Chapter 335 Tricking Her (Two Updates)
Everyone, including the emperor, was stunned by what they saw.
One second, Consort Jing was sickly and looked like she could collapse at any moment if the wind blew, but the next second she caught a dart that was meant to kill her with her bare hands.
This is so exciting!
Everyone was so shocked that no one spoke for a long time.
Logically speaking, since the box that Marquis Xuanping personally gave to Consort Jing contained a hidden weapon, Marquis Xuanping should have been charged with assassinating the consort on the spot. However, the fact that Consort Jing caught the dart with her bare hands was so surprising that no one even thought of Marquis Xuanping.
Well, even Marquis Xuanping himself didn't remember himself.
"Mother, Mother Consort..."
The emperor uttered a stunned sound.
Consort Jing snapped back to her senses in an instant. Her body swayed, her fingers loosened, and the dart fell onto the gleaming floor with a thud.
Everyone then came to their senses and opened their eyes wide in unison.
Granny Cai's eyes flickered, and she slapped the box out of Consort Jing's hand: "How dare you, Marquis Xuanping! You actually dared to assassinate the Consort Jing in Huaqing Palace! Fortunately, the Consort Jing comes from a military family and learned some martial arts from the old master before entering the palace, otherwise you would have succeeded by now!"
The old lord was the father of Consort Jing. After Consort Jing was conferred the title of Consort, her maternal family also rose in status. Her father was made Earl of Yong'en and awarded the rank of General of the Fourth Rank.
Before this, the Earl of Yongen was only a sixth-rank military officer.
Saying she came from a military family is a bit of an exaggeration, but once someone rises to prominence, her past can be embellished and beautified, and history can be forgotten.
Therefore, in everyone's eyes, the title of "descendant of a military family" bestowed upon Consort Jing by Granny Cai was well-deserved.
Consort Zhuang curled her lip; she was one of the few who scoffed at this.
Her aunt came from a scholarly family, and Consort Jing was hailed as the descendant of a military family. People called them, "One a scholar, the other a warrior, the two beauties of Zhaodu."
Does she even deserve to be called one of the two beauties alongside her aunt?
Consort Zhuang touched the tip of her nose with a handkerchief and said with a faint smile, "After all these years, Your Highness's skills haven't changed at all; you're still incredibly agile."
“This…” Granny Cai opened her mouth.
Consort Jing smiled and said, "I neglected my practice in the palace and became lax. After moving to the nunnery, I would practice a little to pass the time when I had nothing else to do. Cough cough..."
As she spoke, she covered her face and coughed, "But I've been sick these days, so I can't practice."
The emperor said in a daze, "I've never heard my mother mention it before."
They had a very difficult time in the palace.
That was after Empress Dowager Zhuang was banished to the Cold Palace, when she and her two children lost their protection and suffered countless mistreatments.
He remembered one time when a concubine of lower rank than his mother had let her dog attack Ning'an, who was standing next to his mother.
The mother shielded Ning An with her body, suffering numerous bite wounds in the process, while Ning An also sustained minor injuries.
"Since Mother Consort is skilled in martial arts, why did she..." The Emperor was about to speak when he suddenly realized that asking this question seemed to show a lack of trust in Consort Jing.
Consort Jing smiled bitterly: "Does Your Majesty want to ask about the time when Ning'an and I were chased and bitten by Consort Mu's dog? Consort Mu is Consort Liu's person. I could hide once, but I couldn't hide forever. What Consort Liu wanted was for me to be injured. If I didn't hurt her, would she give up? It's just that Ning'an suffered a little injury as well. But at least it gave Consort Liu some satisfaction. Otherwise, the situation for the three of us, mother and son, would have been even worse."
At the opportune moment, Granny Cai said, "It was during that time that Her Highness the Imperial Concubine injured her leg. Her Highness didn't want Princess Ning'an and His Majesty to worry, so she kept it a secret. After that, whenever it was rainy, Her Highness's leg would ache as if it were being pricked with needles. And in recent years it has become more and more serious, and even on sunny days it would occasionally flare up. That's why Her Highness often falls down."
Those who practice martial arts are not immune to injury; for example, Marquis Xuanping sustained a back injury on the battlefield.
The emperor's surprise and doubt disappeared, and he stepped forward with remorse: "I wronged my mother."
He held Consort Jing's hand and gently patted her back with his other hand to help her catch her breath.
The emperor, who had just been showing great favor to Consort Zhuang, now glared at her coldly.
Consort Zhuang realized she had misspoke, lowered her hand holding the handkerchief, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty... what I meant just now was that it's fortunate that the Dowager Consort did not neglect her martial arts practice, otherwise she might have met with misfortune today."
Oh, martial arts? I've never heard of that before.
Granny Cai served a cup of hot tea.
"I'll take it!" The emperor took the tea and personally fed it to Consort Jing. Consort Jing's expression softened slightly, and the emperor finally turned his attention back to Marquis Xuanping.
He said coldly, "Lord Xuanping, what exactly is going on here!"
Marquis Xuanping was utterly wronged; he wanted to know what had happened! That damned old wine jar, was he trying to trick him?!
He said solemnly, "Your Majesty, this brocade box was given to me by Chief Minister Huo. I have never opened it and did not know that it contained hidden weapons."
He's a rogue, a scoundrel, but not a thief; he's the kind of person who steals women and pries into people's privacy.
Of course, the main reason was that he didn't expect the old chief priest to trick him like this!
Why?
The emperor said coldly, "Summon Huo Xian!"
"Yes!" Eunuch Wei replied.
Eunuch Wei immediately dispatched a young eunuch to the Imperial Academy to summon the old Chancellor to Huaqing Palace.
Empress Xiao and Consort Zhuang also remained there, awaiting the emperor's verdict.
The old Grand Master of Ceremonies entered Qiuhua Pavilion, a side hall of Huaqing Palace, with a calm and open expression. His gaze swept over the crowd, and he seemed somewhat surprised to see so many people. He cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Your Highness the Dowager Consort, and Your Highness the Imperial Consort."
The box and the dart had been picked up by the palace servants and placed on the table next to the emperor.
The emperor waved his hand impatiently: "Forget the formalities. I didn't call you here to see you pay your respects!"
The old chief priest secretly raised an eyebrow; His Majesty is in a bad mood.
The emperor casually picked up the box on the table and coldly threw it on the ground in front of the old chief minister: "What is this thing! Do you recognize it!"
The box smashed open when it hit the ground, and the gleaming dart inside rolled out, landing right at the old priest's feet.
The old priest squatted down, picked up the box and the dart together, and looked somewhat strange.
"What? You don't recognize him?" The emperor said, giving Marquis Xuanping a deep look.
Marquis Xuanping said to the old chief priest, "Hey Huo, don't play dumb. You gave me this box last night and asked me to pass it on to the Empress Dowager."
It is a grave taboo for officials to have private exchanges with empresses and concubines, but the old chief minister is too upright, which makes people very suspicious of his intentions.
The old chief priest looked completely innocent and said, "That's right, I did hand the box over to you. Where is the contents of the box?"
The emperor said coldly, "This dart is what's in the box!"
The old chief priest looked at the emperor in utter bewilderment: "How could this be? I clearly put in twenty taels of silver!" He turned to the Dowager Consort Jing, "Your Highness, do you remember many years ago, when I went to the temple to offer incense, there were too many worshippers, and a thief mingled in, and my silver was stolen? You happened to be passing by, and after learning what happened, you borrowed ten taels of silver from me as incense money. I promised to repay you double in the future!"
This matter happened a long time ago, and if the old chief priest hadn't brought it up again, Consort Jing would have almost forgotten about it. She tried hard to recall and asked uncertainly, "Didn't we agree to buy one of your couplets? This money doesn't count as a loan from me."
The old chief priest said righteously and solemnly, "Your Majesty only offered to buy a couplet written by me to relieve my urgent need and because you were afraid that my self-esteem would be hurt. But I also said that I must repay this money in the future."
I don't remember much about Consort Jing afterwards.
After all, who would keep track of a debt of ten taels of silver for several years?
The emperor asked suspiciously, "Why did you choose to repay it now of all times?"
The old chief minister chuckled dryly, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "To be honest... this old minister... this old minister himself had forgotten about it... It was only recently, when I heard the news that Consort Jing had returned to the palace, that this old minister suddenly remembered this old matter."
Good heavens! Thank goodness that Consort Jing really did give him money.
He did indeed say he would repay double, but Consort Jing did not agree at the time. She only said, "Why don't you write a couplet for me? Consider it as me buying your couplet."
But so many years have passed, and he insists that he later insisted on repaying the money, so even Consort Jing probably can't remember.
Even if you remember clearly, there's nothing to worry about; human memory can be flawed.
He said that's how he remembered it!
Fortunately, neither Consort Jing nor the Emperor dwelled on the details of the silver; instead, they brought up the contents of the brocade box again.
The Emperor said, "What you gave was silver, but today Marquis Xuanping took it and turned it into a dart, which almost accidentally injured Consort Jing."
"What?!" The old chief minister stared in disbelief and panic. He knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, please understand! This old minister did indeed put in silver! This old minister has no idea why the silver turned into a hidden weapon! I swear to Heaven!"
Marquis Xuanping gritted his teeth.
play!
You keep acting!
Consort Zhuang said with a smile, "Since Chief Minister Huo is so confident, could it really not be him who put it there? But after him, it seems that only Marquis Xuanping has privately come into contact with the box."
"Consort Zhuang!" Empress Xiao shouted sternly to stop her.
Consort Zhuang smiled and said, "I had no intention of slandering Marquis Xuanping. I was just stating the facts."
Marquis Xuanping said, "After I received the box yesterday, I did not open it without permission. I kept it on my person and placed it in my room after returning to the manor. The only people who could enter my room were myself and my guard Chang Jing. Chang Jing did not touch the box."
Chang Jing wasn't interested in square-shaped things.
He wouldn't even bother to look at it even if I showed it to him.
Empress Xiao stood up, stood beside her brother, bowed to the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, Marquis Xuanping is loyal to you and respects Consort Jing very much. He would never frame Consort Jing! Especially... in front of so many people, handing over something personally, wouldn't that be foolish?"
Consort Zhuang smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps someone took advantage of this idea to make the impossible possible, thus escaping suspicion."
Empress Xiao's eyes turned cold: "How dare you, a mere concubine, interrupt when I am speaking to His Majesty!"
Normally, Empress Xiao would not use her status to suppress Consort Zhuang, since Consort Zhuang had the Empress Dowager's support and her real power was not small. Today, she must have been anxious to say such a thing.
Consort Zhuang gave a cold snort.
The emperor looked intently at Marquis Xuanping: "Has anyone sneaked into your house?"
Marquis Xuanping met the emperor's sharp gaze with composure: "Your Majesty, I dare not say that the entire Marquis Xuanping is impregnable, but my house is guarded by Chang Jing, and I also rest there. With our skills, we are unlikely to allow anyone to tamper with anything under our noses."
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "The Chang Jing you mentioned is the assassin you brought back from the Dark Night Gate?"
Marquis Xuanping said, "That's right."
The Dark Night Gate is a force outside the six kingdoms, not affiliated with any of them, and its headquarters are located on an island.
The assassins of the Dark Night Sect are all top-notch experts.
Moreover, Marquis Xuanping is right; he himself is one of the top experts.
The old chief priest muttered, "What if he did it while you were asleep?"
Marquis Xuanping looked at him and chuckled, “Do you know that there are no more than five people in Zhao who can defeat Chang Jing? One is Tang Yueshan, the Grand Marshal of the Army, another is the old Marquis Gu from the Ding’an Marquis’s Mansion, and the other three are the Dragon Shadow Guard assassins left to His Majesty by the late Emperor. The reason I say three is because I have only met three of them. Whether there are more, I have no idea.”
The old chief priest said seriously, "So there are still people who could commit crimes!"
Marquis Xuanping said calmly, "Tang Yueshan went to suppress bandits with Prince Ning earlier this month and has not returned yet. He is not even in the capital, so how could he commit a crime at my residence?"
The old chief priest asked, "Then... what about Lord Gu?"
Marquis Xuanping narrowed his eyes: "Are you really stupid, Mr. Huo, or are you pretending to be stupid?"
The old Marquis is the emperor's confidant, a fact unknown to the world. But how could Huo Xian, that old fellow, who enjoys the emperor's deep trust, not know this?
Would he harm Consort Jing?
Did he know the box existed?
Empress Xiao knew about the old Marquis's secret training of troops for His Majesty, and she believed that the old Marquis had nothing to do with it.
Consort Zhuang is the Empress Dowager's person, but the Empress Dowager is well-informed. How could she not know that the old Marquis and His Majesty are only superficially at odds?
She sneered, "So, if this isn't it, and that isn't it either, then could it be the late Emperor's Dragon Shadow Guard assassins? Marquis Xuanping, why don't you say His Majesty is plotting to murder his own mother?"
Consort Zhuang was unaware that the Emperor had already given the Dragon Shadow Guard to Consort Jing.
So even if it was the Dragon Shadow Guard who did it, it wasn't that the Emperor wanted to harm Consort Jing, but rather that Consort Jing harmed herself.
Why would Consort Jing harm herself? Was it a ruse? What was her motive?
Was it to frame Marquis Xuanping, or to frame the old chief priest?
The emperor felt that, setting aside his mother’s simple-mindedness and kind heart, she had absolutely no reason to do such a thing—the Marquis of Xuanping and the old chief priest were both his confidants, so why would his mother cut off his arm?
The emperor coldly looked at Marquis Xuanping: "I'm entrusting this matter to you. You must get to the bottom of this! If you can't find out the truth, I'll assume it was you who did it!"
Marquis Xuanping: "..."
Once outside the palace, Marquis Xuanping almost couldn't resist pressing the old chief priest to the ground and scrubbing the floor: "You surnamed Huo, you've really grown up! You've even managed to get me into trouble!"
"What are you saying, Marquis Xuanping? I really don't know why the silver turned into darts!" The old chief priest vehemently denied it.
The number one green tea bitch in Zhao Kingdom, her acting skills are impeccable!
Marquis Xuanping gritted his teeth and said, "I will spare your life for now, out of respect for the fact that you were once Aheng's teacher. But if I find evidence, even if His Majesty doesn't kill you, I will personally end your life!"
The old chief priest bowed and said, "Respectfully seeing off the Marquis!"
"Hmph!" Marquis Xuanping turned and left!
Only after the person had gone far away did the old priest breathe a sigh of relief.
He went to his carriage, stepped onto the footstool, and got in.
Inside the car, Gu Changqing and Gu Jiao had been waiting for a long time.
"How is it, Chief Minister Huo?" Gu Changqing asked.
The old chief priest smiled broadly: "Successfully! And somewhat unexpectedly, we discovered that Consort Jing knows martial arts."
He didn't actually see Consort Jing catch the dart with her bare hands; he asked Eunuch Wei about it when he came out.
He originally thought it would be the late emperor's assassins who would make the move.
It is evident that when faced with life and death, people cannot hide themselves.
Gu Jiao grunted and said, "Her pulse is so weak, she doesn't seem like someone who practices martial arts."
Gu Changqing thought for a moment and said, "It's possible that the pulse has changed due to some kind of medicine."
"Hmm, maybe." Gu Jiao nodded, her eyes suddenly brightening. "Then, could we...?"
"No!" The old chief priest ruthlessly took away her sack.
"Has His Majesty become suspicious of her?" Gu Changqing asked.
The old chief priest took a sip of tea and said with a wicked smile, "Not so fast, but the seed of doubt has been planted. If this happens a few more times, the seed will sprout in His Majesty's heart, grow strong, and bloom into a flower of discord!"
Gu Changqing: Uh... the way you look... really makes you resemble a treacherous minister...
(End of this chapter)
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