Ah Qi raised her head and directly addressed Xu Yuehuai: "Can I blame Grandma? You're not the same as before when you treat me."
She frowned, not expecting Ah Qi to ask such a question. Thinking about it, she also raised her head, and their eyes met in the air.
After a long silence, Xu Yuehuai turned her head to look elsewhere, lowered her voice, and asked directly, "Does Consort Jia's miscarriage have anything to do with you?"
"What?" Ah Qi asked suspiciously.
However, his expression still shifted slightly.
"You heard me clearly, so answer me: yes or no?" Xu Yuehuai turned her face back and asked, looking into Aqi's eyes.
A sinister glint flashed in Ah Qi's eyes, but he cleverly concealed it, rubbed his eyes, and said, "A small flying insect flew into my eye—that has nothing to do with me."
He concealed it well, but he couldn't fool Xu Yuehuai.
“I don’t even know her, how could I have caused her miscarriage? Grandma, don’t you know who I am?” Ah Qi added, forcing a bitter smile.
"Of course I know who you are," Xu Yuehuai sighed inwardly.
"It's best if this has nothing to do with you. Evidence has been found in this matter, and those involved will surely pay the price," Xu Yuehuai said calmly. "You and Consort Min have such close ties, you'll probably be the first person suspected."
Upon hearing this, Ah Qi's pupils dilated instantly. How could this be? Everything had been done so cleanly, how could someone have found evidence? Unless... He instantly had a bad feeling.
But it was too late; his expression betrayed him.
Xu Yuehuai probably knows that Aqi is related to this matter, but the specifics still need to be investigated.
Ah Qi naturally guessed that Xu Yuehuai was bluffing him, so he rolled his eyes and asked directly, as he was always a straightforward person: "Grandma, how could you lie to me!"
"What lie? Grandma is only doing this for your own good. She's worried that Consort Min might harm you too. It's best if you're not involved in this matter now, but you can't let your guard down. Since she dared to lay a hand on the unborn prince in Consort Jia's womb, she might do the same to you." Xu Yuehuai gave a haphazard explanation and then ignored Aqi, making up another excuse to leave.
...
Xu Yuehuai had just left the East Palace. She yawned and strolled towards Qiyun Pavilion, intending to go back and catch up on some sleep.
Suddenly she saw Pingping, and Pingping was accompanied by a fair-skinned and beautiful woman whose figure she had never seen in the palace.
Xu Yuehuai immediately perked up. She knew from the scene that Consort Min was up to something again, and that it was very likely related to Consort Jia's affair. Without hesitation, she followed the two of them.
As expected, Pingping led the person to Consort Min's palace.
Xu Yuehua hid in a secluded spot to eavesdrop, wanting to see what kind of trouble Consort Min was up to.
"Would you be willing to serve His Majesty?" Consort Min looked at the woman's appearance and figure and found her to be truly exceptional.
The woman looked up at Consort Min, and even Consort Min, a woman, was almost captivated by her at just one glance.
"This humble woman is willing." The moment the woman spoke, it was clear that she was no ordinary person.
For a moment, Consort Min didn't even want her to serve the Emperor; such a woman was sure to be favored.
However, she still nodded: "Good, your father has been in the position of Minister of Revenue for long enough. Once you have established yourself in the palace, your father will naturally be promoted as well, and then you will have a good life."
"This humble woman will never forget Your Majesty's kindness in helping me today." The woman was quite clever; she directly expressed her feelings to Consort Min.
Consort Min felt much relieved upon hearing this: "Very well, then I will help you gain the Emperor's favor."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The woman quickly knelt down to express her gratitude.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai was alarmed. If such a woman were allowed into the harem, she would inevitably threaten Consort Jia. Not to mention, it would certainly make Marquis Ningyuan's power even stronger, making their lives even more precarious.
As soon as she thought of this, she hurried to Anfu Palace, as she knew she had to make plans for this matter as soon as possible.
"Aunt, Aunt?" Xu Yuehuai ran straight into the inner hall and called out to Consort Jia.
Consort Jia was momentarily confused and rushed out, asking, "Why are you in such a hurry? What's wrong?"
Without the aid of those medications, her emotions have stabilized considerably, and she has even received more favor from the emperor than before.
"Consort Min has found a beautiful woman, and I think she's the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She's preparing to present her to His Majesty." Xu Yuehuai quickly informed Consort Jia of the matter, only to realize that Consort Jia's mood was off after she finished speaking.
She was curious and couldn't help but worry, so she asked, "Aunt, why are you so worried about this so soon after I arrived? Could it be that you already knew about this?"
"I just received news that the Regent has been imprisoned," Consort Jia said, unable to hold back her sigh.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai's mind went completely blank, and she immediately collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Consort Jia quickly gathered her maids to help Xu Yuehuai up; her heart was already pounding.
Now that Consort Min is about to present His Majesty with a new favorite, and Xu Yuehuai has also fainted, she is even more panicked.
"Hengniang, go find someone to send Xu Yuehuai back to Qiyunxuan to rest." Consort Jia was already pacing around anxiously.
She was completely flustered, and for a moment, everyone in Anfu Palace was in a state of chaos.
Consort Jia suddenly remembered something, immediately stood up and said, "Oh right, we also need to inform the Duchess of Zhenguo, go immediately."
"Yes, Your Highness." Hengniang remained relatively calm at this moment. She quickly arranged for two groups of people to go to Qiyunxuan and Zhenguogong Mansion respectively.
After things calmed down a bit in Anfu Palace, Hengniang couldn't help but remind her, "Your Highness, Consort Min wants to recommend a woman to His Majesty. What should we do about this?"
Her intention was to remind Consort Jia to take measures to deal with the situation, and not to stand idly by and watch Consort Min steal the Emperor's favor.
"Let's not talk about that anymore, there's no time to talk about that now," Consort Jia said, shaking her head.
She already regretted telling Xu Yuehuai about the Regent. Now that he was unconscious, she was also worried and had no time to care about Consort Min. Moreover, although she was afraid of losing the Emperor's favor, she understood the importance of things. If something happened to Xu Yuehuai, no one would care about her miscarriage.
Seeing this, Hengniang stopped trying to persuade her, after all, she was just a maid and she couldn't change her mistress's decision.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com