jdhmnovel Chapter 240 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 53
Chapter 240 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 53
After Wen Yuan left, the atmosphere in Jingren Palace grew increasingly heavy and oppressive, like the deathly silence before a storm. The Emperor, his face full of impatience and his eyes gleaming with coldness, stared directly at the Empress, his gaze seemingly trying to see right through her.
Feeling the gazes cast upon her by the other concubines, Consort Yue knew she had no way out and could only grit her teeth and say, "Your Majesty, I have evidence."
So, Qin'er and Lizhi repeated their previous testimonies. The Emperor's majestic gaze swept over the two of them, as if trying to discern the truth from their words.
Yunli knelt down with a thud and loudly retorted, "My brother and Consort Xuan are completely innocent. Why is Consort Yue making false accusations!"
“After Consort Xuan left the palace, she frequently met with Prince Guo at Ganlu Temple. A lone man and a lone woman alone in a room. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you may summon the nuns from Ganlu Temple to confront them.” Consort Yue’s voice trembled, but she still insisted on speaking.
“I have no grudge against Consort Yue. She set this trap to take my life. Your Majesty, you know me well. Even when I visited Ganlu Temple before, it was only to see my mother at Anxi Temple. But because I visited too often, I have been framed like this. Now, if I want to prove my innocence, I am willing to die to prove my innocence.”
Yunli's face was ashen, clearly terrified by this sudden turn of events. His primary consort was about to give birth, and he absolutely could not allow anything to happen to her at this time.
Yunli glanced at Zhen Huan out of the corner of his eye, a fleeting, almost imperceptible ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. In that instant, he silently grumbled, "Zhen Huan, whatever happened in the past is now history. You've returned to the palace; why must you remain entangled with me?"
The Emperor glanced at Yunli casually and uttered a single word in a soft voice: "Summon him!"
A short while later, Jingbai entered Jingren Palace, bowed to the Emperor and Empress, and said, "This humble nun, Jingbai of Ganlu Temple, greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."
Turning her gaze to Zhen Huan, Jingbai said again, "Consort Xuan, how are you? It's been a long time. I wonder if Consort Xuan still remembers an old friend?"
Zhen Huan's voice was authoritative, with a hint of coldness: "Master Jingbai, I'm sure you've been able to come to the palace, so the punishment you received earlier must have healed by now."
Now that Jingbai has a powerful backer, she is naturally not afraid of Zhen Huan. Instead, she mocked, "The beating I received from Consort Xuan taught me to tell the truth."
Zhen Huan ignored her, and Jing Bai continued, "When Consort Xuan first arrived at Ganlu Temple, she never interacted with people like us, so we could only keep our distance. An older aunt from the palace often came to visit Her Highness, and besides that, there was also a prince who frequently visited Ganlu Temple. I did see them talking together often. As for how the two of them get along in private, I don't know, since Her Highness's room is usually kept closed."
At this point, Jingbai glanced at Zhen Huan and continued, "Later, rumors about the two of them spread through Ganlu Temple. Coincidentally, Her Highness fell ill, and in order to recuperate and avoid the rumors, Her Highness moved away from Ganlu Temple and lived alone on Lingyun Peak with her maid. Whether there was any further contact after that, this humble nun has no idea."
Jingbai's words were nine-tenths true and one-tenth false. Except for the fact that she did not mention at all the time when she had made things difficult for Zhen Huan, everything else was true.
"May I ask, Master, is the prince you have met inside the palace?" Consort Yue asked.
Jingbai glanced at Prince Guo and uttered a Buddhist chant: "Amitabha, this is the prince before me."
“Master, you must see this clearly. This is a prince. If you mistake him, it would be a serious crime of slandering a prince.” Consort Zhen fanned the flames from the side.
“Men rarely frequent Ganlu Temple, yet this prince appears so often; it’s too much of a coincidence. Oh, and Physician Wen also often visits Ganlu Temple. Both of these men have dealings with Consort Xuan. However, I’ve bumped into Physician Wen a few times; he was always there to treat Consort Xuan. I don’t know anything else about him,” Jingbai added.
When Jingbai mentioned Wen Shichu, the concubines in Jingren Palace all looked at Zhen Huan in surprise, their eyes filled with astonishment and suspicion.
"Everyone says Ganlu Temple is a place of pure practice, but I never expected Consort Xuan to have been involved with two men so many times. It's clear she's a lewd person." Consort Zhen, not wanting to miss an opportunity to stir up trouble, directly made a sarcastic remark.
Upon hearing this, the other concubines all looked at Consort Zhen, and the Emperor also glanced at her. Consort Zhen was so frightened that she immediately lowered her head and dared not say another word.
Yixiu hadn't expected things to develop this way, and said softly, "Your Majesty, was it Your Majesty who instructed Imperial Physician Wen to visit Ganlu Temple? If so, it makes sense."
“But Prince Guo and Zhen Huan, one is the Emperor’s concubine and the other is the Emperor’s brother, this…” Yi Xiu seemed to be making excuses for Zhen Huan, but in reality she was putting her in an even more disadvantageous position.
The Emperor spun the eighteen-bead coin rapidly in his hand, his suspicions about Zhen Huan growing stronger.
Yunli hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you are mistaken. I have never recalled having any special relationship with Consort Xuan. Moreover, my primary wife is about to give birth, and I have no relation to Consort Xuan whatsoever. As for the matter of the baby elephant, it was clearly a frame-up. Does Your Majesty not know the truth of the matter?"
Consort Duan stepped forward to speak up for Zhen Huan: "Your Majesty, I was also treated by Imperial Physician Wen and had contact with him. If we are gossiped about just because of this, wouldn't all of us concubines who have been treated by Imperial Physician Wen be living in fear?"
Zhen Huan looked calmly at the Emperor and said without fear, "Your Majesty, I have not done it."
Suppressing his anger, the Emperor saw that things were escalating and, not wanting to continue, said, "Alright, I trust Consort Xuan."
How could Yixiu easily let go of this opportunity to bring down Zhen Huan? She said, "If Your Majesty truly wants to clear Consort Xuan's name, you should thoroughly investigate this matter to prevent future rumors from spreading."
An Lingrong chimed in, "Sister gave birth to the Emperor's heir and managed all the affairs of the harem. Even if she has not made any great contributions, she has certainly worked hard. The Emperor must thoroughly investigate this matter so that Sister can be spared any trouble."
Consort Yue continued, "Consort Xuan was pregnant outside of marriage. At that time, the Emperor couldn't visit her often, but the Prince and Imperial Physician Wen had frequent contact with her. So, regarding Consort Xuan's pregnancy..."
The situation had escalated to such an extent that the concubines in the harem were too frightened to speak again.
Consort Duan, always prudent in protecting herself, only spoke up for Zhen Huan just now because she didn't doubt the twins' parentage. As long as the twins are alive, the Emperor will certainly not blame Consort Xuan. But what if the twins aren't the Emperor's biological children…
"Shut up! Consort Yue is making wild guesses without any evidence. I won't allow you to gossip like this," Yi Xiu scolded.
"Speculation? So, there have been such rumors circulating in the harem for some time?" The Emperor stared intently at Yixiu.
"Since such rumors exist, why don't you, as the Empress, quell the gossip in the harem sooner?" the Emperor questioned.
"Consort Xuan was pregnant outside the palace and then fell and gave birth prematurely in the Imperial Garden. Everyone says that Consort Xuan's twins are of unknown origin and are not of the Emperor's bloodline. This is just a rumor, and I have never believed it," Yixiu explained.
"A self-inflicted premature birth from a fall?" The Emperor stared intently at Zhen Huan. Initially, he hadn't thought anything of it; Zhen Huan had tripped and fallen while strolling in the Imperial Garden, and he assumed it was a setup. But now, it seemed—was it a setup, or had Zhen Huan orchestrated it herself?
"Consort Xuan's health was already weak, and Princess Longyue was born in August. Twins are prone to premature birth. Who could have predicted that something would happen when we were taking a walk in the Imperial Garden?" The Emperor seemed to be defending Zhen Huan, but a flash of coldness crossed his eyes.
"Your Majesty, I disagree. Consort Xuan was already seven months pregnant at the time, yet she still went for a walk in the Imperial Garden. Which concubine in the harem isn't extremely cautious during pregnancy? Yet she went to the Imperial Garden, which is so far from Yongshou Palace. Moreover, if someone had truly intended to frame her, why didn't Consort Xuan pursue the matter afterward? It's clear that Consort Xuan's pregnancy was nearing its end, and she made up an excuse to cover it up." Consort Yue dropped a bombshell.
"Since His Majesty trusts Consort Xuan, why not summon Consort Zhen and Jinxi here and see what the truth is?" Consort Jing suggested.
“Grace Zhen and Jinxi were once Consort Xuan’s confidantes. How can we easily believe the words of a confidante?” Consort Yue immediately retorted.
"Shut up!" The Emperor shouted at Consort Yue, who trembled with fear and dared not utter another word.
"Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince is of Your Majesty's bloodline, and Your Majesty places great hopes on him. This matter concerns the future generations, so it is best to be cautious," Yixiu said softly.
"Hmph, then tell me, what constitutes prudence?" The Emperor stared intently at Yixiu, his tone full of impatience.
"I'm afraid we'll have to do a blood test to determine kinship." As soon as Yixiu said this, the atmosphere in Jingren Palace instantly plummeted to freezing point, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.
The Emperor fell silent. Zhen Huan looked up at him, her heart filled with panic.
Yunli kept his head down, kneeling on the ground. At this moment, his impression of Zhen Huan plummeted; he never expected things to develop to such an irreparable point.
"The blood test for kinship requires Your Majesty's blood. I am truly worried that it will harm Your Majesty's health, and I dare not let Your Majesty bear this risk," Yixiu said, feigning concern.
Consort Duan's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly stood up, her eyes filled with concern, and earnestly advised, "Your Majesty's body is of utmost importance and incomparably noble. This method of blood recognition is absolutely unacceptable. We must not allow Your Majesty's health to suffer in the slightest."
Zhen Huan's face was as pale as paper. She slowly knelt down, tears glistening in her eyes. Her voice trembled with sorrow: "Your Majesty, Hongzhan is your own flesh and blood. Blood is thicker than water. If Hongzhan grows up and learns that such a blood test was ever done, how will he bear it?"
Immediately afterwards, Zhen Huan raised her head, her eyes filled with disappointment and resentment, and said in a deep tone: "I thought that I had a deep affection for Your Majesty, but I never thought that Your Majesty would be so suspicious of me. If I had known that things would turn out this way, I would have preferred to stay in Ganlu Temple with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, and spend the rest of my life there, so as to avoid suffering such heart-wrenching pain."