An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

Chapter 482 Who is going to die?

"Looking at Concubine Qi's expression, she can't explain why there is poison in her own palace." Xinpin's tone was full of gloating. If they hadn't been in the Yangxin Palace, she would have laughed out loud.

"You are good at adding insult to injury," Concubine Qi suppressed her anger and glared at Concubine Xin fiercely, "My Lady Imperial Concubine, this poison is definitely not mine. Someone must have put it into my palace."

"You mean... you suspect there's a traitor around you?"

"Yes, Madam. Concubine Wan must have bribed someone in my palace to use this oleander to frame me."

Ling Rong didn't nod. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Lady Qi, do you have anyone you suspect? I can't send everyone to the Ministry of Punishment for investigation. The maids in this palace are all from the Eight Banners. We can't imprison and torture them at will."

"This..." No one in Concubine Qi's Changchun Palace took the initiative to make this happen. The poison was put there by Zhen Huan, and Concubine Qi did not find any signs of infidelity in anyone.

"Lady Qi is hesitant. I'm afraid she can't think of someone to frame her." Lady Wan was no longer silent as before. Instead, she started to criticize Lady Qi anytime and anywhere. "Besides, I have already seen Lady Qi's little moves."

"Oh?" Ling Rong perked up. She looked at Concubine Wan in surprise. "So, you saw Concubine Qi poisoning you with your own eyes?"

"Yes, Imperial Noble Consort," Concubine Wan knelt down solemnly and told Ling Rong what she had seen. "After I and the maid were driven out, I stayed at the door for a while longer and saw Concubine Qi take something out of her sleeve and pour it into the tea.

Now that I think about it, the thing that was put in there was oleander powder."

"In this way, Concubine Wan can also be regarded as a witness." Ling Rong nodded and looked at Concubine Qi again, "Concubine Qi, now that Concubine Wan has appeared to testify, this time, I am afraid..."

"My Royal Concubine, she said it was me who poisoned her, and I also said it was her who did it." Concubine Qi was unwilling to take the blame, and she immediately said, "I have a grudge against Concubine Wan, and her testimony cannot be used as evidence at all. My Royal Concubine, please don't be deceived."

"Lady Qi, you said there was a grudge based on the witnesses, and you said there was a frame-up based on the physical evidence," Ling Rong said in an awkward tone, "I am here to find out the truth. If you can't prove your innocence, I can only judge based on the existing evidence.

But considering that you have served the Emperor for a long time, I will give you another chance to think carefully about whether there is anything that can prove your innocence."

In fact, that bag of oleander was enough to convict Concubine Qi, but Lingrong couldn't act too harsh, lest the women in the harem secretly mock her for being a villain or cruel.

Ling Rong was not afraid of these words, but now that the Fifth Prince was about to ascend the throne, as his mother, she could not have any bad reputation spread at this time.

"The Imperial Concubine is too kindhearted. There are witnesses and evidence, but she has not directly convicted me." Xinpin began to speak uncomfortably, even Lingrong dared to question her, "This noble lady Qi..."

Lingrong's face turned cold and she glanced over with an unhappy look, causing Xinpin to choke on her words and not dare to continue.

"Xinpin is impatient. It seems that she is too worried about the emperor. Why don't you go to the bedroom and take a look at the emperor's situation? Only when you calm down can you sit here quietly, right?"

Concubine Xin swallowed her saliva. It was not that she had changed her personality, but she knew clearly that the Fifth Prince was now the most likely to inherit the throne. So for the sake of Shuhe, she would not have any quarrel with the Imperial Concubine.

"Then I would like to thank Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine. I will go to the bedroom to see the Emperor and express my concern to the sisters in the palace."

"It's good that you have this thought. Go quickly. If the emperor wakes up, remember to ask Eunuch Su to serve the meal.

The emperor had been unconscious for a long time and had been vomiting continuously due to poisoning. Once he woke up, he would be extremely hungry.

The kitchen has already cooked some porridge. Remember to take the medicine after eating, so as to avoid discomfort to the emperor."

Xinpin hurriedly bowed, "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine is very thoughtful. I have already made note of it."

"Then don't just stand there, go over there."

Seeing Xinpin leave, Lingrong's expression just eased a little, but the next second, her eyes fell on Concubine Qi, "Concubine Qi, have you thought about how to defend yourself? If you still can't think of it, go back to Changchun Palace and confine yourself. I won't kill you yet. If the emperor wakes up, I can also plead with the emperor to leave you a whole body.

But if the emperor really encounters an accident, I will have to punish you by having you torn into pieces by five horses."

"W-what..." Concubine Qi took two steps back. She was so frightened that her face turned pale. Before she knew how to explain herself, tears had already fallen.

"Xiao Chizi, why are you still standing there? Please go back to Changchun Palace and reflect on your mistakes, Lady Qi."

"No, Your Majesty, I really didn't do this. I am truly wronged.

Imperial Noble Consort, I really didn’t do anything.” Concubine Qi, who used to be so arrogant in front of Lingrong, finally burst into tears this time. Thunder began to rumble outside the window, and rain fell along with Concubine Qi’s tears, just like when Concubine Qi was beaten to death in her previous life.

The crying and shouting disappeared in the rain. Ling Rong looked at the kneeling Concubine Wan in silence, but never asked her to stand up.

Everyone sat in the hall in silence until Concubine Xin sent someone to inform Lingrong that the emperor had woken up, and the silence in the room faded away.

Ling Rong did not rush over, but called the Fifth Prince over, and then the two of them went to serve the Emperor together.

When Concubine Xin saw Lingrong coming, she stood up hesitantly and stopped feeding the emperor medicine.

"Continue to serve the emperor with medicine. Only after he drinks all the medicine can he feel at ease."

Xinpin immediately agreed and served the emperor a whole bowl of bitter medicine before she was allowed to leave the bedroom.

"I must have scared you guys."

Although the emperor was poisoned, his emotions were surprisingly stable at this time. He even asked Lingrong and Hongzhou to sit down and comforted them not to worry.

"Your Majesty, you have been poisoned. How can you be so calm at this moment? You don't know how scared Hong Zhou and I are. I don't know how many tears the other sisters in the palace have shed."

"I know who wants to kill me," the emperor still looked indifferent. He asked Lingrong to sit next to him, "Now my health is too poor, it is difficult for me to continue to manage the government.

Hong Zhou is not young anymore, it is time for him to take over government affairs and become the ruler of a country."

Hong Zhou frowned upon hearing this, and he did not look happy. "I think that the emperor is in much better spirits now, and it is not impossible for him to continue to handle state affairs."

"Why, you don't want to inherit the throne?"

After hearing these words, Lingrong couldn't figure out whether the emperor was testing her or speaking sincerely. After all, the emperor was a very suspicious person, and perhaps he said these words to the Fifth Prince because he suspected that the Fifth Prince and himself had poisoned her.

"I just feel that Your Majesty is in good health and does not need me to share his worries." Hong Zhou spoke righteously, as if he really was a man who did not care about the throne.

But the more he acted like this, the more suspicious the emperor became. The emperor was originally a little happy, but his face darkened. "If you really have no intention of inheriting the throne, then I really misjudged you. In this case, why not recall Hongshi from the border to manage the government on my behalf?"

"If Your Majesty feels that Third Brother is more suitable than me, then Your Majesty can just call Third Brother back," the Fifth Prince said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone. He knelt down, his tone even a little provocative. "But the border is not stable, Your Majesty should just send me over.

I have been raised outside the palace since I was young. Unlike my third brother who has been with the Emperor since childhood, I am not as caring as him.

Being able to bring my third brother back to the emperor's side can be considered as a filial act for the emperor."

When Lingrong heard the Fifth Prince's resentful words, she realized that the Fifth Prince had been resenting the Emperor for so many years.

The mother and son lived outside the palace all year round, without the emperor asking any questions about them. Even as concubines and princes, they did not receive any preferential treatment, and their lives were even worse than those of the servants.

The so-called recuperation outside the palace actually made his mother's health worse.

The same was true for himself, the Fifth Prince. His so-called illness had never been cured - it had even gotten worse, and all he wanted to do all day long was to get rid of all his brothers and sisters so that his royal father would never have any children.

It's a pity that those brothers and sisters are so cute that he couldn't bring himself to do it to them. So he could only find other ways to vent his feelings. On the one hand, he used crying to release his depression, and on the other hand, he used the funeral to commemorate his mother.

The throne was actually a dispensable toy to him. He wanted it before because he knew that the emperor only wanted the fourth prince to inherit the throne.

So when Ling Rong sent someone to deliver poison into the prince's residence, he put it into the food without hesitation, directly poisoning the Fourth Prince to death.

He still remembers the look in the Fourth Prince's eyes when he was poisoned, vicious and ruthless, pitiful and hateful, just like himself when he was abandoned by the Emperor.

They are truly brothers, even their hatred for others is exactly the same.

The Fifth Prince still remembers that he closed Hongli's eyes, but his eyes were too wide open and could not be closed no matter what he did. It looked weird and creepy.

Hong Zhou thought about it and looked up at the emperor. At this moment, he was thinking, if he told the emperor that his favorite son was poisoned to death by him, would the emperor be so angry that he would die with his eyes wide open?

"I hear you say this, you are resentful that I didn't bring you with me."

"How dare I hate the Emperor?" The Fifth Prince sneered in his heart, with a hint of disdain on his face, "But Third Brother is the Emperor's eldest son after all, so it's only natural for the Emperor to be partial to me."

"Hong Zhou," Ling Rong had to speak at this time. She scolded softly and shook her head to signal the Fifth Prince to stop talking. "The Emperor did not mean this. You should understand."

"I understand," the Fifth Prince was not as stupid as Hongshi. He immediately knew that his attitude was wrong. He lowered his head, "I just felt that the Emperor was in good health and I should not be in charge of government affairs. But the Emperor was unwilling to do so, so I got a little excited."

Lingrong looked at the emperor. She pinched his arm slightly, signaling him not to be too angry.

"My health is getting worse day by day, and the doctors also said that if I continue to work hard on state affairs, I am afraid I will not live for more than a month.

Hong Zhou, although you have been involved in political affairs, you have not been learning by my side since childhood.

For the sake of the people, I have no choice but to keep my life alive and raise a wise ruler for the world."

The emperor was not willing to give up the throne, but he knew his body better than anyone else.

"Su Peisheng, convey my decree tomorrow morning and ask the new emperor to ascend the throne."

Ling Rong's eyes widened. She never thought that the emperor would give up the throne so easily. Even the imperial edict had been written long ago, just waiting for Su Peisheng to read it.

"emperor……"

Ling Rong wanted to say something, but the emperor raised his hand to stop her. He lay down tiredly and said, "Go, Hong Zhou. I am a little tired."

The Fifth Prince was still kneeling until Su Peisheng reminded him, then he stood up and said, "I understand."

"Your Majesty," Ling Rong spoke again after the Fifth Prince left, "Hong Zhou is still young, you really don't have to worry..."

"I know he is young, so I asked him to ascend the throne as soon as possible, while I am still in good health and can teach him for some time.

This way, Rong'er will be relieved, and I can be at ease and take good care of my health."

The emperor coughed twice, and finally lay down exhausted. Ling Rong wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief, "Your Majesty, I have found out who poisoned you."

"Xinpin mentioned it to me. Rong'er should know that the person who poisoned was not Concubine Qi."

The emperor sighed and closed his eyes, "Noble Lady Wan and Zhen hate me the most. They first teamed up with Shen Zishan and used Huiguang to consume my body.

Then, Zhen and Prince Guo joined the game and entered the palace to take action against me personally.

They even thought of someone to frame, and took advantage of the opportunity when Concubine Qi was harassing Zhen to place poison in Changchun Palace."

The emperor showed a mocking smile. He did not open his eyes, but his hand was tightly holding Ling Rong's. "How dare they hate me! How dare they hate me!"

Lingrong let the emperor hold her hand tightly. Her face was indifferent and it took a long time for her to reveal a smile.

"Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from heaven. When you meet a demon or a Buddha, they are all for salvation. It is because they do not understand the divine will that they do such evil things.

I am only temporarily confining Concubine Qi, but the exact punishment still needs the Emperor's order."

“If we take their lives directly, it would be too easy for them.

Send me a cup of poisoned wine to Yongshou Palace and tell them that I will only let two people out of the palace. No matter who is left behind, I will release them and will never break my promise. "

Lingrong nodded. She was also curious about who among Zhen Huan, Zhen Yurao and Prince Guo would take the initiative to die.