The travelogue on the shelf was still in the same spot where Huo Qinghe had placed it last time, and it was easily visible.
Huo Qinghe casually picked up the travelogue again. Firstly, it was not so obscure to read, and secondly, she often read the same book, so when the emperor looked at the book in the future, he would more or less think of her.
After she returned, she did not sit on the edge of the couch, but instead moved an embroidered stool and sat properly on the edge of the bed.
The emperor had already closed his eyes, but he could tell from the sound of the pages turning that Huo Qinghe had returned.
Even if Huo Qinghe's voice wasn't used for reading, it could still be described as melodious when she played the pipa and sang a few lines.
Only then did Pei Yuanhui realize that his ears didn't feel empty like they had during the day.
After Huo Qinghe recited for a little over fifteen minutes, the breathing of the nearby official had already become steady.
She recited the prayers for a while longer, and looking at the emperor's calm face, she tiptoed up to blow out the candle.
However, he left the candlelight in the outer room, placed the book on the couch in the outer room, tidied his clothes and appearance in front of the bronze mirror in the outer room, and then quietly withdrew from the Funing Palace.
When Huo Qinghe left Funing Palace, she still kept her head slightly lowered and gave a slight nod to Jin Yang outside.
"Thank you very much for today, sir. Farewell."
Green Locust silently stepped forward, but Huo Qinghe, dressed in a palace maid's uniform, simply stood aside without making any further moves.
Jin Yang was surprised that Consort Huo had come out at this time; he thought she was going to stay overnight at Funing Palace.
Could it be that Consort Huo came to the Funing Palace to deliver something to the Emperor? That would be quite a risk.
He showed no emotion on his face, and bowed slightly: "It's getting late, young lady, you should go home soon."
Huo Qinghe nodded slightly, said nothing more, and left Funing Palace with Lvhuai.
In a corner unseen by anyone, a figure quietly concealed herself behind a pillar outside the Fu Ning Palace. She said nothing, but silently raised her hand to cover her mouth.
With his other hand, he gripped the food box tightly.
She couldn't help but peek at them from the side, but only caught sight of two rather slender figures and one of them, whose emerald green palace maid uniform was clearly visible in the candlelight.
She left Funing Palace quietly without alerting anyone.
This palace maid was none other than Yu Zhi, the head maidservant of Consort Zhou.
Consort Zhou was expelled by the Emperor today because she had an argument with Noble Consort Ding in front of him.
After returning home, Consort Zhou was still unwilling to give up, so she thought of asking Yuzhi to go to the Imperial Kitchen to get some pastries and send them to the Emperor, which could be considered as selling them to the Emperor in a roundabout way.
However, she had just brought the pastries to the Emperor when she saw the graceful palace maid coming out of the Funing Palace. She didn't know how long she had been in the Funing Palace.
Although she couldn't see the palace maid's appearance, she could tell from the attitude of Jin Yang, who was beside the emperor, towards the palace maid that this was definitely not the first time the palace maid had come to Funing Palace.
Furthermore, why did that palace maid enter the Funing Palace alone? Why were Jin Yang and Miao Xi, who were by the Emperor's side, guarding outside and not entering? How could that palace maid be allowed to enter alone in the middle of the night?
This whole thing is clearly suspicious.
Yu Zhi didn't dare to stay any longer and quickly returned to Yanxi Palace.
After all, it was late at night, and the palace maid had her head down after coming out. Although Yuzhi saw that the person was walking out, she did not dare to immediately chase after her to see where she was going.
She doesn't look much like a palace maid serving the emperor; her figure alone tells you she's a vixen.
After Yuzhi returned to Yanxi Palace, Consort Zhou was in the inner hall, fanning herself with a look of great annoyance.
Seeing her return, Consort Zhou stretched her legs, and the expression on her face finally became more composed.
"Where have you been? Why did it take you so long to come back? Didn't I tell you to deliver the pastries to the Funing Palace? Why are you bringing those pastries back again? Is His Majesty really angry with me? Is that why he told you to bring those pastries back?"
Before Yuzhi could reply, Consort Zhou began to speak at length on her own.
She propped herself up, looking both annoyed and resentful.
"That Consort Ding was clearly putting on a pitiful act in front of me, as if I were blind. She even caused me to be reprimanded by the Emperor..."
Seeing that Consort Zhou was getting angrier and angrier, Yuzhi quickly interrupted her.
"Your Highness has misunderstood. I saw something I shouldn't have seen in the Funing Palace, and since the candles inside seemed to have been extinguished, I dared to come back first. When I went there, I guessed that His Majesty had already gone to sleep."
Consort Zhou waved her fan, and upon hearing the voice, she was quite dismissive: "What could be that shouldn't be seen? Does anyone dare to seduce the Emperor while he's feigning illness and cold?"
After she finished speaking, she saw that Yuzhi actually nodded.
Consort Zhou nearly dropped the fan in her hand: "Who? Who dares to act so boldly in the palace?"
Yu Zhi shook her head, naturally unable to say whose it was.
"This servant doesn't know either. I only saw a slender palace maid coming out of the Funing Palace when I went there..."
She recounted everything she had seen outside the Funing Palace in detail, without missing a single word.
After listening, Consort Zhou fell into deep thought: "A palace maid? From what you're saying, she must be a pretty palace maid? Hmph... There's already a Consort Cheng in this palace, and now everyone wants to follow suit and become a Consort Cheng. Don't they even look at their own backgrounds and whether they're worthy?"
Upon hearing this, Yuzhi simply lowered her head silently.
Consort Zhou was silent for a while: "I just don't know if she's a palace maid from the Emperor's court, from the Imperial Household Department, or from somewhere else. You too, how come you didn't see what that palace maid looked like? If only you knew what that palace maid looked like."
Yuzhi dared not defend herself.
"Should the lady tell the Empress Dowager about this?"
Consort Zhou fell silent for a while.
"Now that the Emperor is ill, if we tell the Empress Dowager that he summoned a palace maid while he was ill, wouldn't the Emperor be impeached by the officials of the previous dynasty again? Let's not talk about that for now, let's see if we can find out who that palace maid is."
Yu Zhi nodded slightly in agreement.
The palace maid had a beautiful figure that was unforgettable at first sight, but finding her among the many palace maids was no easy task.
"Has Xiao Huo been settled in the side hall?" Consort Zhou suddenly asked.
Yu Zhi said, "They made arrangements over there half an hour ago. It's not Huo Meiren's turn to attend to the sick tonight, and the candles in Yanliang Pavilion were extinguished long ago."
...
Huo Qinghe had no idea that her risky trip to Funing Palace tonight would be discovered by the palace maids around Consort Zhou.
After returning to Yanliang Pavilion under the cover of night, she first drank two cups of cold tea in the dark to soothe her throat.
Fearing that Consort Zhou in the main hall might discover something, she did all her washing and tidying up in the dark.
He laughed with a few maids for a while, then fell asleep as soon as his head hit the bed.
The next morning, Huo Qinghe woke up still with her earrings on, and her face was covered in marks from the pressure.
The girls laughed again.
"It will be the day after tomorrow when I will be there to attend to you, my lady. You must have been exhausted last night, so please rest a bit more."
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