In time, you'll eventually find out what's on someone's mind.
Yan Nangui, in front of Consort Jia, had some half-open lotus flowers picked.
"Send it to the Jingtai Hall and tell His Majesty that no matter how busy he is, he should take care of his health and occasionally take a break to look into the distance and have some tea."
Shuanzi agreed and went off with a bottle of lotus flowers.
Inside the Jingtai Hall, Shu Chengfeng's neck ached from writing so much.
When he saw Shuanzi arrive with flowers, he called him in.
After paying his respects, Shuanzi handed the flowers to Liangchen.
He repeated what he had said about the wild geese returning south.
Shu Chengfeng was clearly pleased: "Where is your empress?"
"Your Majesty, our Empress and Consort Jia are admiring the flowers in the pavilion. They thought these flowers were beautiful and thought they would send them to you."
“That’s rare. Go and get her some fruit. There were some grapes and watermelons that just arrived, take some of them to her. Take a little to where they’re admiring the flowers, and send more to her place,” Shu Chengfeng said.
"Yes, this servant will take care of it right away." Liangchen put the flowers away and left.
She also wanted to get out and about; it was an opportunity.
Soon after, Yan Nangui placed watermelons and grapes on the table.
Because of the previous incident with the grapes, I'm being extra careful when washing them now.
Consort Jia thought to herself, "Look, this is the treatment a favored concubine receives."
However, she only made a brief comment and then acted as if nothing had happened.
After the two of them finished admiring the flowers, they walked back together. Since they lived close by, they only parted ways when they arrived at their lodgings.
When Yan Nangui was changing clothes, he saw Jiangxiang saying that His Majesty had sent a lot of fruit.
Yan Nangui nodded and said, "It was exchanged for a vase of flowers."
Jiangxiang smiled too.
In the evening, Shu Chengfeng came over.
Yan Nangui's trip to deliver flowers wasn't meant to curry favor, but his arrival was still a welcome surprise.
She ignored what the Empress Dowager said during the day, as it didn't matter to her.
However, Shu Chengfeng still knew what had happened during the day. After a good fight that evening, he put his arm around Yan Nangui and said, "Did you suffer any injustice today? Don't worry about it. I don't care about those things."
Yan Nangui was a bit confused by what he was saying and didn't understand what he was actually saying, so he just hummed a few times.
When I woke up the next day, His Majesty had already left.
She asked blankly, "Did Luo Kui keep watch last night? What did His Majesty say at the end?"
Luo Kui laughed: "His Majesty is just coaxing you, thinking you've been wronged. He even said he'd have Eunuch Yun open the treasury today to find some good things for you. You just kept 'uh-huh,' so you were just sleepy?"
"Oh, as long as nothing's been missed, let's go, go pay our respects, and we'll eat when we get back," Yan Nangui said with a yawn.
They quickly packed up and went out to Fengyi Pavilion.
The Empress did not expect that it was Consort Chen who had served the Emperor yesterday, and naturally, the fact that she had sent flowers to Jingtai Palace could not be kept secret.
The empress would then assume she was trying to curry favor.
She thought to herself that Consort Chen was quite bold, daring to go against the Empress Dowager.
Little did they know, Consort Chen had never thought of it that way.
The expressions on everyone's faces were somewhat subtle, but no one dared to say anything. Maintaining a facade of harmony was essential.
Consort Jing also did not come today. She is not in good health and it is understandable that she cannot pay her respects.
Once everyone had finished going through the procedures, they dispersed.
As soon as everyone left, the Second Prince's wet nurse rushed over to report.
"What is it?" the Empress asked.
"Your Majesty, we found this in the Second Prince's pillow." The wet nurse opened a red paper package. Inside was a needle.
Although it wasn't poisoned or anything else, it's still a needle, and the Second Prince is still young. Who knows if it might cause harm?
What if the child rolls over and something gets stuck in their eye?
The Empress was furious: "How dare they let anything into my palace? Investigate! Go, bring it down."
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has returned to the palace and is very busy now..." said Granny He.
The Empress then came to her senses: "Then let's investigate first, and talk about it when His Majesty returns. Investigate thoroughly and find out who touched the Second Prince's pillow."
Everyone was busy with their own affairs. After offering a few words of advice, Granny He said, "This matter is very strange. Now that Consort Jing has a prince, things might start to change in all parts of the palace."
"Is this matter related to Consort Jing?" the Empress asked.
"This servant doesn't know. This servant just feels that Consort Jing is not in good health now, so she probably doesn't have the mind for it, but it's hard to say about others," said Granny He.
"Empress Dowager?" The Empress suddenly stood up.
"No, I'm afraid... someone is deliberately trying to make us suspect the Empress Dowager and Consort Jing, so they can reap the benefits," said Granny He.
"Fisherman." The Empress sat down again. "You mean... Consort Xiangxian or... Consort Ke?"
“Your Highness, Consort Chen is quite favored these days, and there’s also Consort Huo, who comes from an excellent family. Neither of them can be overlooked,” said Granny He.
"You're right." The Queen gripped the armrest of her chair.
As long as she doesn't have a legitimate son, her position is not secure. Naturally, some people want to replace her.
“Since this is most likely unrelated to Consort Jing, why don’t we go and tell the Empress Dowager? Let her intervene as well,” said Granny He.
The Empress thought for a moment and then nodded.
They went to the Empress Dowager's residence.
The Empress Dowager was naturally furious upon hearing this.
It's just a needle, an ordinary embroidery needle. How can we investigate it? The first thing we need to do is investigate the Empress.
After everyone had paid their respects and left, they were summoned again.
The Empress Dowager said, "Empress, the matter originated from your place. If I want to investigate, I must first investigate your Fengyi Pavilion."
The Empress's expression changed: "Mother, there will be no problem here."
She wanted to involve the Empress Dowager in investigating the matter, but the Empress Dowager turned around and decided to investigate her instead.
How could an empress be investigated?
"The Second Prince is not your biological son. How can I be at ease if I don't investigate?" The Empress Dowager said this at first, then softened her tone: "If I investigate, I will be at ease. Besides, it's not like I suspect you. I'm just afraid that the people on your side won't be able to take good care of the child."
The Empress's face was a mixture of paleness and ecstasy; these words were far too harsh.
"As the Empress, I cannot allow the Empress Dowager to investigate my residence. If she insists on investigating, she should wait for His Majesty's return." The Empress was so angry that she stopped calling her mother.
"Yes, Her Majesty the Empress is the Empress, and she is more anxious than anyone else about this incident," said Consort Xiangxian.
Yan Nangui stood up: "If something happens to the Second Prince, who is the most suspicious? If the Empress Dowager investigates the Empress, then all the sisters in the harem will not be spared either."
Investigating the entire palace would be going too far; even the Empress Dowager couldn't do such a thing.
The situation we're dealing with now hasn't reached that point yet.
"You sharp-tongued people, do you think you have the right to interrupt when I'm speaking to the Empress?" the Empress Dowager said.
"Your Majesty, they are all imperial concubines, so naturally they can speak. This matter was also due to my haste; I should have investigated it myself. The Second Prince is a prince, and there is no room for carelessness or mistakes. I should know what to do," the Empress said, her face grim.
These words were quite subtle, and the Empress Dowager frowned, as if she had thought of something.
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