Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 542 The Pottery Jar Containing an Infant

The two beauties, Yang and Ye, remained silent, their minds reeling. They had gone to great lengths to climb the Empress's coattails, only to find themselves in this predicament before they had even received any benefit from her protection.

Moving to the Changchun Garden Palace is hardly a peaceful retreat. Like Lady Qu, she may never return to the palace in her lifetime.

Apart from Consort Chun and Meng Shu, all the concubines in the harem believed that the Empress was implicated by the Marquis of Zhenbei's family, and a sense of shared fate arose in their hearts. In this deep palace, today's phoenix may become tomorrow's prisoner; who can truly remain on the high platform forever?

After this incident, even Consort Shun, Consort Mu, and Consort Qi couldn't help but write letters to their maternal families, their words filled with warnings, either advising their father to be careful with his words and actions, or instructing their brothers to restrain their behavior.

Consort Shun had another worry.

Although she was nominally the only adopted daughter of the Grand Governor's Mansion, she was deeply afraid that her father would remember their past relationship and intervene on behalf of Marquis Zhenbei.

However, Han Guangbi's political acumen was remarkably sharp.

Half a month ago, the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion sent someone to the northern frontier to deliver a message to the two young generals, but the general ordered his deputy to intercept them halfway. By the time the emperor's decree was delivered to the northern frontier ahead of time, the Grand Commander had already ordered Song Chengrui to tie up the two "nephews" (the empress's two elder brothers) tightly and escort them to the capital day and night.

Song Chengrui, accompanied by Chen Lin, led a troop of personal guards to escort them along the way. Their horses' hooves trampled the moonlight over the border, shattering the last hope of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion.

In Huining Hall,

Meng Shu and Consort Chun exchanged a glance, both seeing an unquenchable resentment in each other's eyes.

The Empress and her father acted perversely, raising private armies and even dabbling in witchcraft. If the matter is simply concluded with charges of embezzlement and tribute, it would be too lenient on them.

Meng Shu suddenly remembered something. "His Majesty has always been quite suspicious. A month ago, he sent Lord Tong to secretly investigate the matter of Ningxiang Dew. Later, he also ordered him to assist the Dali Temple in investigating the rumors in the capital. Now that I think about it carefully... the deeper meaning behind it is probably not just that."

Consort Chun belatedly realized, "Shu'er means that if the Empress is currently imprisoned in the palace, and something is discovered in the future... will the Emperor take further action?"

Just then, Ruizhu and Hongyu came running back from the outer room. Aunt Mei was about to scold them when she heard Ruizhu say in a trembling voice, "Aunt, Consort Min was ordered to go to Renming Hall to collect the chests and boxes. You would never guess! Consort Min discovered...discovered..."

Aunt Mei placed the Second Prince, whom she was holding, into Mingyue's arms, and solemnly reminded her, "Be careful what you say. Consort Jin is also in the study; quickly go and deliver the message to her."

As she spoke, she followed Ruizhu and Hongyu to the bedroom.

Min Rong was ordered to go to Renming Hall under the pretense of collecting boxes and cages, but in reality, he was carrying out a search on the Emperor's orders.

After hearing what Ruizhu said, Consort Chun was so shocked that she stood up, and Mengzhu quickly stepped forward to help her up.

Meng Shu also looked horrified: "The fetus that the Empress miscarried back then... has been kept by her side all this time?"

Ruizhu loved to join in the fun, and the most lively place in the palace in the morning was Renming Hall. She and Hongyu were kindred spirits, and the two of them went to the gate of Renming Hall early in the morning. Wei Ying and the other imperial guards had already left after Jingming read the imperial edict. The two of them happened to see Min Rong leading a pair of palace servants and eunuchs in.

She was still shaken. "When Her Majesty the Empress miscarried, she was already seven and a half months pregnant, with a fully formed male fetus... Who would have thought it would be sealed in a black pottery jar? Consort Min discovered it by accident and has already sent someone to the Funing Palace to inform the Emperor."

Meng Shu felt a chill run down her spine, then a sudden thought struck her: "Could the bloody smell that often lingered in the Renming Hall be coming from...that place?"

Consort Chun's face paled, her fingertips trembling slightly. "Nearly four years have passed. If it weren't for the secret medicine method of preservation, it would probably have rotted away long ago... This vixen is not only vicious, but she doesn't even spare her own miscarried child. Isn't she afraid that by keeping her like this... the child's soul will not find peace?"

After listening, Aunt Mei silently recited a Buddhist chant and said in a low voice, "Fortunately, Consort Min discovered it in time, otherwise who knows what changes might have occurred later."

Consort Chun had grown up in seclusion since childhood, and Mengzhu and the others had also served in high-ranking families. How could they have ever heard of such sinister things? Mengzhu and Ruizhu looked at each other, and both saw undisguised fear in each other's eyes.

Green Willow, having gained experience in Jinan for several years, quickly regained her composure.

She leaned close to Meng Shu's ear and whispered, "Does Your Highness remember? In your last letter, Madam mentioned that Lady Zhou and the others found a similar pottery jar on the carriage of Marquis Zhenbei's entourage. And in Doctor Chu's manor... I always felt that this pottery jar exuded an evil aura. I'm afraid it might be a vessel specifically used to raise Gu poison?"

Meng Shu had already anticipated this. She raised her hand to signal Green Willow to be quiet. Since the Empress had already lost power, these underhanded tricks vanished.

"Although the evidence held by the Marquis and his wife is incomplete, since Lord Tong is investigating, it seems that the wife has unknowingly leaked information. Now, we can only wait and see how the Emperor decides to deal with it." Meng Shu stepped forward and helped Consort Chun sit down.

Aunt Mei patted her chest and said to Meng Shu, "Your Highness, please stay for lunch. I'll have the kitchen prepare a few more calming soups."

Since Donggua hadn't come, and she stayed by Yu Nu'er's side when she wasn't cooking, Meng Shu said, "Auntie, there's no need to trouble yourself. Green Willow and I will go back in a while."

At noon,

The Emperor issued an edict, severely reprimanding the Empress for her improper conduct, and ordered the construction of a Buddhist hall within the Changchun Garden Palace, instructing the Empress to chant scriptures day and night. As for the black pottery jar containing the fetus, Jingming personally escorted it to the Guangci Temple outside the Longshou Canal. After the abbot led the monks in performing a ritual to pray for the deceased, an auspicious burial site was chosen.

......

In the capital city, in Guanglu Lane, there is an inconspicuous two-courtyard house.

Qin Baolian, dressed in simple clothes and with a plain hairpin, leaned against a pillar in the corridor, lost in thought. These days, she had put aside her worries and gone to the Dali Temple to assist Lord Xu and the Xu family father and son in investigating the case.

This quiet courtyard is also the private property of Minister Xu of the Court of Judicial Review.

Since arriving in the capital with her brother, she has never visited the Lin'an Marquis's residence to avoid suspicion, nor has she ever entertained the idea of ​​seeing Madam Yun, let alone the Consort Chun, who lives deep within the inner palace.

This moment, that moment.

She was clear-headed; she and Tang Qingwan were worlds apart.

At that time, they had known each other since childhood. One was the legitimate daughter of a magistrate, and the other was the daughter of a merchant. Logically speaking, her status should have been higher than the other's, but her father insisted that she befriend the daughter of the Tang family.

After several banquets, she actually developed some genuine feelings for the second young lady of the Tang family, and was even gradually influenced by her...

But she could never have imagined that her future would be so different from Tang Qingwan's.

When she was ordered by her father to marry far away to Yuzhou, she was filled with trepidation but also with anticipation for the future.

Little did anyone know that the Jiang family was not a benevolent one; the infighting among the various branches was endless. Although her husband dared not openly take a concubine out of respect for his father-in-law, Prefect Qin, he still had more than a dozen maids serving as concubines. As the legitimate wife, she was treated like a mere decoration in the deep mansion, unable to even maintain the slightest semblance of dignity.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, but her newborn child... was also harmed by the second branch of the Jiang family without her noticing.

Whenever she thought of this, Qin Baolian would feel a splitting headache, and when she looked up again, tears would silently roll down her clothes.

"Third Sister."

Qin Yan led the group into the backyard.

Leading the procession was a eunuch holding a whisk, with Xu Yizhao respectfully following behind. Another group of palace servants entered in single file, carrying several brocade boxes.

Qin Baolian was slightly taken aback, quickly wiped away her tears, straightened her clothes, and stepped forward to greet him.

Seeing his sister's state, Qin Yan knew she was recalling the past, and a pang of pain shot through his heart.

He was far away in Jinnan at the time, and only received the news after his third sister's marriage was arranged. Afterwards, he secretly inquired carefully and learned that his father was both after the Jiang family's wealth and also wanted to use this opportunity to establish a relationship with the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion... But it was already too late, and even if he wanted to stop it, he was powerless to change the situation.

As soon as Jing Ming entered the courtyard, he carefully examined the woman in front of him. She was slender and her eyes were still wet with tears. It was hard to imagine how she had escaped from the Jiang family and how she had traveled thousands of miles alone to reach Jinan during the famine.

However, he also deeply admired the lady's actions. In particular, considering that Consort Chun and she were close friends, he dared not be negligent.

"Miss Qin, this is an imperial edict."