Wutong Palace.
After Yuan Jiu finished reading the imperial edict deposing the queen, he looked at the person in front of him. There was no trace of the queen's dignity left.
There was no one to take care of her daily life, and the queen was in a state of constant fear. In just two or three days, she looked ten years older.
Until now, she is still wearing the same clothes she wore on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner.
The bright yellow robe was embroidered with large blooming peonies, and behind her was a phoenix with its wings spread. The gorgeous robe looked very disproportionate to her haggard face and messy hair.
"Xie, you can choose one of these poisoned wine, white silk, and dagger. The emperor will spare your body and return it to your family because of our friendship. He will not exterminate your clansmen, but the Xie family will be exiled to Lingnan and will never be allowed to return to Beijing."
Yuan Jiu expressionlessly ordered his men to hand over the tray in his hand.
Looking at the three things in front of her, Xie cried out, "No, I can't die. I am the queen, I am the emperor's first wife. The emperor said that he would wait for me to give birth to his legitimate son. I will not die. I want to see the emperor, I want to see the emperor!"
"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place, my lady!"
Yuan Jiu raised his voice and shouted coldly.
"The maidservant beside you has confessed everything. You have done many evil things over the years. Which one of them is wronged? Come, give me some wine. The emperor wants her to die. She must die!"
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and immediately two eunuchs came forward, held Xie on the left and right, pried open her mouth and poured poisoned wine into her.
But Xie struggled so hard that all the liquid spilled out.
Just as I was about to pour another glass, I heard footsteps outside.
"Eunuch Yuan, please wait a moment."
Turning around, I saw that it was Concubine Jingde who came in.
Yuan Jiu bowed and said, "Why is the Empress Defei here? Don't dirty your feet in such a mess."
Concubine Jingde waved her hand, "It's okay. I came here because I want to talk to Xie about a few things. I wonder if you can help me."
Yuan Jiu looked at Xie, thought of the crime, and felt that Concubine Jingde was also pitiful, so he agreed.
After telling him to finish his words quickly, he left.
"Song, what are you doing here? Are you here to laugh at me? I'm telling you, the Second Prince is not yours. When he grows up, he will definitely not be filial to you. You will end up like me!"
Xie, who was lying on the ground like a rag, sneered grimly.
Although she didn't drink much poison wine just now, she still drank some of it. At this moment, blood was oozing from the corners of her mouth, which was very scary.
Concubine Jingde looked at her with only hatred in her eyes and slowly walked towards her.
"You have been deposed, and you still call yourself this palace. I am the one who can call myself this palace. The future of the Second Prince depends entirely on my ability. You, however, have no future."
Xie gasped for air and laughed like a madman, "So what? Even if I die, your child won't survive. You're just like me. You won't have your own children in this lifetime!"
"Yes, so I want you and your child to be buried with my child!"
Concubine Jingde's eyes suddenly showed murderous intent, and she lowered her voice and shouted angrily.
Then he leaned over and pinched Xie's face, and continued in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
"Do you know how your good cousin Yang and the baby in your belly died? Do you think it was really Lin who did it? No, she is just a knife in my hand. Lin's personal maid Biyun has tried many ways to control Lin for me."
At this point, Xie finally became afraid.
She didn't expect that Song, who usually looked the most docile and harmless, could hide so deeply.
Seeing the fear in Xie's eyes, Concubine Jingde slightly raised the corners of her lips.
"What, are you scared? You don't have to be scared, you're going to die anyway, what are you afraid of? Oh, right, you don't know yet, the girl Chu Yun who gave you advice, your Xie family killed her whole family, you are so stupid, you actually kept such a person around you, Xie, you deserved to die."
After hearing this, Xie's already pale face turned even paler.
He shook his head desperately, "Impossible, how could this happen, how could this happen, you can't be lying to me!"
She could accept being found out by the emperor, but she could not accept that she ended up in this situation because she trusted the wrong person.
"Okay, you can go on your way. I have told you everything. You are not so stupid as to die."
Concubine Jingde's eyes suddenly became sharp. She took the pot of poison wine from the table, asked the maid to hold down Xie, pried open her mouth, and forced the entire pot of wine into her.
This wine is extremely poisonous; one glass can be fatal.
He poured the liquid in as a pot, and as he did so, blood gushed out of Xie's mouth.
But Concubine Jingde seemed not to notice and let the gushing blood stain her hands until she had finished the entire pot of wine.
Finally, she stood up, wiped her hands with a handkerchief, and left with her people.
When Yuan Jiu entered the room again, he saw Xie lying in a pool of blood with her eyes open.
Next to her was an overturned jug of poison wine, its spout and handle covered in scarlet blood.
Such a scene was truly horrifying. Yuan Jiu did not want to stay any longer and quickly ordered people to pack up Xie's body and carry it away.
Jiaotang Garden.
Upon hearing that the queen was dead, Ye Jun didn't even frown.
After all, this person almost caused her death and two deaths.
But now there is no one in the central palace, and she doesn't know what changes will happen in the harem structure. In her opinion, Ning Chen will not take another queen for a while.
Therefore, all matters concerning the harem must be divided among several high-ranking officials.
Nan Zhi fanned herself at the side and couldn't help but say, "There are too many people in charge of the harem. I'm afraid it will become even more chaotic and messy in the future."
It was originally a complaint, but in an instant it suddenly reminded Ye Jun.
"Yes, once the queen dies, power will be dispersed, and the harem will inevitably be more chaotic than before. Once it becomes chaotic and complicated, it will be easier to accomplish anything and easier to conceal it."
Originally, she suspected that the person hiding in the dark might be Yi Shunyuan. After all, if she and then the queen were eliminated, Yi Shunyuan would have a good chance of becoming the queen. However, she overlooked one person, Yao Xiang.
The third prince born to Yi Shunyuan is still young, and there is really no need for Yi Shunyuan to create chaos in the harem at this time. This poses too great a threat to the safe growth of the third prince.
But now Yao Xiang's position is not high, she is not favored much, and she gave birth to a daughter, but she has a good family background. Once the harem becomes chaotic, she can take the opportunity to remove the obstacles. With her family background and means, she may not be unable to ascend to the throne.
"Check with Fang Xiuyuan for me. Remember to investigate secretly and don't alert the enemy." Ye Jun thought of this and immediately gave the order.
Nan Zhi's expression also grew heavy, and she quickly went downstairs to make arrangements.
Although the queen is dead, this matter will obviously not end so soon.