Chapter 15
Xiao Quanzi was a young eunuch whom Li Xiaoran had rescued by chance. After several twists and turns, he was transferred to the Plum Garden, where many high-ranking officials and their families often came to visit, making it the most convenient place to send messages.
"After court, Shao Sizhi wanted to catch up with Grand Secretary Liu, so they met in the pavilion."
Li Xiaoran glanced at her and, seeing that she was unmoved, took the ice cream from her hand and said irritably, "You should be more ambitious. Look at Consort Su and Consort Ming, how quickly they rose in rank. What would you do if I were assassinated one day? You might as well show off a bit while I'm around, otherwise, if someone tries to harm you, no one will even notice if there's a fly on your body."
Consort Su, the daughter of the prime minister, was the noblewoman who, upon entering the palace, bypassed Consort Ling and went to pay respects to Consort Gui first. Consort Ming was gentle and graceful, the most beautiful woman presented as tribute from the Jiangnan region. As soon as she caught Shao Sizhi's eye, she captivated him completely, and he would run to Consort Ming's palace every day.
As for the others, three beauties, four consorts, and two noble ladies entered the palace. The ones who rose quickly were Consort Qi and Consort Yi.
People were coming into the palace like goods were being delivered.
Qi Nian'an shrugged indifferently, casually picked a flower from Li Xiaoran's vase, put it in her hair, and started dancing.
The beauty had bright eyes and white teeth, and every smile and frown was lively and charming. Her waist was slender and supple, and she was naturally very skillful. Coupled with her soft and faint singing, she made Li Xiaoran stare straight at her.
"I'm only dancing for you to see; the one surnamed Shao isn't worthy."
She flashed a dazzling smile, revealing her incredibly bright white teeth, and raised her eyes wide in a charmingly radiant way.
Li Xiaoran shook her head helplessly, lowered her head, and continued to deal with the matter.
At least she hadn't been sidelined yet, but Consort Yi was pressing her step by step, and taking advantage of Shao Sizhi's indifference, she became increasingly arrogant. With the arrival of many talented young men from the Gao family, there were signs that she was beginning to overshadow Li. How could she not be anxious?
After all, the Gao family was not one to show mercy. If those people were to gain power, they would ruthlessly eliminate anyone who disagreed with them.
"Do you think this flower is a good match for me?"
Qi Nian'an pointed at her furrowed brows and laughed heartlessly.
"I'm not good enough for you."
Consort Ling could not resist that bright gaze and responded with a smile.
Laughter echoed through Zhengyang Palace. Qi Nian'an, satisfied, took the secret letter and went to find Xiao Quanzi.
Xiao Quanzi was a straightforward person. Without saying a word, she left. As she turned her head, she happened to see Shao Sizhi with an extremely beautiful woman beside him. She was just like a peony in a traditional Chinese painting. Every smile and frown of hers was gentle, like water.
"Nan Zhi, who is that?"
“Consort Ming, that must be Consort Ming.”
Qi Nian'an responded with an "oh," a strange feeling of bittersweetness welling up inside her, which was quickly suppressed by joy.
She waved to Li Xiaoyi, who was following behind Mingfei.
Li Xiaoyi turned his head away as if he hadn't seen her. After a long while, Qi Nian'an remembered that Consort Jia had left her a letter before she died, in which she was told to stay away from Li Xiaoyi if she saw him.
Alas, winter has passed, and the friendships of old friends come and go quickly.
She sighed to herself, then suddenly stumbled into a bush. Nan Zhi rushed over to help her up, and with great difficulty pulled her up. When she looked up, she met four pairs of piercing, unsettling gazes.
Shao Sizhi was unfazed, and with a slight raise of his eyebrows, he began to stare at her with a mocking gaze.
Li Xiaoyi, who was standing nearby, had the idea of going forward to help, but the old man behind him grabbed him and glared at him.
Consort Ming then stepped forward to help her up, and even carefully patted off the leaves wrapped around her body.
"This must be Consort An, right? She looks like a little cat." She lowered her eyes to wipe the dirt off Consort An's face and smiled slightly. "Your Majesty, please don't laugh at her. Look how thinly she's dressed. It's springtime, not as warm as the sunny sky. It wouldn't be good if she caught a cold."
Upon hearing this, Shao Sizhi reluctantly took off his thin cloak and handed it to Qi Nian'an.
He still had that arrogant look, a cold smile that was annoying to look at; nothing good ever came from meeting him.
Qi Nian'an took it with a hint of annoyance, then smiled sweetly at Ming Fei: "Thank you."
Shao Sizhi coldly reminded him from the side, "My cloak."
"oh."
Qi Nian'an put on his tuxedo and walked straight away without waiting for him to say anything.
"Your Majesty, wait for me!"
Nan Zhi caught up, then looked back sheepishly. Seeing that sinister gaze constantly following the two of them, she was so flustered that she broke out in a cold sweat.
"She's so wonderful, Shao Sizhi doesn't deserve her!"
Once the crowd had dispersed, Qi Nian'an hurriedly stopped and stomped her feet in indignation.
How gentle! These palace walls are so tightly sealed that not even a wisp of warm breeze can get in, yet such a kind and gentle beauty was sent in!
She was about to say something more when she heard the hurried footsteps of several people.
It's strange. Ever since Shao Sizhi finished reorganizing the harem, the palace has finally become more organized. It's been a long time since we've seen such chaotic footsteps.
She ducked around the corner and peeked out.
Unexpectedly, they saw the fierce-looking eunuch holding a bowl of medicine, pressing the maid's chin down and forcefully pouring it into her mouth.
The palace maid's clothes were piled up in folds, her fingertips were broken and she was digging her fingertips into the floor, her toes were kicking and struggling, and her mouth was being forced to fill with an unknown black soup.
Qi Nian'an suddenly realized that this was a secluded spot in the palace—
"Stop yelling! Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save you!"
The eunuch chuckled, and Qi Nian'an followed suit, tossing the bricks in her hand.
Nan Zhi also quietly stood behind him.
box--
The chief eunuch was completely bewildered.
"I don't know if you're the dumber one or your master is the dumber one. At this time, Shao Sizhi is strictly investigating the movement of people in the palace. You insist on rushing into the line of fire at this time. Isn't that a bit too stupid?"
She scooped up the palace maid and kicked the eunuch who looked like a dead dog.
"Are you alright?"
Qi Nian'an bent down and spoke softly, then helped her up.
The palace maid's hair was disheveled, and her doe-like eyes were filled with gratitude. She sobbed softly, wiped the soup from her mouth, and took the water that Nan Zhi handed her.
"Thank you, thank you..."
She murmured like willow catkins drifting in the air, her already round, almond-shaped eyes appearing even more charming and touching.
She finally calmed herself down and gave her account in fits and starts, which felt like a layer of frost on one's heart, making it exceptionally cold.
"Since Consort Ming was unwilling, Consort Yi instructed Consort Su to find a pretext to torment me. I was working in the small kitchen preparing food, which meant I had the easiest access to imported goods. They said that if I would submit to them, they would send me to the Emperor's bed, but I was unwilling..."
Yi Xing's face was streaked with tears and snot as she looked desperately at the eunuch who was slowly waking up on the ground.
The eunuch was initially furious, but then he suddenly glanced at Nan Zhi behind Qi Nian'an, instantly composed himself, and gave a cold stern look.
“Your Highness Consort An, this palace maid has made a mistake. She only needs to be slightly punished. Why not return her to me? I still need to go back and report to Consort Su.”
He slowly wiped the grime off his hands, then raised his eyelids and gave Qi Nian'an a sinister look.
Beside her, Yi Xing trembled and glanced at Qi Nian'an with considerable unease.
Despair slowly enveloped her face, and tears streamed down her cheeks, a truly pitiful sight.
Qi Nian'an sneered, raised the brick in her hand, and delivered another heavy blow without hesitation. She lazily swung her wrist, and seeing that the eunuch did not dare to fight back, she continued to strike him again and again.
She said, "Even a werewolf wouldn't be as quick to reveal himself as you. Haven't you heard about my mental state? I hate it when people ramble on and on about things I don't understand."
The eunuch scrambled to his knees, clutching his head, before he could utter a single, vicious threat, only to be met with a sharp rap on the head.
The brick shattered, the eunuch was in despair, and the palace maid was stunned.
Qi Nian'an felt completely refreshed, threw away the brick, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Haven't we had enough frustrating things going on these days?
Consort Su has already gone so far as to poison the favored concubine. Her fearless attitude is truly astounding. If I don't save her today, Yixing may not be able to hold on until Consort Su gives up. Once Consort Ming falls, Noble Consort Yi will become even more powerful. What if she becomes arrogant and launches a sneak attack on her? How cunning!
We need to sort this out properly.
Yi Xing was gentle by nature, and Qi Nian'an was afraid that she would be bullied again if she went back, so he took her directly to his palace to protect her.
She didn't believe Consort Su would dare to come directly to her demanding the person back; she was determined to meddle in this matter.
"So now you're picking up people instead of sticks?"
Li Xiaoran was still holding the letter she was annotating when she looked up and stared in disbelief at the little palace maid behind Qi Nian'an.
Still seething with anger, Qi Nian'an recounted the entire situation in detail.
"Consort Su has truly gone mad. She's capable of anything, from murder to poisoning. You warned her just a few days ago, and now she's gone even further. Anyone who didn't know better would think this was northern Myanmar!"
"Shao Sizhi is such a coward. He can't even protect his own favorite concubine. He's so capable, yet he keeps Mingfei on his side while ignoring everything. I don't believe he was completely unaware of this!"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoran paused in her movements, raised her head with a cold expression, and stared directly at the trembling back of the palace maid.
"Of course he knows, he'd love for these people to fight like trapped beasts."
Having said that, she stood up, her wide red and gold-threaded robe casting a long shadow behind her.
Qi Nian'an looked up and stared directly into her eyes, listening as the person beside him murmured softly, "The Prime Minister has been quite active lately, paying close attention to all aspects of the land reclamation policy. His direct protégés are promoting it in the Yunyang area, and I hear it's going very smoothly, earning praise from the imperial court."
Li Xiaoran patted her shoulder.
"To put it simply, Consort Su's father has been making a fortune lately, and Shao Sizhi is unhappy about it. He wants to see Consort Su fall from grace. Consort Ming, who entered the palace at the same time as her, is the perfect target. He doesn't even need to lift a finger; Consort Yi will definitely instigate Consort Su to kill this stubborn newcomer."
"Recently, Consort Yi's reputation in the palace has been quite high. Her desires are growing, and I'm afraid her next step is to remove me, this old thorn in her side. But how will she do that?"
Qi Nian'an felt a chill run down her spine instantly.
"If the person I'm protecting, namely you, has offended the Emperor, then all the better."
"But Shao Sizhi doesn't have the resources to confront the powerful families yet. The foundation of the dynasty is still weak, and it's not time to cleanse it up. So no matter how outrageous you are, he won't say anything. Even if Li Xiaoyi still has feelings for you and can't help himself when he sees you, he'll pretend he didn't see it. Luckily you didn't do anything else, but I think there will be no shortage of such tests."
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