An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

Although Zhen Huan ordered Liu Zhu and Xiao Yunzi to check on Kang Luhai and his apprentice, they searched the whole house but did not find any letters or other unusual items.

She didn't expect that Kang Luhai was afraid of exposing himself and had already put all the letters in the hall.

Coincidentally, because Liuzhu was not at home, Aunt Jiaoyue cleaned up the hall and found the box thrown in the corner.

When it was unfolded, it was filled with affectionate poems and love words, which made Jiaoyue blush.

She had heard some rumors, but due to Zhen Changzai's distrust, she never knew what had really happened.

Now she finally knew that what Zhen Huan and Liu Zhu had been investigating these days was the source of these love poems.

Jiaoyue took out two pieces of burnt paper with only a few words left on them from her bosom. She compared them with the handwriting in her hand and easily found that the handwriting on both pieces was the same and was written by the same person.

Someone wrote these love poems to Zhen Changzai. Whether it was true or a frame-up, it is a good thing worth taking advantage of.

Jiaoyue took out two letters, hid the box in a more secret place, and while Yuediyunju was busy, she quietly ran to Wulingchunse.

Seeing Jiaoyue, the queen was somewhat surprised. Usually it was Jianqiu who contacted Jiaoyue, but why did she bring her directly to her today?

"Your Highness, it was this Jiaoyue. She said there was something important that she had to tell the Queen. I had no choice but to call her here."

Jianqiu explained the reason in a low voice, and seeing that the queen looked unhappy, she immediately changed her words, "Your Majesty, I will send her away right away."

"Let her come in. I want to see what kind of serious matter this is."

Seeing that the queen was not angry, Jianqiu calmed down and called Jiaoyue in.

As soon as Jiaoyue entered the hall, she presented the letter with both hands, and exaggeratedly said that someone wrote this love poem to Zhen Changzai, who was reluctant to burn it completely, so she put them all in an exquisite box.

The Queen initially thought that the so-called letter was written by the Emperor, but when she unfolded it, she recognized that it was not the Emperor's handwriting, nor the handwriting of any concubine in the palace.

"Your Majesty, this handwriting...Should I compare it with the palace rules copied by the ladies of the other palaces to see if it was written by Concubine Zhen herself?"

The queen wanted to say no, but to be on the safe side, she ordered Jianqiu to bring the palace rules over. After several comparisons, she indeed did not find any similar handwriting.

"Although it is somewhat similar to the emperor's handwriting, but...Jianqiu, send over the fan that Prince Guo painted a few days ago."

Jianqiu hurried to the storehouse and took out the folding fan. On it was a painting of blooming peonies by Prince Guo, with two lines of poetry written next to it.

After comparing the handwriting on both sides, the Queen immediately confirmed that this was Prince Guo's handwriting.

"Were these letters found in Zhen Changzai's bedroom?"

"To answer your Majesty, I found it in the hall. There is a little scrap left over from when Concubine Zhen burned the letter. It can serve as evidence."

Jianqiu collected the almost completely burnt edges and corners. The queen took a glance and found that the writing was indeed from the same person.

He already has the leverage over Concubine Zhen in his hands, but if he wants to completely control her, he still needs to confirm whether the same letter has been sent to Prince Guo.

If not... I don't mind asking someone to imitate Zhen Huan's handwriting to confirm the affair.

"Jianqiu." The queen called Jianqiu to her ear and told her to contact people outside the palace to check Prince Guo's recent movements and see if he was looking for opportunities to enter the Old Summer Palace without the emperor's instructions.

"The servants around Prince Guo will also be investigated. The Emperor does not allow him to enter the palace, but Prince Guo can still ask his servants to send some things to the Queen Mother or me."

Jiaoyue pricked up her ears and listened for a long time, but she didn't hear what the queen was saying. She could only wait impatiently for the queen's next instructions.

"Jiaoyue, you did a good job. Go find Huichun later to get money for tea," the queen smiled kindly. She took the letters but did not return them to Jiaoyue.

"This is a serious matter. You should persuade Concubine Zhen to ask the writer why the letter was sent, so as to avoid someone with ulterior motives taking advantage of the situation and damaging your reputation."

Jiaoyue naturally understood the Queen's intentions, but now Zhen Changzai did not trust her. It was obviously not easy to ask Zhen Changzai to take the initiative to confirm the secret transaction.

"Zhen Changzai is confused, and the maids around her must be sensible. She trusts Miss Huanbi the most, so why not let her persuade Zhen Changzai."

"But... I don't have the trust of Concubine Zhen. I found this letter by myself. If Concubine Zhen knew about it, I'm afraid..."

Jiaoyue had been through thick and thin with Zhen Huan in Yongshou Palace, yet she had yet to gain her trust. The Queen cursed her inwardly for being useless, but she still thought of a way to help her.

The queen picked out a letter, looked at it carefully, wet the letter with tea, and left only the word "lovesickness".

"Take this letter back when it's dry, and you'll know what to say."

Jiaoyue watched the handwriting on the letter gradually fade away. After thinking for a moment, she understood what the queen meant. "Today, a letter was placed on the table. When I was cleaning, I didn't pay attention and accidentally spilled the tea. All the handwriting was blurred, leaving only the word "lovesickness".

"I knew you were the smartest."

Unfortunately, although Jiaoyue became an insider of the love poem incident, she was unable to persuade Zhen Huan to take the risk of writing a letter to Prince Guo.

Zhen Huan was not stupid. She keenly felt that this series of events might have been deliberately done by someone. If she wrote the letter, she would probably fall into a trap.

But the Queen is different from Concubine Hua. Her purpose is just to use this handle to keep Zhen Huan in her hand.

Anyway, the letter written by Prince Guo is already in his hands, and the accusation that he coveted the concubines is already solid.

I just don't know whether Zhen Huan has ever responded, and I can't reach into Prince Guo's mansion, so I can only think of some ways to help her forge some evidence.

Seeing that Zhen Huan had not responded for a long time, the Queen asked someone to write several letters in Zhen Huan's handwriting, and sent them to Prince Guo's mansion through Jiaoyue.

Now all the evidence is ready for Zhen Huan. Even if it wasn't her who did this, it could only be her.

At the same time, the Queen's people were sent out and finally found out that Prince Guo had indeed entered and left the Old Summer Palace during this period.

Sometimes he entered the garden at the order of the emperor, to play chess and chat with him. Sometimes he passed on a visiting card, hoping to discuss Buddhism with the empress dowager.

Sometimes they would just send some new and interesting things obtained from the people to the emperor and the empress dowager.

After hearing this information, the Queen determined that the letter in Zhen Huan's palace was indeed written by Prince Guo.

I originally wanted to ask Jiaoyue to report it to me in private, and I would use my status as the queen to help her cover it up.

In exchange, Zhen Huan could only become a knife in his hand and obey his orders to abort Shen Meizhuang's pregnancy.

But he never expected that before Jiaoyue could take any action, Kang Luhai's apprentice Xiao Yinzi exposed the matter.

When the Queen learned the news, she knew that her plan had been completely disrupted. If she wanted to abort Shen Meizhuang's pregnancy, she would have to find another way.

Looking at the Wuling Spring Scenery Hall filled with people, the queen suddenly felt a headache.

Xiao Yinzi was kneeling in the middle, holding an extremely exquisite box in his hands.

Although Zhen Huan was the one being accused, she did not kneel down. Instead, she stood in the middle of the hall, showing no fear at all.

"What on earth has happened that has caused all the sisters to gather in this Wuling Spring Scenery in my palace?"

When Concubine Hua heard the Queen's question, she smoothed her hair and said with disdain, "Your Majesty has not paid attention to the affairs of the palace for a long time, so it is understandable that you are slow to get these news.

Today someone reported to me that Zhen Chang was secretly giving away and writing obscene songs and lyrics with others.

I thought this was a big deal, so I took this little Yinzi and Zhen Changzai to see the Queen."

"Your Highness the Queen, Your Highness Consort Hua, this is just my one-sided statement. I have never written such things. I hope you will understand."

This answer was neither humble nor arrogant. Zhen Huan confirmed that she had never written these letters to others, so she was particularly confident in her reply.

But the only thing she was not sure about was whether these letters were sent by that prince.

After all, the power in the palace is complicated. If the prince intends to cultivate his connections in the palace, it is not impossible for him to send these letters in silently.

But apart from himself, no one knew that this was Prince Guo's handwriting. As long as he denied it flatly, the so-called crime could not be proven.

Even if we take a step back, if someone really finds out that this was written by Prince Guo, I can also say that Prince Guo was just being wishful thinking.

The so-called private transactions are always the result of dirty human hearts.

Jianqiu took the box from Xiaoyinzi and as soon as she opened it, dozens of letters came out. The queen picked up one at random and saw the poem of lovesickness written on it.

This is indeed the handwriting of Prince Guo, but what’s the use of having only Prince Guo’s letter?

All Zhen Huan needed to do was to say that Prince Guo was just being overzealous and that she had not disclosed the matter out of concern for the sake of preserving the reputation of the royal family, and she could easily get away with it.

"Do you know who wrote these letters?"

"I don't know." Zhen Huan bowed and glanced at the letters indifferently. "I have never seen these letters, and I don't know who put them in the palace."

The Queen was not at all surprised by Zhen Huan's answer. She shook the letter and didn't even have the intention to interrogate her.

"Xiao Yinzi, right? Tell me, what's going on with this letter?"

"In reply to the Queen, in recent days, someone has been sending letters to Yuediyunju, and I have seen a few of them.

However, Miss Liuzhu said that this was written by the young lady herself, so she took it back.

But I recognize your handwriting, and these poems were definitely not written by you."

The queen sighed, rubbed her forehead which was beginning to hurt, and interrupted Xiao Yinzi, "Just tell me why you are suing Zhen Changzai."

"It was the young lady... today she said that I didn't serve her well and wanted to send me away.

But since I have been serving the young master, I have never been slack.

I went to ask the young lady for an explanation, but I heard her say in the hall that I had discovered her secret, and it was not enough to just send me away, she also wanted to find someone to kill me.

Xiao Yinzi knelt on the ground, trembling and kowtowing repeatedly, "Although my status is low, I am also a human life. How can you beat or kill me as you please, young master?"

Hearing this, not only the Queen, but even Lingrong became interested.

When she first heard about this, she thought it was very fake. She felt that neither Cao Qinmo nor the Queen would use such means.

After all, these things are too easy to find out. As long as Prince Guo and Zhen Huan confront each other, it is easy to find the loopholes and then catch the real culprit.

If she were to do it herself, the first step would be to confuse the two of them. She would use a letter with forged Zhen Huan's handwriting to confuse Prince Guo, saying that Zhen Huan had admitted that she had improper thoughts about Prince Guo.

Then he used the same method to deal with Zhen Huan. Anyway, the "affair" between the two of them had long been known to the whole palace, and even they themselves were well aware of it.

In this way, the two people will think that the other party is deeply in love with each other, and will not take the initiative to ask others to check the authenticity of these letters.

Because that would only confirm the accusation that the two of them had secretly exchanged funds, it would be better to shift the focus and put the blame on one person.

However, Prince Guo was only focused on protecting Zhen Huan, saying that he did covet the "Emperor's sister-in-law", and took all the blame on himself as before.

By then, no matter whether Zhen Huan could refute it clearly or not, her affair with Prince Guo would become the talk of the court and the harem.

The emperor can only choose to save Zhen Huan or save Prince Guo.

No matter which one she chooses, Zhen Huan will no longer be favored.

And the two of them will never have the chance to meet privately again, and they will not realize that there is a third person in this so-called love poem.

Before Lingrong could think for long, Zhen Huan interrupted her thoughts and said, "When Xiao Yinzi was in my palace, he often took the opportunity to be lazy and pushed the tasks assigned to him to Xiao Yunzi. The palace maids in my palace are very clear about this.

I then thought about reporting back to the Empress and Concubine Hua and sending this cunning servant back to the Imperial Household Department to give him a good discipline.

As for the beating and killing, it is pure nonsense. How can a concubine like me have the power of life and death?"

Zhen Huan spoke in a calm tone and her words were well-reasoned and convincing, which caused many concubines to nod in agreement with her.

However, Concubine Hua disagreed. She didn't care whether Zhen Huan wanted to kill Xiao Yinzi or not, she just kept on focusing on the letter.

"What about these letters? They can't have appeared out of nowhere in Yuedi Yunju."

“Not only do I know that the young lady has received these letters, but Eunuch Kang, Aunt Jiaoyue, and Xiao Yunzi also know about this.

"I still have some fragments that you didn't burn. If you really don't know, then who burned these letters?"

Xiao Yinzi took out a lot of fragments from his pocket, most of which were corners, but there were a few with writing on them. A quick comparison showed that the writing was consistent with the one in the box.

"Your servant and Eunuch Kang saw with our own eyes that it was Miss Liu Zhu who handled these fragments. In order to cover up for the young lady, your servant even buried these things under a tree.

If I hadn’t heard today that the young master wanted to kill me, I wouldn’t have dug these things out.”