The emperor sat upright on his high throne, his sword-like eyebrows slightly furrowed, with a few strands of silver hair standing up.
Without a word, in a short while, someone took the begging palace maid away.
The palace maid's hands were grabbed, and before she could even open her mouth, a large hand covered her mouth tightly, preventing her from making a sound.
She looked at Consort Wan to the emperor's left, and could only let out soft sobs.
Consort Wan quickly looked away, avoiding her gaze.
The palace maid saw her dodge and turned ashen-faced, her eyes fixed on her.
Even though he wanted to speak, his mouth was tightly covered and he couldn't utter a single word.
Meng Qingluan watched the palace maid being dragged away until the figure disappeared. Then she paused and looked away.
He glanced almost imperceptibly at Consort Wan's position.
After this commotion, the hall became deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
"Knock knock—"
The sound of knuckles lightly tapping the table suddenly rang out in the quiet environment, and everyone looked up in unison at the seats below the high ones.
"Father, Lady Shen's sleeves are almost dry from the wind, why hasn't anyone taken her to change her clothes yet?"
Li Zhanlan held his chopsticks, putting food into his mouth as he spoke, his words muffled by the chewing of the food.
The emperor took a deep breath and ignored him.
Consort Wan, with her sharp eyes and quick tongue, pointed to a palace maid serving beside her.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and take Madam Shen to change her clothes!"
"yes."
The palace maid walked up to Meng Qingluan and said respectfully.
"Madam, please come with me."
Meng Qingluan stood up, but before she could turn around, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
She turned around in the direction of the force.
Shen Yan's face was calm, but she could feel a thin layer of sweat on his palms.
He said, "Remember to come back soon."
Meng Qingluan smiled easily, "It's just changing clothes, it'll be quick, you eat first."
"Um."
"..."
Meng Qingluan slipped her hand into the dry sleeve of the other hand.
The palace maid led her along the way, and the journey was normal. Finally, she was led to a palace gate.
Meng Qingluan stopped, looked up at the three large characters "Changle Palace" on the plaque, and was speechless.
Could Consort Wan be any more stupid?
It's one thing to trip her up, and she can forgive clumsy methods, but couldn't you have been a little more careful in framing her?
Which kind family would scheme against someone, luring the victim into their own palace to frame them?
It's like they're practically branding the murderer's name on their foreheads.
But when the palace maid noticed that she hadn't followed, she turned to ask her.
"What's wrong, Madam?"
Meng Qingluan withdrew her gaze. "It's nothing."
The palace maid nodded. "Madam, please follow me. Our Lady's palace is quite large; be careful not to get lost. Besides, your sleeves are still wet; you might catch a cold."
Meng Qingluan didn't bother to respond and followed her upstairs.
The palace maid led her into Chang Le Palace, pushed open the door of a side hall, and stepped aside to let her pass.
"There are clothes in the wardrobe. Does Madam need my help?"
Meng Qingluan refused without hesitation, "No need, you can wait outside. I'll call you if anything happens."
"yes."
The palace maid turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Meng Qingluan looked at the neatly arranged clothes, picked one up, and brought it to her nose to smell it.
There is no odor.
She picked up the clothes again, shook them open, and saw that the clothes were just a thin layer, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were summer clothes.
Meng Qingluan clicked her tongue, turned her head, and started shouting.
"Someone, help me tie my belt."
The palace maid, who had just been standing at the door for a short while, was startled when she heard Meng Qingluan's shout.
Changing clothes so quickly?
Does that garment have a belt? I don't think I saw one.
Before the palace maid could think it over carefully, Meng Qingluan's urging voice came again.
Quickly pulling himself out of his thoughts, he hurried inside.
"Please forgive me, Madam. The floor at the entrance was slippery, and I slipped and fell, which delayed my entry."
The palace maid closed the door and explained.
"He doesn't even bother to think before he lies?" Meng Qingluan cursed inwardly.
With a beaming smile, she said, "It's alright, come and take a look. Why can't I tie this sash on my clothes?"
The palace maid cursed the fool inwardly, but still went over to see what was going on.
As she approached, the other person suddenly raised their hand and covered her face.
Before she could even utter a cry, the palace maid rolled her eyes and fainted.
Meng Qingluan opened her palm, looked at the white powder remaining in her hand, glanced at the unconscious palace maid lying on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh.
My goodness!
The thing Shen Yan gave me is so useful; it can charm an adult in less than a minute.
While marveling at the potency of the medicine, she quickly blew a breath into her palm.
He clapped his hands to remove the remaining powder, carried the palace maid to the bed, and stripped off her cotton-padded coat, leaving only the thin inner garment.
Meng Qingluan walked to the door, then turned back, covered her with the blankets on the bed, and turned her over so that only her sleeping back was visible to the person who came in.
Having done all this, she walked out of Chang Le Palace with her head down.
After leaving Chang Le Palace, Meng Qingluan did not return to the main hall by the same route. Instead, she went around to the garden and continued to wander along a secluded path.
Meng Qingluan did not leave. Instead, she chose a bench that was not wet from the snow and sat down, tossing two small pebbles in her hand to pass the time.
A short while later, she heard the sound of footsteps in the snow not far away.
Meng Qingluan stopped throwing the stones, picked up a stone in her hand, and threw it in a direction not far away.
"ah!"
The person stepped on the stones, slipped, and fell to the ground with a "thud." There was a thin layer of snow on the ice, making it very slippery. No matter how long they struggled, they couldn't get up.
Meng Qingluan walked out of the pavilion with a light laugh, stood on the steps of the pavilion, and looked at the woman who had slipped and fallen on the ground after stepping on a pebble.
"Your Highness, what a refined taste you have! Why are you thinking of lying on the ground so late at night?"
"Shall we go moon-gazing?"
Meng Qingluan squatted down, tossed the pebbles in her hand, and asked.
Consort Wan was so angry that she trembled all over, and the hair ornaments on her head shook with her violent breathing.
Her bottom was numb from the fall, and what angered her even more was that she had been tricked by this country girl again.
Consort Wan raised her head, chin held high, and rebuked sharply.
"How dare you! You, a mere subject, dare to defy me! Do you not want your head?"
Meng Qingluan smiled.
"Insubordination? What does 'Imperial Consort' mean? Does it mean that I, as a subject, am going against you, the dignified Imperial Consort, or... that I, as your good daughter-in-law, am going against you, my mother-in-law?"
Consort Wan's smug expression vanished completely, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she stared intently at Meng Qingluan.
After a two-second pause, she blinked her beautiful eyes, grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, and threw it at Meng Qingluan.
"You shameless woman, what nonsense are you spouting? You must be blinded by greed. You've been living in the countryside without parents for so long, you probably want to call everyone you see 'father' and 'mother'!"
"If you dare to spout such nonsense in front of me again, do you believe I'll take your head right now?"
Consort Wan grabbed snowflakes and tree branches and threw them haphazardly at Meng Qingluan, while growling warnings in a low voice, her eyes fixed on her with the venom of a viper.
Meng Qingluan met her gaze through the snow and mist, and remained squatting in place.
As Consort Wan's voice faded, a hand precisely gripped her neck, and with a forceful squeeze, Consort Wan was knocked to the ground by an uncontrollable, powerful force.
The back of her head hit the cold ground hard, and the pain brought tears to her eyes instantly.
"How could the noble Imperial Concubine utter such vile words as we are country bumpkins?"
"You...you wild girl, let me go at once!"
Consort Wan's eyes were filled with stars. She grabbed Meng Qingluan's arm and pounded it wildly, still nagging and arguing.
Meng Qingluan increased the pressure on her hand, feeling the pulse thumping in her palm.
"What? You sowed the seed yourself, and you're afraid to admit it? Is it so hard to acknowledge that Shen Yan is your child?"
"Get out!" Consort Wan screamed, her eyes bloodshot. "I only have one child, and that is the seventh prince, Li Zhanqi! His surname is Li, not Chen!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Meng Qingluan slapped her across the face with her backhand. Consort Wan's head was thrown to the side, and her jade earring left a bloody mark on her face.
Consort Wan quickly turned her head and stared intently at her.
"Meng Qingluan, are you tired of living? Do you want to kill me? Do you think the Emperor and Li Zhanqi will let you go?"
Meng Qingluan slapped her again.
Consort Wan, unable to hold back her tears, growled in a low voice.
"Even if you beat me to death today, I will never acknowledge Shen Yan as my child. His parents are dead, so let him find a godparent; don't try to claim any relatives. A bastard is still a bastard..."
"You're the bastard!"
After Meng Qingluan finished speaking, she punched her in the face.
Consort Wan's nose bled profusely from the punch, and she screamed and cried out loudly.
"My face! You brat! My face! My face is ruined!"
"..."
Ignoring her kicking legs, Meng Qingluan grabbed her by the back of her collar and dragged her along.
Consort Wan, who had been covering her face, began to panic as she sensed something was increasingly wrong.
His arm instinctively reached back, trying to grab Meng Qingluan's hand, but he couldn't reach it no matter what he did.
Overwhelmed by the fear of death, Consort Wan wept uncontrollably, her makeup smeared with blood and tears, and fine lines piling up around her eyes.
"Madam Shen, please let me go! I beg you, I'll admit to anything you want me to say, okay?"
"I admit... I admit that Shen Yan is my child, Ah... he is indeed my child!"
"You brat, let me go! I'm the Imperial Concubine! I just came to find you on my own. When the nanny who's with me notices I'm gone, she'll definitely..."
"thump--"
Consort Wan's voice abruptly stopped, disappearing into the silent garden.
She was then thrown into the icy lake.
Consort Wan, in a dizzying, disoriented turn, cried out involuntarily.
"Help me! Help me!"
Meng Qingluan threw her into the lake, slowly pulled her hand back, and replied gently.
"My hands are dirty, and I often hold hands with Shen Yan, so I'm afraid it might offend someone as delicate as you."
Consort Wan, as a young lady from a wealthy family, was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, making her a worthy candidate for a noblewoman from the Central Plains.
She was a complete landlubber, knowing absolutely nothing about swimming. Even if she fell into the diving area by the lake, she would only flail her arms wildly.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale, even bluish, and her sleek, oily hair slipped down, sticking wetly to her face.
Her former elegance and beauty were gone; she was utterly disheveled.
Meng Qingluan crossed her arms over her chest, squinted, and unconsciously thought of what Shen Yan had mentioned before.
In winter, he was once chased by Consort Wan's personal guards. In the winter, when the temperature was below minus ten degrees Celsius, he was forced to hide in the frozen lake, because no one would believe that a child would hide in the lake to escape.
After all, jumping into the lake would only lead to certain death; one would simply freeze to death.
Suddenly, Meng Qingluan blurted out the question.
"If Shen Yan was being chased when he was a child and jumped into the lake in front of you, would you save him?"
"..."
Consort Wan wouldn't listen to a word, and the waves splashing on the water gradually shrank.
Meng Qingluan watched coldly as her strength gave out and her body gradually sank.
She suddenly took a step to the right, and soon the person in the lake disappeared.
The ripples on the lake had not yet completely subsided, and the water splashed and gradually shrank.
Meng Qingluan turned her head and met the gaze of the man behind her.
He looked at her and, unexpectedly, praised her.
"You are very smart."
"..."
Meng Qingluan did not answer, but simply patted the dirt off her hands and turned to walk towards a secluded path on the side of the garden.
Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?
“You can try, but I’m sure you won’t make such a stupid decision.”
"You're very confident?"
"It's not about confidence. After all, I've become a tool you borrowed, helping you do what you wanted to do, haven't I?"
The man chuckled softly.
"yes."
"So, I should be your benefactor, Seventh Prince?"
"please."
Li Zhanqi gestured for him to proceed, but said nothing more.
Today, she and Shen Yan deliberately fell into Consort Wan's trap, mainly for one person.
The little princess of the Golden Horde, Ayek.
Meng Qingluan turned left and right, searching for a secluded plum grove, and then discovered a desolate palace behind the peach grove.
The palace is hidden deep in the forest. Its appearance is very different from ordinary palaces. It is closed at the four corners and has a rectangular layout, resembling a huge coffin.
The corner of the wall was shrouded in a gray haze, covered with cobwebs, and the branches inside had spread out and withered on the wall.
There was no one guarding the palace gates, and the bright red doors stood out eerily against the gray backdrop.
In the middle of the night, Meng Qingluan's back was unconsciously covered in sweat.
My hands and feet trembled involuntarily, and my teeth chattered. It wasn't out of fear, but out of cold—a bone-chilling cold that felt as if every pore was being chilled by the wind.
Meng Qingluan silently uttered "Amitabha" in her heart, continued walking forward, and reached out to try to push the door open.
Contrary to expectations, the door was easily pushed open.
"Squeak—"
The sound of the door being pushed open echoed in my ears, and the voice lingered for a long time before gradually fading away and disappearing.
Meng Qingluan couldn't help but get goosebumps.
It was empty and cold.
This was Meng Qingluan's first impression.
The courtyard was pitch black and deserted. She stood there and looked around.
After hesitating for a moment, Meng Qingluan took two steps in the dim light streaming in from outside. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past her and brushed against her ankle.
Meng Qingluan screamed.
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