An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

In response to Lingrong's answer, the emperor just nodded. He thought about his two older children and felt mixed emotions. After all, in his heart, neither of the two princes were fit to be emperor.

If Prince Yi's health had not been getting worse, the Emperor could have had a good chat with his thirteenth brother to decide who to choose as the emperor.

But the emperor knew very well in his heart that when it came to intelligence and political acumen, even Youning could not compare to these two children.

But... you can't ask Youning to be the crown prince.

The emperor's expression was uncertain. Lingrong looked at him strangely, but she didn't say anything. After sitting for a while, she left and took Youning and Su Peisheng to investigate what happened in Jingren Palace.

Following Su Peisheng's guidance, Lingrong went to the small Buddhist temple in Jingren Palace and saw the blood-stained scriptures, and thus checked whether the Queen was abused during her lifetime.

Fangze was the emperor's person and had been given enough money. After Lingrong had just threatened her with a few words, she knelt on the ground and told him that Concubine Tian had ordered her to beat the Empress.

"Are you sure what you said is true? If I remember correctly, the Fang generation is from the emperor's side."

Lingrong didn't want to expose the truth, she just wanted to ask how the emperor managed to pin the matter perfectly on Concubine Tian.

“To answer your Majesty, I did serve in the Yangxin Palace, but I only did some odd jobs.

Eunuch Su is in charge of the Yangxin Palace and is extremely strict. Servants like me who do odd jobs don't get much monthly salary.

For slaves, this is really not enough to supplement the household income.

Therefore, I contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs early, spent some money, and was assigned to the imperial kitchen."

Fangze was very respectful at this time, and there was no sign of her viciousness in front of the queen. "Empress Sheng, you have the power to assist in managing the six palaces. You should know that after the queen was confined, the servants around her were dispersed.

Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs assigned people to take care of her again. I thought that she was the Empress after all, and a lean camel was bigger than a horse, so I volunteered to be transferred over.

Who would have known that after being transferred here, I would find out that the Queen had actually been deposed, but only retained the title of Queen.

I have been serving the Empress day and night, but I have not received even a penny in return.

Later...Later, Concubine Tian sent Sang'er, who was by her side, over here and gave me a large sum of silver, asking me to help me to temper the Queen.

I am timid and dare not do it, so I can only let Sang'er in and let her do it herself.

But this would mean half the silver would be gone. I thought that Sang'er had done it for several days and no one had noticed, so I thought of doing it myself and put all the silver in my pocket.

Therefore... because of this, the Empress was tortured for several days, and the bloodstains on the scripture were left there accidentally."

Fangze seemed to be afraid and stopped talking. She glanced at Su Peisheng, who immediately bowed to Lingrong and said, "My Lady Concubine Sheng, Fangze still has some evidence to present to you."

"Bring it up and let us have a look." Lingrong knew the general idea, so she didn't ask any more questions. Fangze took out the poison from her arms. Su Peisheng immediately walked over and took the paper package, asking Lingrong to take a look.

"Is this the poison that caused the Queen's death?" Ling Rong pressed her nose with a handkerchief, took a quick look at the medicine package, and told Su Peisheng to put it away, "Remember to call an imperial physician to check the poison.

Anyway, since Imperial Physician He, whom Concubine Tian trusts the most, is not here, there is no need to worry about any changes. "

"I understand. I'll ask Xiao Xiazi to do it."

Lingrong nodded, her eyes drifting to Fangze's face, "Did you put this poison in the Queen's food?"

Fangze hurriedly shook her head and said, "This poison was given to me by Sang'er. Although I took it, I did not poison the Queen.

Because of this, I offended Concubine Tian, ​​and I was almost arrested on false charges. If the Empress had not intervened, I would have been in the Ministry of Punishment by now.

But because I didn’t give the Queen any medicine, Miss Sang’er went to the imperial kitchen to get the food herself, and after the Queen ate it, she was poisoned.”

Fangze pointed to the spilled food beside him and said, "This is the food we used at that time. It has not been touched since the Queen passed away."

"When the imperial physician comes, we'll check everything together."

Ling Rong sat there peacefully, waiting for Xiao Xiazi to bring back Doctor Zhou. Doctor Zhou had tested the poison in Fang Ze's body and the poison in the food. Although he could not completely confirm that it was the same poison, they were indeed poisons that could cause death.

"Your Majesty, the poison in this paper..." Doctor Zhou frowned and stroked his beard, "This poison is the same as the one that the Fifth and Fourth Princes were poisoned with."

This surprised Lingrong a little. She had not given this poison to anyone else. It seemed that the emperor had someone develop it specifically to frame Concubine Tian.

No wonder He Anming was transferred away so early. Ling Rong thought that the Emperor had found out about the Empress Dowager, but she didn't expect that he was waiting here.

"So, the poison that the Fourth and Fifth Princes were poisoned with was most likely given by Concubine Tian?"

Su Peisheng quickly replied, "This, this is indeed possible, but the fact that the Queen poisoned the Fifth and Fourth Princes was reported by the Third Prince. Could it be that the Third Prince and..."

Ling Rong looked up at Su Peisheng and signaled him to stop talking. "Don't speculate here at this moment. Remember to report to the emperor and see if he should investigate further.

Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Zhou. Now that the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau is not here, please go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and check if any medicinal materials that can be used to make this poison have been taken recently.

If we can find that person, that would be the best. If we can’t find that person, I can only ask Concubine Tian and the servants around her. "

"I will do it right away."

"Lord Su, you should also ask Xiao Xiazi to check the flow of medicines inside and outside the palace to see if anyone is taking medicines from outside the palace under the pretext of purchasing.

After all these things are clarified, I can interrogate Concubine Tian."

Ling Rong slowly gave instructions to everyone. After she had arranged everything, she called someone to come and temporarily take Fangze to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At the same time, Lingrong also spread the word in the palace, claiming that there was something fishy about the Queen's death. The harem is now trying its best to investigate and verify it. If anyone has any clues, they can come to Chengqian Palace to explain.

Ling Rong did not want to take this opportunity to obtain any new evidence, but just wanted to use this method to let the emperor know that she was working for him.

It was also to let everyone in the harem know that now that the queen had passed away, he was the most powerful person in the harem.

As for whether they are willing to come and pay their respects, that is not something Lingrong can control.

However, after the news spread, people came to pay their respects that day. The first one to come was Cao Qinmo. When she entered the room and saw that Lingrong was the only one there, she immediately started to congratulate.

"Sister, you are here quickly, but there is no need to say such congratulations."

Cao Qinmo shook her head. She had just received a hairpin from the emperor and put it on her head immediately. The color was beautiful and Lingrong saw it at a glance.

"This gold-embellished tourmaline peach-bat hairpin on your head must have been given by the Emperor. It is so beautiful, and wearing it on your head makes you look even more charming."

Cao Qinmo raised her hand and touched her hairpin, the smile on her face deepened, "How can you compare to the Imperial Concubine? Now that the Empress is gone, there is no one more noble than you in the palace."

"Sister, just tell me what you said, but don't tell anyone else. If someone hears it, I won't know how to explain it to you."

"You don't need to explain yourself now," Cao Qinmo said with a sly smile, "My queen, isn't the rumor you spread actually announcing this matter?"

"Sister, has anyone ever told you that you are too smart?"

"Now, you have already told me." The two chatted and laughed, and more people came over. Ling Rong pretended not to care and met them one by one. Not only did she ask Zhao Shui to serve tea, but she also sent the best snacks over.

The peony rolls that were usually only used by the Empress were now served. Everyone was surprised, but because they were in Ling Rong's palace, they did not dare to say much and just took two bites.

Only Concubine Tian was unhappy. She glanced at it and raised her hand, wanting to knock over the Peony Scroll, but she was supported by Sang'er beside her, which made her face flush with anger.

"Sisters, you are here today. Do you know about the Queen's passing? Do you want to tell me?"

There was silence in the hall for a moment. Ling Rong looked at everyone, but still no one spoke. She didn't feel embarrassed, she just picked up the teacup and took a sip. The sound of the cup hitting the table was very crisp, which made everyone's expression stern.

Xia Dongchun spoke first, but unfortunately she knew nothing. Instead, she asked Lingrong how the Queen passed away.

"The Empress was confined to her house because she committed a serious crime. She did not have a capable maid by her side, so someone took the opportunity to send people into Jingren Palace and tortured the Empress inhumanely.

When the Queen passed away, the nails on all ten of her fingers were broken and there was blood between her nails, which was really horrifying to look at.

The coroner examined the Queen's body and found that she had died of poisoning. The poison was in her lunch."

"What?" Xia Dongchun gasped, "Are all the doctors in the palace dead? They can easily poison me. How can I feel at ease when eating in the palace?"

Xia Dongchun's words were scary. Concubine Chun was still eating the peony rolls, but she subconsciously stopped eating after hearing this. She couldn't swallow or spit out the food in her mouth, and her cheeks were puffy, which made her look somewhat cute.

"Don't worry, Concubine Chun," Ling Rong waved her hand and asked Zhao Shui to prepare a silver needle and sent it over, "Ever since the Fourth and Fifth Princes were poisoned, all meals in Chengqian Palace must be tested for poison before they can be served.

The Peony Scroll you have has been tested. If you are still unsure, you can test it yourself."

Concubine Chun took the silver needle, thought about it and decided not to test it again. She waved her hand, signaling Zhao Shui to step back, and swallowed the snack in her mouth.

"I didn't suspect that the snacks provided by the Empress were poisonous. I just ate them in a hurry and was frightened by Empress Xia, so I choked.

I am holding it in my mouth but not swallowing it, not because I don't trust you, Your Majesty. Please understand me."

"You don't have to explain like this. It doesn't matter if you don't trust me. In this deep palace, we should be on guard everywhere." Ling Rong didn't dwell on this matter too much. She nodded and said, "Do you sisters have any clues to offer? If not, please disperse. I still have to investigate the clues of the Queen's poisoning, so I really can't spare the time to chat with you sisters.

By the way, there is one more thing I want to explain to you. The Emperor intends to select wives and concubines for the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince. If any of you sisters have suitable girls, please report your names to me.

I will compile a list of names and present it to the Emperor."

This was good news for everyone, especially Concubine Tian. She could no longer hide the smile on her face. There was a girl in her clan who was of the same age as the Fifth Prince. If she could marry the Fifth Prince, the Fifth Prince would be better under her control from then on.

As for the others, they also understood that if they were chosen as a concubine, it would be very likely that a queen would be trained in their own family. Now that the two most noble women of the Ulanara clan in the palace had passed away, the harem could finally have a new world.

"Don't worry, Concubine Sheng, I will definitely get this done. In the next few days, I will select women from the clan who are of excellent quality and appearance, compile a list and send it to Chengqian Palace."

It was rare for Concubine Tian to give Lingrong a good look. She immediately stood up and saluted. Without waiting for Lingrong to ask everyone to leave, she took Sang'er's hand and left first.

"The Fucha family is a large family. I wonder how many women of the right age can recommend themselves."

Concubine Qi said sourly that her family had been stripped of their official positions, but there were still a few useful people from the side branches. However, if they were sent to the palace, they might not be of any help to her family, and might even be stepped on, which would bring shame to her and her family.

"If I come across someone suitable, I will also inform Her Majesty Noble Concubine Sheng."

Concubine Qi bowed and followed her away. The others were quite calm and did not leave until Lingrong spoke. Only Xia Dongchun and Cao Qinmo did not leave and continued to sit with Lingrong.

"There have been too many things going on lately, and I'm so busy. Zhen Huan from Ningguta has disappeared. Did you know?"

"Zhen Huan? She's still alive!" Xia Dongchun was surprised. "I thought she had died a long time ago. Is she really a scourge? She even outlasted the Empress."

"What Concubine Xia said actually makes some sense," Cao Qinmo was amused by Xia Dongchun's words, but she quickly grasped the main point, "Madam, do you know where Zhen went?"

Ling Rong shook her head, "I don't know where she went. I guess she was having a good time somewhere and had forgotten that she had a sister in the palace.

But I guess she might have entered Prince Guo's mansion."