Chapter 244: Taking Advantage of the Situation

The palace maid who came to deliver the letter saw Wen Li'er was about to stand up, but after reading the letter she actually sat back down.

She couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Could it be that the Imperial Concubine discovered something?

She showed no sign of it and respectfully reminded, "Royal Concubine, the Emperor is already waiting for you at Plum Fragrance Pavilion. He said he has prepared a surprise for you."

Meixiang Pavilion is a small pavilion built specifically for viewing plum blossoms. It is located in a quiet place where Hanyuan Hall and the Imperial Garden intersect, not far from here.

Wen Li'er said, "I haven't had my meal yet. I need to eat something first."

The palace maid hurriedly said, "The emperor ordered the palace maids to prepare a meal in Meixiang Pavilion."

When Wen Li'er heard this, her eyes lit up instantly.

"What the Emperor prepares must be better than what's on the table."

Although she said this, she still sat there motionless.

The maid was about to urge him on, but Wen Li'er looked up at her first: "Which palace are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?"

The maid hurriedly replied, "I am a maid on duty in Hanyuan Palace, my name is Qianhong. When His Majesty was about to send for the Empress, I happened to be passing by the Plum Fragrance Pavilion. Eunuch Yong, who was standing by His Majesty's side, then arranged for me to come and fetch the Empress."

Wen Li'er nodded: "In that case, I will go with you."

Qianhong bowed and led the way.

Wen Li'er followed leisurely behind.

She was accompanied by Qingmei Qingzhu and Huazhan Qiulu.

Only a small number of people in Bixi Palace knew about the martial arts competition between Hua Zhan and Qiu Lu.

Qianhong, even Princess Taiping and the Queen, probably didn't know about this.

Just as Wen Li'er was thinking about the feasibility of having Hua Zhan and Qiu Lu knock the man out halfway, a shout came from behind.

"Sister Wen."

Wen Li'er turned her head to look.

Lin Fujia was seen walking towards her quickly, holding up the hem of her skirt, and beside her was the graceful Wen Wanqin.

The two of them lived in the same palace together and seemed to have a very good relationship.

Wen Li'er couldn't help but think of what the emperor had told her before, that Wen Wanqin was trustworthy.

She couldn't help but look up at Wen Wanqin.

Wen Wanqin was also looking at her. With a meaningful look in her eyes, she bowed to her and said, "The hall is crowded and the air is thin. I called Lin Xiuyi out for some fresh air. I wonder where the Imperial Concubine is going? Could you take Lin Xiuyi and me for a walk?"

As soon as she said this, Lin Fujia looked at Wen Wanqin in surprise.

It would not be surprising for her to say this. After all, everyone in the palace knew that she, Lin Fujia, was on good terms with the Imperial Concubine.

But Wen Wanqin had almost no interaction with Wen Li'er. Even when they met during greetings, they would not chat for a moment.

We suddenly made an appointment to go for a walk together, but I always felt something was strange.

Wen Li'er suddenly realized that Wen Wanqin was worried that she had been tricked, so she deliberately called Lin Fujia out to catch up with her.

She also noticed the flash of anxiety in Qianhong's eyes, so she smiled and said, "I can't go out with my two sisters today. The emperor asked me to go to Meixiang Pavilion to appreciate the plum blossoms. I will be ready to go now."

She didn't know what conspiracy was going on over there, and she didn't dare to rashly involve Lin Fujia.

Wen Wanqin had just taken the initiative to ask questions, obviously wanting to know an address.

After Wen Li'er finished talking about Meixiang Pavilion, she noticed that Wen Wanqin's hand, which was originally placed on her waist, naturally dropped down, and she casually spread out her five fingers and then put them back to her waist.

She resisted the urge to turn around and look.

Wen Li'er had seen Zhang Sicheng make a similar gesture before, so she asked the emperor curiously.

The emperor said that this was a gesture to convey orders to the secret guards.

Then the secret guards would communicate with each other through gestures or actions, all of which were trained in advance.

It turns out that Wen Wanqin actually has secret guards around her, and she also knows how to pass messages to the secret guards. She is really amazing.

Just as Wen Li'er was lost in thought, Wen Wanqin spoke again.

"Since the Imperial Noble Consort has already made an appointment with the Emperor, I can only make an appointment with her next time."

Wen Li'er nodded and continued walking towards Meixiang Pavilion with Qianhong.

Lin Fujia bit her lip and wanted to follow.

"Sister Wen, I..."

But before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Wen Wanqin.

"Lin Xiuyi, I know there's a beautiful plum blossom spot on the west side of the Imperial Garden. Why don't we go take a look together?"

Lin Fujia looked at Wen Li'er's back as she walked away, and then met Wen Wanqin's smiling eyes, and a surge of anger rose in her heart.

But she forced herself to hold it back, pressed her solar plexus point, and apologized, "Sister Wen, maybe it's because of the wine I just drank, my head hurts a bit right now. I plan to go back and rest first. I won't be appreciating the plum blossoms with Sister Wen today."

Wen Wanqin nodded: "Lin Xiuyi is not feeling well, so she needs to lie down and rest. In this case, we can only make an appointment for next time."

Lin Fujia said goodbye to her and slowly left with the support of her maids Zixiu and Zixin.

Wen Wanqin looked at her back and frowned slightly.

She looked at her personal maid Su Jin and said, "Go and drag her away yourself. Don't let her do anything bad."

Su Jin agreed and went in the direction Lin Fujia left.

Wen Wanqin looked at Su Yi again and asked, "Have you arranged for the palace maids to deliver the message?"

Su Yi nodded: "Master, don't worry, everything has been arranged."

Wen Wanqin then looked in the direction where Wen Li'er left.

She was worried that Wen Li'er didn't notice the problem with the palace maid, so she hurriedly chased after her.

But judging from Wen Li'er's expression just now, she had already seen it.

In Wen Wanqin's view, Wen Li'er is the dodder that grows clinging to the emperor.

She is weak and has a very kind nature.

If it weren't for the emperor's protection, I wouldn't have been able to survive in the palace for so many years.

Today, Wen Li'er was able to take advantage of the situation and follow the palace maid to find out what was going on, which changed Wen Wanqin's opinion of her.

Regardless of whether you have the ability to protect yourself, courage is commendable.

The emperor said that the two palace maids beside Wen Li'er were top-notch masters, and there were many secret guards protecting them in the dark.

I think nothing will happen.

But Wen Wanqin thought that she needed to make this fire burn more vigorously. If she could deal with these concubines in the harem early, she might be able to leave the palace earlier.

After thinking for a moment, she whispered a few words into Su Yi's ear.

Su Yi looked at her in disbelief and felt a little anxious.

"Master, wouldn't this be too disrespectful to the Emperor? What if the Emperor blames you?"

Wen Wanqin shook her head and said, "You don't have to worry. The more the emperor's reputation is damaged, the less likely those ministers will dare to resist him when he is furious."

Su Yi thought about it and felt that what her master said seemed to make some sense.

She replied "yes" and hurried downstairs.

Wen Wanqin returned to the main hall and glanced at the seats for the concubines in the harem.

The remaining ones are Chen Yian, Liao Mingzhu, Cui Xiuyuan and two concubines.

Wen Wanqin lowered her eyes and looked at the teacup on the dining table in front of her, and sighed with regret in her heart.

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