A palace maid being caned to death was nothing, and a palace maid being caned to death for daring to offend her master's reputation was even less a matter. The only special thing was that the emperor had given the order to cane this palace maid to death.

"I thought she was nothing, but she turned out to be a brainless person," Concubine Shu Gui returned to her palace and sat on the Concubine's couch, saying sarcastically, "A little talent actually let the maid next to her call her that name, and called it out in front of so many people. I don't know if she is really brainless or doesn't take Zhuang Yuyan seriously."

Lingsha pinched her shoulders and whispered in agreement, "It's just a toy, why should you care about it, Madam?"

"She is good at dancing and making tea," Concubine Shugui sneered, took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and threw it aside, closing her eyes, "Zhuang Yuyan is also a person who can keep her composure. Her name was offended by a palace maid, but her expression remained unchanged. No wonder she was able to regain the emperor's favor after being forgotten."

"Who knows what her intention is, maybe she wants to pretend to be kind and generous," Lingsha said, "I think this Zhao Xianrong is not a simple person."

"If she was simple, Concubine Ma would not have ended up like that, and Concubine Zhuang would not have been directly removed by the emperor," Concubine Shu Gui yawned, "But compared to the empress, her scheming is still far behind. Let's see how long the emperor can favor her."

Seeing that she was sleepy, Lingsha stopped talking and served more carefully. However, she felt in her heart that Zhaoxianrong was not that simple. But when she thought about the queen's methods, she felt that she was overthinking. Zhuang Luoyan, whose name was offended by the palace maid, was probably the most complicated at this time. She leaned on the soft chair holding the soup pot, looked carefully at the luxurious and exquisite decorations in the room, and sighed softly. "Yunxi." Putting down the soup pot in her hand, Zhuang Luoyan sat up straight, and her expression became serious. Yunxi hurried in, and seeing the serious expression of her master, she asked worriedly: "Queen, what's wrong?"

"Find a way to find out how the beheaded Luo'er ended up in the hands of Zhen Cairen," Zhuang Luoyan stood up, "and have someone give Luo'er's family some money. After all, he was an innocent slave."

Yun Xi agreed to all of them. Seeing Zhuang Yuyan standing in front of the window, she couldn't help but say, "Master, it's still cold. You can't stand in front of the window for long."

"Okay, I know, you can go down." Zhuang Yuyan waved her hand, looked at the snowflakes floating outside the window, sighed again, and closed her eyes.

"My lady, the eunuchs have brought the emperor's oral order. The emperor has turned over your name card today." Fu Bao walked in with a smile on his face and bowed to Zhuang Yuyan. "The emperor also specially sent an oral order. It's freezing cold, and the master is weak after giving birth. There is no need to welcome the emperor."

Zhuang Yuyan nodded, "I understand." There is no normal person in this harem, so if she wants to live, especially if she wants to live comfortably, she must learn to be as abnormal as these people. If she holds on to the values ​​of her previous life, she may not even know how she died.

Everyone is afraid of death, and so is she, so she must maintain the emperor's favor, at least to have a certain weight in the emperor's heart. She doesn't want to live in a life of oppression and not having a glorious life until her death. Even if the women in the harem are good at something, what can they do? The emperor's hobbies will not remain unchanged, and women will not age forever. Didn't Zhao Feiyan, who danced the stunning palm dance in the Han Dynasty, lose to Zhao Hede, who was not as good as her? Didn't her life after losing be worse than before?

It was her own sister who made her lose favor, let alone her current situation. It was not easy for women in the harem, so she could not sympathize with others and could only think about how to survive.

Fu Bao saw that his master looked strange, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions and could only stand quietly by the side. He didn't know what his master was thinking, but his expression became particularly serious, and he couldn't help but tighten his waist.

"I need to take a shower and change clothes. Send someone to prepare." Zhuang Yuyan smiled and glanced at Fubao, then turned around and sat down on the soft chair. It was already midnight when Feng Jin finished handling government affairs. He leaned back on the chair with some fatigue, closed his eyes and listened to the rustling sound of snowflakes hitting the canopy. Somehow he thought of the bright red on Zhao Xianrong's white fox fur at the Laba Banquet.

Perhaps it was because the red color was too bright that he remembered it so clearly. He slowly opened his eyes and said, "Gao Dezhong, how far are you from Xihe Palace?"

"Your Majesty, Xihe Palace is just beyond the lotus pond in front," Gao Dezhong replied in a low voice. In a blink of an eye, he discovered that there was a strange blue light emanating from the edge of the lotus pond, flickering and looking particularly terrifying in the dark night.

Two timid maids beside him were already screaming. He frowned and said, "Shut up, what's the point of making so much noise?" Feng Jin looked at the flickering blue flames calmly, "Gao Dezhong, take someone to have a look."

After saying that, a group of people came over holding palace lanterns, and leading them was Zhuang Weiyan, who hurried over holding the hand of a palace maid.

Seeing Zhuang Yuyan's relieved expression, Feng Jin's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he got off the sedan chair, "It's so cold, why did my beloved concubine come out?"

When the other party came closer, Feng Jin saw that Zhuang Yuyan's forehead was still sweating, her red hairpin was shaking, and she was not even wearing a fox fur coat. He knew that she had come in a hurry, so he took off his cloak and put it on Zhuang Yuyan, "I'm fine, you don't have to worry."

"I heard screams at the palace gate, so I came out to take a look," Zhuang Yuyan did not say that she was worried about the emperor, and avoided the emperor's gaze with an embarrassed look, "I made a fool of myself for the emperor."

At the palace gate? She was waiting for him again. No wonder she could come so quickly. Holding her cold hand, Feng Jin smiled and said, "I know what you mean."

Zhuang Luoyan buried her head even lower.

Gao Dezhong and several eunuchs approached the lotus pond, and his expression changed slightly, because a palace maid was floating on the shore of the pond, and she looked dead. Those strange blue flames were burning this woman, but there were no signs of burning on her body.

This bizarre scene frightened the eunuchs behind Gao Dezhong. Gao Dezhong calmed down and did not touch the body. He turned and walked towards the emperor. Seeing Zhao Xianrong also rushing over, he bowed to the two of them and said, "Your Majesty, I found something dirty in the pond. Please move."

Many people have seen this strange side, and I'm afraid it will be spread all over the place before tomorrow. Feng Jin stretched out his hand to cover Zhuang Yuyan's eyes, and said calmly: "Clean it up properly."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gao Dezhong glanced at Zhao Xianrong who was protected by the emperor, and retreated without changing his expression.

Even when faced with such unfortunate events, the Emperor was not at all dissatisfied with Zhao Xianrong. Zhao Xianrong should not be underestimated.

Following the emperor back to Xihe Palace, Zhuang Yuyan couldn't hide the uneasiness in her eyes, "Your Majesty, what happened?" Feng Jin patted the back of her hand, "It's not a big deal, Gao Dezhong will handle it, Tian'er is done, go to bed."

When the two of them lay down on the bed, Zhuang Yuyan leaned on Feng Jin's chest. After a long while, she suddenly heard Feng Jin ask her, "Can't sleep?"

"The emperor hasn't slept either?" Zhuang Yuyan twisted her body. It was very difficult to maintain the same posture when she was not asleep.

"Well, the court will be opened the day after tomorrow, and the envoys from the small countries who came to pay tribute will also start to go back. In the past, poor small countries like Gaomei always received more rewards than tributes. What do you think, my beloved concubine?"

Feng Jin suddenly asked, "Gao Meiguo?" Zhuang Yuyan was stunned for a moment, then continued, "My maid said a few days ago that Prince Gao Mei sent me a gift. If the emperor hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten it."

"Oh," Feng Jin raised his voice slightly, "I didn't know that Crown Prince Gao Mei was so discerning. What did he give me?"

"I didn't look at it either. I heard that it was just a few old ginsengs. It's not something particularly precious," Zhuang Yuyan curled her lips and said nonchalantly, "They also asked me to say something nice about it, but I don't know what they mean by that. What are they saying nicely?"

Feng Jin laughed softly. Gao Meiguo was probably thinking of trying to please the concubines because she was uneasy because she didn't treat them as enthusiastically as the late emperor. Zhuang Yuyan was probably not the only one who was being flattered, but only this silly woman could say it so openly.

"Old ginseng is a rare item. You make it sound like a carrot," Feng Jin smiled and held Zhuang Yuyan in his arms. "It seems that I have spoiled you too much."

"I have the Emperor, why do I need those things?" Zhuang Yuyan snorted, "I have the Emperor anyway."

Feng Jin's heart was slightly moved when he heard this, but he just patted Zhuang Yuyan on the back gently and said slowly: "Of course you still have me." Zhuang Yuyan leaned into the emperor's arms again. Neither of them could see each other's expressions, but their actions were extremely affectionate, as if they were two people who loved each other very much.

An unknown amount of time had passed, and Zhuang Yuyan was already drifting into a sleep. She seemed to hear a soft sigh from someone beside her, but when she opened her eyes, she thought it was an illusion.

Beside the lotus pond outside Xihe Palace, Gao Dezhong looked calmly at the maid who was brought up, "Can you recognize her? Are you sure she is a maid from Concubine Rou's palace?"

"My Lord, it is absolutely true." A young eunuch replied, "I know this maid." Gao Dezhong looked at the maid again, "In that case, let someone from Concubine Rou's palace identify her."

"Take her away and let them investigate her thoroughly." Gao Dezhong fanned his nose with his hand. After the maid was carried away, he sneered twice, "The people in the harem are getting more and more daring."

There are all kinds of strange things in the harem, but this little thing really can't scare many people. It seems that the means are either aimed at Concubine Rou or Zhao Xianrong, but no matter who it is, this matter probably has nothing to do with Zhao Xianrong. After all, the emperor's actions tonight have made it clear that this matter has nothing to do with Zhao Xianrong.