Harem Daily Life

Chapter 220 Does Shu Fei know?

He Linzhang looked at Tao Yanyan and said, "Are you going to the imperial farm today? Then go first. We can talk about it after we find out more about Zhao's matter."

Tao Yanyan had the same idea. It was a waste of time to wait here, so she wanted to leave. Then Zhang Fuhai came in and said that Manager Li had found some new clues, so she had to stay.

The emperor asked for a messenger, and General Manager Li brought a young eunuch in, greeted him, and said, "Your Majesty, Madam Noble Concubine, I sent someone to check the cold palace again, and found that this little Lizi should have been on duty there recently, but he secretly switched shifts with the third son who reported Concubine Tao. I found it strange and tortured Little Lizi, but I didn't expect that this servant couldn't stand it and told everything. He said that a few days ago, Eunuch Zhengrong from Madam Shu's palace came to him and asked him to bring a few words to Zhao in the cold palace, asking Zhao to spread gossip about Concubine Tao. After he finished speaking, Zhao went crazy and started talking nonsense."

Little Li knelt on the ground and trembled: "Your Majesty, please spare me. I was just possessed by a ghost and helped Eunuch Zhengrong to pass on a message. I didn't do anything else! And I didn't take the initiative to change shifts. After I delivered the message, Zhao Liangyi went crazy. I was scared and always worried and did the wrong thing. That's why Xiao Sanzi said he was willing to take my shift and let me go to the Imperial Garden to sweep the snow. Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty. I really don't know why Zhao Liangyi went crazy, and I didn't expect that she would be poisoned and mute!"

Little Li was kneeling on the ground, shaking like a sieve, and Little Sanzi, who had been taken away, was brought up again.

When Xiao Sanzi saw Xiao Lizi, he immediately panicked and said, "Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine, I remember that in addition to Xianglan, Xiao Lizi also went to the cold palace. Just a few days ago, I saw that he was absent-minded, so I asked to swap shifts with him, so I went to sweep the snow for him in the cold palace."

The imperial concubine looked at Li Zongguan thoughtfully, wondering why Li Zongguan, who had always been cautious and self-protective, would help Concubine Tao. But before she could think about it, she heard Tao Yanyan say, "Eunuch Zhengrong beside Concubine Shu asked Little Li to pass on a message, which means that Zhao's sudden nonsense is at least related to Concubine Shu. Concubine Shu is secretly trying to ruin my reputation! Your Majesty, Concubine, I feel wronged that Concubine Shu treated me like this. Please, Your Majesty and Concubine, help me!"

The Imperial Concubine is in a dilemma. Shufei is the Empress Dowager's niece, His Majesty's cousin, and she is pregnant. What will happen if she shocks the fetus?

She took a deep breath and advised, "Your Majesty, maybe it was Zhengrong who secretly found Little Li. Concubine Shu is pregnant now, so why not call Zhengrong to question him first? If he is the one who damaged Concubine Tao's reputation, then he should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane. How about that?"

He Linzhang thought about how Concubine Shu had brought Zhao Liangyi to complain to the Empress Dowager. He had already sent Zhang Fuhai to reprimand her, but he didn't expect that he could not control her evil heart and she kept making things difficult for Yan Yan.

His face was as cold as ice: "Bring Zhengrong here, and send someone to Changchun Palace to tell her: Please ask the Queen Mother to teach Shufei herself."

By bringing up the Empress Dowager, Tao Yanyan knew that the Emperor did not want to make things too embarrassing and wanted to give face to the Empress Dowager and the Shu family.

Thinking that the Queen Mother was quite kind to her and Jin'an, she took a step back and waited to see how the Queen Mother would deal with the matter.

Zhengrong was brought in quickly. When he saw Xiao Lizi kneeling on the ground, he knew that the matter was exposed. He knelt down and said without waiting for the emperor to ask questions: "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I just saw that Zhao Liangyi caused Empress Shufei to be reprimanded by Your Majesty, so I held a grudge and bribed Xiao Lizi to instigate her to insult Concubine Tao, causing her to dislike her and punish her. Please spare my life, Your Majesty!"

"Let me ask you, does Concubine Shu know about what you have done?" asked the imperial concubine.

"I don't know, I absolutely don't know. It was all my own idea. It has nothing to do with the master!" Zhengrong insisted, taking the blame on himself.

The imperial concubine breathed a sigh of relief. It would be best if the servant took the responsibility so as to avoid offending Concubine Shu and the Shu family.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, Zhengrong was confused for a moment, so he should be beaten with thirty sticks to serve as a warning to others, right?"

"You stir up discord and cause trouble. After being beaten, you will be taken to the Ministry of Punishment." The emperor was angry and wanted to punish him severely. The Ministry of Punishment was the place in the palace where palace maids and eunuchs who committed crimes were punished. After entering the palace, not only did they have to work hard, but they also had to be punished.

Zhengrong kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will never dare to do it again! Your Majesty!"

The emperor waved his hand, and Steward Li called two people to drag Zhengrong away.

Little Leo was still kowtowing, his head pressed to the ground and shaking.

Tao Yanyan raised his eyebrows, looked at Xiao Sanzi who seemed to be relieved, and said: "Xiao Lizi was spreading rumors to slander me, what about you, Xiao Sanzi? What did you do?"

Xiao Sanzi was startled, his eyes dodged and he said, "No... I didn't do anything. I just saw Xianglan go to the cold palace, and heard that Zhao Liangyi was poisoned and mute, so I... I became a witness."

Tao Yanyan smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "You haven't answered my question directly. I want to ask you when did you hear those slanderous words of Zhao?"

Xiao Sanzi gritted his teeth and said, "I don't remember it, but I just... heard it."

Tao Yanyan looked at this little Sanzi, with triangular eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a treacherous look on his face, and said coldly: "Xiao Lizi and Zhengrong only spread some gossip about me, and their crimes are not punishable by death, but someone poisoned the former concubine. Little Sanzi, how do you think the person who poisoned should die?"

Xiao Sanzi clenched his fingers tightly and said, "Slave, I don't know."

The emperor looked at Tao Yanyan and frowned, "Do you suspect that it was Xiao Sanzi who poisoned me?"

Tao Yanyan nodded: "When I asked him questions, he didn't tell the truth. His eyes were evasive, and it was obvious that he was guilty. Your Majesty, why don't you take him to the Ministry of Punishment and give him a beating? He will tell the truth after the beating hurts."

The imperial concubine narrowed her eyes and said, "Tao Jieyu, does this count as a confession under torture?"

Tao Yanyan looked at the imperial concubine and said, "When an innocent person is beaten, it is called being tortured into confessing. What Xiao Sanzi did, he knows it very well. I think he is not innocent."

"But you don't have any evidence, right?" The imperial concubine really couldn't stand Concubine Tao's calm and composed look, and couldn't help but want to refute her.

"My Lady, he didn't tell the truth before Little Li showed up, and he started to make accusations after Little Li showed up, and he couldn't say when he overheard Zhao's nonsense. Putting all these doubts together, I have reason to suspect that he is hiding something. He may even have poisoned Zhao to silence her." After saying that, she looked at He Linzhang and said, "How about it, Your Majesty? Should we send him to the Ministry of Punishment first?"

He Linzhang said coldly: "Accusing you of poisoning Zhao and falsely accusing a good person is a crime in itself. Send you to the Ministry of Punishment and torture you severely."