mesbooks Chapter 281 The Farmer and the Snake
Chapter 281 The Farmer and the Snake
"Someone deliberately let this person climb up the ginkgo tree. When I climbed up the tree, I didn't notice there was another person on the tree. I might have been frightened and fell down. Someone wanted to kill the dragon baby in my belly!"
Concubine Bai's words perfectly portrayed herself as the victim, but Luo Xiaoran's situation became very embarrassing.
After all, no matter whether Luo Xiaoran appeared on the ginkgo tree voluntarily or passively, she became the reason why Concubine Bai was frightened. If the royal heir was injured because of this, she would become the unlucky person who had to bear all the consequences in the end.
Thinking of this, Luo Xiaoran's heart tightened. Could this be the plan of the person behind the scenes?
On second thought, I felt something was wrong.
She, Luo Xiaoran, is just a small landlord in Hexi Village. If someone really wants to harm her, he can use any method. He has to go to such a big trouble and even involve the emperor and the imperial concubine.
So, she is just a supporting role, and the real protagonist should be... Luo Xiaoran glanced at Concubine Bai's belly inconspicuously.
No way? The person behind this plot to murder the heir to the throne in a Buddhist temple must be very filthy!
However, these have nothing to do with her. Luo Xiaoran frowned and threw away those messy thoughts.
"Your Majesty, I really just came here to look for my brother. As for saving the Imperial Concubine by chance, that was my duty as a citizen of Daliang. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me for disturbing your majesty for this matter."
The old dog An Luhai was standing next to her, and he slandered her as an assassin as soon as he opened his mouth. Luo Xiaoran directly took out the contents of the note to explain.
However, there was no way to escape the charge of "disturbing the Holy Emperor". Rather than being called out by An Luhai later, it would be better for him to admit it now and just get away with it safely.
Emperor Tianqi looked Luo Xiaoran up and down, and didn't say "yes" or "no".
However, his long gaze aroused the jealousy of Concubine Bai, because Concubine Bai found that Luo Xiaoran in front of her was very good-looking!
"Although you saved me, for the sake of the emperor's safety, I have to speak my mind: this note cannot prove that you are not an assassin."
Luo Xiaoran: ...Holding a snake in my hand easily reminds people of a story called "The Farmer and the Snake"!
Concubine Bai, you are definitely repaying kindness with enmity!
"If I were an assassin, I would not have risked being exposed to save you when you fell from the tree just now."
After using the most gentle tone to criticize the ungrateful Concubine Bai, Luo Xiaoran looked at Emperor Tianqi again:
"When Your Majesty looked up at the century-old ginkgo tree just now, did you notice me?"
Luo Xiaoran's implication was obvious. You didn't even notice me. I could have just stayed hidden. How could I have saved someone by mistake?
"How dare you! You actually ask the Emperor!"
An Luhai jumped out and barked again. Luo Xiaoran could no longer bear it and glared at him.
"Master An, you have such great authority! The emperor has not even opened his mouth to blame me, but you have jumped out to scold me time and again. Do you think I was wrong when I saved the imperial concubine and you, who was careless?"
Although she saved Concubine Bai with the original intention of helping Chen Ji solve his troubles, she also saved the old man An Luhai, which made Luo Xiaoran very unhappy.
Luo Xiaoran was so sarcastic that An Luhai was choked and speechless.
Luo Xiaoran was right. If Concubine Bai had really fallen from the tree and had a miscarriage, he, as an accompanying official, would not be able to avoid the crime of negligence.
But Princess Qingyi said she would protect herself. Her original words were:
"I know Concubine Bai. She believes in these strange and supernatural things the most. She must want to hang up a marriage card...
You have already reminded her not to hang herself, but she insisted on doing so and even fell from the tree and hurt the royal heir. What does this have to do with you?
Even if the emperor is angry with you, based on your reputation as an official in Fuyuan over the years, the emperor will not really kill you without my help.
Yesterday, the Emperor praised me for the excellent official road you built between Yizhou and Fuyuan County, which is better than all the official roads he saw on his way north. It is obvious that the Emperor admires you.
Besides, I will not really ignore you. When the storm has passed, you can come to Kyoto and never return to this poor place in the north. Isn't that wonderful?"
Luo Xiaoran's attitude was frank and neither humble nor arrogant, and her words and actions were well-reasoned and irrefutable. For a moment, no one present spoke again.
After a long time, the voice of Emperor Tianqi finally sounded, and he asked with some inexplicable interest:
"I didn't see you under the tree, but the imperial concubine climbed up the tree to hang the marriage sign. If you hadn't scared the imperial concubine, why would she fall off the ladder?"
After hearing Emperor Tianqi's question, Luo Xiaoran still looked at Concubine Bai with a one in ten thousand chance of success, but this girl didn't even bother to explain for her.
A hint of hidden sarcasm flashed across Luo Xiaoran's eyes. She raised the dead snake in her hand and said to Emperor Tianqi:
“Your Majesty, please look, the Imperial Concubine was frightened by the green bamboo snake and fell down, not because she saw me.
Just now when I rescued the imperial concubine, I smelled a strange smell on her body. This smell should attract snakes.
If someone puts a poisonous snake on the ginkgo tree in advance, the snake will be attracted by the smell of the imperial concubine, and at the very least, it will scare the imperial concubine and make her fall off the tree, or at worst, it will bite her. This is a bamboo leaf viper, which is extremely poisonous and cannot be cured by medicine or stone."
"Oh?" Emperor Tianqi looked at Concubine Bai, "My beloved concubine, were you frightened by this bamboo leaf green snake? Or by this woman?"
Concubine Bai was in a very conflicted mood at the moment. On the one hand, she hated Luo Xiaoran, the little girl who attracted the emperor's attention. If the little girl was frightened by Luo Xiaoran, she would most likely die and would not hook up with the emperor.
On the other hand, if she really did that, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.
Seeing the hesitation on Concubine Bai's face, Luo Xiaoran had a bad feeling in her heart, so she quickly added:
"If the Imperial Concubine was frightened by me, then there is no need for me to save her.
To be frank, given the height of the queen at that time, although she would not be seriously injured, she would most likely injure the dragon heir and cause heavy bleeding and fainting. As long as the common woman stayed in the tree, she would not be discovered. "
"But this is just your one-sided statement." Emperor Tianqi still refused to give in, with an unknown smile on his face.
Luo Xiaoran also laughed, "Let me say something disrespectful. The Imperial Concubine said that she was frightened by the snake or by me. Isn't that just one-sided?"
"How dare you!" Concubine Bai scolded Luo Xiaoran, "Who do you think you are? How dare you compare yourself with me? I am..."
"what happened?"