Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Concubine Shu's Eleventh Day
In Yongshou Palace, Defei listened to Pipa talking about how the emperor dealt with Shufei's false pregnancy. Although she was not surprised by the result, she still breathed a sigh of relief after surviving the disaster.
Shi Liu was responsible for the death of Concubine Lin. Her actions were decisive and left no trace. She was indeed the person specially trained by the Li family.
Defei thought that they were too impulsive and not careful enough this time.
It was also Shufei's fault for being so lucky. It would be difficult for a woman who had never been pregnant to tell whether it was a false pregnancy or not, not to mention that even the imperial physician was fooled at the beginning.
If everything had gone smoothly, Concubine Shu would be so proud by now. The more proud she was, the harder she would fall when the truth was revealed. Thinking about it now, it's such a pity.
Concubine Shu escaped two consecutive traps. In the short term, Concubine De didn't want to deal with Concubine Shu again.
However, perhaps she saw through her cousin's thoughts, and Li Guipin, who was sitting on her right, fluttered her eyelashes gently and said in a light voice, "Sister, as long as Concubine Shu is not removed, the Third Prince will never be able to become the Crown Prince."
"It was the late emperor's favorite concubine, Concubine Zhao, who gave birth to Princess Yongfu. Because she was not a prince, the emperor was named the crown prince. The late emperor had planned to pass the throne to the son born to Concubine Zhao. Although it did not come to pass, our emperor may have this plan."
"Shu Fei is more favored than Zhao Guifei, and she is favored exclusively. If the emperor did not have this intention, he would not have delayed appointing a crown prince."
"Sister, you and I both know that Concubine Shu has extraordinary luck."
Otherwise, if it were someone else, not having conceived an heir for several years would have caused the emperor's dissatisfaction long ago, but in the case of Concubine Shu, she was still favored as always, and the emperor even trusted her.
It was very convenient for a concubine who was trusted by the emperor to do things. No matter what bad things she did, the emperor would not suspect her. The first thought that came to his mind was that someone must have framed her. Even if the evidence was irrefutable, the emperor would only think that others were too clever. Anyway, it was not the fault of Concubine Shu. Concubine Shu was just a flawless lotus.
The emperor is the most suspicious person in the world. Most of the emperors do not trust their mothers, their children, or the person beside them.
Since Concubine Shan Shu could gain the emperor's trust and unreserved favor, Li Guipin could conclude that Concubine Shu was not a simple person. Concubine Shu was also the only person she wanted to get rid of and had the intention to kill.
Defei looked at Li Guipin. Before she entered the palace, she thought her cousin was still the willful girl she was when she was a child. But after entering the palace, Li Wanyi surprised her. She was thoughtful and calm. She thought Li Wanyi had become more upright, so she would not tell Li Wanyi about her dirty tricks, fearing that she would stop her.
But unexpectedly, Li Wanyi has not changed at all, she is still that stubborn person.
I've just become better at disguising myself, and my true colors will only be exposed when I encounter certain people or things.
Concubine De did not want to take action against Concubine Shu now, and she was not the first one to bring up the matter of fake pregnancy. Instead, it was Li Wanyi who spoke first.
The spices sent to the imperial concubine from the palace were all of the best quality, but the palace maids around Li Wanyi accidentally mixed several spices together and then lit them. Because the smell was pretty good, Li Wanyi kept using them until her period began to be delayed and her symptoms became more and more like pregnancy. A palace maid who knew some medical knowledge diagnosed her with a slippery pulse.
Li Wanyi had given birth to a child, so of course she could tell the difference between real pregnancy and this, but even so, she still felt dazed under these symptoms.
So she kept the matter secret, and that month's pulse was checked by the imperial physician with a hanging thread diagnosis by a palace maid sitting behind a curtain.
Later she found out that it was the incense that caused the symptom, and was surprised to discover that the incense that caused this symptom was colorless and odorless, so she naturally had an idea.
But she was short of staff in the palace, and all of the Li family's connections were controlled by Concubine De, so this matter could only be done by Concubine De.
Defei thought that if Shufei became pregnant, this method would be easily exposed. She knew that it was better to act sooner rather than later, so she used Concubine Lin as a cover to attack Shufei.
Facing Defei's complicated gaze, Li Wanyi's expression remained unchanged. If she did nothing for Defei, why did she enter the palace in the first place?
Everyone in the room was their own family, so they spoke without restraint and did not play guessing games with each other.
De Fei said, "There is no rush to deal with Shu Fei. After this incident, Shu Fei will be alert. It is not advisable to take action recently. Pomegranate, you should not leave Yongshou Palace for the next few months and stay out of the limelight. Loquat, you go take care of the Third Prince and prevent others from taking action against him."
Pomegranate is skilled in martial arts and has great abilities, while loquat is loyal and careful, so this arrangement couldn't be better.
Moreover, the Third Prince will soon leave Yongshou Palace and go to school with the First and Second Princes. She will feel at ease only if Loquat stays with Ji Cheng.
Pomegranate and loquat both said yes.
A look of depression flashed in Li Guipin's eyes. She couldn't get rid of Shufei at this moment. If she waited until she became pregnant, the Emperor would definitely protect her, and it would be difficult to take action against her then.
-
Shen Qing had been recuperating for more than a month. She felt so comfortable without having to get up early to pay respects to the emperor. But because of her illness, she couldn't go to the Imperial Garden openly, so she picked up embroidery and practiced her patience.
In fact, she had recovered from her illness a few days ago. Lan Xiurong and Chen Jieyu often visited her and knew this very well, but they thought she was still in a low mood, so she kept claiming to be sick.
Especially when Lan Xiurong saw the things she embroidered, she wanted to sigh. Those were for children, and only occasionally there would be things that the emperor could use. It seemed that Shufei was looking forward to having a child, and she was still upset about the previous incident, so it was normal for her to be in a bad mood.
So they didn't persuade him much and just accompanied Shen Qing to do something.
Shen Qing lowered her head to embroider, but was thinking about her spies in the harem in her mind. It was a waste that she was limited to Chengqian Palace in the past. In addition, the Shen family's business was getting bigger and bigger, and it had exceeded the original main branch.
And every year Shen Xiuxiu sent more and more silver bills into the palace. Money can make the world go round. Although it can't buy lives, she can still be considered blind after spending so many silver bills.
What's more, how many people want to rely on Chengqian Palace. They had no way to do so before, but now that an olive branch is extended, how can they not accept it?
She has been doing this for the past month, and she knows that she cannot make it public, so Baiying and Wenxi are doing it secretly.
And she knew where Ji Chen's bottom line was, which made it easier for her to operate.
She collected quite a bit of information, but only two or three of them were useful regarding Concubine De.
For example, Defei distributed the loquats around her to the third prince, so no important information could be revealed in Yongshou Palace. However, Shen Qing still realized from these little things that a palace maid named Shi Liu around Defei was unusual, and asked someone to secretly keep an eye on Shi Liu.
On the first day after he recovered from his illness, Shen Qing went to pay his respects to Kunning Palace. The sun was not too hot when he paid his respects in the morning.
The concubines looked at Concubine Shu, who had a pretty face, fair skin, red lips and white teeth, and sighed that she did not look sick at all. On the one hand, they felt regretful that the false pregnancy had come to nothing, and on the other hand, they were hesitant to bring up the matter because of Concubine Lin's death.
But Concubine Xian obviously didn't have that concern.
Concubine Lin was a good friend of hers, but she died in such an unclear manner, so she was naturally angry.
Concubine Xian knew that Lin Guipin was a person. Although she was a bit bullying, she would always discuss everything with Concubine Xian beforehand. Moreover, when Concubine Xian first entered the palace, it was Concubine Xian who took the initiative to visit her and lowered her attitude to make friends with her. Therefore, Concubine Xian held a very special position in Concubine Xian's heart.
Even though Concubine Xian intuitively felt that there was something fishy behind this matter, she couldn't tell who did it. The Empress and Concubine De could be the possibility, or the concubine who was at odds with Concubine Lin Guipin could be the possibility. Since the Emperor had no evidence, Concubine Xian naturally had no clue either.
Therefore, she unreasonably took her anger out on Shen Qing.
Xian Fei suddenly said, "If something is not destined for you, you shouldn't force it. I think Shu Fei also understands this, so she avoided such a big mistake."
She was clearly pointing out that Concubine Shu knew that she was not lucky enough to get pregnant.
Shen Qing sneered, and did not indulge her, and said slowly: "I don't know if I have it, but it is definitely not in the fate of the virtuous concubine."
"You--" Concubine Xian raised her finger and pointed at Shen Qing.
Instead, Shen Qing leaned forward slightly and said provocatively, "I'm sure Sister Xianfei has never been punished for disrespecting a superior."
Being called "sister" by Shen Qing with a face younger than her made Concubine Xian's chest heaving with anger. This humiliation made her speechless for a long time.
Shen Qing was still not satisfied: "Noble Concubine Lin was always on good terms with Concubine Xian. Now that Concubine Lin has gotten into this trouble, Concubine Xian, you have a grudge against me."
Xian Fei was extremely surprised. How could Shu Fei think that she was the one who instructed Lin Guipin to plan this? Shu Fei was smart in everything but made a fool of herself in this matter. It was really just like that.
In order to avoid taking the blame for nothing, Concubine Xian condescended to explain: "Whether you believe it or not, I didn't do this."
Shen Qing sneered and turned his head away.
At this time, Concubine De arrived.
The Queen was unhappy with Concubine De a few days ago, so she took the opportunity of her lack of enthusiasm in paying respects to her to criticize her. After that, although Concubine De arrived late, fortunately she arrived before the Queen.
Concubine De smiled and said in surprise: "Oh, my two sisters are so angry, what are you talking about?"
Li Guipin beside her had already sat down quietly.
Xianfei raised her chin slightly and said, "What Defei said is true. Shufei is not your sister. If we talk about the rules, Defei should call Shufei sister."
Shen Qing nodded: "Sister Xianfei, what you said makes sense. I don't think I have ever heard Defei call me like this."
Concubine De pretended not to hear and sat down leisurely without asking what the two were talking about.
The virtuous concubine's face changed again. She had helped the good concubine to annoy the virtuous concubine, but the good concubine still deliberately disgusted her.
I guess the other party didn't believe what she just said.
The virtuous concubine was a strange person. If Shen Qing didn't cause trouble for her, she would find trouble with Shen Qing instead, and make a fuss even if it was unreasonable. But when Shen Qing deliberately caused trouble for her, she gave up.
The only thing left in her mind was how could Concubine Shu be so confused? When did Concubine Shu know that this matter had nothing to do with her? She no longer blamed Shen Qing for Concubine Lin's death and ridiculed her.
Shen Qing picked up the tea and took a sip, her eyes swept over Concubine De. She had noticed when Concubine De came in just now that she did not bring the head palace maid Shi Liu.
She originally wanted to observe Shi Liu carefully. She always remembered that Shi Liu acted like a senior palace maid when she was with Concubine De, but she had no other impression of her.
She also had a question: how did Concubine De get the thing that could make people fake pregnancy? The Imperial Hospital has not yet found out what was on the handkerchief. They only knew that after the handkerchief was washed, the thing on it was worn out very little, which could be ignored, making it hard to guard against.
Suddenly, the moment Shen Qing lowered her head, she felt a gaze sweeping over her. There were many concubines secretly looking at her, but this gaze came from Concubine Li Guipin.
Li Guipin was honest and dutiful, and would even submit to the Queen on behalf of Concubine De. As a result, Concubine De was often late in paying her respects, and the Queen never said much.
After all, before Concubine Li entered the palace, Concubine De was too impatient to even pay her respects.
Comparing the two, it is impossible to have higher expectations for Concubine De. Even though Shen Qing doesn't know Li Guipin very well, he can't help but have a good impression of Li Guipin.
Shen Qing looked back at Li Guibin, only to see Li Guibin smiling at her shyly, as if she had not expected to be caught. Then she calmed down and kept her eyes down.
Will Li Guipin know about Concubine De’s plan?
Shen Qing felt that it shouldn't happen. If she were Concubine De, with a cousin who cared about her so wholeheartedly, she probably wouldn't let her know her secrets.
This thought flashed through her mind, and she had no intention of starting with Li Guipin at all, so she shifted her gaze away from Li Guipin.
The queen came out soon and asked about Shen Qing's health. Shen Qing said, "I'm fine now. Thank you for your concern."
Then came the usual greetings, but it was hard to be unhappy with a bunch of beautiful women gathered in the room and making jokes.
After paying respects, Qinggu came out and kept her on behalf of the Queen.
Shen Qing sat down next to the Queen. Before she could speak, she heard the Queen say, "The matter of Concubine Lin has nothing to do with Concubine Xian. I am also very angry about this matter, but please don't hate the wrong person and let the real villain go free."
Shen Qing suddenly became sad, and wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief: "In this harem, only the queen is truly concerned about me and makes plans for me. How can I be worthy of her... If she is not the virtuous concubine, could it be the virtuous concubine?"
The Queen was very satisfied with Shen Qing's trust in her.
Shen Qing didn't believe Concubine Xian's defense, and after she said only one sentence, Shen Qing turned his suspicious eyes to Concubine De.
The Queen did not comment. She only knew that it was not Concubine Xian, but she did not have any evidence that it was Concubine De. However, Concubine De's third prince blocked Can'er's way. Concubine Shu should hate her, and it would be best to hate Concubine De.
Instead of wasting time on Concubine Xian.
Shen Qing just thought she agreed, and after a long pause, a fierce look flashed in her eyes: "I understand."
"De Fei wants me to fake pregnancy and lose my favor, but I want a child to lure De Fei into taking action. I hope Your Majesty will catch De Fei's fault by then."
She wanted to lure Concubine De into taking action, but it would not be a good thing if she led the Queen out.
As for Concubine Xian, as long as she kept showing her suspicion of Concubine Xian, Concubine Xian would not attack her in order to prove her innocence. Otherwise, once she was caught, the fake pregnancy would be her fault.
If Concubine Xian insists on taking action, then it’s not her fault.
The queen was stunned for a moment.
She was weighing which would be most beneficial to her: Shen Qing's pregnancy or defeating Concubine De.
Finally, the queen said slowly: "I will help you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
