bookcurios Chapter 145 Finding the murderer who killed Chen Da Ying
Chapter 145 Finding the murderer who killed Chen Da Ying
Just like at the beginning, the emperor was deeply attracted by her beauty and temperament, and he liked her. He also praised her for being gentle and docile, and gave her the title "Wan".
There were many concubines who were promoted in the harem, but only a handful of them were able to receive titles from His Majesty. Among the newcomers, only she and Shen Zhinian had such honor and favor!
But gradually... under Shen Zhinian's calculations, His Majesty no longer believed in the good qualities she had carefully displayed, and a gap between him and her grew in his heart. Later, he disliked her more and more, until not long ago, he completely despised her!
If that's the case, why can't she give him a taste of his own medicine?
As long as His Majesty has doubts about Shen Zhinian, he will not treat that bitch as intimately as before. And when a person begins to doubt another person, he will think that everything the other person does is wrong.
As time goes by, Your Majesty will also dislike Shen Zhinian as much as he dislikes her!
But Liu Ruyan never expected that even though Shen Zhinian had become a suspect in the murder of Chen Da Ying, His Majesty still trusted her so much. So many concubines asked His Majesty to deal with Shen Zhinian, but His Majesty remained unmoved. He was so biased!
Liu Ruyan was distracted for a moment, and murmured, "It's lonely at the top. The emperor is alone, how can he trust anyone? Xun You... How do you think Shen Zhinian did it?"
Although Xun You was no longer as loyal to Liu Ruyan as before, he did not show it on his face. He said respectfully, "My lady, don't be too sad. It was just that Concubine Rou who was good at pretending and deceived His Majesty."
"The more this happens, the angrier His Majesty will be when he discovers her true identity. He might even banish her to the cold palace and directly order her to be executed."
Liu Ruyan shook her head and said, "No, I'm not sad. At the beginning, I did have feelings for His Majesty. But when I was framed for the first time, he didn't stand up for me and demoted me and stripped me of my title. Then I realized how cold and indifferent he was."
"I just want to know, compared to Shen Zhinian, where exactly did I lose? Why was she able to be favored and rise to a high position step by step, while I am imprisoned?"
Xun You said: "Noble Lady Rou really knows how to calculate people's hearts. Even Your Majesty has been deceived by her."
"But my lady, now is not the time to think about this. Xiao Beizi has been sent to the Ministry of Punishment, and Concubine Rou has been completely cleared of suspicion. What if the people from the Ministry of Punishment follow Xiao Beizi and find us..."
Liu Ruyan said calmly, "Why are you panicking?"
"When the previous emperor was in power, Xiao Beizi was a hard laborer in the Xinzheku. One time, he caught a cold and was almost dead. The nanny who served his aunt was also sick at that time. She accidentally ran into him and gave him a packet of her own medicine, so he was lucky enough to survive."
"In order to repay the favor, Xiao Beizi carved his name on a wooden plaque and gave it to the nanny, saying that from now on, if someone held the plaque and asked him to do something, he would do it even if it meant death."
"Until my aunt passed away and Nanny left the palace to retire, she never used this chess piece. In the end, the wooden sign and the contact information of other chess pieces were sent to the Liu family for my use."
"Mammy didn't hire an imperial physician for Xiao Beizi, so there would be no trace of him in the Imperial Hospital, and my aunt never had any contact with him. Even the one who instructed him to lead Shen Zhinian to Jingye Pond this time was someone else."
"From beginning to end, Xiao Beizi has never seen us. I'm afraid he himself doesn't know who ordered him to do so. How could the Ministry of Punishment find us?"
Xun You finally breathed a sigh of relief, but was still a little worried: "But... don't let others know, unless you don't do it yourself. Your Majesty attaches so much importance to Concubine Rou, this matter may still be discovered. The safest way is to find someone to take the blame! As long as the case is closed, the people from the Ministry of Punishment will not continue to investigate."
Liu Ruyan paused while drinking her tea: "What you said makes sense..."
Xunyou was far superior to the other maids in terms of scheming and viciousness, and she also knew a little about poison, so she brought Xunyou into the palace. But because of this, Xunyou had already separated from her, which made Liu Ruyan even more uneasy.
However, now, they can only rely on each other. Even if she is afraid in her heart, Liu Ruyan cannot show it.
Xun You continued, "My lady, since Xiao Beizi is serving in the Yanxi Palace, why don't we go with the flow and pin the blame on Concubine Xue?"
"If it succeeds, Concubine Xue will definitely fall out of favor; even if it fails, she and Concubine Rou will also have a grudge against each other. Then let them fight each other, and we will reap the benefits. Isn't it wonderful?"
Liu Ruyan pondered for a while and rejected the proposal: "It's not appropriate."
"Princess Xue has always been aloof and arrogant. Not to mention harming people, she doesn't even associate with any other concubines. Few people would believe that she would kill someone and try to frame Shen Zhinian."
"Besides, her father is suppressing a rebellion in Licheng, and His Majesty has called her up for two consecutive nights. If you put the blame on her now, everyone will only think that someone is jealous of Concubine Xue's favor and deliberately framed her."
"Let's take a step back... Even if it really succeeds, and her father is highly valued, His Majesty will not really do anything to her just because of the death of a concubine."
Xun You frowned and said, "What the young master means is..."
Liu Ruyan looked ahead, a hint of viciousness flashing in her eyes: "Wanxiangju, the hall on the left side of Yonghe Palace in front, is where Concubine Meng lives, right?"
"If I remember correctly, Chen promised to be arrogant. Not long ago, she took advantage of the fact that Your Majesty had turned over her name card and dared not take Concubine Meng seriously. The two of them had an argument."
"Although Concubine Meng's position was higher than that of Lady Chen, she was not very favored and did not dare to do anything to Lady Chen at that critical moment. So it is reasonable for her to hold a grudge and get angrier and angrier afterward, so she looked for an opportunity to kill Lady Chen, right?"
Xunyou and Liu Ruyan looked at each other and said hesitantly, "Noble Meng is from a humble family and is not very favored. The palace maids are not willing to serve her in Wanxiangju. She said she was a noble lady, but there was only one palace maid serving her, and she was our person."
"But... Young Master, there are only one or two pieces of chess left by the Concubine Tai. Do you really want to use them for this matter?"
Liu Ruyan was also very conflicted. She was silent for a long time before she said, "Do you think I am willing? But you know how difficult Shen Zhinian is. We must not let her catch us!"
"Yes, I know what to do."
Liu Ruyan touched her belly, her tone as sinister as a venomous snake: "Shen Zhinian alone cost me so many lives, I will never let her go! The New Year's Eve banquet will be the day she dies!"
……
Tingyu Pavilion.
The emperor was busy with government affairs and had not entered the harem in the past few days.
But everyone in the Ministry of Punishment knew how much His Majesty doted on Concubine Rou, so as soon as they found out that Chen Da Ying had been murdered, they sent all the evidence over.
After listening to Su Ye's report, Shen Zhinian's fox eyes narrowed slightly.