Chapter 15: Imposter
"My royal brother's mind is not on chess today."
In Chengming Palace, Princess Duanrou was playing chess with Xiao Heng. However, Xiao Heng, who was always an excellent chess player, lost two games in a row.
Xiao Heng stroked the smooth jade-like chess piece and said lazily, "I haven't played chess for a long time, and my chess skills have declined. That's why I lost to my sister."
Princess Duanrou naturally didn't believe it.
Among her brothers, she had the best relationship with Xiao Heng and knew his chess skills.
Ever since Xiao Heng was raised by his mother when he was young, their relationship has been like that of siblings from the same mother. So even though Xiao Heng has become the emperor, she can often enter the palace and sit with her siblings like ordinary people, chatting about family matters.
She smiled faintly and placed a piece on the chessboard: "My royal brother cares about the empire, so he is naturally not like me who spends all day playing chess."
Xiao Heng picked up a chess piece and was about to drop it, but a green sachet accidentally slipped off.
Princess Duanrou was sharp-eyed and immediately spotted the scent sachet belonging to a girl. She smiled and said, "This scent sachet is so plain. I wonder which lady it belongs to?"
As she spoke, she reached out and picked it up, examining it carefully.
"The best thing in life is pure joy..."
"This lady is quite thoughtful...but does the emperor have a new favorite concubine?"
The most favored people in the palace now are Concubine Zhao, Concubine Yu, and Concubine Mi, but given their status and mindsets, it is impossible for them to have such a sachet.
So, she thought, it must belong to the new concubine who entered the palace.
But Xiao Heng shook his head and said, "I found it in the plum garden a few days ago. Like you, my sister, I thought it was unique and kept it."
Duan Rou's eyes flickered slightly, and she understood something. She smiled sweetly and said, "Didn't your Royal Brother look for the owner of this sachet?"
"This must be a very special woman."
Xiao Heng threw the sachet aside without much concern and said calmly, "I have seen all the concubines in the harem. They are all identical except for their appearance. There is no need to look for someone just for a sachet."
Duanrou has always been thoughtful and knows that Xiao Heng is hypocritical.
If he was really not curious about this woman, then why did he keep her sachet?
As an older sister, she was happy to do this favor.
So, she said, "My royal brother has never seen her, so how can you know that she is the same as the other concubines in the palace?"
As she spoke, she raised her red lips meaningfully: "My royal brother is not interested, but I, your royal sister, am very curious."
"How about I find her myself and see if she's any different from the concubines in the harem?"
"As long as my sister is happy, that's all that matters." He picked up the teacup beside him calmly, showing no interest in it.
Soon, the news spread to all the palaces.
The most shocked person was Concubine Yu. She stood up immediately when she heard the news.
"What? Why is Princess Duanrou looking for someone for no reason?"
"What I just learned is that Princess Duanrou found a sachet and wants to find this person and present him to the Emperor."
Concubine Yu bit her teeth lightly and said angrily, "She is just the eldest princess, and she dared to come to the harem. The emperor can just summon any concubine he likes. Why should she worry about it?"
The maid whispered, "Princess Duanrou is simply trying to please the Emperor. Don't worry, Your Majesty. We've all seen all the concubines in the palace. Even if she searches the entire palace, she won't find anyone more beautiful than you, Your Majesty."
Concubine Yu snorted coldly, "Let her do whatever she wants. I don't believe she can find another fairy."
Over the years, there have been countless newcomers in the palace, but few of them have caught the emperor's eye.
Most of them come from prominent families or are outstandingly beautiful.
In the entire palace, she was the only one who received the most favor and was the most loved by the emperor. Except for Concubine Zhao, she never took other concubines seriously and they were no match for her.
Soon, Princess Duanrou found the owner of the sachet.
That night, the moonlight was hazy, casting a cold light all over the ground.
In the Zichen Hall, Xiao Heng was flipping through the pages of a book carelessly, but his eyes were fixed on a woman not far away.
She came with a scent, carefully made up, her lower body like a lotus, her lips like red fruits, and the pearls inserted diagonally in her bun swayed as she walked with light lotus steps.
"I pay my respects to the Emperor. May the Emperor live long and well."
The sound was clear and pleasant, very nice to hear.
But Xiao Heng felt something was wrong. Although he had only caught a glimpse of her that day, the woman's demeanor was delicate and charming, and her voice should have been soft and gentle.
His eyes fell on the woman's hands, but her hands were hidden in her sleeves, and only her fair skin could be vaguely seen.
Zhou Defu, who was standing by, said, "Your Majesty, this is Consort Liu, who entered the palace in the third year of Jingyuan."
Zhou Defu looked at Xiao Heng's expression and knew that he didn't remember.
As he spoke, he presented another embroidery.
"Your Majesty, this is the sachet from Lady Liu's room."
Xiao Heng looked at the embroidery on the sachet of Liu Cairen on the tray, then glanced at the sachet he had picked up next to it. The embroidery on the two was indeed somewhat similar.
He stared at Liu Cairen's pretty face and said, "Look up."
Liu Cairen slowly raised her head, her eyebrows drooping timidly.
The moment Xiao Heng's eyes touched her red lips, he frowned slightly.
He said in a deep voice: "Is this sachet really yours?"
Lady Liu's eyelashes trembled slightly as she replied softly, "Your Majesty, this is exactly what belongs to me."
Under the flickering candlelight, Xiao Heng's expression appeared as calm as deep water.
"Do you know what the punishment for deceiving the emperor is?"
These words fell lightly into Liu Cairen's ears, frightening her so much that she trembled all over. Then she forced herself to calm down and bowed down.
"It's...it's a capital crime."
Looking at her kneeling hands, Xiao Heng became even more certain that she was not the woman in the plum garden that day.
The deep eyes turned away coldly.
"Drag it away."
Liu Cairen was struck by lightning, and looked at Xiao Heng with a pale face: "Your Majesty..."
Zhou Defu immediately understood what was going on and said to the eunuch beside him, "Hurry up and drag him away. Sentence him to death!"
When Liu Cairen heard the word "death penalty", she felt a black screen before her eyes, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
When she learned that Princess Duanrou was looking for a woman to send to the emperor, and had searched the entire palace, leaving only Zhangyuan Palace where she lived, she became interested in him after not seeing him for three years.
Later, when she saw that the embroidery was somewhat similar to her own, her desire became even more greedy. She thought that she could get away with it and gain favor in one fell swoop, but she never expected that it would directly cost her her life.
Looking at the unconscious Liu Cairen, Zhou Defu closed his eyes.
Well, it’s better to faint.
You can die without any pain or itching.
Who should I blame? I blame her for being so bold as to deceive the king.
The emperor just asked and gave her a chance, but she still said it was her own sachet.
Just as he was sighing for Liu Cairen, a voice in his ear made him shudder.
"Zhou Defu, you're doing your job better and better."
Zhou Defu fell to his knees with a thud, saying bitterly, "I know my crime, I deserve to die, I will go down and accept the punishment now."
At this moment, he was really in a state of silence, unable to express his pain.
It was clearly Princess Duanrou who sent people to look for Concubine Liu, and he was only responsible for arranging for Concubine Liu to sleep with him.
His only mistake was that he arranged for an imposter to sleep with him.
"Get out of here now."
Zhou Defu responded with a playful smile: "I will get out of here right now, right now..."
This is rolling, really rolling.
He rolled several times with swift movements before finally rolling out of the inner hall.
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