usatvline Chapter 320 Demotion
Chapter 320 Demotion
Emperor Shenwu still did not speak. Not long after, Princess Yunqi was dragged into the palace by two strong eunuchs. She looked panic-stricken, but a hint of viciousness could be seen in her eyes. She wanted to shout, but her mouth was blocked, and she could only make a "wuwuwu" sound.
Concubine Jiang raised her eyes slightly and saw that the usually arrogant Princess Yunqi was in a state of extreme distress. Her face was haggard, fine lines were obvious at the corners of her eyes, and her hair was even slightly gray! However, this woman was only in her twenties, and after being confined to Yunshui Pavilion for so many years, she already looked like this!
Concubine Jiang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that Princess Yunqi was under house arrest, and her allowance for food, clothing, and other expenses had probably been greatly deducted by her subordinates. She was just a small princess presented by a vassal state, and her country was thousands of miles away. Who would support her? But then again, if she hadn't asked for trouble, she was just a princess after all, so how could she have ended up in such a situation?
At this time, Emperor Shenwu said in a deep voice: "Go and invite Concubine Wen!"
Concubine Jiang's heart skipped a beat. On the contrary, Concubine Wen's family was powerful. Even if this matter was related to her, it would be a difficult matter to deal with.
In Wenhua Palace, Concubine Wen looked at Li Xiang and the two young eunuchs behind him and smiled haughtily, "Since Your Majesty has invited me, I will go to Fengqi Palace! I will dress up and don't worry, I can go on my own!"
Li Xiang bowed in response, not worried about anything.
Concubine Wen was dressed extremely gorgeously, and coupled with her extremely proud and arrogant temperament, she made people feel as if she was going to the battlefield.
So when Concubine Wen arrived at Fengqi Palace, Emperor Shenwu frowned. But before he could say anything, Lan Qingwu had already stood up. She looked down at Concubine Wen, who was kneeling in the hall to pay her respects. This woman had never stopped fighting and competing with her since the two of them entered the palace together. Now she had even stretched her hands to her child. How could she tolerate this? Yes, her Shi Qingluan was proud, noble, and the legitimate daughter of the Shi family, but Lan Qingwu had never put her on the same level as herself. Their ultimate goal was the same, but their purposes were very different.
Lan Qingwu's sparkling eyes revealed a hint of coldness: "Everyone in the six palaces knows that my Seventh Prince has been seriously ill recently. Master, you are dressed so brightly and eye-catchingly. Don't you care about His Majesty and my legitimate son?"
Concubine Wen looked up in surprise and anger. She glared at Lan Qingwu. He didn't even address her by her title, but only called her "Shishi". This was a humiliation! A naked humiliation!
"Empress, I am still a concubine and have the title bestowed by Your Majesty. You should at least address me as 'Princess Wen'! As for my attire, I am thinking that I haven't paid my respects to Your Majesty and the Empress for many days, so I am a bit more formal!"
This is out of respect for you and His Majesty! What can you do?
Lan Qingwu heard what Concubine Wen hadn't finished saying, and a cold smile appeared on his lips: "Except for Master, everyone please stand up!"
Concubine Wen was furious again, her chest heaving. She cast her eyes towards Emperor Shenwu, but although Emperor Shenwu frowned slightly, he did not say anything.
Imperial Concubine Jiang stood up with all the concubines and sat down in their respective seats one by one.
As for Princess Yunqi who was being held captive, Lan Qingwu naturally did not include her, so Princess Yunqi was still kneeling on the ground, making a "wuuuuuuu" sound from her mouth.
Lan Qingwu didn't even look at Princess Yunqi. She didn't need to care about anything that was not recognized by Emperor Shenwu.
Only Concubine Wen was left kneeling on the ground in the hall. The empress did not call her up and the emperor did not speak. No matter how angry and unwilling Concubine Wen was, she would not easily challenge the empress's authority, nor would she leave such an obvious handle for the previous dynasty and the harem to criticize her.
Concubine Wen was extremely embarrassed at this moment.
"Shishi, don't be so unconvinced. If I don't recognize your position as a concubine, you really can't be the Consort Wen! Come here!"
After a while, the deputy eunuch general manager Li Zhong brought five or six eunuchs into the hall. They were all tied up and thrown on the ground. There were faint traces of blood on their bodies and faces, and there was a faint smell of blood. It was obvious that they had been tortured.
Concubine Wen glanced over and found two familiar people, but she immediately looked away, knelt upright, and remained unmoved.
Li Zhongxian bowed to everyone in the hall: "Your servant greets all the masters. Your Majesty, may you be well! The Empress, may you be well! All the ladies and masters, may you be well!"
Lan Qingwu said: "Okay, tell me!"
Li Zhong said solemnly, "Yes! I have interrogated the servants around the Seventh Prince and found nothing unusual. It's just that when the Seventh Prince went to the Imperial Garden a few days ago, Shui Gen, the eunuch in charge of tea sets in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, accidentally showed the Seventh Prince a set of tea sets. The cat and butterfly pattern on this set is exquisite and cute, so the Seventh Prince asked for it. However, after the Seventh Prince fell ill, the tea set disappeared. These two people are the eunuchs who followed the eldest and second princes out of the palace on business. They have been busy in recent days. They had more or less contact with Jin Cai, the eunuch from Yunshui Pavilion. They also confessed to bringing back items used by plague patients from Bianyu City, blaming Concubine Sun for their actions. Jin Cai had already drowned himself, but Mu Gen, the eunuch in charge of Wenhua Palace, was from the same hometown as Jin Cai. This was previously unknown to everyone. Even more coincidentally, a palace attendant accidentally saw Mu Gen and Jin Cai secretly meet and whisper for a long time two days before the princes departed for Bianyu City.
Li Zhong pointed at a tall, thin eunuch in his thirties lying on the ground and said, "It's a pity this guy is so stubborn. He's endured most of the punishment from the Ministry of Punishment, but he still hasn't opened his mouth! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's all because of my incompetence!"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Liang couldn't help but say, "A eunuch with no hope would bite to death for whom? Of course it's his master. Now, there's no need to speak. Isn't this a clear thing?"
Han Concubine continued, "That's right! What else is there to investigate? You're so cruel! You actually attacked a child. The Seventh Prince is so cute, how could you have the heart to do that? Don't you have children of your own? Aren't you afraid that retribution will come to your own children?"
Concubine Wen retorted, "He's just a humble eunuch in my palace. He can't even enter my palace. He's not my confidant. How could I have ordered him to do such a secret thing? Your Majesty, this is clearly someone framing me! I refuse to accept this. Please, Your Majesty, help me!"
Lan Qingwu said expressionlessly, "Yes! He's not your confidant, but this person always returns to the Master's Mansion on the eleventh day of the eleventh month! I wonder what a confidant is like?"
Concubine Wen's expression turned even uglier. "No matter what, I will not admit this crime! Eunuch Li, you can use all kinds of torture to see if you can pry open this servant's mouth. As long as he doesn't point out this palace, I will not admit it!"
Lan Qingwu said disgustedly, "Master, until now, you have been calling His Majesty and me 'this palace' all the time. You are so arrogant! It seems that the Master family has given you enough confidence to be so arrogant! Unfortunately, you are wrong. Even if this servant doesn't open his mouth, I can still convict you!"
Concubine Wen was dissatisfied and said, "How dare you!"
Lan Qingwu said, "Why wouldn't I dare? Listen, all six palaces are here, and I am in charge of this harem. Concubine Shi, you disrespected me, were at odds with the concubines, and poisoned the legitimate prince. I strip you of your title and demote you to a concubine! You are forbidden from leaving Wenhua Palace forever! Concubine Shi, this concubine position is the last bit of face I'm saving for you for the Third Princess' wedding in the future!"
"Today, my Seventh Prince has survived a great disaster. Otherwise, you wouldn't even be worthy of a concubine!"
Concubine Wen was so irritated that she shouted, "Your Majesty! Are you just going to watch me like this? Your Majesty! I refuse to accept this! Your Majesty!"