nashuaworldcup Chapter 203 Self-rescue
Chapter 203 Self-rescue
The Moon-Opening Cloud Pavilion.
The bedroom was in a mess. The queen was sitting on the couch, breathing heavily, and Jianqiu gently massaged her temples.
"Your Majesty, please calm down and take care of yourself!"
The Queen's eyes burned with rage. "Your Majesty, this is a slap in my face! A Royal Consort, yet the funeral is so grand, even the Prince has to mourn. Isn't this the same as the Queen Mother's passing?"
Jianqiu quickly comforted her, "May your Majesty be in good health and live a long and peaceful life. You must not say such unlucky words!"
Seeing that her expression was still as gloomy as water, with no sign of softening, Jianqiu hurriedly spoke up again, "Your Majesty, even if the funeral is grand, what's the point! Concubine Hua has passed away. Without her to constantly confront you, Your Majesty can rest easy from now on!"
Hearing this, the Queen's expression softened slightly, but then she frowned again and said indignantly, "Hmph, Nian Shilan is already dead, yet she still won't let me go. She insisted on disgusting me before she died! How could her poisoning be inexplicably linked to me?"
Jianqiu was immediately troubled when she heard this. After a moment's hesitation, she replied, "Your Majesty, the duck soup was indeed prepared in our small kitchen and sent to Qingliang Palace. However, those two young eunuchs are now dead, and without evidence, we have no way to investigate!"
Upon hearing this, the queen became even more angry. She suddenly raised her hand and slammed it hard on the small table beside her. There was a "bang" sound, and the teacup on the table began to shake.
Her eyes widened in anger as she sternly shouted, "Even if there's no way to investigate, you have to do it! I must give His Majesty a satisfactory explanation of this matter, otherwise my entire reputation will be ruined by her!"
Having said that, the queen also knew that it would be difficult to investigate this matter.
"Isn't Hua Fei's death too strange?" the Queen murmured.
There is something weird about this matter.
Since arriving at the Old Summer Palace, Concubine Hua has been ill. Only a month later, during this period, Nian Gengyao was dismissed from office and stripped of his title, but at least she survived. Although the Nian family's power was not as great as before, it also made the emperor feel more at ease. With Nian Gengyao around, Concubine Hua would be able to stand firm. However, she was poisoned to death so easily.
Once a powerful and influential concubine, Concubine Hua now lacks the support of her powerful family background. The Emperor's favor towards her is no longer as strong as before. Furthermore, she is unable to bear children, a fatal weakness for women in the harem. With her no longer a threat, why would he choose to poison her at this critical moment?
"Could it be Wanpin?" The Queen tried to calm herself down and began to carefully analyze the situation. "The three of them shouldn't be so stupid. Poisoning Nian Shilan would solve the problem once and for all, but if the Emperor investigated, even if one of them is a favorite concubine and the other has a prince, they wouldn't be able to withstand the Emperor's wrath. It's unlikely that they did it!"
Hearing what the Queen said, Jianqiu blurted out without thinking: "Since it's not them, then the only one left is Concubine Hua herself!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the queen was startled and quickly turned to look at Jianqiu.
The two looked at each other, and Jianqiu quickly lowered his head.
"Hua Fei, Hua Fei..." The Queen murmured, her lips moving slightly, "The death of Hua Fei has completely saved the Nian family!"
If that's the case, then this matter is most likely the work of Concubine Hua herself!
In order to protect the Nian family, Concubine Hua was willing to sacrifice her own life. Isn't this too unbelievable?
Unless she is about to die!
If she knew Huan Yixiang's secret, then everything would be explained!
Thinking of this, the queen couldn't help but frown.
"There's no need to investigate further!" Suddenly, the Queen raised her head, her eyes blazing with anger as she gritted her teeth and said, "I'm afraid this was planned and carried out by Concubine Hua herself! Now that Songzhi is dead, the relevant evidence may have been completely disposed of. Even if we can really find out that she is Concubine Hua, given the Emperor's current state of mind, I'm afraid he will only think that I deliberately fabricated lies to frame her in order to get rid of the blame. How could the Emperor today allow anyone to say a single unpleasant word about his beloved Concubine Hua? The more we investigate, the more trouble we'll get into."
This is also the reason why An Lingrong dared to put the blame on the Queen.
After hearing what the Empress said, Jianqiu couldn't help but look anxious, and her tone became hurried, "What should we do then? Is the Empress going to admit this crime?"
"This is a serious crime. How could it be brought against me?" The Queen pondered for a moment, then looked at Jianqiu sharply and asked, "What's going on with Concubine Hui and Concubine Wan?"
Jianqiu quickly replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, Concubine Hui spends her days praying for blessings and taking care of palace affairs. Concubine Wan is pregnant and only goes there for an hour each day. The rest of the time she spends at the Bitong Academy nursing her pregnancy. Your Majesty has been visiting quite frequently lately."
Then, Jianqiu paused, lowered her voice slightly, and added, "As for Lady Wen, she has caught a cold. She goes to pray for blessings every day, but she stays in the palace to rest!"
After hearing Jianqiu's report, the Queen couldn't help but sigh softly, thinking to herself, these three women are more meticulous than the other. Finding flaws in them and taking action will probably not be easy... Thinking of this, the Queen narrowed her eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked again, "What about Concubine Qi?"
Jian Qiu replied, "Your Majesty, Concubine Qi goes to pray for blessings every day as usual, but there is not a trace of sadness on her face. She is also very happy back in her palace and doesn't even bother to pretend!"
The Queen finally smiled. "I remember that before Concubine Hua passed away, she slapped her. She was really resentful of Concubine Hua. Now that Concubine Hua is gone, she is the leader of all the concubines. Naturally, she is very proud."
"What do you mean, empress?"
"I've been casting this net for over a decade now, and now it's time to reel it in. Even though I only caught a small fish, it's still better than nothing!"
"What is your Majesty going to do?"
The Queen thought for a moment and revealed a confident look: "She is a good mother. She values her son more than her own life. If she knew that Hua Fei's death was related to her son, she would definitely be eager to help him confess the crime!"
"I understand. I'll do it right away!"
"Be careful, don't leave any loopholes!"
"Yes!"