Chapter 424 Yun Jiaoyue is banished to the Cold Palace
Consort Zhang waved to the outside, and her dowry maid, Granny Zhang, came in, followed by two palace maids and escorting another palace maid.
Granny Cao recognized her goddaughter Yuping at a glance. Her brow twitched. Could it be that this brat had been exposed?
Yu Ping was kicked westward by Zhang Mama and forced to kneel down. "You lowly servant, kneel down now!"
"Consort Zhang, what are you up to now?" Zhao Xuan's tone was somewhat impatient. He rubbed his temples; he already had enough troubles today.
What are they doing getting involved again?
Consort Zhang said, "Your Majesty, I have investigated the origin of that cat. She is a second-class palace maid in the Imperial Concubine's palace, and she said that she bought the cat from outside the palace."
Outside Princess Zhenrou's palace, it was she who secretly mixed an aphrodisiac into the cat's food, causing the cat to go berserk and attack Consort Zhang and several pregnant ladies present.
Consort Zhang and several other concubines who miscarried were from prominent families in the Jiangnan region, with their fathers and brothers holding official positions of the second or third rank.
Consort Zhang threatened Yu Ping with her family members, whose ancestors had been poor farmers for three generations. She couldn't fight against powerful figures, so she didn't dare to gamble. Once threatened, she confessed everything.
"This servant deserves to die! It was Consort Yun and Granny Cao who ordered me to do it. It has nothing to do with me. I know I was wrong. I won't do it again. Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!" Yu Ping kowtowed and begged for mercy in fear. She didn't want to die.
Zhao Xuan's cold, sharp eyes swept over Yun Jiaoyue, "Is what Consort Zhang said true?"
"It's not true. This vile woman framed me. I have never done such a thing. I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
As he spoke, he secretly gave Granny Cao a look.
Granny Cao understood and pounced on Yu Ping, slapping her hard across the face. "Smack!"
"You lowly servant, I've treated you like my own daughter, and the Imperial Concubine has been kind to you as well. How dare you falsely accuse the Imperial Concubine? Has someone promised you something? Tell me honestly, don't drag your family into this for a little bit of profit. It's not worth it, understand?"
Granny Cao looked at him with disappointment, but her words contained a hidden threat.
But what she didn't know was that Consort Zhang acted even faster, having already sent a message to her family outside the palace, taking control of Yu Ping's family and bringing them a token.
So the threat was useless to her and even backfired, causing Yu Ping to expose them.
Yu Ping's lips were bleeding from the beating. She lay on the ground, then got up and raised three fingers to swear, "Your Majesty, I dare to swear to heaven that it was the Noble Consort who instructed me to do this. She kept that wildcat in heat and hid it in a box under my bed. You can send people to search for it."
Zhao Xuan waved his hand, ordering the palace servants to go and search.
A murderous gaze fell upon Yun Jiaoyue.
Yun Jiaoyue trembled in fright, her face turned deathly pale, her legs went weak, and she collapsed into the chair.
It's over, everything is over.
Zhao Furou has also arrived. Today, Zhao Xuan must deal with Yun Jiaoyue to give an explanation to his deceased daughter and to the Fifth Princess.
The Imperial Guards found the medicinal powder under Yu Ping's bed.
Physician Chen opened the powder, brought it close to his nose, and immediately recognized its ingredients. He then handed it to Hua Murong Wen, saying, "Your Majesty, it is indeed a commercially available aphrodisiac that can arouse animals."
Zhao Xuan took a deep breath, his dark, murderous gaze fixed on Yun Jiaoyue. "Consort Yun, the evidence is irrefutable. What else do you have to say?"
"Your Majesty, I..." Yun Jiaoyue still wanted to argue.
Consort Zhang interrupted her sharply, saying, "Your Majesty, if it weren't for Consort Yun's jealousy, my sisters and I would have already given birth to princes for you."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Consort Yun's plot to harm the imperial heir is an unforgivable crime. You must punish her severely, otherwise it will be difficult to elevate her to the throne."
Consort Zhang knelt down, clasped her hands together, and performed a deep bow. "Your Majesty, please severely punish Consort Yun, or I will kneel here forever!"
The other three concubines who had lost their children also knelt down, pleading, "Your Majesty, please severely punish Consort Yun!"
Yun Jiaoyue was still struggling in her death throes. She rushed over, grabbed Zhao Xuan's arm, and shook it, crying with tears streaming down her face. "No, Your Majesty, please listen to my explanation. Someone must have framed me. They must have bribed Yu Ping to frame me. They conspired to bully me!"
Zhao Xuan had long known that she had schemed to cause Su Wan'er's miscarriage, and now four more princes had died at her hands.
She deserves to die!
He raised his hand and shoved her away.
"Ah!" Yun Jiaoyue was thrown into the air, her body crashing into a chair, knocking it over, and rolling twice on the ground.
"Guards, drag that wretched maid Yuping away and beat her to death!"
"Consort Yun harmed the imperial heirs..."
Knowing that Zhao Xuan intended to execute her, Yun Jiaoyue desperately scrambled to her feet and clung to his legs. "Your Majesty, you cannot kill me! I am still useful. I know what happened in my past life and can offer you advice. You cannot kill me! I am your first wife, I endured hardship and suffering with you in exile, yet you did not make me Empress after your ascension to the throne. I felt insecure and made a mistake in a moment of confusion. I know I was wrong, sob sob sob..."
Zhao Xuan wanted to kill her, but considering that she was still useful, he decided to spare her life. "Considering that Consort Yun and I were husband and wife in our youth, and that she has worked hard even if she has not made any great contributions, I have decided to spare her life. However, she may be spared the death penalty, but she cannot escape punishment. She is stripped of her title as a consort, demoted to a commoner, and banished to the Cold Palace. No one is allowed to visit her without my order."
"Your Majesty..." Consort Zhang and the others were indignant. She had so many lives on her hands, why hadn't she been put to death?
It's unfair! They're not having it!
"Enough! I'm tired." Zhao Xuan waved his hand and walked heavily out of the hall.
Consort Zhang couldn't persuade him, and when she turned to look at Yun Jiaoyue, her eyes were filled with intense hatred.
They have plenty of ways to kill Yun Jiaoyue.
Yun Jiaoyue slumped into a chair, her face ashen.
Granny Cao knew that with Yun Jiaoyue gone, her own fate wouldn't be much better, given her past arrogance and reliance on her master's power.
She bullied the other palace servants, and they all hated her to death.
Zhao Furou walked to her side, lowered her eyes and stared disdainfully at the person on the ground, "If you don't want to implicate your family, then end it yourself. Don't force this princess to do it!"
Terrified, Granny Cao turned and knelt before her, kowtowing repeatedly. "Bang, bang, bang!!!" Her forehead slammed heavily against the ground, leaving a large hole and her face covered in blood.
"Princess, spare my life! This old servant deserves to die. It was all the Imperial Concubine who ordered me to do this. I was at most an accomplice, while the Imperial Concubine was the mastermind. The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. Please, Princess, spare my life..."
"Too late!" Zhao Furou replied coldly. She hadn't softened when Zhao Furou begged her before, and now that things were reversed, Zhao Furou wouldn't soften either.
She knew that Consort Zhang would not let Yun Jiaoyue go and would leave her for them to torture slowly.
That wicked servant, Granny Cao, cannot be allowed to live a moment longer.
The Imperial Guards stepped forward to arrest the man.
The stunned Yun Jiaoyue finally reacted, shaking her arms and struggling, screaming, "Let me go! I don't want to go to the Cold Palace! I am a Noble Consort, who dares to touch me! I will report you to the Emperor!"
"I am a Noble Consort, and I am carrying the future Crown Prince. After the Crown Prince is born, I will be the Empress. Let me go..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com