novelcrest Chapter 141 Consort Chen
Chapter 141 Consort Chen
Before Bai Ping could even set off, Li Yuanke said, "No need to search Zhaoyang Palace. Search in other directions. If she doesn't confess, torture her severely!"
This isn't just about ignoring life and death; it's about living a life worse than death.
Soon, it was discovered that the oil came from Consort Qiong's palace.
Consort Qiong was stunned on the spot and knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I didn't know anything about this! It has nothing to do with me!"
"Send all the people in Consort Qiong's palace to the Imperial Prison for severe interrogation!" Li Yuanke ignored Consort Qiong.
"Your Majesty, why not send the people in Zhaoyang Palace to be interrogated? Zhaoyang Palace is the most suspicious place," Yang Tingyue said.
Qing Zhaoyuan said, "Yes, Your Majesty, if you want to interrogate, then interrogate them all together. Consort Qiong has always been well-behaved; she would never do such a thing. She has always been close to Consort Yuan."
Shen Shixi stepped forward and kicked Qing Zhaoyuan to the ground, then slapped her twice across the face. "One slap is for you, and the other is to tell you that you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"
She turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I request that the people who served Consort Qing closely be sent to the Imperial Prison for interrogation. Among all the people in the palace, Consort Qing is the most suspicious, and her motive is the most obvious. I beg Your Majesty's permission!"
"Granted!" As Li Yuanke finished speaking, Consort Qing was stunned. "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am the birth mother of the Second Prince. How can I face anyone if Your Majesty treats me like this?"
But Baozan, Cao Liangchun, and the others had already been dragged out. Baozan was still shouting "Your Majesty, save me!" Qing Zhaoyuan herself was crawling like a dead dog, trying to get closer to the emperor.
Shen Shixi went over and kicked her away again, saying, "If you're innocent, I'll clear your name. If you're not, you'd better think about where you'll be buried when you die!"
At this moment, Consort Qing was also filled with rage and evil intentions. However, just as her fierce aura rose, the emperor pulled Shen Shixi into his arms. If she dared to move, the emperor would definitely kick her.
Cen Yin returned quickly. Consort Qing glanced at him and said, "Your Majesty, he's confessed!"
He didn't say who confessed.
Even the Empress Dowager perked up and asked, "Tell me, what did you confess to?"
The sound of Consort Li's desperate labor could be heard from afar.
Cen Yin said, "The oil was obtained by Cao Liangchun from a palace maid named Chuncao in Consort Qiong's palace. It was sprinkled on the place where the coal stove is usually kept, as well as on the corridor pillars. If some of the fire in the stove jumps out, it might be able to be lit."
Cao Liangchun was the head eunuch in Qing Zhaoyuan Palace.
[What a brilliant scheme! They set fire to the house, sending Consort Li and her child to their deaths, startling the Empress's unborn child, and then framed me and Consort Qiong. That idiot Consort Qing, why doesn't she just fly to the moon?!]
Shen Shixi glanced at the concubines and said, "What a coincidence! Oil was spilled here, and someone else accidentally put burning coal on the ground. There's more to the story. We need to investigate further."
Cen Yin looked at the emperor and, seeing him nod, quickly said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will continue the interrogation shortly."
It seems there's still more to explain; Kyung So-won is already teetering on the brink of collapse.
Cen Yin said, "Your Majesty, I have also discovered that Consort Song added the amount of Cnidium monnieri to her herbal medicine for her previous pregnancy. This was also done by Consort Qing."
Consort Qing Zhaoyuan was slumped on the ground as if she had gone mad, and all the concubines took a step back in unison.
"I've already told you!" Li Yuanke said calmly, seemingly unsurprised.
"Yes, Consort Qing also interfered with Consort Pan's pregnancy in the Former Bao Ci Palace. She had a large amount of safflower added to Consort Pan's medicine to prevent miscarriage."
For some reason, this time, when Li Yuanke summoned his new concubine to serve him in bed, Consort Pan was not among them.
Consort De did not come today either; her due date is at the end of February or the beginning of March.
When Consort Pan arrived and heard this, she was about to rush towards Consort Qing when she was pulled back.
Consort Pan cried, "Your Majesty, I beg you to do justice for me! This wicked woman has caused me so much suffering!"
The emperor said coolly, "Quiet down!"
Then, he issued an edict: "Consort Qing is wicked and immoral, unworthy to be a concubine. She is hereby demoted to commoner status and immediately given death, and buried with the rites due to a commoner!"
"Your Majesty, I am the birth mother of the Second Prince! For the sake of the Second Prince, please spare me!"
Consort Qing began to struggle violently, but seeing that the emperor was unmoved, Li Fude acted swiftly, ordering his men to gag her and drag her away.
The Empress Dowager said, "The Empress has miscarried, but the palace still needs to celebrate the festival. The harem must have someone in charge."
"What does the Empress Dowager mean?"
The Empress Dowager said, "In my opinion, Lady Shen will be promoted to the rank of Consort, and she will temporarily manage the inner palace!"
Shen Shixi was struck dumb.
[No, Empress Dowager, what grudge do I have against you? Ahhh, everyone else is celebrating the festival, but I have to work? I don't want to! Li Yuanke won't agree, will he? Please don't agree! You have so many women in your harem, find someone else!]
Li Yuanke gave her a deep look, a smile playing on his lips, his eyes sparkling. "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey!"
Regardless of Shen Shixi's life or death, he immediately issued an imperial edict, in accordance with the Empress Dowager's decree, to promote Shen Shixi to the rank of Consort, bestow upon her the title of Chen, and ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft the edict, and the Imperial Observatory to select an auspicious day for the investiture ceremony.
He didn't even doze off before bestowing the titles, as if he had planned it all along.
Although she was only granted the rank of a second-grade imperial concubine, this title was extraordinary.
The character 宸 is not used casually because it carries the connotation of a title for an emperor.
Everyone looked at Shen Shixi differently.
With things having come to this point, Shen Shixi had no choice but to thank the emperor for his great kindness.
Besides the Empress and Consort De, Shen Shixi now holds the highest rank in the palace. She accepted the greetings from the other concubines and took over the authority to manage the six palaces.
Li Yuanke really has no one else to use right now. Since he has already received all the benefits, Shen Shixi can't just stop working.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late. I'll look after Consort Li here. Your Majesty has many things to attend to today. Why don't you go back and rest first? I'll send someone to inform Your Majesty and Your Majesty when there's good news."
The Empress Dowager is old; a mere concubine is not worth her trouble. Shen Shixi offered to escort her, but she refused, saying, "There are many things to attend to here. Don't worry about me; let Consort Qiong escort her!"
Consort Qiong suffered an injustice today.
Consort Qiong was naturally more than happy to have it.
Yang Tingyue looked longingly at the Empress Dowager, but unfortunately, the Empress Dowager ignored her.
Li Yuanke gently touched Shen Shixi's cheek with the back of his hand. "Don't overwork yourself. I'm going back now. Once you're done with your work, you should go back and rest too."
Shen Shixi led the palace concubines to respectfully see him off.
After he left, Shen Shixi told everyone else to go back. She didn't bother to say anything more and went to Lianyue Pavilion by herself, but Lin Guiyou insisted on following her.
"You are so lucky. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are eager to promote you. Humph, I had to rely on my father and brothers to make contributions to my promotion. It's infuriating to compare yourself to others."
Shen Shixi smiled. The Empress Dowager took the initiative to bring it up for two reasons: first, there was indeed no one to manage the harem, and the Empress's pregnancy must have been quite difficult, and postpartum care was very important; it wouldn't be good to let someone not have a proper postpartum period; second, it was for Yang Tingyue's sake.
Yang Tingyue kicked him when he was down today, and given Shen Shixi's personality, he will never let her off the hook.
The Empress Dowager hoped that, considering Yang Tingyue's suggestion to be promoted, she would not hold it against her.
If the emperor himself were to propose the promotion of concubines, it would be suspected of using their beauty to serve him. However, if the empress dowager were to promote a concubine, it would be seen as an act of filial piety, which would be much more respectable.
This is why Li Yuanke always wanted the Empress Dowager to promote her rank.
Lianyue Pavilion was in complete chaos. Shen Shixi sent someone to fetch the imperial physician, and she assigned people to different positions. With her in charge, the situation became much more orderly.
Shen Shixi inquired about the situation inside. The cervix was only dilated to three fingers, so there was still room for improvement. She asked the midwife to come out and give her an answer.
"Consort Li's baby is breech. I remember there should be a way to straighten it. Don't you have that ability?"
The midwife replied, "Your Highness, I am incompetent and do not have the ability. However, there is a woman named Fan in the Yeting Bureau who is capable of this, but she is currently serving the Fengyi Palace and has not come here."
There have been miscarriages at Fengyi Palace, what's the point of using a midwife?
Shen Shixi called Bai Ping over, "Go find Li Fude and have him arrange for someone to invite Midwife Fan to help Consort Li give birth. Tell him that I will report this to the Emperor afterward so that he won't be put in a difficult position."
After Bai Ping left, Li Fude immediately sent Jiang You to Fengyi Palace to invite midwife Fan without saying a word.
As for whether the emperor would be angry, Li Fude didn't even consider it.
Li Xuanshi was burned and, upon hearing that she was having a difficult childbirth, felt utterly disheartened and had no energy left to give birth.
Her maid, Feng Yuan, rushed in and knelt by her bedside. "Your Highness, you're saved! Consort Chen has brought in Midwife Fan, a very skilled midwife. You'll be alright."