bayedsolid Chapter 79 Paying Tribute to the Imperial Concubine
Chapter 79 Paying Tribute to the Imperial Concubine
Inside the Zichen Palace, the lights were dazzling, as bright as day.
The little eunuch lay prostrate on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"
"Speak, why did you offer sacrifices to Consort Chu in the dead of night?" Pei Yuanling sat at the head of the table, looking down at him, and asked in a cold voice.
The young eunuch was startled by his gaze and trembled in fear. He dared not hide anything any longer: "Your Majesty, I am the night watchman at Yusui Pavilion near the Cold Palace."
"On the night Consort Chu passed away, it happened to be my turn to be on duty. I saw a furtive eunuch heading towards the Cold Palace, and out of curiosity, I followed him."
He paused, his expression filled with fear: "This servant tiptoed outside the door, and...and saw...saw the Imperial Concubine being poisoned by that eunuch..."
Pei Yuanling's heart skipped a beat; it really was poison.
His voice was indeed poisoned to death.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xun, who was waiting nearby, couldn't help but change his expression. The famous Consort Chu, who was favored by the emperor and whose reputation was known throughout the capital, had actually been poisoned...
"Why didn't you report it afterwards?" Pei Yuanling asked coldly, barely suppressing his overwhelming anger.
"Your Majesty, I was terrified at the time, and I was afraid of getting into trouble. Moreover, after you announced that the Consort had died of illness, I dared not report this matter again."
"Your Majesty, please spare me! This servant truly did not mean to conceal anything."
The little eunuch then suddenly prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Seeing his gruesome appearance with blood seeping from his forehead, Pei Yuanling's expression turned cold: "Tell me, who poisoned Consort Chu!"
"That...that person was masked, I couldn't see clearly."
The young eunuch spoke in a trembling voice, then tried hard to recall what he had seen. Suddenly, he looked up at the emperor on the dragon throne and said, "That's right! This servant remembers that the young eunuch fled in the direction of the Western Six Palaces."
Western Six Palaces?
Isn't that the direction where Consort Wei and Consort Ning reside, namely Shuhua Palace and Luoxing Hall?
Could this matter be related to Wei Yiqiu again?
Thinking of this, Pei Yuanling coldly ordered, "Chen Xun, this matter is your responsibility. You must find out the mastermind behind the murder of the Imperial Concubine."
"Yes." Chen Xun clasped his hands in a fist salute, accepted the order, and left.
The next morning, as soon as Chu Qingyin woke up, she heard that the patrolling guards had caught a young eunuch from the Cold Palace who had been secretly offering sacrifices to Consort Chu the previous night.
"A little eunuch? The one I ordered you to find?"
Chu Qingyin looked at Kang Luhai in confusion, but Kang Luhai shook his head: "Xiao Dezi is a eunuch of Yu Suixuan, and his appearance and figure are completely different from the one Your Majesty is looking for."
Hearing this, Chu Qingyin was somewhat disappointed, but not entirely discouraged.
But she always felt that the little eunuch's actions were not just about a simple memorial service.
Thinking of this, she looked at Kang Luhai again and instructed, "Go and find out why this Xiao Dezi is offering sacrifices to the Imperial Concubine in the middle of the night?"
Although Kang Luhai was puzzled, he still accepted the order and left.
As soon as he left, Xianglan walked in from outside, her face beaming with joy: "Your Highness, Master has brought you a letter from home."
A letter from home? Is it news from my brother?
Chu Qingyin eagerly took the letter, then glanced at Yu Yan standing beside her. She waved her hand, signaling Yu Yan to step back.
Chu Qingyin only opened it after Yu Yan left.
The letter was written in a strong and elegant hand: "Chu Tianheng is safe and sound. Zhang Cheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, is thoroughly investigating this case, and there may be a turning point."
Just two lines of text brought tears to Chu Qingyin's eyes.
Brother, you've suffered so much.
Don't worry, I will get you out of prison as soon as possible.
"Your Majesty, why are you crying?"
Xianglan noticed her mistress's tear-filled eyes and couldn't help but worry, "Has something happened in the manor?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin immediately raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face: "It's nothing, I just saw the letter from home and it made me miss home a little."
"Your Majesty, do not be sad. You are so favored. After some time, you can ask for permission to leave the palace to visit your family. I think His Majesty will not refuse."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin was immediately overjoyed.
Yeah, how come she didn't think of that?
When the late emperor was alive, once a concubine entered the palace, she could never return home for the rest of her life. Even if a relative passed away, she had to ask the empress for permission before she could meet her relative at the palace gate.
However, after Pei Yuanling ascended the throne, he was obviously much more lenient in this regard, and the concubines had the opportunity to go home every year, but of course there was a prerequisite—being favored.
If we can get out of the palace and contact the old Chu family members, we won't have to worry about how to rescue my brother.
Thinking of this, Chu Qingyin immediately beckoned Yu Yan in and asked her to send a message to Zichen Palace, inviting His Majesty to dine there that night.
Seeing her mistress's smile return, Xianglan felt gratified.
She's willing to do anything as long as she can see the girl happy.
Meanwhile, inside the study of the Lu residence.
Chen Xun was ordered to investigate the murder of Consort Chu and was unable to extricate himself from the situation.
So he sought out Qinglan and, through Madam Lu's connections, relayed the palace's movements to the Lu residence.
As Lu Zhiheng looked at the letter Chen Xun had sent from the palace, the image of the woman's pale face in the cold palace that day flashed through his mind. He also recalled her earlier mention of dreaming about Consort Chu's wrongful death. All these signs seemed to come together at this moment.
Could it really be that the Imperial Concubine appeared to her in a dream, asking her to help find out the truth?
Realizing this possibility, he frowned deeply, his eyes darkening further.
Perhaps he should also investigate this 'Consort Chu' properly.
Although the matter was highly confidential, Pei Yuanling had strictly ordered that it not be made public. However, news of Chen Xun's investigation into the murder of Consort Chu still spread quickly to the Phoenix Palace.
Empress Wang lowered her eyes to look at Lin Qing below, a smile appearing on her dignified and calm face: "Since His Majesty has already investigated Wei Yiqiu, we might as well add fuel to the fire."
"What does Your Majesty mean?"
"Didn't His Majesty send Chen Xun to secretly investigate this case? If the news gets out of Shuhua Palace, there will definitely be some commotion." Empress Wang said calmly, a ruthless glint flashing in her cold eyes.
Lin Qing immediately understood and bowed with a smile: "Yes, this servant will take care of it right away."
Inside Shuhua Palace.
Upon hearing the palace servants' report, Wei Yiqiu immediately smashed all the newly replaced porcelain vases in the hall in a fit of rage.
She glared fiercely at Zhou Baojin: "Didn't you say that you handled that matter extremely discreetly, so that no one would find out?"
Zhou Baojin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said sheepishly, "Yes, this servant was indeed very careful and made sure that no mistakes were made..."
"Still trying to argue!"
Wei Yiqiu retorted, "If there were truly no flaws, why would His Majesty suddenly order a reinvestigation of Chu Qingyin's poisoning case?"
Zhou Baojin was also shocked: "This servant...this servant didn't know either..."
"I don't know, I don't know. What else can you do besides not know? What is my father doing sending you to my side?"
As she spoke, Wei Yiqiu stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Baojin's collar, her beautiful face now contorted with rage: "I'm telling you, no matter what method you use, get to the bottom of this quickly. If I'm in trouble, you won't get away with it either!"
"Yes...yes, this servant obeys."
After Zhou Baojin retreated tremblingly, Consort Shu immediately ordered the palace servants to invite Consort Ning.
"Greetings, Consort Wei!" Consort Ning bowed respectfully to Wei Yiqiu.
Wei Yiqiu dismissed the palace servants serving her and pulled Consort Ning closer, looking at her with affection: "Sister, you've finally arrived."
A hint of surprise flashed in Consort Ning's eyes, but she smiled and said, "I'm sorry to have kept Your Highness waiting. It's my fault."
"Between you and me, sisters, there's no need for formalities."
As Wei Yiqiu spoke, she sighed again and looked at Consort Ning with a worried expression: "Sister, I have always been frank with you. I will not hide from you today that I have called you here because I have something important to discuss with you."
Consort Ning had a vague idea of what it was about, but she pretended not to know and asked in confusion, "What is it?"
Do you still remember what I told you last time?
As Wei Yiqiu spoke, she leaned forward and lowered her voice: "The medicine we've been waiting for is finally ready. Now it's your turn, little sister."
Consort Ning panicked and wanted to refuse, "Your Majesty, this matter...should we reconsider?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Yiqiu's face suddenly turned cold, and her beautiful eyes narrowed: "Do you perhaps want to go back on your word?"
"This concubine wouldn't dare!"
"Then do as I command."
Wei Yiqiu gripped Consort Ning's hand tightly, a haughty smile curving her crimson lips: "Don't worry, with me here, you'll be safe and sound."