章 12: Empress, What Do You Think?
編集者: Atlas Studios
Chun Fei did not enter alone.
When she entered, she had also seized an imperial maid as a hostage.
This imperial maid was called Zhi Chun and was one of the personal imperial maids of the Empress. She had accompanied the Empress for over ten years and was deeply trusted by her. Thus, the Empress must have also instructed her to do many things.
When the Empress saw Chun Fei kidnapping her imperial maid, she flew into a rage. Then, she stood up and berated her, "Chun Fei, what are you doing? Since I let you into the room, hurry up and let go of Zhi Chun!"
The Emperor also furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Chun Fei, if you have anything to say today, then say it. I will listen. There's no need to do this."
Chun Fei was not affected by this, as if she had already made a decision in her heart.
"Your Majesty, I have kidnapped imperial maid Zhi Chun today, not to take her hostage, but to make her tell the truth about what happened behind the scenes of my sister's unjust death thirteen years ago!" Chun Fei's gaze was firm and persistent as she said in a cold voice, "Over the past few years, I have been investigating what happened to my sister back then. Now, I have investigated all the essentials of this incident!"
When the Empress heard this, her expression turned even darker. While the flames of rage in her eyes were about to burst forth, she could not help but feel some panic too.
She was unable to deal with this and immediately shouted, "Chun Fei has gone crazy and is talking nonsense here! Quickly come and capture her!"
"Yes!"
Several imperial maids and eunuchs immediately entered from outside. All of them displayed extraordinary skills and looked like martial arts experts.
Individually, perhaps their cultivation bases were not as impressive as Chun Fei who had achieved grade-6, but when they worked together, they could definitely bring her under control.
"Who dares to do so?!" Chun Fei's fingers resembled an eagle's claw and grabbed the imperial maid's neck. She could take Zhi Chun's life at any time.
The Empress's expression was dark. She did not care about this at all and ordered, "Attack!"
Chun Fei had made her move too early.
She thought that since Zhi Chun was the Empress's personal imperial maid who had accompanied the Empress for over ten years, their relationship would be like that of Yun Su and Chun Fei's, who were like sisters.
However, she never thought that the Empress simply would not care about Zhi Chun's life.
Luckily, at this moment, the Emperor shouted in a low tone, "All of you, stop!"
His expression was ugly as he stood up and observed the several eunuchs and imperial maids present. Then, he shouted, "Get out! Without my command, no one is allowed to enter again!"
The several imperial maids and eunuchs immediately stopped their actions. However, they hesitated greatly on whether they should retreat. They all turned their gaze towards the Empress, as if they were waiting for her command.
When the Emperor saw this, he was even angrier. He also turned to look at the Empress and said coldly, "What? So are my words of no use in Changchun Palace?"
Upon seeing this, the Empress trembled lightly, and the rage in her eyes subsided slightly as her mind regained its rationality. In the end, she gritted her teeth and instructed the several imperial maids and eunuchs, "The Emperor has spoken. Why are you still dumbfounded there? Hurry up and go away! Do you no longer want your lives?"
"Yes! Please spare us, Your Majesty. Please spare us, Empress…"
Then, the imperial maids and eunuchs retreated from the room.
The Emperor snorted coldly and sat down once again. Then, he looked at Chun Fei with a complex gaze and calmly said, "Chun Fei, you said that you investigated the injustices of your sister's death back then? What exactly happened? You can explain it now."
Chun Fei nodded and started to speak tirelessly. "Even though my sister's death back then was dubious and was said to be a sudden death, I know that she died because someone framed her. They said that she poisoned the crown prince because she wanted to make the ninth prince the crown prince…"
The Empress's gaze was sharp as she said, "That's not framing. That's the truth! Back then, Your Majesty investigated the matter very thoroughly. However, Your Majesty was softhearted and made her hang herself on account of your past relationship. He did not expose her sinister intentions to the public!"
"My sister has a gentle heart and will typically not even kill an ant. How could she poison the crown prince?" Chun Fei rebutted.
The Empress laughed coldly and said, "For some people, you might know them for a long time without understanding their true nature. They are one person in front of everyone else and another behind their backs."
Chun Fei did not bicker with the Empress. Instead, she looked at the Emperor and continued to speak. "Your Majesty, I have investigated the matter thoroughly. Back then, there was indeed someone who wanted to poison the crown prince. However, it was not my sister, but someone else! There is a massive conspiracy hidden behind this! Back then, the one who personally poisoned the crown prince was the imperial maid that I have in my hands, Zhi Chun!"
With that, Chun Fei tightened her grip around Zhi Chun's neck.
"I have been wronged! Your Majesty, Empress, how could I have poisoned the crown prince? Chun Fei is framing me!" Zhi Chun's face was flushed as she cried out her grievances in panic.
"Framing you?" Chun Fei laughed coldly and took out two other things from her chest pocket. Then, she said, "This is a letter that Granny Huang personally wrote to me. It is a detailed record of how you poisoned the crown prince back then. You should be very familiar with Granny Huang, right? The Granny Huang who you adopted a carrot-and-stick approach with and made her cooperate with you back then… Also, this is the receipt from the pharmacy you visited when you traveled out from the palace back then! These medicines were the drugs that were used to poison the crown prince! Do you need me to ask the imperial doctor who diagnosed and treated the crown prince to look at the receipt and check whether they match?"
Hua!
Zhi Chun was shouting that she had been wronged and was innocent, but the moment she heard this, her face instantly turned ghastly pale.
These two items could be said to be solid evidence. When they were placed in front of her, she would not be able to explain herself even if she had 1,000 mouths. The truth had been determined.
She never thought that Chun Fei had actually found such conclusive evidence!
Zhi Chun, whose heart was in chaos, subconsciously shot a look at the Empress to plead for her help.
However, the Empress responded with a cold expression that was extremely sinister and threatening.
Chun Fei did not care about the panic from the two women and continued to speak. "Your Majesty, I do not know why you believed that my sister wanted to poison the crown prince back then. However, you can now be certain that the offender behind this was definitely not my sister! My sister could not possibly order Zhi Chun around! As for who the offender behind this was…"
Chun Fei laughed coldly for a moment and stared at the Empress. Meanwhile, her grip around Zhi Chun's neck tightened as she berated, "Speak! Who exactly instructed you to poison the crown prince back then?"
"I—I—I was treated unjustly…"
Zhi Chun was in complete chaos and could only powerlessly shout that she had been wronged.
After listening to this, the Empress's expression was shockingly dark.
Even a fool would now know that there were secrets behind that incident back then. Mistakes had been made.
The one who had poisoned the crown prince was not Senior Concubine Li, but someone else.
When the Emperor thought about this, he could not help but feel a pain in his heart. He felt very sad.
Senior Concubine Li was the imperial concubine that he had doted on the most. Even though over ten years had passed, he would often recall her voice and appearance. Back then, he had wondered whether Senior Concubine Li had been framed by someone else and wanted to reverse the verdict. However, back then, with the various pieces of evidence laid in front of him and the pressure from various parties, he had no choice but to endure the pain and sentence her to death.
The Emperor looked at Chun Fei with a complex gaze.
Chun Fei and her elder sister were 70% alike. Their appearances and figures were all very similar, and they were rare beauties.
However, Chun Fei's personality was fiery and direct. She was decisive and constant in everything she did. When she set her mind on something, she would do it no matter how difficult it was and was like a thorny rose. Meanwhile, Senior Concubine Li was cultured and refined, and was also well-educated and reasonable. She was calm in everything she did and never competed for anything. She was as calm as a chrysanthemum. She was simply unconventional in this competitive imperial palace. Thus, he doted on her greatly.
How great would it be if Senior Concubine Li was still around?
Perhaps he would not be as troubled as he was now? He could not find anyone to have a heart-to-heart talk with in the enormous imperial compound now.
Alas…
The Emperor sighed miserably several times in his heart and only withdrew his emotions after a moment. Then, he once again became the lofty monarch who did not reveal his emotions.
He glared at the Empress with a cold gaze and asked her as if he was on to something, "Empress, what do you think about this matter?"
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