Chapter 041 Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Ruan Yun's thoughts were a little confused, and she ignored Wen Yunu's words, and then looked at Concubine Zhou first.
When Concubine Zhou met Ruan Yun's gaze, she seemed very nervous, but it was not because she was the one who did what happened just now, but more because she bumped into her at the beginning. It was unlikely that she had nothing to do with this matter now.
Ruan Yun looked away. Lady Zhou felt uneasy and wanted to speak several times but didn't dare to. She could only swallow what she wanted to say.
If it wasn't for Zhou Xuanshi, there would only be people standing close to her.
Ji Xuanshi was not far away from her, but she was puzzled as to how Ji Xuanshi appeared in front of her just now.
Ruan Yun stood there with her eyes lowered, her crow-feather-like eyelashes covering the surging emotions in her eyes, and she seemed to be a little afraid. Everyone was waiting to see the show.
When Yan Shiyu walked out of the inner hall, he saw Ruan Jun standing there helplessly. She was too tired and could only lean on the palace maid behind her. Her brows were tightly knitted, and the white jade ring in her hand was suddenly clenched. Her whole body exuded a cold and unhappy aura.
Wei Maoyuan noticed the change in Wansui Ye's mood, poked Xiao Muzi's forehead and said, "Why don't you bring some stools to the masters quickly?"
Little Muzi covered his head and hurried to do it. Yan Shiyu then sat at the top, and the empress sat down right after him.
The usually gentle empress had no smile on her face today. First, the concubine Ji Xuan was pregnant with the dragon descendant and failed to tell the emperor in time, and today such a thing happened under the emperor's nose. How could Yingcai fall down for no reason? I'm afraid someone had noticed it earlier and wanted to use her as a knife to kill her.
Concubine De was extremely worried. She looked towards the inner hall with sorrow in her eyes and said, "Is Concubine Ji okay? The dragon in her belly..."
This question touched everyone's heart. The concubines all looked at the Queen. If Concubine Ji failed to save the Dragon Descendant, then they would have many opportunities.
Although the queen looked a little tired, she still looked at Concubine De with a smile on her face: "Selected Concubine Ji's pulse has stabilized."
Ruan Jun heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the news. If she couldn't protect him, she would not be able to protect herself tonight. Even if she could prove that she had nothing to do with this matter, the emperor would still suspect her.
When she raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes, full of tears, timidly looked at Yan Shiyu, and there were so many grievances and pity hidden in them that they were beyond counting.
Yan Shiyu paused while turning the ring, pointed at Ying Ning and asked in a cold voice: "How did your young lady fall out tonight? How did you take care of her?"
The deep voice was filled with anger, causing everyone in the hall, except the Queen, to kneel down.
Ying Ning said slowly, "After the fireworks were set off, the young lady wanted to step back and let the Emperor and Empress pass. I was supporting the young lady from behind, but for some reason, the young lady suddenly shook. I didn't see clearly, but the young lady must have been like this on purpose."
This place is located in a side hall of the Qingxuan Palace. Usually, only palace banquets are held here. The flying eaves make the palace look majestic, and the incense burner slowly lights up with a faint fragrance, making people feel particularly sober.
Jiang Cainu muttered, "How could Yingcai be so clever as to bump right into Ji Xuanshi? Maybe she knew something in advance."
Everyone heard Jiang Cainv's words clearly. Yan Shiyu looked at Jiang Cainv with cold eyes. Jiang Cainv didn't dare to say anything more and took a step back without saying anything else.
Ruan Yun lowered her eyes and a hint of clarity flashed across them. When she raised her head again, fear filled her features. "The imperial physician diagnosed Concubine Ji as pregnant today. How could I have known about this in advance and have done this to such a cruel person in front of so many people?"
Concubine Shu's face turned a little pale, and she tried to maintain her composure as she said, "Yingcai used to be a maid beside Xuanshi Ji, so she naturally had a good relationship with her. Maybe Xuanshi Ji knew about the dragon-descended baby earlier, but she dared to hide it from Yingcai, and Yingcai started to feel... "
At this point, Concubine Shu sighed and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, saying, "I have never been pregnant before. Seeing Concubine Ji suffer, I am really sad."
The tears in Ruan Yun's almond-shaped eyes quickly rolled down, and she dug her fingertips into the rough carpet under her knees and said, "If I am on good terms with Concubine Ji, why would I harm her?"
The situation was at a stalemate, and Ruan Yun knelt there and cried.
Yan Shiyu grabbed Ruan Yun's tearful face and said coldly, "Could it be that Yingcai wants to harm me?"
Yes, these words reminded everyone that in the end it was the emperor who accepted Ying Cairen.
At that time, Ying Cairen fell to the other side, clearly trying to avoid Ji Xuanshi.
Concubine Shu's face flashed with panic, and she said hastily, "I dare not. How dare I think so?"
Yan Shiyu looked at Concubine Shu without any emotion, but Concubine Shu's body went limp and she sat paralyzed on the ground.
There was a warning in her eyes, and even a threat. The tears that Shufei had just shed, which seemed so fake, finally turned into real tears and flowed down.
Yan Shiyu's voice rolled through the wine, and he said in a very low voice: "Xiaoxiao, come here."
The concubines looked towards Ruan Yun in disbelief. The emperor looked at no one else but Ying Cairen. This name must be Ying Cairen's nickname.
However, Ruan Yun was too stubborn to stand up. Everyone was waiting to see the show. Everyone knew that the emperor hated women who were arrogant because of their favor. Now that she had annoyed the emperor, who would be able to protect this talented woman?
Yan Shiyu sneered, walked over and helped Ruan Yun up, brought her to his side, and asked nonchalantly, "Aren't you afraid of the cold?"
The Emperor and the Empress are the most important. Although there are floor dragons in the Qingxuan Palace, the palace is so grand and majestic that the floor dragons cannot be approached. So the palace servants placed charcoal stoves beside the Emperor and the Empress so that they would not be too cold.
Ruan Jun was supported by Yingning and sat on a stool. Her hands felt as cold as if they were ice cubes. With her head lowered, Yan Shiyu could only see her soft black hair and the white neck revealed at the collar, which was particularly alluring.
In this situation, no one dared to speak, let alone speculate on the emperor's intentions.
Wen Yu suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please understand. When we went out of the palace to watch the fireworks, Concubine Zhou bumped into Sister Ying once. Concubine Zhou was also beside Sister Ying at that time."
Concubine Zhou said in a stern voice: "Ms. Wen Yu, please stop slandering others!"
Seeing Yan Shiyu's dark eyes getting darker, Concubine Zhou immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, how could I do such a stupid thing? I bumped into Concubine Ying accidentally at first. If I bumped into Concubine Ying or pushed her the second time, wouldn't it be too obvious? You wouldn't even need to check to know it was me."
The queen looked serious and frowned, "So you still feel that you have been wronged?"
Concubine Zhou was stunned for a moment, then she weakly retorted, "It was an unintentional mistake that I ran into Lady Ying for the first time, but the second time, even if you gave me a hundred courages, I would not have dared to admit it."
The Queen turned to look at Yan Shiyu, and asked softly, "Your Majesty, do you think that Concubine Zhou's words can be trusted?"
Yan Shiyu was less lazy and asked sharply, "Which doctor was the one who examined Ji Xuanshi's pulse?"
Wei Maoyuan immediately replied, "Your Majesty, it is Doctor Liu. Doctor Liu is not on duty tonight, but I have sent someone to invite him."
Yan Shiyu hunched over the table and said nothing else.
Without the emperor's order, the people kneeling on the ground did not dare to stand up.
Yan Shiyu inadvertently saw Wen Yunu kneeling on the ground, and suddenly remembered what he heard in the Queen's Palace at noon. Only Wen Yunu was on the side of that woman.
Although he let Ruan Jun sit next to him, her little face still had an expression of aggrieved, and her whole person was a bit flattering. She pulled his sleeves and was unwilling to let go, and from time to time, the sound of Ruan Jun sobbing could be heard.
Yan Shiyu frowned, remembering that the woman couldn't stop moaning every night. In the end, her voice became hoarse from crying, and she clamored for tea.
What a delicate girl! I don’t know where she sheds so many tears every day. She cries so hard that she wants to drink tea.
Wei Maoyuan noticed Yan Shiyu's gaze, then looked at Ying Cairen, then held on to his own hat and went to look for someone, not daring to delay for even a moment.
It was almost New Year's Day when Imperial Physician Liu rushed to the palace. He held his hat on his head and paid his respects to the Emperor with a cold sweat on his face.
The Queen asked, "Dr. Liu was the one who was in charge of the imperial examinations for selecting concubines. Did he really not find anything wrong?"
Doctor Liu's forehead was instantly covered with tiny beads of sweat. He said, "A woman's pulse is already weak in the early stages of pregnancy. In addition, Lady Ji has always been weak, so her pulse is even weaker. I was unable to diagnose a pregnancy at this time. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The Queen thought carefully about which other imperial concubines were being taken care of by Doctor Liu. There was a moment of hesitation in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and said, "Has anyone asked you about Concubine Ji's pulse?"
After hearing this, Doctor Liu was a little slow to respond, "This..."
Yan Shiyu raised his hand calmly, and the teacup was swept to the ground. The fragments broke and fell in front of Doctor Liu. He said, "Tell the truth."
Doctor Liu kowtowed, not daring to raise his eyes, and spoke quickly, "Only the Empress Defei and Lady Ying asked about the pulse of the concubine, and no one else."
Concubine Zhou put down her worries and cried, "Yingcai asked herself, are you going to blame someone else for this?"
Wen Yunu looked at Concubine Zhou fiercely and said, "Concubine Zhou is so eager to distance herself from this matter. It doesn't seem like she has nothing to do with this matter. It seems like she is guilty of something she did."
Concubine De replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I help the Empress to manage the affairs of the six palaces. Concubine Ji was unwell a few times and the green card was withdrawn. That's why I asked Doctor Liu to reply to avoid delaying Concubine Ji's illness."
This matter was all on Ruan Yun, who gasped and said, "I am wronged every day. I will not live any longer."
Yan Shiyu's eyebrows twitched, and his face turned pale, "Nonsense!"
Ruan Yun turned her face away, and tears fell from her almond-shaped eyes without warning. "I am good friends with Concubine Ji. That day, when I went to Concubine Ji's palace, I happened to meet Doctor Liu taking her pulse. I was concerned about Concubine Ji's health but was afraid that Doctor Liu would not say anything in front of Concubine Ji, so after I left the palace, I stopped Doctor Liu and asked him how Concubine Ji was."
Li Cairen couldn't help but whispered: "In that case, today's events were all accidents."
The Queen was also in a dilemma. Everyone had their own explanations, and they all sounded reasonable.
"Did you see clearly at that time who pushed you or who was close to you?"
Ruan Yun was confused when she heard what the Queen said, but according to her original position, besides Consort Zhou, there was only...
A gentle woman.
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