freenovelworld Chapter 244 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 57
Chapter 244 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 57
After the Empress Dowager's funeral was settled, Zhen Huan quietly began her journey of revenge against Yi Xiu.
In the past, when the Empress Dowager was alive, no matter what mistakes Yixiu made, the Empress Dowager always favored and protected her. Even when the Emperor was furious with Yixiu, he never punished her too harshly out of consideration for the Empress Dowager. Now that the Empress Dowager has passed away, Zhen Huan has finally found her chance for revenge.
Zhen Huan sent Xiao Yunzi to secretly monitor Jingren Palace, but unexpectedly, he discovered a shocking secret.
"Are you sure?" Zhen Huan asked Xiao Yunzi, her face full of doubt and a hint of disbelief in her eyes.
"This servant would never dare to lie. Afterwards, I analyzed the matter carefully and found it to be highly suspicious. It must be the truth," Xiao Yunzi replied respectfully, his tone certain.
Zhen Huan snorted coldly, recalling the time of the "blood test" when the Emperor originally intended to severely punish the Empress. However, when the Empress mentioned the late Empress Chun Yuan, it instantly touched the Emperor's soft spot, and in the end, the Emperor softened and let the Empress go.
Now that she has learned that the Empress has cruelly murdered Empress Chun Yuan, Zhen Huan sneers inwardly. She knows all too well the Emperor's deep affection for Empress Chun Yuan.
It was only because Empress Chun Yuan died young that her image became even more perfect in the Emperor's mind. Rather than saying that the Emperor loved the real Empress Chun Yuan, it would be more accurate to say that he fell in love with the flawless woman he had imagined in his mind.
"Wait, did someone tell you this on purpose?" Zhen Huan was a meticulous person after all, and she felt that this matter was too coincidental, so she couldn't help but have doubts.
"This servant assures you it's absolutely not true. It was Huichun, who serves the Empress, who mentioned it unintentionally," Xiao Yunzi quickly explained, her attitude extremely respectful.
Hui Chun is the Empress's confidante, and it is said that she has followed the Empress since the time of the Prince's residence. How could she be so careless as to leak such a secret...
"Continue your investigation secretly, be extremely careful, and see if you can find the person who served Empress Chun Yuan in the Prince's Mansion back then," Zhen Huan instructed Xiao Yunzi after careful consideration.
Over the past two months, Zhen Huan's worries have deepened. She knows that the Eighth Prince has a hidden illness, and if anything unexpected happens in the future, the advantages she currently possesses will vanish.
Her power in the harem, and the fact that some officials in the court sided with her, were largely due to the fact that the Eighth Prince was the Emperor's youngest son.
Therefore, when the Fourth Prince Hongli came to visit Yongshou Palace, Zhen Huan secretly began to make plans. In the past, she had not paid much attention to Hongli, after all, she had a healthy son.
But the situation is different now. Although Hongli is young, he is exceptionally intelligent. He noticed the change in Consort Xuan's attitude and her newfound friendliness towards him, and instantly understood her intentions. From then on, he visited Yongshou Palace more frequently. Zhen Huan intentionally wanted to win over Hongli, and the two tacitly reached a certain understanding.
……
Time flies, and March passed in the blink of an eye. Things in the palace gradually calmed down, and the Emperor finally had time to deal with matters related to Zhen Huan.
According to Gao Wuyong, Zhen Huan and Prince Guo seem to be connected, stemming from the relationship between Huanbi and Prince Guo. It was Huanbi who asked Prince Guo for help when Zhen Huan regained favor at the Plum Garden. However, apart from this, no other substantial connection has been found.
However, after the "blood test," Su Peisheng and Cui Jinxi "unexpectedly" died, making the whole affair seem bizarre. The more unrelated they seemed, the more suspicious it became.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor was slightly angered. He looked coldly at Gao Wuyong, whom he considered incompetent and utterly useless. He waved his hand, signaling Gao Wuyong to leave, and ordered him to thoroughly investigate the matter.
In May, following the clues left by Xiao Lengzi, Gao Wuyong traced the trail back to Wei Lin. Unfortunately, Wei Lin had already passed away. But Gao Wuyong did not give up. In Wei Lin's long-abandoned residence, he found a record of Wei Lin taking Zhen Huan's pulse.
Gao Wuyong knew the matter was of great importance and dared not delay in the slightest. He immediately went to the palace to report to the emperor.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor was intently reviewing memorials. Xia Zhongyi tiptoed in and whispered, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Gao has arrived."
"Let him in." The Emperor said without pausing his writing or looking up.
Gao Wuyong entered the hall, his face grave, sweat beading on his forehead, which he kept wiping with a handkerchief. The Emperor glanced at him, then ordered Xia Zhongyi to go out and stand guard outside the hall.
"Speak, what is it?" the Emperor asked, his tone calm yet subtly conveying authority.
Gao Wuyong knelt down with a thud and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the matter of Consort Xuan that you previously instructed me to investigate has now yielded results."
"This servant started with the imperial physician who examined Consort Xuan's pulse at the time. Wen Shichu was far away in Ningguta, so this servant turned to investigate Wei Lin, who came later. Unexpectedly..."
"Speak!" The Emperor's gaze sharpened. From Gao Wuyong's attitude, he already sensed that there might be more to the story about Zhen Huan.
"After Consort Xuan gave birth to twins, Wei Lin resigned and left the Imperial Hospital. Less than half a month later, he unexpectedly passed away. This servant found this matter suspicious and, after several twists and turns, finally found this record of Consort Xuan's pulse diagnosis in Wei Lin's old residence."
Having said that, Gao Wuyong took out a notebook from his robes and handed it to the Emperor with both hands. The Emperor did not immediately look at it, but gestured for Gao Wuyong to continue.
"The sudden deaths of Cui Jinxi and Su Peisheng are highly suspicious. After obtaining this pulse diagnosis record, I investigated the cause of their deaths and discovered that it seems that Consort Xuan's people were manipulating things behind the scenes."
Seeing that Gao Wuyong was no longer speaking, the Emperor picked up the pulse diagnosis record and saw that it clearly stated that Zhen Huan's gestational age was nine months.
In an instant, the emperor was enraged. He grabbed the inkstone in front of him and smashed it on the ground with a loud bang. Gao Wuyong trembled and knelt on the ground, shaking.
Gao Wuyong was terrified. He knew he had discovered the shocking secret that the emperor had been cuckolded, and he was afraid that the emperor would kill him to silence him in a fit of rage.
"Fine, what a vile woman!" After venting his anger, the emperor's tone gradually calmed down, but it was still filled with endless coldness.
The Emperor was filled with resentment, feeling that he had treated Zhen Huan well, yet she had dared to be so audacious as to commit such a treacherous act.
No, if there were problems with this pregnancy from the beginning, why didn't Wen Shichu notice it? Could it be that this pregnancy was actually Wen Shichu's? If so, it seems to make sense that Wen Shichu went to Ningguta to take care of Zhen Yuandao and stayed there for two years.
"Go, bring Wen Shichu back secretly. As long as he's alive, that's fine. I want to interrogate him myself." The Emperor suppressed his anger and calmly gave the order.
"Yes!" Gao Wuyong accepted the order and withdrew. The Emperor sat wearily in his chair, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Meanwhile, Zhen Huan also made a major discovery a few days ago.
She successfully found irrefutable evidence that Yixiu had murdered Empress Chun Yuan, and even "found" the old nanny who had served Empress Chun Yuan back then. However, Zhen Huan did not rush to act. She knew that this opportunity was rare and that she must strike decisively and completely bring down Yixiu.
At this time, Zhen Huan was unaware that the Emperor had discovered her secret.