Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Concubine Shu's Eighteenth Day
Because Shen Qing still needed to take care of her pregnancy, Ji Chen specifically pointed out that she was exempted from the task of paying respects every day.
Even if the pregnancy is stable, you can go to Kunning Palace to pay respects or not, he will take care of everything.
Shen Qing didn't refuse and agreed.
If you can be lazy, don't act so sensible.
Only after Ji Chen returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity did the decree regarding these two matters come down.
The punishment for Li Guipin and the Li family remained the same, and Li Guipin had become a commoner before her death.
Defei was demoted to a concubine, so naturally she had no title. There was no more Li Guipin in the palace, but there was one more Li Concubine. She moved out of Yongshou Palace and moved to a palace garden. The original palace maids in Yongshou Palace were released from the palace when they reached the age, and the younger ones were assigned to other palaces.
As for Li Guipin's palace maids, their death was much more tragic; they were executed in Yongshou Palace.
People in the palace no longer dare to mention Yongshou Palace.
The deceased Concubine Lin was cleared of her injustice and was reburied as a concubine.
The unfortunate He Cairen was buried as a noble concubine. Her maid Yingchun survived by chance and made meritorious service. She was promoted to a palace lady-in-waiting. She only needed to recover from her wounds before she could take up her post and was rewarded with a certain amount of money.
Xuan Jieyi, who helped Li Guipin, was stripped of her title and banished to the cold palace.
Because of bribing and winning over palace maids, Concubine Xian was confined in Changchun Palace for a year. Later, the Empress Dowager felt that the punishment was too excessive, and asked the Emperor to allow other people to go to Changchun Palace even during the confinement period, so that Concubine Xian would not be too lonely.
In the Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother asked Xiang Hui with a sad face: "My son, what do you mean by this? You just bribed a palace maid. Who hasn't been a concubine in the palace? Even I have spies in the harem."
Ever since Shufei became the only favored concubine, she could not stir up trouble in the harem. Her only pleasure was to play with her grandchildren. Gradually, she became less majestic and more kind.
If it were in the past, the Queen Mother would never have done this.
Xiang Hui said, "This just happened, and the emperor was very angry. Maybe he took his anger out on the virtuous concubine."
"No." The Queen Mother shook her head. "The Emperor clearly wants to confine Concubine Xian until Concubine Shu becomes pregnant. He is suspicious of Concubine Xian, so he is using this as a preemptive measure."
Xianghui couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If the Queen Mother knew everything, why did she still ask her?
She continued, "If that's the case, why did the emperor go to the trouble of agreeing to your proposal and allowing others to visit the virtuous concubine?"
The Queen Mother remained silent, not wanting to describe the Emperor as treacherous as he made her out to be.
But she already had the answer in her heart. She knew her son relatively well. The emperor agreed to this matter, and he might have been thinking of fishing for him.
If Concubine Xian attacked Concubine Shu, they only needed to check who had visited Concubine Xian in Changchun Palace, and they would be able to clearly find out who persuaded Concubine Xian, gave her advice, and made the move.
The Emperor is not afraid of the Empress and Concubine Xian taking action, but he cannot guard against those hiding in the dark.
Didn't the original Concubine Li behave kindly and honestly before? But who would have thought that she was the one who did it?
Chengqian Palace.
After the matter was settled, it was delayed for several more days.
This time the truth has been thoroughly uncovered, and the reasons for the things that were unclear that day have also been discovered.
Shen Qing's health had been fine for a long time, and he would usually find a warm time to walk around in Chengqian Palace.
She took the transcribed confession and evidence handed over by Wenxi.
Although Li Guipin and Xuan Jieyu were deposed, she still liked to call them by their titles. After all, she only knew their names but was not very familiar with them.
Calling each other by name is a bit intimate.
It turned out that Concubine Xuan had been in contact with Concubine Li three months ago, but the conspiracy was planned half a month ago.
Shen Qing recalled her conversation with Concubine Li at the beginning of the month. She thought that she had already had the idea in mind at that time, and she and Concubine Xuan hit it off immediately.
The matter of Concubine Xuan is very simple.
On that day, Huanyun returned in the name of getting the bracelet, but in fact she was waiting for all the concubines to pay their respects to the Queen's palace. She ordered the eunuchs to bring oil bottles and pour oil on the palace road. Because they had been prepared in advance, the whole process took a very short time. But unfortunately, she was seen by a eunuch.
After the greetings were over, Huanyun and Concubine Xuan returned to their residence. The light became brighter and the master and servant relaxed a little. Only then did they notice that there was an oil stain on the hem of Huanyun's skirt.
When paying respects, there were quite a few people in Kunning Palace, so there was no guarantee that anyone would see him.
There were oil stains on the hem of her skirt. They would only have been splashed accidentally when she was standing by and watching, or if she had fallen down.
Just in case, Concubine Xuan let Huanyun hit her hard and carried her with her as if nothing had happened. Huanyun also acted as if nothing had happened. If no one mentioned this matter, there would be no need to draw attention to Huanyun's fall. If someone found out, the injury on Huanyun's leg would be self-evident.
In fact, Concubine Xuan didn't have to bring Huanyun to Chengqian Palace, but she was too cautious. She was worried that someone would find out that she brought Huanyun with her when she paid her respects in the morning, but didn't bring her to Chengqian Palace. If someone mentioned this matter unnecessarily, she would have to tell them about Huanyun's injury.
But no matter how or where she was injured, she would inevitably be involved in this matter.
What happened afterwards was exactly the same as what happened in the side hall.
As for the orchid hairpin on Huanyun's head, it was specially awarded to her by Concubine Xuan as a token of closeness, but it was remembered by the eunuch who witnessed it.
As a result, Concubine Xuan wanted to make excuses because there was a palace maid who looked similar to Huanyun, and the eunuchs could not point out that she was wrong.
Then there was Li Guipin, who relied on her low-ranking status as a concubine to pay respects and often brought only one person with her. In addition, He Cairen was Concubine Xian's confidant, so she planned to kill two birds with one stone and chose the unlucky He Cairen.
It so happened that Concubine He did not go out with Concubine Xian during those days, so she was taken advantage of.
The Li family's house was searched and some things were found.
It turns out that Shen Yi had a younger brother outside the palace who was held in the hands of the Li family. His entire family was killed, leaving only this one child.
The Li family asked Shen Yi to work for the Li family on the condition that he would ensure his brother's lifelong wealth and glory.
As for Feicui, she and Shen Yi were childhood sweethearts and entered the palace together. Later, they worked together to get to the Prince's Mansion. She and Shen Yi have helped each other for many years and they have a deep friendship.
The virtuous concubine herself could not bribe Feicui, so later on, the things that the virtuous concubine gave to Feicui were put away by Feicui, waiting for the day when they would be discovered so that he could divert the trouble away.
Needless to say, it was Concubine Li Guipin who first discovered the substance that caused false pregnancy.
In the confession, Shen Qing automatically attributed the things that Li Guipin could not do to Concubine De. This allocation seemed much more reasonable.
However, Defei escaped cleanly and tried her best to speak for Li Guipin that day, showing her deep sisterly love. She regretted and blamed herself for not being able to discipline Li Guipin well, and even wanted to take the punishment on behalf of Li Guipin, which made some concubines in the palace sigh for Defei.
Now Concubine De should be called Concubine Li.
Shen Qing folded the paper and asked, "How is Lipin now?"
Wenxi said, "She has been quiet since she moved into her new residence. The Queen fell ill and the imperial physician is treating her. The Queen said that Lipin does not need to go to Kunning Palace to pay respects anymore. It is most important to take care of her health."
Shen Qing's eyes were complicated: "The reputation of the queen as a virtuous and generous person must have spread."
Wenxi carefully glanced at his own queen, and seeing that she was not weak, nor was she heartbroken because of her friendship with the queen, he lowered his head and said, "Yes..."
The Queen is clearly the Queen's person, and the Queen knows that Concubine Li has harmed the Queen, but she still helps Concubine Li to improve her own reputation.
Some people in the palace felt sorry for Concubine Li because she was implicated by the Li family. Some even felt that if the Li family had not plotted against Concubine Shu, she would not have been so cruel.
The Queen's favor towards Li Bin did not make people feel that Li Bin was innocent, but rather that their Concubine Shu was taking advantage of her power to bully others.
The Queen was in charge of the harem, so it was impossible for her not to know that many people had this idea. However, she did not use the murder of Concubine Lin and Concubine He to warn everyone, but instead ignored the matter and shifted everyone's attention to the weakness of Concubine Li.
In the harem, Concubine Shu was at the peak of her power. In comparison, Concubine Li became the poor little one, as if she was the one being plotted against.
One has to think about the Queen's intentions.
Wenxi felt very upset for his own queen. Bai Tao also frowned beside him.
Shen Qing was wondering whether the Queen would give Concubine Li the kind of medicine that could make people die of illness without anyone noticing.
Concubine Li has the third prince, so even if she is extremely sad, she will still be able to establish herself. After all, the third prince is young and intelligent, and he is far superior to the eldest prince.
People like them who are extremely suspicious think that everyone wants to harm them, and they even judge others by their own standards.
Concubine Li once made the Second Prince sick for a period of time, and she probably guessed that the Queen would cause an accident to happen to the Third Prince, thereby pushing the First Prince to the position of Crown Prince.
I just don't know who is more skilled between the Queen and Concubine Li.
But all this has nothing to do with Shen Qing.
If Concubine Li was more capable, she would have naturally survived the Queen's clutches.
The Queen used Concubine Li to elevate her own reputation, so the one who should be most disgusted is Concubine Li.
Although this achieved two goals at once and made her reputation as a favored concubine a little more vicious, she was a favored concubine to begin with, so it seemed that she lived up to the reputation.
But there will be no thanks.
After staying in Chengqian Palace for so many days, Shen Qing inevitably felt a little bored, and she didn't want to look for Ji Chen.
Every time Ji Chen saw her, he would talk about being careful every other sentence, as if he treated her like a porcelain doll, and even the kiss was just a light touch.
Shen Qing put down what she was holding. Her belly was slightly bulging, which was particularly obvious because her figure was still slender.
Thinking of what she would do next, she couldn't help but laugh: "The virtuous concubine is under house arrest. If I can win the empress dowager's sympathy during this period, I will be very happy when the virtuous concubine's confinement ends."
Come to think of it, I'm really looking forward to it.
Bai Tao was still in high spirits and immediately said, "I will have someone prepare a sedan chair and accompany the queen to the Cining Palace."
The relationship between the Queen Mother and the Empress has always been peaceful. After the Empress became pregnant, the Queen Mother finally showed a satisfied attitude.
Your Majesty wants to please the Empress Dowager, which is actually very beneficial to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty talks to the Empress Dowager often, you will surely win a reputation for filial piety. In this way, who would dare to accuse Concubine Shu of bullying others by taking advantage of her power?
Bai Tao couldn't help but admire in her heart that her queen was so smart!
She never thought that she could resolve her damaged reputation by pleasing the queen mother.
Shen Qing lowered her head, took off the jade ring from her waist and handed it to Bai Tao, then walked towards the small kitchen: "It would be more thoughtful if I personally made the soup and brought it to you."
If she was perfunctory, she would probably be embarrassed before Concubine Xian got angry.
In late October, the weather is cold, the grass is thin and the flowers are withered, which is perfect for drinking a bowl of steaming hot soup.
Bai Tao followed with a smile to help, while Wenxi lagged behind by a step.
The two people's previous worries had long disappeared.
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