The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

Everyone was surprised by Fu Ling's words. Pang Zhaoyuan and Madam Yaozhang exchanged glances, and then she said cautiously, "But Sister Qian's neck only has a ligature mark, and only one ligature mark, isn't that right?"

Fu Ling smiled and said, "In response to Consort Pang's question, I only said that Qian Chonghua was hanged after she died, without mentioning the cause of her death. Why did you mention the strangulation marks on her neck? As for the true cause of her death, we will have to wait for the coroner's examination to find out!"

Yuan Li frowned and said, "Alright! Pang Zhaoyuan, stop interrupting, and Fu Ling, stop keeping me in suspense. Let's talk about Qian Chonghua's miscarriage!"

Fu Ling gave a slight bow, her smile fading as she said seriously, "Your Majesty, what do you see?"

She lifted Qian Chonghua's thick black hair, revealing a scar the size of a broad bean. The scar had been treated, but the raw, bloody flesh was still visible.

It turned out that yesterday, Madam Yaozhang slapped Qian Chonghua to the ground. When Qian Chonghua fell, her forehead hit the chair made of Phoebe zhennan wood. At the time, she only felt pain in her forehead, and it was not until a while later that she realized that her stomach was abnormal.

Yao Zhang Palace was headed by Lady Yao Zhang, Xie Qingtan, and housed four other concubines, two of whom were Qian Chonghua and Consort Pang. Qian Chonghua returned to her chambers and bled within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

When Lady Yaozhang first entered the palace, she was pregnant once, but the child was lost due to the machinations of a villain. When she was paying for the child's education, she never thought it would harm the child. Seeing that the child was bleeding, she felt sorry for the child and immediately wanted to call the imperial physician, but was stopped by Consort Pang.

Not only that, she also came up with a plan to pin the bleeding and miscarriage on Fu Luan. Yesterday, Qian Chonghua listened to her and wouldn't let the imperial physician Wang examine her forehead, nor would she let Fu Ling get close.

The two concubines thought their wicked scheme had succeeded, but little did they know that Fu Ling would still find a flaw in their plan today!

"I thought Physician Fu had made some valuable discovery, but it's just a scar. Maybe she accidentally fell and bumped into something! Is that something to brag about in front of His Majesty?" Lady Yaozhang said disdainfully.

Consort Pang gloated from the side, "Yes! In my opinion, a doctor should be a man! Women... are just not up to the task!"

Yuan Li still frowned and said, "Pang Zhaoyuan, are you trying to get slapped again by talking so much? But Physician Fu, these scars really can't be used as evidence, can they?"

Fu Luan then slowly said, "Your Majesty, when Qian Chonghua came to Changqiu Palace to pay her respects yesterday morning, she didn't have these thick bangs. Her forehead was completely exposed, without a single scar!"

Fu Ling added, "Yes, Your Majesty! Judging from the condition of these wounds, they were sustained before her death, and the medicine applied to them also proves this. Since Qian Chonghua was not injured yesterday morning, it is clear that these wounds were inflicted after she left Changqiu Palace."

"Qian Chonghua left Changqiu Palace at dawn and miscarried near dusk, a little over two hours later. What happened during that time? Where did she go, and who did she meet? Most importantly..."

Fu Ling paused, glanced at Fu Luan, and continued, "Her Majesty the Empress has already investigated and found that Qian Chonghua's recent diet and belongings are not suspicious, so there is only one possibility left: 'injury'!"

"But Physician Wang said with absolute certainty yesterday that he had examined Qian Chonghua and found no external injuries. How could this be? If the injury on her forehead had been found yesterday, perhaps the cause of Qian Chonghua's miscarriage could have been determined, and she wouldn't have died!"

All eyes immediately turned to Physician Wang, who trembled and knelt down, stammering, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Consort Qian and her lady-in-waiting forbade me from touching her hair. They said... they said... the proper separation of men and women..."

Fu Luan asked, "Did you examine any other parts of her body?"

Physician Wang wiped the sweat from his face and replied, "Yes, yes, we've checked everything that needed to be checked!"

Fu Luan laughed and said, "That's not right... The imperial physicians come and go in the palace every day to treat the concubines, and none of the concubines have ever minded the 'separation of men and women'. Why did they mind it yesterday?"

"If she really cares, then so be it, we can ask a female physician to examine her; but she allows the imperial physician to examine every part of her body except her forehead... Qian Chonghua is extremely concerned about the fetus, yet she won't even let the imperial physician Wang examine her forehead, isn't that very suspicious?"

Fu Ling wanted to say something, but seeing Fu Luan say this, she swallowed her words.

Yuan Li nodded. "Since the lady was there at the time, why don't we call her over and have her tell us what happened?"

A short while later, Lady Mei'er was brought in, sobbing, "Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress, after my concubine, Consort Hua, started bleeding, she clutched her stomach and said many strange things. She said, she said..."

She glanced at Fu Luan, hesitating to speak. Fu Luan said, "Speak freely!"

Mei'er whispered, "She said that the Empress and her elder brother, the Marquis of Yongning, had an affair, and she found out and wanted to harm her..."

As for the injury on her forehead, the masters all saw Chonghua's appearance yesterday. She was already somewhat delirious and started talking nonsense. This servant was merely echoing what the masters said and did not intentionally obstruct Physician Wang!

Although she did not mention the phrase "separation of men and women," everyone knew in their hearts that those four words probably referred not to Qian Chonghua and Imperial Physician Wang, but to Fu Luan and Fu Yuan!

Pang Zhaoyuan desperately suppressed her joy. She refused to believe that Yuan Li could spoil Fu Luan to the point of tolerating her having a lover! But Yuan Li was likely to disappoint her.

Yuan Li sneered, "You little brat, such a big thing happened in your palace yesterday, and instead of serving your mistress properly, you caused her death. Now that she's dead, you're starting to fabricate lies and spread rumors!"

Mei'er kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Everything I said is true! It is my fault for not serving my mistress well, but I have never told a lie!"

"Take this good-for-nothing out and beat him to death."

Consort Pang covered her face and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive my boldness, but what Mei'er just said was indeed said by Consort Qian before, and more than once. It wasn't just made up!"

Yuan Linye walked up to Pang Zhaoyuan with a sidelong glance, suddenly raised his hand, and Pang Zhaoyuan bit her lip. Instead of flinching, she raised her head and met the gaze of the current emperor.

"Your Majesty, my concubine did indeed say those things!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Qian Chonghua, she..."

The palace maids who served Qian Chonghua knelt down one after another, all saying that what Mei'er and Consort Pang said was true.

Lady Yaozhang said with a half-smile, "Her Majesty the Empress has just finished one matter, and now she has a new matter to attend to!"

Fu Luan said indifferently, "Is there anything that requires my attention?"

Madam Yaozhang replied mysteriously, "Naturally... I'm busy explaining what Qian Chonghua said..."

Fu Luan sneered, "When in the palace are there no rumors? Who hasn't been the subject of rumors? Rumors about me have never stopped! If I had to explain everything, I wouldn't need to do anything else every day but 'explain'!"

Yuan Li said, "I... also believe in A-Luan!"

Pang Zhaoyuan's eyes gleamed as she said, "Your Majesty, there is someone waiting outside the palace. Once Your Majesty hears her recount the whole story, you will know that everything Qian Chonghua said was true, and you will also know that it was the Empress who killed Qian Chonghua to cover up her own shameful deeds!"

A palace maid brought a middle-aged woman into the room, which surprised not only Fu Luan but also Fu Ling and Hua Luo. The woman was none other than Xu Shi, the widow of Asong, the mother of Cuiyun, the wife of the Marquis of Yongning, who had been personally ordered by Fu Luan to be expelled from the Marquis of Chang'an's residence and the Fu family!