Chapter 165 Chapter 165
[Chapter 165]
Ruan Jun glanced at the emperor inadvertently. She didn't know whether the emperor said this because he knew what Concubine De had done in the past or not.
Liu Jin, who was lying on the ground, took her last breath and knelt in front of Ruan Yun, "My Lady, please save me."
Ruan Yun blinked her almond-shaped eyes and looked at Liu Jin without much emotion.
Liu Jin endured the severe pain in his hand and took out a note from his sleeve.
The note had long since turned yellow, something from many years ago now stained with Liu Jin's blood.
Liu Jin's fingertips trembled. Wei Maoyuan got the emperor's signal and took the note from Liu Jin and handed it to the emperor.
Yan Shiyu unfolded the note, and Ruan Jun looked at the emperor with a slight frown.
There was very little information on the note, and Yan Shiyu understood the reason at a glance.
I handed the note to Ruan Yun, who took it after a slight hesitation, and then said in surprise:
"I have said before that we should release the old maids in the palace. If they have no children, we should send them to the temporary palace so that they can no longer suffer. Your Majesty, do you still remember?"
Defei's body was trembling, and the string in her heart could break at any time.
Yan Shiyu glanced at Ruan Jun, held her hand tightly and motioned for her to continue.
Ruan Yun said gently, "One of them was a nanny who used to work in the West Third Residence. When the Emperor was still a prince, she saw something on the Empress' birthday. Over the years, someone has been trying to kill her, but someone else wants to protect her secretly, so she can only pretend to be crazy and stupid to survive. I help the Empress manage the six palaces, and I vaguely feel that something is going to happen in the palace, so I asked someone to bring the nanny back. Does the Emperor want to see her?"
Yan Shiyu listened and did not let go of Ruan Jun's hand. Instead, he held her hand tighter.
Wei Maoyuan understood what the emperor meant and immediately sent someone to find the nanny.
Everything happened too suddenly. Wang Yi was still kneeling on the ground trembling with fear. The guard disguised as the eunuch had already been taken away and was awaiting his fate.
Tears kept falling from Liu Jin's eyes, and the pain that went straight to her heart made her tremble with pain.
The nanny was quickly brought over and knelt tremblingly in front of Yan Shiyu and Ruan Yun. Wei Maoyuan said in a sharp voice:
"You know everything, tell it like it is!"
The nanny didn't dare to hide anything anymore and told the emperor everything that happened in the backyard that year.
Ruan Yun asked calmly, "That time, the maidservant that Madam saw in the backyard was the one next to you?"
The eunuch immediately stepped forward and lifted up Liu Jin's head. Nanny's breathing became heavy, and all the events of the past came to her mind.
Wiping away tears, he said, "Yes, it is this palace lady in front of me."
Liu Jin insisted, "Before Empress Shufei passed away, she knew that she couldn't keep this a secret, so she gave the note to me. The handwriting on the note was written by Empress Defei. She pretended to be a young master from a noble family and invited the Empress to meet her. But Empress Defei didn't go for the Empress. From the beginning, Empress Defei deliberately angered Empress Shufei and let her know that the Empress was pregnant. She also deliberately let Empress Shufei know that as long as the Empress gave birth to a legitimate son, Empress Shufei would never be able to become the legal wife in the future."
There was a coldness in Yan Shiyu's eyes, and Ruan Jun's hands also gradually became cold.
Concubine De just watched everything in front of her coldly. She had been planning for many years, but she didn't expect that one day, she would be plotted against to such an extent.
"The Empress Defei probably wanted to anger the Empress Shufei. The Empress Shufei really loved you, Your Majesty! How could she let someone else become your legal wife? How could she be willing to do that? She was bewitched and believed the Empress Defei's words. She sent away all the maids and servants in the backyard and handed the note written by the Empress Defei to the Empress's sister. How could the Empress's sister let her sister fall into this situation? So she thought about going to the backyard herself."
"Then, I used the excuse of looking for something, saying that the Empress was not feeling well at the moment and that I could take the girl's things, and took away the maidservant beside her. Later, the people bribed by Concubine Shu pushed the Empress's sister into the water."
Ruan Yun looked at the note on the table. "According to what you said, this note has been soaked in water and the writing is no longer visible. But this one, although old, has been kept in great good condition. Why is that?"
Liu Jin immediately raised her head, tears falling from her eyes, "Empress Shu was afraid that her deeds would be exposed in the future, so she was cautious at the time and did not directly use the note sent by Empress De. Instead, she asked someone to copy a new one. The one in front of you is the one written by Empress De herself."
She didn't dare to step forward, but pressed her hands tightly into the carpet, and spoke every word very clearly, "Every word I said is true, there is absolutely no lie. Liu Yu, who used to serve Concubine Shu with me, also knows the inside story. Your Majesty and Concubine Gui, you can bring someone here for questioning."
Suddenly, he remembered what Concubine Shu said to the Emperor before she passed away. It seemed that Concubine Shu had thought of this kind of thing happening in the future before the Emperor came, so she had already arranged jobs for Liu Jin and Liu Yu, handed the things to Liu Jin, and asked the Emperor not to anger the Meng family, because she knew that this matter would be exposed sooner or later.
Yan Shiyu spoke coldly, "The one who wanted to kill Nanny was Concubine Shu?"
At this point, Liu Jin naturally admitted everything, "Yes."
"When the incident was over, Concubine De took charge of all the affairs of the palace. The first thing she did was to sell off all the people in the backyard, saying that they were not doing their jobs well and caused the Empress to lose her child. But she kept this nanny. Concubine Shu knew from then on that the nanny must have seen something."
Having said this, Liu Jin was a little unsure whether he should continue.
The guards in front of the palace pressed their knives against Liu Jin's neck. Liu Jin shuddered at the cold blade. "Her Majesty wanted to get rid of Madam. She was afraid that what happened back then would be known to others and told to the Emperor. But she didn't expect that every time she wanted to take action, another group of people would rescue Madam. After so many times, Her Majesty naturally understood that it was Her Majesty Defei who did it. Since then, she has gradually distanced herself from Her Majesty Defei."
Liu Jin said everything she needed to say, "I know I have committed a grave sin, but I beg the Emperor to spare my family for the sake of my telling you everything."
Wei Maoyuan ordered someone to take Liu Jin away. The blood in her hand had stopped flowing and had dried on it, which was very shocking.
Yingning also took the nanny out, and the inner hall became exceptionally quiet.
"Anything else you want to say?"
There was tremendous anger hidden in Yan Shiyu's tone, and his dark eyes were filled with disappointment towards Concubine De.
Ruan Yun couldn't help but look at Concubine De. When she first entered the palace, Concubine De acted particularly intimate with the Empress. At that time, every smile she had, every time she mentioned the eldest prince, was like a stab into the Empress' heart.
But the Empress never had any thought of harming Concubine De, and she even protected the eldest prince and helped him grow up.
Ruan Yun's almond-shaped eyes were filled with a hint of mist, and she calmly held back the tears in her eyes.
A sarcastic smile appeared on Defei's lips as she knelt in front of Yan Shiyu.
Her former pride seemed to be broken, and she was no longer as gentle as before.
Ruan Yun glanced at the table and saw that the incense burner had already been removed by Ying Ning, which made her feel a little relieved.
"Your Majesty asked me, what about you, Your Majesty?"
De Fei spoke sharply and looked at Yan Shiyu. "I am De Fei, the biological mother of the eldest prince. But Your Majesty favors Concubine Ying and lets her sit on the position of Concubine. What about me? Can you see my love for you?"
"When I first entered the palace, my family background was no worse than that of the Empress. My father commanded a large army, but for the sake of the Emperor, he also surrendered his military power and never dared to command troops on his own. I love the Emperor. From the beginning, no one in the palace loves the Emperor more than I do!"
Concubine De spoke in a sharp voice, and every word she said was about the grievances she had suffered over the years. "You are happy to see the queen pregnant, but have you seen how lonely I am? Even when I was pregnant, you didn't look very happy, but I don't care. As long as you have me in your heart, it's fine. I don't care whether my child can sit on the throne of the crown prince, as long as that is the best gift you can give me."
"I saw how hard you worked for the government, so I thought about educating the eldest prince so that he could share your worries in the future. But do you see my efforts? You don't!"
Concubine De screamed and stood up with hatred in her eyes, "You only see me forcing the eldest prince to study hard, you don't know why I do this, I have been with you for decades, but you never know what I really want!"
As she spoke, Concubine De covered her chest and cried, "You think Concubine Yinggui really loves you, you think the Empress and Concubine Shu love you, they always treat you with interests mixed together, only I never ask for anything in return, as long as Your Majesty can look at me more and think about my goodness, that's enough, what I want from the beginning to the end is to stand by Your Majesty's side, ask yourself, which woman in the world is willing to push her husband to someone else!"
Unable to hold back her coughing, De Fei shook off the maid's hand and spoke with a sigh, "I watched you select beauties time and time again, and saw new people appear around you. Every night when it was quiet, I told myself that as long as I could teach the eldest prince well and as long as the emperor could be happy, that would be enough."
Her tone gradually became calm, and the tears in her eyes could not be wiped away. "But Your Majesty, you can't see that you still want to hand over the eldest prince to this bastard to raise!"
Defei pointed at Ruan Yun. Even though she had heard countless insults from people over the years, Ruan Yun couldn't help but frown.
Yan Shiyu frowned and held Ruan Yun's hand tighter. When Concubine De saw the two holding hands, she laughed out loud:
"Concubine Ying, she is just a little maid in the flower room. She uses sweet words to climb up the social ladder. Can she be sincere to Your Majesty? For the sake of the Third Prince and herself, she pretends to love Your Majesty deeply. But Your Majesty, why do you like her so much? Why can't you see my love for you?"
Defei fell to the ground, crying and laughing at the same time.
I don’t know whether I am laughing at my own sorrow or at everything that has happened over the years.
Yan Shiyu turned the white jade ring in his hand, "You love me, is this why you want to harm the queen?"
Concubine De knelt on the ground without saying a word, just letting her tears flow quietly.
Yan Shiyu stood up and said in a cold voice: "De Fei Shu is a person of low moral character and vicious mind. She has harmed the heir to the throne. She has been stripped of her title, demoted to a commoner, and confined to the cold palace, where she is not allowed to leave for the rest of her life."
Ruan Yun stood up with the emperor and looked at his back, feeling an indescribable feeling in her heart for no reason.
"The beauty of Jin Liu is Liu Zhaorong. The eldest prince will be raised by her in the future."
Wei Maoyuan received the order and sent someone to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to report the matter, and he also went to Fengyi Palace in person.
Yan Shiyu strode forward, not hearing the voice behind him, and turned around and said, "Xiaoxiao, come here."
Ruan Yun walked past Concubine De holding her skirt, and Concubine De said quietly:
"Concubine Ying, you are luckier than me, but when you lose your beauty and become old and ugly, your fate will not be any better than mine today."
Ruan Yun took a breath and left Defei's side as if nothing had happened.
I put my hand in the emperor's palm and felt it gradually getting hot, and the skin on my wrist was hot.
After returning to the Zichen Palace with the emperor, Ruan Jun walked silently behind the emperor.
I have to admit that the Shu family is much more powerful than others.
Just a few words could stir up trouble between her and the emperor.
I don’t know how to explain what Concubine De said just now. I just know that the emperor must be in a bad mood right now.
Ruan Jun took a step forward, and just as her hand touched the emperor's sleeve, she was held in Yan Shiyu's arms.
The hot air emitted from the nose all fell on Ruan Yun's neck.
Her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, and she looked confused and didn't know why.
Yan Shiyu placed his big palm on her back, and the strength in his hand became stronger and stronger. "I know you are not willing to enter the palace, and I also understand that if it weren't for what happened before, you would not become my concubine. I don't ask where your heart is. I only ask you, Ayun, are you willing to go on with me?"
Ruan Yun's knuckles trembled as the emperor held her so tightly that she could even feel the beating of their chests, pressed tightly together.
She raised her arm, said nothing for a moment, and just placed her hand on the emperor's shoulder.
A smile appeared on her lips, and she took some distance away, "I am willing to do so."
With her eyelashes closed and trembling slightly, she kissed the emperor's lips.
In the past, she was ashamed to do such things, but now, in broad daylight, she still stood on tiptoe and kissed Yan Shiyu's cold lips.
Yan Shiyu bent down to let her stand firmly, and said vaguely: "There is no need to do this."
That's fine.
Everything she wanted to say was contained in this kiss.
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