"Lan'er, get up quickly. Whatever it is, I will take care of it for you," Huang Taiji said, helping Hailanzhu up.

“Your Majesty…” Hailanzhu slowly rose, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Huang Taiji, unable to utter a single word.

She did this on purpose, wanting Yunxian to see that Huang Taiji only had eyes for her, and to infuriate Yunxian. She secretly glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, and sure enough, Yunxian not only had a pained expression, but also a jealous look in her eyes.

Huang Taiji thought she was being bullied by everyone, and glared at them fiercely. "Who exactly bullied Consort Chen? Admit your mistakes now, and I will not pursue the matter. If you insist on hiding it, and I find out, you will all be implicated."

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and unconsciously took a step back, afraid of angering Huang Taiji.

At this moment, Hailanzhu choked up and said, "It has nothing to do with my sisters. Someone is trying to harm me in secret."

Huang Taiji was shocked and trembled all over. "Who? Tell me quickly."

Hailanzhu pointed to the broken chair, "The cuts on this chair are clean; it's obvious that someone tampered with it."

Huang Taiji looked at her and saw that it was indeed as she had said.

Hailanzhu continued, "That seat was originally meant for me, but since Sister Yunxian came, I gave it to her. After all, she was Your Majesty's principal wife, and my aunt and I dared not neglect her. It was the best seat for her."

After she finished speaking, she glanced back at Zhe Zhe secretly.

Zhe Zhe understood and immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right, that's why I didn't stop Lan'er from giving this position to Yunxian."

With the aunt and niece working together and no one daring to object, Yunxian could only swallow her grievances.

"If it weren't for this twist of fate, it would be me who is injured right now." Hailanzhu tugged at Huang Taiji's sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, someone wanted to harm me. If it weren't for Sister Yunxian protecting me, I'm afraid..."

After saying that, her tears fell again, just like the modern-day term "green tea" (a derogatory term for a manipulative woman).

She seemed to be expressing her gratitude, but in reality, she was just being polite. If it were Da Yu'er who was injured, she would have summoned the imperial physician long ago. Why would she have made Yunxian stand there for so long without offering any advice?

Hailanzhu remained silent, and Zhe Zhe didn't mention it either, so naturally the other concubines didn't dare to bring it up. Only Sang'er showed an anxious expression, but her current status was just that of a lowly palace maid, so how could she dare to interfere in her masters' affairs?

Huang Taiji turned to look at Yunxian, nodded symbolically, and then said to Hailanzhu with concern, "Don't worry, I will take care of things for you."

“Mmm…” Hailanzhu looked at him gratefully.

"Guards, investigate for me. Don't let even a single hair escape your notice," Huang Taiji ordered.

"Your servant obeys the decree."

The eunuchs and guards received their orders and withdrew.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After standing for a long time, Yunxian could no longer bear it and let out cries of pain. Huang Taiji came to his senses and then summoned the imperial physician.

Perhaps because Yunxian had too much fat on her buttocks, the imperial physician examined her pulse and found it was just a superficial injury, not affecting her bones or muscles. He applied some wound medicine to her side and that was it.

After relieving her pain, Yunxian stepped out of the side hall and said to Huang Taiji, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Huang Taiji nodded slightly.

Suddenly a soprano voice rang out, accompanied by a mocking tone: "Having a big butt is really good; not only can you give birth to a son, but you can also save your life."

Hailanzhu looked up at the sound and saw a woman not much older than herself. She was wearing a pink dress and had a rose in her hair. Her slender eyes were as delicate as willow leaves. Although she was quite beautiful, she paled in comparison in the colorful harem.

Only after being reminded by Qingluan beside her did Hailanzhu realize that this person was Yan Zhaqiurong.

It's not surprising that such sharp and sarcastic words came from her mouth.

When enemies meet, they will be extremely hostile. However, Yunxian is a very thoughtful person. Although she was extremely disgusted, she still smiled and said, "Fortunately, other people would not know that I am so lucky."

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Hearing this, Yan Zhaqiurong could only swallow her words and gave him a disgruntled look.

At this moment, a guard rushed in to report: "Your Majesty, I have investigated and found that the tables and chairs for the Empress's birthday banquet were all arranged by Xiao Yanzi of the Imperial Household Department."

Upon hearing that it was Xiao Yanzi, Hailanzhu's lips curled up involuntarily. She understood that since the incident was sudden, Yunxian would definitely not have time to change the plan, so Xiao Yanzi would proceed as planned, which was exactly what she wanted.

"Summon him into the palace," Huang Taiji said, flicking his sleeve.

"yes!"

A short while later, the guard brought over a slightly chubby eunuch.

"This servant greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress." Xiao Yanzi knelt down, bowing his head low.

"Do you know your crime?" Huang Taiji asked in a low voice.

"This servant is ignorant, and begs Your Majesty for clarification." Xiao Yanzi's voice trembled, and he seemed very guilty.

"Heh." Huang Taiji sneered, then threw the broken chair in front of him.

Xiao Yanzi looked up and stammered, "This...this servant doesn't know either."

Upon seeing this, Huang Taiji frowned and said, "It's best not to play dumb in front of me."

"This servant truly did not know," Xiao Yanzi kowtowed, appearing every inch the loyal man.

"Insolence!" Huang Taiji lost his patience and grabbed a teacup, slamming it hard onto Xiao Yanzi's shoulder.

Xiao Yanzi felt the pain, but dared not cry out.

Huang Taiji continued, "The break is so neat, are you still going to pretend you don't understand?"

But Xiaoyanzi shook her head and firmly denied it.

Now, Huang Taiji was even angrier. He said, "Since Xiao Yanzi insists on hiding it, then don't blame me for being impolite. Guards, take him away and let him play the pipa."

"Yes!" a guard stepped forward and said.

"Playing the pipa" is not actually playing the pipa, but one of the ten most cruel tortures. It involves pinning the prisoner to the ground, controlling their hands and feet, lifting their shirt to expose their ribs, and then forcefully plucking the ribs with a sharp knife.

Once a prisoner is subjected to this punishment, he will be unable to live or die.

Xiao Yanzi was a member of the Imperial Household Department, so he naturally knew what playing the pipa meant. He pushed away the guard who was about to take him away and knelt down in front of Hailanzhu, begging, "Your Majesty, please spare this dog's life!"

Hailanzhu smiled faintly, ignoring the puzzled looks from the crowd, and said calmly, "I don't seem to know you."

“Your Majesty…” Xiao Yanzi tugged at her sleeve, “How could you not recognize your servant? Yesterday you personally instructed your servant to move one of the chairs.”

Hailanzhu scoffed, "Do you think anyone here will believe your nonsense?"

Seeing Hailanzhu's fearless expression, Xiaoyanzi quickly took out a bag from his bosom. Upon opening it, he found it contained one hundred taels of gold.

It should be noted that even a concubine only receives one hundred taels of silver per year, so how could a mere eunuch possess so much? The reason is self-evident.