheng, who looked at him for a while and recognized him.
"Yu Shengshou is a famous doctor in Kyoto. The late emperor wanted to keep him in the palace, but Yu Shengshou was used to living a carefree life and didn't want to stay, so he didn't force him to stay. In recent years, when he was free, he would always go to the palace to take care of his mother's health."
The Queen Mother nodded in agreement and continued, "After the Queen gave birth prematurely, she was injured and could not get pregnant again. She was always depressed and unhappy. I thought that since the imperial physician in the palace could not cure her, it would be better to call in famous doctors outside the palace to treat her together. So I summoned Yu Shengshou to the palace to see if he had any way to turn the situation around."
After saying this, he raised his eyebrows and glanced at Yu Shengshou, "Go check the Queen's pulse first."
At that moment, the queen's ears felt like thunder and her scalp was numb.
If Shuang Ruo hadn't supported her, she would have fallen to the ground.
This doctor was invited by the Queen Mother. With so many people watching, the Queen could not refuse him anyway. She could only bite the bullet and say:
"Then please ask Master Yu to come with me inside for a consultation."
After the Queen and Yu Shengshou entered the inner hall, the Queen Mother's face immediately darkened.
"What do you mean? I just heard outside that the queen's health has collapsed. It turned out that it was you, Concubine Chen, who asked Concubine Yun to do something?"
The Concubine Chen was not afraid at all and replied solemnly:
"I have never done such a dirty thing. If the Queen Mother and the Emperor do not believe me, and Concubine Yun insists that I was the one who did it..."
She knelt on the ground, straightened her back, and said in a loud voice:
"Then I ask the Emperor to take Concubine Yun to the Ministry of Punishment, pierce her fingers with silver needles, and put her feet into an ant pot. In the end, I want her to suffer all those tortures that will not kill her but will torment her! I think by then, she will naturally tell the truth, and it will be fair to me."
Seeing that Concubine Chen was confident that she was upright and had nothing to fear, Xiao Jingheng did not doubt her.
Murdering the Empress is a capital crime, so whatever punishment is used on Concubine Yun at this moment is reasonable.
So he followed the Empress' words and gave the order,
"Jiang Deshun, do as the Concubine Chen said."
"I obey your order!"
Seven or eight eunuchs rushed towards Concubine Yun, frightening her so much that her eyebrows and eyes fluttered.
He immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed, crying and saying:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me! I dare not hide it any longer!
All of this... was forced upon me by the Queen! It was the Queen who forced me to wrongly accuse the Concubine Chen!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
