in2ebook Chapter 297 Ling Huan faces difficulties
Chapter 297 Ling Huan faces difficulties
Upon hearing the Emperor's order, Zhen Huan quickly knelt and saluted, "Your Majesty is wise, but the truth behind this princess has not yet been fully investigated. If we rashly place her under house arrest, we fear that something unforeseen will happen."
The Emperor, still furious, said in a deep voice, "Hanhuan, this woman has acted recklessly in the palace with ill intentions. If we don't punish her, how can we convince the people?"
An Lingrong also stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, I think we should first carefully interrogate the people around the princess. Perhaps we can uncover more hidden secrets, so as to avoid wrongfully accusing the princess and ensure peace in the harem."
Concubine Hua echoed, "Your Majesty, this princess is very cunning. If there are any accomplices, they must be caught immediately. No future troubles must be left behind!"
The emperor thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "In that case, I will follow your advice and interrogate the people around the princess first."
After the emperor left, Chun'er came to Zhen Huan and asked with wide eyes, "Sister, will the princess really be convicted?"
Zhen Huan patted Chun Er's head gently: "The truth of this matter is still unknown. We need to wait and see the results of the interrogation."
Mei Zhuang said worriedly, "This princess may be supported by forces from another country. If she is not handled properly, it may lead to conflict between the two countries."
An Lingrong said, "Sister Meizhuang is absolutely right. We must be careful in our response."
Afterwards, Zhen Huan and others went to the place where the princess's attendants were imprisoned.
Zhen Huan looked at the attendants and asked seriously, "Tell me the truth. Princess, why did you come to the Qing Dynasty? Is there any conspiracy?"
A servant replied tremblingly, "Noble Consort Xi, Noble Consort An, we are only serving the princess as ordered. The princess has never revealed any of her plans to us."
Concubine Hua shouted, "Stop your quibbling! How could you be completely unaware of the princess's actions in the palace?"
Another attendant said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, the princess only took action after meeting with her own envoy. Perhaps the envoy knew something."
Zhen Huan and An Lingrong exchanged a glance, and An Lingrong said, "It seems that finding the messenger is the key."
Mei Zhuang asked, "But where is the envoy now? The palace is so big, it's not easy to find him."
Zhen Huan thought for a moment and said, "We can first send people to investigate near the residences of the envoys from various countries to see if there are any suspicious people coming in or out."
While everyone was discussing, a young eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, there's news from the Imperial Hospital that several imperial physicians' prescriptions have mysteriously disappeared. I'm afraid there's something fishy going on."
Zhen Huan frowned: "The prescription is missing? Is this related to the princess's matter?"
An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, let's go to the Imperial Hospital first."
Arriving at the Imperial Hospital, the judge came forward and said, "Empress Xi, Empress An, the disappearance of these prescriptions is very strange. These prescriptions involve nourishing remedies for several of the Empresses and the diagnosis and treatment of some illnesses. If they fall into the wrong hands, the consequences will be disastrous."
Zhen Huan asked, "Have you found any clues?"
The judge shook his head and said, "I am incompetent and have not yet found anything."
Concubine Hua said impatiently: "You bunch of imperial doctors, you spend all day in this Imperial Hospital and can't even take care of a prescription!"
An Lingrong soothed her, "Don't worry, sister. There must be something fishy going on. Let's work together to find a solution."
At this moment, Chun'er's eyes suddenly lit up: "Sisters, could it be that the princess's people stole the prescription and want to tamper with the medicine?"
Mei Zhuang nodded: "Chun'er's idea is not impossible. If we can secretly poison the medicine, we can harm people without anyone noticing."
Zhen Huan said, "If that's true, then the princess is truly extremely malicious. We must retrieve the prescription as soon as possible."
An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, I think we can start by checking the entry and exit records of the Imperial Hospital to see if there have been any suspicious people entering or leaving recently."
So everyone began to check the entry and exit records of the Imperial Medical Service.
During the search, An Lingrong discovered that the name of a young eunuch appeared frequently, and each time it was before or after the prescription disappeared.
An Lingrong pointed at the name and said, "Look, this little eunuch is very suspicious."
Zhen Huan immediately ordered, "Go and find this young eunuch."
When the young eunuch was brought there and saw Zhen Huan and the others, he was so scared that he fell to his knees.
Zhen Huan asked sternly, "Did you steal the prescription from the Imperial Hospital? Did the princess instruct you to do so?"
The young eunuch cried and said, "My Lady, I am innocent! I was coerced. A mysterious man gave me money and told me to steal the prescription. If I didn't, he would kill my whole family."
An Lingrong asked, "What does that mysterious man look like?"
The young eunuch said, "I only remember that the mysterious man had his face covered and his voice sounded like a woman's."
Concubine Hua said, "Humph! It must be the princess's man!"
Zhen Huan said, "Don't jump to conclusions yet. Do you know where that mysterious person asked you to send the prescription?"
The young eunuch shook his head and said, "I don't know. I only know that they should send it to a corner under the palace wall. Someone will be there to meet it."
Zhen Huan said, "Sister Mei Zhuang, take some people to the foot of the palace wall and wait to see if anyone comes to help."
Mei Zhuang took the order and left.
Zhen Huan and others continued to search for clues in the Imperial Hospital to prevent any other omissions.
After some time, Mei Zhuang came back with a palace maid behind her.
Mei Zhuang said, "We caught this maid at the foot of the palace wall. She was waiting for the eunuch to deliver the prescription."
Zhen Huan looked at the maid and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here to get the prescription? Did the princess send you there?"
The maid was stubborn at first: "My lady, I don't know what you are talking about."
Hua Fei angrily said, "If you don't tell the truth, I will make you wish you were dead!"
The maid was frightened by Concubine Hua's aura and cried, "My Lady, it was the nanny beside the princess who sent me here. She said that if I could get the prescription, she would give me a large sum of money and let me leave the palace to live a good life."
An Lingrong asked, "Where is the nanny now?"
The maid said, "It's in the side hall of the princess's palace."
Zhen Huan said, "Let's go to the princess's palace and confront that nanny face to face."
Everyone came to the princess's palace and found the nanny.
Zhen Huan asked, "Mammy, why did you instruct others to steal the Imperial Hospital's prescriptions? Are you planning to poison someone in the palace?"
Seeing that the truth had been revealed, the nanny pretended to be calm and said, "My lady, I don't understand what you are saying."
An Lingrong produced the evidence she had obtained from the young eunuchs and palace maids: "Mammy, this is evidence. Do you still want to quibble?"
When the nanny saw the evidence, her face changed and she knelt down with a plop. "Your Majesty, I had no choice but to do this. The princess asked me to do this. The princess wanted to understand the physical condition of each of you through the prescription, and then find an opportunity to poison you and frame you so that she could gain a firm foothold in the harem and seek the position of empress."
After hearing this, Zhen Huan and others were very angry.
Zhen Huan said, "Take this nanny and the people involved away and wait for the Emperor's decision."
After this incident, Zhen Huan said to An Lingrong, "Lingrong, the struggles in the harem are becoming more and more dangerous. We must be more careful and cautious."
An Lingrong nodded: "Huan'er, as long as we sisters work together, we can overcome any difficulties."
Concubine Hua also said, "That's right. With me here, no one dares to attack you easily! Let's clean up the mess in this harem together!"
Despite all the twists and turns, the friendship between Zhen Huan and An Lingrong grows deeper. They stick to their kindness, rely on each other, and move forward fearlessly in the turmoil of the palace, writing a legend together.