The maid's road to success

Eunuch Cheng, carrying the Empress Dowager's phoenix seal, led a team of imperial guards and broke into the Prince of Lin'an's Mansion. Like bandits crossing a border, they left chaos wherever they passed. The remaining masters in the mansion were sitting in the hall, and the door of the flower hall was strictly guarded by the guards. They were very worried about what had happened. Only the Princess of Lin'an looked at her panicked and noisy daughters-in-law under the guards with a sad face, knowing that the thing she was most worried about had happened.

Eunuch Cheng was sitting in the yard in front of the flower hall, looking at the Princess from afar. He was very excited. He didn't expect that what the young master said was true. The young master said that there would be a lot of excitement at the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet, and asked him to persuade the Empress Dowager to stay at the banquet for a while longer. When the time was right, he might ask the Empress Dowager to take action.

So that's what happened. No wonder the Empress Dowager was present. The Fourth Prince took advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner to expose this matter. Neither the Empress Dowager nor the Emperor would want the Fourth Prince to continue investigating. By then, I'm afraid this matter would be strongly suppressed by the Emperor, and then covered up and whitewashed before a false explanation was announced to everyone. The Empress Dowager might be affected, but as long as she hides in the imperial farm and waits for a few years until everyone forgets about this matter, she can continue to use the Empress Dowager's name to show off, or even, as before, use a more sensational event to attract the attention of the people, thereby making a big deal out of a small matter.

But the young master would not give them this opportunity. Today, Eunuch Cheng had been paying close attention to the condition of the Grand Empress Dowager and even put refreshing spices in her purse. The Grand Empress Dowager wanted to get up and leave, but was persuaded by Eunuch Cheng, who said that she had not seen the Sixth Prince for a long time and it seemed that the Sixth Prince had encountered something in the palace this time and was in a bad mood.

The Empress Dowager was indeed afraid that something might happen to the Sixth Prince in the palace, and had been keeping an eye on him. Fortunately, the Fourth Prince did not disappoint her and quickly exposed the incident.

"Father-in-law, I found it!"

Eunuch Cheng spread out the scroll, took a look at it and quickly closed it. It was so dirty. He didn't expect the Queen Mother had such a side. Eunuch Cheng stood up and looked at everyone in the hall.

"We can't do anything with these people as the higher-ups haven't said anything yet, but this is a serious matter. Sir Liu, please have your people take good care of the Prince of Lin'an's mansion. Don't let anything happen, or it will be bad."

Eunuch Cheng turned around and was about to leave when the Princess staggered out, pulling at Eunuch Cheng's clothes and begging him.

"Eunuch, please help us. We will definitely repay your kindness."

Eunuch Cheng noticed something was stuffed into his sleeve. He knew what it was without thinking, so he simply pulled away the princess's scarred hand and threw out the heavy purse from his sleeve.

"Princess, I am just a servant. I follow orders in everything. Please don't make things difficult for me."

Eunuch Cheng walked out of the door resolutely. The Princess knew that everything was over and sat down on the ground. Several daughters-in-law rushed out when they saw their mother-in-law fall. The oldest one among them looked at the Princess who was sitting on the couch with an unsavory expression and asked in a cold voice.

"Mother, you know what happened, right? Is it about the prince?"

The daughters-in-law looked at their eldest sister-in-law's face, their expressions changed immediately, and they gradually let go of the Princess's hand. Although they were all daughters-in-law of the Prince's Mansion, their husbands were not legitimate children. The Princess was just a legitimate mother, and what she cared about most was her son Gong Li. Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and the father-in-law took Gong Li and his wife to the banquet. Even their child Gong Changrong was brought into the palace. They didn't even have the qualifications to enter the palace.

"Gong Li and the others have been arguing with the Crown Prince's wife since the birth of their child. You all said that the Crown Prince's wife was ill and had not allowed us to have contact with her. I was very suspicious at the time. My sister-in-law has admired the Crown Prince for many years and they had always had a good relationship. How could they suddenly fall out with the Crown Prince? Moreover, Chang Rong's child is really unlike my sister-in-law, and the mother and son's relationship is also very strange. Mother, is today's incident related to them?"

This concerns everyone's safety. Eunuch Cheng of the Imperial Palace is one of the most senior people in the palace and a confidant of the Grand Empress Dowager. It must be no small matter that he could come in person, holding the Grand Empress Dowager's phoenix seal and forcefully search the Prince's Mansion without giving any face. Moreover, they are very worried and have been guessing what happened, but the mother-in-law seems to know something.

What made her most suspicious was her mother-in-law's behavior just now. As soon as Eunuch Cheng got something, her mother-in-law rushed out, took off the most valuable jewelry on her body, stuffed it into her purse and gave it to Eunuch Cheng. It was obvious that she knew that what Eunuch Cheng got would have a great impact on the Prince's Mansion.

"Why are you asking these questions? I'm not dead yet, so you have no right to question me. You have no say in this mansion."

The woman obviously didn't expect the Princess to say that, and she obviously didn't want everyone to know what had happened.

"Mother-in-law, I just want to remind you that there is more than one child in the Prince's Mansion. We can't do anything about your determination to protect Gong Li, but I won't let you off if you want to implicate us. All the good things that happen on weekdays have nothing to do with us. If you want to implicate us when you are in trouble, I won't agree."

After saying that, the woman rushed out of the yard. Her words made the others feel uneasy. Two people who had a good relationship with the woman followed her and left. The rest looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

When Eunuch Cheng returned to the palace with the things, the banquet had already stopped and everyone stayed in the palace. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor looked very unhappy and looked gloomily at Gong Li below. Gong Li also had a pale face. Seeing Eunuch Cheng coming back with a lot of scrolls in his hands, he wanted to rush up to grab them, but was kicked to the ground by the Fourth Prince's men.

"How dare you! What do you want to do in front of the emperor? Eunuch Cheng, bring the things up."

The Grand Empress Dowager took the scroll and was about to open it when the Queen Mother rushed over, held her hand, and looked pleading. However, the two had been fighting for so many years, and the Grand Empress Dowager could not give up such a great opportunity. She was determined to trample this unfilial daughter-in-law, the Queen Mother, to death under her feet.

"Well, if you really dare to do such a thing, you will bring shame to the royal family. Come on, take this vicious woman to the royal ancestral hall..."

The Grand Empress Dowager waved away the Queen Mother's hand that was pressing on her arm and unfolded the scroll. She immediately shouted that the ancestral hall should be opened and pressed the Queen Mother over.

The Emperor immediately spoke up to stop the Empress Dowager from saying the rest of her words.

"Grandmother! You are tired. Someone please ask the Empress Dowager to go back and rest."

The Grand Empress Dowager showed an expression of disbelief. She was sandwiched between two palace maids. Eunuch Cheng stood in front to stop them and the stalemate continued. The Grand Empress Dowager felt a huge headache and she couldn't breathe. A fishy and sweet taste surged in her throat. She spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted. She drooped down weakly. The two palace maids were obviously frightened. Eunuch Cheng quickly dragged the Grand Empress Dowager to her seat. The Sixth Prince shouted in panic.

"Imperial Physician, where is the Imperial Physician?"

The imperial physician who had been waiting in the left and right side halls rushed in with a box and placed a silk handkerchief on the patient for treatment.

"The Empress Dowager has been poisoned!"

The Emperor originally thought that it was because of his tough attitude that the Empress Dowager fainted. He heaved a sigh of relief when he heard these words, but his face immediately darkened again. Looking at the people in the hall, it was really a show. So many things had already happened before he could even do what he wanted to do to intimidate Duke Cheng'en.

"Investigate, investigate thoroughly, how could someone poison grandma at the palace banquet?"

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking at the ministers with colorful expressions below, feeling mixed emotions. It seemed that he was a real failure as an emperor. His father did not want him to inherit the throne. If it were not for the help of his mother and uncle, he would not have become emperor. But this was all because they wanted to use him. His uncle was taking control of the court step by step, just waiting for a suitable opportunity to replace him. His mother wanted to bring her illegitimate son into the palace and pass the throne to Gong Changrong. He finally figured it out and felt that his own brother would be better off inheriting the throne than the Fourth Prince and his uncle. However, someone exposed his mother's impurity and confused the royal bloodline. The Crown Princess used her death to confirm the empress dowager's crime.

Before he could help the Queen Mother to get rid of the crime, the Grand Queen Mother was poisoned again. Is he still the master of the world now? He can't even decide the affairs of his palace. A feeling of powerlessness surges in his heart. He wants the Queen Mother to return to her palace first and use the Grand Queen Mother's matter to stop them. However, Prince Li and the royal family don't seem to let it go easily and keep staring at the Queen Mother and the people in the palace.

The emperor knew that as long as he suppressed the matter with a tough attitude, the royal family would hold their ancestral tablets and cry about his dereliction of duty tomorrow, and they would even restrain him in other ways, forcing him to order the matter to be dealt with.

Gong Li looked at the empress dowager's lost and painful expression, and his eyes reddened. He really liked the empress dowager. When he was young, he came to the palace with his father and was deliberately ignored and humiliated by the late emperor. However, the empress dowager, who was a concubine, helped him, and he was attracted by such a beautiful concubine. Later, he accidentally saw the empress dowager looking at all the royal family members. Although he didn't know what the empress dowager was going to do, he still took the initiative to approach her to show his loyalty. He didn't expect that he would be blessed to have the empress dowager and have a child.

Gong Li knew very well that the Queen Mother did not really like him, but was just using him to give birth to a child in the Gong family so that he could enter the palace and be selected as an heir and inherit the throne.

But even if it was a serious act of treason and a death sentence, he was willing to do so. He just didn't know that the bitch actually knew about the paintings he hid in the study and cursed the Queen Mother with her death. He didn't care about his own life, but it was impossible for him to threaten the Queen Mother with it.

"I love the Queen Mother, but I know my status and position. I only dare to fantasize about being with her when no one is around. I draw pictures to comfort myself. It is my fault. My greed has implicated the Queen Mother and caused her to suffer an undeserved disaster. It is my fault. I am willing to die to atone for my sin and preserve her innocence."

After saying that, Gong Li pulled out the jade hairpin on his head and inserted it into his throat with force. Blood continued to flow out from his wound and mouth. Gong Changrong, who had been held in someone's arms, finally called for his father like a normal child and burst into tears.

Gong Li's chest heaved and blood soaked his clothes. His eyes were always looking in the direction of the Queen Mother. He watched her breathe a sigh of relief, sit down softly in the chair, glance at him, and then turn her head away, refusing to look at him again.

As more and more blood oozed out of his body, his body became colder and colder. He finally realized how cold-hearted the person he loved was. Even his death could not buy her pity. She only stopped worrying because he took on all the responsibilities.

Forget it. I’ve loved her and thought about her for so many years. I just hope she’s safe.

The empress dowager tilted her head, feeling very uncomfortable. Gong Li saved herself by dying, and even the jade hairpin he used to commit suicide was given to him by her. She had longed for such a person when she was young, but the more she experienced in the palace, the less she cared about this kind of feeling.

Although she was safe, she might be questioned, but her life was saved. However, what she had planned for so long was over. Even the child she gave birth to in secret might not survive for the sake of the royal family's reputation. She felt very uncomfortable, and she didn't even know that her plan had failed, and the man who treated her sincerely had died tragically.

The empress dowager seemed to have been drained of all her strength. She slumped limply in the chair, stroking her forearm. A slightly raised lump began to move slightly under her clothes.

The emperor acted as if he would not allow anyone to leave until he had found out the truth, and soon there was a harvest. The imperial physician checked everyone's meals one by one, and only the cold porridge in front of the Empress Dowager was contaminated with poison. The imperial guards conducted a thorough search and interrogation, and only found out that the Sixth Prince had been in an affair with the eunuch in the imperial kitchen.

"Nonsense, I was walking normally at the time, and those eunuchs bumped into me and soiled my clothes. My grandmother raised me, how could I possibly poison her?"