Chapter 144 The Storm Begins in the Harem

On the second day of the New Year's banquet, Consort Wan, who seemed to have been forgotten by the Emperor, suddenly gained favor and served him in bed for three consecutive days. A stream of rewards was sent to Zhongcui Palace, a scene reminiscent of Consort Hui a while ago.

Those in the palace couldn't help but sigh, no wonder the two got along so well; even the reasons for their favor were remarkably similar. Consort Hui met the Emperor by chance while admiring chrysanthemums in the greenhouse. Consort Wan, on the other hand, fell in love with the Emperor at first sight while admiring plum blossoms in the Yimei Garden on the night of the New Year's banquet.

With such news, who wouldn't be envious or jealous?

"Bang!"

"Zhen Huan, what a wonderful Zhen Huan!"

Rou was furious and smashed the broken pieces all over the floor. Looking at Cao Qinmo, who was sitting calmly in the chair, she couldn't help but ask, "Is this the good idea you came up with?"

Cao Qinmo glanced at Rouze, whose beauty was still undeniable even with a ferocious expression, and couldn't help but feel her eyes dim slightly. If she had even a fraction of Rouze's charm, why would she need to cooperate with her?

"Sister, don't panic. The most important thing right now is to find out whether Zhen Huan's encounter was truly a coincidence, or whether she knew about our plan in advance."

"We still need Rouze right now," Cao Qinmo suppressed her irritation and gently soothed her. In order not to touch Rouze's sensitive nerves, she called her by her given name, Zhen Huan, and never mentioned her title.

"You mean there's a mole on my team?"

Rou's expression changed, and her gaze suddenly fell on Xuewen standing beside her. Xuewen immediately knelt down, "My lady, this servant will not betray you."

"Of course it wouldn't be you." Rouze calmed down and knew it couldn't be Xuewen. After all, following the exposure of her scheme against Nian Shilan, all the people Rouze used were people whose lives and fortunes were in her hands. Xuewen's entire family was with the Ulanara family, so naturally they wouldn't betray her.

“It certainly wouldn’t be Miss Xuewen, but although there aren’t many people involved in this matter, there are still quite a few. I still need you to investigate carefully, sister.”

The idea of ​​dancing in the Plum Garden was Cao Qinmo's suggestion to Rouze. She designed everything for Rouze, from the atmosphere and costumes to her makeup, including Rouze's coy response after bumping into the Emperor. Cao Qinmo taught her every word. The goal was to make Rouze stand out from the crowd by surprise.

Unfortunately, Cao Qinmo entered the manor too late and was unaware of the details of Rouze's arrival; otherwise, she wouldn't have arranged this stunning dance. Rouze, too, seemed to have completely forgotten, or perhaps embellished, her encounter with Yinzhen, and didn't tell Cao Qinmo either.

Cao Qinmo was completely baffled and could only guess that Zhen Huan was one step ahead.

However, while the idea originated with Cao Qinmo, Rouze arranged the specific implementation. Even a broken ship has three thousand nails; the Ulanara clan still has some connections within the palace. Therefore, Cao Qinmo could sit here without any panic and raise this question.

“I will naturally investigate,” Rouze frowned. After all, this was the first time she had used the palace’s spies, and she couldn’t be sure if there would be any problems. “However, does my sister have any other ideas to help me?”

Looking at Rouze's face, which resembled Zhen Huan's but possessed a delicate charm, Cao Qinmo's eyes flashed: "Sister, don't panic, listen to me..."

In Zhongcui Palace, after seeing off the steward from the Imperial Household Department who came to apologize, Huanbi smugly approached Zhen Huan and said, "Those scoundrels from the Imperial Household Department are truly sycophantic. Seeing that Your Highness is favored, they came over to apologize like crazy."

“That’s right, if only we had known this would happen.” Liu Zhu, standing to the side, echoed his indignation, while directing Xiao Xuzi to pack up the things sent by the Imperial Household Department.

"Alright, there are plenty of opportunists in the palace, why bother arguing with them?" Zhen Huan smiled faintly, a touch of shyness appearing on her originally aloof face due to Yinzhen's favor, making her even more charming.

“Your Highness is right. The Emperor dotes on you, so naturally they wouldn’t dare to offend you again.” Liu Zhu nodded, in any case, her Highness was right.

Huanbi, standing to the side, looked at the cloud-mist silk on the table with a hint of envy. "If you ask me, the Emperor dotes on you the most. He even bestowed this unique piece of cloud-mist silk upon you. Even Consort Hua and Consort Hui don't have this."

Zhen Huan gave Huan Bi a reproachful look, "Alright, stop talking."

She touched the soft, precious cloud-like silk and smiled sweetly. Sure enough, as long as she seized the opportunity, she was sure to gain favor. Speaking of which, she still had to thank Consort Wan.

Zhen Huan's thoughts drifted away. Because she had been inexplicably targeted by the Imperial Household Department some time ago, she suspected that someone was deliberately trying to harm her. The first person she thought of was Rouze, so she kept a close eye on Rouze's actions.

Actually, she hadn't noticed anything until the New Year's banquet started. But by sheer coincidence, because she was bored and left early, she overheard a few scattered conversations between two palace maids.

As luck would have it, because Zhen Huan had been keeping an eye on Rou Ze, she recognized one of the palace maids as being from Rou Ze's palace. In addition, from the snippets of conversation she overheard, she heard words like "Emperor" and "Yimei Garden," and Zhen Huan boldly guessed that Rou Ze was trying to gain the Emperor's favor.

At that moment, Zhen Huan's heart pounded. Unwilling to settle for mediocrity, she made a bold decision: she would seize the opportunity presented by Rou Ze to rise to the top.

So, after returning to Zhongcui Palace, Zhen Huan made an excuse to go out for a stroll by herself, without taking anyone with her. After all, it was just speculation, and since it involved other people's schemes, the fewer people who knew, the better. However, before leaving, she inexplicably took with her the small portrait of herself that Xiao Yunzi had cut out.

Arriving at Yimei Garden with trepidation, Zhen Huan waited quietly for every second. When she saw Rou Ze actually appear and begin to dance, Zhen Huan felt half relieved.

She quietly strolled among the dense plum trees, making sure no one would notice her. When she heard footsteps that clearly belonged to a man, she hung the small red portrait on a branch and began to pray.

"If the headwind understands my heart, it will not easily destroy me."

Everything was proceeding as she had imagined. She remained veiled, leaving behind a portrait and a poem with some errors. She then disguised herself as a palace maid and made her exit, contrasting with Rouze's deliberate "chance encounter." Zhen Huan was confident that she could win the Emperor's heart the next time they met.

But just as she was leaving, her leg suddenly ached and she tripped and fell. And then, of all times, Prince Guo jumped out to mock her. Fortunately, although the plan didn't quite work out, the ending was still perfect; the Emperor was even more considerate than she had imagined, and he even won her heart.

No wonder Sister Mei couldn't stop smiling whenever the Emperor was mentioned. Thinking of Shen Meizhuang, Zhen Huan suddenly felt a pang of sadness, wondering who was more important to the Emperor, her or Sister Mei?

...

"You little brat, I told you not to be lazy, I told you not to be lazy..."

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I didn't mean it."

"It wasn't intentional. I asked you to pick plum blossoms during the New Year, but you didn't. And you dared to do it a second time."

"No, I didn't. I went to the Plum Blossom Garden..."

"Still lying? Where did you go to Meihua?"

"Plum blossoms, plum blossoms..."

"What excuse are you coming up with while stammering? It's just laziness..."

"No, no..."

In a secluded corner, a simply dressed concubine, holding her maid's hand, quietly watched the scene of the old woman beating and scolding the young palace maid. Upon hearing a familiar word, she slightly raised her eyes, looked at the young palace maid's hesitant expression, and softly instructed, "Find a way to get that young palace maid back."

"Yes, my lord."