Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 271 One Punch Shatters the Emperor's Dream
"Oh no! Oh no! Granny Zheng... Granny Zheng has been murdered!"

After the banquet, Zhu Houcong was holding Consort Du's hand, displaying their deep affection, when suddenly bad news came from outside the palace.

"Granny Zheng?"

Zhu Houcong's gaze flickered slightly, but he felt the hand in his palm tremble suddenly. He looked over with concern and asked, "My beloved concubine?"

This title was not in accordance with etiquette—Du Kangpin was only one of the Nine Concubines, not yet worthy of the rank of Imperial Concubine.

But the emperor's favor is the greatest rule.

This woman, who had risen through the ranks of the Nine Concubines, had painstakingly earned this title. Now, she should have been celebrating the Emperor's unborn child and following in the footsteps of Consort Yan's promotion, but instead, her face paled: "Your Majesty, Granny Zheng… Granny Zheng has served me for many years… How could she suddenly… suddenly…"

"Don't worry about me, just focus on your health!"

Zhu Houcong's expression changed immediately, and he gently patted his back and comforted him with kind words.

Once Consort Du had calmed down a bit, he abruptly stood up, his dragon robe billowing in a gust of cold wind: "What exactly happened? Did something happen to Granny Zheng?"

The guard who came to report was pale-faced and trembling as he said, "It wasn't an accident! It was a crime committed by thieves!"

If Granny Zheng were to sink in the water, even if there were some suspicious points, they might still rule it as an accidental drowning, and it's better to avoid trouble.

However, when the imperial guards arrived at the scene, they found that Zheng Mama's neck had obviously been broken, and the person had even deliberately made the blood splatter everywhere, so they had no choice but to report it.

"How brave!"

Zhu Houcong's face darkened, and he glanced around: "Summon Minister Wang and Minister Lu!"

A short while later, Lu Bing hurriedly entered the hall: "Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houcong stared at the other party: "How did you manage to guard the place after such a major incident?"

"I am guilty!"

Lu Bing bowed, but a look of bewilderment crossed his face.

Zhu Houcong knew the other party well, and from observing his words and expressions, he knew that this matter was probably unrelated to him. His eyes flickered: "Where is Minister Wang?"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zuo strode into the hall and reported, "Under Zheng Mama's body, there was a blood-written note..."

"A blood letter?"

Zhu Houcong frowned: "What is it written?"

Wang Zuo hesitated for a moment, but finally whispered, "It concerns... the imperial heir in Consort Kang's womb!"

"Ok?"

Zhu Houcong's face darkened: "What exactly did you write? Stop beating around the bush and speak frankly!"

Wang Zuo stepped forward, leaned close to Zhu Houcong's ear, and whispered something.

This scene was witnessed by the palace maid Lianqiu, who quietly retreated to the inner room and whispered in Consort Du Kang's ear, "Your Highness, Wang Zuo claims that Granny Zheng left a letter in blood, seemingly to slander the imperial heir..."

"A blood letter?"

Consort Du Kang's eyes flashed with a cold light: "Well done, Hai Yue! This person must have come up with another plan after one failed. Just as Wang Zuo said, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. They actually dare to directly harm my palace servants?"

Today's lake tour plan was directly ruined by a preemptive test boat, and there is even a risk that we will be at their mercy.

Fortunately, she had prepared in advance and made her pregnancy pulse show early on. Originally, she planned to announce to the outside world that she was pregnant with the emperor's child after the emperor accidentally fell into the water. Now, by pretending to vomit, she got off the boat and avoided direct confrontation with the other side.

Now is not a good time to have a direct conflict with them.

In fact, Li Yuanshe had been lying low for quite some time, claiming internally that it was due to a rebellion, but in reality, it was because she had successfully entered the palace and shifted her focus.

All that is needed is to successfully give birth to a dragon child and allow the prince to ascend the throne, then the vast empire will be within easy reach.

This is also why, despite the apparent contradictions between Taiwei Enclosure and Tianshi Enclosure, Ziwei Enclosure did not rush to suppress the internal strife but instead allowed it to continue unchecked.

Distinguish between primary and secondary issues, and make decisive decisions when necessary.

All the minor details can be discarded.

However, the repeated attacks by the Yixin Society had caused the Liyuan Society to suffer continuous losses of manpower. Now, their grand plan had been ruined, and even their trusted nanny had been murdered. Du Kangpin gritted her teeth and said, "When I take control of the world, I will definitely torture this boy to avenge this deep hatred!"

Even the usually composed maid Lianqiu revealed a fierce look between her brows.

When dealing with a newly appointed Hanlin scholar, let alone the concubines in the harem, even the Empress Dowager could at most use her influence in the previous dynasty to demote him out of the capital and exile him to Lingnan.

Unfortunately, this guy comes from Lingnan, so we can't let him get away with this. The only solution is to send someone to ambush him along the way and then cut him into a thousand pieces to vent our hatred!
Putting those thoughts aside, Consort Du Kang, after a moment of anger, calmed herself and regained her composure: "If Wang Zuo doesn't want to die, he will cover for us! We can leave that place to him. Help me lie down!"

Her plan was to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.

As long as the fetus in her womb is there, her body remains intact, and no one dares to misbehave.

At most, they'll target those close to them.

Thinking of this, Consort Du said to her maid Lianqiu, "Granny Zheng's experience serves as a warning. You must be careful and stay by my side to avoid trouble!"

"Yes!"

Lianqiu nodded, indicating that she understood.

However, just as she helped her master lie down, she heard footsteps coming from behind, and Zhu Houcong hurriedly entered the inner room.

"His Majesty!"

Lianqiu hurriedly knelt down, sobbing, "Master, upon hearing the terrible news, was too exhausted and has already fallen asleep!"

Zhu Houcong ignored him, went to the bedside, lifted the curtain, and looked at Consort Du Kang, who had her eyes closed. His eyes flashed with scrutiny and hesitation.

As a young emperor who ascended the throne, he was naturally perceptive and suspicious. In addition, knowing Wang Zuo's position, even though Zheng Mama was not in trouble, he vaguely sensed that Consort Du Kang seemed to have some problems.

Just now, Wang Zuo whispered in his ear: "Du Kangpin is the leader of the Liyuan bandits. Please, Your Majesty, pretend you don't know anything and allow me to deal with this scoundrel!"

Zhu Houcong was filled with shock and anger, and wished he could just leave, but after weighing the options, he still came to the bedside and remained calm.

It wasn't entirely because of the baby in her womb.

If Zhu Zaiji, born to Consort Yan, had not been born, then let alone Li Yuanshe, even if this woman were a saintly white lotus, Zhu Houcong could have turned a blind eye and waited until the prince was born before making any decisions.

Fortunately, he already had children.

More importantly, the successive pregnancies in the harem proved that, unlike Emperor Wuzong, he had no problem with childbearing.

Therefore, a woman who is pregnant for the first time is not so important.

On the contrary, having a troublesome thief lurking nearby, threatening one's own safety, is even more intolerable.

After all, he wanted offspring to make his rule more stable, not because he was really eager to pass the throne to his youngest son.

If Consort Du Kang is indeed the leader of the Liyuan Society, as Wang Zuo claims, then when she gave birth to the prince, did she intend to kill herself so that her son could inherit the throne?

As this thought arose, Zhu Houcong had already made his decision, but he couldn't directly take action on the surface. He called out softly, "My beloved concubine! My beloved concubine!"

The maid Lianqiu's expression changed slightly. She had just told her mistress to go to bed because she was not feeling well. How could His Majesty be so inconsiderate of a pregnant woman's health?

But such a close call finally broke Consort Du's pretense. Her eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes, asking blankly, "Your Majesty?"

Zhu Houcong said softly, "Minister Wang reported that there was a mention of 'false pregnancy' in Zheng Mama's blood-written letter..."

'I see! ’

Consort Du's heart, however, remained steadfast, and she said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty does not believe me?"

Zhu Houcong immediately said, "Of course I believe my beloved concubine. However, this matter has already spread. In order to clear my beloved concubine's name, I have already sent someone to summon another imperial physician to investigate whether the blood letter was left by Zheng Mama!"

Consort Du Kang looked terrified, her eyes brimming with tears: "Does Your Majesty intend for me to go to the scene in person? I'm terrified, how could I dare go to such a place?"

"Of course, my beloved concubine cannot go in person..."

Zhu Houcong turned his gaze to the maid beside him: "Let Lianqiu go with the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the scene to identify it!"

Consort Du Kang wept uncontrollably, clutching the Emperor's sleeve tightly. "Granny Zheng was my wet nurse. She served me devotedly all these years, and now she has been cruelly murdered. I only have Lianqiu by my side. Can Your Majesty bear to leave me alone?"

Zhu Houcong wiped away her tears: "My dear consort, don't worry. It's just sending someone to take a look. It'll only be a short while. With the Embroidered Uniform Guard protecting you, what could possibly go wrong? You should go with them to check!"

The second half of the sentence was spoken to Lian Qiu, and the tone was much colder and harder.

She sensed the impatience in His Majesty's tone and quickly lowered her head to obey: "This servant obeys!"

Watching her trusted maidservant walk away, Consort Du Kang was truly panicked this time. Seeing this, Zhu Houcong comforted her, "My dear consort, don't worry. I'll have Lu Wenfu protect you. He's always been loyal and will never let the thieves get close!"

'Lu Bing?!'

Consort Du dared not allow this ruthless figure, who had previously cooperated with Haiyue to capture the thieves of the Liyuan Society, to approach her. She hurriedly said, "I naturally trust Commander Lu's loyalty! But Your Majesty, can't you stay with me a little longer?"

Zhu Houcong smiled wryly: "You all have worked so hard for me. Now there is an urgent report on coastal defense that needs my attention. I will be right back!"

Having said that, he rose and adjusted his crown. A short while later, Lu Bing's voice came from outside: "I will be guarding Consort Kang outside. Consort Kang can rest assured."

"Thank you for your trouble, Commander Lu!"

Consort Du suppressed her unease and replied calmly.

A figure stood outside the hall, and silence fell all around.

The water clock drips slowly, but Lianqiu has yet to return.

She finally couldn't contain herself and got up to pace back and forth in the inner room.

The gold-embroidered shoes made a soft rustling sound as they stepped on the blue bricks.

"Something's wrong..."

Consort Du stared at the darkening sky outside the window, her heart pounding. Just then, footsteps approached from outside. Lu Bing went to greet them and said, "Sir?"

"Go and take up your post elsewhere; I'll take care of things here."

"But His Majesty ordered me to guard Consort Kang..."

"With me here, how can you not feel at ease? Go!"

"Yes……"

Hearing that Lu Bingyuan had left and Wang Zuo had taken his place, Consort Du Kang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this person wasn't a confidant, she had ultimately succeeded in controlling her pawn. She quickly left the inner room: "How did you do this? The other party killed someone right under your nose, and you couldn't even find any evidence to prosecute them?"

"Please don't be anxious, Your Majesty, I will explain to you immediately!"

Faced with this question, Wang Zuo calmly stepped forward and gave a direct response.

He punched her in the lower abdomen.

(End of this chapter)