svetikya Page 555
Page 555
Huaiqing nodded. "Alright, I'll go and invite Li Chang'an to the palace right away. This woman is definitely lying!"
Hearing their conversation, Lang'er's face turned deathly pale.
Behind Huaiqing was an unremarkable eunuch who would tell Emperor Yuanjing everything he saw and heard.
Lang'er didn't know if Li Chang'an could break the secret technique. If he could, how should she deal with it?
However, as Consort Chen's confidante, she knew very well that she absolutely could not confess, because if she did, she would surely die.
"Are you thinking that if you confess, you'll definitely die?"
Huaiqing's voice was very calm, as if it could penetrate people's hearts. Lang'er's whole body tensed up, and her back began to sweat.
“But you’ve already been imprisoned by me. How long do you think you can live now?”
Lang'er gritted her teeth, her heart pounding with anxiety, because Huaiqing was right; she was probably not far from death ever since Huaiqing had set his sights on her.
Given Consort Chen's ruthlessness, it's possible that she would be eliminated completely, killed off, since only the dead can never reveal secrets.
Deep down, she harbored some resentment towards Lin'an for his outspokenness, because it was Lin'an's casual question that had drawn Huaiqing's attention.
How could the scheming Consort Chen give birth to such a naive and innocent princess?
However, she was just a nobody, and if she dared to confess, her entire family would probably be killed by Consort Chen.
Consort Chen's confidants were not only extremely loyal, but they also all had weaknesses that could be exploited against them.
"Someone, summon a squad of Imperial Guards to guard this place firmly. Caiwei, let's go find Li Chang'an."
Before leaving, Huaiqing looked at Lang'er with pity and sighed, "May you have a good master in your next life."
Just as Huaiqing and Chu Caiwei stepped out, heart-wrenching cries erupted from inside the room, cries that sounded utterly desperate.
"Father, Mother, Little Brother... Waaaaah..."
Chu Caiwei couldn't help but be moved and said, "Your Highness, she sounds so pitiful."
Huaiqing remained calm, saying, "If you want wealth and status, you have to pay the price. If you fail, you have to accept the consequences."
Lang'er will never confess unless she speaks out of the law and is forced to talk, but that would be a betrayal of Consort Chen.
The crying inside the room grew weaker and weaker. A palace maid who was guarding the door rushed into the room and exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, she's taken poison!"
"Quickly, go and inform the princess!"
At this moment, Huaiqing appeared at the door with Chu Caiwei and the young eunuch; she had no intention of leaving the palace at all.
Lang'er convulsed, her gaze gradually drifting away, her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.
“Father-in-law, you saw it too, she committed suicide.”
Upon witnessing the palace maid's gruesome death, the young eunuch trembled uncontrollably. "Your Highness... I will certainly report the truth to His Majesty."
After glancing at Lang'er's corpse one last time, Huaiqing calmly returned to his palace. The matter had been investigated to this point, which should be enough.
With Emperor Yuanjing's intelligence, he was capable of judging who was right and who was wrong. Any further explanation or defense would have been superfluous.
As for the emperor's brother-in-law, that纨绔 (wan ku, a spoiled brat) is indeed a good-for-nothing, but he may not be able to obtain any information in Lin'an.
At the residence of the Emperor's brother-in-law.
Biao Biao, accompanied by the old eunuch, Lü Qing, and several newly transferred night watchmen, strode into the Imperial Uncle's residence with great pomp and circumstance.
These night watchmen were Li Yuchun's team.
The emperor's brother-in-law, who was watching the erotic dance, was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that the foolish second princess would lead people into his residence.
"Shangguan Guojiu! You have an affair with the palace maid Huang Xiaorou, and you have defiled the harem. Confess now!" Biao Biao asked bluntly, without any beating around the bush.
Biao Biao glanced at the several naked dancers dressed in gauze and was filled with shock and anger. As expected, he was a dissolute playboy who indulged in debauchery in broad daylight.
When the emperor's brother-in-law heard Huang Xiaorou's name, he trembled instantly, and a look of fear flashed in his eyes. Only the empress knew about this matter.
It was because of this incident that the Empress forbade him from entering the palace again, but she did not kill Huang Xiaorou, which may have left a hidden danger.
At this time, the emperor's brother-in-law was filled with resentment towards the empress!
If Huang Xiaorou had been killed outright, none of this trouble would have happened!
"Your Highness, what Huang Xiaorou? What are you talking about? I have no idea."
Lin'an took out the yellow silk cloth from Huang Xiaorou's body and said, "In the spring of the thirty-first year of Yuanjing, don't you know what you've done?"
When the emperor's brother-in-law saw the yellow silk cloth, he panicked, his face drained of color, and his expression turned fearful.
However, upon seeing Lin'an's indignant and righteous demeanor, the emperor's brother-in-law felt a sense of侥幸 (a sense of luck or chance).
This second princess is a bit silly; she's always been rather dim-witted, and her brain doesn't seem to work very well.
"Your Highness, you are wise. I truly did not know."
The old eunuch beside Emperor Yuanjing shrank behind the crowd, carefully observing the situation before him. He was merely an observer and could not interfere with the investigation.
Lin'an put her hands on her hips, clearly at a loss, but she remembered everything Li Chang'an had taught her.
"Hey you, one of Li Chang'an's men, come here!"
Li Yuchun immediately clasped his hands and stepped forward, "Your Highness, I am Li Yuchun, and I serve under Lord Li."
Lin'an pointed angrily at the emperor's brother-in-law, "Li Yuchun, this guy is stubborn. You can arrest him now and take him back for interrogation, right?"
Li Yuchun said, "Based on the evidence we have now, it is indeed time to put him in jail. The emperor's brother-in-law is highly suspicious!"
"Hmph!" Lin'an glared angrily at the Imperial Uncle. "I can't do anything with you. The night watchman isn't someone to be trifled with!"
When the emperor's brother-in-law heard that he was to be taken to the night watchman's dungeon, his legs went weak and he slumped down.
Even the toughest men in that hellhole would give in, let alone a spoiled brat like him.
"Your Highness, I'll talk, I'll talk!"
"Huang Xiaorou thought I was His Majesty, so she was willing to be with me."
I was initially unwilling, but I couldn't resist her seduction. It was truly a mistake that led to eternal regret!
Chapter 339 The Third Grade of Confucianism, Bombing the National Temple Again!
"I enjoy beautiful women, but I am tired of the women in brothels and entertainment venues."
The concubines in the mansion have long lost their novelty for me; touching their hands is like touching my right hand with my left.
Gradually, I discovered that the women in the palace were more captivating than those outside.
"It's all my sister's fault. There are so many palace maids in Fengqi Palace, but she won't let me touch them."
"Your Majesty has been obsessed with cultivating immortality for so many years, what's wrong with me having fun with one or two palace maids?"
"I don't want His Majesty's concubines. That day I saw Huang Xiaorou in the Empress's palace. She was pretty and charming, and I went up to her and started touching her inappropriately."
"She'd never seen His Majesty before, and she mistook me for him. Her face flushed, and she didn't dare refuse..."
At this point, Princess Lin'an kicked the Imperial Uncle in the knee, causing him to kneel down in pain.
"You unruly scoundrel, how dare you lay a finger on a palace maid!"
"You, surnamed Shangguan, who impersonated the Emperor's concubine, you wouldn't have enough heads to chop off even if you had ten!"
She glared angrily at the emperor's brother-in-law, a complete guess forming in her mind.
The emperor's brother-in-law had an affair with Huang Xiaorou and even had a child. Huang Xiaorou later discovered that the emperor's brother-in-law was not the emperor, which devastated her. She also miscarried and even attempted suicide.
The Empress saved Huang Xiaorou with a miraculous medicine, and Huang Xiaorou, out of gratitude, became the Empress's confidante.
Therefore, it was Huang Xiaorou who secretly tampered with the railings of the Qingfeng Palace observation deck of Consort Fu and even invited the Crown Prince over.
It was all the Queen's conspiracy!
"I'm so clever!" The woman's eyes gleamed with a sense of triumph.
The emperor's brother-in-law was still earnestly confessing, "When no one was around, I followed her into the side room and we made love."
That foolish woman actually thought that because she served His Majesty, she was the only woman who could make him break his vows.
"Later, I became addicted to the taste and often had secret rendezvous with Huang Xiaorou. I never expected that she would become pregnant. From then on, the Empress forbade me from entering the harem and promised to kill Huang Xiaorou."
"Huang Xiaorou originally thought she was pregnant with the emperor's child, so she hated the empress who forced her to have an abortion to the core."
Later, when she discovered I wasn't the emperor, she threatened to commit suicide... Let her die then! But the empress actually saved her!
"If we had killed Huang Xiaorou back then, none of this would have happened!"
Lin'an was very satisfied with the operation. The case was basically solved. Not only was the Empress exposed, but the Emperor's uncle, a dissolute playboy, was also found out.
"Put him in jail and see if he has anything else he hasn't confessed!"
Under the orders of the archer, the night watchman detained the emperor's brother-in-law.
"I want to see the Empress! I am the only son of the Shangguan family, the Empress will save me! She won't stand by and watch me die!"
Upon hearing this, Biao Biao revealed a victorious smile, becoming even more convinced that the Empress was behind the Consort Fu case.
Afterwards, Biao Biao returned to the palace full of confidence, only to learn of Lang'er's suicide.
"Lang'er was driven to her death by Huaiqing! But... why did Lang'er commit suicide..."
The old eunuch bowed and said, "Your Highness, please go back and rest. The night watchman's office will need some time to interrogate the emperor's brother-in-law."