Chapter 120 Consort Shu's Self-Destructive Acts
Yuwen Che stayed by Su Luoxue's bedside the whole time, never leaving her side, his gaze always fixed on her pale face, full of heartache.
Li Dehai brought in the meal and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, please have some food and take care of your health."
Yuwen Che didn't even look at it, and waved his hand: "Take it away, I have no appetite."
Li Dehai dared not persuade him any further and had no choice but to take the food away.
After a moment of silence, Yuwen Che suddenly spoke, his voice low and cold: "Has the identity of the corpse in the lake that frightened the Empress been confirmed?"
Li Dehai hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Hanying has already confirmed that it is indeed... the birth mother of Prince An, Consort Zhao. However, Your Majesty was preoccupied with the Empress just now, so Lord Hanying was unable to report this."
Yuwen Che's eyes sharpened: "Was it suicide or murder? Did someone deliberately throw her into the lake, timing it precisely to frighten the Empress?"
Li Dehai's heart tightened: "This... this old servant has not yet investigated clearly."
Yuwen Che's voice carried a chilling killing intent: "Have Han Ying investigate! He's quick. Bring all the nannies and maids who served Zhao Shi to the Shadow Pavilion for me to interrogate thoroughly! I need to know who's behind this, frightening the Empress and causing her premature birth!"
He paused, then said, word by word, "Examine them thoroughly for me, leaving no one out!"
"This old servant will go and convey the message to Lord Hanying immediately!" Li Dehai sensed the chill in His Majesty's words and dared not delay in the slightest. He immediately bowed and withdrew to make the arrangements.
Yuwen Che stayed up all night, quietly guarding Su Luoxue's bedside, his eyes filled with heartache.
Li Dehai found Han Ying and conveyed the imperial decree: "His Majesty orders you to thoroughly investigate the drowning of Consort Zhao. Bring all those who served her to the scene for questioning. Make sure to find out whether anyone deliberately murdered her or frightened the Empress."
Han Ying nodded: "Understood. What should we do with Consort Zhao's body?"
Li Dehai thought for a moment and then stopped him, saying, "Let's find a place to bury her hastily. After all, she is Prince An's birth mother. If we throw her directly into a mass grave, when Prince An grows up and learns about this, he will inevitably harbor resentment towards His Majesty. We must consider the prince's reputation."
Han Ying replied, "Okay, I understand. Go and do it."
Li Dehai was taken aback and quickly waved his hand: "Oh, oh, oh! How would I know how to do this! This is burying people..."
Before he could finish speaking, Han Ying had already used his lightness skill and disappeared in a flash.
Li Dehai stomped his feet in anger: "You... have I ever done this kind of burial work?!"
Inside the secluded Shadow Pavilion, the lights were dim. Zhao Cai's former nanny, Zhou, and a personal maid were bound and trembling as they knelt on the ground. Several masked guards stood silently to one side.
Bai Xiao was also there, holding a bag of snacks he had bought from the street. He ate them while watching the commotion, and mumbled, "Hey... tell the truth, or else..." He deliberately shook the bag of snacks in his hand.
Han Ying glared at him coldly: "Eating can't shut your mouth."
Bai Xiao was so choked by him that he couldn't catch his breath. He grabbed a pastry and threw it at Han Ying: "You!"
Han Ying dodged to the side, too lazy to pay him any more attention, and turned to the kneeling Zhou Mama, her voice icy and devoid of any warmth: "Why did Consort Zhao appear in the lake in the Imperial Garden? Who was the last person she saw before her death?"
Granny Zhou and the palace maid trembled with fear, their eyes darting around, stammering and refusing to tell the truth.
Han Ying's voice sounded particularly cold in the dimly lit secret room: "What we need to know, even if you don't tell us, there are a hundred ways to find out."
He took a step forward, casting a shadow over the two of them: "If you choose not to speak now, later... even if you want to speak, I probably won't be interested in listening."
He pointed to the shadows beside him, where various terrifying instruments of torture could be vaguely seen.
“But,” Han Ying’s voice was like a viper’s hiss, “you have to taste those things one by one, slowly. Once you start, you will never stop halfway.”
Seeing their faces turn deathly pale, he added, "Don't worry, you won't die so easily. I'll keep you alive with the best medicine and keep you conscious at all times."
Bai Xiao took a bite of the fruit in his hand and clicked his tongue twice: "That's ruthless."
Granny Zhou and the palace maid were already trembling like leaves, their psychological defenses completely shattered by Han Ying's emotionless narration.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Granny Zhou cried out in despair, "It was...it was the head maidservant of Consort Shu! She secretly came to see Lady Cai the day before yesterday...no, she came to see Lady Zhao!"
Han Ying's eyes narrowed: "Continue."
Granny Zhou was utterly terrified by the cold instruments of torture and the cold, emotionless words of the other woman. Tears streaming down her face, she cried out, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything...!"
The personal maid standing nearby was also terrified and rushed to answer, afraid of being too slow: "Consort Shu told Zhao...that His Majesty is about to send away all the lower-ranking concubines in the palace, and she...she said she wants to make a deal with Zhao..."
"Explain yourself! What deal?" Han Ying shouted.
The palace maid, her voice trembling with sobs, said haltingly, "Consort Shu said... as long as the Empress gives birth to the prince safely, His Majesty will have no place for the First Prince... then the First Prince will be completely hopeless..."
Granny Zhou took over, her voice trembling: "But...but as long as Her Majesty the Empress...dies in childbirth...then...then the First Prince will still be His Majesty's only son! Consort Shu promised that she would find a way to raise the First Prince under her own name and raise him as her own child...and then...then she can join forces with her maternal family to support the First Prince in inheriting the throne in the future!"
Bai Xiao, who was listening from the side, even forgot to eat his snacks and whistled: "Oh ho, this Consort Shu has quite the appetite, doesn't she? She wants to be the Empress Dowager?"
The face beneath the mask was so dark it seemed to drip water. He never imagined that such a vicious plan had been uncovered, its target the Empress's life!
He immediately pressed on, "So, Consort Zhao's jumping into the lake was instigated by Consort Shu? Was her death used to frighten the Empress, causing premature and difficult labor?"
Granny Zhou shook her head desperately: "No...no! Zhao...she was tempted after hearing Consort Shu's words, but after having her child taken away, she was utterly despondent and had neither the courage nor the ability to harm the Empress...She...she couldn't think straight and, in despair, committed suicide by drowning! It really wasn't Consort Shu's doing!"
Han Ying's eyes were icy cold. Whether Zhao committed suicide or was murdered was no longer important. Consort Shu's heart was despicable! He had to report this matter to the emperor immediately.
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