vrcanaries Chapter 445 The real culprit behind everything (1 votes plus additional content)
Chapter 445 The real culprit behind everything (1 votes plus additional content)
"Your Majesty is wise! Han is definitely not the real murderer."
"As soon as I got this information from the interrogation, I went to Chengqian Palace to arrest Han. But I learned from Qingdai, the personal maid of Concubine De, that Han had disappeared a few days ago."
"It's just that Chengqian Palace encountered a snake plague and lost many palace servants. Even the Empress Defei is still unconscious, so no one can take care of Han."
"Qingdai also asked the servant if Han had committed any crime?"
"I searched the palace for a long time, and finally...finally found a body in a dry well. The body was already rotten, but from the clothes, it was confirmed that it was Han."
"And...and both of Han's feet were cut off..."
When Su Quanye finished speaking, even Li Changde frowned.
The palace was so large, and there were many secrets. The death of a palace maid in a pond or a dry well was not something to be surprised about.
But chopping off the feet of a Korean official woman alive, this method is too cruel...
Nangong Xuanyu immediately thought of Concubine De and asked coldly, "Could it be that Concubine De instigated Han to bribe Mrs. Zheng and then killed her to silence her?"
Concubine De has evil intentions and has a prince. She is worried that if Nian Nian gives birth to a prince, it will threaten the third prince's position, so it is not impossible for her to take action against her.
But...if it was really Concubine De who did it, to silence the witness, why did she also cut off Han's feet?
His Majesty said that day that if he did not thoroughly investigate the murder of the Concubine Xian, he would bring his head to the court. Su Quanye dared not be careless and immediately used all his life's skills.
"…Your Majesty, after my investigation, although Han's death was caused by Concubine De, she has nothing to do with this matter."
"On the day when Consort De was assassinated by Commoner Zhou, it was Han who learned the news and went to ask for the imperial physician."
"But Han and Empress Defei have an old grudge. I guess she must be holding a grudge, so she wandered around the Imperial Garden for a long time before leisurely going to the Imperial Hospital. Afterwards, she even made an excuse, saying that she accidentally sprained her foot, so she wasted time."
"Because the imperial physician arrived late, Concubine De was unable to receive timely treatment, which shortened her lifespan and left her with angina pectoris."
"Perhaps it was because of this incident that Concubine De had Han's feet cut off and then killed her to vent her anger..."
A trace of disgust flashed across Nangong Xuanyu's eyes.
State-owned state laws, family rules.
Even if Han's failure to perform her duties led to serious consequences, Concubine De could have punished her according to palace rules.
Even if she wanted to kill Han to vent her anger, she should just give him a quick death. She had Han's feet cut off, which was a very cruel and vicious method!
Especially since Concubine De usually looks gentle and kind, which is in sharp contrast to this, and it makes people shudder...
Fortunately, Concubine De only had less than half a year left to live, otherwise how could he feel at ease leaving the Third Prince to be raised by such a vicious woman!
Su Quanye understood that after His Majesty learned about this, even if he was displeased and disappointed with Concubine De, he would not punish her because of a dead Han.
He continued, "...After some careful investigation, I found a young eunuch who was cleaning the Quhe Garden. From him, I learned... I learned..."
Nangong Xuanyu had guessed it before, and seeing Su Quanye's expression, his guess became more certain. He sneered and asked, "What did you find out?"
"Now that we know that the one who really wants to harm Concubine Xian is the Queen Mother, is Han just a scapegoat?"
Su Quanye was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop: "I dare not speak ill of the Empress Dowager..."
"It's just...it's just that the young eunuch had seen Han interacting with the maids in the Cining Palace..."
"But, but this doesn't mean that the Queen Mother was also involved in this matter."
"Han is dead, and the young eunuch who saw her interacting with the maids in the Cining Palace also accidentally fell into the lotus pond and drowned yesterday..."
"All clues are cut off here. Without the order from His Majesty, even if I have ten thousand guts, I would not dare to touch anyone in the Cining Palace..."
As for what happened later, it wasn’t that Su Quanye was incapable of investigating, but rather whether the emperor would allow him to continue investigating.
There was deathly silence in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The emperor's face was as gloomy as water.
Given his fondness for Nian Nian, even if the Queen Mother did not dare to take her and her child's lives, she would never allow Nian Nian's power to continue to grow and threaten the Imperial Concubine's position.
Not to mention the common people, even in the royal family, the infant mortality rate was very high. Moreover, the status of a concubine who had only one prince was completely different from that of a concubine who had several princes.
Therefore, the Queen Mother wanted Nian Nian to completely lose her fertility!
As for the day after Nian Nian gave birth, Mother Zheng wanted to poison her food, but that was only instructed by the Queen Mother in advance as a means to confuse people.
Because the Queen Mother knew that Nian Nian had just given birth, and there were imperial doctors on standby at Zhongcui Palace. The food she ate would definitely be checked. If Mother-in-law Zheng touched it, she would be exposed.
In this way, no one would suspect that the real person behind all this was the Queen Mother. After all, why would the Queen Mother use such a stupid method?
If their conspiracy succeeded and Nian Nian really lost her fertility, even if he investigated thoroughly, he would only find out about Han.
Han served Concubine De, and Concubine De had the motive to attack Nian Nian, so everyone would think that Concubine De was the one who did it.
But... the empress dowager had planned everything, but she had not expected that a young eunuch would see Han interacting with the palace maids in the Cining Palace.
But the Queen Mother was worthy of being the Queen Mother. She let the young eunuch drown "accidentally" so quickly, cutting off all clues that were unfavorable to her.
How can we continue the investigation? Is there any evidence to prove that the Queen Mother ordered this?
The Zhou Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety. The virtuous concubine and the fourth prince were fine, but because of a little suspicion, he tortured the palace maids around the queen mother and turned the Cining Palace upside down?
By then, not only will the censors not be able to report Nian Nian, but even he, the emperor, will be scolded by them and the people.
The Queen Mother...she is really good at using tricks!
But no matter how many tricks she had, she should never, ever plot against Nian Nian and A Xu!
They, mother and son, are his Achilles' heel!
"…Does Concubine Xian know about these things?"
Su Quanye hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I dare not tell the Concubine Xian without permission."
"You did very well."
Nian Nian is no match for the Queen Mother. If she knew these things, she and the Fourth Prince would be in danger.
Nangong Xuanyu's eyes were burning with anger, and he said in a cold voice: "Pass on my decree, and confer the title of Fifth-Rank Cavalry Commandant to the youngest son of Duke Dingguo, Liu Shizhang, and immediately go to the border to fight against the Xiongnu with the border troops!"