Chapter 367 Demotion
The Queen Mother heard the little girl say this and sneered, saying, "Yes, if the Imperial Concubine didn't intend to kill someone, why did she have to stop it? What does the Imperial Concubine have to do with whether the little girl of the Song family is decent or not?"
Li Imperial Concubine immediately said to the emperor with deep affection: "Your Majesty, Song Ge Lao is an important official of the court that you rely on. If he is not decent, won't it also affect your reputation? I am wholeheartedly for you."
The emperor's expression eased a little.
The Queen Mother said, "I don't know when the Imperial Concubine has become such a person who considers the overall situation."
Although the emperor favored the Imperial Concubine to an outrageous degree, it did not mean that he had no brains.
The Queen Mother continued, "Besides, the Imperial Concubine has always been a person who would rather kill the wrong person than let him go. Although the child said that she didn't hear it, it doesn't mean that the Imperial Concubine thought she didn't hear it."
After hearing the words of the Queen Mother, the emperor completely gave up.
The emperor had long known about Concubine Li's many crimes, but the information they had was not equal. From the first time they found out about Concubine Li, until now, they had never confronted each other.
As a couple who had been together for many years, the wife made a mistake. Although the husband chose to cover it up, he did not even ask the reason and chose to deal with it coldly.
Due to the emperor's various behaviors, Concubine Li did not know what kind of image she had in the emperor's heart now, nor did she know how much the two palace maids had confessed about her. At this time, she said as she had done countless times in the past:
"Your Majesty, even if I did something wrong in the past, it does not prove that I am a person who regards human life as worthless! The Empress Dowager said this as if I were a bloodthirsty executioner!"
When the emperor heard this, his face was inexplicable.
Concubine Li's heart jumped. She always comforted herself that she was still alive and well now, mostly because Taozhi and Xingzhi did not confess too much, so she dared to speak so confidently like now.
Now looking at the emperor's expression, she suddenly became less sure.
But soon, she shook her head in her heart. The emperor was not sick. If he knew that his lover had killed dozens of people, why would he protect her?
She immediately became righteous again.
But she soon saw the obvious disappointment in the emperor's eyes.
"Call all the palace maids near the Thousand Carp Pond and let the Song family girl identify them one by one." The emperor suddenly gave this order.
Concubine Li couldn't help but feel worried again. At this time, she could only hope that her hidden man had left the palace.
The imperial physician arrived faster than the palace maids. The old imperial physician carrying a medical box came late. He saw that the emperor and the empress dowager were both there, and he was also shocked by this scene.
Fortunately, it is midsummer now. Although Song Miaomiao fell into the water, she didn't have to worry about the risk of catching a cold and dying like in winter.
After the old imperial physician gave Song Miaomiao a few injections on the spot, the little girl's face looked much better than before.
"Reporting to your majesty, the queen mother, although Miss Song fell into the water, she was rescued in time and vomited the pool water that entered her stomach. Now she is fine. I will prescribe some medicine for her. She should be fine after a few days of rest." The old doctor said.
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
Niu Niu and Qin Jingshu surrounded Song Miaomiao on the left and right.
"It's good that you are fine, it's good that you are fine!" Niu Niu gently patted her friend's hand.
Song Miaomiao grabbed Niu Niu's hand in turn and cried out "wow".
"I almost died! That palace maid wanted to drown me! She was so strong that she pressed my head into the water and wouldn't let me come up! I was so scared!" Song Miaomiao cried.
Hearing the sharp voice of the child, the emperor was embarrassed.
"Your majesty, this child is the adopted daughter of Concubine Wang. Maybe she deliberately framed me to help her adoptive mother win favor. I really didn't do such a bad thing. Please believe me." The imperial concubine whispered to the emperor.
Although the Queen Mother could not hear what was being said, she could not tolerate the Emperor's fooling around again.
"Emperor, the evidence is solid this time. Are you going to continue to cover up? Song Qing has been loyal for many years, but he has never made any mistakes. If you do this, won't it make the loyal officials of the court feel disappointed?"
The Queen Mother brought up Song Ge Lao, and the Emperor looked very ugly.
"Your Majesty, the palace maid has not been investigated clearly. It is unknown whether this person exists! Who knows if it is just the one-sided words of this little girl? I will never do such a thing!" Concubine Li continued to swear.
This look of wanting to swear on the spot only earned the Emperor's frown.
The Concubine was even more flustered in her heart. She could only comfort herself that her brother had saved the emperor, and even if he had to be punished, he would not be punished too severely.
"The Concubine killed her adopted daughter, was cruel and inhumane, and was stripped of her title, demoted to Zhaoyi, and confined to Guanju Palace. She was not allowed to leave without the emperor's order." The Emperor finally punished her.
What hurt Concubine Li the most at this moment was the four words "deprivation of title". Her title was "Yi", which had a very beautiful meaning. She felt that this was what she deserved after working hard for half a lifetime. She even thought that when she was posthumously named as the queen after her death, it would also be this title.
She was also confident that the emperor was willing to give her the honor of queen before his death.
"As for you, you almost failed to stop the concubine today. You will be fined for three months to serve as a warning to others." The emperor also punished the people around the concubine.
The concubine secretly said in her heart that it was not good. She was demoted and the people around her were punished by the emperor. During the confinement, these people probably would not serve her well.
Concubine Xian lowered her head aside. When she heard these words, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
"I have been wronged." After the imperial concubine finished saying this, she looked at the emperor with aggrieved eyes.
The emperor couldn't bear it, but this time Song Miaomiao was involved in the previous dynasty, and this child was a child who came to the palace to recruit children for blessings. If he let the imperial concubine go easily, he was afraid that the harem of the previous dynasty would not be stable.
At this moment, Qian Rongsheng came over with a group of maids.
"Your Majesty, these are the maids serving in Qianli Pond and the Royal Garden. Only one of them is missing. The others are all here."
Qian Rongsheng handled the matter properly and took every aspect into consideration. The Imperial Garden was very close to Qianli Pond, so he summoned the ladies serving in the Imperial Garden.
This idea was correct, but Song Miaomiao was picked up and after recognizing everyone present, she shook her head.
The imperial concubine quickly took this opportunity to struggle: "Your Majesty, this little girl can't recognize anyone, which shows that what she said before was untrue."
The Queen Mother frowned and said: "Your concubine, no, Li Zhaoyi, your prejudice against the little girl from the Song family is really very deep. You really like her. No wonder you blocked the rescue earlier. There was no one she wanted to identify. Isn't there someone else?" Someone who ran away?"