Chapter 157 Xu Xiurong's Plan

Idiot, it turns out that you can't have pig teammates in the harem.

Su Jingyao cursed in her heart but remained expressionless.

As the empress, she would protect Kunning Palace strictly.

Concubine Xian is now one of the four concubines and has the third prince. Is she too proud?

Even the handkerchiefs of the palace maids could be used to wrap poison.

"My Lady, now all the evidence points to you. If your maid Bai Zhi cannot explain the origin of the handkerchief, then you will be implicated in the poisoning of Lady Chu."

Su Jingyao looked at Concubine Xian calmly, her eyes were cold and without a trace of emotion.

Concubine Xian also understood what Su Jingyao said, and turned to Bai Zhi and said sharply: "Bai Zhi, where is your handkerchief at the small pond?"

"Master, I once accompanied you for a walk in the lotus pond, and this handkerchief fell into the pond, as you know."

After hearing what Bai Zhi said, Concubine Xian suddenly remembered that it was indeed the case.

Yan Zhaoyi continued to sarcastically say, "Your Majesty, anyone would say such a thing. How can you believe the one-sided words of this palace maid? Who can prove that her handkerchief fell into the lotus pond? Could it be that the murderer happened to see it and then picked up the handkerchief from the lotus pond?"

"If Concubine Xian feels that the handkerchief is not enough evidence, why don't you search the palace?" Yan Zhaoyi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Su Jingyao looked calm, but she was calculating rapidly in her mind.

Concubine Xian can't hide tonight, and a palace search will probably provide more solid evidence.

Yan Zhaoyi is so aggressive, could it be Yan Zhaoyi?

Su Jingyao's gaze lingered on Yan Zhaoyi for a moment, then disappeared in a flash.

Xu Xiurong had been sitting quietly by the side with her eyes lowered, making it difficult to see what she was thinking.

Su Jingyao said in a deep voice: "Princess Xian, what do you have to say?"

Her voice was as cold as the chill wind in the night, causing pain in Concubine Xian's skin.

Concubine Xian calmed down at this point. Even if the palace was searched, the evidence would be more conclusive, so she absolutely could not search the palace.

Her eyes flashed quickly a few times, and then she gave Bai Zhi a direct look.

Now we can only give up Angelica dahurica.

When Bai Zhi saw Concubine Xian's eyes, she instantly remembered that when she was in the Eastern Palace, her master also let the palace maids take the blame.

Her body began to tremble violently involuntarily, like a leaf in the autumn wind, swaying and about to fall.

But there was no other way, as her family members were all slaves in the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion.

Bai Zhi knelt down trembling.

"Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I couldn't stand the fact that Lady Chu ran into the Third Prince intentionally or unintentionally. Lady Chu wanted to take the Third Prince away. I would not allow anyone to take the Third Prince away. It was I who poisoned her. The Master was completely unaware of this. It's all my fault."

Concubine Xian then secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense body relaxed a little.

Then he scolded: "How dare you do such a crazy thing, you little bitch."

Su Jingyao turned to Jun Zechen and said, "Your Majesty, since Bai Zhi has pleaded guilty to murdering a concubine, she should be punished with the most severe punishment. Since Concubine Xian is not strict enough, she should be demoted to a concubine."

"The Queen is fair in her dealings, very good." Jun Zechen nodded slightly with a serious expression.

Concubine Chu died of poisoning, and the Chu family must be given an explanation. Although the Chu family would be dissatisfied if a palace maid took the blame, no one could prove that it was Concubine Xian who ordered it since the palace maid took the blame herself.

Even if the Chu family is dissatisfied, they can only direct their dissatisfaction towards the Pingyang Marquis' Mansion.

At this time, Concubine Bai spoke up: "Your Majesty, if Concubine Xian is demoted to a concubine, then the Third Prince will no longer be raised by Concubine Xian."

There was an imperceptible look of schadenfreude on her face.

Su Jingyao naturally knew that if Concubine Xian could still raise the third prince, the Chu family would be even more resentful and would question her fairness as the queen, so Su Jingyao demoted Concubine Xian to a concubine.

Wasn't the purpose of the person behind this plot to take the Third Prince away from Concubine Xian?

It was indeed cruel enough that he actually killed Lady Chu directly.

Thinking of this, a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes and her lips tightened unconsciously.

"The Third Prince will be temporarily raised by Consort Ming (Princess Yuehui)."

Now that Yuehui has been recovered, Ming Fei is no longer considered a foreign princess, but only a foreign woman, so she can naturally raise the royal heir.

Ming Fei stood up in surprise.

I never thought I could pick up a prince.

"Thank you very much, Queen Mother, for your trust. I will definitely take good care of the Third Prince."

She quickly knelt down to thank him, her face full of joy.

"It's late today, let's go back."

Su Jingyao waved her hand lightly, looking a little tired.

After that, Su Jingyao and Jun Zechen left Yichun Palace side by side.

After all the concubines had left, Yan Zhaoyi and Xu Xiurong slowly stood up, neither moving fast nor slow.

When preparing to leave, Xu Xiurong's gaze fell on the imperial physician who had been standing in the corner with his head lowered silently since His Majesty came in.

There was a hint of doubt in Xu Xiurong's eyes, and his gaze stayed on Doctor Jin for a moment.

Isn't the imperial physician who often treats the empress Imperial Physician Li?

This imperial physician is quite young.

After Xu Xiurong retracted her gaze, she and Yan Zhaoyi slowly walked out, and their figures gradually disappeared into the night.

On the dark path, Yan Zhaoyi and Xu Xiurong walked slowly side by side, their figures looming in the dim moonlight.

Only they could hear the secret words, and the palace maids behind them all took several steps back, not daring to get any closer.

"Did you arrange what happened tonight?"

Yan Zhaoyi tilted her head slightly, with a hint of inquiry in her eyes, and asked softly.

"Yes and no."

The corners of Xu Xiurong's mouth curled up into a meaningful smile, which looked a little eerie in the darkness.

Of course she wouldn't do it herself, someone else did it, and she was just adding fuel to the fire.

In the past one or two years, His Majesty has not entered the harem, so she has been lying in wait quietly.

Xu Xiurong didn't believe that the queen was invincible.

If you want to defeat the enemy, you must know both yourself and the enemy.

Therefore, Xu Xiurong had privately talked with many old people in the Eastern Palace, and even chatted with Concubine Bai occasionally, to understand the actions of the Empress in the Eastern Palace.

The information given to her by Tang Guipin made Xu Xiurong realize that the Queen was not a simple person.

When Xu Xiurong first entered the palace, His Majesty's first wife, Ling, was very favored, so Xu Xiurong went to Ling for help.

At that time, Ling hated the queen, but also felt that she was kind-hearted. Xu Xiurong found this incredible.

Later, when Xu Xiurong talked with Tang Guipin, she learned about her miscarriage and how Tang Guipin and Concubine Xian had conspired to frame Ling, causing Ling to be demoted to a concubine after His Majesty ascended the throne.

Naturally, Concubine Tang at that time would not blame everything on Concubine Su, the empress at that time, because Concubine Su had such a good reputation in the Eastern Palace.

Don't fight or compete, and don't make enemies with anyone.

However, when Xu Xiurong thought about the past from the present, something was wrong.

Whether it was Tang Guipin's Xiaochan or Tang Guipin's scheme against Ling, Concubine Xian was present.

When Lin and Ye were still in power, the relationship between the Queen and Concubine Xian was strained, and Concubine Xian even contradicted the Queen everywhere. Everyone thought that the Queen and Concubine Xian were not on good terms.

But since the empress held power, Concubine Xian never seemed to be at odds with the empress. Not only was she ranked among the four concubines, she also raised the third prince.

Maybe Concubine Xian was already the Queen's person when she was in the Eastern Palace!

Xu Xiurong didn't believe that His Majesty knew that the Queen was in disguise in the East Palace, and what Xu Xiurong wanted to do was to let His Majesty see the true face of the Queen.

But all this was just Xu Xiurong's guess. The Queen was always very careful in her work, and it had been so long since the incident, so she had no evidence.

But if Concubine Xian is the Empress's person, then she must know a lot, so they can only start with her.

A hint of cruelty flashed across Xu Xiurong's eyes.

Then Xu Xiurong said, "Didn't the Yan family want to form an alliance with the Chu family? Now that Miss Chu is dead, the Chu family will no longer have any intention of competing for the third prince. Isn't this just right?"

Her voice was very low, revealing a hint of pride.

Yan Zhaoyi curled his lips and revealed a satisfied smile, "Indeed."