Young Master, Don't Show Off - Chapter 90
[Chapter 90 Self-humiliation]
The Imperial Concubine’s words temporarily restored silence in the hall.
Could it be that the gift that the little girl of the Xue family gave to the Grand Empress Dowager was really borrowed by the Imperial Concubine in advance?
The ladies in the hall were far away and could not see the Buddhist beads in the Imperial Concubine’s hand clearly, but the concubines who were close could see it clearly. Master Huikong was a figure from a hundred years ago, and his belongings must also be old items from a hundred years ago. How could the Buddhist beads in the hands of the Imperial Concubine be so bright and beautiful?
This is not a thing from a hundred years ago, it must be about a hundred days ago.
It is obvious that the Imperial Concubine is deliberately protecting the little girl of the Xue family. Not to mention that today’s matter involves the Grand Empress Dowager. Even the Queen can’t plead for Xue Ning’er, but the Imperial Concubine can.
Because the Imperial Concubine’s mother is the deceased former Princess, and the former Princess is the biological daughter of the Grand Empress Dowager.
The relationship between the Imperial Concubine and the Grand Empress Dowager is unmatched by any other concubine in the harem.
In the harem, including the Empress, everyone can only call her the Grand Empress Dowager. Only the Imperial Concubine can call her the Imperial Grandmother. The closeness of the relationship can be seen from a title.
What puzzled them was that the Xue family had no relationship with the Imperial Concubine, so why did she protect this little girl?
Concubine Shu looked at the Imperial Concubine, or to be exact, at her eyes. Soon she retracted her gaze and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
That’s it.
Speaking of which, the little guy named Lin Xiu who made ice for Qianqiu Palace for a month seemed to be Zhang’er’s only friend. These days, she often heard Lin Xiu’s name from Zhang’er. She could see that her lonely son really regarded Lin Xiu as a friend.
The Empress Dowager took the sandalwood Buddhist beads from the Imperial Concubine with a smile, looked at her with a strange look, then smiled and said, “Since it is a misunderstanding, the little girl should go back first. Aunt Gui, look at the reward…”
Xue Ning’er sat back in her seat in a daze. She was rewarded by the Empress Dowager, and her mind was in a mess.
Song Yuzhi gritted his teeth. He didn’t expect that something that was almost certain to happen would be resolved so easily. He felt depressed and angry.
After the Imperial Concubine came out to rescue Xue Ning’er, the matter was over, but at this moment, one of the concubines came out and said, “This string of Buddhist beads is obviously a new item, not the relic of Zen Master Huikong at all. I don’t know why the Imperial Concubine deceived the Empress Dowager and deliberately protected her?”
After these words, the hall was silent and you could hear a pin drop.
The one who spoke was Concubine Song Xian, one of the four concubines. Although Concubine Xian was not as favored as Concubine Gui in the harem, she had her own heirs, and they were the King of Qi who was in the limelight in the court. She herself was a daughter of the Song family. With all these, she could also compete with the Queen and Concubine Gui in the harem.
When everyone pretended to be stupid and silent, she stood up and ruthlessly exposed Concubine Gui, which obviously involved the struggle between the concubines.
Seeing this, Song Yuzhi smiled again.
After being exposed by Concubine Song Xian, Concubine Gui’s expression did not change at all. She glanced at Concubine Song Xian lightly and said, “Today is the birthday of the Imperial Grandmother. I didn’t want to affect the Imperial Grandmother’s interest because of these things. Since Concubine Xian insisted on digging into the matter, I have no objection…”
She looked at Xue Ning’er and said, “The beautiful girl of the Xue family, come out.”
Xue Ning’er immediately stood up and walked out. Although she was not familiar with Concubine Gui, the Queen was obviously protecting her, so she naturally had to cooperate with Concubine Gui.
The Imperial Concubine looked at Xue Ning’er and asked, “Are you sure you put the Buddhist beads in the box?”
Xue Ning’er nodded seriously and said, “Yes, I opened it to check after entering the hall, and then I don’t know how, the box was empty.”
The Imperial Concubine smiled at her and said, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll take care of it for you.”
Seeing the Imperial Concubine’s smile, Xue Ning’er’s heart quickly settled down.
Afterwards, the Imperial Concubine walked back to the Grand Empress Dowager and said, “Grandmother, I don’t think the Xue family would use an empty box to amuse you on your birthday. There must be some bad guys secretly plotting to frame you. This is not taking the royal family and Grandmother seriously. This person should still be in this hall. Why not close the door and search for her? I believe we can definitely find her out.”
At this time, it was Concubine Song Xian’s turn to hesitate. She thought for a while and said, “Grand Empress Dowager, this is not good. Those present today are all nobles from various mansions…”
The Grand Empress Dowager didn’t even look at her. She waved her hand and said, “What the Imperial Concubine said is right. This person dared to frame the Duke’s Mansion and ruin my birthday banquet. He is really bold and must be severely punished to set an example. Come on, close the door. We must find that person today.”
Immediately, two maids walked to the door and closed it.
Seeing this, a palace maid in the corner turned pale.
The concubines in the harem looked at Concubine Song Xian and sighed in their hearts. Concubine Song Xian didn’t know what she was thinking. She actually wanted to make trouble for the Imperial Concubine in front of the Empress Dowager. Isn’t this just a waste of time?
Since the death of the late emperor and the former princess, the Imperial Concubine and His Majesty have been her closest relatives. How could she not side with the Imperial Concubine and side with an outsider?
This sudden change also caused a commotion in the palace.
Many of the people present were noble ladies from wealthy families. Being suspected of being thieves and allowing others to search their bodies was a great humiliation for them. Even if the order was given by the Grand Empress Dowager, they could not accept it.
At this time, Concubine Shu came out and said, “Grand Empress Dowager, the noble ladies present here would not do such a thing, but some of the maids in the harem are not disciplined strictly and often steal the property of the various palaces. They are the most suspicious. Why not search the maids first? If there is no harvest, it is not too late to investigate separately.”
The Grand Empress Dowager nodded and said, “What Concubine Shu said makes sense, Aunt Gui, you can do this.”
There were about a dozen maids serving in this hall tonight. Soon, all the maids were gathered together, and Aunt Gui searched them one by one. As the maids were eliminated one by one, the maid standing at the end was extremely pale and her body was shaking slightly uncontrollably…
After a moment, all the maids except her had been checked.
When Nanny Gui walked in front of her, the maid knew that she could no longer hide it. Her face was pale and bloodless. She knelt on the ground with a plop, put a string of Buddhist beads in her palm, and said in a crying voice: “It was my slave who was bewitched for a while and stole the treasure. I deserve to die. Please spare my life, Empress Dowager, please spare my life!”
Nanny Gui picked up the string of Buddhist beads and saw that the paint on the Buddhist beads was mottled and the beads were very old. They were antiques. She looked at the maid kneeling on the ground with hatred and said angrily: “You are so bold!”
The maid had no room for quibbling and confessed immediately.
It turned out that she had awakened a special ability in her early years. As long as her hand touched the outer wall of a box, chest, etc., she could take out the things inside through the air. Just now, when she was pouring fruit drink for Xue Ning’er, she got the Buddhist beads quietly. Therefore, when Xue Ning’er presented the brocade box, it was obviously tied with a ribbon and had not been opened, but there was nothing inside.
Although the beads were found, the matter was far from over.
The maid was brought to the front. Aunt Gui looked at her and asked, “Who instructed you to steal the beads?”
The maid knelt on the ground and trembled, trembling, “No, no one instructed me. I was greedy for money…”
A little maid, even if she had the courage, would not dare to touch the birthday gift of the Empress Dowager. Aunt Gui glanced at her and said lightly, “It seems that you don’t want to say it. Check which palace she is from?” As
soon as she finished speaking, the virtuous concubine stepped forward with a gloomy face and said, “No need to check, she is from the Ningxia Palace of this palace.”
She originally just wanted to embarrass the imperial concubine, but she never thought that the case would be traced back to her.
This maid was from her Ningxia Palace. Didn’t she become the biggest suspect?
Concubine Song looked at her coldly and asked, “Tell me, who told you to do this!”
Since Concubine Xian was involved, the maid knew she couldn’t hide it anymore. She pointed at Song Yuzhi, who was sitting there with a pale face, and said, “It was Miss Yuzhi. It was Miss Yuzhi who said that she had a grudge against Miss Xue and asked me to steal her birthday gift so that she could embarrass herself in front of the Empress Dowager. It was Miss Yuzhi who asked me to do this…”
Many people in the hall showed strange expressions.
Why did Concubine Xian do this? If she hadn’t said anything just now, Concubine Gui would not have investigated. Now, after investigating, they found out that they were from the Song family. Isn’t this humiliating themselves? After
this happened, the Empress finally stopped being silent. She slowly stood up, looked at Concubine Song, and said, “The daughter of the Song family has not been taught well. Concubine Xian should take her back and discipline her well.”
After all, she was the daughter of a second-class official. Even the royal family couldn’t punish her. If Song Yuzhi was punished in front of everyone and embarrassed the Song family, it would not be a good thing for the royal family.
Halfway through the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Concubine Xian took Song Yuzhi away. This was a big episode, and the banquet was still going on in order, but there was always a puzzle in the hearts of the noble ladies present. As
everyone knows, Concubine Gui came from a certain clan in Jiangnan and had little contact with the dignitaries in the capital. Why did she protect the little girl of the Xue family so much?
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Concubine Gui protected this little girl to the extreme, even at the cost of deceiving the Empress Dowager. Although she gave a reason, it was not credible at all.
Even Xue Ning’er herself did not figure out this problem after sitting back in her seat. Song
Yuzhi’s seat next to her was empty. Xue Ning’er regretted it a little. If she hadn’t been distracted by missing Lin Xiu just now, she wouldn’t have given the maid a chance.
Thinking of Lin Xiu, he should be in the palace now. I wonder if the banquet in the central palace is over. Is it possible for her to run into him when she goes back?
At this time, in Ningxia Palace.
Bang!
As soon as she entered the Ningxia Palace, the angry Concubine Xian couldn’t help but slap Song Yuzhi on the fat face, gritting her teeth and saying, “You have really brought shame to the Song family. Go back home and reflect on yourself for three months. In less than three months, you are not allowed to step out of the house!”
(End of this chapter)
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