amaotonovel Chapter 126 The End of the Nian Family
Chapter 126 The End of the Nian Family
The day after Jiang Ruyin returned to the palace, the emperor still did not come.
As long as the lanterns in the Yangxin Palace burned all night long, Zhen Huan continued to enjoy the beauty of the palace.
It was not until Songzhi was no longer summoned by the emperor that Concubine Hua's uneasiness finally broke out.
The memorial, which was supposedly a request for respect but was actually a test, was rejected. Only then did Nian Gengyao understand the meaning of his sister's letters home.
What’s funny is that Nian Gengyao, who was immersed in officialdom, didn’t understand it, but Concubine Hua, who had been treated as the apple of her eye from birth to when she took charge of the six palaces, understood it first.
The sunlight shines through the carved window lattices and falls on the floor of the bedroom, forming patches of light and shadow.
Hongxuan rolled around on the couch like a little dumpling, his little hands tightly clutching a sachet embroidered with a little tiger, and muttering, "Tiger~Tiger~Awoo!" The childish voice echoed in the bedroom.
Jiang Ruyin held up a necklace of emerald green cat's eye stones, and looked up at the light and shadow.
Shu Dong leaned forward, almost whispering in Jiang Ruyin's ear, "After the Empress's miscarriage, the Emperor sent Su Peisheng and Xia Qian to Taohuawu, but our people didn't find out the details. The other night, the Empress Dowager went to the Yangxin Palace. At first, there were whispers of conversation, but after a loud shout, everything quieted down. I don't know which side gave in, but when the Empress Dowager left, the solemnity on her face dissipated a lot, and the Emperor saw her off."
Jiang Ruyin chuckled softly, and also deliberately lowered her voice, "The time has not yet come to remove the Queen, but we might as well help the most noble mother and son in the world."
Hongxuan seemed bored. Seeing the snacks on the low table nearby, his eyes lit up, and with a push of his legs, he quickly crawled over to it. He stood beside it, trying to stand on tiptoe. His chubby little hands hesitated between the lotus pastry, mung bean cake, and date cake. Then, he grabbed a piece of date cake and stuffed it into his mouth eagerly. Crumbs covered his face, but he ate with relish, grinning vaguely, his cheeks puffed up like a little squirrel.
Mung bean cake is a favorite pastry of both Hongxuan and Hongning.
Jiang Ruyin laughed and blamed Hongxuan for forgetting his mother after having a younger brother.
Then he continued to coax her, "Why don't you eat your favorite mung bean cake, Hongxuan?"
"Hongxuan, your belly is big, so your brother has nothing to eat..." Hongxuan said vaguely.
Jiang Ruyin chuckled, "Oh, then how about letting Aunt Suochun accompany you to find your brother?"
Hongxuan refused and immediately grabbed the plate of mung bean cakes and tried to run out.
"Slow down, little brat! Suochun, take this plate of mung bean cakes with you. Ask the kitchen to make a plate of almond pastries and a plate of snow pear and hawthorn cakes and bring them to the Yanxi Palace. Remember to ask Yuan Beishan to come along."
After the few people left, Jiang Ruyin made way for him, and Fu Qiu took the pen in his left hand and wrote a long article. Then he asked Shu Dong to put it away and quietly send it to Yiku Palace.
Yikun Palace,
Concubine Hua was filled with sorrow and wanted to go to the Yangxin Palace to look for the Emperor, but she didn't dare. Songzhi was fanning Concubine Hua, who was sweating from walking around.
Zhou Ninghai limped in, carrying a food box, and advised, "Your Majesty, it's no use getting yourself sick with anxiety. I've asked the kitchen to make some crab roe pastries. Your Majesty, please have some."
Songzhi carefully led Concubine Hua to the table, but unexpectedly, Concubine Hua overturned the food box and shouted angrily, "Eat, eat, eat! It's already this late, and you're still eating!"
Songzhi's eyes lit up, and she pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper covered with ink from the exquisite food spilled on the ground.
"Look, Madam, what is this?"
Concubine Hua pinched the oil-stained paper with disgust and read it at a glance. The more she read, the more her eyebrows relaxed. Then, regardless of the dirt, she grabbed the page and examined it carefully. "So that's how it is! There is such a thing!!"
Finally, Concubine Hua was so excited that she shed tears, "Quick, Songzhi, bring me paper and pen!"
When Songzhi brought paper and pen, Concubine Hua took off the exquisite hairpin on her head and swung it hard at her arm. With a "puff" sound, a blood mark appeared. Songzhi and Zhou Ninghai were both shocked.
Zhou Ninghai still managed to restrain himself and took a few steps forward with his lame leg.
Songzhi threw herself on Concubine Hua, hugged her legs and wailed, "Everything can be discussed, please don't hurt yourself, my lady!"
The remaining rationality made her lower her voice, but it was inevitable that it was filled with tears.
Concubine Hua's eyes also reddened. "How could I want to do this? If not, how could my brother listen to me?" She caressed Songzhi's little face lovingly and looked at Zhou Ninghai. "I have a way to save the entire Nian family. You must make sure to have your trusted confidant deliver it to my brother personally."
Songzhi then sobbed and let go of her hand.
Concubine Hua took a deep breath, raised her arm and let the blood drip onto the letter paper, then she picked up the pen and wrote seven pages. Finally, she felt it was not enough, so she lifted the gauze she had just wrapped and slashed a line fiercely. After that, many drops of blood fell on the seven pages, and then she fell into Songzhi's arms as if she had relaxed.
Songzhi was terrified and held back her tears as she reapplied medicine and bandaged Concubine Hua's wound.
Zhou Ninghai sealed the letter with a serious expression, put it in his arms and walked out quickly, but he couldn't walk fast because of his lame leg.
In the Yangxin Palace,
Zhen Huan had ground the red ink and was waiting for the emperor to write.
"Therefore, I cannot bear to impose additional punishment, so I will pardon him from the death penalty..." said the emperor.
"What about Fu Jin, Princess Gong Ding and Bei Zi?" Zhen Huan asked.
The emperor hesitated for a moment, thinking of the praise and love he had received for marrying Duolan to Mongolia. "Princess Gongding has been raised by the empress dowager and is a member of the royal family. The rest of them should be demoted to commoners."
After saying this, the emperor shook his jade bracelet.
In this case, Hesheli would have nothing to say.
Zhen Huan had some guesses in her mind, but avoided talking about it, saying, "Yun'e has been executed. The most important thing next is to punish his accomplices."
His followers were naturally Nian Gengyao and others whose letters were intercepted by Prince Guo.
Zhen Huan did not follow the emperor's instructions to ask about her adoptive mother. The emperor looked up at Zhen Huan.
The emperor brought up the previous minister's petition, and Zhen Huan simply asked, "What does the emperor mean?"
The Emperor carefully observed every subtle expression on Zhen Huan's face and said indifferently, "That does make some sense."
It was not until another memorial arrived that the emperor withdrew his suspicions.
He was one of Nian Gengyao's confidants and the assistant commander of Tongzhou, Ge Xinyang.
The emperor was in no mood to read it, so he threw it to Zhen Huan and said, "Read it to me."
The whole article says that Nian Gengyao has made great contributions to the country, and even if he pleads for Yun'e's party, it is to preserve the emperor's brotherhood. It also mentions Concubine Hua in the harem, and bluntly says that the emperor and Nian Gengyao are a family, and should not be punished so severely.
The emperor laughed in anger, "It's really my good temper that makes them think they can sit back and relax and tell me what to do."
I was about to pick up my pen and reprimand him immediately.