An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

After learning that Concubine Qi could not keep her baby, Lingrong lost interest in further inquiries. However, she was still an assistant in charge of the six palaces, so she had to get off the carriage to see what was going on.

So she asked Zhaoshui to take care of the two children, and she went to the back with Mujin.

Concubine Jing was the fastest. She arrived before Lingrong and was instructing everyone to deal with this emergency.

Concubine Qi was laid flat on the road. In order to avoid suspicion, she was simply surrounded by a curtain made of tree branches. Ling Rong could hear her cries of pain without having to go close. Her cries sounded particularly pitiful.

Imperial physicians came over one after another to feel Concubine Qi's pulse, but the increasingly shrill cries of pain spoke volumes.

The emperor finally arrived. He ignored everyone's attempts to stop him and lifted the curtain to see Concubine Qi. Lingrong and Concubine Jing looked at each other, but ultimately they chose to stay outside and not disturb the two.

"Sister, do you know what happened?" Ling Rong lowered her voice and leaned close to Concubine Jing's ear. "This horse was carefully selected. How could it suddenly go crazy?"

Concubine Jing shook her head, indicating that she didn't quite understand the situation. "Because Concubine Qi is pregnant, I told the stable to select a docile and steady horse. It doesn't matter if it's a little slower. The important thing is to avoid any accidents.

I carefully inspected this horse before using it, and even asked someone to ride it for a few laps, but there was nothing unusual.

Even the groom said that the horse was indeed very docile before it went crazy, walking slowly and very steadily all the way.

Precisely because the speed would be a bit slow, I arranged for Concubine Qi's carriage to be the last, and also arranged for a number of guards to keep it so as not to delay the speed of others returning to the palace.

But I never expected that the horse would suddenly speed up halfway and finally crash into a tree."

Ling Rong felt something was a little strange, so she discussed it with Concubine Jing and called the coachman back, "Tell me, was there anything unusual before the horse went crazy?"

“In reply to the two ladies, the horse was walking very steadily before it went crazy, but because of its slow speed, it soon fell behind.

I was worried that I would fall too far behind, so I asked Concubine Qi if I wanted to speed up a little.

After Lady Qi agreed, the servant cracked the whip and urged the horse to go faster.

The groom's tone became slower and slower. He hesitated for a long while before continuing, "After being urged, the horse slowly began to speed up, and then it became faster and faster uncontrollably. I tried my best to tighten the reins, but I couldn't control it at all, and was finally thrown away by the angry horse.

I fell on the road and was crushed by the overturned carriage. Fortunately, I was lucky and nothing happened to me.

It’s just that Lady Qi…”

Ling Rong looked at the groom in front of her. Although he had many scratches on his face and body after being thrown away, he was still able to walk normally. When he answered, he was also clear and logical, without any problems.

Was this a situation due to the groom being too lucky, or was it a premeditated plan?

The more Ling Rong thought about it, the more strange it seemed to her. Thinking that this might be the breakthrough, she asked directly, "Are you just scratched? Are there any other problems with your body?"

The groom shook his head and even patted his chest twice to prove that he was fine. "Thank you for your concern, Madam. I am in good health."

In this situation, Lingrong couldn't ask anything more. She waved her hand and told the coachman to go away.

"Sister, I still think this is strange." Ling Rong signaled to Concubine Jing with her eyes, "According to what the groom said, after such a serious collision, he should not be able to walk at this time, how could he still be so energetic.

Could it be that this accident was intentional, and the groom was well prepared, so he was safe and sound?"

After Lingrong's reminder, Concubine Jing realized something was wrong. She looked at the coachman not far away and murmured, "Yes."

“In this case, we must control the groom and interrogate him thoroughly.

Hanzhu, tell the guards to temporarily restrain the groom, and interrogate him after Lady Qi is safe and sound."

Hanzhu responded and was about to leave when she saw the groom in the distance suddenly stop moving, then fall straight down with a dull sound.

Lingrong and Concubine Jing both stood there in a daze, but Hanzhu reacted faster and immediately ran to the coachman.

When Ling Rong and others arrived, they found that the coachman was lying on the ground with blood gushing out of all his orifices. The blood from his mouth had almost dyed his neck red, which looked extremely terrifying.

Concubine Jing was startled and pulled Lingrong back two steps unconsciously, her chest heaving violently.

After a while, she finally calmed down and said, "Sister, this groom...could he have been poisoned?"

Ling Rong didn't understand the situation either. She shook her head and looked to her side.

If Zhaoshui were here, he would be able to guess why the groom died. Unfortunately, it was Mu Jin who was following Lingrong now, and the latter knew no medicine, so she had to go find an imperial physician to take a look.

But most of the imperial doctors were with Concubine Qi, and Mu Jin finally managed to get an imperial doctor over to take a quick look at the groom's condition.

"My ladies, this groom suffered severe internal injuries. All his internal organs were damaged and he died of heavy bleeding."

Imperial Concubine Jing was surprised, she frowned, "But just now the groom was still talking, not even half an incense stick of time, he suddenly fell down.

Imperial Physician, could it be that he was poisoned by something?"

Unexpectedly, the imperial physician was very confident. He took out a few silver needles and said, "My two majesties, please look, I have used the silver needles to check and found no poison.

Most poisons that can kill a person within a few breaths are mixed with arsenic, but this silver needle has not changed, so it is likely not that toxic.

I'm afraid the groom didn't have any external injuries after the collision, but his internal organs were damaged.

It’s just that often damaged organs can still sustain themselves for a period of time, so people don’t feel the pain. This must be the reason why this incredible situation occurred.”

What the imperial physician said was well-reasoned and people had to believe it to some extent. However, Concubine Jing still felt something was wrong, so she asked someone to temporarily look after the groom's body.

"Sister, the Empress Dowager's sedan chair is also here." Ling Rong saw that Concubine Qi could not really help, so she took the initiative to take everyone back to the palace first. "It's not good to stay on the road for too long. I will arrange for the guards to take the Empress Dowager and other concubines back to the palace."

Concubine Jing also felt that what Lingrong said made sense, so she nodded in agreement. Now that the emperor was in charge of the situation, she was not so panicked.

Lingrong did not stay here for long. After informing the emperor, she returned to the palace with Concubine Tian and many other concubines.

As soon as she arrived at the palace, she informed them of the situation of Concubine Qi in Chuxiu Palace and asked them to prepare in advance to avoid being in a hurry when Concubine Qi returned.

At the same time, Lingrong also asked Zhaoshui to go to the Imperial Hospital and informed the imperial doctors left there of Concubine Qi's general condition so that they could prepare medicine in advance so that Concubine Qi would not suffer too much. Of course, this was not Lingrong's original intention. She just wanted to pretend to be a capable and good person. It was not a bad thing to leave the emperor with the impression that she could handle the affairs of the six palaces.

After almost everyone was settled, the rest of the emperor, Concubine Jing and others also returned to the palace. It was already dark by this time, and everyone had gloomy faces. Anyone who saw them would know that Concubine Qi's condition was not optimistic.

The Emperor has returned to the Yangxin Palace, and Concubine Jing has also returned to the Xianfu Palace to rest. After a brief inquiry, Lingrong found out that Concubine Qi had not saved her pregnancy. Fortunately, her condition was not seriously damaged, so she still has a chance to get pregnant in the future.

Since Concubine Qi was still unconscious, Ling Rong did not bother her until the next day when she had some free time, then she took Zhao Shui to visit Chuxiu Palace.

It's just that Concubine Qi was so sad that she had no intention of seeing Ling Rong at all. She didn't even accept the gifts Ling Rong sent her and sent them away.

This arrogance was excessive, but Ling Rong did not get angry about it. She even asked the maids to serve her attentively before returning to Chengqian Palace with a large amount of supplements.

Soon, rumors spread that Concubine Qi of Chuxiu Palace was disrespectful to the imperial concubines. Lingrong didn't even need to think to know that it was the Queen who was pushing it behind the scenes.

Lingrong didn't care. After all, it was not her reputation that was ruined. Besides, the emperor assigned the task of finding out why the horses went crazy to Lingrong and Concubine Jing. Lingrong used the excuse that she had limited energy and naturally handed the matter over to Concubine Tian.

However, Concubine Qi’s case this time was not so easy to investigate. The coroner did not find any signs of poisoning on the horse or the coachman, and the carriage that Concubine Qi was riding in did not cause any miscarriage.

Now they could only start the investigation from the horse. After about a day, Lingrong received the news that the crazy red horse was actually the one that the Third Prince rode in the race.

Logically speaking, this red horse had already injured the Third Prince, so it would not have stayed in the stable any longer. It should not have appeared when the horse was selected and brought back to the palace this time.

This matter must be related to the people of Shangsiyuan. After a brief discussion with Concubine Jing, Lingrong sent someone to the Old Summer Palace again to bring the director and horse trainer of Shangsiyuan to the Forbidden City.

The Minister of the Court was completely unaware of this matter. After all, he was not a horse trainer, and the task of selecting docile horses was given to horse trainers.

This horse trainer Ling Rong is also familiar. He is the one who was fined a monthly salary at that time.

This man was not a tough guy. After a little threat, he said that all these things were ordered by Concubine Wan and the Fourth Prince. He even brought up the matter of the Third Prince's fall from power and said that it was also ordered by the Fourth Prince.

The reason why the Third Prince was murdered was because the Fourth Prince was jealous of the Emperor's favoritism towards the Third Prince; the reason why Concubine Qi was murdered was because Concubine Wan resented Guaerjia Emin for reporting her biological father.

The horse trainer spoke clearly and explained exactly why Zhen Huan and Hongli harmed people.

But as to why he wanted to help these two people, he remained silent.

Only after several rounds of torture did he tell the truth - he agreed to do this because he owed gambling debts and was in urgent need of money.

"The Fourth Prince once rode that red horse with Concubine Hui, but because he whipped it too hard, the horse injured its leg.

After all, the red horse was still young at that time, so the stable kept it, but unfortunately, it was injured in the end.

Later, before the horse race, the Fourth Prince came to the servant and said that he wanted to use the red horse and make the Third Prince fall hard.

The horse trainer stopped talking. He looked up at Concubine Jing and Ling Rong carefully, and continued speaking only after getting permission.

"This time, the Fourth Prince also came to give special instructions. After all, the red horse is very docile as long as it is not whipped, and it will definitely not go crazy."

"Sister, the dead groom seemed to have said that he used a whip to urge the red horse to speed up."

Concubine Jing nodded. The groom's death was so strange that Concubine Jing was filled with fear, so she naturally remembered everything clearly.

"If that's the case, what the horse trainer said is somewhat credible." Ling Rong certainly didn't mind throwing dirty water on Zhen Huan. After all, this was the effect she wanted to achieve.

"What you said does make some sense, but Lady Wan is the emperor's concubine, and the Fourth Prince is a prince. You cannot slander them at will," Concubine Jing raised her voice, "Do you have any evidence to prove that what you said is true?"

The horse trainer seemed to be hesitant. He hesitated for a while and said, "As for the silver, I have already returned it to the gambling house. I can't take it out again.

As for the rest... I do have a letter from Lady Wan, but I don't know if it counts."

"letter?"

Just as Concubine Jing was feeling strange, the horse trainer took the letter out of his arms. There was some blood on it, so it seemed that he had been carrying it with him all the time.

Concubine Jing was busy checking the letter and did not find anything unusual. Lingrong did not believe that someone would carry such evidence with them. She knew that the person did it on purpose, but she did not raise any questions.

It's good that Concubine Jing didn't suspect anything, Lingrong thought so, and moved closer to look at the letter - in fact, it wasn't really a letter, there was only an address on it.

"What is this place?"

"My dear ladies, this address is a bank. I used this jade pendant to withdraw money from the bank to pay off my gambling debts."

The horse trainer took out another jade pendant, held the pearl in his hand, and handed it to Concubine Jing again.

The jade pendant was of good quality, but it was not a precious item. Concubine Jing was unable to confirm for a moment whether the jade pendant belonged to Concubine Wan.

Lingrong took it and examined it carefully, but she had never seen Zhen Huan wear anything similar, whether in terms of pattern or style, and she was also unable to determine who the owner of the jade pendant was.

"I am not very familiar with Lady Wan, so I have never seen this jade pendant."

"The Fourth Prince said that this jade pendant is a token of the agreement between the noble lady Wan and the owner of the bank. As long as I take the jade pendant over, I can get a sum of money.

I was thinking of returning it to the Fourth Prince today, but…"

The horse trainer exhaled, "It's just that I thought it was worth some money, so I kept it for myself.

I was thinking of finding a random excuse to deal with the Fourth Prince, but I didn't expect that I would be summoned to the Forbidden City."