"Although she is better now, the imperial physician believes that she cannot withstand too much exertion. Therefore, it is best for the Noble Consort and the Virtuous Consort to take charge of palace affairs for now."
The Imperial Concubine and the Virtuous Concubine naturally agreed.
"The list of candidates for the imperial concubine selection has been sent. We'll come back and take a look together after we pay our respects to the Empress Dowager." The Empress was naturally speaking to Consort Chen and Consort Xiangxian.
"That won't be necessary. I'll just make the arrangements," Yan Nangui said.
“Yes, there’s still a lot to do. The new people should be arriving at the end of this month. The palace also needs to prepare summer clothes and such, there’s a lot to do. With new people entering the palace, various places need to be cleaned and repaired, so it’s quite busy. As for the list, Your Highness, you can take a look.” Consort Xiangxian said.
These words made the Empress very uncomfortable, but she forced a smile and said, "That's fine then, thank you both for your hard work. If you can't manage, just choose one or two more people to help."
Both of them agreed and thanked the Empress.
After exchanging a few more words, they went together to see the Empress Dowager.
When the Empress Dowager saw the Empress, she said calmly, "Now that the Empress has recovered, she no longer needs to stay indoors all the time. This is also the Emperor's wish."
"Yes, Your Majesty, thank you very much." The Empress replied with utmost respect.
When the greeting ended and they returned, Consort Jia followed Yan Nan back.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is quite agreeable today," said Consort Jia.
“With arrangements in place, things will be much easier to discuss. What good will it do to make a scene now?” Yan Nangui said with a smile.
"Sister is absolutely right. Sister, what about that matter? Has there been any result?" Consort Jia was naturally asking about the matter of poisoning the Sixth Prince.
“Given the passage of time, whoever brought Tao’er here probably won’t have left any evidence. It won’t be easy to investigate this matter so simply. The person behind this is also very patient. They haven’t used Tao’er like this in all these years,” Yan Nangui said.
“If someone dares to use poison in the palace, it will always be worrying if they are not brought to justice,” said Consort Jia.
"Just keep an eye on your own people. His Majesty will definitely give an answer to this matter." At the very least, how the medicine got into the palace will definitely be investigated.
Consort Jia nodded, thinking the same thing. If her own people didn't cause any problems, it wouldn't be easy to poison someone, given how many eyes were watching.
After Consort Jia left, Yan Nangui said, "It's time to see Consort Wen."
"Then shall I go and summon her?" Luo Kui asked.
"No need, I'll go for a walk in the garden tomorrow." She's clever; it's time for her to show herself.
Yan Nangui has been busy these days and hasn't had time to go to the garden. Now that she has something to do, if Consort Wen doesn't understand, or if she understands but pretends not to, then let her go.
The next morning, Yan Nangui took Jiangxiang and Yuanhua to the Imperial Garden.
Near the Floating Cloud Pavilion, I took a large bowl of fish food and fed the fish in the water.
In the Jade Essence Palace, Consort Wen heard that the Imperial Concubine had gone to the Floating Cloud Pavilion. After hesitating for a moment, she still got up and said, "Qingye, come with me."
Qingye knew far less than Qingshuang.
So I went along with them.
Yan Nangui had already finished feeding the fish. When he saw her arrive, he smiled and sat down in the pavilion.
After wiping his hands, he laughed and said, "Jiang Taigong fished, and those who were willing took the bait. It seems that this saying is true."
"Qingye, go wait under the pavilion."
Qingye agreed and went downstairs, followed by Jiangxiang and Yuanhua.
"Your Majesty...do you need something from me?" Consort Wen asked nervously.
Yan Nangui smiled and said, "The medicine that the Sixth Prince almost took was arsenic. Arsenic is not hard to buy. But it is not easy to bring it into the palace without alerting anyone."
"Is that so? I didn't know." Consort Wen smiled.
"The Sixth Prince is safe and sound, but the Seventh Prince was killed for no reason. The Seventh Prince was the Empress Dowager's favorite child, and the Huo family is no ordinary family. Now Consort Jin is in confinement after childbirth. When she comes out, will she seek revenge? You know, she is out of favor, and she probably won't be able to have another child," Yan Nangui said.
Wen Guiyi's heart began to race.
"Oh, and also, you know I've always had a bad temper. Although the person behind this scheme didn't actually hurt me, they were still aiming to harm me. So, how do you think I should get revenge?" Yan Nangui asked with a smile.
Consort Wen finally couldn't hold back and knelt down: "Your Majesty..."
"You're a smart man; you should know how to protect yourself with minimal cost. You have the Second Princess, and she's grown up. She has her pride too. You also have your past relationship with His Majesty, which isn't useless," Yan Nangui said calmly.
"Your Majesty, what do you need me to do?" Consort Wen asked.
"You don't need to do anything. What you did was too sloppy; I don't approve of it. All I need to do is know how to stand properly from now on. As for this matter, you can handle it yourself. If His Majesty finds out the source of that medicine, then I'm afraid we'll lose face," Yan Nangui said.
Consort Wen bit her lip: "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."
"For women in the harem, gaining or losing favor is entirely at His Majesty's discretion. In the past, I thought you were a clear-headed person. I thought you were able to live freely, but in the end, I was wrong about you. You lived cautiously and too humbly. Even when you acted, you weren't ruthless or cunning enough. You are where you are today because of your incompetence and your inferiority complex. From now on, take care of yourself. You may leave," Yan Nangui said.
Wen Guiyi clenched her hands tightly: "Yes."
She rose, took a deep breath, and suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, I dare not contradict you. But I have a question for you. You are of noble birth, and even though you married into the Meng family, you are still a noble lady. You do not understand how difficult it is for someone like me, born of humble origins. If you were me, what would you do?"
"I come from a high-ranking family, but if I were you, I wouldn't have let Ye Ziyue manipulate me from the start. You've been putting on this submissive act for so long, who will remember what you looked like then?" Yan Nangui sneered, "Compared to you, was Consort Mei's background any better? She was born out of wedlock. She was forced into the palace by her stepmother to gain wealth and status. Was she like you? If we're talking about humble origins, was Consort Xiang's family background better than yours back then?"
Yan Nangui stood up, raised her beautiful chin, and gave a faint, cold laugh: "I misjudged you, but you misjudged His Majesty. He once favored you, but perhaps His Majesty eventually saw through your humility. His Majesty may have liked your gentleness and obedience back then, but His Majesty will not like your gentleness and obedience forever. Men, whether emperors or anyone else, are all the same."
Wen Guiyi's face turned pale: "Yes, it's my fault."
Yan Nangui turned around and ignored her.
Jiangxiang and Yuanhua hurriedly chased after her and followed her to another place.
Qingye, unaware of what had happened, quickly helped her down.
"Your Excellency?"
"It's alright, go back," Wen Guiyi said.
She paused again after speaking, then said, "No, wait a minute, let me sit down." She was thinking about what to do and what she should do.
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