The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"I wonder why the Queen summoned us two?" He Sangrou's performance reminded Xie Yuzhen of a few old friends.

She sat down at the head of the room, but did not offer a seat to the two people who had been standing for nearly half an hour: "Ms. He, come and see what this is."

She gestured to Xia Zhi, who then took out a small tray with a few silver bills on it and handed it to He Sangrou.

He Sangrou was not unfamiliar with the silver notes above. They were the ones she gave to the palace maids in Chonghua Palace when she "bribed" them.

With a pale face, He Sangrou forced a tearful smile: "Isn't this a banknote......"

Xie Yuzhen glanced at He Sangrou, whose guilty conscience was clearly written on her face, and then at Chen Peiluan, whose face was filled with anxiety but who was trying to remain calm, and couldn't help laughing: "A little maid in Chonghua Palace made some mistakes, and this item actually fell out of her body - that maid served the Second Prince, and you all know how much our Majesty values ​​the Second Prince. All the supplies for the maids around him are kept in a separate account book."

This is the case for every royal heir who lives in Chonghua Palace. The financial income and expenditure of the palace servants around them are of top priority and are checked every ten days for fear that the people around the royal heir may be bribed to do something.

"The banknotes on this young palace maid were not in the account, and they were found from her clothes on the spot." Xie Yuzhen was still relaxed and spoke in a leisurely tone, as if he was just looking for some casual words to talk to the two of them. However, what he said made He Sangrou, who just thought she had escaped a disaster, almost faint. "Two hundred taels in total. Miss He is really generous."

How could she be a palace maid of Chonghua Palace? !

She shook her body and said, "Your Majesty, you are joking. I don't know where this banknote came from..."

Just as she was about to argue, she suddenly felt a gust of air coming from her side. She heard another "plop" sound and turned her head slightly. She saw Chen Peiluan kneeling on the ground with an apologetic look on her face. "I am guilty for not discovering and advising Miss He in advance, telling her not to bribe the palace maids to do such an evil thing. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"You!" He Sangrou widened her eyes, gasped heavily for a few times, and then she knelt down belatedly.

But she still stammered and cried out for injustice: "Madam... Madam... Your Majesty, I didn't know she was from Chonghua Palace, I didn't want to..."

However, he couldn't even come up with a point in his defense. Instead, as soon as he opened his mouth, he confirmed that he had bribed the palace servants to deal with Lin Qiao.

Li Zong on the side silently asked someone to write down the confession.

Xie Yuzhen looked at her with sympathy and compassion: "Miss He and Madam Chen have always been good friends, so what? Did they have a fight?"

Chen Peiluan almost couldn't follow her jumpy questions. After a pause, she sorted out the content of her answer: "Your Majesty, I did have good relations with Miss He, but I recently realized that we are not on the same path. Today, after hearing the news of the commotion at Mr. Lin's place, I found that Miss He was not at her seat. I wanted to talk to her, but I noticed that her expression was different. After questioning her, I realized that she had done such a bold thing."

Chen Peiluan pursed her lips nervously. In her previous life, she was just a good wife helping her husband behind the scenes. Although she couldn't help but imagine how those female officials would react when they were in front of the emperor and empress, and what she would do if it were her turn... this was the first time she had such close contact with one of the country's most powerful people.

Although she was not asking about the political affairs she had imagined, Chen Peiluan inevitably wanted to leave a sufficiently vivid impression on Empress Xie through this questioning - she admitted that she was not a good person, and that she was just selling out her friends for fame, which was not something she could not do.

After calming down for a moment, Chen Peiluan continued, "I accused Miss He of behaving in such a way, but she blamed me instead. Although we were good friends before, we also had some grudges against each other. I originally wanted to persuade her to surrender to the Empress for the sake of our friendship for many years, but she insulted me first, which delayed her time to apologize... When the noble summoned us just now, he should have heard it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zong flexibly continued the conversation and confirmed what Chen Peiluan said.

Chen Peiluan said in one breath: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. She insulted me with a dog and denied my friendship with her. How can I still associate with such a despicable person?"

She clenched her hands into fists, shaking: "Please understand, Your Majesty. Although I have severed my friendship with Miss He and we are enemies, I always speak the truth. I would never dare to lie to Your Majesty about such an important matter."

"Oh?" Xie Yuzhen looked at the woman who seemed to be quite capable in this "plot", "So, Madam Chen is willing to testify that your former friend bribed the people in Chonghua Palace and plotted to murder others?"

"Yes!" Chen Peiluan's trembling fists gradually calmed down, and her voice was filled with a coldness that was like ice that had been frozen for who knows how many years. "This person, I don't want to be friends with him."

A burst of soft crying came to her ears. Chen Peiluan stubbornly and firmly met Xie Yuzhen's smiling eyes. She didn't realize that her breathing was trembling slightly at this moment, and she didn't notice that He Sangrou beside her had turned pale and her face was full of tears.

Chen Peiluan slowly raised her right hand and pointed to the sky, swearing: "I cannot watch her do such evil and turn a blind eye. I am willing to testify that it was He Sangrou who bribed the palace servants to soil Mr. Lin's clothes and make him look bad at the palace banquet!"

She trampled on the only close friend she had ever had, acted righteously, and stated her attitude with certainty.

"How could you do this?!" He Sangrou's emotions suddenly exploded. Just as she was about to pounce on Chen Peiluan and pull her, she was held down by the quick-eyed and quick-handed palace servant.

"Your Majesty, I am indeed at odds with Chen Peiluan, but... but she also took in Madam Dong's maid!" He Sangrou pointed at Chen Peiluan and said, "She also knew about that. She is a poisonous snake lying in the shade of a tree! She... she has a personal grudge against Mr. Lin!"

When the two met, it was obvious that Chen Peiluan was younger, but in fact, it was always Chen Peiluan who was more tolerant and caring towards He Sangrou; and although He Sangrou was older, she was the youngest girl in the family, and even after she had been married for many years, she was still loved and cared for by her father, and received compliments from her husband.

She had long been accustomed to others following her lead and making sacrifices for her. Perhaps when she insulted Chen Peiluan just now, she did not really want to break up with her, but her overly spoiled temper made her choose to speak without thinking and speak ill of her.

It was not until now that He Sangrou finally realized that Chen Peiluan, who had always taken good care of her and tolerated her even when there were minor conflicts, was really going to break up with her this time.

Endless regret surged in her heart, but the anger of being betrayed overwhelmed the regret, making her choose to continue speaking ill of her.