The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

As soon as the emperor left, even the air in the Kunning Palace became a little fresher.

Concubine Zhu—no, Concubine Zhu fell to the ground crying until her eyes were red and swollen. When the empress tiredly asked the palace maids to help her up, she came to her senses and insisted on kneeling down and kowtowed to the empress: "I know that I have sinned deeply, and I don't know when I will see the light of day again. I thank you for your care over the years, and please take care of yourself..."

Her confused mind gradually became clear after she cried. She knew that the blame for the murder of the dragon heir was put on her, not to mention Aying's life... Seeing that there was no hope of turning things around, Concubine Zhu was filled with regret and hatred. She regretted that she did not cultivate her character and had a bad temper but did not know how to control herself, which led her to fall into this trap; she hated the person behind the scenes who had schemed against her inside and out.

"It's good that you admit your mistakes." The Queen raised her hand and pressed her chest, which was a little short of breath, and took a deep breath, "It's a great improvement to admit your mistakes. Ahem, His Majesty has not committed any crime against your family, so you can rest assured."

Concubine Zhu gasped loudly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

She kowtowed three times towards the empty seat that the emperor had sat in, then followed the palace maid down in a daze.

After Nanny Lu and others were taken away by Li Zong and his men, the Queen waved her hand and asked everyone to disperse.

Except Kunning Palace.

Xu Ronghua walked beside Xie Yuzhen and asked, "Sister, who do you think is behind this incident today?"

Xie Yuzhen glanced at the cloudless blue sky and said, "I am a little confused. Why did Zhu Xianshi choose to be the last one?"

"Oh?" Xu Ronghua thought for a moment, "Liu Shuyi is under house arrest, Concubine Chen is not allowed to interfere in external affairs, and Concubine Qian has been deposed. The concubines cannot be easily shaken. Perhaps it was because of this consideration that Concubine Zhu was finally chosen."

The two of them walked slowly on the palace road, heading towards Shouning Palace. The concubines from other palaces scattered and their voices gradually became unclear.

Xie Yuzhen frowned slightly: "If she was chosen to take the blame only at the last minute, this plan would not be so complicated and meticulous. I'm afraid it was aimed at Concubine Zhu from the beginning."

As she spoke, she reviewed the whole incident in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more frightened Xie Yuzhen became. If she hadn't jumped out to fan the flames and escalate the battlefield, would Concubine Zhu not have been implicated?

Or does the person behind the scenes have other plans?

This alone was enough to terrify Xie Yuzhen, but what frightened her even more was another possibility that might sound unbelievable - that is, the person behind the scenes had even calculated Xie Yuzhen's reaction to this matter!

"A child was harmed, so many palaces and so many people were involved, all for Concubine Zhu?" Xu Ronghua took a breath, "As far as I know, Concubine Zhu was a concubine who served His Majesty before he ascended the throne. Her father was a county magistrate and later a Sima of a state. Since Jing County was taken back and changed from a county to a state, Master Zhu was transferred to Jingzhou at the same level."

"He was able to kick a palace maid to death in front of Your Majesty and yet he was not deposed. Apart from the fact that Your Majesty took their old friendship into consideration, I think Sima Zhu still has some ability. Your Majesty is willing to save face for him. I just don't know if the Zhu family is the same as the Qian family, or different?" Xie Yuzhen suddenly missed Qian Xianhui in the cold palace. If Concubine Zhu was deposed this time, he would have to be roommates with Qian Xianhui.

Qian Xianhui's mother had been exiled along with Qian's father for bringing poison into the palace without permission and forcing her daughter to be killed. Xie Yu was really curious that if Concubine Zhu was also deposed, would there be someone who would come to the palace to prompt her, the "stain on the family", to commit suicide? If so, wouldn't that be another good show? If not...tsk tsk, wouldn't that be just stabbing Qian's heart?

I heard from the eunuch in the cold palace that Qian has started to grow her own vegetables these days. It seems that she has let it go and her life is not so difficult anymore.

She was spoiled and had never worked in the fields. She felt that every time she carried a hoe, she would lose a year of her life. Qian Xianhui hugged herself and cried every night:...

"But then again, there are so many people in the palace who are dissatisfied with Concubine Zhu. It's not easy to pick out the real culprit among them."

Concubine Zhu had a bad temper and made many enemies when she was in a high position. It was said that she had a fight with Concubine Li... But she bullied lower-ranking palace concubines more often. Although she was not as bad as Concubine Qian, who everyone wanted to avoid, she was also someone that no one wanted to see.

Xu Ronghua had an idea when she heard this: "But if you want to find someone who is capable and motivated enough to take revenge on Concubine Zhu, I do have a candidate."

The two looked at each other but did not say the name.

"When I first met her, I thought she had a beautiful family background, a simple appearance, a shallow personality, and no scheming." Now when Xu Ronghua talked about what she had done in the past, she could feel more calm.

Xie Yuzhen also liked her change. After all, he wanted to use her, so he would feel at ease if she followed him willingly and got close to him. "Yes, but she is from a noble family. Although she had a bad temper and was a bit blunt at the beginning, the accumulation and education of the family should not be underestimated. Her family is not completely ruined. The people in the previous dynasty did not seem frivolous. How could they not teach a daughter who was going to be sent to the palace well?"

"It is said that one's nature is hard to change. Fortunately, she changed in just one or two months." Xu Ronghua lowered her eyes, "I just said a few words to her in the palace. I am afraid she also hates me for abandoning her. Sister, I think that next time I meet her, I might say something disrespectful to you to confuse her mind. You..."

Xie Yuzhen suddenly stopped, raised his hand and put his index finger to his lips: "Shh, don't I know what kind of person our A Yuan is? Just do it, no matter what else, it can't provoke us, right?"

"Of course!" Xu Ronghua answered happily.

No one can!

Even His Majesty!

Xu Ronghua added: "It's just that I don't understand. She's improving too fast."

"The Meng family has produced empresses and concubines for generations." Xie Yuzhen said, "During the reign of the previous emperor, apart from the Empress Dowager, the most famous concubine who was later deposed and committed suicide was the Imperial Concubine, but the previous emperor did not have only these two in his harem."

"Unfortunately, after the late emperor passed away, the names of the concubines were buried with him in the imperial mausoleum. Now, if we don't look through the palace history books, we can only know the Dharma names of the childless concubines after they became nuns. Otherwise, it would not be difficult to find out who was behind her and made a move on her."

In the previous dynasty, there was a bad custom of burying concubines without children with the emperor. During the Dasheng period, this custom was changed to a rule that if concubines had no children, they had to become nuns after the emperor passed away. Concubines who became nuns could practice asceticism in state-run temples or Taoist temples, or they could stay in the North Palace to recuperate.

Because these concubines were regarded as non-mortals, they were no longer called by their family names or their former titles. They were not allowed to appear in public easily. After their death, they were buried directly in the concubine tombs that had been prepared long ago. Therefore, their presence was very weak. If the records of the previous dynasty were not checked, it would be difficult for outsiders to know their original identities and surnames.

"They say they want to leave the world, but how many people can really give up their worldly ties?"

It’s better to burn it with fire, that’s the real peace!

Xie Yuzhen smiled sweetly and began to count the chips in his hand, wondering when he would be able to get close to Gong Quan.