webnovelfull Chapter 431 This is impossible!
Chapter 431 This is impossible!
Songzhi was stunned by An Lingrong's sudden harsh tone and responded subconsciously.
"Replying to the Imperial Concubine, this servant...this servant...I don't know, perhaps this is the only copy the Master has, and the rest have been confiscated by you."
Songzhi felt that the emperor had been bewitched by Concubine Qi recently, and it would be rare to see his emperor in the Yiku Palace. It should be harmless for her master to occasionally read some storybooks.
An Lingrong's sharp eyes shuttled back and forth between Concubine Hua and her servant until Concubine Hua moved uncomfortably. Then she fixed her gaze on Songzhi, whose forehead was already covered with sweat, and said earnestly:
"Songzhi, you know that Sister Nian's every move is under the watchful eyes of those with ulterior motives. If this storybook were to get out, it would have a huge impact on her reputation, not to mention that the book she's reading is as perverse as the Fire Avoidance Diagram."
"As someone close to Sister Nian, you should advise her often and not let her indulge in it."
An Lingrong regretted not stopping Concubine Hua from reading this kind of book for the first time.
Speaking of the first time, she suddenly thought of something.
"Sister Nian, did you start reading this kind of storybook after the Empress Dowager passed away?"
Seeing An Lingrong frowning slightly, Concubine Hua nodded with a red face.
"I used to only read ordinary storybooks, but then there was a brightly colored one mixed in with the pile, so someone secretly brought some more in."
"Lingrong, you took away all the special notebooks I brought in. I don't have any left!"
An Lingrong had no time to care about Concubine Hua's grievances. She connected all the events before and after the empress dowager's death and always felt that the appearance of this storybook was too coincidental.
"Songzhi, where did your master get these words from?"
It was a common knowledge that the concubines would read some harmless books in private.
But what Concubine Hua said was truly too shocking.
If someone with ulterior motives reports this to the emperor, the consequences will be disastrous.
"Replying to Her Majesty Shu Guifei, the storybooks the master is reading were bought from Sanyuanzhai by the young eunuch Xiao Wangzi. Most of the novel storybooks the masters in the harem read also come from there."
"Sanyuanzhai?"
An Lingrong repeated it, as if she had heard it somewhere.
Bao Que, realizing something, came close to An Lingrong and whispered, "Master, the picture books that Prince Guo brought to the young ladies when he entered the palace to guard the casket last time were published by the bookstore next door to Sanyuanzhai."
"Prince Guo!!!"
Concubine Hua's reaction to this name was even greater than An Lingrong's.
When she looked at the special 'Female Rules' in Baoque's hand, an obvious look of anger appeared on her face.
"Sister Nian, can you offend Prince Guo before the Queen Mother passes away?"
An Lingrong was more inclined towards Concubine Hua and blocked Prince Guo's way.
Concubine Hua smiled awkwardly.
But she also knew that Prince Guo, that black-hearted bastard, had no good intentions.
She stammered to An Lingrong, "My eyes were covered in dust before. Apart from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, I never took anyone seriously."
"In other words, you don't remember whether you have ever offended Prince Guo?"
An Lingrong expressed what she understood.
Songzhi nodded vigorously and then added uneasily.
"Madam Shu Guifei, my master accidentally saw Prince Guo flirting with a palace maid and warned him several times."
An Lingrong is now basically certain that Concubine Hua was being plotted against.
"Sister Nian, this matter is of great importance. Tell me the truth. Do you still have the notebook you hid?"
"There are three more copies of 'Rules for Women'. I'll go get them right away."
Concubine Hua realized the seriousness of the matter and no longer had the desire to hide books.
An Lingrong casually flipped through the book, and what she found was even more eye-catching than the one she had taken away before... Ugh! How could such filthy things exist in the world!
Such disgusting things must be destroyed!
She rolled it up in a few seconds and handed it to Baoque.
"Keep it carefully and don't let it show."
"Sister Nian, can you tell me more about Xiao Wangzi?"
An Lingrong had never dealt with this kind of young eunuch, let alone heard of this person.
She used to read serious storybooks that she had collected from the corners of Jingren Palace and never brought them out.
Concubine Hua looked at Songzhi. She had bribed many palace ladies with money over the years, so a little eunuch was not worth worrying about.
"Reporting to the two majesties, little Wangzi was... someone sent to the palace by his family."
All the major families would place people in the palace. After the late emperor's decree of succession was issued, the general handed over the palace connections to his master.
But the master was devoted to the emperor, so Songzhi took over these trivial matters.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Hua was surprised and retorted.
"This is impossible!"
"Those people were carefully selected by my brother, how could they..."
The four big words "people leave and the tea gets cold" came to her mind, and Concubine Hua fell back on the couch weakly.
The brother who once held her in his hands is no longer with us.
An Lingrong and Songzhi did not disturb Concubine Hua, giving her time to digest her thoughts.
After a long while, Concubine Hua finally spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Songzhi, please tell me the details of the dog servant who betrayed his master."
"Little Wangzi bid farewell to his family and entered the palace in the spring of the 59th year of the Kangxi reign... He was quick-witted and was given a job as a purveyor of goods outside the palace."
Songzhi told everything she knew word for word.
Eunuchs with family ties generally would not betray their masters easily. An Lingrong felt that there must be something wrong here.
"Sister Nian, please send someone to check on the situation at Xiao Wangzi's home, and I'll handle the rest."
Little Wangzi was sent into the palace by the Nian family, so he had some understanding of the other people under Concubine Hua.
An Lingrong was worried that if Concubine Hua's men went to investigate, it would alert the enemy.
"Lingrong, I'll have to trouble you with this matter."
Concubine Hua did not ask her why she did this. The two of them acted separately and investigated the matter thoroughly in less than half a month.
The young eunuchs in the palace all played dice in private, and little Wangzi initially joined in in order to expand his network.
Later, when he went out of the palace to shop, he was taken to a gambling house by a young eunuch he was familiar with. He won dozens of taels of silver without any effort, and he became obsessed with the thrill of making money.
After a while, he became deeply addicted to it and owed more than a thousand taels of silver.
Gambling is prohibited in the palace, and the emperor hates it the most.
If someone stabbed him, Xiao Wangzi's life would be in danger.
He has a fatal handle in someone's hands, so naturally he has to do things for them.
"Sister Nian, after a thorough investigation, I discovered that both the gambling house and Sanyuanzhai were connected to Prince Guo's Mansion. This matter..."
An Lingrong didn't need to say much about this matter, Concubine Nian's expression changed.
"Little Wangzi can't be left here. Songzhi, send someone to get rid of him quietly."
"Lingrong, do you have any thoughts on the gambling house and Sanyuanzhai?"
"Sister Nian, I have some ideas. But we can't have accidents at Xiao Wangzi's place, the gambling house, and the study all at the same time. This will easily arouse suspicion."
Little Wangzi can't stay for long, other things will have to be dealt with later.
An Lingrong and Concubine Hua discussed together for a long time before she stood up.
Before leaving, An Lingrong said lightly, "Sister Nian, I have taken eighteen volumes of 'Nu Ze' from you. I'll trouble you to copy all eighteen volumes of 'Nu Ze' in your free time. Not a single volume can be missing!"
"What! Eighteen books!"
Concubine Hua couldn't help but exclaim when she heard this.