Tan Hai died that night.

The next day, what Jiang Muyu saw was his corpse, still hanging there. Mrs. Zhang had cried so much that she almost fainted.

After explaining the follow-up matters, she left Lihua Manor without stopping.

Yun Yan was silent all the way. When they arrived at the palace, Jiang Muyu asked her to go downstairs and have a good rest. He asked others to take care of the affairs and did not let anyone disturb her.

Some things require her to digest slowly.

After dinner, Jiang Muyu told Liang Qingchen everything.

The other party was silent for a moment, and then said, "Let her go out of the palace to relax. She used to be good friends with Yun Xuan, and the two were like sisters. Maybe Yun Xuan can enlighten her."

"Hmm." Jiang Muyu paused and said, "Will my treatment of Tan Hai have any negative consequences?"

"It's okay. Just do whatever you want to do. If anything goes wrong, I will cover it for you."

She smiled faintly, "I feel relieved when you say that."

But I still felt a little uneasy, as if something was going to happen.

Sure enough, within two days, the Queen Mother summoned her into the palace.

She changed into the princess's clothes, got on the carriage, and headed towards the palace.

Without Yunyan, she had no maid that satisfied her. Liang Qingchen wanted to assign two more to her, but she refused. She only promoted the maid in charge of sweeping in Qingyu Courtyard to be by her side, and named her Yunping.

This little girl has a round face and dark skin. She is not pretty, but she gives people an indescribable sense of friendliness and is very capable in her work.

She was silent all the way to the palace, and she had already guessed about 70% of the purpose of the Queen Mother summoning her into the palace.

After the flood incident, Liang Qingchen's prestige in the court increased a little. Many people who wanted to curry favor with him tried their best to get them into the palace, but none of them succeeded.

Since Liang Qingchen's path is not feasible, the only option left is the Queen Mother's path. After all, in ancient times, marriages were decided by parents and matchmakers.

Unfortunately, they didn't know that even the Queen Mother didn't dare to insert women into Prince Rui's Mansion easily, and the only person who could make Liang Qingchen give in was probably Jiang Muyu.

She couldn't help but hold her forehead, "It looks like today will be another tough battle."

Yun Ping poured her a cup of hot tea and said, "Don't worry, your majesty. The Queen Mother will always consider the face of the royal family and will not make things too difficult for you."

"That's not necessarily true. She has disliked me for a long time. If she finds me doing something wrong, she will magnify it several times to teach me a lesson."

"What are you afraid of? Your Majesty, you have done nothing wrong for her to catch you."

Yunping didn't know anything about Lihua Manor.

Jiang Muyu did not explain and sighed softly. Although this little maid was quick and efficient, she was not smart enough.

Inside the palace, Jiang Muyu acted like a virtuous, gentle, yet slightly majestic princess.

When they arrived at the Queen Mother's Ningshou Palace, it was Eunuch Wang who came out to greet them.

"I haven't seen Princess Rui for a long time. How are you doing?"

"Thank you for your concern, Master. I am doing fine."

"The Queen Mother is already waiting in the main hall. Princess, please come in."

As he spoke, he stepped aside slightly.

Jiang Muyu nodded, walked up the stairs, and Eunuch Wang followed her in.

After entering the main hall, she realized that the Queen Mother had invited more than just her. Also sitting in the hall were Princess Rong An and Wei Zelan.

She walked in, and several people greeted each other, and the Queen Mother gave her a seat.

Jiang Muyu subconsciously glanced at Princess Rong An, wondering if she had really confessed to Wei Jingkang on her wedding night as she said. Anyway, she was still sitting safely in the position of Mrs. Wei.

Wei Zelan said, "I heard that Princess Rui came up with a lot of useful strategies in the process of controlling the flood in Jiangnan, and the emperor even intends to confer you the title of First-Rank Imperial Consort. It seems that you still have a long way to go in your future."

Jiang Muyu smiled and said, "I just made some suggestions based on the original good plan. It's not a big achievement."

"Princess Rui is too modest." Princess Rong An said, "If we had gone with them, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to offer any opinions."

"My Lord, there is no need to belittle yourself..."

The Queen Mother interrupted her and said, "Alright, let's talk about compliments later. I came to you today to discuss something important."

Jiang Muyu shut up, with a gentle and calm look on her face. She knew that the Queen Mother had some prejudice against her, so even if she was unhappy, she would not dare to show it easily.

The Queen Mother looked at her straight and said, "Princess Rui, you have been favoring him for ten years, which has resulted in a small number of descendants in the Rui line. It is time to expand the Rui Palace."

As expected, the Queen Mother came with great power and put such a big hat on her right from the start.

Jiang Muyu smiled and said, "I remember that I told you very clearly last time. As long as Your Majesty agrees, I will have no objection. Otherwise, I dare not make the decision for Your Majesty."

The Queen Mother had obviously expected that she would not give in easily. Her expression did not change, but she suddenly changed the subject: "I heard that you lynched a tenant farmer, cut off his penis, and exposed his body for three days. Is this true?"

She pursed her lips and said, "It is true."

Since she did it, she won't deny it.

"How can this be possible!" The Queen Mother slapped the armrest of the chair hard, causing a muffled sound that frightened everyone in the hall so much that they dared not even breathe, except Jiang Muyu.

She said calmly, "Why don't you ask me, Her Majesty, why did I treat that tenant farmer like that?"

"As a princess, you should not resort to lynching even if the common people are at fault. You should just send them to the government. Why do you use such a cruel method to destroy their lives?"

"He deserves to die because he bullied the people around me!" Jiang Muyu looked at her coldly and said slowly, "I think the Queen Mother can understand me."

When she said this, not only did the Queen Mother's pupils tremble, but Princess Rong'an also became uneasy.

Even Wei Zelan was stunned.

They all knew what she meant by saying this. The fact that Princess Rong An was framed had always been a thorn in the Queen Mother's heart, and it was also an indelible stain on Princess Rong An's life. Her words were undoubtedly a knife stabbing into the hearts of the aunt and niece in public.

The Queen Mother clutched the armrest of the chair, her expression unchanged, but her eyes were cold, "She is just an insignificant maid, why did you have to do this?"

Jiang Muyu said firmly: "To me, she is not just a maid, but a close friend who has served me for five years. I failed to protect her, and the only thing I can do is to seek justice for her."

The Queen Mother looked at her unwillingness to yield, frowned, and said, "You are so stubborn that I have to doubt whether you are qualified to continue to sit on the position of Princess Rui."

"Does the Empress Dowager want to depose me? I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. I'm the legal wife given to you by the late Emperor. Unless I've committed an unforgivable crime, I can't be deposed so easily."

"you……"

The Queen Mother pointed at her and for a moment she didn't know how to refute.