Children of Loulan

Chapter 402 Mutual Accusations

The concubine's maid said flatteringly, "She was so self-righteous and clever, but she miscalculated the secrets! She wanted to be clever, but ended up losing more than she gained. It's ridiculous!" After that, she kowtowed to Batur in fear, her forehead hitting the ground with a "bang bang bang" sound, and she kept muttering, "Your Majesty, I dare not say a word of falsehood to you. Our concubine is really innocent. All these conspiracies were carefully planned by the vicious princess!"

Upon hearing this, the nanny at the side was so angry that she trembled all over, her face flushed red, her eyes wide open, and she pointed at the concubine's maid and shouted, "What a shameless thing! How dare you talk nonsense like this and confuse right and wrong! It's obvious that you have evil intentions and are trying to murder the princess. I dare to ask, is there any mother in this world who would be so cruel as to harm her own flesh and blood? This kind of crazy thing is simply intolerable!"

However, facing the righteous accusation of the nanny, the concubine's maid was not afraid at all. Instead, she raised her head, a trace of cunning and disdain flashed in her eyes, and continued to refute with specious arguments: "Mammy, you are wrong. There are all kinds of strange things in the world. Let's not talk about the distant past. Take the famous Empress Wu of the previous Tang Dynasty for example. Didn't she kill her own daughter with her own hands, and then took the opportunity to frame Queen Wang in order to compete for the extremely noble throne of the queen?"

When the nanny heard this, her eyes widened and she retorted angrily, "But the princess is now the principal wife, and her status is extremely respected. How could she lower herself to murder a little concubine? Could it be that she doesn't want to be the principal wife anymore, but has a special liking for the position of concubine? Besides, although the person that Empress Wu harmed was her own daughter, she was still fertile and successfully gave birth to a son!"

The more the nanny spoke, the sadder she became. "However, everyone in our mansion knows that the princess is pregnant with a boy! He will definitely become the prince and inherit the palace in the future. Moreover, in order to give birth to a prince smoothly in the past few years, the princess has been running around, seeking countless folk remedies and precious medicines, and finally got pregnant with this baby after going through untold hardships. Let me ask, she cherishes this hard-earned child so much, how could she use him to plot against a concubine who poses no threat at all? The princess is already four months pregnant, doesn't she know that if she is not careful, she will hurt her own foundation and thus be unable to have children in the future?"

Her grief-stricken cries continued to be heard, as if she wanted to vent all the sorrow in the world. Her eyes were blurred with tears, and she sobbed while asking at the top of her lungs: "A princess who doesn't even have a legitimate son of her own will have to rely on a bastard to run the family and live a hard life in the future. What is she trying to achieve? Is it just to live under the bastard's mood every day and not be able to enjoy her old age?" At this point, she paused for a moment and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her hands, but new tears soon rolled down.

Then, she turned to look at Batur, who was standing aside with a gloomy face, looking at them pointing at each other, and then kowtowed again without hesitation. There was a loud "bang", and the kowtow sound was particularly abrupt and harsh in the silent room. The concubine's maid was even more startled by the sudden sound and quietly cast her eyes towards where she was.

However, the nanny continued to talk to herself: "Your Highness, every word I said today is absolutely true and not the slightest bit false! Now, in order to clear the princess's grievances and prove her innocence, I am willing to go to the Ministry of Punishment in the palace, even if I have to endure the dreaded 72 tortures!" After saying this, she raised her head, her eyes firm and resolute, looking straight at Batur in front of her, waiting for his response.

Batur did not respond to her words, but ordered in a gloomy voice: "Come here, take the concubine's maid away and take good care of her." Then, he turned his head to look at the nanny and the princess's maid, and continued: "You two should also leave for the time being, go back to your room and take good care of the princess."

When the concubine's maid was taken away by the guards, surprisingly, she did not struggle or cry out at all. Her eyes were empty and lifeless, as if she had lost her soul, and her calmness made people feel a little abnormal. Perhaps it was because of the conclusive words that the nanny had just said that she could not refute at all, and could only endure it silently.

After the three people left one after another, Batur pondered for a while, then called the butler and ordered in a serious tone: "Go and invite the concubine to come quickly. I want to hear her explanation in person!"

This concubine was carefully selected by Batur himself. When he first chose her, he valued her gentle and docile character and her strict observance of etiquette. In the past few years since she married into the palace, she has consistently maintained good conduct.

Just as the nanny said, she had always treated the princess with respect and never overstepped the boundaries. That was why the nanny went to the kitchen to get more tea and water without any worries, leaving the princess alone with the concubine. However, such an unexpected thing happened now, which was hard for him to believe. Therefore, he had to hear the concubine herself give a reasonable explanation for the matter.

When he thought that the princess would never be able to bear children again, he felt irritated for no reason. You know, only the princess's son can legitimately and more advantageously obtain the crucial military power in her family's hands. Of course, even if he didn't have a biological child, he could find another way to achieve his goal with his means and strategies, but it was not as direct and reliable as this blood relationship!

At this moment, the concubine walked into the room with two maids. Her face, which should have been beautiful and charming, looked extremely pale, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness. Despite this, the concubine still pulled herself together, bowed to him, and said softly, "I greet you, Your Majesty!"

However, at this moment, there was no trace of the tender affection he had shown to his concubine in the past, and instead, there was a coldness in his eyes. He said nothing, but stared at the concubine in front of him with a sullen face and sharp eyes, which seemed to be able to penetrate a person's soul.

Being stared at by such eyes, the concubine suddenly felt a chill rising from her spine and rushing to her forehead. She couldn't help but tremble, and her body, which was already unstable, was even more shaky. After a moment of stalemate, the concubine finally couldn't bear the huge pressure, her legs softened, and she slowly knelt on the ground.

However, despite facing Batur's cold questioning, she still bit her lip tightly and stubbornly remained silent. Batur saw this and snorted coldly, his voice as cold as ice: "If I remember correctly, since the princess was pregnant, she has exempted everyone from the ceremony of paying respects to her. This arrangement is not only for the princess' own sake, but also for you to rest assured and take care of your pregnancy."