Quick Transmigration: The Rise of a Favored Concubine

Chapter 340 A Pure and Ascetic Emperor × A Charming and Beloved Concubine 14

The imperial physician administered medicine and acupuncture to Chu Yue, after which she fell into a deep sleep. The emperor held her in his arms and lay her on the bed, staying by her side the entire time.

The imperial physicians and palace maids knelt outside the screen, filling the entire hall. Qiongzhi and Lüzhu knelt by the bedside, not daring to utter a sound.

Looking at the unconscious Consort Chu, the Emperor felt a pang of heartache. The slender and delicate Consort Chu had been carrying the imperial child with great difficulty, and her swollen belly made her look even more frail.

The emperor gently placed his hand on her swollen belly. "My son, be good and let your mother rest. Don't make a fuss."

It wasn't time for the baby to be born yet, and the emperor was really afraid that something might happen to the child. How would he explain this to Consort Chu?

When something happened at Ningxiang Palace, the Empress Dowager rushed over in a hurry, followed by Consort Yun, Consort Li, and Consort Liu.

"Your Majesty, what exactly is going on? Why is Consort Chu suddenly unwell?" The Empress Dowager's face also changed with anxiety, as this was the Emperor's first child.

"Mother, someone is recklessly committing dangerous acts. I have already ordered an investigation." The emperor's eyes were cold and ruthless.

"Your Majesty, Consort Chu is pregnant with the imperial heir, yet someone dares to act so recklessly! They must not be let off lightly!"

When the Empress Dowager gets angry, she is just as fierce as the Emperor. After all, they are mother and son, and they have come a long way through bloodshed and turmoil. However, after becoming Empress Dowager, she has toned down her sharp edge.

As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking sternly, Consort Yun glanced at her subconsciously, her heart pounding with fear, not even noticing that her fingernails were digging into her palms.

Consort Li lowered her eyes, making her expression unreadable.

Consort Liu frowned, not understanding why there was such a big fuss.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... we've found out..." Xiao Chuanzi ran into the palace, breathless.

The emperor and empress dowager sat down at the head of the outer hall, while the rest of the people knelt inside. Green Bamboo and Qionghua stayed inside to take care of Chu Yue.

The atmosphere inside the hall was oppressive. Xiao Chuanzi stepped forward, her hands trembling slightly, carrying the items: "Your Majesty... we found these in the backyard of Ningxiang Palace."

The item presented by Xiaochuanzi was covered with a white cloth, through which a hint of red could be vaguely seen.

"What is it?" the Empress Dowager asked with a stern face.

Xiao Chuanzi knelt down with a thud, trembling with fear, and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger... It was... a puppet curse..."

"What did you say!" The Empress Dowager's face paled in shock, turning icy cold. "Extremely audacious!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger..." Everyone knelt on the ground, bowing their heads even lower.

"Your Majesty, such a vicious person must not be let go." The Empress Dowager's chest heaved with anger as she slammed her fist on the table beside her.

"Rest assured, Mother." The Emperor raised his cold eyes: "Little Chuanzi, the result."

Yunfei gripped Wanxiang's hand tightly, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

Consort Li suppressed her pounding heart and listened intently to what Xiao Chuanzi would say next.

"Your Majesty, after some investigation, I have learned that the only people who have been near Ningxiang Palace recently are from Changli Palace and Yichun Palace."

"Your Majesty, I didn't, I didn't do it." Consort Yun panicked and denied it hastily.

When Consort Yun denied it, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor immediately looked at her. "Consort Yun, the Emperor has already ordered that no one is allowed to approach Ningxiang Palace. What's going on with you?"

The Empress Dowager did not dislike Consort Yun; she neither vied for favor nor caused trouble.

Yunfei then realized that she had been trying to cover up her mistake. Her lips trembled with fear. It was the first time she had done something like this, and she was so terrified that she couldn't sleep well every night.

When Xiao Chuanzi brought that filthy thing in, her teeth chattered. It had her blood on it, and when she soaked it in her blood at night, she was so scared that she almost fainted.

"Xiao Chuanzi, have everyone else leave. Consort Yun, Consort Li, and Consort Liu stay."

The emperor's cold voice was as piercing as a cold wind. Xiao Chuanzi quickly led her people away. The atmosphere in Ningxiang Palace was oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing the Emperor's reaction, the Empress Dowager knew he had reached a conclusion, so she said nothing more and sat quietly to the side.

The emperor stood up and angrily kicked the thing in front of Consort Yun.

"Ah..." Consort Li was kneeling next to Consort Yun. Both of them cried out in terror and trembled in panic.

"Who gave you the audacity to do this?!" the emperor demanded sternly.

The dolls were scattered, and the blood was particularly glaring. There were birth dates and times written on them. They lay there quietly, which was quite terrifying.

Consort Yun was so frightened that she wanted to escape and find a place to hide.

“Your Majesty…” Wanxiang comforted her, crying.

"Speak! Who gave you permission to do this!" the emperor demanded angrily again.

Consort Li nestled in Lingyu's arms, clenching her fist tightly, her eyes icy. Consort Yun had better not implicate her, otherwise…

"It wasn't me... I didn't..." Consort Yun was so frightened that she couldn't finish her sentence: "Your Majesty, I didn't..."

"Guards, search Changli Palace inside and out!" The emperor was furious, and Xiao Chuanzi and her palace servants quickly obeyed the order.

"No..." Consort Yun shook her head frantically and murmured, "No..."

Wanxiang was also in shock; she didn't know if she had left any traces.

Consort Liu looked at Consort Yun with a slightly puzzled expression. Was it Consort Yun who caused Consort Chu's accident?

The search party returned quickly. As soon as Xiao Chuanzi entered the hall, she knelt down, head bowed, and knelt step by step before the emperor, pleading, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger, Your Majesty, please calm your anger..."

"What did they find?" The Empress Dowager's expression changed.

Xiao Chuanzi presented it with trembling hands; it was a folded piece of paper.

The emperor frowned and pulled at him, his face instantly turning grim and terrifying with just one glance: "How dare you be so insolent!"

Xiao Chuanzi naturally knew the importance of this matter. He quickly retreated with a serious and cold face, determined to find out more.

The letter fell in front of Consort Yun. Consort Liu only glanced at it briefly. It seemed to contain words like "Qingqing," "Missing You," and "Hehuan." When Consort Liu realized what it meant, she was shocked and her heart pounded as she gripped Linglong's arm tightly.

"No...no..." Consort Yun picked it up, her face pale. She had burned it every time she looked at it, so why was there still some?

Wanxiang trembled with fear. She had seen the Empress burn them with her own eyes every time. What was going on?

"It was you, wasn't it?" Consort Yun suddenly looked at Consort Li, grabbing her arm tightly, her eyes flashing with hatred: "You did it, didn't you? What else do you want to threaten me with?"

"Are you insane!" Consort Li's expression changed drastically. "This concubine doesn't know what Consort Yun is talking about!"

"Haha..." Consort Yun let out a laugh filled with extreme hatred. That day, when she was concealing her identity and sending a message to the palace servants who were making purchases, she was accidentally seen by Consort Li, which gave Consort Li a handle to use against her.

She had been very careful all these years and had never been discovered, but Li Zhaoyi found out and used it to threaten her.

Consort Yun was willing to accept any punishment, but in order to prevent her beloved from being implicated, she agreed to help Consort Li and frame Consort Chu.

She had been living in fear these past few days. For the sake of her beloved, she chose to suppress her conscience. Heaven knows how terrified she was of that doll.

“Your Majesty, Consort Yun has gone mad,” Consort Li said, forcing herself to remain calm. “She’s actually trying to implicate me like this.”

Chu Yue had been awake for a while inside, and when she heard Li Zhaoyi's words, she found them laughable; she really was still up to no good.

Of course, Yunfei's letters were gone. How could she dare to stay? It was Chu Yue who made Linglingyi do it. She didn't want to play with them anymore; she was too tired.