As a female member of the inner palace, Sun Ronghua was not virtuous and violated the ethics of a woman, so her title was stripped and she was demoted to the cold palace. She was not allowed to leave the palace without the emperor's order.

Sun Ronghua, who had enjoyed a successful career in the harem for only a few months, came to an end in such a tragic way. The Sun family was also reprimanded by the emperor for not educating their daughter properly, and even demoted by three ranks. The Sun family lost power in the court. The Zhao family, who had been on good terms with the Sun family, also lost a helper.

However, the people of the Zhuang family still behaved as usual and did not take the opportunity to submit a memorial to express their dissatisfaction with Zhao Chongyi. When the emperor asked about it by chance, they only said that their daughter had married into the royal family and should obey her husband after marriage. Everything was arranged by the emperor and they had no objection.

The emperor was very pleased with the knowledge of the Zhuang family, and transferred the eldest son of the Zhuang family, who was originally working in the Ministry of Works, to the Ministry of Revenue as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, in order to appease the Zhuang family in disguise. The people in the court watched and cursed Mr. Zhuang as an old fox in their hearts. Not only did he get the emperor's good impression, but he also planned a good future for his son. Although the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works are both six ministries, who can't see which one is more important?

"Bang!" The queen, who had always been virtuous, was so angry that she smashed a teacup. Thinking of her cousin Sun who was already in the cold palace, she secretly hated herself for not knowing people well enough to bring such a brainless person into the palace, which also brought shame to herself.

"Empress," He Yu stepped forward and exchanged a cup of tea, saying soothingly, "The Emperor has no intention of punishing you now, so why are you so angry? It would be better to just pretend that this incident never happened. It is still the same as it was in the past."

"I don't know how to do this, but I feel a headache when I think about the women in this deep palace. "The queen picked up the teacup, took a sip, and suppressed her worries. "How is Zhao Chongyi? I heard from the imperial physician yesterday that her throat has not fully recovered. Send someone to ask her. Let Xihe Palace ask if she needs anything."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already sent someone. You haven't had a good rest these days. You should take a rest for a while." He Yu had followed the Empress into the palace for many years. Seeing the Empress in this state, she felt a little more worried.

"How can I sleep well?" the Queen narrowed her eyes. "Have you found out who threw the weeds and ropes in the pond?"

He Yu shook her head solemnly, "I have checked. In the past few days, besides the servants of Xihe Palace, there were also several people from other masters who passed by the lotus pond. They all looked suspicious. But everyone who passed by there had an errand. I am incompetent..."

"You don't have to blame yourself. How could someone who did such a thing expose himself so easily?" The queen waved her hand, "There's no need to investigate this matter any further."

He Yu looked at the empress's face, which had become calm, and nodded.

Summer is always a season that makes people restless, but as the end of summer approaches, the autumn heat is also quite uncomfortable. Because Zhuang Yuyan is recuperating from illness, there is no shortage of ice cubes and fresh fruits and vegetables in the palace. In addition, the emperor often comes to do things, so the servants dare not neglect them.

Playing with a piece of silk thread in her hand, Zhuang Weiyan leaned back on the imperial concubine chair, looking indescribably comfortable.

"Master, the imperial physician is here to take your pulse and is waiting outside." Ting Zhu walked into the house and saw his master playing with silk thread. He then remembered the tangled weeds he had picked out of the lotus pond and his expression changed slightly.

"Let him in," Zhuang Yuyan put the silk thread aside and smiled. There was still a hint of hoarseness in her voice, but it gave people a pitiful feeling for no reason.

"I have seen Zhao Chongyi."

"No need to be so polite, Doctor Lu," Zhuang Luoyan smiled slightly. After Doctor Lu stood up, she let the palace maid beside her wrap the pulse-taking thread around her wrist. Every time at this time, she would admire the magic of traditional Chinese medicine.

Imperial Physician Lu had worked in the Imperial Medical Bureau for many years and had seen a lot of shameful things in the palace. Therefore, he was more afraid to offend concubines like Zhao Chongyi who were favored but not arrogant, because such women usually lived longer and were valued by the emperor for a longer time.

"Master Zhao is already feeling much better, but she cannot be exposed to heat or wind, and cannot eat spicy food in the next two days. She is not afraid of anything else." The imperial physician said this cleverly. On the surface, he was talking about the master's health, but in fact he was expressing his goodwill to Zhuang Yuyan. If she was feeling fine, it meant she could sleep with him.

Upon hearing this, Tingzhu and Yunxi, who were serving on the side, understood and took the gifts to reward the imperial physician. Isn't that how it is in the harem, people use each other. Since there are common interests, they might as well be generous in small matters.

After the imperial physician left, Zhuang Yuyan glanced at the palace maids in the room and waved her hand, "Tingzhu and Yunxi will be the ones to serve here. You can leave now."

"Yes," the waiter retreated quietly. Zhuang Weiyan rolled up the silk thread at hand and sneered, "I really didn't expect Xu Zhaorong to do this." If she really didn't know how to swim, she would probably lose her life even if she took advantage of the trick.

The women in the palace naturally don't know how to swim. If they jump into the water and get entangled by the water plants, they will die regardless of whether they did it intentionally or not. With Xu Zhaorong's move, no matter who loses their life between herself and Sun Ronghua, the other person will definitely be punished by the emperor. It is really a good plan to kill two birds with one stone.

The only thing that was not planned was that I could swim. Zhuang Yuyan threw the silk thread ball into the teacup beside her, and seeing the white thread ball stained with the color of tea, she said lightly: "We in Xihe Palace are always very quiet, and we can't see anything we shouldn't see at night. This cup of tea is cold, take it out and pour it out."

"Yes," Yun Xi picked up the teacup and walked out.

Tingzhu picked up a round fan and stepped forward to fan Zhuang Yuyan. He lowered his voice and said, "Master, how could Xu Zhaorong have expected Sun Ronghua to be so capable?"

"Maybe Sun Ronghua has her people there, maybe..." Zhuang Yuyan sneered. Maybe this person wanted to send someone to push her into the pool. No matter which possibility it was, it was certain that Xu Zhaorong was plotting against her.

Tingzhu also understood the implication of Zhuang Yuyan's words, and said through gritted teeth, "What a good plan."

"This little trick is nothing," Zhuang Yuyan squinted her eyes and yawned, "All the women in the harem are calculating. If Xu Zhaorong dared to do this, she must have the courage to be discovered. There are many eyes around here."

Ting Zhu did not expect Zhuang Yuyan to be so calm when talking about this matter. He said sadly, "Could it be that the master let her scheme go to waste?"

"How could it be a vain plan?" Zhuang Luoyan smiled. Her brother from the same mother in this body was promoted. Judging from the emperor's attitude towards her, he did have some affection for her. At least she had entered her eyes now. It was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse.

In front of the case, Feng Jin closed the report of trivial matters in his hand, raised his head and looked at Gao Dezhong, "Gao Dezhong, how is Zhao Chongyi in Xihe Palace?"

"Your Majesty, someone from the Imperial Hospital just reported that Master Zhao is no longer in any serious condition, but his throat is a little hoarse. He cannot eat spicy food or tolerate heat recently." Knowing that the emperor was somewhat interested in the master of Xihe Palace, Gao Dezhong was always concerned about the affairs of this master.

"In this case, ask the people in the Palace Department to ensure that the ice cubes in Xihe Palace are not lacking, and select fresh fruits and vegetables to be sent there," Feng Jin thought for a moment, "and by the way, send someone to ask Zhao Chongyi if the chef in Xihe Palace is satisfactory. If not, replace him with someone else."

"Your Majesty, please be careful. I will ask someone to do it." Gao Dezhong hesitated for a moment and then spoke again, "Just now, the eunuchs from the Eunuchs' Office saw that Your Majesty was busy with state affairs and did not dare to disturb you. So I have the courage to ask on behalf of the Eunuchs' Office, does Your Majesty want to turn over the cards today?"

"Since Zhao Chongyi is now well, let's go to Xihe Palace tonight." Feng Jin picked up another memorial. "Zhao Chongyi has suffered a lot of shocks, so she should be comforted."

"Yes." Seeing that the emperor seemed unwilling to speak again, Gao Dezhong stood aside quietly, but he began to wonder in his heart whether he had neglected the owner of Xihe Palace in the past. He watched coldly, and the emperor did show some real favor to the owner of Xihe Palace.

"You said the emperor ordered Xihe Palace today?" After hearing the report from the people below, Concubine Yan's face suddenly darkened. She pinched a flower bud in her hand and sneered, "She does have some tricks."

Sun Ronghua fell, and the empress also lost face, but this Zhao Chongyi won the emperor's favor, and her mother's family also benefited from the emperor's grace. She fell into the trap once, but actually got a big bargain.

No wonder...some people are hoping she will die.