Chapter 194: Turning a Big Issue into a Small One
It is almost inevitable that there will be mistakes.
Xu Lanshan thought to herself with self-deprecation, unless he was willing to disband the Six Palaces, but wouldn’t that be a joke?
Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, Emperor Yuan Yong ordered Nanny An and others to serve her, and then he got up with a cold face and went to the front hall.
The Empress and the other concubines were deeply troubled, knowing that the Emperor was about to settle the score...
In the outer hall, all the concubines knelt on the ground. The atmosphere was extremely depressing.
No one dared to move until the emperor called for it.
The emperor is very angry right now, who dares to offend him?
Emperor Yuan Yong sat down with a cold face. The Empress sat down on the embroidered cushion beside him. Just as she put on a smile, she called out, "Your Majesty—"
Emperor Yuan Yong looked at Dong Zhi and said coldly, "Go and investigate. Thoroughly interrogate those people outside. If no one confesses, then everyone will be punished equally by thirty strokes of the cane and sentenced to hard labor!"
There are more places in the palace where people are punished by hard labor than the laundry department. There are many more tiring and dirty jobs than the laundry department.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Dong Zhi did not dare to be negligent and quickly retreated.
The queen had to swallow half of her words.
The emperor once again refused to let her investigate and asked Dong Zhi to do it. What use was she as the empress then? Not only her, but also the concubine Shu who assisted in the management of the six palaces looked ashamed.
The hall was suddenly silent, and the atmosphere was terribly oppressive. The hearts of the people around were pounding so hard that they could hardly breathe.
The Empress could no longer bear it and stood up and knelt before Emperor Yuan Yong: "I have failed in my duty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Emperor Yuan Yong glanced at her and sneered, "What is the Queen doing? Stand up. This is not the first time the Queen has failed in her duties. I'm used to it!"
The queen's expression changed, "It's my incompetence!"
Emperor Yuan Yong: "The Queen is not incompetent, she is really thoughtful!"
Many times she just turned a blind eye. Emperor Yuan Yong was annoyed, but what could he do?
Could it be that he, as an emperor, was going to manage the harem himself? It was also his negligence that hadn't expected such a thing to happen.
The queen was struck by lightning, so ashamed and angry that she almost wanted to crawl into the ground: "Your Majesty..."
"Okay, get up."
Emperor Yuan Yong's face remained calm. "The Empress and Consort Shu have failed to manage the harem properly. They will be punished with one year's service."
"I thank the emperor for his grace!"
The Queen and Concubine Shu expressed their gratitude.
The Queen got up, but Concubine Shu did not dare to get up.
As for the other kneeling concubines, even though their knees were numb and painful, they had to grit their teeth and endure it, not daring to say a word.
The Emperor was taking his anger out on them! Outside on the corridor, twenty palace maids were already kneeling and shivering. The biting wind was so cold that they were barely frozen, but between life and death, everyone was terrified. How could they care about the cold?
Dong Zhi simply didn't bother looking for another place to go and pressed for more information. It wasn't difficult to find out what exactly caused the accident.
Especially when he said that if no one identified the culprit, everyone would be severely punished, the palace maids were frightened and quickly found out who had stepped on someone first, causing the chaos afterwards.
The maid who was dragged out was called Cui Ling. She was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy: "This servant did not mean to do it! This servant really did not mean to do it. Please spare my life, Eunuch Dong! This servant, this servant suddenly twisted her ankle... Even if this servant had the courage of heaven, she would not dare to murder the Empress Chen!"
Dong Zhi summoned the aunt who was in charge of them and asked her. How could the aunt dare to lie? She told him honestly that despite the word "Ling" in her name, Cui Ling was not a clever girl at all. She was just an honest little maid. She had no grudges with anyone in the palace. She would definitely not dare and had no reason to harm the Concubine Chen.
Dong Zhi glanced at the palace maid who was crying so hard that she was about to hiccup. She didn't look like a smart person.
Dong Zhi had an idea and ordered someone to take off her shoes. When he looked at the soles, he found that they had indeed been tampered with...
Cui Ling was now even more frightened! The aunt's face also turned pale.
This shows that this incident was not an accident, but a conspiracy!
A simple and foolish little palace maid like Cui Ling has become someone else's pawn without realizing it!
Dong Zhi questioned her again, but she knew nothing. He should have told her earlier. Little palace maids like them lived in large bunk beds in a large courtyard with hundreds of people living there. On weekdays, not only the people in the courtyard, but also the palace maids and eunuchs living nearby, came and went freely. If anyone wanted to do something, it would be easy and convenient. There was no way to investigate.
Dong Zhi's face was cold, and he suddenly asked, "Who told you to serve the preserved fruits at that time?"
When this question was asked, everyone was stunned.
Who could have imagined that someone would dare to plot against someone at a palace banquet?
Someone informed us that the aunt in charge had ordered fresh fruit preserves, so everyone started to prepare them. As for who made the notification, does it matter?
It doesn't matter who notified them. They just need to do their job.
Is it possible that there is still someone who dares to talk nonsense?
I just remembered now...
The person who notified them seemed to be a young eunuch whom they didn't know. They didn't pay attention to him and didn't recognize him. In addition, it was dark, and if he deliberately changed his appearance to cover up, they wouldn't even know what he looked like!
Dong Zhi heard them crying and begging for mercy without being able to utter any useful information, and he knew that this was the end of the matter.
There are too many people and they are too diverse, making it difficult to track them down.
It's not that the truth cannot be found out, but it will definitely turn the entire palace upside down and make people panic. Who knows if someone will take the opportunity to secretly cause trouble and fish in troubled waters, making the already unclear matter even more confusing.
If this is true, it is not a good thing for the Empress Chen...
Everyone in the imperial court and harem, from top to bottom, would dislike her, loathe her, and even resent her. Perhaps she would have even more troubles in the future...
Dong Zhi sighed inwardly. The Emperor doted on Concubine Chen too much, unprecedentedly doting on her. One could only imagine the overwhelming resentment and jealousy this had incurred on Concubine Chen...
This is impossible to prevent, something will happen.
Fortunately, Empress Chenfei herself is extremely smart and has avoided countless troubles and disasters. Otherwise... I'm afraid she would have been in big trouble long ago?
Dong Zhi glanced indifferently at the palace maids who were crying, cursing and begging for mercy, then turned around to report.
Emperor Yuan Yong sneered, his face livid. He glanced at the concubines kneeling on the ground in fear and trepidation, his heart filled with disgust.
How could he not think of what Dong Zhi could think of?
Not to mention that Xu Lanshan sent Nanny An out to plead for mercy.
"Your Majesty, the Empress said that this was an accident. Fortunately, she and the unborn child are safe and sound. Please be lenient with those palace maids."
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