Chapter 159 Surveillance

Several days have passed since Miss Chu was poisoned to death.

An Jieyu (Xian Fei - An Jinyan) was demoted and moved to a side hall of Zhongcui Palace.

In the past few days, she looked listless and haggard all day long, and her eyes, which used to be bright and lively, had lost their luster and looked dull.

The person serving him became Bai Lan, who stayed beside him and didn't dare to make a sound.

After being demoted, An Jieyu stayed in Zhongcui Palace and never went out. She had been proud since she was a child, and after entering the Eastern Palace she had always been ambitious, trying her best to win the heart of His Majesty.

But she made one wrong move, which made His Majesty hate her very much.

Later, she took refuge with the Empress and became one of the Four Consorts. She was finally able to show off in front of others, which made up for her inner pride.

But now, back to the past.

She simply couldn't accept such a huge gap, and she felt as if her soul had been sucked out of her.

An Jieyu was never favored, and the Imperial Household Department was not as attentive to her as before. When she sent palace maids to get some things, she was not treated with a good face.

"Isn't this side hall of the Zhongcui Palace too dark? Why is the lighting so poor in broad daylight?"

I heard his voice before I saw him.

The voice was sharp and piercing, with undisguised disgust.

As soon as Yan Zhaoyi stepped into the side hall, she began to dislike the environment there.

She tilted her head slightly and covered her mouth and nose with the handkerchief in her hand, as if there was something unclean here.

With Yan Zhaoyi was Xu Xiurong, who had a faint smile on her face but a look in her eyes that was difficult to fathom.

An Jieyu looked at the two people who came uninvited, and her eyes instantly revealed disgust and hatred. Her gaze was like a sharp blade, shooting straight at them.

She would never forget that it was Yan Zhaoyi who threatened to search the palace and had been aggressive towards her.

An Jieyu suspected that these two people framed her.

"I pay my respects to Yan Zhaoyi and Xu Xiurong."

He suppressed his dissatisfaction and bowed reluctantly.

Although she was dissatisfied with these two people, now their positions were higher than hers, so she could only pay her respects with deep reluctance.

Yan Zhaoyi was the one with the highest status here. When she first entered the palace, everyone looked down on her status as a concubine's daughter.

But now, she raised her head proudly, her eyes full of pride.

She is the head of the nine concubines and has a prince by her side.

Yan Zhaoyi walked to the seat with an air of pride, twisted his waist, and sat down first, with exaggerated and ostentatious movements.

Then Xu Xiurong slowly sat down, her movements graceful yet sharp.

Although An Jieyu was demoted, she never lost her pride.

"My two ladies, what are you doing here today? Are you here to see me make fun of you?"

"Sister An, I came here today to save you."

Yan Zhaoyi raised her eyebrows slightly, with a seemingly sincere smile on her face.

An Jieyu frowned, her face full of disdain.

"Yan Zhaoyi must have forgotten that it was you who was aggressive towards me in front of His Majesty and the Empress. Otherwise, how could I have ended up like this?"

Her voice became sharp with anger and her eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

"An Jieyu, if you didn't feel guilty, why didn't you let someone search the palace?"

Yan Zhaoyi put down the teacup in her hand, folded her arms across her chest, and glanced at An Jieyu with a questioning look in her eyes.

"But I didn't come here today to discuss this with you."

Yan Zhaoyi snorted lightly, picked up the teacup again and took a sip of tea.

As soon as she took a sip, she frowned and spat out the tea.

"You are a concubine after all, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent you these old teas? Even my personal maids won't drink such tea."

Her expression was full of disgust, and the corners of her mouth curled up.

An Jieyu had been living a life of luxury since her childhood and had never suffered such an insult, not to mention that she was born a concubine's daughter.

She was so angry that her face turned blue and her chest heaved violently.

"Yan Zhaoyi is not used to drinking, so please go back quickly. I cannot afford to entertain you here."

At this time, Xu Xiurong slowly spoke: "An Jieyu, I and Sister Yan came here today just because it's not worth it for you, don't think too much about it."

She had a gentle smile on her face, but her eyes were particularly deep.

"I originally thought that since you had surrendered to the Queen, even if you were demoted, the Queen would not treat you badly. But I never expected this to happen."

"I'm afraid the Ministry of Internal Affairs has embezzled a lot of money from this side hall of Zhongcui Palace."

Xu Xiurong shook her head slightly and scanned the simple furnishings in the house.

An Jieyu frowned and looked at her, her eyes full of vigilance, "What do you mean?"

"An Jieyu, now all the women in the harem are pitiful, except for the queen. You used to rely on the queen, but you were just a dog by her side. When you got into trouble, did the queen save you?"

Yan Zhaoyi raised the corners of his mouth in a sarcastic smile.

"Oh, tell me, what are you doing here?"

An Jieyu sneered and looked at the two people in front of her with cold eyes, as if she could see through them.

An Jieyu is not stupid either. She is afraid that these two people are here to incite her to rebel today.

She sneered in her heart but remained expressionless.

"An Jieyu, only when the empress falls can all the women in the harem survive."

"Including you."

"So, An Jieyu, are you willing to join us?"

Xu Xiurong moved slightly forward and looked into An Jieyu's eyes, with temptation in her eyes.

Her voice was shallow as she continued, "Now that you have done this, cooperate with us and overthrow the queen together so that His Majesty can return to the harem."

An Jieyu just felt that the two people in front of her overestimated their abilities. If she could deal with the empress, she would not have been played around in the East Palace.

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and her eyes were full of disdain.

He snorted coldly: "Humph, you really don't know your place."

An Jieyu also hated her situation. She had been proud since she was a child and never wanted to be inferior to others. However, His Majesty hated her, and she could not survive in the harem, so she had to rely on the Queen.

These two people underestimated the queen.

However...

There was a flash of strange light in An Jieyu's eyes, but it was fleeting. Perhaps she could take advantage of the situation.

Her eyes rolled around and she had a plan in mind.

"What do you want me to do?"

An Jieyu narrowed her eyes slightly, with a look of vigilance in her eyes.

"When Concubine Tang gave birth in the East Palace, and Ling committed a serious mistake in front of the late emperor's spirit, you were involved in both. I want to know if there are any traces of the empress involved."

Xu Xiurong's eyes were as sharp as a torch.

There was also a complex flash in An Jieyu's eyes. She thought that these things might remain secret for the rest of her life, and no one except her would discover the empress's scheming.

Unexpectedly, there is someone like Xu Xiurong hidden in this harem.

"It doesn't matter if it happened or not. It's been so long. If I say now that it was the Queen who ordered it, will Your Majesty believe it?"

"An Jieyu, if one person's words are untrustworthy, then what about two or three people? We don't need your Majesty to believe us. We just need to plant a seed of doubt in your heart. This seed will eventually grow."

Xu Xiurong said with a slight smile, revealing her confidence that she was determined to win.

Soon, Xu Xiurong and Yan Zhaoyi left Zhongcui Palace with smug smiles on their faces.

Kunning Palace.

"Master, why didn't you stop Yan Zhaoyi from bribing the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and treating An Jieyu harshly?"

"Today, Yan Zhaoyi and Xu Xiurong went to Zhongcui Palace and ridiculed Concubine An, even provoking Concubine An's dissatisfaction with you."

Miaoyun stood beside the bed, brows furrowed.

"If An Jieyu listens to them and does something, wouldn't it be detrimental to you?"

Su Jingyao was wearing a comfortable tight dress, kneeling on the bed, with a gentle smile on her lips, concentrating on teasing the two children.

"Ning An, don't bully your brother!"

His tone was a little fierce, but his eyes were full of affection.

When the Fifth Prince heard his mother's words of defense, he happily crawled to her side with a bright smile on his little face.

The eldest princess pinched her little face, staggered over, waved her little hands, and wanted to hit her brother.

Su Jingyao reached out her hand helplessly to stop Ning An's actions.

By the way, I also answered Miaoyun's question.

"Don't worry about them. Let them do whatever they want."

Su Jingyao didn't even raise her head and spoke in a calm tone, as if everything was under her control.

Since Jun Zechen said he would investigate, it would be much easier for him to investigate these things than for Su Jingyao.

Many things outside the palace can be investigated clearly, as well as the disputes in the court, the Yan family and the Chu family. Su Jingyao is quite annoyed by these.

Concubine Chu was poisoned, and Fuquan found out that the Lord of Qingping County brought the poison into the palace. After all, the Lord of Qingping County was not a member of the harem. If Jun Zechen had not investigated, Su Jingyao might not have thought of her.

Su Jingyao narrowed her eyes slightly.

What does Qingping County Lord want to do?

Could it be that Yan Zhaoyi and Xu Xiurong have joined forces to deal with her?

If it was for Jun Zechen, even if Su Jingyao was really pulled down by them, Jun Zechen would not take her into the harem. Su Jingyao did not understand the motives of the county lord.

She shook her head slightly.

Jun Zechen was obviously not used to Qi Wanyin's behavior. He didn't know what Jun Zechen said to Qi Wanyin. Qi Wanyin took the initiative to resign from the Queen Mother and left the palace.

Since An Jieyu has taken the blame, the matter is over and Qi Wanyin will naturally not be punished again for it.

And Qi Wanyin participated in this matter, which must be related to the women in the harem.

Jun Zechen suspected that she had other purposes and had already planted spies in the county mansion.

Whether it was Jun Zechen or Su Jingyao, they always sent people to keep an eye on Yan Zhaoyi and Xu Xiurong, so no matter what they did, they could not cause any trouble.

Su Jingyao held the eldest princess gently in her arms, her expression deliberately serious, with a hint of severity in her eyes.

"Mother told you not to bully your brother, why don't you obey?"

When the eldest princess saw that her mother was fierce to her, she stared at her mother with her big eyes without blinking, her eyes full of grievance and confusion.

The little mouth began to turn down more and more, and it looked pitiful as if it was about to cry.

Suddenly, the eldest princess seemed to see someone, and her small body began to struggle to leave Su Jingyao's arms.

He shouted incoherently, "Father, the Emperor."

Su Jingyao turned around when she heard the voice and saw Jun Zechen walking towards her.

There was a hint of helplessness in her eyes. It was because he doted on the princess too much that Ning An became more and more presumptuous.

Su Jingyao let go of Ning An, and Jun Zechen smiled and hugged Ning An into his arms, his movements quick and gentle.

"What happened to my eldest princess?"

Jun Zechen's voice was full of doting and his eyes were filled with endless love.

"Brother, I'm annoying. I want a toy."

Ning An stretched out her white little hand and pointed at the Fifth Prince, her face flushed red as she tried to snatch the toy from his hand.

The fifth prince shrank into his mother's arms.

"Ning An, you and your brother both have your own toys. If you want your brother's toys, you can only ask him if he will give them to you. How can you steal them?"

Su Jingyao had a stern face.

Jun Zechen held the princess and sat on the bed. Every time he saw Ning An's and Yaoyao's similar faces, he felt as if he saw Yaoyao when she was a child. His eyes instantly became extremely soft and he couldn't help but pampering her.

"If Ning An wants it, give it to her."

Jun Zechen said with a smile, a look of indulgence on his face.

Su Jingyao glared at him fiercely, with anger in her eyes.

"The Queen Mother confiscated both of your toys. If you don't learn to be polite, you will never have any toys to play with in the future."

The eldest princess looked at her father aggrievedly, tears in her eyes, but her father remained indifferent.

Jun Zechen naturally didn't dare to say anything. It was no big deal if small ones made noises, but if big ones started making noises, he wouldn't be able to handle it.