Chapter 299: Make an Example of One to Warn a Hundred!
Xingnong had been out of the palace with several of her imperial brothers these past few days, setting up the Four Seasons Formation in the imperial farmlands. She had returned to the palace almost at dawn yesterday, so she slept in today. Now, upon waking and hearing that Shen Ruoxi had almost been stung by poisonous bees, she immediately went to Kun Ning Palace.
In Kun Ning Palace, the Jin Kingdom Emperor had just helped Shen Ruoxi dry her hair. She had styled it in a simple loose bun with her long hair cascading down her back, looking gentle and charming.
The room was filled with ice, the coolness dispelling the summer heat. The two were having breakfast around a round table, feeling very comfortable.
At this moment, a palace maid announced, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, Princess Xingnong has arrived.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor, whose face was already gentle, softened even further upon hearing this, “Quickly, invite her in!”
Xingnong could enter without needing to be announced, but if she knew the Jin Kingdom Emperor was present, she would have the palace maid announce her arrival out of concern for disturbing their time together.
She had already asked the palace maid and knew they were having breakfast, so she walked straight in.
As soon as the Jin Kingdom Emperor finished speaking, he saw Xingnong. He said happily, “Xingnong, youโre awake?”
“Yes,” Xingnong replied, then greeted, “Mother.”
Shen Ruoxi smiled and beckoned her, “Youโre up? Come and have breakfast with us. There are leek boxes, your favorite.”
A palace maid immediately added another set of bowls and chopsticks.
Xingnong did as she was told and sat next to Shen Ruoxi.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor felt a pang of sadness. Xingnong had never addressed him as Father Emperor or Father, and he didn’t know when he would earn her recognition.
Alas, daughters were truly difficult to win over!
But it was all his fault. He had made their mother and daughter suffer so much. It was normal for his precious princess to blame him.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor picked up a leek box and placed it in Xingnong’s bowl, “Xingnong, try this. It’s made by the new imperial chef.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor knew that they were not used to the food of Jin Kingdom, so he specifically ordered someone to find a few chefs from Chu State. There were already a few before, but their Chu State dishes weren’t authentic, always lacking something. This chef had just arrived at the palace yesterday.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor also loved leek boxes, but he loved the ones made by Xingnong. He always felt that others’ lacked something in flavor.
He also took one for himself.
Xingnong picked up her chopsticks but didn’t eat. She asked, “Mother, you were almost stung by black bees in the Imperial Garden just now?”
Shen Ruoxi nodded, “Yes, luckily I ran fast. But someone was still stung.”
Shen Ruoxi still felt a little guilty. If she hadn’t asked someone to cut that flower, the poisonous bees wouldn’t have been disturbed.
Xingnong asked, “How could there be a poisonous beehive in the Imperial Garden? How big was it? As far as I know, after a hive forms, there are always a few bees flying in and out near it. The flowers in the Imperial Garden are tended to every day, didn’t anyone notice the hive?”
Shen Ruoxi also knew that there would often be bees flying around near a hive, but not in swarms, only one or two at a time, more frequently than usual. Experienced people would know there must be a hive nearby.
When she was young, the eaves of her house and the fruit trees were often home to various beehives, so Shen Ruoxi knew this. But those who had never seen it might not know.
She said, “Perhaps the gardeners in the Imperial Garden don’t know about this situation! After all, there are many flowers in the Imperial Garden, and it’s summer now. It’s not surprising to see bees, wasps, butterflies, and the like flying around. Those poisonous bees rarely build their hives under flowers, they usually prefer tall trees.”
Xingnong didn’t believe that the gardeners in the Imperial Garden wouldn’t know. After all, the Imperial Garden was so large, and there couldn’t be just one person taking care of the flowers. She said, “Don’t the gardeners in the Imperial Garden know to drive away snakes and insects every summer?”
Let alone poisonous bees, even honey bees shouldn’t appear in the Imperial Garden!
โฟโฟโฟ
If they stung a master in the palace, could they bear the responsibility?
Xingnong knew that the gardeners who took care of the garden at Star Garden were very meticulous, carefully checking the flowers every day for insects and the soil for snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
In Star Garden, she had never even seen an ant!
Apart from butterflies, dragonflies, birds, autumn cicadas, and other harmless insects, not a single honey bee had been seen in the garden.
Because once they appeared, they would be caught or eradicated by the servants.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor was already suspicious, but he wasn’t familiar with beehives. After hearing Xingnong’s words, his face darkened, “Don’t worry, your Father Emperor has already sent someone to investigate. The person is now being interrogated in the Department of Punishments.”
โ The system chose to use “Your Father Emperor” instead of “Father Emperor” as it is more fitting for an emperor to be addressed. Please provide feedback on this change.
The gardeners in the Imperial Garden, besides taking care of the flowers, were also responsible for driving away snakes, insects, rats, and ants, to avoid scaring or biting the masters in the palace.
If they couldn’t even find a beehive, what was the point of keeping them?
Of course, if someone deliberately left the beehive there to harm someone, then they were waiting to die!
Usually, once they were sent to the Department of Punishments, those people wouldn’t be able to withstand the torture and would confess the truth. After all, the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace weren’t specially trained secret guards, they couldn’t endure the pain of torture.
Only after hearing this did Xingnong stop talking. As the family was finishing breakfast, the eunuch by the Jin Kingdom Emperor’s side returned.
He recounted the cause and effect of today’s events: “Noble Lady An happened to be there because Beautiful Lady Li asked her if the palace attire from the Bureau of Imperial Clothing had been delivered. Noble Lady An remembered it had been several days since her measurements were taken and her belly was getting bigger. She was worried that her belly would be too big to fit into the clothes, so she went to the Bureau of Imperial Clothing to have a look, which is why she was in the Imperial Garden.”
“As for the beehive in the Imperial Garden, after one of the junior gardeners was sent to the Department of Punishments, he confessed.”
As for why the eunuch only confessed after being sent to the Department of Punishments, it was naturally because he didn’t say anything during the normal questioning, and only confessed after being sent to the Department of Punishments.
“He said that Beautiful Lady Li asked him to leave the beehive there, saying that those black bees and bee pupae could be used as medicine to treat headaches. Moreover, this kind of black bee was very rare, and the bee pupae were even more valuable. This servant has asked the imperial physician, and it can indeed be used as medicine to treat headaches. Beautiful Lady Li has always had headaches, and the Imperial Hospital also has medical records of this. Your Majesty, do you need to summon Noble Lady An and Beautiful Lady Li for questioning?”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor said coldly, “No need! Issue an imperial edict: Beautiful Lady Li, for plotting to harm the Empress and the imperial heir, is demoted to commoner status, to be given fifty lashes and imprisoned in the Cold Palace! Noble Lady An is to be confined for ten months and demoted to Cairen rank! All the gardeners who knew about the beehive are to be beaten to death!”
“Yes!” To be given fifty lashes and imprisoned in the Cold Palace, it could be said that her life was as good as lost!
Shen Ruoxi was startled when she heard that they were to be beaten to death, “Isn’t beating them to death a bit too much? Could this be a coincidence?”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor held her hand, “We must make an example of one to warn a hundred!”
There were too many coincidences! It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
The beehive was left there on Beautiful Lady Li’s orders. It just so happened that the peonies near the beehive were in bloom, and Beautiful Lady Li encouraged Noble Lady An to go to the Bureau of Imperial Clothing. The shortest route from the harem to the Bureau of Imperial Clothing was through the Imperial Garden, passing by that patch of peonies. And the Empress would go to admire the peonies every day, cutting flowers to take back to her room to put in vases, something anyone could find out with a little inquiry.
Besides, even if Beautiful Lady Li really wanted to use black bees to treat her headaches, if she left the beehive in the flowerbed, why didn’t she have someone warn the other consorts?
And if she wanted black bees, she could have had someone look for them. Didn’t she know that leaving the beehive in the Imperial Garden, with those black bees flying around, could very likely sting someone?
Such a scheme wasn’t clever at all!
Shen Ruoxi looked at Xingnong.
Xingnong said calmly, “Is it heavy? Plotting to harm the imperial heir is a crime punishable by the execution of nine kinships.”
This was a world where imperial power was supreme!
The Jin Kingdom Emperor nodded, “That’s right, I’ve already shown leniency!” This was still considering that Beautiful Lady Li’s father had served diligently over the years, even if he hadn’t earned any great merits!
Shen Ruoxi: “…”
