Lanqin walked to the main seat and sat down. The maids all gathered around and asked anxiously, "How could this happen?"

Lanqin didn't speak, so they turned to Baoqin and asked.

"Sister Baoqin, what exactly happened?"

Baoqin glared at them and said, "It's all because of that voodoo doll you made! How can you not even do such a small thing right! You almost exposed Her Majesty!"

The maids were puzzled and quickly asked, "Sister Baoqin, what do you mean by that? What's wrong with the voodoo doll?"

Baoqin sighed and said, "That voodoo doll was made of silk satin. Silk satin is a rare item, and concubines of low rank in the palace cannot use it. Fucha was one of them."

Several maids covered their mouths in surprise. One of them, Chunyu, stepped forward, knelt at Lanqin's feet, and said with a face full of shame, "Your Highness, it's all my fault. I made that voodoo doll. I was careless and used silk satin, which not only ruined Your Highness's plan but also almost harmed you."

After saying this, she kowtowed heavily to Lanqin, her voice trembling with sorrow, and said, "Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Lanqin said calmly, "I don't blame you. It was an unintentional mistake. Get up."

Lanqin gestured to Baoqin to help Chunyu up. Lanqin then said to the maids, "Today's plan was supposed to eliminate the Fucha clan in one fell swoop, but unexpectedly, the Empress appeared halfway through. If it weren't for the Empress, no one would have noticed the voodoo doll. Besides, even if the voodoo doll is harmless, I'm sure the Empress would find other reasons to pin the blame on the Fucha clan. So I don't blame you. Actually, I should blame myself. How could I not have thought that without anyone's support, the Fucha clan would have dared to poison Consort Nian?"

Another maid, Jin Nian, asked, "Does Your Highness mean that the Empress and Lady Fucha poisoned Consort Nian together?"

Lanqin shook her head and said, "Based on my understanding of the Empress, she wouldn't directly poison Consort Nian. It's more likely that she instructed Lady Fucha to do it, because that way, even if the matter comes to light, as long as she denies it, since she is the Empress, no one can do anything to her."

Baoqin was indignant and snorted coldly, saying, "The worst person in this palace is the Empress. All she does is stir up trouble among the concubines all day long. I think she would be happy if the harem was in chaos!"

"Baoqin," Lanqin interrupted Baoqin, "She is the Empress. Even if you can't stand her, you can't say it out loud. Be careful, the walls may have ears."

Baoqin lowered her head and said, "This servant knows she was wrong and will not dare to do it again."

Jin Nian advised, "Your Majesty, Sister Baoqin is straightforward, please don't mind her. I know Your Majesty is anxious, but we need to plan our approach to dealing with Empress Fucha and the Empress more carefully."

Lanqin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I understand everything you've said." She raised her hand and said to Baoqin, "Baoqin, help me back to bed to rest for a while. I'm tired today."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Baoqin took Lanqin's hand and led her into the inner room.

Just then, a eunuch's voice came from outside the palace, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Lanqin stopped abruptly as she walked towards the inner room. Why was the Emperor here? Had someone told her what had happened today?

Seeing that Lanqin was stunned, Baoqin called out, "Your Highness, Your Highness."

Lanqin snapped out of her daze, turned around and walked out of the palace to prepare to greet the Fourth Prince.