sjar Chapter 297 This was all a pre-designed trap
Chapter 297 This was all a pre-designed trap
Wei Qiming never expected that he would actually kill someone.
"My lord, something terrible has happened! Soldiers are coming!" a servant cried out in alarm.
Wei Qiming suddenly came to his senses and saw that soldiers were already rushing over with torches in the distance.
"Go! Go quickly!" Wei Qiming dropped the dagger and turned to flee the scene.
But at that moment, two of his henchmen who had been inciting him suddenly grabbed his arms.
"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Wei Qiming struggled and shouted.
One of the attendants sneered, "Young master, please forgive us. We are just following orders."
Another attendant shouted, "Sir, come quickly! The murderer is here! It's Wei Qiming, the son of the Duke of Wei!"
Wei Qiming then realized that it was all a carefully designed trap.
And he just happened to step inside.
The officers quickly surrounded him, and the head constable said coldly, "Wei Qiming, you committed murder in the street, the evidence is conclusive, come with us!"
Wei Qiming looked around in despair; the two henchmen who had instigated him were nowhere to be seen.
He was led through the noisy streets, where people were throwing rotten vegetable leaves at him.
He's going to be locked up in a dark, sunless cell again. Will he survive this time?
On a rooftop in the distance, two men in black silently observed everything.
"Mission accomplished, go back and report."
"Yes, His Highness Prince Su will be very satisfied."
The two figures flashed and disappeared into the morning light.
At this moment, inside the Kunning Palace.
"Bang!"
A teacup decorated with gilded lotus scrolls was violently swept to the ground, shattering into countless pieces.
The empress's face was ashen, and her chest heaved violently.
She couldn't understand why that long-buried story had suddenly been brought up again.
who is it?
Who is behind this?
We shouldn't have been so soft-hearted in the first place.
The weeds were not eradicated at their root, and now they have indeed sprung up again with the spring breeze, becoming a major threat.
"Your Majesty, Consort Jing requests an audience," a palace maid reported tremblingly.
The Empress was in a bad mood and had no desire to see her.
"not see!"
However, before she could finish speaking, Consort Jing had already barged in with her entourage.
She was dressed in an elegant palace gown, but her face bore an undisguised mocking smile.
"Your Majesty the Empress is in a terrible temper."
Consort Jing's voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it was like a needle, each word piercing the Empress's heart.
"I've heard that there's a lot of talk about His Highness the Crown Prince's true parentage."
"Has Your Highness heard of this?"
The Empress suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze filled with icy light. "Insolence!"
"To slander the Crown Prince and undermine the foundation of the nation is a capital offense punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire family!"
"Consort Jing, do you know what you're saying?"
Consort Jing chuckled lightly, showing no fear whatsoever. "Confiscate their property and exterminate their entire family?"
She paced slowly, her gaze sweeping over the Queen's fingers, which trembled slightly with anger.
"Your Majesty, wasn't the Tian family already wiped out?"
These words resounded like thunder within the Kunning Palace.
The empress's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"Someone come here!" she cried out shrilly, her voice distorted.
"Seize this arrogant and shameless woman for me!"
The palace servants beside the Empress immediately stepped forward.
The people brought by Consort Jing were no pushovers either; they quickly rushed forward to protect their mistress.
The two groups instantly started fighting, overturning tables and chairs and scattering objects all over the ground.
Chaos reigned inside the Kunning Palace.
In the chaos, someone shoved someone.
Consort Jing lost her balance, cried out in surprise, and fell backward to the ground.
She instinctively covered her lower abdomen, her face turning deathly pale.
A warm liquid slowly flowed from beneath her, staining the plain-colored hem of her skirt red.
A strong smell of blood filled the air.
"my child……"
Consort Jing let out an extremely shrill scream.
Just then, an announcement came from outside the hall.
"The Emperor has arrived——"
The emperor strode in with a stern face.
He witnessed this chaotic scene and the glaringly bright red stain beneath Consort Jing.
He already had few children, with only three princes and not a single princess.
Now someone dares to harm his unborn child right under his nose!
The emperor's face instantly turned ashen, his eyes seeming to spit fire.
"Pass on the Imperial Physician!"
He practically roared the order, his voice so loud it made the entire palace vibrate.
The palace servants hurriedly carried the unconscious Consort Jing onto a sedan chair and rushed her to her bedroom.
The Kunning Palace was left in a mess, with the Empress looking pale and trembling.
Not long after, outside the gates of Qing'an Palace.
On the cold bluestone ground, the Empress removed all her phoenix coronet and wedding robes, dressed in plain clothes, and knelt there upright to beg for forgiveness.
When Chu Ruohan arrived outside Qing'an Palace, she happened to see this scene unfold.
Consort Jing sent a message inviting her to watch the play; this performance looks set to be quite spectacular!
A muffled, heart-wrenching cry could be faintly heard from inside the hall.
"Your Majesty...our child...is gone just like that..."
"You must stand up for me, for our unborn child!"
Chu Ruohan's gaze fell on the Empress's slightly swaying figure.
She saw the Queen's lips moving silently, as if she were murmuring to herself.
Only when I got closer could I barely catch a few broken syllables.
"Impossible...this is impossible..."
"How could she possibly be pregnant..."
Chu Ruohan remained calm and subtly raised an eyebrow at Doctor Qian beside her.
The Empress is acting very strangely.
Doctor Qian naturally noticed the unusual expression on the Empress's face and nodded slightly.
A short while later, with a creak, the heavy palace doors were suddenly pulled open.
The emperor rushed to the empress and slapped her hard across the face.
"Snapped!"
The crisp sound echoed in front of the empty palace gate.
"Vicious woman!"
The empress was knocked to the side, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and red, swollen finger marks quickly appeared on her face.
She seemed stunned by the blow, and only reacted after a moment, hurriedly trying to explain herself.
"Your Majesty, I truly did not touch her!"
"It was Consort Jing herself who barged into Kunning Palace, uttered wild words, and slandered the Crown Prince. That's why I..."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Before the words were finished, a figure rushed over and knelt down in front of the emperor with a thud.
She is Consort Xin.
Her face was pale, but her eyes held a resolute determination.
"Your Majesty! You must not be deceived by the Empress!"
Consort Xin raised her head, her voice not loud, but each word clear.
"For many years, the Empress has been jealous of the concubines in the harem and has secretly poisoned them to murder the imperial heir!"
"The palace ladies have been unable to conceive for many years, which is not the will of Heaven, but the work of the Empress!"
With trembling hands, she took a small sachet from her sleeve and held it high.
"This was a gift from the Empress to me. It contains musk, and if worn for a long time, it can cause a woman to become childless!"