Chapter 1329: Chapter 976: Poison Doctor Unrivaled 37 (Four Thousand) _3
The woman, unable to endure the humiliation, directly crashed to death in the horse pen. However, even in death, she couldn’t escape the ravaging.
Some timid women, seeing the beasts that wouldn’t spare even the dead, were frightened mad on the spot, and ultimately, they too suffered the ravaging.
Some women didn’t even have the chance to resist and were brutally tortured to death.
Afterwards, these tormented women fell seriously ill and died in sorrow.
Upon reaching this point, the people sitting below the stage began to whisper, discussing among themselves, questioning, "Where is the Emperor? Does the Emperor not care?"
"Actually, we can’t blame the Emperor for this. Our Emperor is famous for being hardworking. Those years coincided with border turmoil, summer floods, and winter freezes. The Emperor had to leave the palace for several months each year to inspect places. These issues with the concubines precisely arose during this period."
Consort Hua always handled affairs with assured success and flawless execution. She not only bribed the Imperial Physician but also killed all the palace maid and eunuch who knew about it to prevent future troubles. In one night, countless lives were lost in the harem.
To address the Emperor’s doubts, Consort Hua colluded with the Imperial Physician, claiming there was an outbreak in the palace. The Emperor immediately sealed the harem, and thus those women tormented by Consort Hua had no way to survive, those sick dragged to death directly, and those insane, Consort Hua threw into the Cold Palace, the sick dead were thrown into the chaotic grave. Her cruel methods were horrifying.
During this period, Empress Lan was in confinement, too weak as she busied herself with caring for her child, unable to pay attention to these concubines.
And precisely because of this, by the time she sensed something was wrong, there was no longer anyone in the palace to help her, nor dared to help. It was during this time that Consort Hua’s people infiltrated the Empress’s palace step by step.
Coincidentally, the Empress had just given birth to the Princess during this stage, her body weakened, having no strength to resist.
Poor Empress Lan lived daily in such turmoil, refusing to eat food not brought by her personal maid; refusing to drink water not carried by her personal maid; refusing to wear clothes not confirmed and reconfirmed; even indoor plants had to be checked thoroughly to avoid mixed toxins. Not knowing how much effort she wasted on survival concerns.
Later, when the Emperor returned, Empress Lan spoke of her circumstances to him. The Emperor was naturally angry, wanting to bring down Consort Hua, but was stopped by Empress Lan, because at that time the country faced internal and external troubles, and the Bai Family controlled the Ministry of Revenue. Dealing with Consort Hua then might anger the Bai Family too much, so the Empress endured it and even calmed the Emperor down.
But eventually, the Empress couldn’t block the Emperor’s decision, resolutely replacing all people in the Empress’s palace, installing top-notch experts to protect the mother and daughter, Meanwhile, about the Sixth Prince, probably sent out of the palace by the Empress earlier on, compared to the Princess, the Prince was significantly more dangerous, and she couldn’t manage two children alone, thus straightforwardly sending one out of the palace.
Thus, for the next two to three years, Consort Hua found no chance to act against Empress Lan, and her hatred for Empress Lan, due to time transpiring, increasingly escalated to unimaginable levels.
Finally, one day, a chance arrived; the Emperor planned to attend the Four Countries convention in the Holy Dynasty, originally intending to bring the Empress along, having now learned reflexive protection for the mother and daughter, intuition informed him Consort Hua harbored sinister intentions, necessitating caution.
However, during that time, the Sixth Princess was in poor health, and as a mother, Empress Lan couldn’t bear the Princess to travel with them, gritting her teeth and staying behind.
How could Consort Hua possibly let such a rare opportunity slip by?
She bribed the harem concubines to spread rumors everywhere, claiming the Emperor was being detained by the Holy Dynasty sovereign.
Empress Lan, sincerely devoted to the Emperor, wasn’t easily deceived. She specially sent someone to investigate in the previous dynasty, but Bai Mei’er, also a Bai Family member, schemed against her, leading her to indirectly believe the rumors. Eager, the Empress rushed to the previous dynasty to confer with the Eldest Prince, Second Prince, and officials, demanding a plan to rescue the Emperor.
Yet, this matter was known solely to her in the harem. People of the previous dynasty were entirely unaware, naturally disbelieving. Instead, they thought the Empress suffered from lunacy, speaking nonsense. No matter how the Empress pleaded, her words went unheard.
