Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 175 Unless a single, decisive blow is guaranteed, the only option is to endure.

"After this incident, Your Highness is one step closer to becoming the Crown Prince," Hua Yan sighed.

The King of Jin's wisdom and resourcefulness are truly admirable.

A slight ripple stirred in Consort Zhen's heart as well.

Although the Prince of Jin was busy these days, he still remembered to send Jingming to deliver some antiques and rare books. Occasionally, he would come to Yunyi Palace to play chess or play the zither and paint with Consort Zhen.

In the early days of their marriage, the Prince of Jin was still quite attentive.

Therefore, since the day she served the prince, Consort Zhen had gradually developed feelings for him and naturally hoped that he would ascend to the throne.

Before they knew it, it was midnight. They were spending the night in Ruyi Palace, and how could Hua Yan dare to let the concubine rest peacefully?

The master and servant lay quietly chatting, as if they had returned to Lin'an Prefecture, where they always had endless thoughts and gossip to share on nights when the flowers were in full bloom.

Taking this opportunity, Hua Yan, together with the concubine, sorted out and connected the recent events one by one, and also made a judgment on the Yu Heyuan brothers and the four people of spring, summer, autumn and winter in Yunyi Palace.

Apart from Qiu'er, who is still a slight suspect, the others can be trusted for the time being. However, Chun'er and Xia'er come from the Duke of Qing's mansion, so they need to be observed further.

For some reason, Hua Yan had been feeling uneasy. The fact that Prince Jin had devoted so much energy to the case of the Duke of Qing's mansion was quite unusual. Therefore, she tried to get Donggua to befriend Granny Yu while also keeping an eye on Chun'er and Xia'er.

"My concubine is dead. What should we do next?" Consort Zhen asked thoughtfully as dawn approached.

"Miss, I am just a pawn in this game."

I surmise that she may have realized something was wrong with the purse at first, but she probably only realized it was a snake-attracting thread when she died. I suppose the death of my concubine was caused by the remaining thread in the Begonia Courtyard.

This servant has already instructed Donggua and Mingyue to go and investigate. We will know the real reason when we return.

But this matter is just like how the lady dealt with Concubine Wen. As the mistress of the house, although she knew that it was Concubine Wen who did it, she had no concrete evidence and could only find a pretext to confine her to the estate.

Seeing that Consort Zhen remained silent, Hua Yan had no choice but to solemnly say:

"His Highness relies heavily on the Jiang family, so the concubine should not expect His Highness to support her or make decisions for her."

To put it bluntly, within the royal palace, infighting in the inner quarters is inevitable. We know it was this person from the Ruyi Palace who did it; unless we strike decisively, we have no choice but to endure.

......

The next morning, Consort Zhen returned to Yunyi Palace.

Donggua immediately reported that the scent of snake bed flower lingered in the bedroom of Concubine Yu in Haitang Courtyard, but because the scent was so faint, the physician did not notice it. Based on the more than ten viper corpses, he determined that this venomous snake was a species unique to the southwest and that there was no antidote for the poison.

“I smelled a burnt smell at Concubine Yu’s place, but there was nothing unusual in the charcoal brazier, so it must have been switched. Another strange thing is that the scent of the snake flower is slightly stronger than that of the purse.”

Donggua spoke to Huayan privately about it.

Hua Yan recalled the records in the pharmacopoeia and said knowingly, "The sap of the snake bed flower tastes even stronger when it is exposed to fire. Presumably, Concubine Yu guessed something and wanted to burn the silk thread, but unexpectedly set herself on fire. Whether you call it her own fault or ignorance, this matter can only be left as it is."

A concubine without rank was forgotten within two days.

Before Chief Secretary Song and Commander Xiao could find any clues about the thieves who appeared outside the mansion that day, the mansion physician discovered a hole in the wall under the wall of the Princess's Ruyi Palace. This discovery immediately made Chief Secretary Song and the others break out in a cold sweat.

"The Ruyi Palace also has holes in its walls?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Yan immediately felt a sense of unease: "The Princess Consort's plan is meticulous. If the Prince knew, he probably wouldn't suspect her for the time being..."

By evening, Zhu Zi finally brought news from the Tang family.

After a night of turmoil, many mansions in the capital suffered heavy losses, and two third-rank officials were killed. Fortunately, the Tianwu Army was able to wipe out the bandits after midnight last night.

Thanks to thorough preparation, the Tang family suffered no losses and even had the capacity to help the Zhuang and Sun families on the same street defend against several waves of bandits.

In addition, Consort Zhen and Hua Yan also learned through the Tang family that Prince Yu was defeated and committed suicide in front of Taiji Palace. His birth mother, Consort Shu, hanged herself in her bedroom. All the adult men of the Chen family were given death sentences, and the rest were exiled to the border.

As for the case of Prince Yu's plot to murder the Crown Prince, the court remained tight-lipped about it for the time being. The only news circulating was that Liu Feng, the Minister of Rites, was dismissed from his post, and the others who impeached him were fined three years' salary.

Upon receiving the news, everyone in Yunyi Palace breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiu'er was locked up overnight, and Hua Yan took the time to investigate further, which led to an unexpected discovery.

"Since you are so negligent in your duties, Yunyi Palace cannot keep you here. Do you accept that?"

Qiu'er still claimed that she had not noticed anything unusual about the wall while cleaning it every day. At this moment, she knelt on the ground, begging for mercy in fear: "Miss Huayan, please forgive me this time. It really was not my doing. The wall is in a secluded place, and it is possible that I did not notice it at the time."

Ruizhu snorted coldly: "A mistake is a mistake. If it weren't for Xiaoyuanzi's discovery, your momentary negligence would have endangered the life of our concubine."

Aunt Mei personally went to invite Granny Gong to come and take Qiu'er back.

When Hua Yan was serving Consort Zhen to bed that evening, Consort Zhen said to Hua Yan alone, "Didn't you find out that Qiu'er hasn't gone out these days and shouldn't be an inside traitor? Why then did you make such a big fuss about driving her out?"

Hua Yan explained, "The rule that mistakes should be punished was established by Aunt Mei on the day they recognized their master. Qiu'er did not notice anything unusual about the wall for a whole month. Such carelessness shows that she is not up to any great task."

"As for sending them out in a grand manner, firstly, it serves to alert Chun'er and the others, and secondly, it serves to mislead Ruyi Palace."

The traitor is someone else entirely.

......

Three days have passed since Prince Yu's coup, and Prince Jin still has not returned.

The Tang family, however, once again stole the limelight. The eldest son-in-law, Song Chengrui, was promoted to deputy commander of the Palace Guard for his meritorious service in protecting the guards, while the newly appointed Minister of Rites was Tang De, the Marquis of Huai'an.

Hua Yan privately speculated that the Marquis of Huai'an had originally held a sinecure in the Ministry of Rites' Department of Receptions, and his promotion to Minister of Rites must have been due to the support of the Prince of Jin.

As for the Prince of Jin's absence, it was due to handling the follow-up matters of the Prince Yu's treason case. In addition to transferring the Prince Yu's family to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, there was also the handling of the officials of the Prince Yu's residence.

With the sudden loss of two princes, the position of crown prince seems to exist only between Prince Heng and Prince Jin, and officials in the court have clearly chosen their sides.

Unexpectedly, five days later, the emperor suddenly issued an edict ordering Prince Heng to go to his fiefdom within a few days and not to return to the capital without an imperial decree.

The court and the public were in an uproar. Court officials who supported Prince Heng held private meetings and couldn't help but speculate about the truth behind the Crown Prince's murder...