novelaction Chapter 302 Thunder strikes from the sky
Chapter 302 Thunder strikes from the sky
Chapter 302: Thunderstruck
The servants didn't dare to approach, but Su Peisheng was brave enough to poke at her with his whisk. He found that Shi still had some intuition, so he quickly replied to Yinzhen: "Master, she is still alive."
Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she was alive, he was relieved. But then he started worrying. He had originally planned to keep her in his mansion to pray for her well-being, but now it seemed even the heavens didn't approve. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a thunderbolt striking her in broad daylight. So, he had no choice but to send her to the manor.
Thinking of this, Yinzhen ordered repeatedly: "Su Peisheng, go and arrange for someone to send Shi to the farm outside the capital. As for the rest, find a doctor to come and see Shi. If she can be moved, send her there today."
After the servants had left, Yinzhen no longer had the heart to continue questioning Li. After all, he still had to go to the palace to report the matter to his brother.
You know, if the imperial censors get wind of what's happening in their family first, then tomorrow in the court, memorials impeaching him will surely come pouring in like snowflakes, and that will be a real trouble!
Yinzhen then summoned Li. By this time, Li was terrified, collapsing to the ground like a pile of mud, unable to even maintain her balance on her knees. Her body trembled and swayed constantly. Clearly, she had been completely frightened by the sudden thunderbolt.
There's a saying that goes, "If you've done nothing wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door at night." However, Li knew full well that she wasn't innocent. Especially after seeing Shi being struck by lightning right before her eyes, she couldn't help but wonder, if she dared lie to the prince, would she end up like him? The more she thought about it, the more apprehensive she became, and the more panic she felt, the harder it was to contain.
Seeing this, Yinzhen couldn't help but frown, revealing a hint of impatience. He said in a deep voice, "Alright, Li, listen to me! From now on, whether it's Yaliqi or Hongyun's marriage, you don't need to interfere. These matters will be decided by me and the princess together.
As a concubine, you only need to stay in the mansion and recuperate quietly. You must not have any extravagant thoughts. Do you understand what I am saying?"
After hearing this, Li's body trembled violently, and his head nodded repeatedly as if pounding garlic. He lay on the ground and did not dare to move for a long time.
She said tremblingly, "I know, I will never dare to do it again!" Obviously, Li was scared out of her wits at this moment. Even if she still had any thoughts and ideas in her mind in the future, it would probably take a long time for her to recover slowly.
Seeing Li's terrified look, Yinzhen nodded with great satisfaction. He then waved his hand to signal the servants beside him to send Li back to the courtyard where she lived, and told them to take good care of her.
Then, Yinzhen turned to face the princess, nodded slightly, and said, "I'll have to trouble you to help with the following matters. I've asked Su Peisheng to stay with me to assist. If you need anything, please let me know. I need to go to the palace immediately."
The princess naturally understood what he meant. As a wife who had been with Yinzhen for many years and as the mistress of the household, she knew very well what responsibilities she should assume in this situation. So, she smiled and nodded slightly to Yinzhen, indicating that she understood what he meant.
The princess immediately set about cleaning up the servants in the mansion who had witnessed the thunderbolt. Meanwhile, Yinzhen hurriedly boarded the carriage and sped towards the Qianqing Palace.
Yinreng, who was busy in the palace, was surprised to learn that Yinzhen came to ask for a meeting.
You know, not long ago, he had just asked Yinzhen to return to the mansion to take care of family affairs. Seeing that the palace gate was about to close, Yinzhen hurried over at this moment. What was going on?
However, considering that his younger brother would never come to the palace unless there was something important, Yinreng did not hesitate too much and immediately ordered someone to summon Yinzhen to the palace to meet him.
Yinzhen and Hongye entered the palace together, but Hongye was thinking about returning to Kunning Palace with his father to enjoy dinner. He did not expect to run into Yinzhen there.
Yinreng looked up at Yinzhen, whose expression was solemn and serious. His relaxed demeanor suddenly became serious. "What is going on? What has caused you to be so panicked?"
Others might not understand Yinzhen's expression at the moment, but Yinreng knew very well that as brothers for decades, Yinzhen's expression meant that something major was about to happen.
Back then, even when faced with such earth-shattering events as his open rebellion against the Emperor, Yinzhen remained calm and composed. So, what could have caused him to show such fear and trepidation today?
Yinzhen hurriedly bowed, his words tinged with embarrassment and a mixture of undisguised fear: "My Royal Highness, my humble concubine was struck by lightning just now."
"What?!" Upon hearing this, Yinreng jumped up from his seat in shock, his face filled with disbelief. Hongye, standing beside him, was even more stunned, his mouth wide open enough to fit an egg. Both father and son let out a cry of astonishment.
"Ah???" This is really too unbelievable and simply unimaginable.
Being struck by celestial thunder was unheard of and unseen. The ancients had a deep faith in theology, especially those in the imperial family like them. Even leaving the palace required carefully selected auspicious days by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, and they always considered themselves the descendants of the emperor. To hear that someone had been struck by celestial thunder was truly shocking.
After a while, Yinreng finally found his voice: "What on earth is going on?"
Yinzhen's face flushed crimson, his heart filled with endless shame and regret. He lowered his head, his voice trembling as he reported to his brother, "Brother, my concubine... ended up spouting nonsense, saying she was the Crown Princess and the true owner of the Empress position! She even said something about 'two dethrones.' I didn't understand, but suddenly a thunderbolt struck her from the sky."
Yinzhen knew very well that this matter was of great importance, so he did not dare to hide anything and told everything he knew.
In reality, he had no choice but to be so frank. After all, this matter had a huge impact. With his brother's methods and the secret guards spread all around, he would have probably noticed something unusual long ago. Even if he kept silent at this moment, it wouldn't be long before those well-trained secret guards would report the details to his brother.
Thinking of this, Yinzhen secretly congratulated himself on choosing to confess rather than attempting to conceal the truth. After all, facing the potential collective impeachment by numerous censors, a mere prince like him could not handle such overwhelming pressure.
At this moment, Hongye, who was standing aside, still had a confused look on his face and was completely confused; however, Yinreng seemed to have understood everything in an instant and knew the reason in his heart.
It seems that even though Shi traveled back to this era and became a woman in the harem of the fourth brother Yinzhen, she still failed to achieve her original purpose.
This experience must have driven her to utter despair, so much so that she gave up on herself and even spoke without thinking, attempting to reveal some secret. Unfortunately, the heavens seemed unwilling to let her succeed, and sent down thunderbolts in time as punishment.
Yinreng frowned slightly and said with a hint of authority, "Alright, I understand the reason, but I don't know what the current situation of Shi is."
Yinzhen quickly bowed and responded, "My Royal Highness, the court physician had already examined him when I left. He said that aside from being slightly unconscious, he had no other obvious injuries."
Yinreng nodded thoughtfully, thinking to himself, "Looking at this, Shi is likely to continue to be insane and it will be difficult for her to regain her composure." This might not be a bad thing, after all, there are some things that the fewer people who know, the better.
Now that the Qing Dynasty was prosperous and developing smoothly, there was really no need to dwell on the past. Thinking of this, Yinreng couldn't help but sigh softly.
Then, Yinreng said, "Alright, you can go back to the palace in a while. Hongchang will come to your residence tomorrow. As for the thunderbolt, we can just announce that it was used for experiments.
As for those servants in your house... Humph! I guess there's no need for me to waste my breath on them, right? I absolutely don't want to hear any rumors about the royal family's lack of moral integrity!"
After hearing Yinreng's words, Yinzhen's heart finally settled a little. He quickly bowed again and replied respectfully, "Please rest assured, my dear brother. I will follow your instructions and handle this matter properly. I will take my leave now and return to the palace to arrange the relevant matters." With that, Yinzhen turned and slowly left.
Watching Yinzhen's receding figure, Yinreng waved his hand to signal the attendants beside him to withdraw, and then fell into deep thought. As for Shi, Yinreng thought that no matter how Yinzhen dealt with her, it didn't matter, but from now on, he really didn't want to hear any news related to this woman anymore.
At this moment, Hongye looked at his father who was lost in thought and spoke softly, "Father, mother is still waiting in Kunning Palace. How about we go back and have dinner now?"
Yinreng suddenly woke up. Yes, how could he have forgotten that Hongye was beside him just now? When he heard Hongye mention it, he quickly stood up and waved his hand: "Okay, okay, let's go back now. But don't tell your mother about what happened with your fourth uncle just now. I'm afraid your mother will worry and be scared."
Hongye walked half a step behind Yinreng and quickly replied, "Yes, Royal Father."
But I was wondering in my heart whether the Emperor really didn't understand Mother. The lightning rod designed by my brother before was mentioned by Mother in private. And there is also the lightning-inducing technology that is being researched now. If it weren't for Mother's help, Hongchang's experiment would probably have made no progress until now!