"Shut up, Madam Nian! Please don't speak nonsense. It's common knowledge in the palace that Sister Nian has always been in poor health. Any talk of harm or not is pure fabrication. Madam Nian is a shrewd person; she can't believe such unfounded rumors." The Empress, standing beside Yinzhen, immediately rebuked him.
The eldest sister-in-law of the Nian family wanted to argue, but seeing the emperor's cold and stern expression, she immediately lowered her head and dared not speak again. Things were different now; the Nian family's backer had fallen.
With her powerful second brother gone and her sister-in-law, a Noble Consort, gone, the Nian family was weakened, and she dared not be presumptuous anymore.
The Eighth Prince pushed away his sister-in-law from the Nian family, ran into Yinzhen's arms, and raised his face covered with tears. "Father, Aunt is right. They all say that Tong Eniang harmed Mother. Your son wants Mother. Father, you must do justice for Mother."
Yinzhen's brows furrowed with a cold expression. He took a handkerchief and wiped away the tears on the Eighth Prince's face, his tone indifferent and detached, "Father has already banished her to the Cold Palace. After your mother's funeral, she will be dealt with accordingly."
Empress and her sister-in-law both looked up at the Emperor in surprise.
Nara had only two words in her heart: satisfaction.
Tong Shi was finished, and was sent to the Cold Palace, which meant that the Emperor had finally abandoned her. She was extremely happy. After twenty years, she had finally outlived them and sat on the throne of the head of the harem, while they were one dead and one imprisoned.
No matter how much she's favored, she'll always be the one laughing last.
That night, Su Peisheng secretly reported the details of the investigation to Yinzhen. Before Lady Nian passed away, when she went to Chengqian Palace to see Lady Tong, only Yuexiang and Yiren knew the content of their conversation.
"Did she really say that?"
Su Peisheng bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, this is what Yuexiang said: the two consorts talked about the past and had a very pleasant conversation. The Imperial Noble Consort left with a smile."
Yinzhen was somewhat dazed upon hearing this. They chatted happily, which was quite ridiculous. Tongshi hated Nianshi to the bone, and the Nian family had a blood feud with her. But Yuexiang would not lie.
The result was unexpected.
Perhaps, because she wasn't the real Tong Yilan, all those years of rivalry with the Nian family were just an act?
She lied to him.
She lied to him, she lied to him terribly.
Yinzhen was resentful. He felt he had given a lot to Tong Shi, and what he found most unbearable was her wanton trampling on his feelings.
Ironically, he still thinks about her now, and banishing her to the cold palace is not enough to quell the hatred in his heart.
Su Peisheng looked at the Emperor's dark complexion, his face as cold as ice. He had just learned another piece of news, and he didn't know whether he should report it or not.
Yinzhen was lost in his own thoughts, exuding an aura of turmoil and tyranny.
"Your Majesty, this servant..."
"Step back."
"emperor,"
"I told you to leave, get out." Yinzhen's eyes widened, his face slightly distorted, glaring at his personal eunuch with a mixture of anger and uncertainty.
Su Peisheng was so frightened that he shrank back and hurriedly retreated from the palace. He didn't even have a chance to report the message that was handed to him by the servants below.
As soon as they stepped out of the palace, the sound of porcelain shattering came from inside. There was a series of crashes and bangs in the inner hall, followed by the sound of books and memorials falling to the ground.
Su Peisheng dared not utter a sound, and patted his little apprentice who was peeking into the palace hall.
The Emperor banished Consort Zhen to the Cold Palace. As her personal eunuch, he was quite surprised. The Emperor cared so much about Consort Zhen. Right now, the Emperor was probably sulking with him. It wasn't Consort Zhen who harmed the Imperial Noble Consort. The Emperor must be angry with him.
They misunderstood Consort Zhen and even banished her to the Cold Palace. Now they'll have to appease her.
Sigh, he was also worried about the Emperor. What puzzled him even more was why Consort Zhen had secretly let Yiren, Xiaoshunzi, and Li Yi leave the palace. What was she up to?
At that time, he was unaware that because he hadn't investigated thoroughly, something that would later happen that he deeply regretted.
Nan Yi, now confined to the cold palace, was back to living a life of plain water and steamed buns, with no one to serve him. Fortunately, he still had Li Er.
He delivered three meals a day to Nan Yi on time, consisting of plain water and steamed buns.
Because of her weakness, Nan Yi spent most of the day in a deep sleep, only opening her eyes when Li Er came.
Each time Li Er came, he saw that the food and water on the plates were very clean, so he assumed that Consort Zhen had eaten the food and never suspected anything.
He never imagined that the dilapidated cold palace was teeming with a creature called rats.
On the third night, Nan Yi lay on the quilt on the ground. When Li Er brought dinner, there was no movement from Consort Zhen. Her breathing was weak. Several large rats were gnawing on her fingers, and another rat was biting Consort Zhen's face.
Li Er's eyes were bloodshot with rage. In his extreme anger, he twitched his fingers slightly, and several silvery fingers flashed, killing several rats silently.
"Damn beast." Li Er threw the dead rat outside, put down the food and water, squatted down in front of Nan Yi, and called softly, "Your Majesty, wake up, it's time to have dinner."
"Your Majesty?"
After several unanswered calls, Li Er realized something was wrong. He reached out and pointed his finger under Nan Yi's nose, and was immediately shocked. He quickly raised his hand and placed it on Consort Zhen's pulse.
Cold sweat beaded on Li Er's forehead as he slumped to the ground. What was going on? Consort Zhen was on the verge of death.
"That's it," Li Er thought, and ran outside. He didn't even report to the Emperor. Instead, he went straight to the Imperial Hospital, grabbed a physician, and dragged him to the Cold Palace.
The imperial physician cried out in pain all the way, but Li Er ignored him. When they arrived at the Cold Palace, he abandoned the physician and said, "You must be cured, or the Emperor will exterminate your entire family."
The imperial physician was startled. He had no time to explain and was about to go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to inform the emperor.
Unfortunately, Yinzhen was furious with Nan Yi. As soon as he saw Li Er, he kicked her out and even declared, "Whether Tong Shi lives or dies is none of my business. From now on, you don't need to report her affairs to me anymore. There is no longer such a person as Consort Zhen in the harem."
"Your Majesty, Her Majesty is truly ill, and the illness is extremely serious. This servant has taken the liberty of summoning the imperial physician for Her Majesty. What do you think...?"
Before Li Er could finish speaking, Yinzhen impatiently interrupted him, "Since the imperial physician has already been summoned, what else is there to do? You are just a criminal woman, wasting my imperial physician's time. Li Er, you acted on your own initiative, what should your punishment be?"
"This servant is guilty, please punish me, Your Majesty, but the Empress is seriously ill, I beg Your Majesty to have mercy." Li Er trembled as he lay prostrate on the ground. He did not understand why the Emperor, who had always cared most about Consort Zhen, was now so cold and heartless.
Consort Zhen is really in bad shape.
Yinzhen waved his hand expressionlessly at Li Er, "Keep an eye on Tong Shi. If she dares to escape, I will punish her for all her crimes. You may leave."
Whether he truly didn't care or was just pretending, Li Er couldn't fathom the Emperor's thoughts, but Consort Zhen's condition was critical, and the Emperor didn't want to get involved.
He was extremely anxious.
Li Yi had disappeared without a trace, leaving him with no one to consult. He was terrified; if anything happened to Consort Zhen, the Emperor would investigate, and he could lose his head.
Fearful and uneasy, Li Er thought it over and over, then turned to find Su Peisheng, the chief eunuch, who also had a lot of worries on his mind.
Xiao Shunzi and Yiren left the palace and did not return for several days. He sent people to search for them in secret, but they could not find any information.
Thinking of the friendship between the three, he originally planned to give them a good scolding once he found them and brought them back, considering the great risks they had taken.
As a result, the two disappeared. No trace of them could be found, either inside or outside the palace. How strange!
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