Chapter 216: Pig Teammate

"Where did this bird come from? Let me chase it out for you, Your Majesty..."

The palace maid serving outside the door heard the noise inside and hurried in. As soon as she entered, she saw the extra birds.

"No need. This palace of mine is deserted. It's fate that you happened to fly here. Go get me some water for washing."

Concubine Sun's expression changed slightly, she withdrew her smile slightly, waved her hands repeatedly, and sent the palace maid away.

There was only one person and one pigeon left in the huge hall. Sun Jieyu rubbed her temples and got out of bed to read the letter from home. However, when she finished reading, the letter fell to the ground.

She was a perceptive person. Her father's unprovoked request for cover-up clearly indicated he was digging into the national treasury. She knew her father's ambition and boldness had grown over the years, but overreaching was dangerous.

The most important thing is that she is now just a small concubine, not favored. Even if she dares to say that the missing jewelry and head ornaments are all gifts from the emperor, she needs someone to believe it.

"I think you've lost your mind, father, father, aren't you pushing me into the fire?"

Sun Jieyu bent down to pick up the letter, and her whole body looked like a dead tree that had been drained of moisture.

There was a strange noise outside the door. It was obvious that the palace maid was preparing to come back with toiletries. Concubine Sun patted the pigeon and released it back.

As for the letter paper, it was torn into pieces and thrown directly into the burning incense burner.

After a simple wash, Concubine Sun couldn't sit still anymore, so she decided to go to the Empress again for help.

Jiang Mengyuan was taking a walk in the imperial garden at the moment. When she looked up, she saw Concubine Sun leading the palace maids hurriedly heading towards her palace.

"Go and see what Concubine Sun is doing in such a hurry. I haven't seen her for a while. Call her over to talk to me."

Jiang Mengyuan casually plucked a blooming peony and sniffed it gently, feeling a little uneasy. Concubine Sun was such a reclusive person, and if she was forced to leave the palace to find him, it must be bad news...

"Sun Jieyu, my queen invites you."

After receiving Jiang Mengyuan's order, the palace maid naturally quickly blocked Sun Jieyu's way.

Recognizing the person coming from Jiang Mengyuan's personal maid, Concubine Sun's eyes lit up slightly, and she immediately followed the maid obediently and stood in front of Jiang Mengyuan. Thanks to the Queen's sharp eyes, otherwise, she would have made a wasted trip...

"Everyone, please go down. I want to talk to my sister in the pavilion."

Jiang Mengyuan looked at Concubine Sun's hesitant expression, and she took her hand considerately, and sat down together in the pavilion.

After the palace maids left, Concubine Sun repeated the contents of the family letter to the Empress like pouring beans.

"National treasury?! That's a bit too bold!"

Jiang Mengyuan had originally thought it was just a trivial matter, but after hearing the gist of it, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. However, despite her fear, she also knew clearly that Sun Youcai was just an obedient servant, and his ultimate goal was to serve the master behind the scenes.

Concubine Sun pursed her lips, lowered her head, and dared not utter a word. She knew that this time she was being a bit unreasonable. But husband and wife are birds of the same forest. The Empress is the emperor's legal wife. Even if she secretly embezzled some items from the national treasury and called them rewards, it wouldn't be too much, right?

But Jiang Mengyuan has always been a good wife, and the emperor has always advocated increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. If she agrees to what she wants, she is afraid that it will damage her image in the emperor's heart...

The two of them had their own thoughts, and Jiang Mengyuan's silence made Sun Jieyu raise her eyes a little uneasy: "Empress..."

"Don't worry, sister. If anything does happen, I'll take care of it. Life is peaceful now, so why worry about it?"

Jiang Mengyuan smiled softly and gave Concubine Sun a reassurance with just one word, but in fact she was planning in her heart that if anything went wrong, she would sell out Concubine Sun and Sun Youcai.

As long as you can pull yourself out of the quagmire with a clean record, won’t it be easy to find an obedient puppet?

The news of the two women's encounter soon reached Wen Chengfeng's ears. When he received the report from the palace secret guards, he put down the memorial and planned to go and watch the fun.

"The Emperor has arrived. Long live the Emperor..."

The palace maids guarding outside the small pavilion were the first to react, especially the Queen's maid, who had a clear voice.

Jiang Mengyuan gave Sun Jieyu a look that told her not to panic, then lowered her eyelids slightly and turned around to salute.

"I've told you countless times that this isn't necessary. You've always been weak, so please skip these formalities. This is..."

Wen Chengfeng strode forward and supported Jiang Mengyuan. He was a little annoyed by the palace maid's loud voice. She was just his wife's woman, so he didn't say much.

When his eyes caught sight of Concubine Sun, Wen Chengfeng pretended to be unfamiliar with her. After all, he seldom went to Concubine Sun's palace. It was normal that he knew that the Minister of Revenue had a daughter in the palace but did not necessarily know what she looked like.

This also further proves that he had never doubted Concubine Sun at all.

"Look at the emperor's memory. This is Miss Sun, the daughter of the Shangshu family. Counting on my fingers, she has been in the palace for quite a few years..."

Jiang Mengyuan took advantage of the situation and pulled Wen Chengfeng to sit down with her, her eyes signaling Sun Jieyu to seize the opportunity. The safest way to deal with the treasury was to actually get a reward from the emperor. After all, it was just some jewelry and headwear. As long as the man was happy, she would give it to him casually.

However, there are always some bad teammates. Sun Jieyu was feeling uneasy because of Sun Youcai's bold behavior. When she suddenly saw Wen Chengfeng, she felt mixed emotions.

She pursed her lips and smiled, wanting to pour a cup of tea for Wen Chengfeng, but ended up stumbling and spilling the tea on the table. The tea instantly flowed down the corner of the table onto Wen Chengfeng's robe.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I deserve death."

Concubine Sun fluttered to her knees at Wen Chengfeng's feet. Her voice stopped shaking as she knelt. She wished the emperor would just chop her off in anger. This would save her from living like a frightened bird because of the troubles at home.

"Sister Sun must be too nervous. Don't kneel down. The Emperor will show mercy and will not blame you."

Jiang Mengyuan's face turned dark. She cursed inwardly that she was a hopeless case, but she still had to pull herself together and clean up Sun Jieyu's mess.

Wen Chengfeng was intrigued by Concubine Sun's attitude. He let Jiang Mengyuan wipe him, but his fingertips gently lifted Concubine Sun's chin, forcing her to raise her head.

"I'm really afraid of giving birth. I look unfamiliar to you too. I'll go to your palace and spend some time with you tonight..."