In the small garden, Gu Gege was pretending to tease Hongmin and Hongchen, and whispering to Xiao Fang and Xiao Qi. However, she caught a glimpse of a large group of people out of the corner of her eye, and her legs went weak with fright. She tried her best to calm herself down.
"Mother!" Hongmin and Hongchen rushed into Changning's arms like little birds.
Changning patted their heads and asked with a smile, "What are you doing here?"
Hongmin pointed at Gu Gege, who was kneeling down in a panic: "She pulled us along and performed a magic trick."
Changning sneered, looking at Madam Gu: "Princess Gu, is that it? You can even do magic tricks?"
For some reason, Gu Gege was so frightened that she couldn't say a word. Her legs were weak, and it wasn't that she wanted to kneel, but that she couldn't stand up.
However, she still tried to remain calm: "Yes, I learned a little bit at home before."
Changning clenched her fists, wishing she could knock her teeth out, but considering that her two sons were still there, she asked Granny Zhang to take them back first.
When Hongmin and Hongchen heard Granny Zhang say that she would take them to the slide, they immediately jumped up to the top and followed her happily.
Watching the child's departing figure, Changning then prepared to pack up.
She looked down at Gu Gege, who was kneeling on the ground trembling, and asked with interest, "Weren't you very talkative just now? What are you afraid of?"
"Ah, no, no..." Gu Gege was so frightened that she stammered. She sweared to God that she really hadn't done anything! She had only said a few words when Chun Fujin came over.
Supported by Zhao Fuhai, Changning slowly walked forward, stepping on Gu Gege's hand as she lay on the ground with her flowerpot-shaped foot, causing Gu Gege to cry out in pain.
Does it hurt?
"pain……"
Changning exerted even more force, her voice suddenly rising: "You dare to provoke me even when it hurts?! You truly don't know your place! Do you think people like you dare to mess with the Fucha clan? Zhao Fuhai!"
"Your servant is here!"
"It seems that pulling out Niohuru's tongue last time wasn't enough. Tell me, what should be done with this?"
Gu Gege was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat!
Zhao Fuhai, with a sinister expression, forced a smile and said, "There are plenty of punishments. Princess Gu, would you prefer amputation, having both feet cut off? Or branding with hot irons, climbing onto a charcoal-burning copper pillar? Or being cut in half at the waist, torn apart by five horses? Or being chopped into mincemeat?"
Every time Zhao Fuhai mentioned a type of torture, Gu Gege would tremble. By the time she was made into minced meat, she was so frightened that she lost control of her bladder.
Zhao Fuhai smiled, as if he genuinely wanted to help her: "Gege Gu is a loyal servant of her master, and I'm afraid she wouldn't care about these punishments. Why not use the punishments from the Tang Dynasty? The Jade Maiden Climbing the Ladder would surely be a good match for Gege Gu."
At this point, he kindly explained: "This punishment involves first stripping you completely naked. Then, your hands, feet, and neck are shackled. Next, you will need to climb up a very high wooden platform, one step at a time. And this platform, from low to high, is covered with sharp, barbed wooden sticks."
"You must not struggle while you are walking! If you actively struggle, the shackles on your hands, feet, and neck will tighten automatically. You will then be strangled to death."
At this point, Gu Gege fainted from fright.
Changning sneered, her tone sarcastic: "She dares to be someone's spy, yet she's so cowardly. Her master has really misjudged her."
After saying that, she gave Zhao Fuhai a look. Zhao Fuhai nodded, waved his sleeve, and the four eunuchs behind him carried away the unconscious Lady Gu.
He then looked with a smile at Xiao Fang and Xiao Qi, who were huddled to one side.
"Ladies, which kind of punishment do you prefer? Gu Gege is unlucky; she fainted, so we'll naturally choose a good place for her. What about you two?"
Xiao Fang and Xiao Qi exchanged a glance, then hurriedly kowtowed and blurted out everything like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
"Master, spare my life! This servant... This servant doesn't know who is behind this, but at home, my parents and brothers all obey that person. This servant is of low status and has no power, so I dare not disobey!"
"Me too! I have no one else in my family, just my brother. He asked me to contact Consort Gu. I don't know anything else!"
Xiao Fang and Xiao Qi rushed to open their mouths, afraid that if they were even a second too late, they would be the ones to suffer inhuman torture!
Changning looked at the two people with their faces covered in tears, but felt no emotion whatsoever: "If you're facing any difficulties, you can tell me. Do you think I would mistreat you? Don't tell me you don't think this is treacherous and ungrateful. It's just passing on a message, but if someone with ulterior motives uses this information to make a fuss, can you bear the consequences?"
Changning was too lazy to waste words with them: "I've said it before, Qingzhi Courtyard cannot tolerate traitors. Zhao Fuhai and the others signed death contracts, regardless of life or death."
Zhao Fuhai nodded hurriedly: "Don't worry, Master, this servant will not leave any survivors."
Xiao Fang and Xiao Qi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
When Yinzhen returned home that evening, he heard about the incident, but his expression was not good.
"What's wrong?" Changning asked, noticing his pale face.
Yinzhen sighed and took Changning's hand: "Those two people have covered their tracks too well. The only connection they have is with Guo Luoluo's side."
Is it Consort Yi again?
Changning frowned: "Is this Consort Yi so powerful? Does she have connections everywhere?"
She's just a concubine, isn't she? The Guo Luo Luo clan behind her isn't that powerful either!
Changning didn't believe it. If we're talking about the inner palace, Consort Yi's abilities are beyond question. She's been a favored concubine for many years, one of the four consorts, and has two adult princes.
But outside the palace, she was definitely not this fierce.
Yinzhen shared the same thought: "The Ninth Prince is also on good terms with the Eighth and Tenth Princes. Among their maternal relatives, the Niohuru clan is quite capable of doing this. However, I always feel that there are other people stirring things up inside. The waters in the capital are getting muddier and muddier."
Although Changning knew that the final result would be Yinzhen's ascension to the throne, and that the struggle for the throne among the nine princes was extremely dangerous, the feeling was different from being in the midst of it.
Especially nowadays, many things are different from those in the Qing Dynasty.
The Crown Prince was deposed twice, and the Eighteenth Prince died young. But now the Eighteenth Prince has grown up quite a bit, and Emperor Kangxi no longer takes him with him when he goes to the Rehe Imperial Palace. He also often has the imperial physicians take his pulse.
Will Yinzhen be able to successfully ascend the throne as he did in history?
Changning cannot guarantee it.
But is there any other way?
There is no other way.
The struggle for the throne is fraught with peril, and cannot be escaped with a mere air of leisure.
If someone else ascends the throne, will they still be able to give important positions to the Fucha family? Will my eldest, second, and third brothers, who are full of ambition, have a place to put their talents to use?
How could his own children not be taken advantage of? To depend on others and eke out a living—that's not something the proud and arrogant Hongyan would do.
And then there's Hutuli. With her outstanding abilities, if her father weren't the emperor, she would probably only be sent to pacify the Mongols or be randomly married off. Where would she find a place to showcase her talents?
Therefore, in any case, Changning is on the same side as Yinzhen.
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