Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 61 The First Fall

Chengming Hall.

The queen knelt in the corridor, her face full of self-blame. Kneeling behind her was the tied-up senior palace maid Ginkgo.

"I am guilty of failing to control my servants, which led to the maid Ginkgo's attempt to murder the heir to the throne. Now that the guilty slave has been brought here, please punish her, Your Majesty!"

The Queen's voice came from outside the palace, her tone full of guilt.

"Let her in."

Inside the house, Zhao Xingjin had a gloomy face.

Yang Zhian responded and hurried out to bring the person into the hall.

The queen lowered her head slightly, feeling uneasy.
She really didn't expect that this matter, which seemed to have passed long ago, would suddenly be brought up again, and it came so quickly and suddenly that she had no time to think carefully.

She could only follow the hint given by Zhao Xingjin when he sent someone to convey the message and push the palace maid next to her out to take the blame.

Ginkgo has been with her for eight or nine years. To be honest, the queen is reluctant to let her go, but she has no choice.

So when Ginkgo took the initiative to step forward and expressed her willingness to take the blame, the queen immediately assured her that she would treat her family well.

Therefore, at this time, Ginkgo had already made up his mind to die. Without any hesitation, he followed the queen into the hall and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, this is all my fault. The Empress is completely unaware of it. I served her during my time in the palace, and she treated me so well. I couldn't stand Concubine Zhuang giving birth to a prince, so I kept showing off in front of the Empress. That's why I thought of framing Concubine Zhuang for murdering the heir."

Zhao Xingjin already knew what had happened and didn't want to hear more from Ginkgo. He was just about to order someone to drag her away when he suddenly heard the Queen Mother's voice coming from the door.

"Since you were planning to frame Concubine Zhuang, why did this incident end up falling on the head of Qin Lan, the maidservant left behind by Concubine Xian and Princess Wenxi?!"

Everyone looked towards the source of the voice and saw the Queen Mother walking in from outside with an angry look on her face.

Zhao Xingjin stood up, "Mother, why are you here?"

The queen also followed him and saluted.

"If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known how lively the palace was." The Queen Mother glanced at the Empress with a cold face, "Is this how you manage the harem for the Emperor? You allow those around you to act lawlessly, dare to murder the heir, and plot against your master!"

"I know I was wrong, please punish me, mother. In the future, I will discipline the servants around me and will never let such a thing happen again!" The queen quickly knelt down to apologize.

The Queen Mother was angry, but she didn't call him to get up. She sat down with Zhao Xingjin first.

Seeing this, Ginkgo gritted his teeth and immediately looked up at the two people above him.

"I can't stand Concubine Xie's coquettishness. She's already a married woman, yet she still pesters the Emperor. If someone like her were to enter the palace, she would definitely be a disaster. There are so many noble ladies in the palace, and the Empress has no princes. How hard it must be for her. She already has Concubine Wei, so she can't care about someone like Concubine Xie. That's why I schemed to get her involved through the people around Princess Wenxi, just to prevent the Emperor from accepting her into the palace."

"If Concubine Zhuang cannot escape the blame, then it will be Concubine Zhuang who murdered the royal heir. If Concubine Zhuang escapes, then the crime will be pinned on Concubine Xie. You are really a thoughtful girl, to be able to come up with such a plan." The Queen Mother slammed the table.

The teacup on the table vibrated, making a crisp sound.

When the Queen Mother said this, she did not look at Ginkgo, but her eyes were fixed on the Queen.

The Queen Mother clearly knew that Gingko was merely a scapegoat, and that the mastermind behind all this was the Empress. "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, our Empress has suffered so much over the years!"

Ginkgo struggled to kneel forward, but was immediately held down by Yang Zhian's men. She struggled continuously, her face full of grief and anger, and her eyes were red.

"The Empress was injured when she gave birth to the Third Prince and can no longer bear children. How precarious is the position of a childless Empress? Ever since the Emperor ascended the throne, the issue of an heir has become a source of worry for the Empress. She can hardly sleep well at night."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty has been married to you since childhood. For so many years, you have been responsible for the chores, serving your parents-in-law, and raising your children. You have always done your best and never made any mistakes. If you still remember this friendship, I beg your Majesty and the Queen Mother to adopt a prince for your Majesty to raise, so that you will have someone to rely on!"

When a person is about to die, he is not afraid of anything.

Ginkgo only wanted to say a few more words for the Queen before she died.

Her life was given by the Queen. If the Queen had not asked someone to treat her, she would have died in the cold winter six years ago. Ginkgo has always remembered this kindness in her heart, and now she is repaying it.

Even though she knew that what the queen did was wrong, so what? The queen had always treated her very well.

"Don't talk nonsense!" the queen scolded.

The hands hidden in the sleeves were clenched tightly, the nails dug into the palms, and there was anger and disappointment in the eyes, but also tears that were being held back.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, Ginkgo..."

"This lowly maid has committed a capital crime, and you're still trying to excuse her!" Zhao Xingjin interrupted the Queen before she could finish her words. "The dragon fetus in Sun Baolin's belly is fine now. If he had died then, how many lives would this lowly maid have saved? If this person wasn't killed to serve as a warning to others, there would be no law and order in this palace!"

The Queen's face turned pale from being scolded. She could only grit her teeth and lower her head, "I dare not plead for her. Everything is up to the Emperor."

The Queen Mother looked coldly at the kneeling Queen, "Mingshu, don't be foolish again. The Emperor punished this criminal slave for your reputation. You used to be filial and intelligent. This time is fine, but if something like this happens again in the future, you should think carefully about the consequences. You are the Queen now, not the princess of a vassal state."

After all, the queen's mother's family had made great contributions to assisting Zhao Xingjin, and the queen and her mother-in-law, the queen mother, had had a harmonious relationship for many years. Besides, instability in the central palace was not a good thing, so at this moment, Zhao Xingjin and the queen mother both chose to protect the queen and let her go this time.

But once a person has such a stain, can he really be trusted 100% in the future?
However, the queen could not think of these things at the moment. She could only watch Ginkgo being taken away and beaten to death.

She herself was also punished to reflect quietly, and all the miscellaneous affairs of the six palaces were temporarily handed over to the Queen Mother.

After all, the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet is coming up in a few days, and the Queen still has to attend. It would be too embarrassing to put her under house arrest.

After coming out of Chengming Palace, the queen looked up at the dazzling sun, feeling suffocated and dizzy, and almost fell down.

Today's situation was indeed her first setback since entering the palace, and it was a serious one.

All of a sudden, he lost his confidant, and from then on, only Yun and Hongmei were around him.

More importantly, this incident severely damaged her image and reputation. Although no one said anything, anyone with a little bit of common sense could guess that she was the mastermind behind it. With this previous record, if she wants to do something in the future, I'm afraid everyone in the palace will be on guard.

After returning to Weiyang Palace, the Queen was so angry that her skull ached slightly. She leaned against the pillow, feeling annoyed and regretful.

"I shouldn't have been so kind back then and spared Liuzhi's family. I never thought I'd planted the seeds of disaster, causing me to be in such a predicament today, and even killing Ginkgo."

"Your Majesty, I know you are very sad, but I think this matter cannot be such a coincidence. There must be someone behind this. You must find out who this person is so that you can avenge Ginkgo in the future!" Tingyun reminded in a low voice with grief and anger in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)