The Empress of Zhen Huan Reborn

Xiaowu followed silently in the team, feeling a little sad for a moment. Since he came to serve the emperor, he had always had the best relationship with the third brother who had just died. During their rest time, they drank together and talked happily, saying that they would make great achievements in the palace, serve the emperor well, and make their families live better. How could his good brother, who had reminded him the day before that the weather was hot and he should be careful of heatstroke, collapse in front of him today, and he was powerless to do anything.

The more Xiaowu thought about it, the sadder he felt. Tears dropped from his eyes. He wiped them away with his sleeves. He couldn't help but feel some resentment towards Nian Shilan. If she hadn't been so domineering in the palace and been feared by others, how could a snake have appeared in Changle Palace? If there hadn't been a snake, how could his brother have died tragically? Xiaowu felt very indignant.

After returning to the Yangxin Palace, Zhou Ninghai and the guards reported to the emperor. The emperor saw that there was one less person in the guard team and asked in surprise, "Why is there one less person?"

The leader of the guards knelt and reported: "Your Majesty, Wang San was accidentally bitten by a snake while driving it away and has died."

The emperor was shocked when he heard the guard's words. He raised his voice and asked, "How could it be? Is the snake's venom so dangerous? Didn't the imperial doctors accompany you?"

Zhou Ninghai added, "In reply to the emperor, after the guard was bitten, I brought Imperial Doctor Zhang and Imperial Doctor Wen into the palace. The two doctors said that this poison is extremely dangerous and once bitten, there is no way to save the person."

The emperor asked with some fear: "But what about those poisonous snakes that the imperial concubine and I saw just now?"

Zhou Ninghai replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, it was those poisonous snakes."

After hearing this, the emperor was terrified and also had an irrepressible anger. A poisonous snake! Extremely poisonous! Once bitten, even the imperial physician would be helpless! This person was too vicious. It was obvious that he wanted to kill himself and the imperial concubine!

The emperor was furious and slapped the dragon table with his palm. With a "bang", everyone in the hall was terrified and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, calm down."

The emperor's brows were furrowed, his eyes were burning with anger, and he roared like thunder: "Su Peisheng, investigate for me! Investigate carefully! Don't let go of any clues! I want to see who this person in the harem is, and how dare he do such cruel things under my nose!"

Su Peisheng quickly responded: "Yes, I obey your command."

The emperor barely suppressed his anger, looked at the leader of the guards and said, "Bury Ah San and give his surviving family three hundred taels of silver as a token of my appreciation."

The leader of the guards thanked Ah San on his behalf, and then led the other guards out of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. Just as Zhou Ninghai was about to walk out, he was stopped by the emperor.

Nian Shilan heard the emperor's thunderous roar in the palace. She felt uneasy for a moment, so she ordered Songzhi to help her out to see what was going on.

Songzhi didn't want to do it, but she couldn't persuade Nian Shilan, so she had to carefully help Nian Shilan out of the bedroom. They happened to see the guards collectively walking out of the hall, and Nian Shilan shouted to stop the guards.

"Wait a minute, what happened just now?"

When the leader of the guards saw that it was Nian Shilan who asked him, he bowed and saluted, "To reply to the Imperial Concubine, everything is fine."

Nian Shilan is not that easy to fool. "Nothing? Why would the emperor be so angry if nothing happened? Do you think I'm a fool?"

Nian Shilan glanced at the guards with a clear gaze, stopped at Lao Wu's red and swollen eyes, and asked, "Tell me! What happened?"

Nian Shilan's voice was a little stern at this time, and her aura was very strong. The fifth brother was already a little sad about the death of the third brother. Now seeing Nian Shilan's strong look, he said indignantly: "The emperor is angry, doesn't the imperial concubine know why? Why do you pretend to be confused and ask this servant when you know the truth?"

When Song Zhi heard Lao Wu say this, she angrily scolded him, "How dare you! How dare you be so rude to the Imperial Concubine? You don't want to keep your head anymore, do you?"

The fourth guard among the guards hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "I hope the Imperial Concubine will forgive me. I was in a bad mood because of Ah San's death. I didn't mean to contradict the Imperial Concubine on purpose. Please spare my life."

When Nian Shilan heard what the fourth brother said, she was a little surprised and asked, "Why did he die?"

Just as the fourth brother was about to speak, the fifth brother said in a bad tone, "What else could it be! If there hadn't been another poisonous snake in the Queen's palace, the third brother would have been bitten while trying to drive it away, how could he have lost his life for no reason?"

Songzhi wanted to speak again, but Nian Shilan pinched her hard with her hands. Nian Shilan said with a trembling voice: "What? Bitten by a poisonous snake?"

Lao Wu wanted to continue to confront Nian Shilan, but when he saw her pale face, he stammered and finally did not speak.

Nian Shilan looked at Lao Wu and said, "Explain to me in detail, did you go to drive away the snake again just now?"

Lao Wu nodded and said nothing more.

Seeing that Lao Wu confirmed his guess, Nian Shilan was a little unsteady on her feet and staggered. Songzhi quickly supported Nian Shilan. Nian Shilan calmed down and asked, "Are you good friends with the deceased guard?"

Before Lao Wu could speak, the team leader's attendant was afraid that Lao Wu would escalate the situation if he spoke again, so he quickly said, "To answer the Imperial Concubine, Lao Wu and Ah San have the best relationship."

Nian Shilan looked at Lao Wu, "Do you know if he has any relatives at home?"

Lao Wu didn't know what Nian Shilan was going to do, so he answered truthfully, "All the other relatives in his family have passed away, and only his mother is left."

Nian Shilan nodded and asked, "Is Changle Palace safe now?"

When Lao Wu heard Nian Shilan mention Changle Palace, he said in a somewhat stiff tone: "Yes, it is safe now."

Nian Shilan looked at Lao Wu and sighed, "I never thought this would happen today. It's useless to say more now. You and Song Zhi, who is beside me, go there and get some silver to give to his relatives. Tell her that if she encounters difficulties in life, she can go to the mansion to seek help."

When Lao Wu heard what Nian Shilan said, he was a little surprised. He looked up at Nian Shilan in disbelief, trying to tell whether what Nian Shilan said was true or false.

Nian Shilan forced herself to raise the corners of her lips and said, "As the Imperial Consort, I will not break my promise."

When the fifth brother heard what Nian Shilan said, he bowed slightly and said, "I would like to thank the Imperial Concubine on behalf of my third brother."

Nian Shilan waved her hand, then whispered something in Songzhi's ear. Songzhi bowed and took Lao Wu back to Changle Palace.

After Lao Wu left, Nian Shilan looked at the other guards in the palace and said, "Thank you for your hard work today. The emperor will give you rewards in a while to commend your bravery today. But I hope you will serve the emperor and take good care of yourselves, so that you can do a better job for the emperor."

All the guards thanked Nian Shilan together and left the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.