Everyone who saw it was stunned, and the scene was deathly silent.
I was shocked for a moment, then my body tightened and I clenched my fists slightly.
From the moment he took out his saber to the moment he attacked, it was obvious that this person didn't have any skills. Facing such a low-level attack, it wasn't dangerous at all. Jing Yi and I could easily dismantle it with a wave of our hands. However, there were too many people around. Jing Yi could still retaliate if she attacked, but I couldn't. I could only forcefully suppress the urge to attack. I couldn't help but grit my teeth and sigh at the fact that my identity had both advantages and disadvantages.
Jing Yi didn't move either. She just held me back with one hand, reminding me not to act rashly. At the same time, she evaded the attack naturally, giving the guards a chance to show off.
Unfortunately, Fu Hongyan stood a little further away at this critical moment. No matter how fast he reacted, he couldn't match the distance. Seeing that Jing Yi had no choice but to make a move, a petite figure quickly stood between him and the knife. Even though the courtyard was in an uproar in the next moment, the sound of the knife cutting into flesh was still exceptionally clear to me.
The dagger was aimed at Jing Yi's abdomen, but it went through Lan Guipin's chest. Jing Yi was surprised and helped Lan Guipin to squat down. She didn't even look at the assassin.
From the flash of the blade to Jing Yi stopping me from retreating to Lan Guipin blocking the blade for Jing Yi, everything happened so quickly that the imperial consort and the others didn't even have time to scream when Fu Hongyan had already taken them down with one move. He looked at Jing Yi with a pale face.
With such a thing happening, his sin is probably too great. I can't help but blame him for his negligence.
But then again, the palace had been peaceful for so long. Who would have thought that there would be an internal supervisor assassinating in Jinxi Palace?
Blood quickly spread on Lan Guipin's chest, just like how I would stab the Dark Night into my opponent's chest every time. I looked down and gradually tightened my fist in my sleeve.
The knife had pierced his chest, but not his heart. If he had sealed his major acupoints immediately, there was still a chance of saving him. Just like Tang Jie back then, this knife was not like a long sword. If it had not pierced his body, there was a higher chance of saving him.
Jing Yi and Shen Lin have been close for more than 20 years. He knows this better than I do, but he just hugged her and didn't do anything.
Jing Yi didn't intend to save her, and she just let the woman die.
When the Imperial Consort finally reacted and spoke, she was only flustered.""What…what is going on…"
Of course, no one answered her. I thought that I couldn't be too calm to arouse suspicion, so I quickly grabbed Shui Mo and called for the doctor. My tone was also frightened, although the source of this fear was different from others.
"Emperor…" Lan Guipin held her last breath and tears fell one by one. She slowly raised her hand and pointed at the imperial concubine."She…harmed…"
"Your Majesty!" The Imperial Consort was terrified. Don't listen to me-"
"Alright!" " Shut up!" Jing Yi scolded.”
Jing Yi paused and turned to Fu Hongyan.""Kill without mercy."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked. There must have been an order for this kind of thing. An internal supervisor coming to assassinate for no reason must be crazy and courting death. Since he was captured alive, how could he be killed without interrogation?
The Imperial Consort was especially anxious, but she didn't dare to make a sound because of Jing Yi's anger.
Fu Hongyan was only stunned for a moment before executing it on the spot without any objection.
Seeing Fu Hongyan kill the internal supervisor, Jing Yi lowered her head to look at the struggling woman in her arms and comforted her with a gentle voice,""Alright, don't say anymore. Zhen understands.”
Lan Guipin's tears poured out more and more. She gave up on the rest of her sentence and just stared at Jing Yi, as if she wanted to imprint his face on her. Her eyes were still wide open and sparkling until the last moment of her life.
I looked into those eyes and suddenly understood.
Betrayal, framing, double exploitation, revenge, returning the favor, all of these were fakes designed by this woman, including the last scene. Such a clumsy assassination, seeing the disbelief on the face of the internal supervisor before he died, it was probably related to her.
She never hated the Imperial Concubine, but Jing Yi.
She had racked her brains just to die in front of him in such a violent way.
Jing Yi didn't save her. Maybe she saw through her, or maybe she didn't. But no matter what, this woman's final appearance would definitely leave something in his heart. It would leave a much deeper impression on him than all kinds of suicide, suicide, and death from illness. This was what she wanted.
After six years, she knew all too well that Jing Yi could be fickle under his affectionate side. If she could be one of his lovers, she would be one of his fickle ones sooner or later. Therefore, she had patiently planned for such a long time after she had given up hope. It was not necessarily perfect, just waiting for a death that he would remember.
I wanted to pull her back, but she just wanted to jump because she loved him.
Thus, I finally couldn't help but wonder if my future would be different from this woman's.
Three days later, Lan Guipin's funeral was held. Just like the others, she was not conferred with any titles or charged with any crimes. Jing Yi remained silent for many days and did not punish anyone. Whether it was the things that Lan Guipin had exposed in public, the poisoning of the eldest son, or even the assassination attempt that had alarmed the whole court, he did not pursue any of them. In the eyes of some people, this was a special pardon, but in the eyes of others, it was not good. They were all trembling with fear. The first to bear the brunt of this was the imperial concubine.
Although many things were not said through formal interrogation and there was no so-called evidence, inside and outside the palace, what was said was not evidence. As the rumors spread, they became true. Moreover, Lan Guipin was very clever to mix two facts in three sentences of framing, which made many people unconsciously string their guesses together to become the truth.
" There's no evidence for the assassination. The Imperial Concubine should have sent someone to arrest her. How could she stab Jing Yi in the blink of an eye? If it was Lan Guipin, I really don't know how she did it. If not, who could have buried such a deep trap?"
As for the source of the poison, I carefully looked at Noble Xu's figure and confirmed that she didn't know martial arts, so I boldly handed her over to Concubine Ning to deal with. In less than half a month, this person disappeared without a trace. The reason was that she was seriously ill and shouldn't serve the emperor. A small sixth-rank noble didn't need to report this matter to Jing Yi and the Empress Dowager. Concubine Ning made the decision to report it to me. I didn't even look at it and directly stamped my seal and sent her out of the palace.
Thinking about it, sparing her life was also good. No matter who sent her here, seeing this kind of result would definitely give her a warning. Qingcheng was too big, and there were many people. If one day, because of some greedy and unjust person, her reputation would be ruined for a hundred years. Once she caused trouble, it would be very difficult to clean up.
The imperial concubine panicked. If Jing Yi were to investigate the matter thoroughly, she could still stand up and say that she had been framed. Even if she could push out a scapegoat, or even find out the mastermind, the empress dowager could still stand up and say a few words about favoritism. If the water was muddy, no one would be able to clear their name. It was very likely that they would be beaten fifty times or that the matter would not be settled.
But Jing Yi didn't. She just sat there quietly, making everyone feel like they could see the mud through the light, leaving the Xue family with nothing but worry.
The more she tried to cover up, the more she would expose herself. If she didn't defend herself, it would be difficult to defend against the public's mouth. Seeing that the charges were almost confirmed and the attention of the previous dynasty was getting more and more, the Imperial Concubine, who had shown more patience than usual, couldn't hold it in anymore. On the twelfth lunar month, she avoided the important matter and took the initiative to mention the poisoning of the eldest son. She blamed herself for a long time and pushed Duan Guipin, who had been grounded for more than half a month, out to ask Jing Yi to punish her.
Jing Yi had demoted her to the Cold Palace without asking any questions, which must have made the Imperial Consort feel as if her loyalty had been crushed by cotton.
However, this step of abandoning the soldiers to protect the commander gave her some peace of mind. On the other hand, Rong Cheng's faction was dissatisfied. Some voices were talking about Jing Yi's favoritism towards the Xue family. The matter of the Crown Prince seemed to have an advantage. The court was openly or secretly arguing endlessly, but Jing Yi ignored it and dragged it out.
I gradually saw the clues and became more and more annoyed with the Imperial Consort. I would find fault with her from time to time, but not in front of the Empress Dowager. She didn't even restrain herself in front of Jing Yi. Since I was the Empress, she couldn't directly refute me no matter how angry she was. Thus, I lived quite comfortably these days.
The Xue family knew that they were in the wrong, so they endured it at first. Later on, when the matter got bigger, they retaliated.
I was waiting for this counterattack.
With a heavy snowfall, the 12th year of Emperor Jianxuan came to an end. Two days before the new year, another rumor began to spread quietly. It was said that all the conspiracies and framing were planned by me. Every time I set a trap for the imperial concubine, it was all her people who were killed and myself who benefited. My goal was to get the harem and the eldest son of the emperor, and to cooperate with the Rong family to promote the establishment of the crown prince.
Probably due to the eruption of suppression, this rumor was spread by the few remaining imperial consorts. In just two days, it became a situation that everyone knew. It was reasonable and well-founded, and I was described as fierce, vicious, and sinister.
I smiled as I listened to Shui Mo's anger from morning till night. I didn't go out for two days.
At the banquet, I walked into Changyang Hall with a gloomy face. I didn't go to Jing Yi, who was waiting at the main seat, nor did I greet the empress dowager, who was already present. Instead, I walked straight to Jiaying and faced her, who hurriedly bowed. Without saying a word, I reached out and slapped her.
The scene was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
I knew my strength, so I carefully hit her until she was stunned but not fainted. Half of her face quickly became red and swollen. Seeing Jiaying trembling on the ground, unable to say a word, I spat fiercely,"I was wondering who it was. So it was you, a traitor, who created rumors. In order to climb up, you did everything you could. Get out!"
I emphasized the words " traitor " for the others to hear. They were also very smart. Seeing that Jing Yi had no intention of interfering, they naturally knew how to give me a favor. Anyway, what should have been spread had already been spread. Jiaying was originally a rootless duckweed. The Imperial Concubine's words echoed with a few harsh words. Without any hesitation, she abandoned her son and chased him out on the spot. She even added fuel to the fire and said that she must be severely punished. After the mediation, she served tea and toasted to persuade me to calm down.
I smiled faintly and accepted the favor. My eyes slowly turned beautiful. He took a glance.
This matter was very simple. He seemed to be heartless as he muttered a few words in Jiaying's ear, lamenting the Empress's brilliant means. He was afraid that the overall situation had been set, so someone ran to the Imperial Consort to report the matter and ask for credit. It was fine to ask for credit, but he did not think that once this kind of thing was exposed, the one who reported it would definitely be used as a scapegoat.
The Imperial Concubine was smart enough to ask her to spread the news. At that time, all kinds of witnesses and evidence would only point to her as the source. So, was Jiaying inferior to Jia? Smart. In a place like the harem, how could fortune and misfortune be determined? Although she had gotten some seemingly good things earlier, it was illusory and ruined just like that.
However, the words that were said were like water that was poured out. In addition to my rare loss of composure in public, the rumors still took effect. Just like the Imperial Consort, many things were half-true and half-false, but they were strung together into a truth.
I couldn't argue with him, and neither could I. I allowed everyone's gazes to change. After all, the source was the person Rong Chengyao had given me. No matter how upset he was, he couldn't say anything. Seeing that he couldn't mention the crown prince anymore at this moment, he would probably regret his actions.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Jing Yi issued two decrees.
One said that the Empress had been conferred for several months, and the harem should no longer be managed by the Imperial Concubine. In the future, the power to manage internal affairs should be returned to the Empress, and the concubines in the harem should abide by the hierarchy. The Imperial Concubine Ning needed to assist her with all her heart.
The second was a simple sentence. From now on, the eldest son Jing Yuan would be raised by the Empress and all daily matters would be reported to Kunyi Palace.# Cancel all reviews: wdd201302 Time:111420185: 54PM #
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