Chapter 38 Who is behind this?
Facing Huo Jinchi's question, Zi Sang was not panicked. "That's what I steamed with fresh money grass. My grandfather once opened a clinic, and I saw people handling herbs like this. If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can search my room. I dug a hole under the bed, and the steaming utensils are inside!"
After she finished speaking, she glanced at the people in the hall coldly, "Don't even think about letting me take advantage of my family's promise!"
Kong Danying, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. She cried bitterly and looked at the emperor with a sad face, "If the emperor really suspects me, then it must be me. Please order me to be executed!"
Huo Jinchi glanced at her and said nothing, but signaled the eunuch to search.
After a while, the eunuch brought a package of things, which were distilling utensils.
Zi Sang was even more confident, she shouted: "Your Majesty, please kill me immediately. If I am alive, they will use me to slander the queen!"
Afterwards, she kowtowed to Kong Danying again and again, "It's all my fault. It was me who caused the Majesty to be suspected and splashed with dirty water!"
"You, why did you come here?" Kong Danying looked at her and burst into tears, "Why did you do this? How dare you do such a big mistake behind my back! Even though you are my slave, I will not plead for you. You, don't blame me!"
Looking at her grief-stricken expression, it really doesn't seem like she's acting.
Seeing her like this, Zi Sang couldn't help but burst into tears. She turned around and kowtowed to Huo Jinchi, "Your Majesty, please believe in Dan Ying. Dan Ying really didn't order me to do this! Although she was sad, she never wanted to harm Huipin. She stayed up every day and made many small clothes for Huipin's unborn child."
"Your Majesty, my concubine Ying is the kindest person in this palace. She will not order me to harm anyone. Please trust her!"
Zisang's voice became more and more miserable.
Looking at her like this, it's hard to tell anything.
Huo Jinchi was not moved by her words and just said, "Drag him out!"
This naturally means sending it to the Ministry of Punishment to let them think of a solution.
When Zisang was dragged out, she only said one sentence to Kong Danying, "After I leave, Danying must take good care of yourself."
"Zisang..." Kong Danying called her name, clutching her clothes, and cried so hard that she almost fainted.
Not long after the man was dragged out, there was a sudden noise outside.
Then a eunuch staggered in, looking terrified, "Your Majesty, that palace maid, she, she hit her head against a pillar, she's dead!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuanzheng immediately walked out.
He returned soon and confirmed that Zisang was indeed dead.
Everyone in the hall gasped. Kong Danying, who was already heartbroken, rolled his eyes and fainted on the ground when he heard the words.
There was chaos in the palace.
Yun Qin was shocked, a person who was alive just now suddenly died. Her fingertips were trembling, and she could only tell herself again and again that even if Zi Sang died, he deserved it.
When she hurt others, she should have understood that there would be consequences once the truth was exposed!
Over there, Kong Danying also slowly woke up under the acupuncture of Doctor Zhang Yu. As soon as she opened her eyes, she started crying again, still calling Zisang's name.
This look couldn't be faked, even Yun Qin didn't see the slightest bit of guilt in her expression.
Could it be that she really wasn't the one who ordered it?
But once Zi Sang died, all the clues were cut off. Without new evidence, no one could conclude that Kong Danying was the mastermind behind the incident.
Apart from Huo Jinchi, Huipin was the calmest when hearing that Zisang had died by hitting a pillar. She even felt that such a quick death was a bargain for Zisang!
She stared at Kong Danying and said to Huo Jinchi, "Your Majesty, don't be fooled by Kong Danying. Zisang is her personal maid. I don't believe she doesn't know anything about this. We must not let her go!"
"Even if you don't want to take her life, you should banish her to the cold palace and never let her out again. Only then can I be completely relieved!"
When Yun Qin heard this, she couldn't help but raise her eyelids and glance at Huipin.
She has indeed become smarter, but unfortunately she is still not smart enough. At this moment, she should have cried harder and more miserably than Kong Duying, and just let the emperor punish Kong Duying. If she could really cry with some sincerity, the emperor might really soften his heart and directly send Kong Duying to the cold palace.
But Huipin spoke when the emperor was still hesitating.
The more she wanted to kill Kong Danying, the more the emperor would consider the possibility that she deliberately splashed dirty water on Kong Danying, and this slight possibility could save Kong Danying's life.
Sure enough, Huo Jinchi stared at Huipin for a while before he spoke: "The eunuchs who have committed crimes in various places will be taken back by you for punishment. The palace maids who have committed crimes will all be executed!"
The two palace maids who were still in the palace cried out in grief upon hearing the sound, but before they could open their mouths to beg for mercy, the strong eunuchs covered their mouths and dragged them out.
"As for Kong Danying..."
Kong Danying was still crying sadly at this time, and seemed not to care at all about how the emperor dealt with her. She seemed not to hear these words and had no reaction.
Huo Jinchi glanced at her and continued, "You neglected to discipline the palace maids around you and were responsible for negligence. You can escape the death penalty, but you cannot escape the punishment of life. You will be demoted to a concubine and moved out of Chunxi Palace!"
"Your Majesty!" Huipin shouted in disbelief.
Huo Jinchi looked down at her, but did not answer her. He just said slowly, "From today on, Huipin's house arrest will be lifted. As the poison has not yet been cleared, you do not need to pay respects to the Queen Mother and the Empress until you are fully recovered."
Concubine Hui lowered her eyes under his calm gaze and said unwillingly, "Yes, I thank the emperor for his forgiveness."
Kong Danying on the other side seemed to have just reacted and knelt down to thank the emperor. "I accept the punishment and thank the emperor for his grace."
At this point, the trouble that had lasted the entire morning was completely put to an end with just a few words from Hawking.
But is it really a period?
Yunqin glanced at Kong Danying. Her intuition was the same as Huipin's. She also didn't believe that Kong Danying was unaware of Zisang's actions.
She remembered very clearly what Zisang said before she died. It was not that no one instructed her, but that Kong Danying did not instruct her to harm anyone.
Kong agreed to know about it, but it was not her who ordered it...
That only means that there is someone else behind the scenes!
When Yun Qin thought of this possibility, her hair stood on end and goose bumps appeared all over her body.
Just as she was lost in thought, Ah Jing suddenly pulled her back to her senses, and she heard the emperor say, "...You have suffered an unprovoked disaster. I will reward you with 100 taels of silver. I hope you can continue to take care of Huipin with all your heart and soul."
Yun Qin then realized that the emperor was trying to appease her and the people in the kitchen.
She followed the others in thanking the emperor, but then she heard him say, "We were all frightened today. You don't need to serve anymore. Go back and rest."
"Thank God for your grace."
Yunqin also bowed to express her gratitude. At first, she didn't think there was anything wrong, but when she looked up inadvertently, her eyes met the emperor's.
Her scalp tingled and she immediately lowered her eyes.
So, he said this because he wanted to take a rest?
Yun Qin didn't feel moved, she just felt horrified. The shock she had received this morning was not as powerful as his words. She had to take a rest...