tallest building

Chapter 340 Five Ghost Talisman

It is common to place Taishan stones under peach trees, as both are believed to ward off evil spirits.

The Taishan stone in Consort Hui's palace was acquired ten years ago, and its purpose, of course, was to ward off evil spirits.

When Consort Shen was framed and killed, Consort Hui played a significant role in the effort.

But afterwards she felt guilty and often had nightmares, dreaming that Shen Fu was taking her life.

That's why Granny Xia and the others came up with this idea: to place a Taishan stone under the peach tree, and that would bring peace.

Whether it was truly effective or simply dispelled her doubts, Consort Hui indeed stopped having nightmares after that.

The Taishan stone was moved because the ground was wet from the recent rain, and it was easily dug away.

"There's a jar here!" Yu Lu shouted, ordering the two men to dig the jar out quickly.

The jar wasn't big; it was shaped like a small pumpkin.

Yu Lu carried the jar to the Emperor and Empress.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, the mouth of this jar is sealed.” Yu Lu examined it and said, “It is sealed with sealing wax and wax, and the seal is very strong.”

"Open it!" The Queen stared intently at the jar.

"Yes!" Yu Lu found a small knife, carefully scraped off the seal on the mouth of the jar, and then inserted the tip of the knife into the gap between the lid and the body of the jar, prying it open little by little.

Everyone stared at the jar, and Yu Lu's hands trembled uncontrollably. Chunying spread her handkerchief on the ground, and Yu Lu carefully turned the jar upside down and poured out its contents.

"what?!"

"what!"

“Your Majesty… this…” Yu Lu picked up the object, “but I don’t know what kind of bone was used to carve the Five Ghosts.”

Each ghost was no more than the length of a finger, but each one had a blue face and fangs, making them look terrifying.

They were tied together, and the thing binding them looked like horsehair or something similar.

Yu Lu used a knife to pry it open, and the contents fell out. It was a talisman sewn with yellow satin, its color already faded, clearly indicating that it was quite old.

Upon seeing the object, the Queen trembled uncontrollably. She stretched out her hand and cried out in a shrill voice, "Give me that thing!"

Yu Lu handed it over, and she snatched it, looking at both sides, and said, "This is...this is Tan'er's...it's Tan'er's..."

"Consort Hui, why did you tie Tan'er's life talisman to the Five Ghosts?!" the Emperor demanded sternly.

"Consort Hui, I trusted you so much..." The Empress turned to Consort Hui, gritting her teeth, "You even sewed this talisman yourself. You've been by Tan'er's side since he was a child, even more attentive than I, his own mother."

When he was sick, you were almost always by his side. I was so grateful to you then, but who would have thought you were the one who plotted to kill him!

Consort Yun said you captured his soul. Yes! You took his life-saving talisman! You used witchcraft to kill him!

There was no room for Consort Hui to explain further; she was already convinced that Consort Hui was the one who harmed the Crown Prince.

By then, Shen Fu had been dead for several years, and the rest of the palace's troublemakers had been dealt with. Moreover, those people couldn't even get close to the Crown Prince, so they had no way to harm him.

Consort Hui, on the other hand, knew everything about the Crown Prince's daily life, including his diet and lifestyle.

It would have been incredibly easy for her to harm the crown prince.

I was just too stupid to have ever doubted her...

"No, Your Majesty! My mother must have been wronged. How could she possibly harm the Crown Prince? If my mother had her own son, it would be understandable. But she only has us sisters. She has always held you in the highest esteem and dared not show the slightest disrespect. She always taught us the same thing." The eldest princess knelt before the Empress to plead for Consort Hui. "What good would it do her to harm the Crown Prince? She always told us that as long as she treated the Crown Prince with sincerity, he would surely treat her and us well when he ascended the throne."

"Then how do you explain this?" the Empress questioned her coldly. "Who else could possibly obtain Tan'er's life talisman? This was personally obtained by your mother from before the Buddha, and it was also sewn by her own hands."

Back then, Consort Hui fasted for half a month and personally went to Bodhi Temple to burn incense and worship, chanting Buddhist scriptures for forty-nine days, in order to obtain this amulet for the Crown Prince's safety.

She personally wrapped and sewed it with yellow satin, and embroidered dragon patterns on it before giving it to the Crown Prince. The Empress was deeply moved by this and treated Consort Hui differently from others.

"This...this must be a frame-up!" the eldest princess said. "Someone must be framing my mother. Father, you are the wisest man. Don't you know that there have been countless wronged people throughout history?"

"But how do you explain the dream that His Majesty and I had?" The Empress still believed most in the dream that she and the Emperor had together. "There's no way it could be false. In the dream, his son kept saying that he was being held down, that he was being harmed, and that I should save him quickly. How do you explain that?"

"Then why didn't the Crown Prince appear in His Majesty's and Empress's dreams before?" the eldest princess retorted. "If it really was my mother who did it, why didn't he appear in their dreams sooner? Why wait until now?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, when I went over just now, I noticed that the Taishan stone seems to have cracked," Yu Lu said. "Could this be the reason?"

"No, no! My mother would never harm the Crown Prince! Your Majesty, you must believe me, she is truly devoted to you!" the eldest princess explained anxiously.

She felt that if Consort Hui harbored ill intentions towards the Crown Prince, she, as his daughter, would at least be somewhat aware of it.

“Yes, what the eldest princess said isn’t without reason,” Princess Duanmin said with a half-smile. “Empress Hui was also sincere towards Dong Gang back then, didn’t she personally lead people to catch him in the act?”

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, and the Empress couldn't help but shiver.

She had always felt that there was something fishy about Dong Gang being caught in adultery, but she never suspected Consort Hui. She thought that Consort Hui would never harm her own son-in-law.

But looking at the eldest princess now, she is much plumper than when she was in the Dong family, and her complexion is much better, which shows that she was not happy in the Dong family.

Dong Gang's exile did not only not hurt her, but seemed to have relieved her of some burden.

Could it be that Consort Hui harbored resentment towards Dong Gang for treating the eldest princess badly, and thus sought to get rid of him?

Or perhaps, seeing that Dong Gang refused to have children with the eldest princess, she simply left the Dong family and sought a better husband?

Things that seemed impossible before now seem very possible.

If Consort Hui had originally harmed the Crown Prince, then everything seems to make even more sense.

Since the crown prince can only be adopted, it doesn't matter who becomes empress.

Consort Hui previously thought Ying Tong was exceptionally kind, but now she's showing particular affection for Ying Shan...

Moreover, her brother is now vying for the position of prime minister...

What a meticulously planned scheme!