Chapter 353: Old Stories
"What did you confess?" asked the Queen Mother.
Qian Rongsheng looked at the Emperor hesitantly.
After the Emperor nodded, he dared to speak: "The Concubine Lin who was sent to the cold palace five years ago was driven crazy by the Imperial Concubine behind the scenes."
Concubine Lin was also an old man who followed the Emperor. Five years ago, she suddenly went crazy. The Emperor had asked the imperial physician to treat her. After failing to cure her, this crazy person was a hidden danger to others, so he had to send her to the cold palace.
The Emperor originally thought that even if she was sent to the cold palace, even if she was crazy, he would take good care of her. Now thinking back, he just felt that this name was so strange, as if it was a lifetime ago.
"How could a good person be driven crazy? What means were used?" The Emperor still wanted to help Imperial Concubine Li make up for it.
Qian Rongsheng said, "Empress Lin has always had headaches. Concubine Li bribed Concubine Lin's personal maid to add some incompatible powder to the medicine she drank. Concubine Lin drank it for more than a year and went crazy without a sound."
The Queen Mother looked unhappy when she heard this. This method was so familiar. She was poisoned before because of this method, but one was given by the imperial physician and the other by the personal maid.
"How did Concubine Lin offend her?" The emperor was puzzled.
Qian Rongsheng was thoughtful and had long been prepared for the emperor to ask this question. He said, "Your Majesty, according to the confession of the criminal Taozhi, Concubine Lin often mocked Concubine behind her back for being of humble origin, stealing the position of Concubine, and not being able to win the hearts of the people with virtue."
Concubine Li was born in a wealthy family in Guanglin Prefecture. Her ancestors had also produced Jinshi, but her status was naturally incomparable to Concubine Lin's from the Duke's Mansion.
The Queen Mother casually said, "Emperor, Concubine Lin was the first concubine selected to enter the palace after you ascended the throne. Although she is arrogant, she has always served respectfully. Just because of a few gossips, she ended up like this. I am afraid that other people in the palace will be disappointed."
The emperor's face changed. Now that the facts were in front of him, he had to realize that the woman he had favored for many years was indeed a vicious person.
The Queen Mother knew that she had stood on the opposite side of the imperial concubine. Since it had come to this point, there was no need to smooth things over. In order to avoid a rift between mother and son, she simply confirmed the woman's crime.
"Is it just this matter? If there is nothing else to report, you can leave first." The Queen Mother deliberately said this.
Qian Rongsheng was naturally not the only matter. The interrogation in the Ministry of Punishment was conducted by him and Li Shunfu at the same time.
Li Shunfu was the Queen Mother's man, and he seemed to have been informed in advance, and had been guiding Taozhi's interrogation. Originally, these old stories had nothing to do with this incident, but under Li Shunfu's guidance, Taozhi was afraid that her whole family would die, so she had to confess everything.
"The criminal Taozhi also confessed that Concubine Sun fell into the water eight years ago, Concubine Wu was disfigured seven years ago, and Concubine Liu fell from a high platform six years ago... a total of eleven murders of concubines."
Listening to Qian Rongsheng's words, let alone the emperor, even the Queen Mother, the champion of the previous palace fight, felt horrified.
Concubine Li had been in the palace for twenty years, and Taozhi had only served her for ten years. In ten years, there were eleven deaths of concubines. If we go back a few decades, plus the palace servants who served her, I'm afraid there will definitely be a lot of deaths on her hands.
"Emperor, you have married a murderer into the palace." The Queen Mother couldn't help but say.
The emperor's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. It was hard for him to imagine that such a beautiful, gentle and kind woman could hide such a true face.
Qian Rongsheng also left a big thunder, saying at the end: "According to the confession of the criminal Taozhi, I was once ordered to deliver something to the criminal Li Chaosheng."
The criminal Li Chaosheng was none other than Li Taiyi, who had previously murdered the empress dowager.
"How dare you!" The emperor slammed the table hard.
When he had previously murdered the concubines, the emperor was not so angry. When Concubine Li and Li Taiyi were involved, the emperor's eyes bulged at this time, and he wished to eat Qian Rongsheng alive.
Qian Rongsheng knelt down on the spot in fear, and said with a face full of panic: "Your Majesty, I dare not lie. The criminal Taozhi did say so, but she only sent something once... It doesn't mean that Doctor Li is the person of Concubine Li..."
The Queen Mother covered her chest and pretended to be in pain: "She killed other concubines because those people competed with her for favor. I have been praying to Buddha for years, so how did I offend her?"
The emperor took a deep breath and said: "Mother, just having dealings with that criminal does not prove that she did it."
The Queen Mother also understood that there was too little evidence in this matter and it was difficult to prove it, but as a victim, she had already determined that the concubine was the murderer with such little evidence.
"Even if she didn't do it, these eleven lives are not fake. Emperor, how do you plan to deal with her?" The Queen Mother asked the emperor.
Among the concubines murdered by Concubine Li, there were those from the Duke's Mansion, the Marquis' Mansion, and the daughters of high-ranking officials. A good daughter was sent to the palace, but she lost her life just because of some jealousy. If the news leaked out, these people gathered together, and it would be a considerable force, which might cause turmoil in the previous dynasty.
The emperor took a deep breath and said, "This matter involves many people, so it is not convenient to make it public. The treatment of the concubine cannot be put on the surface."
The empress dowager naturally understood this truth.
"Although the concubine poisoned the concubines, she has served for many years and saved her life. Since she is sick, let her be sick for a while. The son slowly finds a reason, and then demotes her. All the affairs of the six palaces will be handed over to Li Zhaoyi." The emperor said.
The Queen Mother's eyes darkened. The Emperor did not say anything final. It was obvious that he had not made up his mind on how to deal with the Imperial Concubine. More than a dozen lives were not enough for the Emperor to sentence the Imperial Concubine to death, and she even maintained her dignity. The Queen Mother could not help but feel a chill in her heart.
From the day her son ascended the throne, the Queen Mother knew that although this was still her son, he was also the Son of Heaven. Even if she was his biological mother, she could not force her son to make a decision.
After the Emperor left, the Queen Mother could not help but sigh to Nanny Sun: "Just a life-saving grace can make a man favor a woman so much?"
Not to mention the Queen Mother, even Nanny Sun had an expression of long-lived experience.
Nanny Sun said: "My Lady, if you say that His Majesty values Imperial Concubine Li, but no matter how Imperial Concubine Li twisted and hinted, His Majesty refused to make her the Queen. If you say that you don't value her, His Majesty still wants to protect her after so many mistakes. It's really incomprehensible."
The Queen Mother was also puzzled.
"He looks like he's been poisoned." After the Queen Mother said this, she suddenly had an idea.
As long as Concubine Li is alive, the Queen Mother feels that there is always a poisonous snake hidden in the harem.
"Send a message to the Princess, and ask her to send someone to Guanglin Mansion to check if the Li family has any relationship with Li Chaosheng." The Queen Mother ordered.
Nanny Sun responded respectfully and asked, "Since the Queen Mother suspects that Concubine Li secretly poisoned someone, do you want to search the palace or summon the Imperial Master?"