RPAGF Chapter 171 The Fastest Knife
Chapter 171 The Fastest Knife
After a brief conversation, Long Mohan said goodbye to Ji Anni and walked out of the room with a gloomy look on his face.
He always had a very strong feeling that So Ji had changed so much that she was like a completely different person.
In the past, Zhao Ji would never speak loudly to him.
Hua Rong had been waiting outside the door. When she saw Long Mohan coming out, she hurried forward to lead the way.
The courtyard on the right was newly renovated, there were not many palace maids, and the surroundings were very quiet.
Walking in the winding corridor under the green shade, the chirping of birds above your head makes the environment even more quiet.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so nosy. Your Majesty has been in a bad mood recently. If I said something that upset Your Majesty, please don't take it to heart." Hua Rong spoke for Ji Anni. She had heard almost all of the conversation between Ji Anni and Long Mohan.
"You are the palace maid who served Tian Ning before, right?" Long Mohan felt that Hua Rong looked familiar.
Huarong nodded.
Long Mohan stopped talking, as if he was wondering why the palace maid who served Tian Ning was now serving Concubine Zhao?
There is no doubt that Hua Rong is a spy sent by the An family, but it is not known whether she is a ruthless person.
Hua Rong saw that Long Mohan was somewhat suspicious of her, so in order to prevent him from thinking too badly of her, she simply said, "Your Majesty, don't be suspicious. The Queen Mother asked me to keep a close eye on Concubine Zhao because she was afraid that Concubine Zhao would cause trouble in the palace. Even if I risk my life, I will never let Concubine Zhao have any accidents. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Long Mohan nodded, and suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Little palace maid, what do you think of Concubine Zhao?"
Hua Rong laughed when she heard this and replied, "Then I dare to ask, what does the emperor think of Concubine Zhao?"
"You little maid, you are not afraid of me."
"Your Majesty doesn't have fangs, why should I be afraid of you?"
Thinking back to when she was the daughter of the cabinet minister Xi Jinde, she played chess with the emperor at the age of five, so why should she be afraid of the emperor? Moreover, the current Long Mohan not only has no fangs, but even the feathers on his wings have not grown fully, so he is indeed not to be feared.
After entering the palace for so many days, this was the first time that Long Mohan was speechless by a little palace maid. After a hearty laugh, he said with a half-joyful and half-worried tone: "Now not only Zhao Ji has become presumptuous, but even the little palace maids around her are so presumptuous."
"Your Majesty thinks Concubine Zhao is very presumptuous?"
As soon as Hua Rong asked, the smile on Long Mohan's face gradually disappeared.
Long Mohan shook his head gently and sighed, "Zhao Ji... is no longer the Zhao Ji of the past."
Zhao Ji should have been more demure and gentle in the past. What caused Zhao Ji's personality to change so drastically? Long Mohan was puzzled.
Hua Rong, who had never met the real Zhao Ji, naturally did not understand Long Mohan's confusion. She just followed Long Mohan's words and said, "Even if the current Zhao Ji is no longer the former Zhao Ji, the current Zhao Ji is the future queen. Can't the emperor see it? The current Zhao Ji has a very strong aura that belongs to the queen."
It was this light that attracted Princess Tianning, attracted himself, and even attracted Concubine Baogui... Yun Zhen... Kang Xiaorong...
In the future, more people will gather around her.
***
Shortly after seeing the emperor off, Hua Rong was summoned to the East Palace by Concubine An.
At this critical juncture, Concubine An summoned me for only one thing, which was about how to deal with Concubine Baogui.
After the scandal with Yunzhen, Concubine Baogui's position in the palace was in jeopardy, but because the Bao family and the An family had always been on good terms, the Queen Mother had not severely punished Concubine Baogui. The Queen Mother's indulgence made Concubine An impatient, so she staged the drama of breaking into the palace and pouring medicine yesterday. If she didn't take advantage of this God-given opportunity to defeat Concubine Baogui, she didn't know when the next chance would come.
Concubine An did not give up her evil plan.
Soon, Huarong was led by Ningshuang into Concubine An's bedroom.
There was no extra person in the room. Concubine An even sent her trusted maid Ningshuang out, and only locked herself and Huarong in the room for a secret conversation.
Seeing this, Hua Rong had a premonition of something sinister and asked, "My Lady, what do you want to do?"
Concubine An smiled grimly, took out two paper packages from a small box, handed them to Hua Rong and said, "Put the medicine away first, and then I'll tell you."
Hua Rong held the paper bag tightly in her palm, wanting to throw it away, but she couldn't make up her mind. Her throat choked and she almost begged, "My queen, it's been three years...it's been three years, when will you let us go free?"
"It will be very soon, Huarong, believe me." Concubine An smiled ambiguously.
Three years ago, the Xi family was executed and two beautiful daughters were left behind. However, they were not truly pardoned. Instead, they were secretly forced to take chronic poison in order to control them.
This poison has a nice name, called "Colorful Fragrance Flower".
When the poison takes effect, it feels as if thousands of poisonous insects are attracted by the colorful fragrance and attach themselves to the poisoned person to bite him.
Although this poison is not fatal, it is difficult to cure. If you do not take the antidote regularly, you will suffer endless torture that is worse than death. Cai Xianghua's poison and antidote are tributes submitted by Western vassal states and are not available outside the palace.
It was for this reason that Hua Rong told Ji Anni outside Concubine Baogui’s room yesterday that she was Concubine An’s dog that she had raised for three years.
Because of the existence of Caixianghua, not only Huarong's own life, but also her sister Yuemao's life is in An's hands.
Hua Rong took a deep breath, finally calmed down, and stuffed the paper bag into her belt.
Seeing this, Concubine An laughed wildly.
It was a laugh that came from enjoying the pleasure of conquest and domination.
After the laughter died down, she leaned close to Hua Rong's ear and said, "I've thought about it. Since the small one can't be removed, then the big and small ones can be removed together."
Hua Rong's body trembled violently, and she stared at Concubine An as if she were a madman.
"My lady, how big of a fuss do you want to make?"
"Shut up and just do what I tell you to do."
"My Lady, I can't..." The last few words were squeezed in between Huarong's teeth for a long time before they were finally squeezed out, "...I can't help you kill people!"
"Hush." Concubine An raised a finger to her lips and said mysteriously, "What I want you to do is much easier than killing someone."
After saying that, he stuffed an opened letter into Huarong's hand.
There was not a single word written on the envelope.
Hua Rong took out the letter and just after reading two lines, her scalp started to numb.
I can't believe it. This was the letter that Concubine Baogui entrusted Xiaoyao to give to Yun Zhen that day, but Xiaoyao was bewitched by me and gave it to the Queen Mother!
It was because of this letter as evidence that Yun Zhen was nearly beheaded and Baogui Fei almost lost her unborn child.
Everyone thought that it was a letter written by Concubine Baogui to Yun Zhen, plotting to leave the palace.
Even Hua Rong herself believed it so firmly at the beginning, so she persuaded Xiao Yao to betray Concubine Baogui. Because if Concubine Baogui left the palace, the maids and eunuchs in the West Palace would definitely not escape severe punishment, and they might even lose their lives.
But the most unexpected thing was that it was not a letter plotting to leave the palace, but -
The last book written by Concubine Baogui.
That’s right…ever since what happened that night with Yun Zhen, Concubine Baogui has never considered leaving the palace.
There was only one thing she thought about, and that was to die - to die without regrets.
Hua Rong was deeply shocked. What was this? She thought that Concubine Baogui would abandon all the maids in the West Palace, escape from the palace with Yun Zhen, and use the maids' heads and blood to exchange for her own happiness that she had buried for ten years. But...
Wrong, everything is wrong.
I misjudged Concubine Baogui...and I also underestimated Concubine Baogui.
From the first day that Concubine Baogui entered the palace, she betrayed the emperor in her heart, and she did so for a full ten years.
But when that day came, when even her body betrayed the emperor, she knew it was time for her to die.
The fate of a betrayer is just one simple word: death.
It can be imagined that when Xiaoyao was asked to deliver the letter to Yunzhen, Concubine Baogui had already sharpened her knife. She was ready to kill Xiaoyao with one blow after she returned from delivering the letter. Even if Yunzhen came after reading the letter, she could not save her.
However, Xiaoyao did not return that day. Concubine Baogui was worried that Xiaoyao had an accident, so she changed her plan and failed to die.
Unexpectedly, the next morning, news came that Yun Zhen was taken out of the palace and executed.
Fate plays tricks on us and catches us off guard.
Hua Rong made assumptions over and over in her mind: If she hadn't bewitched Xiaoyao that day, if Xiaoyao hadn't handed the letter to the Queen Mother that day, or even if one of her and Xiaoyao had opened the letter and read it that day...
Everything... will be different, right?
But there are not too many assumptions in this world, and all assumptions will only add more guilt to oneself.
Huarong tightly grasped the letter, her heart feeling as if it was being cut into pieces.
She regretted her overconfidence...
"Hua Rong?" Concubine An called Hua Rong back to reality. "What I want you to do is very simple. You just need to give this letter to Xiao Yao and let Xiao Yao read it."
"Take a look?" Huarong smiled bitterly.
Doesn’t she know how destructive power this letter from Concubine Baogui has?
Even after I finished watching it just now, I regretted it so much. If Xiaoyao had seen it...
Concubine An raised her eyebrows and said, "If Xiaoyao doesn't commit suicide after reading this letter, then she is no longer Xiaoyao. Concubine Baogui has been a little mentally ill due to the recent heavy blows. If Xiaoyao dies in front of her again at this time, I don't believe she can hold on. We don't even need to kill Xiaoyao. Concubine Baogui's kindness is the fastest knife to kill Xiaoyao."