HLnovel Chapter 1053 The Death of Consort Qian
Chapter 1053 The Death of Consort Qian
Since her mother, Madam Qian, entered the palace last time, Consort Qian's treatment has been better than before. Although she still suffers punishment, her life is not in danger.
Coupled with her long-standing trust and reliance on her family, although Consort Qian felt that the witchcraft case was an unexpected disaster and was somewhat uneasy, deep down she still felt that nothing would happen this time.
So when she suddenly woke up from her dream and saw two or three unfamiliar palace servants standing at the head of her bed, her first reaction was to scold them, without even realizing her situation.
The eunuchs who came were all specially selected by Cui Rong. They were all strong and robust. They ignored what Consort Qian said, stepped forward and gagged her. Then they covered Consort Qian's mouth and nose with a handkerchief soaked in anesthetic, and knocked her unconscious.
Then they threw a white silk ribbon onto the roof beam, tied it tightly, and placed the person on it.
Consort Qian's neck was stuck in the white silk. She kicked her legs unconsciously, but after a moment she stopped moving. Her stiff body swayed on the roof beam and finally came to a stop.
She probably never dreamed that she would die so hastily and casually.
She died in the palace at the tender age of twenty.
After confirming the person was dead, the eunuchs exchanged glances and then quietly withdrew. The palace maids and eunuchs at the door had all been taken care of, and none of them made a sound, ignoring their coming and going.
After an hour or two, when the corpses were stiff and rigid, a palace maid ran to Yonghe Palace to report the death of Consort Cui Rong.
It was still dark when Cui Rong was changing clothes with the help of palace servants. Today was the ceremony for the empress's coronation, and as the protagonist, she naturally had to attend in full regalia, so she got up much earlier than usual.
Palace servants were coming and going in Yonghe Palace, all preparing for the ceremony to establish an empress.
Cui Rong was dressed in an empress's gown and wore a golden crown, exuding an air of nobility.
The only flaw was that the tattoos on her face didn't quite match, lacking the dignity and inclusiveness expected of a mother of a nation.
She knew perfectly well what had happened to Consort Qian, but she still feigned surprise and inquired about the details before instructing the eunuch, "Quickly report to His Majesty!"
Zhou Pu was yawning as he changed into a new dragon robe and a golden crown with the help of palace servants. But even the most magnificent clothes could not hide his haggard appearance. He seemed to have been drained of his essence, leaving only a withered shell.
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Pu was stunned for a moment, then frowned, feeling a bit troubled. "How could this happen?"
The young eunuch recounted the entire story he had overheard in Yonghe Palace, adding, "The Imperial Concubine has already sent people to Consort Qian's bedchamber to dispose of her body, but today is the Empress's investiture ceremony, and the Imperial Concubine says it's up to Your Majesty to decide how to handle it..."
"Alas, why did this have to happen today? The witchcraft case is still unresolved. Grand Tutor Qian has been coming to the palace to see me for the past two days, but I have been refusing to see him, claiming illness, hoping to delay until the truth comes out. Now that the person is dead, the Qian family will certainly not let this go." Zhou Pu could easily guess that today's empress's coronation ceremony would not be peaceful.
He hates trouble the most right now, and the death of Consort Qian has undoubtedly created a huge problem for him.
Thinking of this, Zhou Pu became somewhat angry with Cui Rong again: "Go back and ask Consort Cui how she handled things? I trusted her, which is why I entrusted the Qian Consort case to her. Now she has died mysteriously in her palace, and on the day of the Empress's investiture ceremony. Isn't this embarrassing for me?"
The young eunuch knelt on the ground, stammering and not daring to make a sound, only daring to stealthily glance at the head eunuch, Eunuch Fu.
Only then did Eunuch Fu calmly bow and reassure her, "Your Majesty, please do not be angry. In my opinion, could it be that Consort Qian committed suicide out of fear of punishment? Moreover, as Your Majesty said, no matter what, she should not have embarrassed Your Majesty on the day of the Empress's investiture ceremony. Your Majesty is the ruler of the country. On such an important day as the Empress's investiture ceremony, how can the Qian family have the face to come to Your Majesty for an explanation after Consort Qian did such a thing!"
"Suicide out of fear of punishment?" Zhou Pu was stunned, not expecting this, but he wasn't stupid, and quickly shook his head, denying the guess.
"Consort Qian is strong-willed and not the type to commit suicide out of fear of punishment. Besides, the case hasn't been solved yet, there's no result, and she hasn't been convicted. Why would she commit suicide out of fear of punishment? That reason doesn't hold water. Forget it, let's keep the news from her for now and talk about it after the Empress's investiture ceremony. As for Consort Cui... sigh!"
At this point, Zhou Pu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and he felt that his decision to make Cui Rong his empress was a big mistake. But there was no turning back now. The ceremony for making the empress had already come to a head, and he could not change his decision. He had to finish the ceremony no matter what.
Eunuch Fu noticed Zhou Pu's dissatisfaction and changed the subject at the right time, "Your Majesty, it's almost time to offer sacrifices to Heaven and our ancestors. Let's go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple first, and we can talk about Consort Qian's matter later."
"Well, that's all we can do for now," Zhou Pu nodded with a somber face.
His compromise was within Cui Rong's expectations, and this approach would undoubtedly anger the powerful families represented by the Qian family. This was exactly the effect she wanted. Without destruction, there can be no construction. If she didn't take this step, the imperial power would always be hijacked by the powerful families, and what would be the point of her being the empress?
The ceremony for the coronation of the empress was extremely complicated. Even though Cui Rong was the second empress, all the rules and etiquette were still observed.
Fortunately, there was no Empress Dowager above to keep things under control, otherwise Cui Rong would have felt even more annoyed.
However, all her frustration vanished when she received the Empress's seal and the kneeling homage of the officials. Only at that moment did Cui Rong feel that everything was worthwhile!
Standing below, Cui Lingli saw his daughter, who stood on the high platform, exuding elegance and nobility, and felt a sense of pride in her.
Who could have imagined that the Cui family, with its humble origins, would eventually produce a daughter who would become the mother of a nation? One can't help but marvel at the wonders of fate!
But this joy did not last long. It wasn't until the banquet for the Empress's investiture ceremony ended and Cui Ling went to Yonghe Palace to visit her daughter that she learned that Consort Qian had died.
"You...how dare you? Are you out of your mind?! There are so many ways to choose from, why do you have to use such a radical method? It's full of loopholes, isn't this just offending people? Has your brain been filled with water, or do you eat mush every day?"
For a moment, Cui Ling was at a loss for words, unable to even utter a curse.
Only then did he realize, "No wonder His Majesty summoned the Qian family to the inner palace for an audience earlier, so that's why!"
Cui Rong was unconvinced. While ordering someone to remove the phoenix crown from her head, she calmly retorted, "Do you think the Qian family won't suspect us if we don't do this? Since we've already done it, there's no going back. No matter what we do in the end, we've already made enemies with the Qian family. So why not just go all the way? With His Majesty in front of us, what's there to be afraid of? I don't believe the Qian family would dare to be disrespectful in front of His Majesty!"