"And...and by the way, have the Third Prince copy the palace rules ten times."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go immediately."

He turned his gaze back to the little dumpling, pinched its ears, and poked its cheeks. The little dumpling stared at him with wide eyes.

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An old woman, hunched over, squinting, grinning, and with her hands tucked in, walked towards a woman in the snow.

"Your Majesty has a brilliant plan. You know that the Empress has become even more favored after giving birth to the little princess."

"It's also possible that someone in the Pear Garden is unhappy seeing the Empress gain favor."

"We anticipated that he would make a move, so we sent our people to guard the opera house early on, just in time to fan the flames when he started to get anxious."

"Even the scheme to poison the Empress and the little princess and frame Consort Shu was devised by Your Highness."

"Alright, how did things go?"

The woman in the snow felt it was still too cold, so she led the old woman toward the house.

"Everything is exactly as Your Majesty expected."

"After Consort Hui poisoned the Empress, she hid the poison under a locust tree in Consort Shu's palace, where it was found by His Majesty's men."

"Consort Hui still dared to dream of raising the little princess, but she slipped up in front of His Majesty and was imprisoned in the Dali Temple, where she is to be beheaded tomorrow."

"Where is that servant?" the woman asked, stroking the peony in her hand.

"Consort Hui's men dealt with that servant before we could."

"The Marquis wrote that Your Highness has done a very good job of killing two birds with one stone, and warned you to be careful these days so as not to give yourself away."

His master paused for a moment, then spoke again.

"This little princess is incredibly lucky."

"What does it matter? His Majesty will probably find a new mother for the little princess. If Your Majesty treats the little princess well, His Majesty will simply entrust the little princess to Your Majesty's care. Wouldn't His Majesty then stop coming to Your Majesty's palace?"

The woman didn't answer the old woman's question, but instead asked her a question.

What do you think of this pot of Yao Huang Peony?

"These peony blossoms are indeed extremely beautiful, but without Your Majesty's meticulous care, they wouldn't have survived this winter."

"This pot of Yao Huang peonies was sent by the Empress to me last year for my birthday."

After saying that, he used scissors to cut off the flowers that were in full bloom.

"What do you think?"

"What a pity for this pot of Yao Huang peonies. Only this one bloom was so beautiful, and now I'm afraid there aren't any left."

"This flower has faded, and the remaining flowers in the pot are insignificant, which makes the potted climbing rose stand out."

"Throw away this pot of peony; the palace only needs climbing roses to bloom beautifully."

"Your Majesty is right. Only climbing roses are needed in this palace. This servant will throw away this peony immediately."

The old woman picked up the peony, left the room, went to a side path, and threw away the Yao Huang peony she was holding.

With a loud "bang," the sound of the flowerpot shattering was all the more distinct in this vast, colorless white world.

Hall of Mental Cultivation

After Qin Jue coaxed the little dumpling to sleep, he went to his desk.

Xuan paper was laid out on the table, and a brush was dipped in ink to begin writing characters on the Xuan paper.

"Yu Ying, what's your opinion on this?"

"I believe there's someone else behind this," Yu Ying said, standing at the desk watching Qin Jue write.

"I have said that you do not need to refer to yourself as your subordinate when no one is around."

"yes"

"Consort Hui has someone behind her; otherwise, a fool like Consort Hui wouldn't have done something that killed two birds with one stone."

"Does Your Majesty have anyone you suspect?"

As he finished speaking, Qin Jue handed the Xuan paper to Yu Ying.

Yu Ying took the Xuan paper and saw a large "定" (ding, meaning "determined") character on it. She immediately had a candidate in mind.

"Give them something to do, and while you're at it, send some things to that old dog from the Tang Dynasty."

"Okay, I'll go right away." After agreeing, Yu Ying disappeared into the Hall of Mental Cultivation in a flash.