Gu Zhen was stunned!
After a long while, she was shocked and said: "My order???"
Seeing the imperial concubine sighing and nodding, the empress laughed angrily, "Why do I want to murder Concubine An?! Well, even if I want to harm Concubine An, I am the empress. What kind of talents do I have under my command? As for the orders Those two cheap maids?!"
She was so angry that she didn't know what to say for a moment. Yun Fenghuang said that he could understand her mood: "We all know it in our hearts. The empress has always been kind and generous, and she is determined not to do such a cruel thing to Concubine An. It must be Those two cheap maids framed her, but..."
The imperial concubine hesitated to speak. After being urged by the queen, she had no choice but to tell her, "Those two cheap maids have some certificates in their hands. It seems... they seem to be related to the people under the empress!"
Otherwise, Yun Fenghuang is now determined to follow the example of Chunjia and keep a low profile. How could he listen to the wind and rain to disturb the sick queen
The queen held back her raging anger and asked her what credentials she had and who under her command it related to
In the end, just as he was talking, someone from the palace hurried in from outside and reported in panic, saying that the steward in the side hall and all the palace servants under him were dead. Judging from the scene, it should be that the steward poisoned his subordinates and then took the poison himself. Suicide!
Yun Fenghuang was only halfway through his words when he frowned and said, "This is probably the person."
Sure enough, after checking, the dead steward and his subordinates were the two people with whom Wen had the credentials.
Now it’s death without evidence!
Not only that, the key thing is that Wen Mingcui and Wen Shijiang also gave the reason why the queen ordered them to murder Concubine An, because of the loving mother Queen Mother!
"Empress An is the niece of the loving Empress Dowager. The reason why the loving Empress Dowager had to leave the Imperial Capital and go all the way back to Fuyang County at such an old age was because of the Empress' plan..."
"The Queen Mother deeply hates the Empress Dowager, her loving mother. Even though the Empress Dowager is thousands of miles away, the Empress still refuses to give up!"
"She knows that when the Empress Dowager is in the palace, besides Your Majesty, the one she loves the most is Concubine An. If something happens to Concubine An, the Empress Dowager may not be able to bear it as she is old!"
"That's why I ordered my concubines to murder Concubine An!"
Yun Fenghuang finished recounting Wen Mingcui and Wen Shijiang's confession, and finally said: "I asked them at that time. As the empress said just now, even so, with the status of the empress, how many people under her are difficult to control, how can they be used? Looking for the two of them?"
Then the two concubines said that the steward who originally contacted them had not revealed their identity, but they themselves became suspicious: "There are rumors about the palace ban. The reason why Concubine An sent her concubines to Huzhu Palace is absolutely impossible." The concubines' road to becoming favors was a struggle day by day, all because she heard that when they were serving His Majesty in the Taichu Palace, they often teased and ridiculed her in private... "
Wen Mingcui therefore felt that something was wrong. After all, "I didn't know the heights of the sky at that time, and indeed many words and actions were inappropriate. But the imperial attendants, even those who serve people like me, may not all be able to show their faces in front of the emperor. Anyway, She is also from the Taichu Palace. You can just tell these words to the Imperial Concubine. After all, your status in the palace is known to everyone in the palace and the harem. However, even though Concubine An has the title of concubine, she has fallen out of favor for many years without saying anything. I heard that in recent years, Your Majesty even I don’t want to hear about her at all! Otherwise, if I and these people had some affection for His Majesty earlier, why would they never see Your Majesty again after entering Huzhu Palace?"
"I told them at that time that Concubine An and Your Majesty are childhood sweethearts, and she is the niece of the loving mother the Empress Dowager. Her status in the palace cannot be described as being in favor or falling out of favor. As for Concubine, as long as she is She is not looking for trouble, and she is not willing to kill everyone." Yun Fenghuang explained to the queen, "So it is not surprising that the palace officials in Taichu Palace can't stand the newcomer's mischief, so they leaked the news to Concubine An in private."
But Wen Mingcui didn't think so. Her thought was: "Although I was in trouble at the time, I was not stupid enough to talk nonsense in public! In that case, Your Majesty would be the first to spare me, wouldn't you?! I was always there at the time The palace maid who is personally serving me has whispered to me that the palace maid is just an envoy in the Taichu Palace. She is not satisfied and has no chance to serve in front of the emperor. Please think about it, even if she is not loyal to my concubine, she will take this matter to the next level. I'll just report it to you, but why should I report it to Concubine An? Isn't she afraid that doing so will make you unhappy?"
Yun Fenghuang had to admit that this concubine still had some brains.
Indeed, no matter how special Yuan Yuniang's status is, she is the former favorite concubine after all. Not only has she fallen out of favor now, but the key is that she has a very bad relationship with the current favorite concubine Yun Fenghuang.
As long as the palace servants in Taichu Palace are not stupid enough, it is not uncommon for them to secretly sell the bride to the newlyweds for the proud concubine. The key is to sell the news that the newlyweds talked about Concubine An to Yuan Yuniang. What benefits can there be
It must be understood that the Huzhu Palace and the concubines have been in a state of affairs for the past two years. The queen, no matter how noble the concubine, has acquiesced that Concubine An can enjoy the glory and wealth but does not give her any chance to taint the palace power. Therefore, the palace servants in Taichu Palace would get some financial benefits at most by tipping Concubine An on.
And what about the risks? In addition to the consequences of being discovered by Chunjia, he also had to face the revenge and hostility of the imperial concubine.
Would the people of Taichu Palace be so stupid
In Wen Mingcui's words: "If the palace maid only wants money and silk, why not follow me wholeheartedly? Although I am not from a high background, I also know that I can't bear to let go of my children. But I have never treated her poorly. ! If she had not betrayed my concubine and helped me with all my heart, how could I have treated her badly after I was favored? After all, when I entered the palace, I did not bring any dowry or anything like that. She was the first one after I entered the palace. Someone who is here to serve me. If she didn’t have ulterior motives, I would be the one who trusts her the most!"
Yun Fenghuang told the queen at this moment: "I have already had someone check me out. After Wen Mingcui entered the palace, the people who served her were indeed not bad. Many of the things your majesty rewarded her were distributed to the people around her. This was also what she had done at the beginning. After she made rude remarks in front of the emperor and angered His Majesty, she was able to continue serving her after admitting her mistake. The impression that the imperial attendants have on her is that although she speaks too much, she will be wrong, but she is still sincere and has a heart that is innocent."
In addition to her young age, she is only fifteen this year, so she is charming and cute, not annoying.
Gu Zhen's face was ashen, and the fingers that were pressed on the armrest of the phoenix throne became blue and white due to the force, and the veins on the back of his hands were exposed. He said in a cold voice: "So she doubts me?"
"...At the beginning, she said that she and Wen Shijiang were suspicious of me." Yun Fenghuang sighed and said, "Because from the rumors they heard, Concubine An fell out of favor because of me. So I just thought that I wanted to use them to kill them all, and even wanted to kill two birds with one stone: first I used Concubine An to deal with them, who had also discussed me in private, and then used their lives to punish Concubine An. But later I found out that I was the same as Concubine An. What they imagined was different, so they became suspicious of the empress."
After a pause, she asked, "Your Majesty, do you still remember when Concubine An beat Wen Shijiang and Wen Mingcui came to Yanfu Palace to seek help from you?"
Gu Zhen closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. Gu Zhen tried to calm down his emotions and motioned for her to continue.
"Wen Mingcui met the steward who had just disappeared that day at Yanfu Palace." Yun Fenghuang said, "Later she became suspicious and found clues that she was related to the steward. No, the suspicion was on the empress. ?”
But in fact, these two concubines were soft-spoken after all. Not to mention that the evidence in their hands was not conclusive. Even if it was, it would not be able to sway the Queen.
…The key lies in An Fei’s master and servant.
"I feel that this matter is too coincidental, and there may be some twists and turns in it. But Yuan Zhu was very excited and insisted on sending someone to Fuyang County immediately to deliver a letter to inform his loving mother, the Empress Dowager." Yun Fenghuang smiled bitterly, "I I really can’t stop you... I can only come to disturb you even though I know you are tired now.”
"...I know." Gu Zhen looked very ugly. Although she had been a queen for so many years, although she was physically and mentally exhausted, she had certainly made a lot of progress compared to when she was a wife.
Looking at Concubine An now, I really don't think she is powerful or difficult to deal with.
The key is the aunt behind the family...
Thinking of the empress dowager, Gu Zhen was upset for a while. He barely suppressed it and asked Yun Fenghuang, "You said this... was the empress dowager's instigation? Is it just to find an excuse to return to the imperial capital?"
"I think it's hard to tell now." Yun Fenghuang mused, "Normally, the empress dowager, a loving mother, does not dote on Concubine An at all. Even if it is to make a fuss about her return to the Imperial Capital, she will not really let Concubine An. Injured like that?"
Gu Zhen frowned and said: "But the Yuan family has been destroyed. When the empress dowager, the loving mother, left Fuyang County, Your Majesty spared Yuan Ke's life, and it was just to survive. The Yuan family in Fuyang does not exist after all. As for Concubine An, she has been unfavored for many years. Although no one in the palace deliberately made things difficult for her, no one paid attention to her. She was living a boring life, so it was not unreasonable to simply use herself to give her loving mother the Queen Mother a chance to come back. possible."
"That's what the empress said." Yun Fenghuang thought for a moment and said, "I just think that your majesty is wise and powerful. If the empress dowager, a loving mother, does this, I'm afraid she won't be able to hide it from your majesty?"
The Empress Dowager Yuan's greatest reliance was Chunjia's affection and trust in her.
If Chunjia knew at a glance that she was determined not to give up on power and position, and would rather sacrifice the niece she once loved so much to come back... Even if she came back, how could she still have the weight and advantage she had before
"..." Gu Zhen frowned, sighed for a long time, and asked, "Your Majesty... Does your Majesty know about this?"
Seeing Yun Fenghuang nod, she pursed her lips, her eyes were blank for a moment, and then asked slowly, "Your Majesty... what did he say?"