Yang's eyes lit up and she nodded.
"You are right. The Queen loves bright flowers the most. The crabapple is beautiful and is the most suitable one to be presented to the Queen. Let's go now."
"Why don't we go to the back of Jingtai Lake? There are weeping crabapples by the lake, and it's close to here." The magpie said with a smile, "I heard that weeping crabapples are best planted alone, and it's best planted by the water. It's known as a beautiful woman reflecting in a green pond."
"I don't understand all those twists and turns. As long as I can make the Queen happy and allow me to see the Second Prince more often, I will be satisfied." Yang lowered her eyes.
Having made up their minds, the master and servant went to Jingtai Lake.
Only about half an hour passed.
The unfamiliar little palace maid knelt down outside Fengqi Palace in panic.
The eunuch guarding the gate wanted to chase her away at will, but when he heard the news she brought, his face changed immediately with shock, and he hurried in to report it.
Finally, it was Suqin who conveyed the message to the Queen.
"My Lady, Yang Wanrong slipped and fell into Jingtai Lake and drowned... drowned."
"What did you say!"
The queen was having lunch at that time. Her hand shook and the hot porridge in the bowl spilled onto her sleeve, which startled her and she stood up suddenly.
In just a moment, I felt a pain in my lower abdomen, my legs went weak, and I fell backwards.
Fortunately, Su'e was quick-witted and supported the person.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. Don't be anxious and don't disturb the fetus!" Nanny Ding hurried over.
For a moment, Fengqi Palace was in chaos.
Fortunately, the queen only felt a little pain and had no other symptoms, so she endured the discomfort and waved her hands.
"Hurry up and prepare the sedan chair. I want to go to Jingtai Lake."
Madam Ding was anxious, "But Madam, the imperial physician said you can't move around casually!"
"Yang died just after the Emperor left. If this wasn't an accident, then someone was deliberately plotting against me. If I don't investigate the matter now, will the Emperor misunderstand that I killed the mother and took the child away?"
The queen's face turned slightly pale, and a fierce light flashed in her eyes.
"Even if they are not targeting me, it is inevitable that someone wants to raise the second prince and kill Yang."
Unable to persuade the Queen, Nanny Ding had to arrange for someone to prepare a sedan chair.
On the other hand, just in case, he asked someone to go to the Imperial Hospital to ask for someone to follow him, and also took two pregnancy-preserving pills before setting off.
It was no small matter for a concubine to fall into the water and drown.
Everywhere soon got the news and followed the queen to Jingtai Lake.
Ye Jun arrived before she had time to have lunch.
I felt a little uncomfortable. This was the third time. Another life was lost.
Yang was the same age as her, only eighteen.
Except for Jin who was sentenced to death by the emperor for assassinating her, the later Liu Cainu, Sun Xiurong and even Yang Wanrong today all died in a confusing way.
If you think about it carefully, we are all at the same age as flowers.
The harem is a place where people are eaten without leaving any bones.
No one knows yet whether Yang's drowning was caused by human error or was just an accident.
Ye Jun tensed his mind and quickened his pace towards Jingtai Lake.
When we arrived, there was already a crowd of people around.
Yang Wanrong's body was placed on a bamboo stretcher, her eyes were closed, her face was as white as paper, her originally rosy lips were now bluish purple, her whole body was wet, and there were some water plants wrapped around her.
Such a lifeless Yang formed a sharp contrast with the several delicate weeping crabapples carefully wrapped in a handkerchief not far away from her.
For a moment, everyone was silent.
"Empress, the magpie has woken up." Su'e said in a low voice.
Jingtai Lake is located in a remote area with few people nearby. After Yang fell into the water, Xi Que couldn't find anyone to rescue her. After shouting several times but no one answered, Xi Que jumped in to save her despite not being able to swim.
As a result, he failed to rescue the person and almost lost his life.
Fortunately, two young eunuchs who were delivering something to Ruyi Pavilion passed by and were able to pull the man out.
But it was too late. Yang Wanrong, who fell in first, had already drowned, but the magpie saved her life.
"Bring her here and tell us what happened." The queen frowned.
Soon, the magpie, who was soaking wet and in a very miserable state, was seen being carried over by two eunuchs.
I haven't taken off my thick clothes in March yet. Now they are wet and the wind is blowing, making me shiver with cold.
Moreover, as he had just escaped death, the magpie was still a little dazed.
The Queen endured the discomfort and interrogated, "Why did you and Yang Wanrong come to Jingtai Lake, and how did she fall in?"
"Pick... pick flowers..." the magpie said weakly.
Concubine Shu couldn't help but speak out, "Why did they pick flowers and put them into the lake? Could someone have deliberately murdered them?"
Having said this, in the crowd, Lin Xiurong tightened her hand holding the handkerchief slightly, glanced at the queen's back, and lowered her head again.
"Shut up!" The Queen felt uncomfortable all over at the moment and did not spare Concubine Shu's face and scolded her in public.
Concubine Shu has always been strong on the outside but weak on the inside. She curled her lips and dared not say anything else.
Concubine Wende, on the other hand, curled her lips indifferently and said, "Concubine Shu, why are you so anxious? Yang Wanrong is the cousin of the Empress. If someone is really plotting to murder her, the Empress will definitely investigate it and will not let Yang Wanrong die in such an unclear way."
The two of them kept talking back and forth, which made the queen feel very annoyed and her stomach suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Fortunately, everyone took into consideration that the queen was pregnant, so no one dared to speak any further.
The Queen ignored Concubine Wende and continued to interrogate Xi Que.
It's also some news.
Yang Wanrong wanted to please the Queen so that she would be allowed to visit the Second Prince more often, so she came to the Jingtai Lake to pick a few weeping crabapples to present to the Queen.
Among them, there was a weeping crabapple that was in perfect bloom, hanging by the lake, but a little too high. Yang Wanrong reached out to pick it, but she lost her balance and stumbled a few times before falling into the lake. Then the magpie called for help but no one responded, so she jumped into the lake to save people, and was rescued by a eunuch who passed by.
The queen summoned the two young eunuchs for interrogation, and everything matched.
No matter how you look at it, this was definitely an accident.
The queen was still suspicious and wanted to continue asking, but Xi Que couldn't hold on and fainted, so she had to give up.
Just when everyone was about to leave, the Queen Mother sent a message to call everyone away.
When the messenger came, the queen's face looked unhappy.
Obviously, he didn't expect the Queen Mother to intervene in this matter.
But it is understandable that the Queen Mother wants to intervene.
Everyone had no choice but to go to the Cining Palace.
As the queen sat in the sedan chair, she felt her stomach becoming more and more uncomfortable. It couldn't be said to be painful, but there was a dull feeling of heaviness.
Fortunately, Nanny Ding had the foresight to bring water and pregnancy-preserving pills.
I quickly fed the queen a pill, and she felt much better.
When we arrived at the Cining Palace, the empress dowager was already sitting in the main hall waiting.
He looked as if he was going to raise an army to hold someone accountable.
After everyone saluted, they sat down according to their ranks.
But it was very awkward. Normally, only people above the rank of Jieyu could come here, so there were not enough seats. Therefore, half of the concubines had to stand.
"Empress, what happened to Yang Wanrong's drowning? The emperor just left and the prince's biological mother died. Is this how you manage the harem for the emperor?"