Chapter 179: Huge Loophole
The doubts of the concubines were a disguised form of support.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor's partiality and disregard for facts would also become a pitfall for themselves.
Concubine Duan said slowly: "I was standing by the rockery on the lakeside to enjoy the scenery. It is the closest to the pavilion in the center of the lake..."
Good location.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor both nodded in approval.
"I saw it clearly. The Imperial Concubine and Concubine Xi entered the pavilion. Songzhi left, and Zhou Ninghai and the maidservant beside Concubine Xi followed closely behind, standing with their backs to the pavilion."
"Xipin knelt at the feet of the Imperial Concubine and said something. The Imperial Concubine stood up. Who knew it would happen at this time?"
Concubine Duan breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Concubine Xi stood up suddenly, and I don't know if she touched the Royal Concubine, but she fell down without any warning."
"What did you say?"
The Queen Mother suspected that she had heard wrongly.
Concubine Li was afraid that Concubine Duan's voice was too quiet, so she said loudly: "Concubine Xi, you knew that the Royal Concubine was pregnant, but you suddenly stood up. Isn't your intention too obvious?"
A voice in the crowd echoed, "The decision on flipping the cards has always been made by the Emperor. How can Concubine Xi resent the Imperial Concubine for this?"
Another person took advantage of the chaos and said, "The Imperial Concubine is pregnant with twins. Isn't this too vicious?"
At this time, Concubine Duan said something useless on behalf of Concubine Xi, "Concubine Xi is young, and perhaps she did not expect such consequences."
All the sounds gathered in Xipin's ears. She looked up and could no longer tell who was talking. Her ears suddenly felt sore.
Buzz——
The heaven and earth were silent, and Concubine Xi suddenly lost her hearing.
Before entering the palace, my mother told me that people in the harem are cannibalistic and I should be careful in everything. It turns out to be true.
She had originally looked at Concubine Duan with great expectations, thinking that she was her life-saving straw, but she did not expect that she would be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
She clearly didn't do anything, so why did everyone - whether they were the imperial concubine, her friends or her enemies - target her?
Xipin wanted to defend herself, but she opened her mouth but no sound came out.
Su Peisheng stepped through the threshold, "Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
"Minister Nian said he had something important to tell you and has already arrived at Yangxin Palace to wait."
What's the important matter?
The emperor glanced at Zhou Ninghai, thinking that he had received the news and was forcing himself to make the decision for his sister.
Before Concubine Duan made her statement, all doubts about the credibility of her words had been raised, and the emperor also made it clear that he believed what she said.
At this time, if he still wanted to favor Concubine Xi, he would have trouble reporting to the Nian family.
"Xipin Niuhulu..."
Before the emperor had finished his sentence, the waiter came in hurriedly, "Oh no! Your Majesty! Oh no!"
In a hurry, Shen Meizhuang forgot that this was the person in front of Yu, and blurted out: "Nonsense! The Royal Concubine is giving birth to a child, who allowed you to talk nonsense?"
The Queen Mother looked at the lady from a prominent family whom she had chosen to enter the palace: Is she also the Imperial Concubine's woman?
The emperor asked impatiently, "What's the matter?"
The young lady knelt on the ground and trembled, "In reply to the emperor, General Nian heard that Concubine Xi had bumped into the Imperial Concubine, so he beat Lord He Ersong at the palace gate!"
"Ama?"
Xipin finally came to her senses. She kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am truly wronged."
"Unfair?" Concubine Jing said kindly, "Concubine Xi means that you didn't stand up in the pavilion, right?"
"I……"
Xipin was now so confused that she couldn't explain herself. "I really didn't mean it. I didn't do it on purpose. I really didn't mean it on purpose..."
"Even if you didn't mean it, the Royal Concubine was frightened by you. You can't deny the blame. You are so useless..."
The emperor was now full of disappointment in her. "Please ask the Empress to inform the six palaces to depose the concubine of the Niuhulu family, strip her of her title, demote her to a noble lady, and confine her to the Yongshou Palace. Wait until the imperial concubine gives birth to a child before making a decision."
Concubine Duan had no intention of severely punishing Concubine Xi, but when she heard the result of this deliberate leniency, her thoughts were the same as the Empress's: disappointment.
As long as it has value, even if it is a heinous crime, people will try every means to keep it.
If they are of no use, they can be dragged out and beaten to death just for saying something wrong.
This is the harem.
This is Royal.
If Niu Hulu wanted to blame anyone, she could only blame the emperor for choosing her as a pawn. She had no choice, and neither did they.
Knowing that it was useless to argue further, Niu Hulu cried and thanked Su Peisheng for his kindness, but was asked to leave.
The Queen Mother turned her head and looked towards the inner hall. She had thought that the Royal Concubine would not give birth for at least ten days. It was so sudden that even the Imperial Physician could not get in.
etc--
"Why is the Imperial Concubine silent?"
Zhang Mi came out again and replied:
"In reply to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress, the Imperial Concubine took a long time to give birth to her first child, and since they are twins, it takes even longer. This is an extremely physically demanding process. For the safety of mother and child, the Imperial Concubine just drank the medicine and is gritting her teeth to endure it."
The lights in the hall were already on, and the empress bowed:
"It's getting late outside. I'm here to watch over you. The Queen Mother is not feeling well. Go back and rest first."
The Queen Mother looked at the Empress, "Your Majesty is kind, I am at ease - Bamboo Breath."
Zhu Xi stretched out his hand to help the empress dowager up, and everyone saw her off respectfully.
"Your Majesty has to attend court early tomorrow. The imperial physician said that it is still unknown when the baby will be born. It is better for you to return to Yangxin Palace first."
The emperor looked at Su Peisheng, and Su Peisheng nodded, meaning that the two young adults and Lord He Ersong were still outside the Yangxin Palace.
In his heart, he was still worried about Nian Shilan, but he had to deal with the things over there.
"Then there is Queen Lao."
The emperor felt a little tired, so he stood up and patted the queen on the shoulder.
After the emperor left, the empress found reasons to drive away all the concubines who could be driven away.
Concubine Jing also wanted to stay here, but the Empress said that the harem must have someone in charge, and she had to keep an eye on the palace for the Empress and the Imperial Concubine.
Only Concubine Cao, Shen Meizhuang and An Lingrong were left in the main hall. Before leaving, Zhen Huan shook Shen Meizhuang's hand and told her to tell Caiyue to go to Suiyuxuan if she had any questions.
The queen went to the inner sanctum.
Behind the screen, Nian Shilan stared at her with a pair of clear eyes:
[Did you ask someone to tell your brother and the others? ]
The queen was still angry at her recklessness and sat on the edge of the bed without giving her any extra glances.
[In my previous life, Nianfu quelled the rebellion at Zhuozi Mountain. My brother mentioned this to me in a letter home, but Lao Deng said that the inner palace and the outer court were secretly communicating with each other and also blamed Su Peisheng. I was not sure whether this plan could succeed, and I did not dare to implicate my brother, so I did not say anything.]
The Queen glared at her: You are not sure whether it will succeed, and you act directly without consulting me.
Are you scared now after knowing it?
Nian Shilan had never needed to read other people's expressions since she was a child, so of course she couldn't understand what the Queen meant.
[You were the one who informed my brother and the others, right? ]
[Right?]
[Right?]
She speaks effortlessly, but her ears suffer.
The queen took a deep breath. It was not convenient for her to speak at the moment, so she cleared her throat as a reply.
The Emperor wanted to conduct an early trial so that he could leave a way out and deal with Concubine Xi before any serious consequences happened to the Imperial Concubine.
If Minister Nian and General Nian had not entered the palace in time, given the emperor's temperament, he would probably use ignorance as an excuse to demote Concubine Xi as it was her first offense.
Not to mention revoking the account, there won’t be house arrest either.
After all, the one who went to Zhuozi Mountain to quell the rebellion this year was not Nian Fu, but He Ersong's son.
The emperor intends to train new military generals and must protect Concubine Xi.
However, Nian's elder brother went to the palace to put pressure on the emperor, and General Nian was so angry that he hurt people, so the emperor had to express his position.
Nian Shilan reached out and tugged at the queen's robe, "Didn't I tell you everything when you came in earlier? Why are you still angry?"
[Could it be that there is a loophole in what I did this time? ]
The queen glared at her: The huge loophole was right in front of her, and she didn’t even notice it?