"The virtuous concubine is really good at calculating. She wants the emperor to punish me, and she also wants to humiliate me once more by searching the palace. She really hates me to death."
The woman's cold voice carried a sharpness that made people feel cold behind their backs.
Concubine Jingxian felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. She turned around and saw Ye Jun walking towards the palace.
At this moment she didn't realize what she was about to face, so she remained calm.
"Your Highness, coming in without being summoned, isn't that a violation of the rules? Besides, I am just discussing the matter at hand, and I have no grudge against you."
Ye Jun sneered and didn't want to say more to her. He directly asked Huiyue to give the envelope to Ning Chen.
"Let's not talk about the hatred between me and you for now. I have something to tell you. From the time the seventh prince died last year to this year, in the past six months or so, I have uncovered a shocking secret. I wonder if Concubine Xian still remembers Zhou He?"
The moment the name was spoken, Concubine Jingxian's pupils suddenly contracted and she immediately became alert.
"I don't know what the imperial concubine is talking about, and I don't know Zhou He."
"You don't know or you're pretending not to know." Ye Jun lowered her eyes, "It doesn't matter. If Concubine Xian has forgotten, I will think about it for her. Zhou He is the chef of the Imperial Kitchen's Pastry Department. He is especially good at making sour jujube cakes. Qi Xiurong loves sour food during her pregnancy, so she especially loves sour jujube cakes. Before the Emperor and I returned from Lingxi Garden, he served us."
Even after saying this, Concubine Jingxian still refused to acknowledge him.
"How would I know about this, since I am a servant serving Qi Shunrong?"
Ye Jun glanced at her coldly and moved closer.
"You instructed him to serve Qi Shunrong, how could you not know? You ordered him to put drugs in the sour jujube cake to kill Qi Shunrong in her womb, but I and the emperor had to return to the palace early and we had to interrupt the plan. However, the drug had already harmed the fetus, which is why the Seventh Prince was born weak and died before he was one month old!"
"Nonsense!" Concubine Jingxian finally couldn't help but refute loudly, "My Lady, even if I exposed you for secretly taking the contraceptive soup and harming Ying Wanrong, you shouldn't use such a thing to slander me."
Finally, he turned around and knelt down in front of Ning Chen.
"Your Majesty, please be clear-headed. I have served you for many years. You know my character. I would never do such a heinous thing!"
"It's because you have been disguising yourself for so many years that I didn't see through your vicious heart!"
Ning Chen shouted angrily and threw the envelope in his hand fiercely at Concubine Jingxian's face, his eyes full of anger.
Concubine Jingxian was completely confused.
He quickly picked up the paper on the ground and found that it was a confession signed by Zhou He. His face immediately froze.
But she knew she couldn't admit it easily, because if she did, she would be dead.
So she started crying again, "Your Majesty, this must be someone deliberately framing me. It must be the Imperial Concubine. It must be the Imperial Concubine. I secretly ordered people to investigate the medicine the Imperial Concubine took these past two days. The Imperial Concubine must have found out that the matter was exposed, so she forged this thing to frame me!"
"Just a piece of paper can't prove anything. It may even be a fabrication. Your Majesty, you can't believe it!" Tan Xiang also pleaded for Concubine Jingxian.
Ning Chen laughed angrily, with veins visible on his forehead.
"The truth has been exposed and you have been framed. You are such a good talker, Concubine Jingxian. The title of Jingxian is so ridiculous!"
"Giving birth will hurt the Imperial Concubine's body. I am worried about her health, so I specially gave her a non-harmful contraceptive soup to take for her recovery. I don't want to spread it to anyone to avoid any trouble. Only I and the Imperial Concubine know about it, but you are so smart that you want to use it to slander the Imperial Concubine!"
When these words came out, Concubine Jingxian was stunned.
She looked at Ning Chen in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe her ears, and her whole body went cold.
Ye Jun glanced at her with disgust and walked forward slowly.
"Your Majesty, after the death of the seventh prince, I always felt that something was wrong. After much investigation, I finally discovered the conspiracy behind the scenes. Now my cousin from my mother's family has found the culprit and will escort him back to the capital soon. He specially sent someone to deliver a letter to the palace at full speed, and I immediately brought the letter here."
He paused, glanced at Concubine Jingxian lying on the ground, and sneered.
"I never thought I would come across such a good show."
"Come here, send Concubine Jingxian back to Zhongcui Palace for house arrest. All servants in Zhongcui Palace will be detained in the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation." Ning Chen ordered while suppressing his anger.
Yuan Jiu immediately took a few eunuchs and dragged Concubine Jingxian out.
Concubine Jingxian cried out loudly that she was wronged, without caring about her manners, but it was of no avail.
As soon as she was dragged out of the palace, Kong Qing pulled out the handkerchief he used to wipe his hands from his sleeve pocket and stuffed it into Concubine Jingxian's mouth.
"Don't offend the ears of the harem masters with your dirty talk."
When Huai'an, who was in charge of escorting Concubine Jingxian, saw this action, he just smiled and did not do anything about it.
At that time, Ye Jun and Ning Chen were the only ones left in the hall.
Although Zhou He had not been brought back for personal interrogation, Ning Chen now trusted Ye Jun very much, and naturally understood that the Seventh Prince was murdered by Concubine Jingxian.
Thinking of the child who was so weak from birth and whom he didn't even dare to hold for fear of hurting him, Ning Chen felt so choked up that he couldn't breathe.
"Your Majesty, please don't be too sad. During the funeral of the Seventh Prince, I asked the abbot of Yanqing Temple to chant sutras for him. The abbot said that the Seventh Prince will be blessed with more fortune and happiness in his next life, and he will live a peaceful and happy life. It is not Your Majesty's fault that the relationship between father and son was short in this life."
Ye Jun gently held Ning Chen's hand and whispered comfortingly.
Ning Chen took a deep breath and patted the back of her hand.
"I know, but I still can't bear to leave the child. You should go back first. I have to meet with some ministers later. I won't go to your place for lunch today. I will go to accompany you and the children for dinner."
Ye Jun nodded, stood up and walked out.
She knew that Ning Chen felt ashamed to face Qi Shunrong at this moment, so she didn't say anything to persuade him to accompany Qi Shunrong.
Moreover, Qi Shunrong has been bedridden ever since the death of the seventh prince due to excessive grief. It has been warmer this spring and she has finally gotten better, but I am afraid she cannot withstand the truth.
Therefore, Ye Jun gave orders again, forbidding the servants to gossip, especially not to spread the news to Yikun Palace for the time being, so as not to disturb Qi Shunrong's recuperation.
But Qi Shunrong didn't know that other places had sensed some of the news.
Especially Concubine Rong Shu.
The Changchun Palace where she lived was very close to the Zhongcui Palace where Concubine Jingxian lived, so she knew very well how Concubine Jingxian was brought back.
This must be a big mistake.
Considering that the Imperial Concubine came out of Jiuchen Palace safely, it seems that Concubine Jingxian lost to the Imperial Concubine.
Thinking of what her daughter said, Concubine Rong Shu felt that this was indeed an opportunity to show goodwill to Palace Zhaochun.
After thinking for a moment, he gave instructions to the servant beside him.
"Try to have someone pass a message to the Second Prince, saying that Concubine Jingxian must have done something terribly wrong to anger the Emperor and be confined to the palace. If he goes to plead for her, the Emperor will think that he is confused and cannot tell right from wrong. Remember to stay calm and don't plead for Concubine Jingxian."