The palace servants came out carrying basins of blood.
The atmosphere in Ranfeng Pavilion was solemn.
A quarter of an hour later, the sound of a baby crying was heard in the inner hall.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Concubine Wen has given birth to a prince!" The midwife came out holding a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Concubine Shen Shu's mind sank, but she was the first to laugh:
"Congratulations to your majesty on the birth of the prince! Congratulations to Lady Wen!"
All the concubines congratulated him.
A smile also appeared on the emperor's face. He finally had a second prince.
At this moment.
Judge Zhao came out quickly and knelt down, "Your Majesty, Lady Wen... Lady Wen is no longer suitable!"
Helian Qi's brows sank slightly, and he walked in.
The smell of blood in the inner hall became stronger and stronger. Lady Wen was lying on the couch, her face as pale as paper and her breath hanging from her neck.
"Your Majesty, I gave birth to a prince..." Lady Wen's eyes were full of anticipation.
The imperial physician said she was dying.
She was very unwilling, and the severe pain almost suffocated her.
But she finally won once.
Became the second woman in the palace to give birth to a prince!
Be it Concubine Zhuang, Concubine Shun, or Ning Wanyin, these people whom she once envied should now envy her!
Helian Qi looked at her face and knew what she was expecting. If she were alive, Helian Qi would not give her this grace.
But she will die...
Helian Qi said in a deep voice, "Concubine Wen has contributed greatly to the birth of the royal heir, so she will be promoted to concubine."
"Thank you, Your Majesty... Thank you..." A hint of joy appeared on Concubine Wen's face, and she slowly closed her eyes.
When she first entered the palace, she was a beauty, and she thought that this was just the starting point of her life.
She will surely rise step by step and enjoy wealth and glory.
Who would have thought that after all the ups and downs along the way, she would still be a beauty in the end.
Before she died, she finally got the position of the head of the first palace she had always dreamed of...
Concubine Wen died.
The palace maids all knelt down around.
Helian Qi said coldly, "Send Wu Mi over here and investigate carefully for me!"
Wang Degui took the order and trotted out.
The outer hall of Ranfeng Pavilion.
The emperor sat in the main seat.
Wu Mi knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, after examination, Concubine Wen suffered from hemorrhage caused by food poisoning. Initial speculation is that it was caused by the ginseng porridge she drank this morning. The poison almost resulted in two deaths, but because Concubine Wen gave birth early, the second prince was spared."
As soon as these words came out...
The concubines had different expressions.
Helian Qi's face turned even uglier. The person who did this originally intended to poison Lady Wen and her son together.
I just didn't expect that the poison would trigger the Wen family to give birth...
Only then was the royal heir saved.
Judge Zhao kowtowed immediately, "Your Majesty is very observant! The food and drink that Concubine Wen consumes every day has been checked by us and confirmed to be correct!"
The guarding of Ranfeng Pavilion is carried out in accordance with the "One Hundred Palace Rules of Changchun Palace", and the daily diet is checked by two imperial doctors.
Wu Mi said in a deep voice, "If the poison in the ginseng porridge appeared after the imperial physician's examination, then only the palace maids who served closely could have done it."
The four palace maids who served Wen closely this morning were brought to the front hall.
These are all Qing Dynasty ladies selected from the Imperial Household Department, and they appear to have very clean backgrounds.
Ning Wanyin saw that there was one person among them who looked familiar.
It's the one who got punished for stealing the warm-up last time...
"Take him to the Criminal Justice Department." Helian Qi said coldly.
Several palace maids were in a panic, and the one who had been beaten with a stick suddenly had a trace of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.
"What are you doing!" Wu Mi hurried forward to check.
But it was too late.
She took poison before committing the crime to avoid being tortured.
The head nanny kowtowed and apologized: "I was negligent! I let the thieves harm Concubine Wen!"
This palace maid was originally responsible for growing flowers and plants in the courtyard.
But Wen got along well with her and promoted her to serve him closely.
Because of the strict palace rules, it was difficult for her to find an opportunity to take action. Until recently, she finally found a chance to get the poison and "stolen goods" handed to her from outside.
Although the palace rules are intricate, they ultimately depend on people to carry out their duties.
Helian Qi's face was as gloomy as water, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Wu Mi searched the maid's residence as usual, and soon presented a stack of silver bills and a pair of jade and bamboo earrings:
"Your Majesty, we found silver bills and a pair of earrings in her residence."
When Dong was promoted to Zhaoyi, the emperor rewarded her with a set of jade and green bamboo-patterned headwear.
This earring is one of them.
Dong Zhaoyi's expression changed instantly, and she knelt down to salute, "Your Majesty, please understand. I have never met this palace maid, and I have never instructed her to murder Concubine Wen. Although this earring belongs to me, someone must have stolen it and framed me!"
Helian Qi's eyes fell on her face, unable to tell whether she was happy or angry, and he said calmly:
"I believe you would not do such a thing. Come, send the palace maids around Dong Zhaoyi to the Criminal Court for interrogation!"
It looks like they are trying to find out who stole the thing.
but……
If it is suspected that Dong Zhaoyi did it, her palace maids should also be interrogated.
The emperor didn't trust anyone.
Someone might have framed Dong, or it might have been her.
Dong Zhaoyi knew it well, and said:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for checking the palace maids for me. I failed to discipline them properly, which resulted in the loss of the things bestowed by the Emperor. I will take this as a warning in the future."
All the palace maids around Dong Zhaoyi were sent to the Criminal Court.
The emperor returned to Ganxin Palace, and the concubines also returned to their palaces.
Shunpin's eyes were filled with envy and fear, "Wen actually gave birth to a prince, she is so lucky..."
But when you think about it, even if you lose your life, it can’t be considered good luck.
"Fortunately, I have Ning to protect my pregnancy, otherwise I might not be alive now... Chunque, go to my private storehouse and look for any good things. Send them to Concubine Ning tomorrow." Shunpin felt a pang of fear in her heart.
Chunque accepted the order, "Don't worry, we have always been polite to her, and the gifts we gave her during festivals have never been bad."
Jingxi Palace.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I didn't expect that there would be such a mistake... Wen gave birth prematurely..." Zhenzhu knelt down and apologized.
Originally, Wen's due date was still about ten days away.
"There is a second prince in the palace, and he is from the Wen family..." Concubine Shu's eyes were cold: "Children are most likely to die, how can they be easily raised."
After knocking the wooden fish for a while, Concubine Shu's expression gradually relaxed.
"Ms. Dong, I didn't pay attention to you before, but do you think you can still stay out of trouble now? I'll see what you are capable of, so you have to deal with Ning Wanyin properly."
Shufei's target was not Dong Zhaoyi.
The person she wanted to get rid of was always Ning Wanyin.
With just a pair of earrings, it looked too much like a frame-up, and Dong Zhaoyi could get away with it by finding a palace servant to say that someone had ordered the theft.
So, this is only the first half of her plan...
The person this game is really targeting is Ning Wanyin.
"The next step is to start now," Concubine Shu ordered.
Her ultimate goal was to make the emperor suspicious of Ning Wanyin and make Dong think that it was Ning Wanyin who framed her.
Dong will be the knife she uses to deal with Ning Wanyin.
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