"You are talking nonsense. Stop slandering me. Who bribed you to frame me?"
Concubine Zhao became anxious, and hurriedly stood up from the crowd and slapped Xi Que in the face.
"Hold her for me!" Concubine Shu said in a low voice.
Immediately, two palace maids came forward, held down Concubine Zhao, and forced her to kneel on the ground.
It was rare for Concubine Wende to unite with Concubine Shu. Her eyebrows were stern. "You dare to be so presumptuous in front of the Queen Mother. Who knows how rampant you will be behind her back!"
"Empress Dowager, as the saying goes, a person's body is not afraid of his shadow. Zhao's reaction is so violent that I think there must be something wrong." Lin Xiurong also said.
Now it's like everyone is pushing down the wall when it falls.
The queen had a miscarriage and couldn't come out, so these minions who caught the queen wanted to chop them to death.
Zhao had done a lot for the Queen over the years, and she had a sharp tongue and was always trying to stir up trouble, so she had offended quite a few people.
Anyway, at this juncture, no one stood up to speak for her.
The empress dowager frowned and ordered people to bring up the purse containing the silver. She also ordered people to search several embroidered items from Concubine Zhao and her maids.
This is to compare the pins.
"Fuzhi, take a closer look. This purse is made with the same craftsmanship as any other one."
Everyone looked over there, not daring to breathe.
When she was young, Nanny Fu was an excellent embroidery worker. It was because of this skill that the Empress Dowager valued her and retained her. Comparing these things is not difficult at all.
After just a few careful glances, I recognized it.
"Your Majesty, this purse is made by Du Juan."
"Zhao, what else can you deny?" Concubine Shu spoke impatiently.
Those eyes were shining with brilliance, as if staring at prey, and he wished he could execute Concubine Zhao on the spot.
"No, Queen Mother, I know nothing. It must be this lowly maid who deceived her superiors and did this. Yang is the Queen Mother's cousin. How could I harm her?"
Concubine Zhao hurriedly explained, but her words were full of loopholes and no one believed her.
How could a maidservant beside a concubine possibly afford fifty taels of silver to bribe another maidservant
Du Juan, who was pushed out by Zhao to take the blame, was also panicked at this moment. He opened his eyes wide in disbelief and opened his mouth again and again, but in the end he did not dare to say anything to shirk responsibility.
But there was obviously something wrong with her expression. The Queen Mother snorted coldly and ordered people to arrest Du Juan.
"I'll give you a chance to tell the truth. If you're sensible, I'll keep your body intact. If you don't care, think about your family!"
Those who were allowed to serve in the palace had all had their backgrounds carefully checked. The palace had records of where their family members were and how many there were, making it very convenient to check.
Dujuan gritted her teeth but still said nothing.
Concubine Wende's gaze turned and fell on Dingxiang, another senior palace maid standing beside Zhao.
"You follow Concubine Zhao, so you must know nothing about this, right? Was it Zhao who instructed Du Juan to do this? If you know about it but don't report it, and it's discovered, you will be charged with the crime of exterminating your entire family!"
Obviously Dingxiang didn't expect that this matter would be brought up on her, and she was panicked for a moment.
The Zhao family has always relied on Dujuan more, and Dingxiang's relationship with her master and servant is not as deep as theirs. After being threatened for a while, she told everything out.
"Although I don't know the whole story, the Concubine did intentionally let Dujuan and Xique meet. The two of them have a good relationship and often go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get their share of the allowance. The Concubine also... was indignant many times behind her back, saying that she had followed the Queen for many years but didn't even have a concubine position. If Yang Wanrong gave birth to a prince, she would probably be the prince in two years."
This time, Concubine Zhao's guilt was completely confirmed.
No matter how much Zhao cried out for injustice and refused to admit her guilt, the empress dowager could not bear it anymore and ordered her to be demoted to a commoner and sent to the cold palace, to be dealt with later after the emperor returned to the palace.
It was just the crime of murdering a concubine, and I guess the emperor would sentence her to death when he returned.
This time, the Queen was completely betrayed by her stupid teammates.
The two chess pieces were at odds, and in the end the queen lost her left and right arms.
From the Qiandi to the palace, Concubine Zhao gave the empress a lot of advice, so it was not easy for the empress to train another one.
As for why Lin Xiurong took action against Concubine Zhao, that is also easy to understand.
The elders all knew how Lin's child died, and Zhao had always been giving advice to the queen, so it was possible that she was not involved.
No matter what, everyone is happy to see the consequences of the infighting between the Zhao and Yang families.
After coming out of the Cining Palace, Concubine Wende was not in a hurry to leave.
She discussed this with Concubine Shu very attentively, "This matter is indeed serious. Zhao murdered the Empress's cousin and the second prince's biological mother. She deserves death. Although the Queen Mother has already made a decision, it would be better to inform the Empress. What do you think, Concubine Shu?"
"What Defei said makes sense. This is a serious matter and we must report it." Shufei curled her lips and smiled, and then instructed Xiangluo beside her, "You go to Fengqi Palace and talk to the Empress about this case in detail. There must be no omissions."
"Don't worry, your majesty. I won't have to worry about it." Xiangluo bowed and left very quickly.
Ye Jun didn't want to get involved, so he just took a shortcut back when no one saw him.
I felt a little sympathy for the queen for a few seconds.
Just a few days after the miscarriage, I was told that there was a internal fight among my own people, and in the end I was reported by others. I lost everything and must have been furious.
If you spend this short period of confinement, you might end up with some illness.
As expected, when Xiangluo went to Fengqi Palace, the Queen became so angry that she smashed the medicine bowl.
"Fool, what an idiot! Didn't I promise to let her become one of the Nine Concubines next year? Why are you in such a hurry now?"
Blood rushed to the top of the queen's head and she felt a splitting headache. She leaned on the pillow, breathing heavily, her face pale.
Concubine Zhao's action was totally unexpected and completely disrupted the Queen's plan.
She had planned to promote both Zhao and Yang next year, and if there was a new baby born from a poor family background, she would ask Zhao to take the baby away. In this way, she would have two concubines with royal heirs under her command.
Who would have thought that Zhao was so jealous of Yang that she committed such a cruel act. Now the Queen has no confidant left.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Concubine Shu sent people to deliver the message on purpose. You must not let them get their way." Nanny Ding sat down beside the bed to help the empress calm down, her face full of heartache.
Suqin also advised, "The beauty pageant will be held next year, then let the mansion pick another girl of the right age and send her in..."
"That's easier said than done!" The Queen closed her eyes and frowned, "The Emperor will not accept another girl from the Xie family, just like the Emperor will not accept another girl from the Chen family entering the palace."
For a moment, the servants didn't know how to persuade him and remained silent.
In short, the queen was completely exhausted this time.
Having lost both the child and the confidant, I'm afraid it will take a long time to recover.