The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

To those who were not in the know, Concubine Deng was merely answering the questions raised by Xie Yuzhen very seriously. However, to those who knew her true colors, Concubine Deng's every word and action was full of deep meaning - at least that was what Xie Yuzhen thought.

From the conversation between Xie Yuzhen and Concubine Deng, Liu Shuyi suddenly realized that there might be a big flaw in her plan, but she did not show any panic on her face.

It doesn't matter... Even if I can't completely pin the blame on Concubine Xu for Shen Shuren's madness, it doesn't matter. Anyway, my main goal today is to expose Concubine Xu's deceiving her superiors and subordinates, deliberately using abortion to frame her... I just need to bring Fangfei and the other people involved in the case up for interrogation.

If any one of these two charges is proven true, Concubine Xu will be doomed.

Just like Concubine Xu's feelings towards her, Liu Shuyi was also afraid that today's situation would not be able to completely kill Concubine Xu in one fell swoop.

This pair of sisters, who are blood sisters but enemies in reality, had long been eyeing each other's lives because of a deep hatred.

After Concubine Deng explained the whereabouts of the palace maid's belongings.

The queen then sent Gao Sheng to lead people to search in the Buddhist hall where the palace maids stayed. On the other side, the maids and female officials of the two palace concubines involved were also brought up.

On Liu Shuyi's side, there was naturally Fangfei, and the little palace maid who she caught "drugging" the water in the vase. The little palace maid was named Guixiang. She looked very haggard and her complexion was very bad, with a hint of illness; while Fangfei's face was just slightly pale.

Her elder sister Jiaqi and Shuangyi were both kneeling on the other side, their cheeks were pale. Jiaqi lowered her head, her eyes fixed on the ground, and she didn't even look at her sister who was kneeling next to her; while Shuangyi stared at Jiaqi with murderous eyes, as if she couldn't understand why she suddenly betrayed her.

"Fang Fei, right?" The emperor looked at Li Zong expressionlessly, and then did not ask him if he had found out anything from the interrogation. Instead, he pointed directly at Fang Fei, who was kneeling at the front, and said, "Tell us all how Concubine Xu planned to frame Liu Shuyi."

His face showed no sadness or joy, but instead revealed a deep sense of boredom and exhaustion, and perhaps also some sadness over the favorite concubine losing the royal heir.

Xie Yuzhen kept looking at him, trying to find out his true feelings mixed with countless lies from the man's subtle expressions and dark eyes.

Fangfei kowtowed, then lay on the ground and spoke softly.

"My sister and I also did the sweeping work in Yanzhang Palace a few years ago. Later, because of our age, we were transferred to other places. Concubine Xu... Concubine Xu had private contact with every palace maid who left Yanzhang Palace. This is what my sister and I found out after asking others. Not only us, Concubine Xu also cares about the palace maids in Yanzhang Palace..."

What she said was a little vague, but her meaning was very clear - Concubine Xu had been secretly bribing the palace maids in Yanzhang Palace for a long time, and her net was extremely wide.

"Later, my sister was transferred to Yuchun Residence." Fang Fei said, turning her head to glance at Jiaqi. "My sister seemed to be a little weak. Although Lady Xu transferred her to her side and seemed to value her very much, she actually always asked my sister to do the most exhausting tasks, and she was secretly working with her day and night."

"Use this... use this to threaten me, let me secretly learn the embroidery needlework of Madam Shuyi, use the same materials to imitate the sachet that Concubine Xu often uses, and then put cold things that harm the fetus in the sachet. Wait for her, wait until the fetus in her belly can no longer be saved, and then find a chance to expose this matter, so as to create the illusion that Madam Shuyi is secretly harming her!"

Then, Jiaqi also began to agree and confirm Fangfei's statement.

"Your Majesty, you heard it all..." Liu Shuyi sobbed at the right time, "I guess her physical condition is too weak to bear a child, but after all, we are mother and child, how could she be so cruel and vicious to use the child as a tool to frame me?"

She was still feeling aggrieved, but the emperor just glanced at her indifferently and did not respond.

This action made Liu Shuyi's performance pause. Soon, she raised her hand to wipe her tears to hide her surprise.

"Is there any physical evidence for what you said?" asked the queen.

When she was seriously ill, it was Concubine Xu who offered her medicine that brought her back from the brink of death. The reason why she didn't speak out before was because there was a secret medicine involved in this case. The emperor would associate the medicine offered by Concubine Xu with the secret medicine of the previous dynasty, which would increase his suspicion of misjudgment. That was why the queen kept silent.

It was only when Fang Fei spoke so confidently and the Emperor's expression became more solemn that the Queen could not help but ask - she did not think that all the women in the harem were as pure and beautiful as they appeared, but risking the fetus in her belly to scheme against others was really beyond the Queen's bottom line.

Perhaps because she had seen Concubine Xu crying for her mother and later received a medicine from her, the Queen subconsciously did not want to believe what the Fangfei sisters said was true.

"To answer your Majesty's question," Jiaqi said respectfully, "the scent bag is on Lady Xu's person. You only need to take it and take a look to know the answer."

Her voice trembled slightly.

But Shuang Yi snorted coldly: "Yes, just take it and you will know the truth!"

"How dare you!" Liu Shuyi raised her eyebrows. "The master didn't even allow you to speak. You are such an ignorant servant. You are like the dog you raise!"

Seeing the situation slowly developing in the direction she expected, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but get excited whenever she thought about her mother's revenge being about to be achieved.

Now seeing Shuangyi being so stubborn, and remembering that she was originally a maid of the Liu family, but betrayed her real master and turned to that bastard, he couldn't help but scold her.

"Empress Shuyi is right. This dog, no matter how much it pretends to be a good-looking one, its nature is hard to change. Once something happens, its true nature will be revealed." Xie Yuzhen retorted to Liu Shuyi as soon as he opened his mouth.

Liu Shuyi, who had been maintaining a noble mentality and imitating the appearance of otherworldly female fairies during this period, was awakened from the joy and excitement of imminent revenge by what she said, and realized that the words she cursed were too similar to her "former self".

She suppressed her excitement and quickly adjusted her expression: "When Concubine Zhao praised Concubine Xu, she probably didn't expect her to be so vicious. Look, she just got pregnant and thought she couldn't get any more benefits from you. Without benefits, she stopped interacting with Shouning Palace."

Xie Yu was really waiting for this sentence. The woman frowned and said in a questioning tone, "Concubine Xu is pregnant. Because of the abuse your mother has caused her, her body has not been well. I just felt sorry for her weakness, so I told her in person that she should not travel a long way to Shouning Palace before giving birth."

She stood up and looked at the emperor, her voice soft and slightly hoarse: "Your Majesty, I have known Lady Xu for a long time, and I will never convict her based on the words of these palace maids. Besides, how can a woman of our background understand so much..."

She snorted sarcastically, "Liu Shuyi's concept is quite surprising to me. It's clear that A Yuan and I have a true sisterly relationship, but how come you think of it as just profit?"