An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

Cuizhu had nothing to say, and the hall fell into a long silence.

It's not that Cuizhu's words were flawless, but she just grasped a very wonderful point. It was true that the bracelet belonged to Concubine Qi, and it was also true that the bracelet was a reward from the emperor.

But who can tell whether Concubine Qi still cares about it now?

"You servant, I didn't know before that you have such a brain and eloquence."

Concubine Qi might have been extremely angry, but she spoke with a smile on her face, which only added to her hostility.

"Your Highness, my eighteen-bead bracelet was stolen. Now that I know where it is, it wouldn't be unreasonable to take it back, right?

If the Empress considers this to be evidence and refuses to return it to me, I will ask the Emperor for it."

"I will have someone send it back to you later."

The Queen really didn't want to argue with Concubine Qi anymore. Now Cuizhu's evidence could not be used as evidence at all.

Concubine Qi knew her character best. She treasured the things given by the Emperor as if they were her life, so there was no way she would give them away so casually.

It seems that I can only think of another way to continue framing Concubine Qi.

A farce, just like that, came to an end again.

Lingrong was getting tired of listening to it. Both Concubine Qi and Cuizhu were very noisy, and the fact that there was no final conclusion for a long time only made everyone slowly tired, until they lost all interest in the matter.

No wonder Concubine Jing didn't send anyone over, because she had long known that this was done by someone sent by the Queen, and the real culprit would not be found in a short time.

But this matter has been delayed for too long. She has to listen to it every time she pays respects. Ling Rong wondered whether she should just get sick and let them check it out slowly.

Lingrong had planned everything along the way, but she didn't expect to see the Fifth Prince who came to ask for a meeting at the gate of Chengqian Palace.

A tiny child, wrapped in a heavy cloak, with thick white fur covering his face, from a distance one would think it was a little white rabbit.

"Empress Sheng." The Fifth Prince returned to his previous self, and even when he called people, there was a hint of subtle flattery in his voice.

"Why are you waiting at the door, Fifth Prince? Come next time. Remember to tell the servants in Chengqian Palace to wait for me in the main hall."

Ling Rong did not stop the Fifth Prince outside the door. Instead, she took his hand and walked into Chengqian Palace together.

The Fifth Prince's hands were icy cold. It was unclear whether it was because he had been exposed to the cold wind for too long or because his health was too poor.

"Madam Sheng, I...I actually have something I want to tell you."

"it is good."

Ling Rong did not stop. She brought the Fifth Prince to the main hall to sit down, and asked Zhao Shui to serve some hot milk tea. Only then did she allow the Fifth Prince to continue speaking.

"Drink some milk tea to warm yourself up first. If you have anything to say, just speak slowly."

The Fifth Prince touched the cup of milk tea. He did not drink it immediately, but used the heat to warm his hands.

"I……"

"Fifth Prince, do you want to talk about Concubine Jing?"

Lingrong took a sip of the milk tea first. She had a very sensitive nose and had already smelled the faint musky scent on the Fifth Prince.

However, the only pregnant women in the palace now were Concubine Jing and Concubine Chun. Ling Rong guessed clearly that this matter was related to Concubine Jing.

So he tried to test it out, and sure enough, he saw the Fifth Prince's expression change drastically.

"How did Empress Sheng know?" The Fifth Prince subconsciously grabbed his sleeves. He looked at Ling Rong cautiously, "Could it be that this matter..."

"It has nothing to do with me," Ling Rong shook her head, but she looked at the Fifth Prince's hands clenching his sleeves, "But it seems that this matter is really related to you, Fifth Prince."

"I didn't pull Madam Jing down. I didn't touch her at all."

"It is the best outcome that Concubine Jing and her child are safe now." Ling Rong said in a halfhearted way. She looked at the Fifth Prince quietly for a while before speaking again, "The Fifth Prince seems to know something else. Why didn't he tell the Emperor but came to me instead?

I am just an unfavored concubine, I am afraid I can't help the Fifth Prince."

The Fifth Prince paused as he put his hand into his sleeve, but still slowly took out the hidden thing.

It was a pendant bag for jade pendants. It was cold in winter, and using the pendant bag was perfect for protecting the jade pendants.

But the moment she took it out, the smell of musk became stronger. Ling Rong subconsciously raised her hand to cover her nose, and her hand under the table clenched the purse containing the perfume pills.

The Fifth Prince was very perceptive. When he saw Ling Rong's expression, he immediately asked, "Does Empress Sheng know what this smell is?"

"I don't know what it is, I just think it's very pungent and I don't like it very much."

Lingrong would never forget the smell of musk. Musk not only had the effect of awakening the mind, but also made women's skin smooth. If it didn't cause miscarriage, all the women in the harem would want to use it.

Just look at Concubine Hua and you will know. She is as beautiful as a flower and outshines all the other eight banners. This must have been due to Huan Yixiang.

"Musk is put in this pendant, so the fragrance is so choking."

Ling Rong pretended to be startled. She put her index finger against her nose, frowned, and turned slightly to avoid it.

When the Fifth Prince saw her like this, he immediately withdrew his hand and put the pouch back into his sleeve.

“I have been wearing this pendant bag these past few days.

I also wore it when I went to Xianfu Palace to play chess with Concubine Jing."

"If that's the case, then Concubine Jing has been feeling unwell for a few days, and it was this musk that caused it?"

Ling Rong quickly thought of Concubine Jing's previous situation. She frowned and suddenly realized something very important, "When did Fifth Prince know that musk was put in this pendant bag?"

The Fifth Prince clenched his sleeves. He was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said that he only found out about it in the past two days.

His little movements were so obvious, how could Ling Rong not guess the real situation.

It seemed that the Fifth Prince was the first to notice that something was wrong with the pouch. He asked someone to check what the scent was. After learning that it was musk, he still wore it and pretended to know nothing.

"I'm afraid someone knew that my prince would go to play chess with Concubine Jing, and deliberately put musk in the pendant bag.

Concubine Jing was exposed to musk from time to time, which would cause unstable fetus.

That’s why I almost had a miscarriage after I accidentally slipped that day.”

"This is what I guessed, but...but if this is the case, wouldn't this mean that I have accidentally harmed Concubine Jing?"

The Fifth Prince looked panicked, his hands were shaking, and he accidentally spilled the milk tea.

Fortunately, he dodged quickly, otherwise the hot tea would have stained his clothes.

The Fifth Prince reached out to touch the teacup, but was stopped by Ling Rong, who moved quickly and immediately cleared the table and asked the Fifth Prince if he needed another cup of hot milk tea.

"I'll sit for a while and then leave. There's no need to bring a new cup."

The Fifth Prince waved his hand and refused. He brought up the matter of musk again and asked Ling Rong for her opinion, "Madam Sheng, do you think I should tell the Emperor about this?

If I tell him, I'm afraid the emperor will vent his anger on me.

If we don’t tell him, then the real culprit behind this will go unpunished.”

"Fifth Prince, do you know who put the musk into the pouch?"

"That day...after I went to Suiyuxuan, I smelled a faint fragrance on her body.

But Empress Chun loves to use incense, and I thought that she had stayed in Suiyuxuan for too long and was contaminated by the fragrance.

Plus, I was invited to Suiyuxuan from time to time, so I didn’t take it too seriously.”

The Fifth Prince spoke fluently and easily reconstructed the situation at that time, "Later, Empress Chun's health was not good, and I gradually went to visit her less and less, and went to play chess in the palace more often.

But after not going to Sui Yuxuan, the fragrance on my body still did not dissipate.

It was not until Empress Jing fell and had a miscarriage that I began to wonder if there was something wrong with the fragrance on my body.

I consulted the imperial physician and found out that the bag contained musk."

The Fifth Prince spoke timidly. He looked at Ling Rong several times, trying to ask Empress Sheng to have mercy on him and help him think of a way to solve this big problem.

"Fifth Prince means that this musk was most likely planted in the Suiyu Pavilion by someone."

Ling Rong just thought of herself as a blind person. She ignored the pitiful look in the Fifth Prince's eyes and kept guiding him to give the answer himself.

"…Madam Sheng, do you also think that I was plotted against in Suiyu Pavilion?"

The Fifth Prince seemed to have found an accomplice. His eyes sparkled. "I was not sure at first, but now that Madam Sheng has said this, it is possible that Madam Chun did it."

I didn't expect that the Fifth Prince would really take advantage of the situation and make it seem like I had analyzed that it was Concubine Chun who wanted to harm Concubine Jing and the Fifth Prince.

But if Concubine Jing was so perceptive, and the scent of the Fifth Prince was so obvious, how could she not notice anything unusual?

"This is a serious matter. Fifth Prince cannot make such a hasty conclusion." Ling Rong did not want to be the scapegoat. She waved her hand and said, "Did Fifth Prince inform the Emperor? The Emperor left in a hurry that day. I guess he went to see Prince."

"On the day when Madam Jing got into trouble, the Emperor did come to see me.

But at that time I didn't know that the fragrance was musk, so I didn't tell Your Majesty.

As for the Emperor, he thought that it was his son who had brought down the Empress, and because of his "refusal to admit it", he angrily reprimanded him.

The Fifth Prince sighed, his childish face showing helplessness, "The Emperor asked me to face the wall and reflect on my mistakes. Only when I figured out where I was wrong did he allow me to go to the Yangxin Palace to meet him."

The Emperor didn't know, and the Empress didn't know either, but they just came running over to tell me what they were thinking.

Ling Rong muttered to herself, and she suddenly remembered that the Fifth Prince had also been to Yongshou Palace and must have said the same thing.

But Zhen Huan didn't help him, so he had to settle for the next best thing and find the problem on himself.

"It seems that the Fifth Prince told Concubine Xu about this matter."

Ling Rong's tone was very firm. She stared at the Fifth Prince without blinking, which made him a little flustered and he nodded subconsciously.

"Since the Fifth Prince has asked Concubine Xu for help, why did he come to Chengqian Palace?

You have been in the palace for a long time, so it is impossible that you don't know that the relationship between Concubine Xu and I is very ordinary."

The Fifth Prince nodded and said, "I know everything, but... Empress Xu refused to help. She said that the timing of the musk's appearance was strange, and I have no evidence to prove that it was Empress Chun who put it there.

Even if you say this, no one will believe it.

She, she also said that if the Emperor knew about this, he might suspect that I intentionally brought musk to the Empress, and it would be bad if the Emperor hated me."

Based on Lingrong's understanding of Zhen Huan, she always felt that she would not say these words so bluntly, especially the one threatening the Fifth Prince.

But since the Fifth Prince said so, it's fine for Lingrong to believe it. What is affected is Zhen Huan's reputation and character, so there is no need for her to help her clarify it.

"Maybe Concubine Xu has her reasons for saying this. Although my brother is still young, he has a certain ability to distinguish right from wrong. Just think carefully about the right and wrong.

As for the musk matter...what do you want me to help you with, brother?"

Lingrong was also curious about what the Fifth Prince wanted to do by looking for her.

"After all, this matter concerns my unborn brother, so I think it would be best to tell the Emperor or Empress Dowager to handle it.

But if I go and say it alone, they will definitely treat me as a child and not believe me.

So I hope that Empress Sheng can help my sons and tell the Emperor exactly what happened."

This requirement sounds fine, but once you do it, you'll realize it's a very tricky business.

Ling Rong's head was shaking like a rattle in her heart, but her face remained calm, "Although Fifth Prince's method can allow him to see the Emperor, it can't solve any problems.

First of all, I am not Concubine Jing and have not been harmed by anyone.

Secondly, I am not Concubine Qi or Concubine Chun, and I have not been slandered by others.

Thirdly, I am not the Queen who needs to find out the truth as soon as possible. If I take my brother to the Emperor, I am afraid that it will make the Emperor suspicious."

Ling Rong's fingertips slid across the table, and every time she wrote a number, she gave a reason for rejection.

"If Fifth Prince really wants to help Concubine Jing, why don't I take you to Xianfu Palace again.

We will tell Concubine Jing first, and then she will decide whether to tell the Emperor immediately.

Fifth Prince, do you think this method is feasible?"

"But...what if Madam Jing blames me and thinks that I harmed my brother?"

The Fifth Prince was a little hesitant. He had been closely related to this incident and now he had to serve as a witness. It was normal for him to feel unsure.

But Lingrong didn't want to wait for him to figure it out. After all, there was only one chance. Her willingness to take him to see Concubine Jing at this time was already a great help.

The Fifth Prince was smart. He pinched his sleeves and quickly put aside his hesitation and nodded, "If Madam Jing is really angry with me for this, please explain it to me. After all, I have never thought of murdering Madam Jing and my brother."

"Okay," Ling Rong stood up and motioned for the Fifth Prince to join her, "But there is one last question. How did the Fifth Prince know that Concubine Jing was pregnant with a prince?"