Fuquan has been staying with His Majesty these past few days because Anshun is leading people to investigate the matter of Concubine Chunshu.
Today, Jun Zechen was sitting on the dragon chair in the imperial study, reviewing memorials.
Fuquan hunched his back slightly and spoke respectfully, "Your Majesty, Anshun has something to report regarding Concubine Chunshu."
Jun Zechen paused as he wrote, "Let him in."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Fuquan responded and turned to leave.
A moment later, An Shun walked in respectfully and bowed before the table, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"Get up." Jun Zechen waved his hand.
An Shun stood up and began to report, "Your Majesty, I have interrogated Li Shangfu at the Ministry of Punishment. She said that Concubine Ling instructed her to only pay attention to the Empress Dowager's palace attire, and not to worry too much about the attire of Concubine Chun Shu, An Zhaorong, and other concubines."
He paused and carefully observed His Majesty's reaction.
Jun Zechen frowned, his expression somewhat gloomy.
Because of jealousy, Ling Yue actually personally ordered her subordinates not to care about the concubines' palace costumes. He originally thought that Ling Yue just didn't care, but he never expected that she did it on purpose.
Anshun couldn't tell anything was wrong with His Majesty's expression, so he continued.
"Afterwards, Li Shangfu handed Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress to the palace maids Cuizhu and Cuilan from Yaxiuxuan. The two of them, along with three other embroiderers Jingxin, Jinglin, and Jingxi, worked together to make the dress for Concubine Chun Shu."
Jun Zechen became even more annoyed when he heard this.
Even if Ling Yue was jealous of someone, she should still fulfill her duty. One of the four concubines was treated so lightly by the Shangfu Bureau. Where are the palace rules? Where is the dignity of the superior?
Anshun saw that Jun Zechen looked a little unfriendly, so he didn't dare to say much. He just paused and continued to report.
"Your Majesty, the maid found drowned in the well was Jing Xin. The other four must have known in advance that Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress was poisoned. When I interrogated them at the Ministry of Punishment, they all said they had seen the deceased Jing Xin touch the embroidered palace dress alone."
"But we can't rule out the possibility that Jing Xin is dead and they are throwing all the dirty water on Jing Xin."
Anshun couldn't help but sigh when he said this.
"However, I checked Jing Xin's background. Jing Xin comes from an ordinary family and has simple interpersonal relationships. She doesn't seem like someone who would do something like poisoning a concubine."
His words caused a silence in the hall.
The more Jun Zechen listened, the more annoyed he became.
Although he is the superior and controls the life and death of everyone.
But as an emperor, he maintained the stability of the world and also wanted to provide a relatively fair environment for the world.
However, the struggles in the harem often implicate many innocent people, and because of the powerful family background and status of the concubines, the palace maids are as insignificant as ants to them.
Jun Zechen is a typical example of "the officials are allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps."
He could kill at will, but he could not tolerate the viciousness and cruelty of the concubines in the harem.
"If Jing Xin has nothing to do with this incident, her family should be comforted." Jun Zechen said lightly, his tone calm.
Then, he continued with some impatience, "As for the details, once you've thoroughly investigated them, just report everything and everything. What brings you here today?"
“Your Majesty, I came here today because all the evidence I have found recently points to Shen Ronghua.” An Shun spoke, but his tone was a little hesitant.
The reason why he wanted to lay the groundwork for the previous situation was just to let His Majesty understand what happened, because Anshun himself could not convince himself that Shen Ronghua would do these things.
As an old man in the Eastern Palace, Shen Ronghua really didn’t need to do such a thing after the newcomers entered the palace.
Now that Concubine Ling is under house arrest and Concubine Chunshu has had a miscarriage, the obvious beneficiary is the new concubine. After all, His Majesty had never summoned the old lady of the Eastern Palace before the new concubine entered the palace.
Jun Zechen naturally thought of this as well. He looked at Anshun sharply and motioned him to continue.
An Shun was afraid of missing anything and continued, "Your Majesty, the juice on Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress is from Amaryllis. Amaryllis is rare, and even the imperial physicians have never paid attention to it, nor do they know that its juice is poisonous."
"And Chen Ronghua's maid Yinrong had been injured by the juice of amaryllis before, so she knew that the juice of amaryllis was poisonous."
He paused and continued, "Apart from this reason, Shen Ronghua and Jincheng Lin Ronghua were once close friends. This is something I discovered after investigating Shen Ronghua, because after Lin Ronghua entered the palace, she did not openly interact with Shen Ronghua."
"I originally wanted to continue investigating Lin Ronghua, but if Lin Ronghua was secretly contacting Shen Ronghua, then I need to interrogate Shen Ronghua before I can continue the investigation..."
Anshun became a little conflicted when he said this.
After all, Shen Ronghua is a concubine. If there is a queen in the harem, then the queen can investigate with justification.
But he was a eunuch, and although he served the emperor personally, he still had to ask the emperor for permission if he wanted to interrogate the concubines.
He looked up at His Majesty, whose brows were furrowed and his face was gloomy.
"Your Majesty, do I need..." Anshun spoke cautiously.
“Interrogate Shen Ronghua!”
Jun Zechen interrupted him, his voice icy and cold, "I will get to the bottom of this matter!"
If there is no strict investigation and severe punishment this time, Yaoyao is simple-minded and has never been on guard against others. Now that she is favored in the harem and has the eldest prince, I am afraid that many concubines in the harem will be jealous.
I don’t know what plan he will use next time. Even if he is an emperor, he will sometimes be powerless when facing these women.
Most of his energy is still on the former dynasty, and it is impossible for him to put too much thought into the harem.
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