thefictionvixens Chapter 157 The hanging heart finally died
Chapter 157 The hanging heart finally died
Nian Shilan agreed to Yixiu's proposal in an extremely abnormal way, which made Yixiu feel uneasy.
He looked at Nian Shilan deeply, wondering what she was up to.
However, what she was most worried about at this moment was what Jianqiu had done last night in a fit of anger.
I don’t know if Nian Shilan still has any evidence in his hands.
at this time.
Two people came in from outside, they were Xichun and Fudong.
"Your servant greets His Majesty, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine."
The two men knelt on the ground, and after paying their respects, they did not dare to look up.
Seeing that Xichun was fine, Yixiu felt relieved.
After all, Xichun came to report yesterday that he saw Ling'er die with his own eyes.
I have witnessed it with my own eyes, so there can be no mistake.
She spoke slowly, acting like a queen with all the dignity and grace she could muster.
"You two are the ones who are guarding Ling'er? What happened yesterday? Tell us in detail."
Fudong didn't open his mouth, but Xichun had already started crying.
"Your Highness, I am the only maid guarding Ling'er. Her name is Fudong, she is my good sister, and Ling'er..."
Having said this, she seemed to begin to cover up something.
He looked up at Nian Shilan again, and then looked at Fu Dong beside him.
He looked like he was hesitant to say something, as if he had something to hide.
Nian Shilan spoke without hesitation, "Just answer honestly when I ask you to. Who are you showing off to by making such a pretentious gesture?"
Xichun's shoulders trembled with fear.
The Imperial Concubine treated her well during this period and once rewarded her with a pearl hairpin.
So she didn't expect that the imperial concubine would scold her.
But there was no time to think about the reason.
She quickly replied, "Yes, yes, Queen, Ling'er died yesterday. I had a stomachache at the time, so I asked my good sister Fudong to bring some tea over. I didn't expect Fudong to secretly put poison in the tea. When I came back, Ling'er had already taken the poisoned tea and died."
She immediately gave Fu Dong away.
Yixiu raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" Then he immediately pointed at Fudong and said, "Tell me, why did you kill Ling'er?"
Fu Dong's answer was neither humble nor arrogant, "Your Majesty, I did not kill Ling'er."
As soon as these words were spoken, Xichun felt as if a button had been pressed.
He immediately retorted, "You are lying. It is obvious that you poisoned the tea I gave Ling'er. Otherwise, how could she die as soon as you left, and the tea was drunk up."
Seeing this horrible way of betraying someone by pointing at their nose, when Fu Dong looked at her, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Just staring at Xichun.
Xichun looked at her, then quickly turned his head away and stopped looking.
She turned back disappointedly and said, "Your Majesty, Queen, I did not kill Ling'er, and I have no reason to kill Ling'er."
The emperor raised his eyes and looked at her, not afraid at all. "Besides you two, was there anyone else who approached her that day?"
"No, Your Majesty, no one is close to her. She is the one who poisoned me."
The emperor continued, "Since you said that she was the one who poisoned the tea, how can you prove that you didn't poison it when you prepared the tea?"
"This..." Xichun was stunned for a moment, then thought of something, "Your Majesty, the eunuch Xiaoyazi in the back kitchen can testify that I did not lie."
After Xichun finished saying this, a hint of understanding flashed across Nian Shilan's eyes, and then she glanced at Yixiu without leaving a trace.
It turned out to be the case.
It was the eunuchs and palace maids who colluded with each other.
She tried hard but only noticed Xichun, and did not suspect her father-in-law. Fortunately, she managed to blast the little tooth out through Xichun's mouth.
The emperor asked, "Oh? Is there really such a person?"
Nian Shilan picked up the teacup and sipped the tea. Songzhi, receiving the hint, spoke immediately.
"Your Majesty, there is indeed a little bastard in Yikun Palace, but he usually only does odd jobs in the outer corridor and does not go near the inner room. Moreover, I remember that I arranged for the little bastard to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get the newly cultivated peony flowers yesterday. It is unlikely that he saw Xichun making tea in the back kitchen."
Upon hearing this, Xichun immediately became anxious.
She kowtowed quickly and said, "I dare not lie. Yesterday afternoon, Xiao Yazi clearly talked to me in the corridor, and then they went to the kitchen together."
She clearly sounded a little unsure about the last sentence.
Because after hearing Songzhi's words, Yixiu's face turned extremely dark.
If the story about taking the peony flowers was true, Nian Shilan would investigate why Xiao Yazi left his post without permission, who he was going to meet, and why he met her in the kitchen.
Realizing that she seemed to have let something slip, she suddenly changed her words and said, "Damn it, I was wrong and didn't meet Xiao Yazi."
Nian Shilan suddenly smiled coldly.
Her sharp eyes swept across Xichun's face like a cold knife, and she asked, "One moment you said there was a witness and the next moment you said you remembered it wrongly. Xichun, how can I believe you? Is your tea poisonous or not? Tell me the truth!"
Even though Xichun was extremely scared, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.
"Your Highness, please calm down. I really didn't do that!"
"In that case, Fudong, you speak."
Nian Shilan's voice was faint.
Fu Dong immediately replied confidently, "Your Majesty, I did not kill Ling'er, but I drugged her."
Upon hearing this, Yixiu and the emperor's expressions changed.
The emperor frowned, as if he didn't believe his ears, and leaned forward. "What did you say?"
"Yesterday, Xichun said that he had a stomachache, so he asked me to bring tea to Ling'er. I didn't give Ling'er the tea Xichun prepared, but prepared a cup for myself, and in that cup, I put a fake death drug."
Fu Dong spoke the last three words one by one.
Suddenly, the Queen and her entourage were all shocked.
Only the emperor still had a puzzled look on his face.
Yixiu's hand holding Juanzi slowly tightened, and her heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally died.
"Then Ling'er is not dead at this time?"
"Your Majesty, Ling'er is now awake and in my room."
At this time, Nian Shilan stood up quietly and bowed gently to the emperor and empress.
"Your Majesty, Queen, I have no other choice but to resort to this. This was actually my idea. I don't know why everyone in the palace is targeting me all of a sudden, so I have to be on guard."
"Early this morning, I have ordered people to take Ling'er and Yunxiu to the Ministry of Punishment. Their confessions will be collected soon. Please let the Empress and the Emperor make the final decision."
After Nian Shilan finished speaking, Yixiu probably felt his eyes go dark.
Soon, Zhou Ninghai limped in, "Your servant greets the Emperor, Empress, and Imperial Concubine."
Nian Shilan raised her hand, "But has the confession been received?"
"Back to your Majesty, that's right."
Then, Nian Shilan turned her eyes to Xichun, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling.
"Drag him away and beat him to death with clubs."
Zhou Ninghai lowered his head and said, "Yeah."
He and the father-in-law beside him dragged Xichun away.
"Empress, please help me, Empress, please save me..."
Xichun, who was taken off his clothes, still cried for help.
Little did she know that her words would help push Yixiu into the abyss.
Yixiu no longer wanted to save her. She wanted to cut her into pieces and tell her to shut up.
Nian Shilan chuckled and looked at Yixiu's gray face teasingly.
"I think the Empress is better at managing the harem than I am. Your Majesty, look, she is clearly my servant, but in times of crisis, she called for help from the Empress."
Yinzhen casually replied, "The queen is always kind to others."
Nian Shilan ordered all the palace maids to leave, and Fudong naturally went down as well.
She kowtowed and walked out slowly, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.
At the beginning, Songzhi told her that Xichun seemed to be betraying her.
She didn't believe it.
When she first entered the palace, she was accompanied by Xichun.
She knew that Xichun was a bit domineering, and she also knew that Xichun often bullied her and called her stupid.
But you can't just look at this side of a person, she has seen more...
Xichun was willing to share half of his food with her, and would give her a rare piece of candy when she was clumsy and made mistakes and was scolded and cried by her master.
This kind of warmth is always small, but in her opinion it is very hard-earned.
Precious even.
In this cold palace.
For people like them who are slaves, it is good enough to meet someone with whom they can talk heart to heart.
But no one expected that Xichun would eventually take such a path.