sbdcsierra Chapter 93 Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 20
Chapter 93 Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 20
For a moment, she wanted to investigate herself. Now that the two concubines in charge of palace affairs had failed in their duties, she, as the empress, could take the opportunity to reclaim their power, prove her abilities to the emperor, and establish her authority in front of the other concubines.
But this idea only lasted for a moment before she gave up on it.
The Emperor clearly intended to treat her as a mere decoration, so why should she bother to offend him?
Besides, every cloud has a silver lining. If such a thing as poisoning or assassination happens in the harem, the emperor will surely be furious. She escaped a disaster because she lost power, so why should she get involved in this matter?
Besides, she has been staying quietly in Changchun Palace recently and has not participated in this matter at all. Moreover, she is confident that she will not be involved in this matter.
Empress Fucha Langhua returned to Changchun Palace. Apart from Gao Xiyue and Ruyi, who stayed behind to investigate the matter, everyone else returned to their own palaces.
Gao Xiyue and Ruyi are at odds, so they naturally won't investigate together. Instead, they investigate each other's affairs, going through each layer of the investigation. They didn't overlook any detail, from Consort Jing's recent food, clothing, and daily necessities to the palace servants serving her. They also traced every clue upwards.
The two's swift and decisive actions created an atmosphere of extreme tension and fear throughout the palace. Everyone was on edge, but Gao Xiyue, who had the answer in her hand, was the first to apprehend the murderer.
They were Xiao Luzi, who was in charge of Consort Jing's meals at the Imperial Kitchen, and Xiao Anzi, who provided cinnabar to the Imperial Household Department.
Gao Xiyue swaggered off to Changchun Palace with her entourage, while Ruyi watched her retreating figure, a strange unease creeping into her heart.
She didn't understand why Gao Xiyue was so relaxed at this moment. Wasn't Gao Xiyue the real murderer? Why was she arresting the person who did it?
Su Xin, who was following beside her, also noticed something was wrong and looked at her worriedly: "Master?"
Ruyi shook her head, suppressing her unease: "It's alright, let's hurry to Changchun Palace!"
The two hurried as fast as they could, but they were still a step too late. When they arrived, the Emperor, the Empress, Consort Hui, and all the other concubines had already arrived.
A chair was placed in front of the screen depicting dragons and phoenixes, and Hongli sat upright on it, his face solemn, his eyes lowered, silent and still. He exuded a noble and dignified air that transcended the mundane, and a majestic aura surrounded him, making it impossible for anyone to look directly at his face.
The Empress sat slightly to the side of him on a separate chair. Her expression was equally solemn, and her attire was dignified, elegant, and simple yet grand. The phoenix hairpin with its tassels swayed slightly, suggesting that its owner was not as calm as she appeared.
The remaining concubines—Consort Hui Gao Xiyue, Consort Chun Su Luyun, Consort Wan Chen Wanyin, Noble Lady Jia Jin Yuyan, Noble Lady Yi Huang Qiying, Noble Lady Hailan, Consort Yingjia, and Consort Liao—were all present except for Noble Lady Jing, who was still in bed recovering from a miscarriage. They sat in pairs according to their rank and status.
The first chair to the right opposite Gao Xiyue was currently empty; that was her seat.
Ruyi walked slowly into the hall, her tassels swaying in the breeze, and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I, Ulanara, pay my respects to the Emperor and the Empress!"
Hongli looked up at the person in front of him, still wearing that indescribable color scheme, and felt a surge of disgust. His gaze lingered on her head, and he said indifferently, "A child has just died in the palace. Who is the flower in your hair for?"
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the hall immediately turned their inquisitive gazes to Ruyi.
On her delicate double-bun hairstyle, several tiny green tassels, no bigger than grains of rice, dangled from the right side, while above the tassels, her hair was adorned with several small kingfisher feather ornaments, among which a brightly colored red flower quietly embellished the occasion.
Ruyi blushed instantly and quickly scanned the room. Sure enough, everyone else's clothes and jewelry were in shades of blue, green, and gray, and most of their jewelry was silver or adorned with kingfisher feathers and pearls. At a glance, there were no bright or eye-catching colors to be seen.
I feel extremely embarrassed right now because of my out-of-place outfit, as if everyone around me is mocking me.
Ruyi looked at Hongli in disbelief, her shock, grievance, and sadness all converging into condemnation.
"Your Majesty..."
"Alright, take a seat!"
Looking into her eyes, Hongli realized that she was a crazy old woman. He quickly waved his hand, telling her to sit down, and then turned to Fucha Langhua: "The Empress sent someone to invite me over. It seems there's been some progress on the matter of Consort Jing's miscarriage."
"Your Majesty, I invited you here precisely for this matter!"
Empress Fucha Langhua didn't keep anyone in suspense and immediately stood up and bowed: "I haven't dealt with palace affairs for a long time, and I was afraid that suddenly taking over would delay this matter, so I asked Consort Hui and Consort Nara to investigate thoroughly together, cooperate with each other, and supervise each other."
Just now, Consort Hui came to Changchun Palace and said that the person who attacked Noble Lady Jing has been caught. Therefore, I dared not delay and immediately sent Zhao Yitai to invite the Emperor and the other ladies in the palace.
"His Majesty is here. Consort Hui, you may now reveal everything you have discovered."
Empress Fucha Langhua, in terms of her name, appearance, and even temperament and preferences, truly resembles a virtuous empress.
Langhuan, a blessed land, is a shining example of women's excellence.
Wisdom and brilliance, gentle yet powerful.
The name Langhua must be the Empress's name.
His only problem is that he's not very bright; his IQ drops whenever he's around Ruyi, as if he's contracted some serious illness.
With a smug look on her face, Gao Xiyue stood up straight and bowed to the Emperor before speaking: "Your Majesty, I was ordered to thoroughly investigate the matter of Consort Jing's miscarriage. After questioning Consort Jing's clothing, food, housing, and the palace servants around her in detail, I finally found something wrong with the fish and shrimp that Consort Jing ate every day."
Gao Xiyue recounted the murderer's method: Consort Jing had a craving for fish and shrimp since becoming pregnant, almost without fail. The murderer then used these fish and shrimp as bait to poison her. First, the fish and shrimp were fed fish food laced with cinnabar. Then, the fish and shrimp were cooked and served to Consort Jing. Having eaten the poisoned fish and shrimp, Consort Jing naturally contracted the poison. However, the portions were very small each time, and the symptoms of mercury poisoning were similar to those of pregnancy, so the imperial physicians did not notice.
After Gao Xiyue finished speaking, she had a smug look on her face, thinking that she was extremely capable. It wasn't until Hongli glanced at her with indifferent eyes that she immediately came back to her senses, realized that her expression was inappropriate, and quickly put away her smugness and put on a sad and angry look.
Hongli already knew who the murderer was. The reason he was willing to come here to listen to their nonsense was simply to see which of the concubines in the harem were human and which were ghosts.
So after hearing Gao Xiyue finish speaking, he asked cooperatively, "Now that you've found out the murderer's method, have you found out who exactly harmed the imperial heir?"
"I have found witnesses, as for physical evidence..."