Everyone around was stunned, even the little palace maid herself turned pale with fright. Bai Ying thought she didn't hear anything. After all, this palace maid was Concubine Hong's person, how could she be detained at will?
At this moment, Yao Niang put away her smile and repeated, "Someone, arrest her for me."
The chief eunuch of the prince's office came in from outside and held the little palace maid down, "Princess, what should we do now?"
"Xing'er is a useful person by my mother's side. She is usually humble and cautious. How could she let me make a personal trip for just one thing and send a sedan chair to pick her up? She may not know that the Royal Concubine once told me that when the sun is setting, the doors should be closed and not allowed to go out. Besides, how can a sedan chair be used to pick me up casually? Is the Royal Concubine's sedan chair the same as that of the princess? Therefore, I concluded that she did not come from Kunning Palace at all. Even if she came from Kunning Palace, I would not do such an unruly thing." Yao Niang said, stroking her belly.
Bai Ying and the others were even more shocked, because after being in the palace for so long, they had long forgotten what kind of violent temper the real Miss Luo Wu had.
Thinking back to the time when the Fifth Girl was at the Grandmother's place, she was so young that she dared to rush in and chase that cunning old woman out to avoid disaster, let alone now.
It's just that her face usually looks too gentle, and she is very kind to her servants. Most importantly, no one in Prince Chen's Mansion dares to confront her, so she is very calm and peaceful, so no one knows that Yao Niang is like this.
After the little palace maid was detained, she was interrogated by the female official of Prince Chen's Palace. Yao Niang asked Ziying to keep an eye on her and asked Baiying to go to Kunning Palace to interrogate her.
Bai Ying hurried out of the house without hesitation, but she had no idea that there was no such sedan chair as the little palace maid said, which meant that Princess Chen was almost tricked.
At this time, in Kunning Palace, Concubine Hong was reciting scriptures. How could a mother not feel distressed when her son went to the battlefield?
But Bai Ying came running over and said, "My Lady Imperial Concubine, something happened in our palace."
When she heard about the accident, Concubine Hong's heart skipped a beat: "Is it Chengyun?"
"No." Bai Ying explained the whole story again.
The more Concubine Hong listened, the angrier she got. "What's going on? Xing'er has already left the palace. I'm afraid she will be back soon. How could they just randomly arrange a little girl for your princess to come? Since your princess has detained her, why don't you hand her over to me? I want to see who is causing trouble."
It's a blessing, otherwise, my daughter-in-law would not bring many people with her when she goes out. If something happens, or if something happens to the baby in her belly, what should I do?
But there is not even a female mosquito around my son, so who would attack my daughter-in-law?
However, this little palace maid bit her tongue and committed suicide on the way to be handed over to Concubine Hong in order to prove her innocence. Concubine Hong only found out that she was a palace maid in the laundry department and had only entered the palace a few days ago. It happened that the aunts sent her out to deliver clothes and someone asked her to come over, so she came to Yao Niang to pass on a message, but was wrongly accused, so she committed suicide.
Even Concubine Hong had some complaints about Yao Niang, and even suspected that she had resorted to lynching.
Although Concubine Hong tried her best to defend her daughter-in-law in front of Emperor Jianzhang: "She is a child, the third child is not around, and she is pregnant, so she overreacted."
Without evidence, Concubine Hong couldn't insist that it was the little girl's fault. How could a young maid who had just entered the palace dare to plot against Princess Chen?
Moreover, before she entered the palace, her hometown was in Gansu, which was completely unrelated to the palace.
Emperor Jianzhang said, "There has never been such a thing in our palace. Even I was a vegetarian for three months because of famine. Once in the palace, someone accidentally put leeches in the noodle soup. I ate it and although I had a stomachache, I kept it to myself because I was afraid that something might happen to the cook. The higher the position, the more tolerant one is."
This was a criticism, and Concubine Hong quickly apologized for her daughter-in-law: "Yes, everyone in the world knows that Your Majesty is extremely kind. I often think that if you hadn't treated me so well, I'm afraid Xuan Ce and I would have died long ago. I will teach this child a lesson, Your Majesty, please rest assured."
Emperor Jianzhang said again: "She is pregnant, so don't speak too harshly."
"Don't worry about that." said Concubine Hong.
Everyone in Prince Chen's Mansion was shocked by this incident. According to common sense, it was a good thing that the princess was alert. However, since the maid died to prove her innocence, the people in Prince Chen's Mansion began to doubt whether the princess overreacted, leading to the unjust death of the maid.
Because what the head official found out that day was that the little palace maid was a messenger, and it wasn't even Xing'er who said it herself, but someone on the road asked her to pass on the message, and that person had a badge from Kunning Palace.
When Concubine Hong paid her respects the next day, she also scolded Yao Niang harshly in front of Xu Qingrong. It was rare for Xu Qingrong to hear Concubine Hong talk about this sister-in-law.
You know, they are both daughters-in-law of Concubine Hong. Luo Yaoniang treats her like her own daughter, but she treats her like an outsider. How could she possibly accept this?
Sure enough, now that Gao Xuance is not around, Luo Yao's mother is in big trouble.
She said how could the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law get along so well, she was too naive before.
Therefore, Xu Qingrong looked at Yao Niang's face. Who knew that Yao Niang was sincerely convinced and said: "Mother is right. I was only concerned about the child at that time, but did not think so much. It is all my fault. I will be confined to my house and copy the "Ksitigarbha Sutra" and "Buddha's Sutra of Infinite Life" by hand so that she can be liberated as soon as possible. As for this palace maid, whether she died unjustly or not, I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me. I will give her family a generous reward to comfort her in her old age."
This treatment is acceptable, but there is no need for house arrest. The daughter-in-law did not punish her or scold her, and Luo was famous for being lenient to her servants.
Concubine Hong Guifei said, "There is no need to confine her. You should make proper arrangements for her family members."
Yao Niang said, "Mother is the Imperial Concubine and the head of the harem. If you can't even handle your daughter-in-law's affairs fairly, how can you serve the public? Don't worry, your daughter-in-law will take good care of herself."
She said it sincerely, and with a hint of self-blame.
Concubine Hong was also afraid that her daughter-in-law would really kneel down and copy the scriptures foolishly, so she comforted her: "You don't have to blame yourself too much."
"Thank you, mother, for your comfort." Yao Niang bowed and expressed her gratitude.
After leaving here, Xing Er chased after him, looking very guilty, "Princess Chen, it's all my fault. I didn't send anyone else. I just wanted to make sure the things you sent were safe. It was getting late that day, so I left."
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Sister Xing'er, why do you blame yourself? This matter has nothing to do with you."
After she said this, she took Bai Ying's hand and walked out, as if she didn't take it to heart.
But Bai Ying was a little worried. She felt very sorry for Yao Niang. "This matter is basically someone who wants to harm you. What does this have to do with you? Why did the Royal Concubine punish you? If this continues, will the people in Prince Chen's Mansion make any changes?"
Yao Niang said, "I didn't take good care of you to keep an eye on her and prevent her from committing suicide. If things are not done perfectly, that's my fault. I know you feel unfair for me, and I feel very wronged myself, but sometimes you can't get things done just by feeling wronged."
Bai Ying thought, this is different in the husband's family and the parents' family. I still remember that Miss Fang went to play in the winter, but she said that she heard the girl say that the plum garden was fun, so she went there. At that time, the first wife Ren came to the house and even blamed the fifth girl. She was slapped twice by the wife, and the old man also left for the girl. This is a real family.
But as a mother-in-law, Concubine Hong Guifei didn't care at all whether the girl was wronged or not. She knew that the girl was the victim, but she blamed her instead.
In the palace, you don't hit people in the face. At the same time, face is also very important. Just now, when the Royal Concubine scolded her own princess, the servants and Princess Zhou were all there. How should the girl live her life?
But the girl endured it.
After returning to her palace, Yao Niang ordered them to close the door and told everyone that she wanted to stay indoors to take care of the fetus. Of course, she did not tell anyone the reason, but only called in a few trusted people to talk.
She said to Ziying: "In the future, you must pay more attention to my diet. Also, people who come in and out of our palace must be strictly checked. We must be lenient on the outside and strict on the inside."
The person who sent the young maid to Kunning Palace this time was Ziying, but this happened. Ziying felt guilty and said, "Princess, please punish me. I didn't do my job well this time."
"No, every failure makes you wiser. It's actually a good thing now. As long as you do what I asked you to do and make up for your mistakes, then what crime have you committed? Besides, the fact that this palace maid bit her tongue and committed suicide immediately makes me more certain that this was not an accident but a man-made one. This knows me very well." Yao Niang stood up with interest in her eyes.
In this palace, because of Gao Xuance's influence and the identity of Concubine Hong, almost no one dared to go against her. But now someone wanted to deal with her, which made her even more curious.
Bai Zhi couldn't help but say, "Princess, could it be Princess Zhou? She and you have always been at odds with each other, so she is the most likely suspect in framing you."
"No, she may want to harm me, but she can't command the people in the palace. Her relationship with the Imperial Concubine is average. The Imperial Concubine has many eyes and ears in the palace, but she won't harm me. Besides, Prince Zhou may try to steal my mother's favor, but Prince Zhou and Xu Qingrong are not of the same mind, and he won't use such despicable means. I think this person must have a long history in the palace, otherwise how could he command the laundry bureau?" Yao Niang thought.
Danju said: "The most favored one now is Concubine Li, could it be that she——"
"That won't happen. Concubine Li was born in a poor family. Although she is a concubine, she is quite favored now. But the higher her position is, the more she cannot act rashly. Because there are Concubine Jing and Concubine Tian Zhaoyi in the harem, who are also extremely favored by the emperor. If she takes the initiative to deal with me, others will find fault with her." Yao Niang shook her head.
Some even speculated that it was Madam Li, and the reason was ready. Danju said, "What if you have something to say? Then our prince has no mother to protect him, and the prince is far away. Given the prince's infatuation with you, I'm afraid he will find it meaningless to live."
Yao Niang thought for a moment, "King Ling of Chu was fighting outside. He was so anxious when he heard the news of his two sons' death that he fell off the carriage and lost all hope of survival. But then again, Madam Li couldn't even leave the Zhou Palace, so how did she know about me?"
It's not like she hasn't met Madam Li before. Even if she has ulterior motives, Madam Li is totally out of favor. She can only visit her son once a month. How could she possibly harm her own son?
Of course, it is not impossible, but Madam Li has not even stood firm on her feet yet. It does not make sense that she would harm Wang, the concubine who holds the position of second concubine, but instead harm her.
Seeing that Yao Niang denied Madam Li, Danju mentioned another person: "What about the Fourth Prince's Consort? She used to be jealous of you giving birth to the eldest grandson of the Emperor. When you were pregnant, she deliberately provoked you. Concubine Yan often praised you, but now because of the dragon and phoenix twins she gave birth to, the boy died and the girl survived, she is so angry that she fasts and chants Buddha every day, and she looks very haggard. I also heard that Concubine Yan told the Fourth Prince's Consort that she kept shouting when she gave birth that it would be unlucky not to give birth, so she scared the little prince away, and she also said that you didn't say a word when you gave birth."
"It's possible that she did, but she doesn't like someone who is so openly aggressive. Besides, her twin daughter is weak and frail. Everyone in the Imperial Hospital has passed away. How could she find the time to care about me? Moreover, she used to learn the rules in Kunning Palace, and her relationship with the people in Kunning Palace is very bad. Who would reveal this matter to her?" Yao Niang said.
She didn't know who was behind them, but she said to them, "You guys need to be more careful with Xing'er. Don't act the same as before."
Myolie?
Bai Ying was shocked: "How could it be her? Didn't you say that Xing Er was ordered by the prince..."
"Well, I'm not the prince. Besides, the prince has been gone for so long, and many things may not be the same as she thought before. Although I don't know who is behind this, I know that it was Xing'er who was sent by the Green Jade Buddha, and she was also the person you contacted with the gift list. Besides her, who else would know about this? Even if she didn't attack me, it must be her or someone around her who leaked the news, which gave others the opportunity to take advantage of it." Yao Niang analyzed.
She has always disliked recommendations from acquaintances. Recommendations from acquaintances are only for reference and cannot be generalized. The same goes for what Gao Xuance said.
Bai Ying nodded: "In this palace, people's hearts are hidden, and no one knows what kind of ghosts anyone is. Princess, although we suspect Xing'er, she is still someone close to the Royal Concubine, and it is not easy for us to monitor her."
"Just pay attention to your interactions with her. As for people, it's impossible to hide their true colors." Yao Niang nodded.
"Princess, it would be a good thing for you to lock yourself up and take care of your baby at home. However, if you stay locked up here forever, people will think that you have really harmed that palace maid even though you are fine." Ziying quickly pointed out the problem.
This is also because Yao Niang punished herself quickly. Otherwise, if the emperor really punished her, she would be fined, and there would be an imperial edict to warn her. Wouldn't it be confirmed? If she punished herself first, others would have no chance to say anything. Otherwise, she would act as if nothing happened and go out to get her eyes painted every day. She deserved it.
There are no rules in the palace. People look at the results rather than the process.
Yao Niang put her hands behind her back and said, "In three months, Cheng Yun will be crowned as the Crown Prince. I will have to come out by then, so don't worry. In the next few months, we will focus on seeing who Xing Er often associates with."
The four older maids all bowed.
Princess Chen was so angry, but she endured it and even admitted her mistake in front of the Royal Concubine. This surprised Mu Wantong very much.
The fourth prince said, "Third sister-in-law has always been kind to servants, but it's a pity that the maid was scared to death. Third sister-in-law must be feeling guilty."
"That may not be the case. Maybe he is just guilty of being a thief." Mu Wantong retorted.
"A person with a guilty conscience will definitely be pretentious. Why would Third Sister-in-law bother with a little palace maid? I don't know where she came from and she conveyed the wrong message. The Prince Chen's Mansion has strict rules and they held her accountable at every level, but they just sent her to Kunning Palace and handed her over to the Imperial Concubine. I think in this matter, nine times out of ten, the little girl was afraid of being confronted and punished by her aunt, so she committed suicide out of fear of punishment." The Fourth Prince shook his head after he finished speaking.
Mu Wantong thought, you are still trying to comfort Luo Yao's mother, but you don't know that this is exactly what your own mother did.
However, Luo Yaoniang was very patient. We only knew that she was favored by Concubine Hong, but we didn't know that when Concubine Hong scolded her, she listened obediently and didn't refute. If it were her, she would have made a scene long ago. She was being scolded for no reason. None of these mothers-in-law were good.
But she would not say it out loud. Concubine Yan probably wanted to lure Luo Yaoniang out through this girl, and then take the opportunity to make her fall or something, so that the child would be aborted. Unfortunately, Luo Yaoniang was very smart and saw through the plan.
"My mother has been worshiping Buddha these days and hasn't allowed me to pay my respects to her. If you are free, please go and see her," Mu Wantong said indifferently.
The relationship between his mother and his wife was very tense, so the Fourth Prince was in a difficult position being caught in the middle. Now that he heard his wife mention his mother on her own initiative, he was very happy. No matter what, Mu Wantong was just being tough on the outside, but she actually had a very good heart.
"I got it. I will go to pay my respects to my mother early tomorrow morning. But if she is free, you can go over to her on weekdays. If she is worshiping Buddha, don't disturb her morning prayers." The Fourth Prince did it for Mu Wantong's own good. He didn't want to let them get along with each other as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, which would only reduce trouble.
Mu Wantong nodded gently.
Zhou Wangfu
Xu Qingrong looked at Hong Shuyi and said, "You are right. You really have a plan. You expected that she would be suspicious and vigilant, so you used Concubine Yan to do all this and let Luo Yaoniang bear a life. Regardless of whether she was wronged or not, she was forced to bear this life anyway."
Hong Shuyi said with regret: "It's a pity that she didn't try hard to defend herself. From what I know about my aunt, she definitely doesn't like to listen to people's excuses. It was a little better when cousin Xuan Ce was around. My aunt loved him the most, but now that he is gone, Luo Yaoniang is in trouble. It's a pity that she actually admitted her fault at the last minute."
"No matter what, the emperor is very dissatisfied with her, and this is already our gain." Xu Qingrong said with a smile.
But after saying this, she said with a frown: "Unfortunately, this is not enough, far from enough."
After all, Luo Yaoniang was unharmed.
Hong Shuyi disagreed: "In this palace, a person's reputation is the most important. This is just the first step. Now, I advise you to wait patiently. We will find the next opportunity."
The concubine Yan who was found this time was extremely timid. After learning about this, she became as timid as a mouse. She actually hid herself away and kept a fast and chanted Buddhist scriptures for fear of being discovered.
Xu Qingrong shook her head: "That's too long to wait. We've already waited so long for Concubine Yan. If we wait for the next person, wouldn't her child be born soon?"
She didn't just want Luo Yaoniang to die, she wanted her death to be as tragic as possible, so that Prince Chen would lose his mind and never recover from it, and there would be no one to compete with Prince Zhou for that position in the future.
No matter how much Prince Zhou dislikes her, she is different from Consort Lin. She will eventually become the Crown Princess and the Empress in the future.
Lady Li, who gave birth to a boy, was of humble origin. King Zhou would never allow such a lowly person to ascend to the throne of empress, and perhaps no one else would ever get pregnant again.
Hong Shuyi said coldly, "Princess Zhou, as the saying goes, haste makes waste. We must not leave any traces. Otherwise, with her intelligence, if she finds out our conspiracy, she will have something on us. It doesn't matter to me. At most, I will be a widow for the rest of my life. But if you let the Prince know that you harmed her, and even the Luo family knows that you did it, with the Luo family outside and the Prince's Royal Consort inside, how will you cope with it?"
Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Hong Shuyi has nothing now. Her husband has become a monk, her mother is dead, and the enemy is living better and better.
Those who came to propose marriage were too old, and either had married again or their conditions were not good. How could she marry them? In this case, it would be better for her to enter the palace.
Luo Yaoniang tried every means to stop her from going back to her aunt. She wanted to settle all the old and new grudges at once. After all, she had enough kung fu.
When Xu Qingrong heard what Hong Shuyi said, she was annoyed that she had no sense of propriety and dared to speak to the princess in such a way. But at the same time, she felt that she had hit the nail on the head.
Therefore, Xu Qingrong asked: "In your opinion, what should we do now?"
Hong Shuyi smiled and said, "Be calm and don't act rashly. Even with Xing Er, I have to keep my distance."
"Oh, why is that?" Xing'er was the maid of honor of the imperial concubine, so they were close friends. Who would say anything? Xing'er had always been attracted to Gao Xuance, so it would be a good idea to pull her over now.
Hong Shuyi shook her head: "First, although Xing'er only revealed it when I asked her that time, she has always liked cousin Xuance and has admired him for many years. Even if you try to persuade her in every way, she will still only reveal the news to Gao Xuance. Why do you need to do it? Secondly, Luo Yaoniang is very careful. She has always been jealous of you and me, but there is no evidence. If we are very close to Xing'er, wouldn't she suspect that we are in collision? If she has any doubts, she only needs to tell Gao Xuance that my cousin Xuance would even risk everything for her, even his life. Others may not believe what she says, but Gao Xuance will. Now we are trying to get ourselves out of trouble, so why would we take the risk?"
After hearing this, Xu Qingrong suddenly realized and stood up again. She held Hong Shuyi's shoulders and said, "Cousin Hong, you are indeed a wise woman. You have a lot of wisdom and you have planned everything. Please rest assured that as long as I, Xu Qingrong, live, you, Hong Shuyi, will live too."
Hong Shuyi turned slightly and said, "Princess Zhou, let's plan first. How can we spread the news that Luo Yaoniang killed the maid outside the palace while she is under house arrest? Then, the Royal Concubine will want to ask the Emperor for mercy. Our Emperor attaches great importance to the reputation of benevolence. I am afraid that she will be criticized by the outside officials. How can the Emperor forgive her? And the Emperor loves the Prince of Chen so much, how can he see the evil woman around the Prince of Chen? When the Prince of Chen has more wives and concubines, it will be easier to pick on her."
"You are absolutely right." Xu Qingrong understood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
