Chapter 81: Small Pit and Big Pit

Nian Shilan was as arrogant and domineering as ever, and insisted on having Hongqiu sent to the Ministry of Punishment. Hongqiu was smart enough, and she cried and begged the police to take care of her, saying that she would go to the Ministry of Punishment to accept punishment after her master woke up.

Concubine Qi still remembered the grudge of "Fen Jiao Ni Ji" and questioned: "The incident happened near Yikun Palace, Concubine Hua, don't you have anything to say?"

"What?"

Nian Shilan looked innocent, and suddenly realized, "Oh, I asked Sister Gong to go to Yikun Palace to study tonight, but I didn't let her go alone. Noble Shen was also there, and she just copied some accounts. If Concubine Qi doesn't believe me, I can immediately order someone to bring the accounts to me."

[Sun Miaoqing copied several books, Shen Meizhuang copied several books, and they are all placed in Yikun Palace. I am not lying.]

"Noble Shen?" Concubine Qi immediately looked at Shen Meizhuang, "Noble Shen knew about it, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Shen Meizhuang turned around and squatted on the ground to answer, "It's not that I intentionally concealed it, but I don't know how Sister Gong fell into the water."

The emperor was a little impatient. "What happened tonight?"

"It is I who talk too much."

Shen Meizhuang told her everything that happened tonight, "After reading the account book, I saw that the moonlight outside was just right. I heard that the emperor had added lights to the Qianli Pond, and watching red carp at night is the most beautiful, so I mentioned it. The queen said that she was tired and invited us to watch fish together."

She intentionally omitted a word here, a word that should not be said.

At that time, Nian Shilan thought: "Sun Miaoqing knew that someone would fall into the Qianli Pond, so she must be on guard and would not want to go to the Qianli Pond. How can I lead her there?"

It was after hearing this that Shen Meizhuang started talking about adding lights to Qianli Pond.

"There are several viewing stands at the Senrei Pond. Sister Gong said it was too crowded for everyone to stand together, so she went to a nearby viewing stand to feed the fish."

"Your Highness, a noble lady, stood by the railing and did not come down. The carriage followed, the guards and palace maids stood by. Except for Xiao Shi and Xiao Lezi who went to get fish food, the maids followed us."

At this point, the matter was clear as day, and Shen Meizhuang paused at the right moment.

"I don't know why, but Sister Gong suddenly fell into the water. I was also shocked."

Concubine Qi pondered, "It sounds like it has nothing to do with Concubine Hua."

Nian Shilan rolled her eyes at her, "What does this have to do with me?"

[This idiot thought that I was going to harm her and push her into the water to be eaten by the big fish in the Thousand Carp Pond. She found all kinds of reasons not to stand with me.]

[As a result, I was too nervous and one of my feet slipped and fell into the water.]

[This is called God will punish you for what you have done! 】

The queen understood that someone must have fallen into Qianli Pond in the previous life, and Sun Miaoqing was worried that she would suffer for that person, so... her cleverness backfired.

Sun Miaoqing's hands were on the quilt, and they were about to tear a hole in it.

She had no intention of going to Senrei Pond tonight, and even if she did, she would not go near the water.

It was Songzhi who forced her with words, and Shen Meizhuang seemed to know and not know at the same time, and cooperated intentionally or unintentionally. She could not bear the crime of neglecting Concubine Hua, so she had to go.

Originally, Nian Shilan thought that since there were so many guards and palace people present, she didn't dare to cause trouble openly.

I tried every possible means to guard against it and dodge it, but in the end I ended up slipping.

Fortunately, I knew how to swim in my previous life, so I didn’t drink much water tonight.

Even if the emperor did not believe Shen Meizhuang's words, he had no reason to doubt Nian Shilan's inner voice.

Noblewoman Fucha was more cautious than Concubine Qi, and specifically asked Hongqiu, "Is this really the case?"

With so many eyes watching, if Hong Qi dared to lie, she would be exposed immediately. She buried her head and said, "My lady, it is true."

Now it seems that it was Sun Miaoqing's own carelessness, Shen Meizhuang knew nothing, and Concubine Hua was mainly gloating over the misfortune.

The emperor shook his head and sighed, "It's useless."

He withdrew his gaze from the bed: If she wasn't kept to fight against fate, such a fool would be of no use.

Nian Shilan took the opportunity to speak up and continued to insist on sending Hongqiu to the Ministry of Punishment.

Although Zhen Huan also felt that the punishment was a bit severe, she intended to get close to Concubine Hua, so naturally she would not object at this time.

Concubine Qi and Noble Lady Fucha wanted to help Sun Miaoqing, but they were neither as smart nor as eloquent as Zhen Huan, so it was impossible for them to gain favor from Concubine Hua.

The guards came in and dragged Hongqiu, who shouted "it's unfair" and "spare my life".

Sun Miaoqing could no longer pretend to sleep, she coughed twice.

"Sister Wan, Sister Mei... Your Majesty? Did Hong Qi commit any crime?"

Her acting was very good, she just woke up, confused, and suddenly realized something. Unfortunately, more than half of the people in the palace knew that she was pretending. They watched her quietly as she threw off the quilt and got out of bed, kneeling at the emperor's feet, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Even if Hongju did something inappropriate, it is not a crime that should be punished by the Ministry of Punishment."

"If it is not done this way, it will not be enough to rectify the palace rules. If servants all serve like this in the future, won't the Yu Lake be full of people?"

When Sun Miaoqing heard the familiar words coming out of Nian Shilan's mouth, she thought of what Zhen Huan said, and thought that she would not be able to punish this man tonight!

Not only could she not punish her own people, Sun Miaoqing also wanted to replace the guards of Yikun Palace, which made her unhappy!

"Your Majesty, it is right to reward and punish clearly, but I only have a maidservant named Hongqiu by my side. If she is also sent to the Ministry of Punishment, I will not have a capable person by my side in the future. Your Majesty, I am not guilty of such a crime."

"If you can't even take care of your master, what are you doing staying around?"

Nian Shilan said this as Sun Miaoqing wished, but at this moment, she changed the subject, "But don't worry, sister Gong, the emperor has always favored you. After punishing this useless person, he will naturally choose a good one from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and will not leave sister without anyone to serve her."

At this time, Fu Cha Guiren finally said something useful, "The people sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs are all newcomers. How can they be as easy to use as the old people who have served since childhood?"

Concubine Qi also echoed with a "That's right".

"I remember that the maidservant beside An Danying failed to protect her master and was also punished. At that time, Sister Gong applauded and cheered. Why is it that Sister Gong wants to..."

Nian Shilan blinked her eyes and didn't finish her words, but her meaning was expressed enough.

"Your Majesty is wronged, how could I ever applaud?"

This time Sun Miaoqing is really being wronged.

An Lingrong stood behind the crowd, thinking: The Queen would not confuse right and wrong for no reason. She must have a purpose, so I might as well give it a guess.

She squatted down and said, "To answer the Emperor, Empress, and Concubine Hua, there may be some misunderstanding. When Baojue and Baoque were punished, Concubine Gong spoke for them and did not applaud."

The emperor sat up and glanced at An Lingrong from behind.

Sun Miaoqing nodded repeatedly, "That's right, Baojue and Baojue are diligent in their work, and the other palace maids are talking nonsense. I feel sorry for them being punished, how can I applaud them?"

"Oh~ I blamed you wrongly."

Nian Shilan admitted her mistake immediately, "Baoju and Baoque were punished too severely that time, and I also severely reprimanded Songzhi later. This time, Hongju failed to protect her master. Fortunately, the guards rescued her in time, otherwise who knows what disaster would have happened."

"Since my sister also thinks that Baogui and Baoque are diligent, why not transfer them to my sister's side? They are both familiar people, so I think my sister will feel more at ease when using them."

Sun Miaoqing: “…”

What a long line.

Such a deep pit

How did she come up with these ideas?

When Sun Miaoqing looks at Nian Shilan now, she feels that she is not as shallow as portrayed in the drama. Instead, she seems like a deep abyss that is hard to see through.

Is she still the same person?

The Queen half closed her eyelids, hiding her eyes as she thought: It took so many twists and turns to bring Sun Miaoqing into my hands.