Chapter 553 - Consort Zhao Defended Herself in the Qianqing Palace (1/2)

After all this, the Qixi Festival banquet could not go on. The eunuchs checked the number of people brought into the palace by madams and ladies one by one, and the number of people for the time being. But in the end, they found nothing. When they entered the palace, there was a definite number of people of each family, and only the mandated women brought a few maids close to them.

Those maids had been serving their master all the time, and none of them left.

The guards of each manor scattered at the gate of the palace. There were guards in the palace, so none of the outside guards was allowed to enter the palace.

Apart from these two kinds of possibilities, Ma Er might be brought in under the order of the master in the palace, but there was no result. This ruffian named Ma Er seemed to have suddenly appeared in the palace and rushed into the banquet. The eunuch, who was the last one to saw him, also said that he saw the man in the aisle. At that time, the man said he wanted to see a young lady.

What happened today was rather mysterious. First, it was a maid appearing in the palace when no one brought her in. Then, it was a man who should not have appeared here showed up in the palace. The two of them had died in the end. Besides, nothing was found out. It made one feel as if someone had done something in the dark.

“It seems that this matter has to be investigated. Otherwise, no one would be convinced and His Majesty would not understand.”

The eunuch’s words gave the Empress a new idea, so she asked maids to check the young ladies again, but still, they did not find any clues.

So this matter came to a standstill. Before the Empress could find out the truth, the Emperor sent someone over to end the banquet. Then everyone left, and the Empress was called to the Qianqing Palace. The Emperor didn’t even allow her to enter the palace and asked her to kneel outside the door. The imperial servants of the Empress’ palace could only kneel with her.

As the situation had escalated to this point, everyone felt a sense of danger. No one knew if they were the next person to die. Normally Yan Miao was the Empress’ most favored lead palace maid, but before she told about the truth, she had died with Ma Er. Thus, no one dared to speak more. Even though a large group of people had knelt outside the Qianqing Palace, it was completely silent.

In the Qianqing Palace, the bronze cauldron, which was carved into the shape of a vengeful lion whose head was held high, exuded the aura of a sovereign ruling over the world. There was a bead inside its big mouth, making it seem sinister and domineering.

The Emperor sat on a rosewood chair, his face gloomy. Although he looked calm, Consort Zhao, who was familiar with his personality, knew that he was in a rage at this time.

Since she knelt in the study, Consort Zhao didn’t dare to say anything and looked at the Emperor with tears in her eyes. The Emperor threw a cold glance at her and said with a sneer, “I still didn’t know you had stretched your hand so long. You have something to do with Lian An. I haven’t known for so many years that even the maids in Lian’s Manor are similar to you. He even sent the selling indenture to the palace. What did you want to do? Did you try to plot against Old Eight?”

“Your Majesty, how, how could you say that? How, how could I do something like that? King Xuan is the only child that my elder sister left behind. He is related to me by blood. How would I do something like that? When I entered the palace, my elder sister told me about Minister Lian. She only said the He family had done Minister Lian a favor, and so I could ask him for help if I got into trouble.”

“But even having been in the palace for so many years, I have never troubled Minister Lian. I don’t understand why the maids in his manor are like me and my elder sister. That indenture has nothing to do with me. Your Majesty, someone wants to frame me.”

Consort Zhao knew what the problem was, but she pretended to be confused. Her act was flawless. She had been kneeling for a long time, but since she was already prepared, she did not panic. She looked at Emperor Zongwen and tears rolled down her long lashes. She looked even more pitiful.

“Oh, is someone trying to frame you? Why did they send the selling indenture to you? This dead maid escaped from Lian’s Manor to King Xuan’s Manor. Consort Xuan kindly took them in, so how could she let them enter the palace to harm the people in the palace? She even deliberately brought up the matter of Consort Chu. With her poor body, it’s possible that Consort Xuan was framed by others. How could she scheme against others?”

Emperor Zongwen’s tone was grave. It sounded so heavy, like the air before a storm. The aura in the entire study was so heavy that it was nearly difficult for one to breathe.

“Your Majesty, I really don’t know about this. I have been living in the imperial harem and just come out of the Mingyue Palace. For so many years, no one has come to see me. Although the He family is my closest relative, they have been indifferent to me for so many years. So how could I have so much affection for them? In my heart, they can’t compare with King Xuan.”

Consort Zhao’s tears rolled down her pale cheeks one by one as she spoke. They were like pearls and crushed jade. Coupled with her beautiful features, it made Emperor Zongwen heartbroken especially when she looked like the person he cared for.

“Your Majesty, the He family has something to do with Minister Lian, but what does this have to do with me? Could it be that I have schemed against King Xuan, so what’s the benefit of me? My sister has pa.s.sed away and I only want to guard King Xuan and live. In my heart, he is just like my child. As a mother, how could I scheme against my child?”

She cried more and more sadly as she spoke. She looked so weak that she couldn’t even breathe.

“So you really don’t know what happened to that maid?” Emperor Zongwen’s expression softened when he thought of Consort Xian and looked at Consort Zhao’s crying face.

“I really don’t know about it. If the selling indenture was from Minister Lian’s Manor, why did Minister Lian send it to the palace? Did he send the maid to me? But there is everything in the palace. How could I lack some servants? And he sent it secretly. It is clear that he wants to frame me. I feel very wronged. I don’t know who hates me and wants to deal with me.”