Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 277

Yang Zhian reported the palace maid's testimony to Zhao Xingjin separately. Upon hearing it, Zhao Xingjin smashed the jade bead string in his hand to the ground.

This startled Yang Zhian quite a bit.

She thought to herself, "Is the Emperor going to be angry with Consort Jin?"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xingjin then shouted angrily, "Still daring to make false accusations? Continue the torture until she tells the truth!"

"Yes," Yang Zhian replied.

He then quickly retreated.

He also felt something was amiss. Consort Jin was currently the most favored concubine in the harem and was pregnant, a time of great glory. Why would she do such a thing?

Looking at the Emperor's current attitude, it is clear that he trusts Consort Jin. In that case, he should do this job well so that Consort Jin will remember his kindness.

With these thoughts in mind, Yang Zhian returned to the interrogation room and put his true skills to use.

Jingming Palace.

Xie Jiu had just finished eating fruit and was strolling around the yard to digest.

The people in the greenhouse wanted to curry favor, so they went to great lengths to send over a lot of flowers and plants, all of which were very well cared for and pleasing to the eye.

"Miss."

Second-class palace maid Ah Xiu, with a solemn expression, quickly entered from outside.

"What's wrong?" Xie Jiu looked at her. "You look so flustered."

Besides Chunrong and Qingfang, who served her closely, this second-class palace maid named Axiu was the one who caught Xie Jiu's eye the most; she was intelligent and quick-witted.

Ah Xiu pursed her lips. "Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince suddenly developed a high fever. His Majesty has already rushed there. After examination by the imperial physician, it seems that he has been infected with the disease's energy. The palace maid who served Consort Liang was caught for giving the Fifth Prince a handkerchief that had been used by the patient. After being questioned by Eunuch Yang, the palace maid actually said that Your Majesty ordered her to do it, just because Consort Liang had privately complained about you a few days ago, and you became dissatisfied."

"fart!"

Qingfang couldn't hold back and blurted out a curse.

"Our Lady is kind-hearted and understanding. She was upset because of the child and told us not to worry about it. But she actually had the servants smear our Lady!"

Chunrong pulled Qingfang back, "Alright, keep your voice down, don't disturb the Empress. Besides, if the Emperor also suspects our Empress, he should have sent someone to invite her over by now. The fact that there's still no movement suggests that the people below might be spreading rumors."

These words calmed Qingfang down a bit, and she then looked at Xie Jiu.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now? We can't just let them slander us!"

“Of course not.” Xie Jiu frowned slightly. “But I’d better not leave Jingming Palace either. Now that I’m pregnant, so many people are hoping that something will go wrong with me and disturb the fetus.”

After a pause, Xie Jiu's eyes flickered. "Furthermore, Consort Liang is a person who cares about children. She wouldn't risk a child's safety to set a trap, nor would she have the guts. I'm afraid someone is trying to use the Fifth Prince's life to scheme against me."

"Who could it be? The Empress is suspicious, but she's confined to Weiyang Palace and has no chance to make a move. Could it be Consort Zhuang?" Chunrong guessed.

Xie Jiu shook her head, "No, Consort Zhuang is not as ruthless as the Empress. Otherwise, Consort Zhuang could have prevented Lady Liang from giving birth to the Fifth Prince when she had two miscarriages."

After she rejected their suggestion, the group fell into deep thought again.

However, in just a moment, Xie Jiu suddenly thought of someone.

Princess Zhaoqing.

"Huh?" Qingfang exclaimed in surprise, "The princess is only a little over ten years old, really?"

Xie Jiu pursed her lips. "The princess won't, but the empress can get the message out through Princess Zhaoqing's hands. Naturally, someone will do it for her. Go and investigate what Consort Chen has been doing lately."

In this harem, if the Empress was the first to want to see her suffer, then Consort Chen was definitely the second.

After all, it was Xie Jiu who personally sent the entire Chen family into exile, how could Chen Meiren not hate him?

With a criminal family on her side, she couldn't even see her children, let alone establish herself. She had probably done dirty work for the Empress before, so Consort Chen must be hoping for the Empress's comeback so she could have a powerful backer. Besides, Consort Chen does have some skills, and recently, because she was released from confinement, she's still relatively unknown, which makes things easier for her.

Chunrong and Qingfang dared not delay. One of them stayed at Jingming Palace to accompany Xie Jiu, while the other quickly went out to investigate.

They reacted quickly and investigated very rapidly.

They started by investigating the person who passed the message to Ah Xiu, and after going through four people, they found out that the message came from Chen Meiren's side.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Princess Zhaoqing had previously sent gifts to Consort Chen.

Xie Jiu remained calm and took these things to the Summer Palace.

Guo Meiren and Liang Meiren live together and are present at this moment, but there is no one else besides her, which makes Xie Jiu feel strange.

Upon seeing her, Zhao Xingjin immediately frowned.

"Why are you here? Take care of yourself." As she spoke, she stepped forward and gently supported Xie Jiu.

Xie Jiu observed Zhao Xingjin's attitude and breathed a sigh of relief.

Treating her like this clearly shows they don't believe she's the murderer.

"I've come to see the Fifth Prince. I heard he's ill." Xie Jiu's face was gentle as she glanced into the room, where she heard Consort Liang sobbing with worry. "Furthermore, I've heard some rumors that the Fifth Prince's illness was caused by me. I'm terrified and frightened, so I've come to explain to Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xingjin's expression changed drastically.

"Who told you all of this?"

"A palace maid serving Consort Chen?" Xie Jiu feigned confusion. "What is it, Your Majesty?"

Zhao Xingjin lowered his eyes. "I ordered that no one be allowed to reveal a single word about the cause of the Fifth Prince's illness. I sent Yang Zhian to interrogate people personally. Now even Consort Liang doesn't know what the palace maid who harmed him confessed. Consort Chen, on the other hand, is well-informed."

"what?"

Xie Jiu was immediately surprised, then realized what was happening and raised her hand to protect her stomach with a look of lingering fear.

"How could Consort Chen know? She even sent word to me. I was very anxious. After asking about the situation, I rushed over immediately, afraid that the Emperor would misunderstand me."

Xie Jiu seemed frightened, forgetting all the rules. She protected her stomach with one hand and tightly gripped Zhao Xingjin with the other, looking nervous.

"Your Majesty, I absolutely did not harm the Fifth Prince! Please investigate thoroughly!"

"I know. I have already instructed Yang Zhian to interrogate that palace maid as soon as possible. He will surely clear your name." Zhao Xingjin supported her. "Don't be afraid. Be careful of the child in your womb."

Xie Jiu nodded repeatedly, revealing a hint of vulnerability as she sought to rely on someone, which made Zhao Xingjin feel even more sorry for her.

In fact, how could she not have noticed something was amiss?

It seems that no one else in the palace knows that it was Consort Jin who murdered the Fifth Prince. The news only reached Jingming Palace, which must have been intentional. So, whoever knows the inside story under these circumstances must be the mastermind.

Sure enough, Zhao Xingjin didn't need to explain further. He had already sent people to restrain Consort Chen, and all the servants around her were taken away for interrogation.

Chen Meiren was completely dumbfounded.

Before receiving news of Consort Jin being confined and interrogated, he himself suffered the consequences.

In just a moment, she panicked.

How could this be? The Fifth Prince is critically ill, and the Emperor has always valued offspring. How could he not take action against Consort Jin?

Even if Consort Jin was pregnant, she shouldn't be completely unharmed.

"Eunuch Yang, Eunuch Yang, there must be some misunderstanding here!" Chen Meiren tugged at Yang Zhian's clothes, not wanting him to take Shanhu away.

"If you have anything to say, please wait until His Majesty summons you."

Yang Zhian shook off her hand and unceremoniously took away all the servants who served Chen Meiren.