0p0 Chapter 271 Become the Butcher, Pearl
Chapter 271 Become the Butcher, Pearl
Consort Lin immediately ordered the entire palace to be sealed off and the palace maid who had just brought the pastries from the imperial kitchen to be arrested.
The palace maid turned pale with fright and immediately knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Your Majesty, I didn't know anything."
Consort Lin sat in the pavilion, coldly looking at the palace maid, "If you didn't do it, then who did it?"
How would a palace maid know who did it?
"When I brought the pastries, they were not handled by anyone else. If there is poison in the pastries, then it must have been done by someone in the Imperial Kitchen!"
The palace maid banged her head on the ground, making a series of loud thuds that gave anyone a headache.
Xie Xing stared at the palace maid for a while before turning to Consort Lin: "Your Majesty, if this was done by someone in the Imperial Kitchen, then it's a serious matter."
"My sister and I were lucky that we didn't eat the pastry, but if other people in the palace, including the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, were poisoned, that would be a terrible crime."
As soon as she finished speaking, Consort Lin's expression changed slightly.
"You're right! Quickly! Send someone to inform His Majesty!"
Now, the entire palace was plunged into a tense atmosphere.
The palace maid quickly relayed the message to the emperor's palace.
Upon learning of this, the emperor was furious and immediately increased the number of people to thoroughly investigate the imperial kitchen.
Fortunately, the investigation revealed that there was no such poison in the imperial kitchen; the poison was only found in the plate of pastries that Xie Xing and Xie Mingzhu ate.
This confirms that someone wants to kill Xie Mingzhu.
Why not just kill Xie Xing?
The pastries on Xie Xing's plate were handed to him by Xie Mingzhu.
Xie Mingzhu was just a hair's breadth away from eating the pastry and dying from poisoning.
This poison is extremely deadly; anyone who ingests it will die within three seconds.
Totally unreasonable.
Xie Mingzhu's body went limp.
The Chu Emperor was furious.
Things keep happening right under the emperor's nose; they simply don't take him, the emperor, seriously!
Another batch of palace maids and eunuchs died.
But the real culprit still hasn't been caught.
...
General's Mansion.
With a somber expression, Xie Yuhe told Xie Ansheng about what he had inquired about that day.
"The poisoned pastry was originally meant for Mingzhu, but a cat suddenly appeared and snatched it from her mouth."
Xie Yuhe sighed: "Heaven will not let her die."
Xie Ansheng's expression turned serious: "This matter has alarmed His Majesty, and there is no way to kill Mingzhu. What should we do?"
"I don't think the pearl is the key."
Xie Yuhe said, "Xie Mingzhu is just a weak woman. There is no need to focus all our energy on her."
"The reason Xie Mingzhu was able to implicate my Xie family, as she said, is because we valued and cared for her. But now that we know the future in advance, how could we do the same thing?"
"Doing so will have the opposite effect."
Xie Ansheng glanced at Xie Yuhe and said helplessly, "Do you think I don't know these things?"
“But look at the second brother.” Xie Ansheng’s face showed a look of disappointment when he mentioned Xie Tongchen. “You and the third brother won’t be affected, but what about the second brother?”
"Can't the second son do it either?"
Thinking of Xie Tongchen's outrageous behavior, Xie Yuhe fell silent.
"We can't act now. Let's wait for the right opportunity later."
Xie Ansheng sighed.
Xie Yuhe remained silent.
He walked out of Xie Ansheng's study and glanced at the sky.
What other opportunities might arise after that?
He didn't know either.
Xie Yuhe had a bad feeling about this.
Inside Luo Hanfeng's palace.
Xie Mingzhu stood in the courtyard, looking at Luo Hanfeng in astonishment: "You're saying my father sent someone to drug me?"
"This is impossible!"
She instinctively retorted.
Luo Hanfeng sat in front of the stone bench, resting his chin on his hand, while his men held a small eunuch firmly behind him.
The eunuch turned pale and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy: "Seventh Prince, spare my life!"
"It was General Zhenguo who sent someone to give me money to put in Miss Xie's pastries. It was all General Zhenguo who made me do it!"
"Spare your life!"
Xie Mingzhu staggered.
She took a few steps back and shook her head in disbelief: "I don't believe it."
"You must be lying!"
Xie Mingzhu suddenly turned her head and looked at Luo Hanfeng: "Why did my father want to kill me?"
Luo Hanfeng looked at the little eunuch.
"What evidence is there to prove that General Zhenguo ordered you to do it?"
"Everyone knows that General Xie dotes on Xie Mingzhu, so how could he possibly allow you to poison Miss Xie's pastries?"
The young eunuch hurriedly replied, "Yes, it is the General Who Guards the Nation."
He thought for a moment, then quickly bent down and rummaged through his purse for silver, finally taking out a small piece of silver that had been torn off.
The bottom part happens to be one side of the character "谢" (xiè, meaning thank you).
You can see that the top part is the character "谢" (thank you).
Xie Mingzhu stared blankly at the broken silver coins.
The young eunuch said, "This is silver sent to me by the General Zhenguo. I absolutely did not lie!"
Xie Mingzhu couldn't believe her eyes.
Her heart was already slightly wavering, but she still couldn't help but say, "How could I believe you for just a piece of silver?"
Luo Hanfeng stood up, gently put his arms around Xie Mingzhu's shoulders, and said softly, "Mingzhu, I know the truth is hard to accept."
"I'll always be on your side, why would I lie to you?"
His voice was muffled as he whispered, "The General's Mansion is not someone you can entrust your life to. I am the only person you can always entrust your life to."
Don't you believe me?
"For you, I am willing to break into the General's Mansion to assassinate Xie Xing."
"You are so kind and wonderful, I will always be good to you."
Xie Mingzhu raised her head, her beautiful eyes already brimming with tears. Her panicked and helpless gaze fell upon Luo Hanfeng, like a frightened and insecure fawn grasping at its last straw.
"really?"
Luo Hanfeng cupped Xie Mingzhu's face in his hands and pressed his forehead against Xie Mingzhu's forehead.
"It's true, Pearl."
He spoke awkwardly, but his emotions were extremely sincere: "Everything I said is true."
"If the Xie family is unrighteous, then you are unjust as well."
“Mingzhu, you don’t need to worry about such a small debt of gratitude for raising you. Just do as I say, and you will never be the fish on the chopping block, but the knife and the butcher.”
Xie Mingzhu's expression faltered for a moment.
She threw herself into Luo Hanfeng's arms.
"I only have you left, I only have you left..." Xie Mingzhu murmured.
"Good girl, Mingzhu." Luo Hanfeng raised his head expressionlessly and gently stroked Xie Mingzhu's head.
His gaze was fixed ahead, his eyes brimming with boundless ambition and a vibrant energy.
The next day.
Early in the morning, Xie Mingzhu staggered out of the Fifth Princess's palace and headed straight for the Emperor's Golden Palace.
The Golden Palace was where the emperor held morning court sessions.
"His Majesty!"
She pushed open the gates of the Golden Palace and staggered inside. In an instant, everyone's eyes were fixed on Xie Mingzhu.
Xie Mingzhu's face turned deathly pale.
"Outrageous! Who let her in!" The emperor's voice was filled with anger.