Seeing that no one was around, Qingluan slowly walked behind Hailanzhu, gently patting her shoulders.
"Your Majesty, can that medicine really cure smallpox?" Qingluan asked cautiously, knowing that she was the one who squeezed out those cowpox.
"Don't worry," Hailanzhu said firmly.
Qingluan still didn't understand, "The concubine is also a wicked person, so why does Your Majesty still want to save the Fourth Prince?"
Hailanzhu countered, "What do you think of Yebushu? Is he the same kind of person as Yanzha Qiurong?"
Qingluan shook her head. "According to Peixin, the Fourth Prince has always been raised in the Princes' Residence and hasn't spent much time with the Concubine. He's a good master who won't cause trouble."
“Yan Zha Qiu Rong is Yan Zha Qiu Rong, and Ye Bushu is Ye Bushu. I am not someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong. Since Ye Bushu is a good child, how can I really put him to death?” Hai Lan Zhu’s voice was cold, but her eyes were gentle.
Qingluan said with heartache, "If everyone in the harem were like Your Majesty, that would be wonderful. There wouldn't be so much fighting, and no innocent people would die."
“Everyone has different ideas. I act according to my conscience. If my conscience would be troubled, I will not do it. If I have no choice but to do it, I will clean up the mess.” In fact, Hailanzhu felt somewhat guilty for letting Yebushu contract smallpox, but if anyone was to blame, it was Yanzha Qiurong. With such a mother, how could she not suffer?
"Your Majesty, you are the best mistress I have ever met," Qingluan said sincerely.
Hailanzhu was not pleased with these words, but instead asked, "Who is this Peixin you just mentioned?"
Qingluan smiled and said, "Your Highness, have you forgotten that she was the palace maid who was carrying an oil basin on her head in Chengxi Palace that day? You rescued her and even told me to befriend her."
"Oh, it's her." Hailanzhu nodded thoughtfully. "It seems you had a good talk with her."
“Yes, she is a straightforward person,” Qingluan replied.
"What is her relationship with Pei Ran?"
This was just a casual question from Hailanzhu. In her mind, if two people shared a single character in their names, she would assume that they had some kind of relationship.
But these words stunned Qingluan, "Your Highness, how do you know Peiran?"
Hailanzhu lied, saying, "I've heard this name mentioned by Yan Zhaqiurong before."
"Really?" Qingluan asked doubtfully. After all, she was usually by Hailanzhu's side when she was facing Yanzha Qiurong. Even if she wasn't in the hall, she was guarding outside the door.
“You haven’t answered my question yet,” Hailanzhu reminded her.
Qingluan quickly replied, "Peiran is Peixin's younger sister."
“But the two don’t look very alike.” Hailanzhu thought carefully about their faces. Peiran was very beautiful, but Peixin was somewhat disappointing.
"That's because Pei Ran follows her mother, and Pei Xin follows her father," Qing Luan thought.
"Their fathers must have some assets," Hailanzhu teased.
"Your Highness, how are you so clever?" Qingluan looked at her mistress with admiration.
What's so difficult about it? It's the same throughout history. Couples whose appearances aren't very compatible often have one of them being either powerful or wealthy.
"If that's the case, why did they all end up as maids in the palace?" Hailanzhu couldn't help but wonder.
"Sigh..." Qingluan sighed heavily.
During Huang Taiji's reign, the Eight Banners implemented a policy of intermarriage. At that time, Han people had a low status and could not intermarry with Manchus. Coincidentally, Peiran Peixin's mother was Han.
Originally, their mother could have lived a carefree life by changing her name, but her father mistakenly trusted someone else and, after drinking too much, revealed this important matter. That person, for fame and fortune, had already reported the matter, and Pei Ran Pei Xin's family was thus shattered.
Upon hearing this, Hailanzhu clenched her fists. She was also a Han Chinese, and she couldn't help but want to persuade Huang Taiji to treat the Han people kindly.
In her heart, she didn't care whether the emperor was Manchu or Han, as long as he could bring benefits to the people, not oppress them, not divide people into different classes, and ensure that the emperor was subject to the same laws as the common people, then he was a good emperor.
"Your Majesty, do you know who reported their family?" Qingluan asked, keeping everyone in suspense.
In fact, Hailanzhu had already guessed some of it, but she wasn't sure, so she could only shake her head.
“It’s Yan Zha Fulin, the concubine’s father,” Qingluan said, her clear black and white eyes sparkling.
Just as Hailanzhu had expected, but she was puzzled. "If that's the case, the two families will be enemies. Why is Yan Zha Fulin still taking in the Peixin sisters?"
Qingluan looked around and said softly, "That's all thanks to their mother. She's so beautiful that Yanzha Fulin fell in love with her at first sight and immediately dragged people to rescue her from prison."
"This is utterly ridiculous," Hailanzhu scoffed.
Qingluan continued, "However, Peixin's mother is a strong-willed person who would rather die than compromise."
"She has backbone," Hailanzhu exclaimed. "What happened next?"
Qingluan replied, "But how could Yanzha Fulin give up? In order to force her to submit, he actually captured Peixin and Peiran and made them serve as slaves in Yanzha's mansion. Children are always their parents' weakness. With such a threat, how could their mother possibly refuse?"
"Shameless!" Hailanzhu cursed angrily. "As expected, they're all birds of a feather, none of them are good people."
Qingluan nodded in agreement, "What's even more outrageous is that after their mother was forced to give birth to a son, Yanzha Fulin, fearing that he wouldn't care about his own child, also sent the two sisters to the palace to serve as servants for Yanzha Qiurong."
"Hmph!" Hailanzhu was so angry that she didn't want to say a word. What she hated most were heartless and ungrateful people.
After her anger subsided, she remembered something else and quickly asked, "Why is Peixin a first-class palace maid, while Peiran is a second-class palace maid?"
"Isn't it because Pei Ran is beautiful? They're afraid the Emperor will be bewitched. Besides, she was promoted to second-class palace maid recently, whereas before she did the dirtiest and most tiring work," Qing Luan said indignantly.
Hailanzhu knew why she had been promoted to second-class palace maid. It was all to set a trap for Hauge, but she had inadvertently ruined the plan herself.
"If that's the case, then that's wonderful," Hailanzhu murmured softly.
She had been kind to both sisters, and if she could rescue their mother from the fire, they would surely recount all the evil deeds Yan Zha Qiu Rong had committed over the years.
Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes.
Over the past few days, Qingluan had truly come to regard Peixin as a sister, especially when she saw the scars all over Peixin's body, which brought tears to her eyes.
"Your Majesty, do you want to help them?" Qingluan asked cautiously.
Hailanzhu did not deny it, "Yes, but at the same time it's helping me as well."
Upon hearing this, Qingluan smiled with relief, "This servant thanks Your Highness on behalf of Peixin."
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