An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

The evidence was obtained very easily. Although Lingrong and Concubine Jing sent people out of the palace to verify it, it would take about two days to go back and forth.

During this period, the two men told the emperor what they had investigated, and as expected, they saw the emperor's furious expression - he was very disappointed with the Fourth Prince, and immediately planned to send someone to bring the Fourth Prince back to the palace.

However, Concubine Jing stopped the emperor. After all, the case had not been fully investigated yet. What if the Fourth Prince was framed? Such behavior would undoubtedly drive the father and son apart.

Of course, what’s more important is that they don’t want to alert the enemy. Some truths are not suitable to be hidden, and it is better to uproot them.

When it comes to the prince, even though the emperor was angry, he still endured it. He did not want his son to be such a calculating person, even though the evidence before him was such a person.

In order to let Concubine Qi sit down and take care of Xiaoyue with peace of mind, no one told Concubine Qi the evidence they found, but Lingrong had no intention of hiding it, so the matter soon reached Concubine Qi's ears, and was even accompanied by an extremely outrageous speculation - Concubine Wan wanted to murder all the princes just to put the Fourth Prince on the throne.

Like Concubine Tian, ​​Noble Lady Qi was still coveting the position of Queen, but she did not expect that Zhen Huan had become so bold. When she first learned the news, Noble Lady Qi did not rush to cry to the Emperor to make the decision for her, but instead asked someone to notify Lord Guarjia first.

Then the previous dynasty began to become like a pot of boiling water, with countless people gathering around and unable to help but produce bubbles one by one.

The emperor felt the most deeply about this matter. After all, many people began to ask him openly or secretly whether he wanted to appoint a crown prince. After being refuted by the emperor on the grounds that he would not appoint a crown prince, they began to urge the harem to have children.

This behavior may sound a bit excessive, but it was Longkodo who said it, and because the emperor had to call him uncle, he could only endure it helplessly and let them urge for offspring and the selection of concubines.

Fortunately, the results of the investigation outside the palace have come out. The owner of the money shop has confirmed that the jade pendant is the token of trust agreed upon between the Zhen family and himself, and the source of the silver is indeed the Zhen family, but it was deposited a long time ago, and the interest has been compounded for an unknown amount of time.

However, upon hearing that the Zhen family had been exiled, the owner of the money shop crossed out all the profits and only left some of the original principal in the account.

When the horse trainer came with the jade pendant to ask for silver, he only gave according to the amount, but recorded in the account book that all of it had been taken out.

The owner of this bank embezzled so much money that he would have embezzled it all if no one had investigated.

Now that Ling Rong has taken action to investigate, all the silver will naturally be returned to the national treasury. She even proposed to the emperor that the silver be used to make up for the deficit in Yongshou Palace.

After all, the deficit was caused by the emperor's tacit approval. After hearing Lingrong's proposal, the emperor did not object and allowed Lingrong to use all the silver to fill the deficit.

Apart from this little episode, the focus is on investigating Concubine Qi's abortion. Now that Concubine Wan and the Fourth Prince have bribed both physical and human evidence, it depends on how Zhen Huan and the others will distinguish the truth.

The Emperor did not want to bring Zhen Huan and the Fourth Prince back to the palace, so this difficult task fell on Concubine Jing and Ling Rong again.

Within two days, Lingrong and Concubine Jing returned to the Old Summer Palace again, but this time they were "travelling light" and arrived much faster than expected.

As soon as it got dark, the two arrived at the Old Summer Palace. For convenience, they lived together temporarily.

"It would be nice if I could live in the Old Summer Palace forever." With no one else around, Ling Rong felt even more relaxed, half leaning on the beauty's backrest and yawning.

"Youning and Hongyu are not here, so you can't live in peace in Yuanmingyuan."

"Yes, but Zhaoshui and Fangjing are with them, so I feel more at ease."

Lingrong invited Concubine Jing to sit down together. After the two of them enjoyed the breeze for a while, Lingrong started to talk about what Chun had promised.

The Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince were in similar situations. Now that the Seventh Prince had passed away, Imperial Concubine Jing must have been worried. More importantly, Ling Rong also wanted Imperial Concubine Jing to suspect that the Seventh Prince's death was caused by Zhen Huan.

"The death of the Seventh Prince really scares me more." Imperial Concubine Jing did not hide her emotions. She sat beside Ling Rong and sighed deeply, "No matter how carefully we take care of him, Hong Yi's health is still not good. Once he catches a cold, he will be sick for more than half a month.

When I woke up in the middle of the night, I regretted not listening to my sister's advice and insisted on using that prescription. "

Ling Rong was silent for a while, then spoke as if to comfort him, "The Seventh Prince's accident was most likely man-made, and may have nothing to do with his health."

Concubine Jing was skeptical about Ling Rong's words. After all, she was very familiar with her child's physical condition, and could barely accept the fact that the Sixth Prince could not grow up.

"Sister, you should remember that it was me who sent Chun Yingyan to the Old Summer Palace after she was released from house arrest.

Later, the Seventh Prince was sent back by Concubine Wan and the Emperor to be with Chun Ying. Although it was not convenient for me to go there, I did send someone to inquire about the Seventh Prince's situation.

Although the Seventh Prince was weak at that time, as long as he was well taken care of, his life would not be in danger for the time being. But within a few days, he passed away due to food incompatibility.

Although it was determined to be an accident after the investigation, it is indeed strange that the Seventh Prince loved to drink the fruit drinks sent by Concubine Wan during his lifetime. "

Ling Rong's retelling of the Seventh Prince's story did indeed make Concubine Jing notice something unusual, "What on earth is this fruit drink made of?"

"I heard it was made from various fruits like watermelon juice and hawthorn juice. I suspected some kind of drug was put in it, but after searching all over Yuedi Yunju, I still found nothing."

Although Concubine Jing knew all these things, she always believed that it was because the Seventh Prince was too weak that he died.

Now that she found out that someone might have done it on purpose, she felt a little hopeful. "So, the death of the Seventh Prince was not entirely due to that prescription?"

"That's my guess, but I have no evidence, and it's not good to suspect others, so I never said it out loud.

It’s just that Chun promised to ask me about the situation these days, so I just planned to take advantage of this trip back to Yuanmingyuan to interrogate him again.”

Ling Rong looked at Concubine Jing's expression and smiled, "Sister, I'm not telling you about this to make you doubt Concubine Wan, but to reassure you.

If the Seventh Prince had not been in such poor health, he would not have died because of such a plot. You, just take good care of the Sixth Prince, he will not get into trouble so easily. "

Concubine Jing nodded. After all, there was something wrong with her health and she was no longer fit to serve the emperor in the imperial bedchamber. She was afraid that she would only have Hong Yi as her child in this life.

If a child can be raised well, who would be willing to be prepared for the possibility that the child may leave them at any time?

When the two finished chatting, it was already very late. The Fourth Prince came once but was stopped by Concubine Jing. It was not until the next day that Concubine Jing met the Fourth Prince at Wuling Chunse.

Hongli politely bowed to the two of them, but hesitated when he spoke, "Madam Jing, Madam Sheng, when can I return to the Forbidden City?

Now my third and fifth brothers have all gone back, leaving me alone here. Studying and riding horses alone every day is too lonely. "

Lingrong did not respond actively, so it was Concubine Jing who spoke up and told him to stay with his mother and that he would be able to return to the palace one day.

"Mother... Mother was confined to her house before the Emperor left Yuanmingyuan. I went there many times but was unable to see her.

Now he still lives alone in the Old Summer Palace, just like the wild child without a mother.

As the Fourth Prince spoke, tears began to fall. Ling Rong watched him wipe those tears with his sleeves, and felt annoyed for no reason.

Concubine Jing was very patient. While comforting the Fourth Prince, she asked him about the red horse at the farm.

When the Fourth Prince heard this, his tears stopped instantly, but he still tried to wipe his face. He said that he had some impression that it was the horse that knocked down the Third Prince.

"I heard that Concubine Hui once took you to ride this horse, and it hurt you?"

Hongli's heart trembled, and he realized something was wrong almost immediately, "I have indeed fallen off my horse many times before. After all, some horses are more aggressive and not so easy to tame.

But I don’t remember whether it was this red horse or not.”

"On the way back to the Forbidden City, the red horse went mad and hurt Concubine Qi.

The horse trainer has admitted that it was you, the Fourth Prince, who ordered him to secretly beat the red horse and cause it to go crazy."

"What?!" The Fourth Prince exclaimed in surprise. He hurriedly explained that he had never ordered the horse trainer to do anything.

Concubine Jing did not urge him, but repeated all the evidence and words given by the horse trainer, including the incident of the Third Prince's fall from his horse, and also told the Fourth Prince.

Hongli's frown deepened, and he wanted to speak to defend himself several times, but he still held his temper and listened to what Concubine Jing said clearly.

"I have never done this, nor have I ever ordered the horse trainer to use the red horse to murder my third brother.

Madam Jing, does the horse trainer have any evidence to prove that it was I who murdered my third brother?"

"This..." The evidence in Concubine Jing's hand was all about the Fourth Prince following Concubine Wan's instructions and bribing the horse trainer. There was really no evidence that he harmed the Third Prince.

"If there is no evidence, then it is just groundless speculation. Your Majesty, I know that you are eager to find the murderer, which is why you spoke so harshly just now.

I will not resent Your Majesty for this, nor will I refuse to cooperate with the investigation.

But I still find it a little strange. Third brother's matter was clearly investigated at that time, why do you want to bring up the old matter again? "

"Your Highness Sheng and I both trust you," Imperial Concubine Jing smiled awkwardly and continued to ask about Imperial Concubine Wan. "As for Imperial Concubine Wan's instructions, have you done them?"

Hongli still shook his head, "My dear, I am busy studying all day, how could I do such a mean thing?

The matter of sending the letter is even more absurd. It would be fine if I just sent a servant. Why should I go there in person? I just gave the horse trainer a chance to bite back. It's really not worth it."

"Someone saw you go to the stables, Fourth Prince," Ling Rong listened for a long time and finally couldn't help but speak, "The time, the place, and even what you said are all clear."

The Fourth Prince naturally didn't believe it. He stiffened his neck and immediately asked to see the so-called "witness".

But he didn't expect that the witness was none other than Qian Liang, the young eunuch who served him every day.

The betrayal of the people around him made the Fourth Prince stand there in a daze. He listened woodenly to Qian Liang's nonsense, his heart already filled with turmoil - unless evidence could be found to prove that Qian Liang was bribed, the blame would be firmly pinned on him.

But he is just a prince without real power. He finally has a mother, but she is still under house arrest in Yuedi Yunju.

The Fourth Prince was filled with grief. After Qian Liang finished speaking, he could only repeatedly emphasize that he had never done anything like it and that it was the little eunuch who was bribed and came to slander him.

It’s a pity that he usually takes this little eunuch with him when he goes out, and occasionally a nanny follows him, but they don’t know the whereabouts of the Fourth Prince.

In this way, his defense seemed particularly weak, and even after the emperor knew it, he could not believe that the Fourth Prince was innocent.

As for Zhen Huan, she had no way to defend herself. The handwriting on the address was exactly the same as hers, and even the silver in the bank was indeed the private property of the Zhen family.

The jade pendant used as evidence was also a reward when she entered the palace. Zhen Huan once wore it to show respect for the person who gave her the gift, but she didn't like the style of the jade pendant, so she wore it only that once and then threw it into the storehouse.

If she hadn't seen this jade pendant, Zhen Huan would have had no idea that she had ever owned one, let alone when it was stolen.

But now, this jade pendant has become evidence to frame her, proving that the people around her are not loyal, but we just don't know who it is.

But she didn't have time to find out who the traitor was. After all, Concubine Jing and Ling Rong were here to investigate the case, and what she had to do was to clean herself from the dirty water.

However, the motive was clear, and there was both witnesses and evidence. To put it bluntly, Concubine Jing and Ling Rong's trip was just a formality, and Zhen Huan and the Fourth Prince had to admit the crime.

While Concubine Jing was questioning Zhen Huan, Ling Rong's people also "searched" out a package of something in Yuedi Yunju. It was a package of addictive drugs, which was most likely used to add to fruit drinks to murder the Seventh Prince.

The young eunuch Qian Liang and the newly found evidence were sent back to the palace, but Ling Rong and Concubine Jing did not return to the Forbidden City immediately - after all, what Zhen Huan and the Fourth Prince had done still needed to wait for the Emperor's decision, whether it was killing or other punishments, the two had to arrange it before they could leave here.

Soon, the emperor's order reached the Old Summer Palace, and all the faults were blamed on Zhen Huan, while the Fourth Prince was safe and sound.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, summoned the noble lady Wanwan from the Niuhulu clan, who instigated the heir to murder the concubines. Her heart was evil and her actions were vile..."

Zhen Huan knelt in the main hall of Yuedi Yunju, listening to the news brought by the eunuch that her position was stripped and demoted to a commoner. All the palace servants who served her were immediately dismissed, and she was deprived of all the privileges of a concubine.

"You are to be banished to the cold palace as a punishment. I decree this."