Chapter 427: Not Knowing the Emperor Well Enough
Emperor Defeng glanced at them coldly, with a heavy sense of majesty.
"De Fei, I have always relied on you, but today's incident has truly disappointed me."
De Fei lowered her head even lower, "I am ashamed."
"Why is Xiyan Palace haunted? Investigate this matter thoroughly for me! Although I am old, I am not dead yet! If you dare to play tricks under my nose, I will never forgive you!"
This beating was very severe and hit several people hard in the heart.
Zhao Zhaoyi trembled, her heart filled with regret.
If they had known this, they should not have acted rashly.
I just hope this matter won't affect Lin'er's plans.
Just then, the palace servants that Defei had just sent to search the palace came back.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I found this item in a maid's residence..."
When everyone saw what was on the tray, their expressions suddenly changed.
They were actually two wooden dolls!
It was covered with needles, one of which had the birth date of Concubine Rou written on it, and the other had Xiao Yanci's!
Emperor Defeng's expression suddenly became extremely gloomy.
"This is outrageous! Who is so audacious as to practice witchcraft in the palace?"
"Your Majesty, this thing was found in the room of the maid named Yulan."
Emperor Defeng repeatedly praised her. How could a mere servant dare to murder her master like this? This was obviously impossible.
"Investigate! Make sure to investigate thoroughly!"
He then turned to look at Concubine Hui and Zhao Zhaoyi.
"You two, for not being polite, I'll slap you twenty times!"
The two of them looked very ugly, but since this was the emperor's order, they naturally did not dare to disobey. They could only raise their hands with difficulty and start slapping themselves.
Twenty slaps were not too many, but not too few either. The two men did not dare to hit him too lightly, and soon his cheeks became swollen, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
After they finished fighting, Emperor Defeng spoke again calmly.
"During this period of time, you will be confined to your own palaces to reflect on your actions."
As for the time limit for reflection, he did not say.
It could be a month, a year, or even longer.
Both of them looked dejected.
Especially Zhao Zhaoyi, she felt dizzy and as if the sky was falling.
If she were confined at this juncture, what would outsiders think? Lin'er's original plan would certainly be affected.
Emperor Defeng only punished Concubine Hui and Zhao Zhaoyi. He gave some face to Concubine De, after all, she was an old woman who had followed him for decades.
Although Concubine De was not punished, she still felt ashamed.
"I will thoroughly investigate this matter and restore justice to Imperial Concubine Rou to atone for my mistake today."
Emperor Defeng responded indifferently.
At this time, a weak cough was heard from the bedroom.
Concubine Rou woke up.
Emperor Defeng no longer cared about anything else and immediately stepped inside.
Concubine Rou was thin and pale, but her good looks were still there, and she had a delicate beauty that made me feel pity for her.
Upon seeing Emperor Defeng, Concubine Rou struggled to sit up from the bed, but fell down again weakly.
Emperor Defeng held her hand tenderly and said, "My dear, please don't get up. Just have a good rest."
Concubine Rou looked at Emperor Defeng, and tears instantly rolled down her eyes.
"Your Majesty, you are finally willing to come and see me."
The beauty shed tears, her face tearful, and when Emperor Defeng thought of the injustice she had just suffered, his heart softened.
"I was wrong to neglect you earlier. Your palace is not clean. From today on, you will move to Qionghua Palace."
Concubine Rou showed an expression of surprise and joy, but also a little bit of disbelief.
"Your Majesty, what have I done to deserve this?"
Emperor Defeng shook her hand firmly and said, "If I say you can do it, then you can do it."
Imperial Concubine Rou was touched and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Emperor Defeng said a lot of comforting words before leaving.
Before leaving, he instructed all the servants to ensure that Concubine Rou was sent to Qionghua Palace safely without any mistakes.
Emperor Defeng did not mention a word about the recent correspondence incident, and Concubine Rou seemed to have not heard it at all.
As soon as Emperor Defeng left, Concubine Rou lay back down exhausted.
Her illness is real.
At this moment, my whole body felt weak and my back was covered in sweat.
Jinse came forward to serve her. Concubine Rou looked at the bloody hole on her forehead and showed heartache in her eyes.
"I'm sorry to have wronged you."
Jinse's voice choked with sobs, "The little grievance I've suffered is nothing. The one who's really suffering is you."
Concubine Rou gave her a weak smile, "I endured all this suffering in exchange for the privilege of moving to Qionghua Palace, and also caused those two to be slapped and confined. It was worth it."
Most importantly, she also laid a hidden clue. The clue of the voodoo doll will eventually point to Zhao Zhaoyi.
Zhao Zhaoyi has always been honest and even a little cowardly, but this time, she could no longer keep up the mask of an honest person.
The biggest gain of Concubine Rou's plan was to arouse Emperor Defeng's suspicion towards them mother and son.
As long as Emperor Defeng suspected them mother and son, he would send people to investigate. By then, the grievances against A Ci and the entire Diannan Prefecture would be cleared.
These words could not be spoken, but both the master and the servant understood them in their hearts.
Jinse was still feeling somewhat resentful. "Your Majesty, you should have spoken up yourself just now and made things public, so that Concubine Hui and Zhao Zhaoyi would have suffered even more."
At the beginning, Huipin came to Jinse's aid, and she was very touched.
Unexpectedly, she clearly had evil intentions. The food was tampered with. After eating it, Concubine Rou began to feel unwell, and then she was frightened, which naturally made her condition worse.
Only when Concubine Rou was frightened and fell ill by evil spirits did they have a reason to conduct the search.
Jinse felt that the punishments for Huipin and Zhao Zhaoyi were too light.
If their queen had woken up in time and cried, they would have been punished more severely.
Imperial Concubine Rou shook her head and said, "Jinse, you still don't know the emperor well enough."
Jinse looked puzzled, and Concubine Rou's eyes darkened a little.
"The emperor appears to be on my side, but in reality, he doesn't completely trust me."
Jinse whispered, "Could it be that the Emperor still suspects you and..."
Concubine Rou smiled bitterly, "If the Emperor had no suspicion, why would he interrogate you?"
He must have recognized those letters and objects long ago.
But he pretended not to have done so, and instead took advantage of the situation to interrogate Jinse, hoping to get some inside information out of her.
Whenever he has doubts in his mind, he always tries to find ways to prove them.
No clues will be missed.
"But, those letters were written to you by the Emperor. Apart from that, there is no trace of any other man. The Emperor should trust you."
Concubine Rou shook her head slightly, without commenting.
The mind of an emperor is sometimes as broad as the ocean, but sometimes it is no different from that of an ordinary man, not much bigger than the eye of a needle.
"The Emperor punished them because their words were disrespectful and deeply offended His Majesty. But if I continue to dwell on this matter, I'm afraid the Emperor will only suspect that I orchestrated this."
Under the current circumstances, it would be more advantageous for Concubine Rou to put herself in a weak position.
What she wanted was not for them to suffer such physical pain.
If she could make Emperor Defeng feel pity for her, and he could show more mercy in dealing with the affairs of Southern Yunnan Prefecture, this would be the result that Concubine Rou really wanted to see.
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