This palace comes back in this life, only to be Nian Shilan

Chapter 36: Lady Miaoyin appears out of nowhere

After changing clothes and having dinner, Zhou Ninghai came to report to Concubine Hua.

According to the spy network he had set up earlier, he found out that Concubine Xiang had caught a cold, and Imperial Physician Zhang personally took her pulse and prescribed some medicine to treat the cold.

However, Xiangpin did not feel any better after taking the medicine. Instead, she became more and more sleepy. Until today, after taking the medicine, Xiangpin fell into a long sleep and never woke up.

Some situations seemed flawless, but Zhou Ninghai spent so much effort to find them.

Being able to keep the news so tight and without any loopholes, Hua Fei is increasingly certain of the true identity of the mastermind behind the incident, but Hua Fei needs to be 100% sure.

"Your Majesty, I have copied a prescription for the medicine that Concubine Xiang took when she was alive. Your Majesty, please take a look at it." Zhou Ninghai quietly raised his eyelids to gauge Concubine Hua's expression and replied, then took out the copied prescription from his sleeve.

There must be no problem with the prescription, otherwise Zhang Mi from the Imperial Hospital would be to blame.

Concubine Hua thought that Cao Qinmo had been paying respects to her in her palace for so many years. Although she had inhaled a lot of Huanyi incense and could no longer get pregnant, the fact that Huanyi incense helped to improve health was a real benefit. Cao Qinmo should not have been so weak. She died of a cold.

If there is nothing wrong with the prescription, then someone must have tampered with the process of making the medicine, or to be more direct, there is something wrong with the people around Concubine Xiang.

Concubine Hua thought about it, asked Zhou Ninghai to come closer and whispered in her ear.

-------------------------------------

Concubine Hua was still investigating the cause of Concubine Xiang's death, but her funeral was hastily concluded.

News came from Jingren Palace that the New Year was almost over and the previous dynasty had received good news one after another, so the harem should not hold a grand funeral to avoid offending the ancestors and bringing bad luck.

As for Xia Dongchun, after being given a beating of ten feet by the empress dowager, Xia Dongchun's blood dyed the snow in the Ministry of Punishment red. It has now been cleaned up by the palace servants. After Xia Dongchun was moved to the cold palace by the eunuch, she died of pain within three days, or she might have frozen to death.

No one cared, not even the queen, who let the eunuch wrap the body in a torn straw mat and bury it in the mass grave outside the palace.

The cause of Xia Dongchun's death was known to Concubine Hua after An Lingrong found out about it and told her about it.

Hua Fei only breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. She thought that maybe in her previous life, when she died by hitting her head against the wall, the emperor also gave her a hasty funeral. She was just the sister of a criminal, so there was no need to make a big fuss about it, and the queen hated her so much.

The past life cannot be retrieved. Apart from reporting in and checking the accounts, Concubine Hua spends the winter in Yikun Palace reading storybooks.

After An Lingrong went to Yiku Palace to pay her respects several times, Baojuan finally couldn't bear it anymore and went to Jingren Palace to deliver the message to the Queen.

If no action is taken, An Lingrong will probably become Hua Fei's woman.

When Concubine Hua heard the letter brought back by Baoque, she did not pay much attention to it.

According to the rhythm of the previous life, the Queen initially wanted to use An Lingrong to share Yu Ying'er's favor. In this life, Yu Ying'er was transferred away from Yimeyuan early by herself. How will the Queen treat An Lingrong? Concubine Hua is looking forward to it.

No matter how the Queen introduced An Lingrong to the Emperor, An Lingrong's favor was the result of Concubine Hua's efforts. It was enough for Concubine Hua to establish such a concept in An Lingrong's mind early on.

There was no news about An Lingrong's death, but there were some clues about the cause of Concubine Xiang's death.

After much effort, Zhou Ninghai finally found something fishy in the list of palace maids leaving the palace. Yinxiu, Cao Guiren's personal maid, was not to turn 25 for another year, but she was also on the list of palace maids leaving the palace.

On a dark and windy night, the day before Yinxiu was to leave the palace, Zhou Ninghai followed Yinxiu and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, knocked Yinxiu unconscious with a knife and took her to Yikun Palace to be questioned by Concubine Hua.

"Yinxiu, you are so lucky. You were able to leave the palace right after your master left. I remember that you are 24 this year. You are not old enough to leave the palace yet, right?"

Yinxiu woke up groggy and found herself lying on the carpet in Yiku Palace. Yinxiu saw the gorgeous skirt and clogged-bottom shoes, and was not sure where she was.

Yinxiu only heard Hua Fei's voice coming slowly from above her head.

Yinxiu quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Concubine Hua, "Madam Hua, please spare my life. Madam Hua, please spare my life."

Yinxiu didn't dare to look up and kept begging for mercy.

"I want to ask you, how did your master die? If you tell the truth, you can still go out tomorrow. If you lie to me, you won't have to see the sunrise of Yikun Palace tomorrow morning."

Concubine Hua didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

"Cao... Concubine Cao... Concubine Cao did indeed die of a sudden illness." Yinxiu's eyes moved around in panic and she stuttered nervously, even forgetting that Cao Qinmo was already Concubine Xiang before her death.

"You know my temper. If you don't tell the truth, go down and accompany your master. Your cousin outside the palace will have to marry someone else."

Yinxiu was a little hesitant when she heard that Concubine Hua knew so much about her background. But when she thought of the pressure and temptation from the Queen Mother, she was still hesitant.

"Do you think you can save your life if you leave the palace?"

Yinxiu was shocked. Hua Fei's words revealed Yinxiu's thoughts, hitting the nail on the head.

"Only the dead can keep secrets. This is royal custom."

"If you tell me, no matter who is behind you, I will protect you. How about it?" Concubine Hua further proposed conditions.

Yinxiu weighed the pros and cons again and again. If she didn't tell him, she would not be able to leave Yikun Palace today. If she told him, she might still have a chance to survive.

Yinxiu thought of her childhood sweetheart and cousin who was still waiting for her outside the palace.

She gritted her teeth and told Concubine Hua the truth. It turned out that it was Aunt Zhuxi from Shoukang Palace who personally delivered the message to Yinxiu, wanting Cao Qinmo to die from illness.

The poison was the kind that would make a person lose consciousness, gradually become drowsy, and eventually fall into a long sleep. It was also what Zhuxi had instructed Yinxiu to add to Cao Qinmo's tranquilizing soup every day. So there would be no problem if only the prescription from the Imperial Hospital was checked. Concubine Hua's guess was correct.

However, the Imperial Hospital kept silent about Cao Qinmo's poisoning, probably because they had received the emperor's order. Just like his Huanyi incense contained a lot of musk, no one told him about it.

It turned out that Concubine Cao’s death was the work of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

But why? Why couldn't the Empress Dowager and the Emperor tolerate Cao Qinmo? Concubine Hua had a new question in her mind.

Yinxiu could not answer these questions, so Concubine Hua did what she said and ordered Zhou Ninghai to secretly send Yinxiu out of Yikun Palace. She also stuffed two silver bills into Yinxiu's pocket. The next day, Yinxiu followed the palace maids out of the palace.

After leaving the palace, Yinxiu followed Concubine Hua's arrangement and went to the Nian family's farm to meet her cousin. They hid there until the beginning of spring, when the two of them fled to other places.

The Queen Mother's people couldn't find Yinxiu, so she gave up. After all, Cao Qinmo's family background was poor, and even if she died, she wouldn't cause any trouble. It would be better to save her life, which would be considered a good deed.

When Concubine Hua heard the news from Shoukang Palace, she just sneered.

Hua Fei felt that the eighteen Buddhist scriptures that she had placed in front of the Buddha for consecration and gave to the empress dowager were an insult to the Buddhist scriptures that she had copied herself.

The emperor has not come to the harem for several days.

One morning, when Concubine Hua was still in a dream, she heard the intermittent sounds of Kunqu opera coming from the long street.

Concubine Hua felt that she might be dreaming, or had returned to her previous life. Lady Miaoyin's Kunqu opera always accompanied the Fengluan Chun'en carriage along the way.

Wait a minute, Lady Miaoyin appears again?