latelenovela Chapter 296 The Emperor’s Will
Chapter 296 The Emperor’s Will
"The Queen and Concubine Wen, Concubine Gui, Concubine Xiao, Concubine Rou, or... Concubine Xue!"
Ruoli was more confused the more she listened: "But didn't today's incident involve Concubine Wen, Concubine Gui, and Concubine Rou? They almost became the murderer, so how could they be the one who planned it?"
"You know it was close."
Concubine Liang put down the teacup in her hand heavily: "No risk, no gain. They almost became the murderer, but if the murderer is finally found out to be me, no one will suspect them!"
Ruoli was shocked when she heard this, but after thinking about it, it made sense: "The remaining ones are Concubine Xiao and Concubine Xue..."
"Empress Xiao has a prince, so she may have ambitions to become the empress. It makes sense that she regards you as an enemy."
"But Concubine Xue... doesn't she never get involved in the fights between the concubines? How could she be so cunning..."
Concubine Liang looked at the closed palace gate and said in a deep voice: "How many women in the harem are consistent in their appearance and inner self? How do you know that Concubine Xue's cold and unworldly appearance is not a disguise she deliberately displays?"
Ruoli thought about it again and felt that it was true.
After all, before today, everyone thought that the queen was a rare good person...
Of course, she only dared to complain about this in her heart and never said it out loud.
Ruoli said worriedly, "My queen, after this incident, your reputation in the harem is no longer as good as before. If His Majesty doesn't change his mind, you will never be able to leave Changchun Palace. What should we do now?"
Concubine Liang was also anxious, but was being anxious useful?
Her father taught her that she should stay calm and deal with any problem she encountered.
"The person behind the scenes is so clever. Now that I am behind bars, it may not be easy to find him. We can only investigate the people involved and find clues!"
Ruoli's eyes were filled with worry. "But all the palace servants involved were executed by His Majesty. Not only was Zhang Yuanqing beaten to death, but the Zhang family was also implicated and banished from the capital by His Majesty. Where should we start the investigation?"
Concubine Liang stood up and walked to the desk: "Although my father has retired, my brother and uncle are still serving in the court. They are on a tour of inspection and are not in the capital. It is a good opportunity for us to secretly investigate the Zhang family."
"I don't believe that Zhang Yuanqing is willing to risk his life to slander me. There is no inside story. As long as we find the reason in the Zhang family, we can find out the person behind it and prove my innocence."
"I will write a letter right now, and you have someone to quietly send it out of the palace."
Ruoli nodded quickly: "Yes!"
Fortunately, although they were both imprisoned, Changchun Palace and Kunning Palace were different.
The Kunning Palace was sealed off by His Majesty's decree, and no one, from the Empress to the palace servants, was allowed to set foot outside.
In Changchun Palace, only the Empress was not allowed to go out, while the palace maids were still free.
……
Zhongcui Palace.
As soon as Shen Zhinian and his group returned, Xiao Huizi arrived.
"Your servant pays respects to Concubine Rou, may the queen be blessed with good health!"
Shen Zhinian sat down on the soft chair and looked up at him: "It's so late, why are you here?"
Because of his young age, little Huizi was not as fawning as the old foxes in the palace. He showed a simple and clear smile and handed over the basket in his hand.
"Replying to Madam Roupin, it was His Majesty who asked me to bring the things in here to you."
Fuqiu took the basket, lifted the cloth covering it, and saw red berries as fresh as rubies.
Handan was surprised and said, "I heard that Dandong only paid tribute to two small baskets of cranberries this year. One basket is in the Yangxin Palace and the other is in the Cining Palace. Your Majesty, are you sending all the cranberries from the Yangxin Palace?"
Xiao Huizi smiled and said, "Your Majesty saw that the queen ate a few more cranberries at the palace banquet, so he did this. It can be seen that His Majesty is very concerned about the queen and the royal heir!"
Of course Xiao Huizi could not have thought of this, it was his master who taught him this.
Master said, although there are so many favorite concubines in the palace, the one that His Majesty really cares about is probably only Concubine Rou. It's always a good idea to please Concubine Rou more!
That's why the master didn't ask anyone else to run errands, but asked him to come over.
Although Shen Zhinian would not be so moved by a man sending a basket of tribute, the emperor's behavior at least showed that while he was planning to get rid of the Zhenguo Mansion, he did not forget to care about her and the child.
Shen Zhinian's eyes fell on the basket of delicious and tempting cranberries, and the corners of his lips curved slightly.
But she remembered her current personality, that of a poor woman who watched her beloved man fall in love with another woman.
So, in front of Xiao Huizi, Shen Zhinian could not hide the sadness in her eyes, but she still forced a smile and said, "I know, you thank His Majesty for me."
Fuqiu skillfully handed over the generous reward.
"I obey your command. Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"
After leaving Zhongcui Palace, Xiao Huizi sighed.
Aside from her generosity every time, Concubine Rou looked like a fairy from heaven, and he dared not look at her for too long. How could such a fairy be sad?
Xiao Huizi couldn't figure it out, he just knew that no matter what His Majesty asked, he had to report truthfully.
……
"Miss."
Handan asked curiously, "You were wronged at the palace banquet, and His Majesty specially asked Xiao Huizi to send red berries over. Will he come to see you tonight?"
Red berries can't be kept for long, Shen Zhinian asked Fuqiu to wash them all, picked up one and ate it: "No need to wait, His Majesty will not come tonight."
After all, the person the emperor "loves" the most is Concubine Wen, and he even sent her to the position of Concubine despite the opposition of the concubines in the harem and the civil and military officials in the court. So why would he come to Zhongcui Palace on the first night of Concubine Wen's appointment as Concubine?
Handan and the others looked at each other and did not continue the topic, for fear of upsetting the Empress.
Little did she know... Shen Zhinian was not sad at all, all her thoughts were on reviewing what happened tonight.
Glancing at the cranberries on the plate, she said calmly, "Share these among you."
The confidants were flattered!
"My lady, how can this be..."
How could the servants eat the tribute that even the Empress and the Imperial Concubine did not have in their palaces?
"I have already eaten my fill at the palace banquet, and I can't finish the remaining cranberries. They will go bad by tomorrow."
Only then did Handan and the others smile happily and say, "Hehe...then we servants will not be polite!"
Feeling the cheerful atmosphere in the room, even the old-fashioned Madam Xiao was somewhat infected.
Handan stuffed a cranberry into her hand and said, "Mammy, please try it. This is a token of His Majesty's love. We can't waste it."
For some reason, Madam Xiao felt her neck was a little cold...
Forget it, forget it. Anyway, they won’t tell anyone and Your Majesty won’t know about it.
She was originally the most disciplined person, but she didn't know when it started, but she was almost led astray by these little rascals in Zhongcui Palace.