The battle for the crown prince position is drawing to a close, with only the second prince and the third prince remaining, and everything has returned to its original state.
"The concubine is hidden in the gap in the air, but there is another person whose whereabouts have not been found yet."
After nearly a full day of torrential rain, the air was exceptionally clear. Li Youran and Tang Lei sat on a rock in the artificial hill. Li Youran leisurely tossed small stones into the lake, while Tang Lei looked worried and continued talking to Li Youran.
"Since it's in the palace, it's really inconvenient to thoroughly investigate this matter. If we could find a legitimate reason to go in and investigate properly, we might be able to find that person."
"That's easy to do. The Second Prince's Consort and I will take a trip in the air, and you can disguise yourself as a eunuch and follow us into the palace. Then we can investigate openly and legitimately."
After Li Youran finished speaking, he patted Tang Lei on the shoulder and said to Tang Lei.
"Don't worry, no one will notice anything amiss when I disguise you as a eunuch."
Seeing Li Youran get up and leave, Tang Lei hurriedly chased after her.
He was very grateful for Li Youran's trust in him, but he also felt a little strange. What did she mean by disguising himself as a eunuch and ensuring that no one would notice?
The Second Prince's wife is only three months pregnant, so the news has not yet been released to the public.
Braving the sweltering heat, riding in a swaying sedan chair to the palace was truly unbearable. Li Youran dared not use ice on her, fearing it would harm the child in her womb, so she could only personally fan the Second Prince's Consort with a feather fan.
"Normally, when I wanted you to accompany me to the palace to pay respects to the Empress, you would always be extremely reluctant and refused to go with me. I never expected that you would actually take the initiative to come to the palace with me now, for Tang Lei's sake."
As she spoke, the Second Prince's Consort picked up a dark red grape and popped it into her mouth, then looked on with obvious enjoyment.
"It feels so good to have someone fan you!"
Li Youran felt somewhat embarrassed by what the Second Prince's wife said. Upon reflection, she realized that she had indeed been somewhat biased towards her lover and neglected her sister. Previously, when the Second Prince's wife had asked her to go to the palace, she had refused because she disliked the overly complicated palace etiquette.
"Don't worry, I'll go with you to the palace from now on. You can't afford to make any mistakes right now. If anyone dares to harm you, I'll kick them down with my lightning speed."
As Li Youran spoke, she also showed off her skills inside the sedan chair. Suddenly, she lifted her foot, and her slipper flew off, almost flying out of the sedan chair. Fortunately, the curtain stopped her.
Xiao Hong hurriedly and embarrassedly picked up her mistress's shoes, while the Second Prince's Consort, who was standing to the side, was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
Tang Lei, disguised as a eunuch, followed behind the sedan chair. He heard Li Xi in the carriage laughing heartily and couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside the sedan chair and why they were so cheerful.
Especially when he heard Li Youran's clear laughter, he couldn't help but imagine Li Youran playing around with him like that. Thinking of this, Tang Lei's ears suddenly turned red.
"When it stopped, this place was very deserted, but today, coincidentally, one by one, they all came to my place."
The Empress smiled and teased the Second Prince's wife, then ordered the palace maid beside her to serve tea and snacks.
"Greetings to the Second Prince's Consort, and greetings to the Princess."
Hu Qinqin was dressed in the attire befitting a prince's consort, and her demeanor was impeccable. She spoke respectfully to the Second Prince's Consort and Li Youran.
"Thinking that it had been a long time since I had visited the Empress Dowager, I brought Youran with me to the palace to pay my respects. I didn't expect that, by such a coincidence, my fourth sister-in-law had also come to pay her respects."
The Second Prince's wife's repeated calls of "sister-in-law" brought her closer to the Fourth Prince's wife and made the Empress feel the ease and comfort of an ordinary family.
"It's kind of you to be so thoughtful. You must have been sweltering on the way here in this heat, right?"
After hearing what the Second Prince's wife said, the Empress's mood indeed improved considerably. She spoke gently to the Second Prince's wife, and then looked at Li Youran with great kindness.
"You Ran, you and Yu'er will be getting married soon. As your aunt, I'll be preparing a big gift for you. If you have any suggestions, please let me know."
"It is a great honor to receive the Empress's blessing."
Li Youran spoke sweetly, and with just one sentence, she made the Empress laugh heartily.
"He has quite a bit of your sister's style. Yu'er is a blessed child."
The Empress was very satisfied with Li Youran's reply, and she smiled as she spoke to him.
Seeing the Empress's warm hospitality towards the Second Prince's Consort and the Li Youran sisters, Hu Qinqin, standing to the side, couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
But then he remembered the purpose of his visit, clenched his hands tightly, and endured it all.
"Mother, about my matter of going to pay my respects to Father..."
"Your Majesty, I have been unwell lately and am also very busy with official duties. Let's postpone the matter of paying our respects."
After the Empress finished speaking, she did not continue the topic, but instead chatted with the Second Prince's Consort and Li Youran about everyday matters, leaving Hu Qinqin to the side.
The Empress is no fool. The Fourth Prince is currently imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, and it is said that the Emperor broke several cups because of this.
You can't mess with a tiger's tail. If the Empress were to bring the Fourth Prince's Consort to pay her respects to the Emperor at this time, wouldn't she be considered a criminal along with him?
The Empress would never do something so thankless. It was just a pawn to be discarded, nothing more, so there was no reason for her to take such a big risk.
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