The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

After she finished speaking, she held her breath and looked at Shi Mang, who was tied up but whose expression was gradually becoming calm.

At the Queen's signal, Gao Sheng was about to remove the gag when Xie Yuzhen spoke again: "Eunuch, be careful. This maid has a strong temper. You have to be careful that she might commit suicide."

"Thank you for your advice, Madam Talent." Gao Sheng frowned and came to Shi Mang. "You are from Gongjia Village in the suburbs of Beijing. Your parents are still at home, and you have a younger sister and a younger brother, right?"

He first reached out and removed Shi Mang's jaw, took out the cloth to check if there was any poison in her mouth, and then he put the bone back in place with a snap of his hand without any mercy: "If you want to bite your tongue, our family won't stop you, but girl, don't be fooled by the words outside. Even if you bite off your tongue, you won't die immediately. People who bite their tongues will either die in pain, or their blood will flow back and choke them into the trachea, choking them to death..."

Although Gao Sheng was a eunuch, he usually acted like a kind neighbor uncle, and his words were always full of joy, but now his voice became sticky and eerie, like some kind of cold-blooded reptile.

Shen Xiaoyi was already at a loss of ideas when faced with such a situation, and frightened by Gao Sheng's description, she became even more afraid.

She guessed that the mastermind behind the scenes was more afraid of the pregnant women in the palace than Wen Baolin, so he involved Xie Yuzhen as well after taking action instead of dealing with Wen Baolin.

However...after all, the incident happened in Wen Baolin's territory, and the emperor would have to ignore her for a while. So, she didn't lose everything.

Shen Xiaoyi lowered her head, thinking that it was normal for the emperor to ignore her since she had not yet been favored. But it was different for her, Shen Huiwan... As long as she also tasted the feeling of being out of favor, she could certainly continue to endure for more than a year before the time came, until the emperor fell in love with her as he did in his previous life!

"......Of course, my family will definitely not let you die from pain or choking. We will definitely ask the doctor to treat you well. But your family may not be treated so well." Gao Sheng pinched his throat and threatened softly.

Shi Mang's face became paler and paler. The excruciating pain in her jaw caused by the removal and installation made her lose her determination to commit suicide. However... she still kept her lips tightly closed and had no intention of confessing.

Gao Sheng frowned and turned to report to the emperor and empress: "I am incompetent, and Miss Shi Mang doesn't seem to care about the safety of her family."

"Then take him away for trial." The emperor was a little impatient.

"The slaves obey."

As soon as Shi Mang was taken away, Concubine Deng hurried over. She didn't even look at the palace maid who was taken away, and hurriedly stepped forward to apologize: "I am late, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

When the new concubine entered the palace, she was in charge of the renovation of Shouning Palace, so the queen sent someone to call her over early in the morning.

Concubine Deng Xianfei continued, "I don't know why my sedan chair suddenly broke on the way here, so I had to abandon it and hurry over here."

Hearing this, Xie Yuzhen looked up and saw some traces of dust on Concubine Xian's dress. Her left hand was hidden in her sleeve, trembling unnaturally, and there was a faint stain of blood on the sky-blue cuff.

Even so, Concubine Deng's demeanor was still very dignified and elegant, only her breathing was a little faster and her face was a little more rosy.

"You have helped me a lot, but you are busy all day long. How can you take care of everything? Please take a seat first, Concubine Xian. I just have something to ask you."

Concubine Deng knelt again and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat."

She walked to the seat opposite Xie Yuzhen and sat down. Her sitting posture was a little unnatural. Xie Yuzhen guessed that she might have really fallen, and not only her left hand, but also her legs should be injured. However, Concubine Deng had never been close to him, and she insisted on being stubborn. Xie Yuzhen didn't have the kindness to care and remind her.

"When you were renovating the Shouning Palace, did you know if there was a place between the Shouning Palace and the Baosi Pavilion where you could store firewood and a well?"

"To answer your question," Concubine Deng thought for a while and replied, "There is only a palace road and a bamboo forest between Shouning Palace and Baosi Pavilion. There are no other buildings. If there is a place to store firewood and a well... it is only Luwuzhai on the other side of Baosi Pavilion."

The emperor and empress sitting at the top looked at each other.

There are no concubines living in Luwuzhai now, but someone lived there in the past. The person who lived there was the biological mother of the third princess, a talented woman named Gong, who was posthumously conferred the title of noble concubine.

"It was my fault that I didn't think of this!" The Queen was very upset. "Isn't Concubine Gong from the suburbs of Beijing? She should be from the same clan as Shi Mang?"

Although she was the queen and in charge of the six palaces, it was too difficult for her to remember the origins of every palace maid.

The emperor certainly understood this, and he did not mean to blame the queen. Instead, he stroked his chin and said, "Just ask someone to check and you will find out. A deceased noble concubine, an unknown palace maid... Haha."

He glanced at the Shen sisters kneeling on the ground and said, "You two should get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After kneeling for a long time, Wen Baolin and Shen Xiaoyi's knees had become numb. They both staggered several times before the queen, who could not bear to see them suffer any more, called on the palace maids to half-carry and half-support them to stand up.

Shen Xiaoyi was still immersed in the joy that Wen Baolin was going to be as unfavored as herself, and did not notice that Gao Sheng stepped forward and whispered something to the emperor and empress. Then the empress looked at her with a rare angry look.

"Shen Xiaoyi."

"Ah?" Shen Xiaoyi looked up in panic and tried to stand up again, but she pulled her legs and gasped in pain, "I'm here."

The Queen raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. "Why did you ask your palace maid Sisi to sneak into the main hall of Baosi Pavilion when no one was there?"

"Ah?!" Shen Xiaoyi's face was blank, "Madam, Madam, I didn't tell her to do this!"

She looked at Wen Baolin suddenly: "Are you tired of me and are saying this to me on purpose?!"

"Xiaoyi, it was your maid Susu who said it herself. You told her to come and see if there was anything different from usual when no one was inside." The emperor was fooled by her stupidity again and couldn't help but speak up. "Her behavior was different, and the interrogator noticed it. She confessed after just a little fright."

Shen Xiaoyi stared and trembled: "I, I don't know what she does, I...I..."

She did ask Susu to sneak in when no one was in the main hall of Baosi Pavilion, but she was just curious and wanted to check in advance whether the man had set up anything in the main hall. How could she have imagined that the man would use such an incredible method as burning poisonous grass to create smoke? !

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." Wen Baolin suddenly spoke, "Although Shen Xiaoyi often does things inappropriately, she is a natural person and can't do anything very delicate. After entering the palace, perhaps due to the change of environment and environment, my tastes and preferences are very different from when I was at home. Xiaoyi is blunt and simple, and she is just concerned about me. I'm afraid that the palace maid misunderstood."

Seeing that she was still protecting Shen Xiaoyi, Xie Yu couldn't help laughing out loud: "Wen Baolin really loves his brothers, but I'm afraid some people won't appreciate it."

Shen Xiaoyi was originally staring blankly at Wen Baolin who was speaking for her. Upon hearing this, she immediately turned her gaze to Xie Yuzhen: "I just wanted to apologize to my sister and give her a surprise, so I wanted to find out her preferences in private..."

"Oh, you've learned your lesson. Keep it up." Xie Yuzhen laughed, covering his lips with his hands.

The emperor raised his hand and said, "That's enough. It's rare that she has such a clever mind. Thank you, please stop talking. You were frightened today. I will accompany you back to Jinghua Tower for resettlement. The rest - let the queen arrange it."