Chapter 76: Consort Song Falls

Song Qingzhi glanced at Ning Wanyin, her eyes secretly observing Ning Wanyin’s every move.

She wanted to find a flaw.

This kind of palace sacrifice ceremony, if you haven’t specifically learned it in advance, it’s easy to make mistakes with just a few days of preparation.

But there are so many people, if no one is specifically watching you, you won’t notice.

Song Qingzhi secretly wanted to report Ning Wanyin for a crime of improper sacrifice!

But her eyes were almost rolling back in her head, and she didn’t see Ning Wanyin make a single mistake.

She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Since she was overshadowed by Ning Wanyin last time, she considered it a great humiliation and had been looking for an opportunity to get revenge.

As the sacrifice ceremony was about to end.

Song Qingzhi had a flash of inspiration and suddenly shouted, “Ning Wanyin, why did you push me…”

As she spoke, her body leaned back and fell, rolling down the layers of white jade steps.

She landed directly in front of the low-ranking concubines at the foot of the sacrificial platform.

“Consort Song!” The concubines were kneeling and paying their respects when they suddenly saw Consort Song fall from the platform.

“It hurts…” Song Qingzhi clutched her stomach, her face pale.

She didn’t understand why her stomach hurt from the fall.

A large amount of blood flowed from her body, staining her moon-white dress crimson.

Ning Wanyin on the platform was also stunned.

She had noticed Song Qingzhi beside her watching her, and to prevent her from causing trouble, she was very careful not to have any contact with her.

But she didn’t expect Song Qingzhi to roll down by herself.

“Master, she seems to be bleeding…” Lianrui said in panic.

Ning Wanyin’s expression didn’t change, but a layer of gloominess appeared in her eyes. So much blood, the situation was not good…

Concubine Shu and the others were all dumbfounded and quickly went to call for the imperial physician.

The sacrifice was interrupted.

Everyone dared not touch Song Qingzhi, they didn’t know where she was injured…

Soon, the imperial physician rushed over, took her pulse, and knelt down to apologize:

“Consort Song has miscarried…”

As soon as these words were spoken, all the concubines were shocked.

The most shocked was Song Qingzhi, “What did you say? I… I was pregnant?”

“Consort Song, you were one month pregnant, and the dragon fetus could not be saved…” The imperial physician said tremblingly.

Song Qingzhi was both shocked and regretful, tears streaming down her face, “My child…”

Her menstrual cycle had always been irregular.

This time it was delayed for a few days, and she didn’t think much of it. She didn’t expect to be pregnant…

If she had known, she would never have deliberately fallen!

She had only wanted to get hurt a little, to make the emperor feel sorry for her and dislike Ning Wanyin, but she didn’t expect to lose her child…

“Consort Song, you seemed to shout that Consort Ning pushed you down?” Consort Cen’s eyes were also filled with surprise, and she reminded her in time.

They had tried everything to deal with Ning Wanyin, but Ning Wanyin always managed to break the situation.

This time…

It was a pleasant surprise.

“It was you… you pushed me…” Song Qingzhi pointed at Ning Wanyin, her eyes filled with resentment.

If Ning Wanyin hadn’t been so bullying, she wouldn’t have chosen to fall, and her child wouldn’t have been lost.

It was all Ning Wanyin’s fault!

The eunuch chanted, “His Majesty has arrived!”

The emperor’s entourage came from the Qianxin Palace, and the concubines bowed.

“Your Majesty, Consort Song fell from the sacrificial platform, resulting in a miscarriage. She claims that Consort Ning pushed her down.” Concubine Shu reported.

Helian Qi’s gaze swept over Song Qingzhi, who was covered in blood,

Song Qingzhi ultimately looked towards Ning Wanyin.

“I didn’t touch Consort Song in the slightest; she fell down by herself,” Ning Wanyin replied candidly while looking at Helian Qi.

Mei Ren Xue sneered, “Could it be that Consort Song intentionally harmed herself? I believe that Consort Ning is jealous of Consort Song’s pregnancy and deliberately tried to harm her!”

“I had no knowledge of Consort Song’s pregnancy,” Ning Wanyin clarified.

“Whether you knew or not, only Consort Ning knows in her heart,” Cen Jiejue chimed in.

The Xue and Cen families joined forces to deal with Ning Wanyin.

“I can testify that Consort Song fell by herself. I saw it with my own eyes—” Unexpectedly, Zhuang Fei suddenly spoke up.

All the concubines looked at Zhuang Fei in surprise.

“I had just finished offering incense to the God of Agriculture and came out, and I clearly saw Consort Song fall from the high platform. Consort Ning didn’t reach out or touch her at all,” Zhuang Fei stated directly.

She and Shu Fei had offered incense on behalf of the concubines.

Coming out of the temple, they were facing towards Ning Wanyin and the others.

All the concubines were bowing their heads in reverence, so it was quite obvious whether Ning Wanyin had touched Consort Song.

Song Qingzhi felt a jolt of panic—she didn’t expect there to be a witness.

But before she could speak, Cen Jiejue had already rebutted:

“Zhuang Fei, you once received help from Consort Ning. Now you wish to help Consort Ning, and everyone can understand that. However, this matter concerns the royal heir; it is of great importance. Zhuang Fei, please do not let personal feelings interfere.”

Zhuang Fei’s eyes turned cold, and she retorted angrily, “Do you think I would lie because of a life-saving grace?”

“Zhuang Fei and Shu Fei came out together. Did Shu Fei see anything?” Cen Jiejue asked.

Shu Fei wore a guilty expression, “I was focused on the sacrificial ceremony and didn’t pay attention to this matter… I wonder if any other sisters in the harem saw this scene?”

Of course, she had seen everything clearly, just like Zhuang Fei.

But why would she testify for Ning Wanyin?

Certainly, she wouldn’t come forward to give false evidence to avoid getting implicated herself.

As soon as these words were spoken, the other concubines exchanged glances.

What happened in that moment was too swift; everyone was occupied with the sacrificial rites, ensuring they wouldn’t make mistakes. Who would deliberately look around to see what others were doing?

But after Shu Fei spoke, several clever concubines stepped forward.

“I saw it just now; it was Consort Ning who pushed Consort Song,” Zhang Zhaoyi said as she took a step forward.

Tang Miaoling, although she hadn’t seen anything, noticed Zhuang Fei coming forward to testify and didn’t want to be left behind, immediately declaring, “Your Majesty, I clearly saw that Consort Song fell by herself!”

One of the concubines from the Xue faction stepped forward, “Your Majesty, it was Consort Ning who pushed Consort Song!”

“It was Consort Song who fell by herself!” Wei Yingya countered. She hadn’t seen anything, but whatever the main character did, she would follow suit!

The situation became a bit strange.

For the same incident, two groups of witnesses emerged. The Xue and Cen factions had a total of four concubines come forward to accuse Ning Wanyin of pushing Song Qingzhi.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Fei, Tang Miaoling, and Wei Yingya testified that Consort Song had fallen by herself.

Both sides held their ground.

Seeing this scene, Song Qingzhi’s tears streamed down her face, “Your Majesty, they are all friends of Consort Ning and will naturally help her. But would I harm my own child just to frame her? I would never sink to such a level!”

Helian Qi’s expression was complex, his eyes obscure.

Song Qingzhi had no need to sacrifice a child just to frame Ning Wanyin.

But to say that Ning Wanyin would do such a thing, he also felt it was a bit off.

“Come, take Consort Song back to the palace for proper care. Consort Ning shall be placed under house arrest for the time being. I will investigate this matter thoroughly before making a decision,” Helian Qi said in a deep voice.