Chapter 566 The Emperor's Lifespan Countdown
Besides her beauty, Qiao Meiren is also highly skilled in martial arts. In addition to being a messenger, she is also a secret guard sent by Xiao Qing'er to protect Xiao Mianmian.
Qiao Meiren did not explicitly state this.
However, Du Wanchun noticed something amiss from a callus on Qiao Meiren's hand, which was considered an admission.
Little Mianmian held the letter, smiling as she read it, her face beaming with undisguised joy.
To avoid arousing the emperor's suspicion, Consort Qiao did not stay long in Du Wanchun's palace. She only sat for a short while before returning to her own palace.
The emperor had many favorite concubines over the years, but they were all fleeting, coming and going in a hurry, leaving a large number of concubines abandoned in the harem.
A few years ago, the emperor fell ill because of a selection of concubines from among the common people, which brought him some peace and quiet for a while.
Now that his health is visibly improving, he can't resist the temptation. Today he has Qiao Meiren, tomorrow he has Zhang Meiren. Who knows how many more days he can live?
Fortunately, this emperor wasn't entirely useless; he genuinely loved Xiao Mianmian.
As evening approached, he grew tired and, not wanting to deal with the concubines, summoned Xiao Mianmian to dine with him.
Little Mianmian arrived at the emperor's palace, led by a group of palace maids.
All around here were eunuchs with their heads bowed and serious expressions, unlike the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere they had in the Eastern Palace.
Even the usually lively Xiao Mianmian became cautious. She followed the palace maid to the door, where the newly favored Consort Zhang also arrived.
Unlike Consort Qiao, she saw that she had recently become extremely favored in the palace, and couldn't help but become a little arrogant because of this favor.
The emperor didn't dine in her palace today, which aroused her suspicion. She wanted to see who the emperor had bewitched this time, but it turned out there were no concubines at all, only the emperor's young grandson.
She stepped forward with a smile, "Greetings, Little Princess."
Xiao Mianmian didn't like Zhang Meiren in front of her, but she still politely returned the greeting.
Zhang Meiren looked at Xiao Mianmian with a kind smile, but in her heart she looked down on her, especially after learning that her mother was just a peasant woman from the countryside.
She smiled and took a pastry from the food box beside her, handing it to her and saying, "This is a top-quality mint pastry from Jinzhou. You've never had it before, have you? Try it."
Although Zhang Meiren's words were meant to be kind as she gave Xiaomianmian some pastries, they were actually a veiled mockery of her for being petty and unsophisticated.
Little Mianmian may be young, but she's not stupid. Instead of taking the pastry, she smelled it and asked, "Empress Zhang, why does this pastry smell bad?"
Zhang Meiren was startled and quickly took it in her hand to smell it, but did not find any foul odor.
She had the best chef in the entire capital make these pastries, all to please the Emperor.
"You little rascal, you really know how to make people laugh." Consort Zhang said through gritted teeth, then turned and stormed into the Emperor's palace.
Little Mianmian followed behind her, looked up, and smiled with her eyes narrowed. It seemed that there was going to be a good show to watch later.
When the emperor saw that the visitor was Consort Zhang, he was slightly displeased. He had been taking medicine for more than a month and had become somewhat tired of indulging himself. He did not want to see the concubines in the harem for the time being.
But Lady Zhang was thick-skinned. Ignoring the emperor's displeasure, she placed all the food she had brought on the table.
Then she had the eunuchs around the emperor test each piece for poison. Seeing that there was no problem, she picked up a piece and placed it in front of the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please try it. This was made by my own hands."
The emperor didn't want to pay any attention to her. He beckoned to Xiao Mianmian, told her to sit beside him, and asked her what she wanted to eat.
Little Mianmian looked up at the table, shook her head, and said, "Grandpa, I don't want to eat any of these."
Upon hearing this, the emperor frowned. "Guards, remove all of these from my possession!"
Upon hearing this, the eunuchs and palace maids froze on the spot, as all the food had been brought by Consort Zhang.
The emperor hadn't even taken a bite before they ordered everything to be taken away.
Zhang Meiren sat to the side, her face pale.
Seeing them standing there motionless, the emperor's tone became stern, "Hurry up and do it!"
Seeing this, Consort Zhang forced the pastries she was holding onto the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please just have a bite. It won't be in vain that I personally cooked for you."
The emperor frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then ate the pastry she forced on him. After one bite, his face turned ashen.
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