roccoschili Chapter 198 Insurance 25
Chapter 198 Insurance 25
"Your Majesty, if I confess the truth, can you forgive the guilt of my family members who were unaware of the situation?"
When Hongli heard this, he knew there was something fishy going on. Otherwise, how could he plead for his family for no reason?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. How many things had Ruyi done behind his back that he didn't know about?
"If you tell the truth, I will reward you accordingly. It's wrong, but if you repent and turn back from your wrong path, you will be treated leniently. As for your family, if they truly knew nothing, there's no reason for them to be punished!"
A Ruo acted as if she was frightened by the emperor's majesty to the point of losing her voice. She opened her mouth several times but said nothing, and glanced at Ruyi many times. Anyone who saw her could tell that she had something hidden to say.
Seeing this, Hongli became even more furious and tried to scare her.
"My patience is limited. If you keep hesitating like this, then go to the Ministry of Punishment and speak again."
A Ruo knew that now was the best time for her to perform.
"I beg Your Majesty to forgive me. I have served you since I was young, and we have been together for over ten years! Ever since you entered the palace, your temper has changed. You often worry about your Majesty and complain about the other concubines..."
"A Ruo! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Ruyi raised her voice and scolded A Ruo, her voice almost breaking.
She couldn't understand what was wrong with A Ruo and why she was talking nonsense and slandering her.
She thought she had treated A Ruo well and even thought about arranging a marriage for her, but she didn't expect to face A Ruo's betrayal today.
"Shut up! Let her continue."
Hongli's eyes were so sharp that they seemed to be able to hurt people. When Ruyi met this strange look, she was frightened instantly and did not say a word.
"...My master had approached Consort Mei several times when she was first conferred the title, but things became unhappy later on. For a while, he even cursed Consort Mei at night when he couldn't sleep."
Hongli thought that this was exactly the motive behind the white flower pill incident. It turned out that Ruyi was such a petty person in private.
Ruyi was even a little crazy.
You can slander me, but you can't destroy my dignity!
I am definitely not the kind of country woman who would curse others in the middle of the night!
"After Concubine Mei became pregnant, the master was in a state of irritability for a long time. Until one day, the master suddenly dismissed everyone else and gave me a task alone, which was to find a way to mash something and mix it into Concubine Mei's food."
"I don't have the ability to interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Kitchen, but my master is threatening me with my family and my future... My father has just made some achievements, and I'm afraid that if I don't listen to her, my father's hard work will be in vain and he will lose his position. What's more, Empress Xian also said that if I don't obey, she will give me to my father-in-law..."
At the end, A Ruo was so moved that she shed tears, which added a lot of realism to her not-so-fine acting skills. Even the empress dowager was moved for a moment.
After all, it was for Zhen Huan that Jing Xi was willing to be with Su Peisheng. For this, she even went to the Ministry of Punishment and was criticized by countless people behind her back.
However, unexpectedly, the situation changed. The eunuchs and palace maids who were once hated by everyone suddenly became a couple and were able to do this openly under the name of marriage granted by God.
Zhen Huan was deeply worried that the stupid emperor and empress would ruin the Qing Dynasty. It would be a complete collapse of social order!
Listen, this has become a punishment method that the maid-in-waiting of a concubine fears from the bottom of her heart. This niece Yixiu really lacks virtue, she is stupid and bad!
Ruyi even wanted to tear A Ruo's nonsense mouth apart with her hands. She only knew that she spoke harshly on weekdays, but she didn't know that she could make up lies without blinking an eye. She was really good at crying at the drop of a hat.
When did he say he wanted to marry her to a eunuch?
And what's wrong with eunuchs? Do eunuchs not deserve the right to love just because of their physical defects? She actually discriminated against eunuchs. It was a waste of all her years of teaching!
"So, did you tamper with Lady Mei's meal?"
Hongli's focus was not on the eunuchs or not, his whole mind was on his unborn "noble son".
Upon hearing this, A Ruo once again looked deeply at Ruyi. Seeing Ruyi's sullen face, she deliberately trembled her lips and said:
"Master, please forgive me for not being able to hide this from you."
Then he trembled and told the truth.
"My master instructed me to mix hawthorn, white plum, and purslane into Concubine Mei's meals. I then searched for a dessert recipe and prepared these ingredients. My master said she would spread the word that pregnant women age quickly and that consuming nourishing desserts could help maintain their youthful appearance. Sure enough, Concubine Mei soon began ordering several servings of these special desserts almost every other day. She's been eating them for nearly a month now."
"Today, I heard that something had happened to Concubine Mei. I was very panicked. My mistress hadn't returned yet, so I came here to get some information. However, I didn't expect to be discovered by the palace servants. This gave me the opportunity to confess my guilt."
After A Ruo finished speaking, she bowed her head to the ground and did not make any other movements.
Ruyi was about to explode, but Hailan started crying again.
"Sister, why are you so confused! You said before that you lost your appetite and wanted to find some flower and fruit tea to drink, but you used it to do something stupid like this! You were clearly not like this before, sister..."
Ruyi was suddenly speechless.
It was true that she had a poor appetite some time ago, and Hailan was worried about her, so she paid out of her own pocket and ordered some food to improve her appetite.
She did mention the flower and fruit tea casually, but she didn't remember whether she got it or not, because she didn't even think about drinking it.
Seeing this, Jin Yuyan couldn't help but applaud in her heart. Hailan looked weak, but her skills in stabbing and covering mouths were very powerful. Look at how she had troubled her "good sister" to this point, but no one suspected her at all.
As early as when A Ruo just confessed her guilt, Li Yu received the emperor's eye signal. He quietly walked out while no one was paying attention and ordered a few people to search the Yanx Palace. The ones who received the order were Jin Zhong and Jin Bao.
Jinzhong was so scared by Ruyi last time that he had nightmares for several nights in a row about her pestering him. He had never vented his anger, and now was his chance to retaliate.
After searching very hard, he found a box containing plum blossoms, hawthorns and purslane in the Yanxi Palace. As soon as he got the box, he almost sneezed at the smell of the agarwood fragrance.
When the box was sent back to Yonghe Palace, Hongli completely lost his patience with Ruyi.
"You vicious woman!"
Hongli threw the box hard at Ruyi, hitting her right on the chest. The pain made her eyes red for a moment.
"I warned you about what happened last time, but you showed no remorse and have now committed something even more heinous! Smell the scent on this box. Do you dare to deny that this isn't the scent of the agarwood you often use?"
Ruyi couldn't help but look up and look around.
The empress dowager with an impatient expression, the queen with disgust in her eyes, the concubines whispering to each other, A'ruo who refused to look at her, and Hailan who was grabbing her and crying.
It turned out that except Hai Lan, no one in the harem was her friend, and no one treated her sincerely.
"Your Majesty, I have no excuse. So let it be."
Ruyi raised her chin slightly and looked directly at the emperor.
Don't bow your head, or your crown will fall off; don't shed tears, or the bad guys will laugh.
I don’t know who laughed, but Hongli was completely furious. He wanted to kick her from here to Ningguta to wake her up.
"Okay, okay, I will issue this order: Ulanara has behaved improperly, plotted to murder the empress and the heir, and has refused to change despite repeated warnings. From this day forward, she will be demoted to a commoner and banished to the cold palace. She cannot leave without my permission!"