Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 120 The Real Culprit Makes His Move (Second Update)
"This little slut has hooked up with the old man... and she's really not getting off the carriage?"

Empress Dowager Zhang, sitting in the phoenix carriage at the back, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She lifted the curtain again, glared fiercely ahead, and then summoned Granny Rong, coldly saying, "Are we just going to wait like this?"

With her head bowed, Rong Mama slowly replied, "Your Highness, we should wait now."

"Okay, okay! Wait a minute!"

Empress Dowager Zhang irritably pulled the curtain, silencing her angry voice.

Rong Mama kept her head down, as if she were apologizing for her incompetence in failing to help her master.

In fact, she served in the palace her whole life and witnessed too many ups and downs.

Those who are powerful often exhibit arrogance and domineering behavior, but this is often accompanied by an indelible weakness and fear.

They feared the miserable state they would be in if they lost power.

It is precisely this fear that can easily turn into some irrational and excessive behaviors. For example, in the first year of Jiajing's reign, after the current emperor and his birth mother, Lady Jiang, entered the palace, even though their statuses were already very different and Empress Dowager Zhang's husband and son had died and she needed to rely on the new imperial power, she still made Zhu Houcong and his mother kneel before her.

Undeniably, this was a way of setting rules, taking advantage of the new emperor's lack of power to quickly establish a power structure and fact of power that was favorable to themselves. However, when they soon discovered that this young emperor, who came from a vassal state, was extremely difficult to deal with, and even Yang Tinghe of the previous dynasty was defeated by him, it was time to change their attitude.

But Empress Dowager Zhang clearly showed no intention of yielding, and was prepared to go all the way down this path!
Is there ever an empress dowager in the world who apologizes to the emperor?
Not to mention that she personally selected this emperor!

As a nanny, she certainly couldn't teach her master how to do things.

All the nanny could do was continue down this path of resistance, no matter how narrow and difficult it became, she had to steadfastly carry out her master's decision.

So, Granny Rong began to observe the imperial carriage that was slowly coming to a stop ahead, and saw Empress Dowager Jiang step down from the carriage.

She wore a nine-phoenix gold crown with a Pudong pearl in the center and pearl-shaped pendants hanging on both sides. She wore a crimson gauze robe with cloud patterns and a gold python pattern on the collar. Her face was covered by a veil.

This outfit is different from the original. Since he left the palace in a hurry and his appearance was not tidy, he changed his clothes inside the imperial carriage, and there seems to be nothing wrong with it.

But Rong Mama's pupils contracted, keenly sensing that something was wrong.

Because of that fleeting glimpse, she didn't see the string of agarwood prayer beads on Empress Dowager Jiang's wrist.

Empress Dowager Chiang was a Buddhist, and she always carried this string of prayer beads with her.

Why today...

'Are you planning to give the rosary to the princess?'

Granny Rong managed to come up with a plausible explanation: she was searching for Princess Fanglian, Li Yuying, when she turned her head and saw her mistress impatiently getting down. She quickly went to support her, just as she heard Empress Dowager Zhang's haughty voice drift over: "Let's go! Let's go see what's going on!"

……

"Your humble servants pay their respects to Empress Jiang! You pay their respects to Empress Zhang!"

At the gate of the princess's residence, Lu Bing and his guards bowed.

It's rare to see both empress dowagers leave the palace together; recently, Empress Dowager Zhang has been absent from some grand sacrificial ceremonies.

It wasn't that she didn't want to attend, but Zhu Houcong deliberately arranged for Empress Dowager Jiang to attend alone in order to elevate the status of his birth mother. Every time this happened, Empress Dowager Zhang would grit her teeth and feel intense hatred in Cishou Palace.

Now the time for revenge has finally come. Seeing the opportunity to see the other side suffer, Empress Zhang's laughter was like shattered jade falling onto a plate, and she even had a bit of the liveliness and cheerfulness of a young woman: "Everyone has worked hard, get up!"

Lu Bing and the others ignored them and continued to bow.

Empress Dowager Jiang gently raised her hand, and the middle-aged female official beside her spoke up: "Your Majesty was deeply worried about the princess's safety. Since hearing the tragic news, she has been weeping constantly, and her voice has become hoarse! Everyone, please rise!"

"Yes!"

Lu Bing then stood up and quickly glanced at the two empress dowagers.

He glanced at Empress Zhang's sour face, but lingered on Empress Jiang for a moment, then looked at the eunuchs and nannies supporting her. Having made up his mind, he said no more and led the way.

On Friday, Hong Qi and a group of his trusted subordinates followed, including one more person who was wearing an ill-fitting armor and a helmet with the brim pulled down slightly, and he entered as well.

"Greetings, Lady Jiang!" "Greetings, Lady Zhang!"

Outside the main hall and sleeping quarters, all the stewards and servants of the princess's residence knelt down on the ground.

Although they were all servants of the princess's residence, they were now clearly distinguished from one another.

The direction of the kowtow is obvious at a glance.

Deputy Director Mo Ruzhong, Dong Jingzhong, and a group of nannies consciously bowed to Empress Dowager Zhang.

They had already received enough benefits from Cishou Palace, and even if they were punished or dismissed, they would still be able to leave the palace with dignity and live out the rest of their lives.

With such confidence, they dared to make things difficult for Princess Yongchun, who was born into a noble family, and make Empress Dowager Zhang in the palace feel comfortable.

As for Princess Yongchun's birth mother, Empress Dowager Jiang, she will find out sooner or later, but it's not appropriate to directly kill her.

In the past, officials in the imperial court would turn a blind eye to the difficulties faced by princesses and their husbands. However, once the Empress Dowager bypassed the Palace Administration Office to conduct a trial and executed palace servants by private punishment, she would immediately submit a memorial to impeach her. She would inevitably be labeled as lacking in compassion and might even be branded as "lacking the gentleness and virtue of a woman and emulating the tyranny of Empress Lü and Empress Wu."

Empress Dowager Zhang was quite pleased with this group of confidants. She had ruled the inner palace for decades, and her influence was deep and powerful. She was not someone to be bullied. These were the reasons why she was able to fight against that mother and son.

Well done! You didn't embarrass yourself!
Meanwhile, on the other side, the elders of the Xingwang Mansion, led by the Chief Justice Cai Yong, repeatedly kowtowed to Empress Dowager Jiang: "Your Majesty! This servant...this servant is useless..." "Alas!"

Empress Dowager Jiang remained silent, only sighing softly as the hem of her gold-embroidered robe swept across the blue bricks and she walked straight into the palace.

This reaction made the group even more grief-stricken, sobbing and shaking their shoulders.

They betrayed the Empress Dowager's trust and failed to take good care of the princess. The master was disgraced and the servants died. If it weren't for Empress Dowager Zhang watching with schadenfreude, some of them would have wanted to get up and smash their heads against a pillar to show their loyalty.

The head of the department, Cai Yong, was also filled with shame, but he followed closely behind, reporting all the way: "Your Highness, His Highness showed signs of waking up this morning. It's just a pity that Imperial Physician Li was killed by the villains. Otherwise, with some more medicine, he would surely have woken up!"

Empress Dowager Zhang followed closely behind, perked up her ears, and immediately exclaimed, "Imperial Physician Li has also been murdered? What's going on? How can such calamities keep happening to the dignified Princess's residence!"

The official in charge, Cai Yong, was furious. Everyone knew who was responsible for the Princess's residence becoming like this, yet the other party was still being so sarcastic and insinuating. It was truly hateful.

Of course, he was just a lowly eunuch and dared not resist in the slightest. He could only lower his head and hope to hear his master's voice.

However, this time, Empress Dowager Jiang remained silent and hurriedly entered her bedchamber.

"Ah!"

Empress Dowager Zhang raised her eyes smugly and followed them inside.

A hint of sadness appeared in Si Zheng Cai Yong's eyes.

The Empress is usually gentle, but this time she was clearly very angry, or perhaps she was worried about the princess's health, which is why she reacted this way.

The two empress dowagers entered their bedchamber, where they were greeted by plain gauze lanterns and dim yellow brocade curtains that enveloped the sandalwood couch.

Since entering the palace, Empress Dowager Jiang had been walking hurriedly, always at the forefront of everyone. Only when she reached the outside of the white gauze curtain did she finally stop and reach out to grab the brocade curtain.

Princess Yongchun lay in the center of the extravagant bed, covered with a thin blanket, which made her appear even smaller.

She looked pitiful and was on the verge of death.

The last four words were added silently by Empress Dowager Zhang. Seeing Empress Dowager Jiang rushing along without regard for her manners, so worried about her daughter, she finally couldn't help but say: "Sister Jiang, please don't worry so much. Yongchun is a lucky person and will be safe and sound. If it really doesn't work, we will bring her into the palace and take good care of her from now on!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the palace frowned deeply. Rong Mama quickly stood protectively beside her mistress, worried that the other party might overreact.

However, Empress Dowager Jiang did not answer, but simply looked quietly at the person on the bed.

The surroundings fell silent until a groan broke the stillness.

Everyone's attention shifted from the confrontation between the two empress dowagers back to the couch.

Then, the princess, who had been unconscious, saw her eyelashes flutter slightly and make a low sound.

"His Highness is waking up!"

Si Zheng Cai Yong was the first to shout, his voice filled with both joy and surprise.

"Ok?"

Empress Dowager Zhang's expression changed slightly, and she subconsciously walked over.

isn't it?
As soon as Empress Dowager Jiang arrived at the princess's residence, the princess woke up, which became a well-known story of the deep bond between mother and daughter.

Of course, the most excited person should be Empress Dowager Jiang. At this moment, she was already standing by the large sandalwood couch. All she had to do was bend down, slightly disregard her manners, and gently embrace her daughter on the couch, watching her wake up from this calamity.

But at that moment, Empress Dowager Jiang did something that no one could have predicted.

She reached out and grabbed a corner of the thin blanket, pulling it sharply.

The blanket was lifted, revealing the princess's body.

Her slightly thin body was nothing special, and she was wearing a thin shirt, so there was nothing exposed.

A bloodstain was clearly visible on the back of his hands, which were crossed in front of his chest.

Not long ago, the imperial son-in-law Xie Zhao was identified as the murderer of Li Shaoting because of the scratch marks on the back of his hand. This was because the coroner Li Ming confirmed that the scars were not only from scratches, but their location also matched the victim's instinctive resistance.

At this very moment, a bloodstain appeared on the back of Princess Yongchun's hand, in a very similar location but with a fainter mark!

Could it be that……

"What are you doing? Huh!"

Empress Dowager Zhang was puzzled, and then suddenly froze.

Earlier, Empress Dowager Jiang hurried inside, and she followed behind. Only when the two of them arrived at the bedside at the same time and looked at their mortal enemy from the side did she realize with surprise that even with a golden crown and a veil covering his face, it was not...

"die!"

In the blink of an eye, the blanket was thrown back, revealing the scars. A cloud of dust suddenly exploded, and a disheveled woman leaped out from the mist, her hand flashing with a cold light, aiming straight for Empress Dowager Jiang's throat.

(End of this chapter)