20demayo Chapter 109 The Legend of Zhen Huan 4
Chapter 109 The Legend of Zhen Huan 4
(I missed updating one chapter yesterday, so I revised and added the content of the second update to chapter 108.)
Yongzheng put down his brush, rubbed his temples wearily, and waited a while before picking up the things Xia Yi had brought him to examine them carefully.
"...Consort Xi formed a clique and plotted to seize the throne. Because Consort Hui was pregnant, she harbored resentment and feared that Consort Hui would give birth to a prince. She ordered her personal maid, Cui Jinxi, to have an affair with the imperial eunuch Su Peisheng, and used Su Peisheng to secretly harm Consort Hui..."
"...Consort Xi, in collusion with Consort Duan, Consort Jing, Consort Ning, Consort Xin, and other concubines, seized control of the harem, eliminating dissidents...Secretly, she conspired with Imperial Physician Wen Shichu and Wei Lin to delay the treatment of Consort Hui, resulting in the deaths of Consort Hui and her child..."
"Consort Xi, Consort Duan, and Imperial Physician Wen Shichu conspired to poison Consort Xiang's medicine, causing Consort Xiang's innocent death...Consort Xi and Consort Duan conspired to burn down Suiyu Pavilion to frame Consort Hua...Zhen Yuandao secretly took Bizhu'er, the daughter of a disgraced official, and used her illegitimate daughter Huanbi as a maid to serve his legitimate daughter..."
"...Consort An used musk to secretly harm the unborn child of Consort Xi...Consort Ning's cat training caused Consort Xi to give birth prematurely..."
All the concubines in the harem, except for the Empress, had all their secrets and weaknesses exposed here.
Xia Yi is truly remarkable. When Yongzheng ordered him to pin Shen Meizhuang's death on Zhen Huan and her group, he not only pinned the blame perfectly but also uncovered past events, including Zhen Yuandao's scandalous affair of taking in the daughter of a disgraced official. This made the confession even more believable.
Although some of this information was secretly released by Yongzheng, it was truly remarkable that he was able to uncover it all and piece it together in a plausible way.
He didn't write a single word about things that shouldn't have been there, such as the affair between Zhen Huan and Prince Guo, or the affair between Shen Meizhuang and Wen Shichu, which showed he was quite perceptive.
Emperor Yongzheng read it through from beginning to end and nodded in satisfaction:
"Well done! You deserve credit!"
Xia Yi quickly bowed and said, "It is all my duty as a servant, and I do not deserve Your Majesty's praise."
"If I say you've worked hard, then you have worked hard. There's no need to be modest!" Yongzheng smiled.
After Xia Yi left, Yongzheng immediately issued an edict to confine Zhen Huan, An Lingrong, Consort Duan, Consort Jing, Consort Ning, and others to their quarters. Their palace servants were taken to the Shenxing Division for strict interrogation, and Wen Shichu and Wei Lin were also taken in for strict interrogation as well.
After the imperial edict was issued, the harem, which should have been shaken, remained very calm. After all, those who were under house arrest were also under house arrest, so there was no chance of any disturbance.
Because the confidantes of Zhen Huan, An Lingrong, Duanfei, Jingfei, Ningpin, and others have all been sent to the Shenxing Division, they now have no one to consult with and are confined to the palace. Helpless, they can only close the door and speculate about what could possibly make the Emperor disregard everything and treat these high-ranking concubines this way.
Zhen Huan was still wondering if it was Consort Qi's report that aroused the Emperor's suspicion, but that couldn't be possible!
Does the Emperor not care about his reputation at all, making such a big fuss about investigating adultery?
Unable to figure it out no matter how hard she tried, Zhen Huan could only pin her hopes on her younger sister, who had been banished from the palace. She hoped her sister would step up and find a way to break the deadlock as soon as possible.
Several insignificant opportunists in the palace, such as Consort Zhen and Consort Kang, although they did not understand what had happened, all quieted down and dared not go out at all, which was equivalent to confining themselves to their homes.
The Empress, however, was extremely uneasy. Zhen Huan and her group were all confined to their quarters, and the palace servants took them away for a thorough investigation. She wanted nothing more than to laugh out loud.
But An Lingrong under her command is the same, which is not good!
An Lingrong is very perceptive and knows many of her secrets. If she were to reveal them, how could An Lingrong remain the empress?
The Empress arrived at Shou Kang Palace in a state of anxiety and told the Empress Dowager about the matter. The Empress Dowager immediately frowned and glared at the Empress: "What exactly did you do this time?"
"Does Your Majesty suspect me? But I really didn't do anything this time!"
The Empress felt very wronged upon hearing this; she truly felt wronged!
Because she really didn't do anything this time!
She was also puzzled by the Emperor's sudden and significant action.
Unfortunately, she had a long criminal record, and the Empress Dowager simply did not believe that this matter had nothing to do with her.
If it wasn't the Empress eliminating dissidents, then was it the Emperor who wanted to wipe out the harem? How could that be?
Having ruled out the correct answer, the Empress Dowager ordered the Empress to kneel down: "Empress, you have already committed enough sins, are you still not willing to stop?"
The Empress was getting tired of explaining; she felt it would have been better if she had done it herself.
"If that's what Your Majesty says, then I have no words to refute it!"
"You know better than I how your sister, Empress Chun Yuan, died!" Seeing that she was still unrepentant, the Empress Dowager directly brought up Empress Chun Yuan to provoke her.
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager mention Chun Yuan, the Empress's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, which she quickly concealed: "You should also know that everything I have done is for the Ulanara family. I have done nothing wrong."
In the past, when the Empress Dowager reprimanded the Empress, the Empress would always appear obedient and respectful, regardless of whether she listened or not. However, this time the Empress Dowager had really hit a nerve, and the Empress Dowager immediately retorted without any politeness.
"madness!"
The Empress Dowager was so angry she was panting heavily: "With such a huge mess in the harem, what good will it do you, the Empress? They've done wrong, so how good will your reputation as Empress be? Besides, the Emperor has suddenly confined them and is interrogating the palace servants carefully. Who knows, one of them might reveal your secrets. What will you do then?"
The Empress Dowager showed no mercy and gave the Empress a severe scolding. The more she scolded, the angrier she became, until she was panting heavily. The Empress looked very aggrieved before the scolding finally ended. The Empress left with a long face.
After lying down for a while and regaining some strength, the Empress Dowager asked Zhu Xi, who was by her side, to invite Emperor Yongzheng.
"Your Majesty, you are not feeling well, you should rest first!" Zhu Xi quickly advised when he saw that she was in pain.
The Empress Dowager coughed twice, her face flushed, and shook her head: "First, Consort Hui had a difficult childbirth, and the matter is still unresolved. Now, all the concubines in the palace are under house arrest. Something serious must have happened in the palace. I am too weak to go, so please ask the Emperor to come over when he has time!"
"Are you worried that Consort Hui and this matter are related to the Empress?" Zhu Xi asked.
"The Empress may not have been responsible for confining several high-ranking concubines, but Consort Hui's matter is definitely related to the Empress!" the Empress Dowager said with absolute certainty.
It's all because the Empress's abortion business was too successful. Even if Shen Meizhuang's difficult childbirth wasn't caused by the Empress, the Empress Dowager firmly believes that the Empress was responsible, but her methods were so clever that no one noticed.
"Go quickly!"
"Yes! This servant will go right away!"