Chapter 71 Winter Snake Disaster 4
Song Zhao watched Bao Xia die, and couldn't help crying:
"Bao Xia is really sincere..."
The concubine raised her eyebrows and glanced at her, her expression gentle and she said:
"If you hadn't rushed out and rescued me just now, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to hold Xia Jinzhong in my arms today."
She stood up, took a moment to calm down, and murmured softly, "Thank you."
Song Zhao hurriedly said, "Your Majesty treats me well, how can I stand by and watch you get into trouble?"
In fact, Song Zhao was also surprised by Chen Fei's attitude.
She had always thought that Concubine Chen was a cruel, cold and domineering woman.
But today, whether it was her attitude towards Bao Xia or the words "thank you" she just said,
This was the first time Song Zhao saw her in flesh and blood.
Instead, I feel a little uncomfortable.
Concubine Chen asked Yingxiang to make good arrangements for Baoxia's funeral, and then returned to the main hall with Song Zhao.
The queen sighed helplessly: "Today's incident happened unexpectedly, fortunately my sister was not hurt."
"Accident?" Concubine Chen suppressed her anger, looked at the Queen sharply, and said aggressively:
"Does the Queen think that the presence of snakes in winter is an accident? Or do you think that snakes are not afraid of people is an accident? Or... when I was evacuating, someone deliberately tripped me, do you think that is also an accident?"
After saying this, she squinted her eyes and glanced at the concubines present.
Although he said nothing, his aura was terrifying.
Everyone was so frightened that they dared not speak or look her in the eye.
I was afraid that if I fell in love with this pair, she would become suspicious of me.
However, the Concubine Chen's gaze lightly passed over one person.
That person was naturally Song Zhao, who risked his life to save her.
At that time, Song Zhao was sitting near the door, watching calmly as the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly tense.
She thought to herself, the good show is finally here.
In fact, when Mei Yuan was in trouble just now, how could she be willing to save Chen Fei?
If you are really bitten by a snake, it is no joke.
But she had no choice but to save him.
The incident happened suddenly, and in just a flash, Song Zhao had figured it out.
The Concubine Chen didn't trip earlier or later, but just happened to trip when she passed by her. What does this indicate?
It is true that someone wanted to murder the Concubine Chen.
But if you think deeper,
Didn't that person also want to pin the blame on Song Zhao, making everyone think that it was Song Zhao who deliberately tripped Concubine Chen?
Rather than being unable to defend yourself at that time, you might as well pluck up your courage and give it a try.
That's why there was such a heroic scene as Song Zhao sacrificed himself to protect Concubine Chen.
Now that she had calmed down, Song Zhao carefully recalled who was around her during the chaos just now.
She lowered her head, her eyes casually sweeping over the concubines present.
There were Xiao Changzai, Liu Changzai, Shu Fei's maid Qingyue, and there seemed to be two unfamiliar palace maids, but Song Zhao couldn't remember who they were.
Facing the questioning of Concubine Chen, the Queen's expression also became solemn.
"Sister, what you mean is that someone wanted to harm you on purpose today?"
The Concubine Chen's face suddenly darkened, and she said with thorns in her words: "I don't know. I only know that the Queen invited us to appreciate the plum blossoms today."
"Ridiculous!" The Queen was unusually angry after hearing her slanderous words. "It is a rule set by our ancestors to appreciate plum blossoms on October 13th. Are you implying that I am the one who wants to harm you?"
Concubine Chen smiled contemptuously and raised her eyebrows at the Queen:
"I haven't said anything yet, why is the Queen angry first? Fortunately, the viper hurt Baoxia in my palace. If it hurt the Queen, wouldn't it be a sin?"
She straightened her back and said word by word:
"Someone is trying to murder the Empress. This matter cannot be dealt with hastily. We should report it to the Emperor and have people from the Dali Temple come into the palace to investigate!"
With just a few words, the Concubine Chen immediately escalated the severity of the situation.
The Queen claimed that this was an accident, and at worst only a palace maid died, so it wouldn't be a big deal.
But Concubine Chen directed her criticism at the Queen, saying that this incident was most likely an attempt to murder the Empress, which then turned out to be an attempt to rebel.
The women in the palace were all obedient, and everyone knew what the Concubine Chen meant by this.
She clearly suspected that everything that happened today was a setup by the Queen to harm her.
However, the queen was so self-righteous that she had nothing to fear and said without any guilt:
"What the Concubine Chen said makes sense. Shuangruo, you should report this matter to the Emperor immediately and see if the Emperor is free at this moment."
Shuang Ruofu agreed, and just then a gust of wind blew through the hall, causing the queen, who was sitting opposite the door, to shudder.
Shuang Ruo said, "The Queen's hot water bottle is cold. I will go and get you a new one."
The queen handed her the hot water bottle and she went downstairs holding it.
About half an hour later, Shuang Ruo brought Jiang Deshun back to Yonghe Palace.
Jiang Deshun bowed to the Queen and said, "The Emperor is currently discussing matters with the Minister of Revenue and cannot spare any time for the moment, so he wants me to come and understand the situation first."
He swept the whisk in his hand forward, called a palace servant waiting outside the door to come in, and introduced her to the queen:
"This is Xiao Suizi from the Flower and Bird Department. She is very knowledgeable about snakes and insects."
After paying respects to the Queen, Xiao Suizi said, "Your Majesty, this season should be the time when the pit viper hibernates. It suddenly jumped out and attacked people. It may have smelled something it shouldn't have smelled. As for whether the snake did not hibernate on its own or someone deliberately placed it in the Plum Garden, it is difficult to tell... I only know that pit vipers exist in Kyoto, but I have never seen one in the palace."
"Smells you shouldn't smell?"
Concubine Chen saw that most of the concubines today were wearing the protective sachets given by Concubine Xiao yesterday. Although she did not wear it, Concubine Ying, who was sitting next to her, did.
So she went straight to it and pulled the sachet off Concubine Ying's waist.
Ying Fei was annoyed and asked angrily, "What are you doing?"
The Concubine Chen ignored her and just handed the sachet to Xiao Suizi, saying, "Take a look at this thing to see if there is anything wrong with it?"
Song Zhao saw that the moment Concubine Chen handed the sachet to Xiaosuizi, Xiao Changzai's expression had become unnatural.
Xiao Suizi opened the sachet and soon found the snake grass inside, so she immediately said:
"Replying to the Empress, there is a scented herb called Snake Yingcao in this sachet, which is used by snake catchers to attract snakes!"
When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.
The concubines who were wearing sachets took them off and threw them aside. Xiao Suizi checked them one by one and confirmed that all the sachets had snake grass added in. He said, "If these amounts of snake grass are added together, it is possible that the vipers will become agitated and become extremely aggressive!"
As soon as the words fell, the concubines all cast surprised glances at Xiao Changzai.
Xiao Changzai was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly stood up from her chair, ran to the center of the hall, knelt down in front of the queen, and frantically explained:
"Your Majesty, the Queen is wise! This matter has nothing to do with me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
