flstandardbreds Chapter 139 Provocation
Chapter 139 Provocation
The Queen Mother was stunned when she heard Concubine Zhao's words. "Blood?"
"Why is there blood on my face?" After saying that, he raised his hand and touched it, squinting his eyes to see a black and red patch on his hand.
She rolled her eyes and almost fainted. Nanny Ning stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I will help you wash up first."
Concubine Zhao took a step forward and saw a wooden box behind the Queen Mother. She pointed at the box and asked, "Why is there a box on the Queen Mother's bed? Did you put it there, Madam Ning?"
"Box?" Nanny Ning looked behind the Empress Dowager after hearing this. She had been staring at the Empress Dowager and ignored everything else.
"Madame Ning, please help the empress dowager wash her face first. The concubines will be here soon. It would not be good if people saw the empress dowager with blood all over her face. I will let my people open the box and see what is inside." Concubine Zhao said.
"No need, I'll open it myself. I want to see who is so bold as to break into my bedroom at night and even splash blood on my head!" The Queen Mother was so angry that the veins on her temples were throbbing. She had forgotten her fear and felt that she had no way to vent her anger.
After he finished speaking, he turned to Nanny Ning and said, "First, use a handkerchief to wipe the blood off my face!"
Seeing this, the palace maids hurried over with water. Nanny Ning wet the silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood off the empress dowager's face.
I changed basins of water again and again before I finally managed to clean it.
The palace maid beside her also brought the empress dowager's outer coat and helped her put it on. If the situation got out of control and the guards and eunuchs came in and saw the empress dowager in this state, it would not be good.
The queen mother's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. She glanced at the blood on the bed and looked directly at the box and said coldly: "Open the box for me!"
"Yes." Nanny Ning vaguely felt that there might not be anything good in here.
But he did not dare to disobey the Queen Mother's order. He took the box with trembling hands and slowly opened it.
"Ah." Everyone who saw it took several steps back.
"Someone come, someone come quickly!" Concubine Zhao turned around and shouted outside.
After Nanny Ning realized what was happening, she quickly looked at the Queen Mother, only to see that her face was pale and bloodless. Then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
"Someone come quickly! Catch the assassin!" Nanny Ning supported the empress dowager to prevent her from falling, and shouted to the outside.
But in a moment, the bedroom was full of people. Guards, palace maids, eunuchs, anyone who heard the shouting ran in quickly.
At this time, the concubines also began to arrive gradually. The first to come in was Concubine De, followed by four or five more. The originally bright hall suddenly became a little crowded.
"What's wrong with the Queen Mother? What happened?" Concubine De stepped forward and asked.
Nanny Ning was only concerned with the Empress Dowager at the moment and had no time to think about anything else.
After Zhao Fei bowed to De Guifei with the help of the palace maid, her legs seemed to be a little weak from fear, and she said weakly: "When I came here this morning, I saw that the Queen Mother's face was covered with blood, and now someone's head was placed on the bed."
When Concubine De heard the latter part, she was also full of disbelief. Perhaps because there were so many people around, she didn't feel that scared. But she was still a little surprised. Who was so bold as to be so presumptuous in the Queen Mother's bedroom?
Moreover, she was the one with the highest status here, so she couldn't panic. She had to calm herself down quickly. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down her emotions, she turned around and looked at the people in the bedroom. Then she began to instruct the guards, maids and eunuchs: "Go to the upper part and check the Queen Mother carefully. Someone must have come in here last night. Don't miss any place. Search carefully."
After those people started to move, she immediately turned to the palace maid beside her and said, "Go and help Nanny Song to help the Queen Mother lie down on the couch first."
Concubine De looked at the wooden box on the bed and said to the eunuch standing beside her: "Put the box outside the courtyard first and deal with it after the Queen Mother gets up. And you go to the front court immediately to inform the Emperor what happened here."
At this moment, Chu Qianyu saw a guard picking up the paper she had written, and then he slowly moved along the eaves towards the innermost part.
He left the Queen Mother's bedroom while no one was paying attention, hiding his figure along the way, and returned quickly along the same route while the palace was not on guard.
In just half a minute, Chu Qianyu arrived at Situ Mansion.
It was already bright outside. She disguised herself as Situ Yue and left the bedroom and said to Huai Ce, "Notify all the elders and managers in the clan to come to the clan hall!"
Huai Ce agreed and quickly went out to pass on the message.
Chu Qianyu saw that the time was almost up, and said to Nan Xu beside him: "Go to the prison and bring all the five elders to the clan hall! And secretly bring Ming Zixi to Situ Mansion."
"Yes." Nan Xu agreed and walked out quickly.
Chu Qianyu leaned back in her chair with her eyes drooping, thinking about things. Before she knew it, half an hour had passed. She stood up and walked slowly towards the clan hall.
Passing by the training ground, the disciples of the Situ family have already started training.
Seeing her passing by, they all stopped what they were doing and saluted towards her, saying, "Good morning, Patriarch Situ."
Chu Qianyu stopped, walked to the top, looked at everyone and said, "You guys train well, I will have someone take you to the training ground in a few days."
Everyone was a little surprised to hear this. The clan leader was still here, so why did he go to the training ground? Usually, when the clan leader was being selected or the elders were replaced, these disciples would go to the training ground to select the most suitable person to assist the new elder. Then the new elder would be selected from the direct descendants. Did the clan leader intend to re-elect the elders?
But now only the position of the second elder is vacant, and when the second elder was killed by the clan leader, the children of the second branch had already been sent to train, and the results would be out in about a year. But what the clan leader said today really made them a little confused.
But Chu Qianyu did not explain too much. After saying this, he walked straight towards the clan hall.
When they arrived at the clan hall, everyone was already there. When they saw her come in, everyone who was originally sitting stood up. Only the fourth and fifth elders stood up reluctantly.
After Chu Qianyu sat in the first seat, he nodded to the elders and hall masters standing below and said, "Sit down."
After everyone sat down, the fourth elder spoke first: "I wonder what important matter the clan leader has called us here so early?"
Chu Qianyu chuckled and looked at the Fifth Elder. A fierce look flashed in his eyes and he said, "Why not let the Fifth Elder explain it?"
The Fifth Elder was already a little worried about what had happened in the past two days. The people he sent to the dungeon had not been heard from yet. Now that he heard her say this, he was almost certain in his heart that the person might have fallen into the hands of the clan leader.
But he was not too afraid. Even if he sent people to the dungeon, so what? He did things cleanly. Apart from secretly colluding with the queen mother, there was probably nothing that could make the patriarch punish him.
Thinking of this, he gradually calmed down. He looked at the clan leader and asked without avoiding his gaze, "What do you mean by this? What has it got to do with me that you asked us old guys to come here this morning? Please explain it clearly."
Chu Qianyu did not answer him, but looked at the head of the Law Enforcement Hall and said, "Please tell me what crime it would be if the elders, other than the clan leader, secretly colluded with people in the palace?"