Wearing a book, hooking him up

Inside the main hall of Zhaochun Palace, the atmosphere was so solemn that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

Sitting on the first seat, Jun Zechen’s handsome face was full of majesty. He closed his eyes slightly, as if he was suppressing his inner anger.

In the huge hall, only the rhythmic tapping of his slender fingers echoed in everyone's heart.

At this time, Anshun had brought all the relevant people over.

The palace maid Ying'er fell down for no reason on the high platform, and Li Shangfu, who was responsible for the palace dress of Concubine Chunshu.

Anshun also called Chen Shangfu over. Although she was not responsible for the concubines' palace costumes this time, she was a female official sent by His Majesty to assist the imperial concubine.

The Imperial Concubine, An Zhaorong and other concubines of higher status have been waiting in the main hall of Zhaochun Palace, and currently they don’t know what is happening with Concubine Chunshu.

Lin Ronghua, Ye Ronghua and other new concubines were waiting in the side hall.

His Majesty has ordered that no one be allowed to leave.

Li Shangfu on the side was at a loss. When her eyes inadvertently swept towards His Majesty, she would swallow her saliva constantly, and she felt uneasy as if she had done something wrong.

In contrast, Chen Shangfu was calm and composed, just watching everything with a slight sidelong glance.

Although the imperial concubine, An Zhaorong and other high-ranking concubines were in a high position, they could not hide their nervousness at this moment.

Miaoyun walked slowly over, pushing a hanger with palace dresses on it.

She knelt on her knees and bowed respectfully to the imperial concubine.

Then he raised his head, his face full of grief and anger.

"My Lady, my master has always been kind and generous in the harem and has never hurt anyone..."

"The style of this palace dress was designed by the master for the Queen Mother's birthday banquet. The brocade gifted by His Majesty was specially sent to the Shangfu Bureau to be used for making the palace dress, just to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. But now the fabric of this palace dress has become ordinary brocade."

Her voice trembled with anger and her eyes gradually became moist.

After a pause, she continued with a choked voice, "That's fine, but why is the embroidery on the palace dress mixed with poisonous juice?"

The imperial concubine opened her eyes wide, looked innocent, and kept shaking her head.

The imperial concubine turned to look at Jun Zechen, but she only saw his deep eyes filled with coldness, which made her shiver involuntarily.

Feeling his indifference, the imperial concubine quickly explained: "Your Majesty, I have absolutely not tampered with Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress! I would never do such a thing!"

Afterwards, the imperial concubine turned to Li Shangfu standing beside her and questioned him harshly.

"Li Shangfu! I gave you the palace dress for Concubine Chun Shu to prepare, why did this happen?!"

When Li Shangfu heard the question, his whole body began to tremble.

She lowered her head, swallowed, and tried to calm her inner panic.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Li Shangfu's voice trembled a little. She took a deep breath and tried to make her tone sound calmer.

"When Concubine Chun Shu's people sent the brocade to the Shangfu Bureau, a young maid took it over. The young maid may have forgotten to record it, and the maid who made the brocade for Concubine Chun Shu later was another person."

"She didn't know about it, so she didn't use the brocade sent by Concubine Chun Shu, but used the brocade that came with Concubine Chun Shu's allowance."

After saying that, Li Shangfu's knees softened and he knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I failed to manage the palace servants well, which led to this mistake."

"But! The embroidery on Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress is poisonous, and I had no idea about it!"

Jun Zechen's eyes were cold. What she meant was that Concubine Chun Shu's use of Yunjin exceeded her quota and was a luxury?

When the imperial concubine heard this explanation, she couldn't help but feel relieved. As long as it was an unintentional mistake, it was fine.

Chen Shangfu, who was standing aside with a normal expression, pondered for a moment and said, "Li Shangfu, the brocade sent by Concubine Chunshu is recorded in the Shangfu Bureau. Didn't Li Shangfu check it?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Shangfu's body stiffened.

She didn't expect that Chen Shangfu would directly ruin her plan.

Although Chen Shangfu has not been in the Shangfu Bureau for long, she is well-known for her ability to organize account records.

What's more, for a concubine of such high rank as Concubine Chunshu, how could it be possible that the brocade she sent to the Shangfu Bureau was not recorded?

If it is true as Li Shangfu said, that there was no record of the young palace maid who took over, then wouldn't all the responsibility be placed on that young palace maid?

Chen Shangfu naturally would not let such a thing happen.

Li Shangfu's heart was pounding and his eyes couldn't help but flicker.

Because Concubine Chunshu was a high-ranking concubine, the brocade in her allowance was already of the best quality. In addition, Li Shangfu felt that Concubine Chunshu would never offend the imperial concubine, so even if he knew that the Shangfu Bureau had swallowed up the Yunjin, he would not interfere.

The Imperial Concubine would care even less about the fabric of Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress. After all, the Imperial Concubine had clearly expressed her dissatisfaction with Concubine Chun Shu in front of Li Shangfu.

Use ordinary brocade instead of brocade, so that Concubine Chunshu's palace dress will not steal the limelight from Concubine Gui.

Li Shangfu was nervous and stuttered, "Chen Shangfu, your humble servant... your humble servant has never seen the record book."

Jun Zechen's cold gaze fell on Li Shangfu. He no longer wanted to listen to her explanation.

"Take him to the Ministry of Punishment!"

Li Shangfu's eyes widened, his body trembled uncontrollably, and cold sweat dripped down.

"Your Majesty, I know my crime. I just gave the order to dress Concubine Chun Shu. I don't know how the subordinates did it."

Li Shangfu defended himself incoherently, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have not committed any crime against the Ministry of Punishment. I have only committed a crime of negligence!"

However, Jun Zechen was as cold as ice, showing no signs of wavering.

The eunuchs stepped forward, ready to take Li Shangfu away.

Li Shangfu was even more terrified. She knew that once she was taken to the Ministry of Punishment, she would be severely tortured or even sentenced to death, and would either be disabled or crippled.

Her eyes were full of fear, and she kept shrinking back, "No, no!"

"My Lady Consort, My Lady Consort, please save me!"

Li Shangfu looked at the imperial concubine almost pleadingly, "I just followed your instructions and arranged for someone else to make the palace dress for Concubine Chun Shu. I don't know anything about it!"

When the imperial concubine heard this, her heart skipped a beat.

She looked at Jun Zechen uneasily, and meeting his calm eyes made her feel extremely frightened.

She had never thought of harming Concubine Chunshu. She knew that she was a little petty, but she had never thought of harming her.

"What are you talking about, Li Shangfu? Your lax governance has nothing to do with me!"

The imperial concubine retorted confidently, but with a slight tremor in her voice.

Li Shangfu wanted to continue to explain himself, but was forced to the ground by two eunuchs, who kept shouting "no".

The eunuchs dragged her out without mercy.

Jun Zechen then asked Xiang Anshun expressionlessly, "Have all the palace people who have come into contact with Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress been questioned?"

"Your Majesty, I have questioned you, but..."

An Shun sighed, "There were five palace maids who made Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress. When I sent someone to look for her just now, one of them had drowned in the well outside Yaxiu Pavilion."

"Today's incident happened suddenly, and the time was too short. I have not yet fully investigated the cause."

Jun Zechen nodded. He also knew that it would be difficult to find out everything in a short period of time.

"Anshun, the poison in Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress and the palace maid who fell off the high platform are all in your hands to investigate. I want to investigate thoroughly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Anshun responded solemnly, "I will get to the bottom of this matter!"

"Everyone leave, the concubine stay."

There was no emotion in Jun Zechen's deep eyes, and his tone was calm, but his cold words made the imperial concubine feel as if her heart had sunk into an icy cave.

An Zhaorong breathed a sigh of relief after retreating, glanced at the imperial concubine, and turned to leave with a sarcastic smile on her face.

Soon, Jun Zechen and the imperial concubine were the only ones left in the hall.

Jun Zechen sat there dignified and coldly, his bearing could not be violated.

The imperial concubine stood in the center of the hall, her hands twisted together nervously, looking helpless and terrified.

There was a suffocating silence in the hall, and the air seemed to be filled with a thick layer of frost, making people shiver involuntarily.

Jun Zechen's cold gaze fell on the imperial concubine, making her feel as if the last layer of protection had been stripped away.

The Imperial Concubine knew that she was indeed negligent in the matter of Concubine Chun Shu's palace dress, but she never expected that she would anger Jun Zechen to this extent.

She bit her lip and finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"I know I didn't take good care of Concubine Chun Shu's dress, but at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, I put all my attention on her, so I didn't notice the carelessness of my subordinates."

Her voice became smaller and smaller, and finally sounded almost like a plea.

"Concubine Chun Shu has a rash on her body. Although it is serious, she will recover after a few days of recuperation. Is it necessary for Your Majesty to be so angry? I think I have done a good job at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet today."

After all, the Queen Mother was very satisfied with the palace dress she sent, and there were no mistakes at today's birthday banquet.

"Concubine Chun Shu had a miscarriage."

Jun Zechen uttered these words word by word, staring at the imperial concubine intently.

The imperial concubine opened her eyes wide and felt the world spinning. She opened her mouth in surprise but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"You thought the birthday banquet ended perfectly, but in fact, Concubine Chun Shu had been enduring for you at the banquet. She was wearing uncomfortable brocade and poisoned palace clothes, and she was extremely unwell."

"For you! In order to prevent you from making a mistake in front of the Queen Mother, she managed to hold on for almost a whole day!"

Jun Zechen suppressed his anger, his voice low and hoarse.

If Yaoyao wasn't so kind, if she had rested and received medical treatment as soon as possible, their child might...

Jun Zechen closed his eyes, then opened them with a cold light, and continued: "The baby in her belly, which was less than half a month old, is gone because of you!"

The imperial concubine was terrified and subconsciously took a few steps back, repeating "no, no" over and over again.

Her eyes were full of fear and her whole body was trembling.

"Your Majesty, I didn't mean it. I didn't know Concubine Chun Shu was pregnant. I didn't intend to harm Concubine Chun Shu. I didn't mean it..."

The imperial concubine explained incoherently, her voice full of pleading.

Jun Zechen stood up, his eyes became more and more terrifying, as if he wanted to eat the imperial concubine alive.

"Yes! You didn't mean it! You were..."

He didn't say the word "stupid".

He just used his eyes like sharp swords to fiercely glance at the imperial concubine, making her feel ashamed.

The palace was dead silent, with only the imperial concubine's sobbing echoing.

She fell to her knees, crying bitterly, while Jun Zechen looked at her expressionlessly, but the coldness in his eyes could not be concealed no matter what.