The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 187 Bloody Letter
The young eunuch pointed out by the maid of Cining Palace had been lowering his head and quietly retreating. Unexpectedly, he was recognized by the maid of Cining Palace after a sneak glance.

Su Peisheng hurried forward, grabbed the eunuch and threw him in front of Yinzhen.

Yinzhen looked at the young eunuch, who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and was shaking with panic.

"Don't be afraid. Just tell me whether you went to the Cining Palace to invite Concubine Hua."

Yinzhen said this in a voice without any emotion.

"Your Majesty, your servant, your servant"

The young eunuch stammered for a long time, his whole body shaking like a sieve, but he couldn't say anything.

Yinzhen waved his hand impatiently, and Su Peisheng hurriedly gave orders.

"Come here, take this servant who doesn't tell the truth and is disloyal and unrighteous away and punish him."

Two guards came forward and the young eunuch immediately begged for mercy.

"Please spare my life, Your Majesty! Please spare my life, Your Majesty! I have been to the Cining Palace! But it was not the masters who asked me to go there, it was Hanzhu! Hanzhu gave me some small change and said that the Empress Dowager asked me to invite Concubine Hua to come over. I thought Hanzhu was someone who served the Empress Dowager, so I went there without any doubt. What I said is the truth! Please spare my life, Your Majesty!"

When Empress Dowager De first saw the young eunuch speak, she was nervous, but now that she saw that the young eunuch was smart, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"Emperor, I said I had no knowledge of the matter. Do you believe me now?"

Yinzhen instructed Su Peisheng.

"This servant cannot distinguish right from wrong and is unable to serve his master. He shall be punished to do hard labor in the Ministry of Punishment."

The young eunuch collapsed instantly and was taken to the Ministry of Punishment, where he would have been worse off than dead.

The Queen Mother said again.

"Emperor, Concubine Hua has no reason to kill anyone in the palace. She is a favored concubine, why would she embarrass a palace maid? There must be something hidden behind this matter. Besides, I heard before I came here that the palace maid was pregnant! Even if this scandal had not happened today, she would have been dead when it happened!"

Empress Dowager De couldn't help but say.

"I have heard that Concubine Hua has a violent temper and because she comes from a martial family, she can also use a whip and has some kung fu skills."

The Queen Mother looked at Queen Mother De with a smile and said.

"Oh? I don't know who told you that Shilan has a violent temper? I have seen it with my own eyes. This child is a good and filial child."

Empress Dowager De pointed at Yu Changzai confidently.

"You tell me. Tell the Empress Dowager what you have said to me and the Queen. You said that before Concubine Hua married, she killed a dog that bit her with her bare hands. Isn't this evidence of her violent temper?"

Yu Changzai was suddenly pointed at and her heart trembled. She took a step forward and knelt down to speak.

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, everything I said is true. Not only was Concubine Hua violent even before she got married, but she also interfered with her family's affairs after she got married. My biological mother, Concubine Qi, died because of her!"

Nian Shilan looked at Yu Changzai with a half-smile on her face.

"Yu Changzai, you are really my good sister. I was wondering why I got a reputation of being violent for no reason. It turns out that you are the one behind it. Hmm? Your biological mother, Aunt Qi, tried to murder me but failed, and you took over her unfinished business and also wanted to murder me, right? You and I are from the same Nian family. We are in the same boat. No matter what you say today, the Nian family will no longer recognize you as their daughter. Have you thought it through?"

Yu Changzai raised her head and looked directly at Nian Shilan, saying hatefully.

"Before my elder sister got married, she either beat or scolded me. My aunt and I had to live by your expression every day. Later, my elder sister rose to prominence and became the emperor's woman, and she brutally killed my aunt. Now that she has entered the palace, she still doesn't know how to restrain her temper. She even committed a crime in broad daylight at the gate of the Empress Dowager's palace. Do you really think that no one in the world can do anything to you? The Nian family, the Nian family never treated me as their daughter, so why should I cling to the Nian family? I just want to seek justice for my poor aunt!"

When Yu Changzai said this, everyone present was shocked. They only knew that today's incident was related to Concubine Hua, but they didn't know that the death of Yu Changzai's biological mother was also related to Concubine Hua.

Nian Shilan didn't care about the reactions of the concubines around her at all, she just looked at Yinzhen.

"Your Majesty, please understand. Today, Yu Changzai has drawn a clear line between herself and the Nian family in front of everyone in the palace. I beg Your Majesty to say one thing. No matter what Yu Changzai does from now on, it will have nothing to do with the Nian family."

Yinzhen nodded. He had long wanted to get rid of Nian Zhilan, the woman forced upon him by the former deposed crown prince. However, due to the face of Nian Gengyao and Nian Shilan, he always left Nian Zhilan alone. Now that Nian Zhilan had committed suicide, Yinzhen had nothing to worry about.

"I heard you. From today on, Yu Changzai has no relationship with the Nian family. Okay, Yu Changzai, let me ask you, are you responsible for what you say?"

Yu Chang lowered his head in thought for a moment, then raised his head.

"Your Majesty, everything I said is true!"

Concubine Duan looked at Yu Changzai with undisguised disgust in her eyes.

"Yu Changzai, I remember that you once went to my Qi Mansion with the maids in the palace under the alias Gui Wan. At that time, you said that your mother worked in the Nian Mansion and you knew some things about Concubine Hua. But when you entered the Qiandi Palace as a concubine, I dared not believe a word you said anymore."

Yinzhen looked at Concubine Duan.

"Is there anything else going on?"

Concubine Duan recounted the entire situation from the first time she met Concubine Yu to the present.

The concubines around received too much information today, and everyone's mind was calculating quickly.

Hua Fei was accused of murder, but the "murdered" maid was diagnosed to be more than two months pregnant. Then Hua Fei's sister Yu Changzai jumped out and accused Hua Fei of not only having a violent temper, but also forcing Yu Changzai's biological mother, Aunt Qi, to death.

On one hand, Empress Dowager De insisted that Concubine Hua killed people because she was angry and humiliated after being splashed with water; on the other hand, the Empress Dowager tried her best to protect Concubine Hua, saying that she was a filial child.

Suddenly Xiao Linzi ran in from outside and knelt in front of Yinzhen.

"Your Majesty, I found this in the maid's arms."

Su Peisheng took what Xiao Linzi handed over with both hands. It was five hundred taels of silver and a letter. The letter was sealed and it seemed that it had not been sent out yet.

At Yinzhen's suggestion, Su Peisheng opened the letter, and it turned out to be a bloody letter.

However, Hanzhu's writing level seems to be limited, and there are several typos.

Yinzhen read the letter with a frown. The letter mentioned that Yu Changzai gave her five hundred taels of silver notes, and her parents at home were waiting for her money to live. He also accused her of being unfaithful and said that even if she became a ghost, she would haunt him day and night with her children.

But the letter did not specify who the recipient was.

Yinzhen threw the letter in front of Yu Changzai.

"I originally wanted to try this case, but now it seems unnecessary. Yu Changzai, you ordered the maid Hanzhu of Yonghe Palace to frame Hua Fei. Was it to harm Hua Fei alone, or to include the Queen Mother as well?"

Yu Chang picked up the letter with a confused look on his face, and cried out in injustice after reading just a few lines.

"Your Majesty, please understand! I have never intentionally framed anyone! I have never instructed Hanzhu to do anything!"

Yinzhen looked at her with disgust, and suddenly he saw Yuchang's eunuch Zhou Ninghai kneeling down in the palace.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to forgive me! I was coerced by Yu Changzai and had to do something. I am guilty!"

(End of this chapter)