Seizing the throne, abolishing the adopted son, the imperial concubine rose to prominence

"Your Majesty, according to the maidservants around Lu Yu-nu, Concubine Lu is a suspect after all. If we want to prove her innocence completely, I think we should summon the maids from Roufu Palace to question her."

"Gu Zhaoyi and the eldest prince have been through many hardships since entering Ci'an Palace. I love them as much as the emperor does. Even if I have to explain this to Gu Zhaoyi, I must ask them thoroughly about this matter. I must not let them go lightly."

The queen stood up and said solemnly.

Hearing this, everyone's eyes were filled with confusion. They didn't know what had happened in Ci'an Palace yesterday, and naturally didn't know that the Queen had been reprimanded by the Emperor.

The Queen is in charge of the harem and has always been kind to others, which is praised by people inside and outside the palace. However, today she is particularly serious.

Everyone thought about it in their hearts and their eyes couldn't help but drift towards Gu Youning. It seemed that even the Queen had to be cautious about Gu Zhaoyi's favor.

Faced with the jealousy of the concubines, Gu Youning was very calm and just smiled reassuringly at Concubine Wen who was full of worry.

She had expected to face such jealousy when she led the emperor to make decisions for her in front of the six concubines. However, if she did not attract jealousy, she would be mediocre. Her family was powerful, and the empress and the imperial concubine had repeatedly attacked her and her son. She had no family background to rely on, so she could only rely on the emperor's power to intimidate them.

As for Concubine Lu, she had been about to stand up after hearing the emperor's words, but when she saw that the queen was still pestering her, she knelt down again with a cruel heart, but she glanced at the emperor with a pair of eyes full of affection and grievance.

However, the emperor, who was drinking tea with his head down, did not see it.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, several palace maids from Roufu Palace were brought before the emperor.

"Your Majesty, it was these palace servants who secretly announced that Concubine Gu and her son were suffering from an acute illness and were seeking treatment from the Imperial Hospital. That's why the master brought this servant to the palace road to wait."

Pei Yu, who had gone to Roufu Palace with the imperial court's men to identify the person, knelt down and reported.

"How did you learn that Concubine Gu and the First Prince were unwell?"

"Your servants...you heard it from other palace servants. We didn't know who it was. Your Majesty, please spare us. We will never dare to gossip again."

One of the maids lowered her head and said in a trembling voice.

"Yes, yes... We servants all heard it from others."

The other palace maids were already in a state of panic under the dragon's might and could only respond in agreement.

"How dare you lie in front of the emperor?"

Pei Yu pointed at the palace maids angrily and said, "Some of you clearly said that you saw an unfamiliar imperial physician rushing to Ci'an Palace. It wasn't Yang Yuanpan, the doctor who was specifically treating the Empress Dowager. It must have been another master in Ci'an Palace who was sick."

"Besides the Empress Dowager, the only other masters in Ci'an Palace are Consort Gu and the Crown Prince."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I swear to heaven that what I said is absolutely true. I even told you that you intended to use oleander powder to harm Lady Lu. Why would you lie about this?"

Pei Yu knew that if anything happened to her master, she would certainly not survive, so she calmed down at this moment.

"Yes, Peiyu is absolutely right. These palace maids must have been instructed by someone to frame me."

Lu Yunu also shouted at the top of her voice. The way she struggled and screamed did not resemble the demeanor of a girl from aristocratic family at all, not to mention the confusing words. It was right for her to excuse herself, but look at what she said. It was obvious that she had evil intentions, but she just said that others framed her. This unrepentant look would only make the emperor more disgusted.

Pei Yu closed her eyes secretly. Her master was spoiled by the lady and his words had no consequences. But at this moment and in this place, this was all she could do.

"Cao Zhong, take the man away. No matter what method you use, I will only give you a cup of tea."

The emperor's cold gaze fell on the palace maid who had spoken first, and he gave an order in a cold voice.

"Yes."

Cao Zhong waved his hand, and several eunuchs in crimson robes immediately entered the hall.

Their movements were extremely efficient. Before the palace maids could scream, they had already blocked their mouths and dragged them out a moment later.

This is the eunuch in the Ministry of Punishment who is in charge of punishment.

The concubines looked at each other in bewilderment. The emperor had actually ordered people from the Ministry of Punishment to guard outside.

Some people with clear minds immediately realized that something was wrong, and even felt uneasy in their hearts, hoping that they would not be implicated.

Especially the daughters of aristocratic families. Since the founding of Dazhao, many women from their families have entered the palace. In addition, they are not short of money, so they have some business in the palace.

Having connections in the palace is naturally a help in daily life, but the people in the palace are complicated and the connections are even more intricate. Some palace people are good at getting along with everyone and are very easy to get involved with others.

In particular, shrill screams soon came from the room next door. Although the sound was blocked by the thick walls, it seemed a little vague, but it was this half-hidden feeling that made the scarves in the hands of the people in the hall wet with cold sweat.

Cao Zhong was indeed a capable man in the imperial court. He returned to report in less than a cup of tea.

Seeing the palace maid being carried in by two eunuchs, many of the concubines below changed their expressions. A timid court lady even let out a scream and fell to the ground.

I saw that the five fingers of the palace maid's hands were all bloody, and her fingernails had been pulled out, with silver needles inserted in them. It looked so painful. I didn't know why, but looking at the way the palace maid's hands and feet were hanging down, I was afraid that her hands and feet had been broken alive.

"Your Majesty, this palace maid has confessed."

Cao Zhong replied, flicking his whisk and standing aside.

"I followed the orders of the Imperial Concubine... the Imperial Concubine, and so... I deliberately led others to speak like that in front of Lu Yunv. I wanted to use Lu Yunv to get rid of Concubine Gu and the First Prince."

The palace maid finally finished saying this and then fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"How dare you frame the Imperial Concubine? Not to mention that the Imperial Concubine doesn't even recognize you, Lu Yunv just said that she only put oleander powder in it, and it's impossible for her to kill anyone. How can you say she wants to get rid of Concubine Gu and the First Prince?"

Zefu said angrily.