Chapter 30
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
Power of the Court : Just a Hand to Cover the Sky (Arc 2)
The candlelight was restless, and Xin Lan had told the story in all its glory.
From the time she became a woman, to the royal decree that prohibited her from being a woman.
Perhaps to gain leverage, Xin Lan likewise told the fact of sterility.
“I never thought in a million years that he would be such a person ——“
Qu Zhi’an murmured, looking at Xin Lan with eyes full of heartache.
At first, she had only felt that she was abnormal, but now she was even more sour when she thought about it.
If she hadn’t woken up in time to escape tonight, what would have been the end of her.
At first, Qu Zhi’an had thought the emperor was a good ruler worthy of her loyalty who would allow her to realise her ambitions, but now she thought that he was just a ruthless, despicable villain.
A man with such a cold heart was not the kind of ruler she wanted, a man with no sense of decency, a man with a narrow mind, a man who would not last long.
And what’s more, tonight, he had set her up.
“Don’t look at me like that, it’s all in the past. I have not yet asked your name, but if you do not wish to speak, then you need not, for there may not be any chance of meeting you in the future.”
What Xin Lan said was true on the surface, one was in the imperial court and the other in the harem, and it was true that it was not easy to run into each other.
But the truth is, if there is no chance, we have to create it.
“My name is Qu Zhi’an, the name of the Angelica, and the meaning of the word “peace”.”
“Qu Zhi’an,” Xin Lan pronounced the name word by word and smiled at the person, “I’ll make a note of it, Daren is not afraid that this is a handle?”
“It should have been important, but now ——” Qu Zhi’an’s face took on a hesitant look, “I don’t know when His Majesty knew I was a woman, if he did, why would he have drugged me and put me with you, unless ——“
“Unless he wanted people to know that I was with you, but didn’t want them to find out that you were a woman.”
Xin Lan said the standard answer, and that was what Qu Zhi’an wanted to say.
“But it is clear that we will both be condemned ——“
Qu Zhi’an had always had a delicate mind, but she didn’t know what the emperor intended by this.
“What if he takes a fancy to you?”
“Me?”
Qu Zhi’an pointed at herself, a little stunned.
A gust of wind blew in from outside the house, causing Qu Zhi’an to shiver.
Her whole body, including her clothes, were soaked to the skin and very uncomfortable, but as it was summer, she felt okay, and more importantly, she must not change this outfit she was wearing.
What made her feel even more uncomfortable was not the condition of this body, but what Xin Lan had just said.
“A good-looking, capable Lord Qu, who is very different from other women, knowing that you are a woman, do you think His Majesty will be attracted to you? Perhaps he would want to make a scene and say that I seduced you, that you were just drunk and punished me, while taking you to the palace, you were drugged weak and delirious, and there was some slight aiding effect, a lone man and a woman, what do you think would happen?” Xin Lan’s face curled into a mocking smile, but the words on her mouth didn’t cease, “More than a woman who is only in the harem, a courtier from the former dynasty can be a sharp blade in his hands to deal with his enemies, no?”
Xin Lan said the established facts of the original story, observing Qu Zhi’an’s reaction and seeing her brow furrowed with a look of disgust.
Qu Zhi’an was truly disgusted by what Xin Lan described, her stomach lurched.
But she knew it wasn’t delusion, but something that had a very good chance of happening.
She clenched her fists, this would never do.
She had come from home and dressed as a man because she wanted to escape marrying someone else, she didn’t want to spurn herself in the back of the house, and if she got it like this, what would that be?
She had no desire to be in the harem, and if she had to do this, what would she be doing?
Qu Zhi’an was so upset and irritable that her wet and sticky body made her feel even worse.
She knew that the problem of outside relatives was a headache for the emperor, and that she was a newcomer promoted by the emperor, and would inevitably fight against that force and become a sword in the emperor’s hands, which he did not need to do.
But on the contrary, he had to drug her and harbour that disgusting thought.
Qu Zhi’an had been feeling out of breath, and that breath was stuck uncomfortably in her chest.
Xin Lan took in all of her reactions and hooked his lips in his heart, wanting her to be disgusted.
The only way to pry someone over is for Qu Zhi’an to slowly turn away in disgust.
This world is not as easy as the last one to poach, after all, it was the battlefield of life and death before, it is normal to switch teams at any time, but in this world, what Xin Lan wants to do is to take away everything from the emperor, then this will inevitably have to include the heart of the rebellion, of course, Xin Lan has no intention of being the emperor herself, and if she does turn it over, as far as that situation is concerned, it is much better to be the regent than the emperor, but that is an afterthought.
In such a situation, few people would have the idea of revolting, even if Qu Zhi’an was now diabolical towards the emperor, the big deal would be to leave without being an official, but of course whether one could leave or not was still a matter of opinion, and in any case one could not yet draw people into one’s camp.
After all, disgust is not enough to support people to say anything, unless they are extremely arrogant or crazy.
This was something Xin Lan understood very well, just as before, she was on the side of the empire, serving the emperor, and there were subjects in the court who were dissatisfied with the emperor, and in the end there were people like traitors, if it was an internal rebellion then it could still be controlled, the most terrible thing was to collaborate with the enemy.
Suddenly, Xin Lan thought of this and thought of Consort Man.
Xin Lan estimated how long it had been since the incident had taken place, and Zero Nine gave an accurate figure.
It seemed to be about the same.
“Lord Qu, it’s time for you to leave, it’s best to say that you were pushed into some kind of pond, which, I’m sure, your lordship can fix yourself.”
Qu Zhi’an sniffed and nodded.
“I’ll trouble you tonight, Niangniang.”
“No need to call me that,” Xin Lan smiled, knowing that Qu Zhi’an was being kind to preserve her honor, “just call me by my name, Xin Lan, as in Smoke and Cloud.”
“Miss Xin.”
Qu Zhi’an nodded her head.
“Let me take you out, you don’t know your way around the palace, let’s take you to the small lake, do a full show.”
“Thank you very much.”
Qu Zhi’an had almost fully believed in Xin Lan’s hypothetical situation, and as far as she was concerned, Xin Lan had been kind to her.
Xin Lan put on her shirt and swept a glance at Qu Zhi’an’s breasts.
I don’t know if it was the flatness or the tightness of the strangulation, but it didn’t look different.
Chun Yue and Huo Hua saw the two of them come out of the room, Qu Zhi’an was soaked to the skin, but it looked like nothing had happened.
Xin Lan led Qu Zhi’an to a nearby lake and waved goodbye.
The colour in Qu Zhi’an’s eyes sank as she looked at her wet hair, still dripping with water, and then at the back of the man who was meandering away not far away.
When she looked up again, she pretended to be at a loss, as if she was walking aimlessly forward.
Xin Lan returned to the palace and sat down on a chair.
The emperor had no idea what else was going to happen. If this plan failed, who knew if he would have any other tricks up his sleeve.
The emperor and Qu Zhi’an have done their job, but anyone who knows that his or her boss might have thoughts of sexual harassment in the workplace will feel uncomfortable, right?
So who to start with next.
The former Xin Lan still has no one available, and the Xin family is very powerful, but that is the Xin family, not her Xin Lan.
It is true that the Xin family had great ambitions, first for the sake of the bed full of watts, and then because the new emperor wanted to eliminate them, and in order to protect themselves and not end up in a miserable situation, they had to work harder to put down roots, so that the emperor could not touch them, at least for the time being.
So they hoped that the Empress in the harem would give birth to a dragon son who would inherit the throne in the future, so that the Xin family could continue to flourish, but the original owner had not been able to give birth to a son or a daughter, and the Harem did not even have any children.
However, the original owner had not been able to give birth to any children, and the harem did not even have an heir.
But before that, Xin Lan has one more thing to do.
After the matter explained by His Majesty was finished, Hong Huan walked out through the palace gate.
Although he didn’t know why His Majesty had gone to such lengths to settle for the deposed Empress, who was already in the cold palace, as a beloved member of the inner circle, he didn’t need to ask questions about such matters, he just had to do as he was ordered.
He pushed open the door and returned home, subconsciously sensing a hint that something was wrong, but before he could react, he felt a pain in his rear end and fainted.
Xin Lan stepped out from behind the door and clapped her hands.
The one who had knocked her out, the one who had followed her, the one who had kicked open the door to her room and talked to her were all this man, and although the Emperor had signalled it, the main culprit was guilty, as was the accessory.
Although the emperor had ordered her to do so, the main culprit was guilty and so were the accomplices.
It was a good thing this person was living alone, otherwise she would have had to draw his attention halfway through the day to get her hands on him.
Looking at the man who had fallen to the ground, Xin Lan gave an extremely light smile.
This smile was familiar to Zero Nine, it had appeared on Xin Lan’s face when she had gone to fight Zou Yunfei in the last world.
She didn’t even leave any marks on his body, she just buried a needle in his waist with her inner strength.
It didn’t take her a minute to do this. She went into the room, took all the silver, and deliberately smashed and tossed things around to make it look as if the place had been looted.
She took up her light skills and left the place, making her way back to the palace and tumbling in through her window.
After putting the money away, Xin Lan undressed, and only then did she fall sound asleep.
And the timeline moved forward to a time when the banquet was still going on.
The smile on Wu Yanqing’s face dispersed a little as he heard the news from those at the bottom.
The people below him were observant and even the chatter was much quieter.
The banquet was coming to an end anyway, so Wu Yanqing had other things on his mind, so he let it disperse early.
When they returned to the Inner Hall, those kneeling at the bottom told them everything.
“How can you lose a woman?”
Wu Yanqing could not help but rebuke, pacing in front of the man, wanting to smash the things in his hand over, but thought better of it.
“Have you found the man yet?”
“No, my servant searched along that road and found nothing, and the same was not found in the cold palace.”
“Useless things!”
Wu Yanqing’s anger was hard to quell, his chest kept heaving.
This was all different from what he had expected to calculate, it should have been a very good outcome, but now it had turned out like this.
The one who had calculated was safe and sound, and the other one was nowhere to be found.
“Your Majesty, the scout has been found.”
A palace attendant came in to report.
“What? Where? Bring her in.”
Wu Yanqing’s eyes lit up and he immediately asked someone to bring the person in.
Not long after, the soaked Qu Zhi’an walked in and bowed to the emperor.
“You may go down first.”
Wu Yanqing brushed his sleeves, and the man kneeling on the floor immediately retreated.
“I said how come I didn’t see you during the banquet, where did you go? Why are you in such a mess?”
Wu Yanqing asked with great concern.
Qu Zhi’an pulled out an embarrassed smile, her heart chilling in a wave.
It was clear that this man had set her up, it was clear that he knew everything, and he could still pretend to care for her in front of her as if nothing was wrong, it was really a concern that people were not fortunate enough to bear.
“A maid told me to go to the pavilion in front of me to rest and bring me a sobering soup, but I somehow found myself soaking in the lake, so I hurriedly got up in the water, but I didn’t know the way, so I guess I was dizzy from the drink and somehow got there in a daze. The palace staff.”
Qu Zhi’an laughed in a rather shy embarrassment, her face reddening.
“You’re just confused.”
Wu Yanqing coaxed her, but she hadn’t noticed that his words were so ambiguous before, but now she was sensitive to it.
Perhaps it was because she was suspicious of her neighbor’s axe, Qu Zhi’an now felt wrong when she looked at the emperor’s every word and deed, they all seemed to be full of ambiguity, and she was exceptionally averse to that feeling.
But she could only pretend not to know, if she were to reveal it or reveal the slightest hint of it, then what would happen next would not be what she wanted to see.
She only wanted to be a minister, she did not want to think otherwise.
“Then I will leave you so that you can go home and change your clothes.”
“Why don’t you just rest at my place, I’ll have someone get you a set of clothes that fit you.”
“I won’t trouble Your Majesty, it’s not very late now, so your humble servant would like to go back as soon as possible.”
Wu Yanqing met Qu Zhi’an’s eyes and had to nod his head.
“Fine, then you should hurry back, even though it is this day, you should be careful not to catch the wind chill, remember to drink something to warm your body when you return.”
“Yes, thank you for your Majesty’s concern.”
Qu Zhi’an could not continue to face this face, she had to go back and tidy up properly.
Qu Zhi’an went home, she didn’t have a residence yet, she just rented a courtyard for herself.
After a bath and a cup of hot tea, she sat at the table in clean clothes.
The candle flames danced and illuminated her preoccupied face.
Qu Zhi’an had not thought that she would come to this point.
At first, she was reluctant to get married, so she left a note asking her family not to find her a husband and not to agree to any matchmaking, and left with a few hundred taels of silver and a family heirloom jade pendant.
Her father had always told her since she was a child that it was important to be happy in life, so she went off to be happy herself.
Coming from a merchant family, there were not that many rules, so she learnt many of them from her childhood.
In the meantime, she sent letters to her family, asking them to accept them, and started to travel with the silver she earned.
She wrote a lot about what she had seen and heard and what she thought. She had no intention of making a name for herself, she did not have a strong sense of merit, and her status was special, so it would not be child’s play if she was found out.
Originally she was happy, especially when she was discussing with the Emperor in the Golden Palace, and when she was debating with people in the teahouse, she even planned to join the court and serve the country for life.
However, it never occurred to her that tonight, so many things had happened.
Qu Zhi’an undressed and went to sleep, but she tossed and turned and could not sleep.
One moment was the emperor’s previous attitude, the next was his calculations, the next was that gorgeous but cold face, and finally it all converged into the scene where that hand pressed the back of her head without refusal and pressed her to her chest.
Soft and delicate, warm and fragrant to the bone.
Qu Zhi’an sat up violently from the bed and shook her head.
But when she lay down and closed her eyes, it was the image of Xin Lan talking in the barrel, sitting on the bed, combing her hair, and speaking with mockery and a cold face.
Qu Zhi’an sighed unconsciously and fell asleep with her thoughts on her mind.
The next day, Wu Yanqing found Hong Huan on duty with a sullen look on his face and casually asked what had happened.
“Last night, when I returned home, I found that my family had been burgled.”
Hong Huan smiled bitterly, his family’s fortune had been emptied, and he was still awakened by the sun today to find himself lying in the courtyard.
He didn’t say anything about being knocked unconscious, but it was a shame to say that an imperial guard was knocked unconscious by thieves in his own home.
The emperor was not in a good mood after the failure of his plan last night, but he was much more refreshed after a good night’s sleep, so he comforted his subordinates and passed by.
Hong Huan rubbed his back after he left, feeling uncomfortable, but not feeling anything different, so he didn’t take it to heart again.
In the cold palace Xin Lan began to quietly get busy, but of course, to outsiders it still looked like she was still just sitting in the harem dazed.
Xin Lan had asked Zero Nine to make her a statistical sheet of all the Consorts in the harem and the stakes behind them.
The emperor’s harem didn’t have many people now, for reasons that had been mentioned quite a few times before, and there were only about ten, not counting Xin Lan.
The relationships in the harem were easy to sort out, and there were five main factions.
The four main factions are the Empress, Guifei, Consort Man, Consort Xi, and the faction that doesn’t get involved in anything.
The original owner’s several Consorts, after the original owner stepped down only two still follow Xin Long, because their father and brother is working under the hand of the Xin family, either climbing relatives, or is a disciple, in short, is a boat, one day all the glory and one day all the loss, while there are two attitude is still unknown.
After all, people’s hearts are always complicated, not as clear as data.
The Emperor was supposed to fill his harem when he ascended the throne, but he kept pushing it back on the grounds that he was in mourning for three years, and now it is already the fourth year.
Both the Xin family and some of the old courtiers want the Emperor to start the selection process, and the Emperor has already resisted the pressure for most of the year and is probably not going to be able to resist any longer.
The Xin family is particularly anxious now, as Xin Long is just under thirteen years old and is simply unable to claim favour, let alone get pregnant, which is why a child is needed all the more to stabilise the situation.
The Xin family also knows that even if they have a child now, Xin Long remains a child, so how can she raise it well?
So they had to have a pregnant woman they could trust to be on the same side as them, and those emperors in the harem were unwilling to touch them, so someone new had to be put in, and the selection ceremony was imperative.
Xin Lan’s fingers tapped on the table, seeking to think that she could not go out to the event now, so she would have to let her young niece go.
Xin Long sneezed in her room and rubbed her nose.
“Mingxiang, have you prepared the new incense pouches?”
“It’s ready, didn’t slave servant bring it to you here, please smell it and see if you like it, it smells quite nice to slave servant.”
Xin Long smiled, put it on the end of her nose and nodded.
“Yes it smells good, aunt is really good.”
“Then the meal has also been prepared by the kitchen, do you want to try it first? When you think it’s good, it’s not too late to offer it to His Majesty.”
“Fine, have someone bring it.”
Initially, the Imperial Kitchen should have been responsible for this part of the meal, but when the former Empress lived in Changqiu Palace, occasionally she would want to eat something at night, either by having some medicine to improve her qi and nourish her body, so a special kitchen was opened up for this purpose, and now that Xin Long had moved in, it was just right to continue using it.
The red fruit was filled with crushed ice, which looked beautiful and delicious at the same time.
Xin Long originally only wanted to try a few bites, but ended up finishing the bowl straight away.
“It’s delicious and cooling, Auntie is really wonderful, order them to make two more bowls, one for you to fill up and send to Auntie, and one for me, I’ll go and bring it to His Majesty.”
“Master, you are not allowed to call for yourself like that now.”
Ming Xiang helplessly reminded her master who had forgotten to address herself again, it was okay in front of her, but not outside.
“I know, I know, bring it to my palace, go quickly.”
Wu Yanqing was in the imperial study, grading a book, the palace maid next to him was fanning him, the hall had a basin filled with ice, it wasn’t too stuffy.
“Your Majesty, the Empress is here.”
“What is she doing here?”
Wu Yanqing asked without raising his head, holding a brush and dipping it in some cinnabar water.
“To bring you some food to beat the heat.”
“Let her in.”
“En.”
There was the sound of footsteps approaching, and Wu Yanqing put down the memorial in his hand.
“Your Majesty, I have come to bring you food.”
The voice was as clear as an oriole chirping, causing Wu Yanqing to freeze, and only when he saw the little girl in the phoenix robe at the bottom did he suddenly remember that he had replaced his empress.
Faced with the little girl’s innocent smile, Wu Yanqing laughed coldly in his heart, but nodded with no expression on his face.
The bowl of snacks that was brought out emitted a cold air that made Wu Yanqing’s mouth and tongue water.
The little girl’s eyes looked at him expectantly, so Wu Yanqing had no choice but to pick up the spoon and take a sip, ready to let Xin Long go.
The red berry-like fruit had a sweet and sour taste, and Wu Yanqing was so restless from reading the memorials that he took one mouthful and finished the small bowl.
“It tasted quite good.”
Wu Yanqing nodded his head, and seeing the little girl’s smiling appearance, he also revealed a smile.
“Then I will leave Your Majesty to review the memorials.”
Xin Long said this in a serious manner, but her tone was vivacious.
Wu Yanqing looked at her back, his eyes taking on a look of regret.
If only this girl was not a member of the Xin family, it was a pity that she had been born in the wrong family.
After Xin Long returned, she dragged Ming Xiang to be happy for a while, and then sent Ming Xiang to bring food to Xin Lan, when Ming Xiang delivered it, Xin Lan called her to stop.
“Is Your Majesty happy?”
“Delighted, and smiling at His Majesty, thanks to the Third Miss’s idea.”
The original master was the third daughter and had been called that by the family’s servants before she was married, but now that she had become an abolished Empress, she was still referred to respectfully as Your Majesty, and since Ming Xiang was a member of the Xin family, it made sense for her to be called Third Miss.
“As long as you are happy.”
Xin Lan showed a faint smile, if he couldn’t die after eating it, it was better to be really infertile, but unfortunately, the effect was too slow.
But it did not matter, Xin Lan always felt that Man Fei would not do nothing, for the time being, Man Fei was considered one of the more helpful to her plan.
“By the way, has Long’er visited Consort Liu in the past two days since she entered the palace?”
“Not yet —— master she doesn’t know how to deal with it yet.”
“Long’er is young, you still need to help with many things, I think Consort Liu is not feeling well, so she probably hasn’t visited her, right?”
“Yes, I have not been there.”
“Then it is all the more important for her, the Empress, to visit, you must pay attention to see the reactions of those people, don’t get too close, save the same pot of dirty water from being poured over both of our Xin family.”
“Yes.”
“You are always running around, which is not convenient, but also too conspicuous, in the future I will have someone deliver a letter to you and Long’er, but keep an eye on it.”
“Yes.”
Mingxiang left with the food box, and Xin Lan sipped the cold, cool food, and ordered Sitong to do something.
The Xin family has many secret players in the palace, and the original owner has been operating for so many years, but not without them. Sometimes the more inconspicuous a person is, the more helpful they can be.
In the case of the messenger, if it was always Mingxiang who came over, someone would have seen it and would have become suspicious.
But what if it was just someone from the imperial kitchen bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the kitchen of Changqiu Palace?
Xin Lan bit into the fruit in her mouth and felt the juice explode between her taste buds. She licked the juice from her lips with the tip of her tongue and smiled as she continued to eat the snacks in her bowl.
Hearing the words passed by Mingxiang, Xinlong immediately wanted to move to go to Consort Liu’s place, but was hurriedly stopped by Mingxiu.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t Auntie want me to go see Consort Liu?”
“Master, you should also wait, don’t be too anxious, I just came out of the Third Miss’ place, if you go now, it’s inevitable that people with a heart will see it and not connect the dots.”
“But Auntie and I are family, we will definitely be linked together.”
Xinlong asked, not quite understanding, what did going now have to do with going later?
“But when you go to the palace, the stakes will be different.”
“How is it different?”
Mingxiu didn’t know how to make it clear to Xinlong, who was still a young girl who had never done anything bad or seen anything ugly, and it was difficult for her to understand all those human feelings and worldly affairs at once.
Her mother had said that if she didn’t understand, she should listen to Mingxiu, so she could wait until she got back.
Mingxiu looked at Xinlong’s back as she went into the inner room to take a nap, and felt a bit worried.
Even if the Madam wanted to direct, yet one was in the deep palace and the other was outside, it was beyond her reach.
In the past few days, she had seen clearly that those few noblemen in the palace were not something to be messed with.
After the sun had gone down, Xinlong took Mingxiang to Consort Liu’s residence.
When the phoenix carriage arrived at the Consort’s residence, a palace attendant went in to inform her.
When she went in, she saw a pale woman lying on the bed.
It was this woman who had lost her child, and this basin of dirty water had been poured on her aunt.
“How has your health been lately?”
Xinlong asked, some distance from the bed, looking at Consort Liu.
Mingxiu had said that her aunt said not to stand too close when looking.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, the Consorts are fine, it’s just that it’s not quite convenient yet, so I can’t get up to pay my respects to Your Majesty, please forgive me.”
“It’s alright, just lie down, this palace has not seen you since you entered the palace, so I came to take a look.”
The two were by no means on friendly terms, and although Xinlong was a little uninitiated in the world, her mind could tell which were enemies and which were not.
There was nothing more to say, and it would be pointless to force the conversation.
Xinlong had come here on Xin Lan’s advice, and did not want to stay longer, fearing that something might happen.
It was only when Xinlong returned to the palace that she felt something was wrong.
“Strange ——“
“What’s wrong, master? What’s strange?”
“How come she doesn’t hate me when she sees me, she doesn’t look angry at all, isn’t losing a child a very serious matter, if she thinks my aunt did it, how come she isn’t even angry at all when she sees me?”
Xinlong mumbled, the last time a family of gentry had bullied her best friend, she had seen his brother get angry.
“You are the Empress, she is only a Consort, how dare she be displeased with you, besides, an aunt is an aunt, a niece is a niece, maybe she can tell the difference, although we know in our hearts that this matter was not done by the third miss.”
“Is that so ——“
Xin Long murmured, not putting this matter into mind either, throwing it to the back of her mind.
Apart from this recipe, Xin Lan was also working on other foods.
She had an informant in the imperial kitchen, and that informant was also responsible for conveying to her some of the more important things she had heard, in addition to passing notes.
Compared to Consort Liu who was lying in bed, her health was deteriorating.
The miscarriage was supposed to be a harmful thing to the body, and the healthcare was low at this time, so Xin Lan was not very surprised to hear this news.
However, it was not even two days before she had an accident.
That day in her sleep, Xin Lan was called up by Zero Nine.
Zero Nine: Host, something big has happened, Consort Liu is about to die.
Zero Nine: She is still struggling.
Xin Lan was so shocked that she sat up and wanted to get out of bed and get dressed, but stopped again.
However, even if she could save the woman, she would not be able to explain herself clearly.
Zero Nine: She is dying.
Xin Lan frowned, if someone was going to kill Consort Liu, it should be the person behind it.
Zero Nine: She’s dead.
Zero Nine finished and was silent for a moment.
Xin Lan also followed the silence, with stern frown on her brow.
Xin Lan was not surprised, but why did Consort Man want to kill her?
If the miscarriage was the work of Consort Man, then why did she keep on chasing after her?
Xin Lan: Where is the murderer?
Zero Nine: I don’t know, she was talking to the servant girl on the bed, and suddenly she grabbed her clothes and collapsed on the bed, and in less than a minute, she was dead.
Xin Lan frowned more tightly, without scanning the body, Zero Nine is unable to determine the cause of death of that person.
The night was as cool as water.
The heavy clouds covered the moon, so that it only let out a little hazy light, even the stars are dull, only a few still bright.
Only a few of them were still bright, but they could not light up the heaven and earth, nor could they light up the hearts of the people.
Consort Liu fell softly on the bed, her face was blue and white, her chest did not rise and fall, she was already dead.
“Master, what’s wrong with you master, wake up master!”
Ah Ruo shouted in panic at the bedside, gently shaking the person on the bed in her hand.
“Master, I’m going to call someone for you, master, wake up!”
A Rou had no time to react at all before she saw her master fall down in pain, and within a few moments he was quiet.
A Rou trembled and reached out her hand and placed it under the nose of the person on the bed, but in an instant, A Rou dropped her hand with a pale face.
“How can this be, how can this be ——“
“Impossible, it’s impossible for something to happen to the master just like that.”
Ah Ruo opened the door and wanted to run out, and when she opened the door she was suddenly grabbed by a hand.
“Ah Lan, the master is gone.”
Ah Ruo’s voice had a crying tone in it, a look of the sky falling.
“Ah Rou, calm down, you listen to me and you tell —–“
“You do know isn’t it! Is it her. I’m going to find her, I’m going to find her, why is she doing this to the master!”
“Listen to me and talk!”
Ah Ruo couldn’t listen at all and was about to rush outside.
“I’ll tell His Majesty, I’ll tell His Majesty everything!”
Ah Ruo chanted, breaking away from the hand that was pulling her.
Suddenly her neck was strangled, and Ah Roo’s face turned red, her feet were stomping around.
“Now that the situation is like this, are you still unable to distinguish what is a wise move?”
The man said, while strangling Ah Roo’s neck with force.
“Ah Ruo, I do not want to hurt you, you calm down, listen to me, tomorrow if His Majesty asks, your master’s body is already getting weaker and weaker, it will not last through tonight, understand?”
“Originally — here — is that you —“
Ah Ruo swayed her body and tried to make a loud sound, but could only make a little tiny sound that squeezed out from her throat.
“Ah Rou, she will pay us a lot of silver to get us out of the palace.”
Listening to her wrath, Ah Roo lifted her foot and viciously stepped on the foot of the person controlling her.
Ah Lan took the pain and relaxed the force on his hand, and Ah Rou took the opportunity to run out.
Ah Lan did not hesitate anymore, but continued to follow out.
Ah Ruo ran on the road that led to the Golden Palace, although it was said that His Majesty was definitely not there, but as long as someone was alerted, no matter who it was, as long as it was not that person’s people, there was hope.
Ah Ruo covered her throat, where the pain was extraordinary.
She passed through an archway and stopped in a hurry to see a man standing in front of her, looking from side to side as if looking for something.
Ah Ruo felt bad subconsciously, immediately turned back to run.
But the man seemed to have found her, and hurriedly came towards her.
Ah Ruo could hear the sound of her heart thumping, at this time, the sound of footsteps came from the road on the left, she did not know who it was, but wanted to escape.
She dove head first towards the road she was unfamiliar with, but felt the footsteps following her and couldn’t get rid of them.
She turned around and did find the approaching figure, she was at this end of the long aisle and the man was at that end, Ah Roo didn’t know if it was Ah Lan, but knew that the man was also running forward.
” Ah Rou.”
The man called so.
It was the person beside that person!
Ah Ruo almost cried with fear, she wanted to shout to wake up the people around, but her throat could not make a sound.
The man behind her was about to catch up with her, and Ah Roo struggled to run forward, but fell.
She got up in pain and saw a palace ahead of her, just run and tap the door, someone would come out to save her.
Being so panicked, she didn’t know where she had run to and how this road should go.
She ran with a limp and began to tap on the door over and over, looking at the people who were running in this direction as she did so.
Please, please open the door.
Ah Ruo prayed inwardly in despair, knocking louder and louder.
Save her, save her!
If you get caught, you’ll die, you’ll die!
She didn’t want to die yet, she didn’t want to be a dead soul in the ground.
Why is there no patrol at this time, why is there no one!
The door was still not open, but the man was not far from her.
Ah Ruo couldn’t push the door, so she endured the pain in her feet and continued to run forward.
She was grabbed by the collar and her eyes widened in horror.
Regardless, she grabbed the hand and bit it hard, then pushed it back and continued to stumble forward.
She saw the corner, one side of the wall, and could only run hard to the other side.
A hand suddenly grabbed her, yanked her hard, and covered her mouth.
Ah Ruo opened her eyes in despair, but heard a low voice behind her.
“Don’t be afraid.”
T/N:
Daren 大人 (dàren): title of respect toward superiors
Niangniang 娘娘 (niángniang): empress, way of adress
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Power of the Court : Just a Hand to Cover the Sky (Arc 2)
The candlelight was restless, and Xin Lan had told the story in all its glory.
From the time she became a woman, to the royal decree that prohibited her from being a woman.
Perhaps to gain leverage, Xin Lan likewise told the fact of sterility.
“I never thought in a million years that he would be such a person ——“
Qu Zhi’an murmured, looking at Xin Lan with eyes full of heartache.
At first, she had only felt that she was abnormal, but now she was even more sour when she thought about it.
If she hadn’t woken up in time to escape tonight, what would have been the end of her.
At first, Qu Zhi’an had thought the emperor was a good ruler worthy of her loyalty who would allow her to realise her ambitions, but now she thought that he was just a ruthless, despicable villain.
A man with such a cold heart was not the kind of ruler she wanted, a man with no sense of decency, a man with a narrow mind, a man who would not last long.
And what’s more, tonight, he had set her up.
“Don’t look at me like that, it’s all in the past. I have not yet asked your name, but if you do not wish to speak, then you need not, for there may not be any chance of meeting you in the future.”
What Xin Lan said was true on the surface, one was in the imperial court and the other in the harem, and it was true that it was not easy to run into each other.
But the truth is, if there is no chance, we have to create it.
“My name is Qu Zhi’an, the name of the Angelica, and the meaning of the word “peace”.”
“Qu Zhi’an,” Xin Lan pronounced the name word by word and smiled at the person, “I’ll make a note of it, Daren is not afraid that this is a handle?”
“It should have been important, but now ——” Qu Zhi’an’s face took on a hesitant look, “I don’t know when His Majesty knew I was a woman, if he did, why would he have drugged me and put me with you, unless ——“
“Unless he wanted people to know that I was with you, but didn’t want them to find out that you were a woman.”
Xin Lan said the standard answer, and that was what Qu Zhi’an wanted to say.
“But it is clear that we will both be condemned ——“
Qu Zhi’an had always had a delicate mind, but she didn’t know what the emperor intended by this.
“What if he takes a fancy to you?”
“Me?”
Qu Zhi’an pointed at herself, a little stunned.
A gust of wind blew in from outside the house, causing Qu Zhi’an to shiver.
Her whole body, including her clothes, were soaked to the skin and very uncomfortable, but as it was summer, she felt okay, and more importantly, she must not change this outfit she was wearing.
What made her feel even more uncomfortable was not the condition of this body, but what Xin Lan had just said.
“A good-looking, capable Lord Qu, who is very different from other women, knowing that you are a woman, do you think His Majesty will be attracted to you? Perhaps he would want to make a scene and say that I seduced you, that you were just drunk and punished me, while taking you to the palace, you were drugged weak and delirious, and there was some slight aiding effect, a lone man and a woman, what do you think would happen?” Xin Lan’s face curled into a mocking smile, but the words on her mouth didn’t cease, “More than a woman who is only in the harem, a courtier from the former dynasty can be a sharp blade in his hands to deal with his enemies, no?”
Xin Lan said the established facts of the original story, observing Qu Zhi’an’s reaction and seeing her brow furrowed with a look of disgust.
Qu Zhi’an was truly disgusted by what Xin Lan described, her stomach lurched.
But she knew it wasn’t delusion, but something that had a very good chance of happening.
She clenched her fists, this would never do.
She had come from home and dressed as a man because she wanted to escape marrying someone else, she didn’t want to spurn herself in the back of the house, and if she got it like this, what would that be?
She had no desire to be in the harem, and if she had to do this, what would she be doing?
Qu Zhi’an was so upset and irritable that her wet and sticky body made her feel even worse.
She knew that the problem of outside relatives was a headache for the emperor, and that she was a newcomer promoted by the emperor, and would inevitably fight against that force and become a sword in the emperor’s hands, which he did not need to do.
But on the contrary, he had to drug her and harbour that disgusting thought.
Qu Zhi’an had been feeling out of breath, and that breath was stuck uncomfortably in her chest.
Xin Lan took in all of her reactions and hooked his lips in his heart, wanting her to be disgusted.
The only way to pry someone over is for Qu Zhi’an to slowly turn away in disgust.
This world is not as easy as the last one to poach, after all, it was the battlefield of life and death before, it is normal to switch teams at any time, but in this world, what Xin Lan wants to do is to take away everything from the emperor, then this will inevitably have to include the heart of the rebellion, of course, Xin Lan has no intention of being the emperor herself, and if she does turn it over, as far as that situation is concerned, it is much better to be the regent than the emperor, but that is an afterthought.
In such a situation, few people would have the idea of revolting, even if Qu Zhi’an was now diabolical towards the emperor, the big deal would be to leave without being an official, but of course whether one could leave or not was still a matter of opinion, and in any case one could not yet draw people into one’s camp.
After all, disgust is not enough to support people to say anything, unless they are extremely arrogant or crazy.
This was something Xin Lan understood very well, just as before, she was on the side of the empire, serving the emperor, and there were subjects in the court who were dissatisfied with the emperor, and in the end there were people like traitors, if it was an internal rebellion then it could still be controlled, the most terrible thing was to collaborate with the enemy.
Suddenly, Xin Lan thought of this and thought of Consort Man.
Xin Lan estimated how long it had been since the incident had taken place, and Zero Nine gave an accurate figure.
It seemed to be about the same.
“Lord Qu, it’s time for you to leave, it’s best to say that you were pushed into some kind of pond, which, I’m sure, your lordship can fix yourself.”
Qu Zhi’an sniffed and nodded.
“I’ll trouble you tonight, Niangniang.”
“No need to call me that,” Xin Lan smiled, knowing that Qu Zhi’an was being kind to preserve her honor, “just call me by my name, Xin Lan, as in Smoke and Cloud.”
“Miss Xin.”
Qu Zhi’an nodded her head.
“Let me take you out, you don’t know your way around the palace, let’s take you to the small lake, do a full show.”
“Thank you very much.”
Qu Zhi’an had almost fully believed in Xin Lan’s hypothetical situation, and as far as she was concerned, Xin Lan had been kind to her.
Xin Lan put on her shirt and swept a glance at Qu Zhi’an’s breasts.
I don’t know if it was the flatness or the tightness of the strangulation, but it didn’t look different.
Chun Yue and Huo Hua saw the two of them come out of the room, Qu Zhi’an was soaked to the skin, but it looked like nothing had happened.
Xin Lan led Qu Zhi’an to a nearby lake and waved goodbye.
The colour in Qu Zhi’an’s eyes sank as she looked at her wet hair, still dripping with water, and then at the back of the man who was meandering away not far away.
When she looked up again, she pretended to be at a loss, as if she was walking aimlessly forward.
Xin Lan returned to the palace and sat down on a chair.
The emperor had no idea what else was going to happen. If this plan failed, who knew if he would have any other tricks up his sleeve.
The emperor and Qu Zhi’an have done their job, but anyone who knows that his or her boss might have thoughts of sexual harassment in the workplace will feel uncomfortable, right?
So who to start with next.
The former Xin Lan still has no one available, and the Xin family is very powerful, but that is the Xin family, not her Xin Lan.
It is true that the Xin family had great ambitions, first for the sake of the bed full of watts, and then because the new emperor wanted to eliminate them, and in order to protect themselves and not end up in a miserable situation, they had to work harder to put down roots, so that the emperor could not touch them, at least for the time being.
So they hoped that the Empress in the harem would give birth to a dragon son who would inherit the throne in the future, so that the Xin family could continue to flourish, but the original owner had not been able to give birth to a son or a daughter, and the Harem did not even have any children.
However, the original owner had not been able to give birth to any children, and the harem did not even have an heir.
But before that, Xin Lan has one more thing to do.
After the matter explained by His Majesty was finished, Hong Huan walked out through the palace gate.
Although he didn’t know why His Majesty had gone to such lengths to settle for the deposed Empress, who was already in the cold palace, as a beloved member of the inner circle, he didn’t need to ask questions about such matters, he just had to do as he was ordered.
He pushed open the door and returned home, subconsciously sensing a hint that something was wrong, but before he could react, he felt a pain in his rear end and fainted.
Xin Lan stepped out from behind the door and clapped her hands.
The one who had knocked her out, the one who had followed her, the one who had kicked open the door to her room and talked to her were all this man, and although the Emperor had signalled it, the main culprit was guilty, as was the accessory.
Although the emperor had ordered her to do so, the main culprit was guilty and so were the accomplices.
It was a good thing this person was living alone, otherwise she would have had to draw his attention halfway through the day to get her hands on him.
Looking at the man who had fallen to the ground, Xin Lan gave an extremely light smile.
This smile was familiar to Zero Nine, it had appeared on Xin Lan’s face when she had gone to fight Zou Yunfei in the last world.
She didn’t even leave any marks on his body, she just buried a needle in his waist with her inner strength.
It didn’t take her a minute to do this. She went into the room, took all the silver, and deliberately smashed and tossed things around to make it look as if the place had been looted.
She took up her light skills and left the place, making her way back to the palace and tumbling in through her window.
After putting the money away, Xin Lan undressed, and only then did she fall sound asleep.
And the timeline moved forward to a time when the banquet was still going on.
The smile on Wu Yanqing’s face dispersed a little as he heard the news from those at the bottom.
The people below him were observant and even the chatter was much quieter.
The banquet was coming to an end anyway, so Wu Yanqing had other things on his mind, so he let it disperse early.
When they returned to the Inner Hall, those kneeling at the bottom told them everything.
“How can you lose a woman?”
Wu Yanqing could not help but rebuke, pacing in front of the man, wanting to smash the things in his hand over, but thought better of it.
“Have you found the man yet?”
“No, my servant searched along that road and found nothing, and the same was not found in the cold palace.”
“Useless things!”
Wu Yanqing’s anger was hard to quell, his chest kept heaving.
This was all different from what he had expected to calculate, it should have been a very good outcome, but now it had turned out like this.
The one who had calculated was safe and sound, and the other one was nowhere to be found.
“Your Majesty, the scout has been found.”
A palace attendant came in to report.
“What? Where? Bring her in.”
Wu Yanqing’s eyes lit up and he immediately asked someone to bring the person in.
Not long after, the soaked Qu Zhi’an walked in and bowed to the emperor.
“You may go down first.”
Wu Yanqing brushed his sleeves, and the man kneeling on the floor immediately retreated.
“I said how come I didn’t see you during the banquet, where did you go? Why are you in such a mess?”
Wu Yanqing asked with great concern.
Qu Zhi’an pulled out an embarrassed smile, her heart chilling in a wave.
It was clear that this man had set her up, it was clear that he knew everything, and he could still pretend to care for her in front of her as if nothing was wrong, it was really a concern that people were not fortunate enough to bear.
“A maid told me to go to the pavilion in front of me to rest and bring me a sobering soup, but I somehow found myself soaking in the lake, so I hurriedly got up in the water, but I didn’t know the way, so I guess I was dizzy from the drink and somehow got there in a daze. The palace staff.”
Qu Zhi’an laughed in a rather shy embarrassment, her face reddening.
“You’re just confused.”
Wu Yanqing coaxed her, but she hadn’t noticed that his words were so ambiguous before, but now she was sensitive to it.
Perhaps it was because she was suspicious of her neighbor’s axe, Qu Zhi’an now felt wrong when she looked at the emperor’s every word and deed, they all seemed to be full of ambiguity, and she was exceptionally averse to that feeling.
But she could only pretend not to know, if she were to reveal it or reveal the slightest hint of it, then what would happen next would not be what she wanted to see.
She only wanted to be a minister, she did not want to think otherwise.
“Then I will leave you so that you can go home and change your clothes.”
“Why don’t you just rest at my place, I’ll have someone get you a set of clothes that fit you.”
“I won’t trouble Your Majesty, it’s not very late now, so your humble servant would like to go back as soon as possible.”
Wu Yanqing met Qu Zhi’an’s eyes and had to nod his head.
“Fine, then you should hurry back, even though it is this day, you should be careful not to catch the wind chill, remember to drink something to warm your body when you return.”
“Yes, thank you for your Majesty’s concern.”
Qu Zhi’an could not continue to face this face, she had to go back and tidy up properly.
Qu Zhi’an went home, she didn’t have a residence yet, she just rented a courtyard for herself.
After a bath and a cup of hot tea, she sat at the table in clean clothes.
The candle flames danced and illuminated her preoccupied face.
Qu Zhi’an had not thought that she would come to this point.
At first, she was reluctant to get married, so she left a note asking her family not to find her a husband and not to agree to any matchmaking, and left with a few hundred taels of silver and a family heirloom jade pendant.
Her father had always told her since she was a child that it was important to be happy in life, so she went off to be happy herself.
Coming from a merchant family, there were not that many rules, so she learnt many of them from her childhood.
In the meantime, she sent letters to her family, asking them to accept them, and started to travel with the silver she earned.
She wrote a lot about what she had seen and heard and what she thought. She had no intention of making a name for herself, she did not have a strong sense of merit, and her status was special, so it would not be child’s play if she was found out.
Originally she was happy, especially when she was discussing with the Emperor in the Golden Palace, and when she was debating with people in the teahouse, she even planned to join the court and serve the country for life.
However, it never occurred to her that tonight, so many things had happened.
Qu Zhi’an undressed and went to sleep, but she tossed and turned and could not sleep.
One moment was the emperor’s previous attitude, the next was his calculations, the next was that gorgeous but cold face, and finally it all converged into the scene where that hand pressed the back of her head without refusal and pressed her to her chest.
Soft and delicate, warm and fragrant to the bone.
Qu Zhi’an sat up violently from the bed and shook her head.
But when she lay down and closed her eyes, it was the image of Xin Lan talking in the barrel, sitting on the bed, combing her hair, and speaking with mockery and a cold face.
Qu Zhi’an sighed unconsciously and fell asleep with her thoughts on her mind.
The next day, Wu Yanqing found Hong Huan on duty with a sullen look on his face and casually asked what had happened.
“Last night, when I returned home, I found that my family had been burgled.”
Hong Huan smiled bitterly, his family’s fortune had been emptied, and he was still awakened by the sun today to find himself lying in the courtyard.
He didn’t say anything about being knocked unconscious, but it was a shame to say that an imperial guard was knocked unconscious by thieves in his own home.
The emperor was not in a good mood after the failure of his plan last night, but he was much more refreshed after a good night’s sleep, so he comforted his subordinates and passed by.
Hong Huan rubbed his back after he left, feeling uncomfortable, but not feeling anything different, so he didn’t take it to heart again.
In the cold palace Xin Lan began to quietly get busy, but of course, to outsiders it still looked like she was still just sitting in the harem dazed.
Xin Lan had asked Zero Nine to make her a statistical sheet of all the Consorts in the harem and the stakes behind them.
The emperor’s harem didn’t have many people now, for reasons that had been mentioned quite a few times before, and there were only about ten, not counting Xin Lan.
The relationships in the harem were easy to sort out, and there were five main factions.
The four main factions are the Empress, Guifei, Consort Man, Consort Xi, and the faction that doesn’t get involved in anything.
The original owner’s several Consorts, after the original owner stepped down only two still follow Xin Long, because their father and brother is working under the hand of the Xin family, either climbing relatives, or is a disciple, in short, is a boat, one day all the glory and one day all the loss, while there are two attitude is still unknown.
After all, people’s hearts are always complicated, not as clear as data.
The Emperor was supposed to fill his harem when he ascended the throne, but he kept pushing it back on the grounds that he was in mourning for three years, and now it is already the fourth year.
Both the Xin family and some of the old courtiers want the Emperor to start the selection process, and the Emperor has already resisted the pressure for most of the year and is probably not going to be able to resist any longer.
The Xin family is particularly anxious now, as Xin Long is just under thirteen years old and is simply unable to claim favour, let alone get pregnant, which is why a child is needed all the more to stabilise the situation.
The Xin family also knows that even if they have a child now, Xin Long remains a child, so how can she raise it well?
So they had to have a pregnant woman they could trust to be on the same side as them, and those emperors in the harem were unwilling to touch them, so someone new had to be put in, and the selection ceremony was imperative.
Xin Lan’s fingers tapped on the table, seeking to think that she could not go out to the event now, so she would have to let her young niece go.
Xin Long sneezed in her room and rubbed her nose.
“Mingxiang, have you prepared the new incense pouches?”
“It’s ready, didn’t slave servant bring it to you here, please smell it and see if you like it, it smells quite nice to slave servant.”
Xin Long smiled, put it on the end of her nose and nodded.
“Yes it smells good, aunt is really good.”
“Then the meal has also been prepared by the kitchen, do you want to try it first? When you think it’s good, it’s not too late to offer it to His Majesty.”
“Fine, have someone bring it.”
Initially, the Imperial Kitchen should have been responsible for this part of the meal, but when the former Empress lived in Changqiu Palace, occasionally she would want to eat something at night, either by having some medicine to improve her qi and nourish her body, so a special kitchen was opened up for this purpose, and now that Xin Long had moved in, it was just right to continue using it.
The red fruit was filled with crushed ice, which looked beautiful and delicious at the same time.
Xin Long originally only wanted to try a few bites, but ended up finishing the bowl straight away.
“It’s delicious and cooling, Auntie is really wonderful, order them to make two more bowls, one for you to fill up and send to Auntie, and one for me, I’ll go and bring it to His Majesty.”
“Master, you are not allowed to call for yourself like that now.”
Ming Xiang helplessly reminded her master who had forgotten to address herself again, it was okay in front of her, but not outside.
“I know, I know, bring it to my palace, go quickly.”
Wu Yanqing was in the imperial study, grading a book, the palace maid next to him was fanning him, the hall had a basin filled with ice, it wasn’t too stuffy.
“Your Majesty, the Empress is here.”
“What is she doing here?”
Wu Yanqing asked without raising his head, holding a brush and dipping it in some cinnabar water.
“To bring you some food to beat the heat.”
“Let her in.”
“En.”
There was the sound of footsteps approaching, and Wu Yanqing put down the memorial in his hand.
“Your Majesty, I have come to bring you food.”
The voice was as clear as an oriole chirping, causing Wu Yanqing to freeze, and only when he saw the little girl in the phoenix robe at the bottom did he suddenly remember that he had replaced his empress.
Faced with the little girl’s innocent smile, Wu Yanqing laughed coldly in his heart, but nodded with no expression on his face.
The bowl of snacks that was brought out emitted a cold air that made Wu Yanqing’s mouth and tongue water.
The little girl’s eyes looked at him expectantly, so Wu Yanqing had no choice but to pick up the spoon and take a sip, ready to let Xin Long go.
The red berry-like fruit had a sweet and sour taste, and Wu Yanqing was so restless from reading the memorials that he took one mouthful and finished the small bowl.
“It tasted quite good.”
Wu Yanqing nodded his head, and seeing the little girl’s smiling appearance, he also revealed a smile.
“Then I will leave Your Majesty to review the memorials.”
Xin Long said this in a serious manner, but her tone was vivacious.
Wu Yanqing looked at her back, his eyes taking on a look of regret.
If only this girl was not a member of the Xin family, it was a pity that she had been born in the wrong family.
After Xin Long returned, she dragged Ming Xiang to be happy for a while, and then sent Ming Xiang to bring food to Xin Lan, when Ming Xiang delivered it, Xin Lan called her to stop.
“Is Your Majesty happy?”
“Delighted, and smiling at His Majesty, thanks to the Third Miss’s idea.”
The original master was the third daughter and had been called that by the family’s servants before she was married, but now that she had become an abolished Empress, she was still referred to respectfully as Your Majesty, and since Ming Xiang was a member of the Xin family, it made sense for her to be called Third Miss.
“As long as you are happy.”
Xin Lan showed a faint smile, if he couldn’t die after eating it, it was better to be really infertile, but unfortunately, the effect was too slow.
But it did not matter, Xin Lan always felt that Man Fei would not do nothing, for the time being, Man Fei was considered one of the more helpful to her plan.
“By the way, has Long’er visited Consort Liu in the past two days since she entered the palace?”
“Not yet —— master she doesn’t know how to deal with it yet.”
“Long’er is young, you still need to help with many things, I think Consort Liu is not feeling well, so she probably hasn’t visited her, right?”
“Yes, I have not been there.”
“Then it is all the more important for her, the Empress, to visit, you must pay attention to see the reactions of those people, don’t get too close, save the same pot of dirty water from being poured over both of our Xin family.”
“Yes.”
“You are always running around, which is not convenient, but also too conspicuous, in the future I will have someone deliver a letter to you and Long’er, but keep an eye on it.”
“Yes.”
Mingxiang left with the food box, and Xin Lan sipped the cold, cool food, and ordered Sitong to do something.
The Xin family has many secret players in the palace, and the original owner has been operating for so many years, but not without them. Sometimes the more inconspicuous a person is, the more helpful they can be.
In the case of the messenger, if it was always Mingxiang who came over, someone would have seen it and would have become suspicious.
But what if it was just someone from the imperial kitchen bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the kitchen of Changqiu Palace?
Xin Lan bit into the fruit in her mouth and felt the juice explode between her taste buds. She licked the juice from her lips with the tip of her tongue and smiled as she continued to eat the snacks in her bowl.
Hearing the words passed by Mingxiang, Xinlong immediately wanted to move to go to Consort Liu’s place, but was hurriedly stopped by Mingxiu.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t Auntie want me to go see Consort Liu?”
“Master, you should also wait, don’t be too anxious, I just came out of the Third Miss’ place, if you go now, it’s inevitable that people with a heart will see it and not connect the dots.”
“But Auntie and I are family, we will definitely be linked together.”
Xinlong asked, not quite understanding, what did going now have to do with going later?
“But when you go to the palace, the stakes will be different.”
“How is it different?”
Mingxiu didn’t know how to make it clear to Xinlong, who was still a young girl who had never done anything bad or seen anything ugly, and it was difficult for her to understand all those human feelings and worldly affairs at once.
Her mother had said that if she didn’t understand, she should listen to Mingxiu, so she could wait until she got back.
Mingxiu looked at Xinlong’s back as she went into the inner room to take a nap, and felt a bit worried.
Even if the Madam wanted to direct, yet one was in the deep palace and the other was outside, it was beyond her reach.
In the past few days, she had seen clearly that those few noblemen in the palace were not something to be messed with.
After the sun had gone down, Xinlong took Mingxiang to Consort Liu’s residence.
When the phoenix carriage arrived at the Consort’s residence, a palace attendant went in to inform her.
When she went in, she saw a pale woman lying on the bed.
It was this woman who had lost her child, and this basin of dirty water had been poured on her aunt.
“How has your health been lately?”
Xinlong asked, some distance from the bed, looking at Consort Liu.
Mingxiu had said that her aunt said not to stand too close when looking.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, the Consorts are fine, it’s just that it’s not quite convenient yet, so I can’t get up to pay my respects to Your Majesty, please forgive me.”
“It’s alright, just lie down, this palace has not seen you since you entered the palace, so I came to take a look.”
The two were by no means on friendly terms, and although Xinlong was a little uninitiated in the world, her mind could tell which were enemies and which were not.
There was nothing more to say, and it would be pointless to force the conversation.
Xinlong had come here on Xin Lan’s advice, and did not want to stay longer, fearing that something might happen.
It was only when Xinlong returned to the palace that she felt something was wrong.
“Strange ——“
“What’s wrong, master? What’s strange?”
“How come she doesn’t hate me when she sees me, she doesn’t look angry at all, isn’t losing a child a very serious matter, if she thinks my aunt did it, how come she isn’t even angry at all when she sees me?”
Xinlong mumbled, the last time a family of gentry had bullied her best friend, she had seen his brother get angry.
“You are the Empress, she is only a Consort, how dare she be displeased with you, besides, an aunt is an aunt, a niece is a niece, maybe she can tell the difference, although we know in our hearts that this matter was not done by the third miss.”
“Is that so ——“
Xin Long murmured, not putting this matter into mind either, throwing it to the back of her mind.
Apart from this recipe, Xin Lan was also working on other foods.
She had an informant in the imperial kitchen, and that informant was also responsible for conveying to her some of the more important things she had heard, in addition to passing notes.
Compared to Consort Liu who was lying in bed, her health was deteriorating.
The miscarriage was supposed to be a harmful thing to the body, and the healthcare was low at this time, so Xin Lan was not very surprised to hear this news.
However, it was not even two days before she had an accident.
That day in her sleep, Xin Lan was called up by Zero Nine.
Zero Nine: Host, something big has happened, Consort Liu is about to die.
Zero Nine: She is still struggling.
Xin Lan was so shocked that she sat up and wanted to get out of bed and get dressed, but stopped again.
However, even if she could save the woman, she would not be able to explain herself clearly.
Zero Nine: She is dying.
Xin Lan frowned, if someone was going to kill Consort Liu, it should be the person behind it.
Zero Nine: She’s dead.
Zero Nine finished and was silent for a moment.
Xin Lan also followed the silence, with stern frown on her brow.
Xin Lan was not surprised, but why did Consort Man want to kill her?
If the miscarriage was the work of Consort Man, then why did she keep on chasing after her?
Xin Lan: Where is the murderer?
Zero Nine: I don’t know, she was talking to the servant girl on the bed, and suddenly she grabbed her clothes and collapsed on the bed, and in less than a minute, she was dead.
Xin Lan frowned more tightly, without scanning the body, Zero Nine is unable to determine the cause of death of that person.
The night was as cool as water.
The heavy clouds covered the moon, so that it only let out a little hazy light, even the stars are dull, only a few still bright.
Only a few of them were still bright, but they could not light up the heaven and earth, nor could they light up the hearts of the people.
Consort Liu fell softly on the bed, her face was blue and white, her chest did not rise and fall, she was already dead.
“Master, what’s wrong with you master, wake up master!”
Ah Ruo shouted in panic at the bedside, gently shaking the person on the bed in her hand.
“Master, I’m going to call someone for you, master, wake up!”
A Rou had no time to react at all before she saw her master fall down in pain, and within a few moments he was quiet.
A Rou trembled and reached out her hand and placed it under the nose of the person on the bed, but in an instant, A Rou dropped her hand with a pale face.
“How can this be, how can this be ——“
“Impossible, it’s impossible for something to happen to the master just like that.”
Ah Ruo opened the door and wanted to run out, and when she opened the door she was suddenly grabbed by a hand.
“Ah Lan, the master is gone.”
Ah Ruo’s voice had a crying tone in it, a look of the sky falling.
“Ah Rou, calm down, you listen to me and you tell —–“
“You do know isn’t it! Is it her. I’m going to find her, I’m going to find her, why is she doing this to the master!”
“Listen to me and talk!”
Ah Ruo couldn’t listen at all and was about to rush outside.
“I’ll tell His Majesty, I’ll tell His Majesty everything!”
Ah Ruo chanted, breaking away from the hand that was pulling her.
Suddenly her neck was strangled, and Ah Roo’s face turned red, her feet were stomping around.
“Now that the situation is like this, are you still unable to distinguish what is a wise move?”
The man said, while strangling Ah Roo’s neck with force.
“Ah Ruo, I do not want to hurt you, you calm down, listen to me, tomorrow if His Majesty asks, your master’s body is already getting weaker and weaker, it will not last through tonight, understand?”
“Originally — here — is that you —“
Ah Ruo swayed her body and tried to make a loud sound, but could only make a little tiny sound that squeezed out from her throat.
“Ah Rou, she will pay us a lot of silver to get us out of the palace.”
Listening to her wrath, Ah Roo lifted her foot and viciously stepped on the foot of the person controlling her.
Ah Lan took the pain and relaxed the force on his hand, and Ah Rou took the opportunity to run out.
Ah Lan did not hesitate anymore, but continued to follow out.
Ah Ruo ran on the road that led to the Golden Palace, although it was said that His Majesty was definitely not there, but as long as someone was alerted, no matter who it was, as long as it was not that person’s people, there was hope.
Ah Ruo covered her throat, where the pain was extraordinary.
She passed through an archway and stopped in a hurry to see a man standing in front of her, looking from side to side as if looking for something.
Ah Ruo felt bad subconsciously, immediately turned back to run.
But the man seemed to have found her, and hurriedly came towards her.
Ah Ruo could hear the sound of her heart thumping, at this time, the sound of footsteps came from the road on the left, she did not know who it was, but wanted to escape.
She dove head first towards the road she was unfamiliar with, but felt the footsteps following her and couldn’t get rid of them.
She turned around and did find the approaching figure, she was at this end of the long aisle and the man was at that end, Ah Roo didn’t know if it was Ah Lan, but knew that the man was also running forward.
” Ah Rou.”
The man called so.
It was the person beside that person!
Ah Ruo almost cried with fear, she wanted to shout to wake up the people around, but her throat could not make a sound.
The man behind her was about to catch up with her, and Ah Roo struggled to run forward, but fell.
She got up in pain and saw a palace ahead of her, just run and tap the door, someone would come out to save her.
Being so panicked, she didn’t know where she had run to and how this road should go.
She ran with a limp and began to tap on the door over and over, looking at the people who were running in this direction as she did so.
Please, please open the door.
Ah Ruo prayed inwardly in despair, knocking louder and louder.
Save her, save her!
If you get caught, you’ll die, you’ll die!
She didn’t want to die yet, she didn’t want to be a dead soul in the ground.
Why is there no patrol at this time, why is there no one!
The door was still not open, but the man was not far from her.
Ah Ruo couldn’t push the door, so she endured the pain in her feet and continued to run forward.
She was grabbed by the collar and her eyes widened in horror.
Regardless, she grabbed the hand and bit it hard, then pushed it back and continued to stumble forward.
She saw the corner, one side of the wall, and could only run hard to the other side.
A hand suddenly grabbed her, yanked her hard, and covered her mouth.
Ah Ruo opened her eyes in despair, but heard a low voice behind her.
“Don’t be afraid.”
T/N:
Daren 大人 (dàren): title of respect toward superiors
Niangniang 娘娘 (niángniang): empress, way of adress
Power of the Court : Just a Hand to Cover the Sky Arc 2The candlelight was restless, and Xin Lan had told the story in all its glory.From the time she became a woman, to the royal decree that prohibited her from being a woman.Perhaps to gain leverage, Xin Lan likewise told the fact of sterility.I never thought in a million years that he would be such a person Qu Zhi'an murmured, looking at Xin Lan with eyes full of heartache.At first, she had only felt that she was abnormal, but now she was even more sour when she thought about it.If she hadn't woken up in time to escape tonight, what would have been the end of her.At first, Qu Zhi'an had thought the emperor was a good ruler worthy of her loyalty who would allow her to realise her ambitions, but now she thought that he was just a ruthless, despicable villain.A man with such a cold heart was not the kind of ruler she wanted, a man with no sense of decency, a man with a narrow mind, a man who would not last long.And what's more, tonight, he had set her up.Don't look at me like that, it's all in the past. I have not yet asked your name, but if you do not wish to speak, then you need not, for there may not be any chance of meeting you in the future.What Xin Lan said was true on the surface, one was in the imperial court and the other in the harem, and it was true that it was not easy to run into each other.But the truth is, if there is no chance, we have to create it.My name is Qu Zhi'an, the name of the Angelica, and the meaning of the word peace.Qu Zhi'an, Xin Lan pronounced the name word by word and smiled at the person, I'll make a note of it,Darenis not afraid that this is a handle?It should have been important, but now Qu Zhi'an's face took on a hesitant look, I don't know when His Majesty knew I was a woman, if he did, why would he have drugged me and put me with you, unless Unless he wanted people to know that I was with you, but didn't want them to find out that you were a woman.Xin Lan said the standard answer, and that was what Qu Zhi'an wanted to say.But it is clear that we will both be condemned Qu Zhi'an had always had a delicate mind, but she didn't know what the emperor intended by this.What if he takes a fancy to you?Me?Qu Zhi'an pointed at herself, a little stunned.A gust of wind blew in from outside the house, causing Qu Zhi'an to shiver.Her whole body, including her clothes, were soaked to the skin and very uncomfortable, but as it was summer, she felt okay, and more importantly, she must not change this outfit she was wearing.What made her feel even more uncomfortable was not the condition of this body, but what Xin Lan had just said.A good-looking, capable Lord Qu, who is very different from other women, knowing that you are a woman, do you think His Majesty will be attracted to you? Perhaps he would want to make a scene and say that I seduced you, that you were just drunk and punished me, while taking you to the palace, you were drugged weak and delirious, and there was some slight aiding effect, a lone man and a woman, what do you think would happen? Xin Lan's face curled into a mocking smile, but the words on her mouth didn't cease, More than a woman who is only in the harem, a courtier from the former dynasty can be a sharp blade in his hands to deal with his enemies, no?Xin Lan said the established facts of the original story, observing Qu Zhi'an's reaction and seeing her brow furrowed with a look of disgust.Qu Zhi'an was truly disgusted by what Xin Lan described, her stomach lurched.But she knew it wasn't delusion, but something that had a very good chance of happening.She clenched her fists, this would never do.She had come from home and dressed as a man because she wanted to escape marrying someone else, she didn't want to spurn herself in the back of the house, and if she got it like this, what would that be?She had no desire to be in the harem, and if she had to do this, what would she be doing?Qu Zhi'an was so upset and irritable that her wet and sticky body made her feel even worse.She knew that the problem of outside relatives was a headache for the emperor, and that she was a newcomer promoted by the emperor, and would inevitably fight against that force and become a sword in the emperor's hands, which he did not need to do.But on the contrary, he had to drug her and harbour that disgusting thought.Qu Zhi'an had been feeling out of breath, and that breath was stuck uncomfortably in her chest.Xin Lan took in all of her reactions and hooked his lips in his heart, wanting her to be disgusted.The only way to pry someone over is for Qu Zhi'an to slowly turn away in disgust.This world is not as easy as the last one to poach, after all, it was the battlefield of life and death before, it is normal to switch teams at any time, but in this world, what Xin Lan wants to do is to take away everything from the emperor, then this will inevitably have to include the heart of the rebellion, of course, Xin Lan has no intention of being the emperor herself, and if she does turn it over, as far as that situation is concerned, it is much better to be the regent than the emperor, but that is an afterthought.In such a situation, few people would have the idea of revolting, even if Qu Zhi'an was now diabolical towards the emperor, the big deal would be to leave without being an official, but of course whether one could leave or not was still a matter of opinion, and in any case one could not yet draw people into one's camp.After all, disgust is not enough to support people to say anything, unless they are extremely arrogant or crazy.This was something Xin Lan understood very well, just as before, she was on the side of the empire, serving the emperor, and there were subjects in the court who were dissatisfied with the emperor, and in the end there were people like traitors, if it was an internal rebellion then it could still be controlled, the most terrible thing was to collaborate with the enemy.Suddenly, Xin Lan thought of this and thought of Consort Man.Xin Lan estimated how long it had been since the incident had taken place, and Zero Nine gave an accurate figure.It seemed to be about the same.Lord Qu, it's time for you to leave, it's best to say that you were pushed into some kind of pond, which, I'm sure, your lordship can fix yourself.Qu Zhi'an sniffed and nodded.I'll trouble you tonight,Niangniang.No need to call me that, Xin Lan smiled, knowing that Qu Zhi'an was being kind to preserve her honor, just call me by my name, Xin Lan, as in Smoke and Cloud.Miss Xin.Qu Zhi'an nodded her head.Let me take you out, you don't know your way around the palace, let's take you to the small lake, do a full show.Thank you very much.Qu Zhi'an had almost fully believed in Xin Lan's hypothetical situation, and as far as she was concerned, Xin Lan had been kind to her.Xin Lan put on her shirt and swept a glance at Qu Zhi'an's breasts.I don't know if it was the flatness or the tightness of the strangulation, but it didn't look different.Chun Yue and Huo Hua saw the two of them come out of the room, Qu Zhi'an was soaked to the skin, but it looked like nothing had happened.Xin Lan led Qu Zhi'an to a nearby lake and waved goodbye.The colour in Qu Zhi'an's eyes sank as she looked at her wet hair, still dripping with water, and then at the back of the man who was meandering away not far away.When she looked up again, she pretended to be at a loss, as if she was walking aimlessly forward.Xin Lan returned to the palace and sat down on a chair.The emperor had no idea what else was going to happen. If this plan failed, who knew if he would have any other tricks up his sleeve.The emperor and Qu Zhi'an have done their job, but anyone who knows that his or her boss might have thoughts of sexual harassment in the workplace will feel uncomfortable, right?So who to start with next.The former Xin Lan still has no one available, and the Xin family is very powerful, but that is the Xin family, not her Xin Lan.It is true that the Xin family had great ambitions, first for the sake of the bed full of watts, and then because the new emperor wanted to eliminate them, and in order to protect themselves and not end up in a miserable situation, they had to work harder to put down roots, so that the emperor could not touch them, at least for the time being.So they hoped that the Empress in the harem would give birth to a dragon son who would inherit the throne in the future, so that the Xin family could continue to flourish, but the original owner had not been able to give birth to a son or a daughter, and the Harem did not even have any children.However, the original owner had not been able to give birth to any children, and the harem did not even have an heir.But before that, Xin Lan has one more thing to do.After the matter explained by His Majesty was finished, Hong Huan walked out through the palace gate.Although he didn't know why His Majesty had gone to such lengths to settle for the deposed Empress, who was already in the cold palace, as a beloved member of the inner circle, he didn't need to ask questions about such matters, he just had to do as he was ordered.He pushed open the door and returned home, subconsciously sensing a hint that something was wrong, but before he could react, he felt a pain in his rear end and fainted.Xin Lan stepped out from behind the door and clapped her hands.The one who had knocked her out, the one who had followed her, the one who had kicked open the door to her room and talked to her were all this man, and although the Emperor had signalled it, the main culprit was guilty, as was the accessory.Although the emperor had ordered her to do so, the main culprit was guilty and so were the accomplices.It was a good thing this person was living alone, otherwise she would have had to draw his attention halfway through the day to get her hands on him.Looking at the man who had fallen to the ground, Xin Lan gave an extremely light smile.This smile was familiar to Zero Nine, it had appeared on Xin Lan's face when she had gone to fight Zou Yunfei in the last world.She didn't even leave any marks on his body, she just buried a needle in his waist with her inner strength.It didn't take her a minute to do this. She went into the room, took all the silver, and deliberately smashed and tossed things around to make it look as if the place had been looted.She took up her light skills and left the place, making her way back to the palace and tumbling in through her window.After putting the money away, Xin Lan undressed, and only then did she fall sound asleep.And the timeline moved forward to a time when the banquet was still going on.The smile on Wu Yanqing's face dispersed a little as he heard the news from those at the bottom.The people below him were observant and even the chatter was much quieter.The banquet was coming to an end anyway, so Wu Yanqing had other things on his mind, so he let it disperse early.When they returned to the Inner Hall, those kneeling at the bottom told them everything.How can you lose a woman?Wu Yanqing could not help but rebuke, pacing in front of the man, wanting to smash the things in his hand over, but thought better of it.Have you found the man yet?No, my servant searched along that road and found nothing, and the same was not found in the cold palace.Useless things!Wu Yanqing's anger was hard to quell, his chest kept heaving.This was all different from what he had expected to calculate, it should have been a very good outcome, but now it had turned out like this.The one who had calculated was safe and sound, and the other one was nowhere to be found.Your Majesty, the scout has been found.A palace attendant came in to report.What? Where? Bring her in.Wu Yanqing's eyes lit up and he immediately asked someone to bring the person in.Not long after, the soaked Qu Zhi'an walked in and bowed to the emperor.You may go down first.Wu Yanqing brushed his sleeves, and the man kneeling on the floor immediately retreated.I said how come I didn't see you during the banquet, where did you go? Why are you in such a mess?Wu Yanqing asked with great concern.Qu Zhi'an pulled out an embarrassed smile, her heart chilling in a wave.It was clear that this man had set her up, it was clear that he knew everything, and he could still pretend to care for her in front of her as if nothing was wrong, it was really a concern that people were not fortunate enough to bear.A maid told me to go to the pavilion in front of me to rest and bring me a sobering soup, but I somehow found myself soaking in the lake, so I hurriedly got up in the water, but I didn't know the way, so I guess I was dizzy from the drink and somehow got there in a daze. The palace staff.Qu Zhi'an laughed in a rather shy embarrassment, her face reddening.You're just confused.Wu Yanqing coaxed her, but she hadn't noticed that his words were so ambiguous before, but now she was sensitive to it.Perhaps it was because she was suspicious of her neighbor's axe, Qu Zhi'an now felt wrong when she looked at the emperor's every word and deed, they all seemed to be full of ambiguity, and she was exceptionally averse to that feeling.But she could only pretend not to know, if she were to reveal it or reveal the slightest hint of it, then what would happen next would not be what she wanted to see.She only wanted to be a minister, she did not want to think otherwise.Then I will leave you so that you can go home and change your clothes.Why don't you just rest at my place, I'll have someone get you a set of clothes that fit you.I won't trouble Your Majesty, it's not very late now, so your humble servant would like to go back as soon as possible.Wu Yanqing met Qu Zhi'an's eyes and had to nod his head.Fine, then you should hurry back, even though it is this day, you should be careful not to catch the wind chill, remember to drink something to warm your body when you return.Yes, thank you for your Majesty's concern.Qu Zhi'an could not continue to face this face, she had to go back and tidy up properly.Qu Zhi'an went home, she didn't have a residence yet, she just rented a courtyard for herself.After a bath and a cup of hot tea, she sat at the table in clean clothes.The candle flames danced and illuminated her preoccupied face.Qu Zhi'an had not thought that she would come to this point.At first, she was reluctant to get married, so she left a note asking her family not to find her a husband and not to agree to any matchmaking, and left with a few hundred taels of silver and a family heirloom jade pendant.Her father had always told her since she was a child that it was important to be happy in life, so she went off to be happy herself.Coming from a merchant family, there were not that many rules, so she learnt many of them from her childhood.In the meantime, she sent letters to her family, asking them to accept them, and started to travel with the silver she earned.She wrote a lot about what she had seen and heard and what she thought. She had no intention of making a name for herself, she did not have a strong sense of merit, and her status was special, so it would not be child's play if she was found out.Originally she was happy, especially when she was discussing with the Emperor in the Golden Palace, and when she was debating with people in the teahouse, she even planned to join the court and serve the country for life.However, it never occurred to her that tonight, so many things had happened.Qu Zhi'an undressed and went to sleep, but she tossed and turned and could not sleep.One moment was the emperor's previous attitude, the next was his calculations, the next was that gorgeous but cold face, and finally it all converged into the scene where that hand pressed the back of her head without refusal and pressed her to her chest.Soft and delicate, warm and fragrant to the bone.Qu Zhi'an sat up violently from the bed and shook her head.But when she lay down and closed her eyes, it was the image of Xin Lan talking in the barrel, sitting on the bed, combing her hair, and speaking with mockery and a cold face.Qu Zhi'an sighed unconsciously and fell asleep with her thoughts on her mind.The next day, Wu Yanqing found Hong Huan on duty with a sullen look on his face and casually asked what had happened.Last night, when I returned home, I found that my family had been burgled.Hong Huan smiled bitterly, his family's fortune had been emptied, and he was still awakened by the sun today to find himself lying in the courtyard.He didn't say anything about being knocked unconscious, but it was a shame to say that an imperial guard was knocked unconscious by thieves in his own home.The emperor was not in a good mood after the failure of his plan last night, but he was much more refreshed after a good night's sleep, so he comforted his subordinates and passed by.Hong Huan rubbed his back after he left, feeling uncomfortable, but not feeling anything different, so he didn't take it to heart again.In the cold palace Xin Lan began to quietly get busy, but of course, to outsiders it still looked like she was still just sitting in the harem dazed.Xin Lan had asked Zero Nine to make her a statistical sheet of all the Consorts in the harem and the stakes behind them.The emperor's harem didn't have many people now, for reasons that had been mentioned quite a few times before, and there were only about ten, not counting Xin Lan.The relationships in the harem were easy to sort out, and there were five main factions.The four main factions are the Empress, Guifei, Consort Man, Consort Xi, and the faction that doesn't get involved in anything.The original owner's several Consorts, after the original owner stepped down only two still follow Xin Long, because their father and brother is working under the hand of the Xin family, either climbing relatives, or is a disciple, in short, is a boat, one day all the glory and one day all the loss, while there are two attitude is still unknown.After all, people's hearts are always complicated, not as clear as data.The Emperor was supposed to fill his harem when he ascended the throne, but he kept pushing it back on the grounds that he was in mourning for three years, and now it is already the fourth year.Both the Xin family and some of the old courtiers want the Emperor to start the selection process, and the Emperor has already resisted the pressure for most of the year and is probably not going to be able to resist any longer.The Xin family is particularly anxious now, as Xin Long is just under thirteen years old and is simply unable to claim favour, let alone get pregnant, which is why a child is needed all the more to stabilise the situation.The Xin family also knows that even if they have a child now, Xin Long remains a child, so how can she raise it well?So they had to have a pregnant woman they could trust to be on the same side as them, and those emperors in the harem were unwilling to touch them, so someone new had to be put in, and the selection ceremony was imperative.Xin Lan's fingers tapped on the table, seeking to think that she could not go out to the event now, so she would have to let her young niece go.Xin Long sneezed in her room and rubbed her nose.Mingxiang, have you prepared the new incense pouches?It's ready, didn't slave servant bring it to you here, please smell it and see if you like it, it smells quite nice to slave servant.Xin Long smiled, put it on the end of her nose and nodded.Yes it smells good, aunt is really good.Then the meal has also been prepared by the kitchen, do you want to try it first? When you think it's good, it's not too late to offer it to His Majesty.Fine, have someone bring it.Initially, the Imperial Kitchen should have been responsible for this part of the meal, but when the former Empress lived in Changqiu Palace, occasionally she would want to eat something at night, either by having some medicine to improve her qi and nourish her body, so a special kitchen was opened up for this purpose, and now that Xin Long had moved in, it was just right to continue using it.The red fruit was filled with crushed ice, which looked beautiful and delicious at the same time.Xin Long originally only wanted to try a few bites, but ended up finishing the bowl straight away.It's delicious and cooling, Auntie is really wonderful, order them to make two more bowls, one for you to fill up and send to Auntie, and one for me, I'll go and bring it to His Majesty.Master, you are not allowed to call for yourself like that now.Ming Xiang helplessly reminded her master who had forgotten to address herself again, it was okay in front of her, but not outside.I know, I know, bring it to my palace, go quickly.Wu Yanqing was in the imperial study, grading a book, the palace maid next to him was fanning him, the hall had a basin filled with ice, it wasn't too stuffy.Your Majesty, the Empress is here.What is she doing here?Wu Yanqing asked without raising his head, holding a brush and dipping it in some cinnabar water.To bring you some food to beat the heat.Let her in.En.There was the sound of footsteps approaching, and Wu Yanqing put down the memorial in his hand.Your Majesty, I have come to bring you food.The voice was as clear as an oriole chirping, causing Wu Yanqing to freeze, and only when he saw the little girl in the phoenix robe at the bottom did he suddenly remember that he had replaced his empress.Faced with the little girl's innocent smile, Wu Yanqing laughed coldly in his heart, but nodded with no expression on his face.The bowl of snacks that was brought out emitted a cold air that made Wu Yanqing's mouth and tongue water.The little girl's eyes looked at him expectantly, so Wu Yanqing had no choice but to pick up the spoon and take a sip, ready to let Xin Long go.The red berry-like fruit had a sweet and sour taste, and Wu Yanqing was so restless from reading the memorials that he took one mouthful and finished the small bowl.It tasted quite good.Wu Yanqing nodded his head, and seeing the little girl's smiling appearance, he also revealed a smile.Then I will leave Your Majesty to review the memorials.Xin Long said this in a serious manner, but her tone was vivacious.Wu Yanqing looked at her back, his eyes taking on a look of regret.If only this girl was not a member of the Xin family, it was a pity that she had been born in the wrong family.After Xin Long returned, she dragged Ming Xiang to be happy for a while, and then sent Ming Xiang to bring food to Xin Lan, when Ming Xiang delivered it, Xin Lan called her to stop.Is Your Majesty happy?Delighted, and smiling at His Majesty, thanks to the Third Miss's idea.The original master was the third daughter and had been called that by the family's servants before she was married, but now that she had become an abolished Empress, she was still referred to respectfully as Your Majesty, and since Ming Xiang was a member of the Xin family, it made sense for her to be called Third Miss.As long as you are happy.Xin Lan showed a faint smile, if he couldn't die after eating it, it was better to be really infertile, but unfortunately, the effect was too slow.But it did not matter, Xin Lan always felt that Man Fei would not do nothing, for the time being, Man Fei was considered one of the more helpful to her plan.By the way, has Long'er visited Consort Liu in the past two days since she entered the palace?Not yet master she doesn't know how to deal with it yet.Long'er is young, you still need to help with many things, I think Consort Liu is not feeling well, so she probably hasn't visited her, right?Yes, I have not been there.Then it is all the more important for her, the Empress, to visit, you must pay attention to see the reactions of those people, don't get too close, save the same pot of dirty water from being poured over both of our Xin family.Yes.You are always running around, which is not convenient, but also too conspicuous, in the future I will have someone deliver a letter to you and Long'er, but keep an eye on it.Yes.Mingxiang left with the food box, and Xin Lan sipped the cold, cool food, and ordered Sitong to do something.The Xin family has many secret players in the palace, and the original owner has been operating for so many years, but not without them. Sometimes the more inconspicuous a person is, the more helpful they can be.In the case of the messenger, if it was always Mingxiang who came over, someone would have seen it and would have become suspicious.But what if it was just someone from the imperial kitchen bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the kitchen of Changqiu Palace?Xin Lan bit into the fruit in her mouth and felt the juice explode between her taste buds. She licked the juice from her lips with the tip of her tongue and smiled as she continued to eat the snacks in her bowl.Hearing the words passed by Mingxiang, Xinlong immediately wanted to move to go to Consort Liu's place, but was hurriedly stopped by Mingxiu.What's wrong? Didn't Auntie want me to go see Consort Liu?Master, you should also wait, don't be too anxious, I just came out of the Third Miss' place, if you go now, it's inevitable that people with a heart will see it and not connect the dots.But Auntie and I are family, we will definitely be linked together.Xinlong asked, not quite understanding, what did going now have to do with going later?But when you go to the palace, the stakes will be different.How is it different?Mingxiu didn't know how to make it clear to Xinlong, who was still a young girl who had never done anything bad or seen anything ugly, and it was difficult for her to understand all those human feelings and worldly affairs at once.Her mother had said that if she didn't understand, she should listen to Mingxiu, so she could wait until she got back.Mingxiu looked at Xinlong's back as she went into the inner room to take a nap, and felt a bit worried.Even if the Madam wanted to direct, yet one was in the deep palace and the other was outside, it was beyond her reach.In the past few days, she had seen clearly that those few noblemen in the palace were not something to be messed with.After the sun had gone down, Xinlong took Mingxiang to Consort Liu's residence.When the phoenix carriage arrived at the Consort's residence, a palace attendant went in to inform her.When she went in, she saw a pale woman lying on the bed.It was this woman who had lost her child, and this basin of dirty water had been poured on her aunt.How has your health been lately?Xinlong asked, some distance from the bed, looking at Consort Liu.Mingxiu had said that her aunt said not to stand too close when looking.Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, the Consorts are fine, it's just that it's not quite convenient yet, so I can't get up to pay my respects to Your Majesty, please forgive me.It's alright, just lie down, this palace has not seen you since you entered the palace, so I came to take a look.The two were by no means on friendly terms, and although Xinlong was a little uninitiated in the world, her mind could tell which were enemies and which were not.There was nothing more to say, and it would be pointless to force the conversation.Xinlong had come here on Xin Lan's advice, and did not want to stay longer, fearing that something might happen.It was only when Xinlong returned to the palace that she felt something was wrong.Strange What's wrong, master? What's strange?How come she doesn't hate me when she sees me, she doesn't look angry at all, isn't losing a child a very serious matter, if she thinks my aunt did it, how come she isn't even angry at all when she sees me?Xinlong mumbled, the last time a family of gentry had bullied her best friend, she had seen his brother get angry.You are the Empress, she is only a Consort, how dare she be displeased with you, besides, an aunt is an aunt, a niece is a niece, maybe she can tell the difference, although we know in our hearts that this matter was not done by the third miss.Is that so Xin Long murmured, not putting this matter into mind either, throwing it to the back of her mind.Apart from this recipe, Xin Lan was also working on other foods.She had an informant in the imperial kitchen, and that informant was also responsible for conveying to her some of the more important things she had heard, in addition to passing notes.Compared to Consort Liu who was lying in bed, her health was deteriorating.The miscarriage was supposed to be a harmful thing to the body, and the healthcare was low at this time, so Xin Lan was not very surprised to hear this news.However, it was not even two days before she had an accident.That day in her sleep, Xin Lan was called up by Zero Nine.Zero Nine: Host, something big has happened, Consort Liu is about to die.Zero Nine: She is still struggling.Xin Lan was so shocked that she sat up and wanted to get out of bed and get dressed, but stopped again.However, even if she could save the woman, she would not be able to explain herself clearly.Zero Nine: She is dying.Xin Lan frowned, if someone was going to kill Consort Liu, it should be the person behind it.Zero Nine: She's dead.Zero Nine finished and was silent for a moment.Xin Lan also followed the silence, with stern frown on her brow.Xin Lan was not surprised, but why did Consort Man want to kill her?If the miscarriage was the work of Consort Man, then why did she keep on chasing after her?Xin Lan: Where is the murderer?Zero Nine: I don't know, she was talking to the servant girl on the bed, and suddenly she grabbed her clothes and collapsed on the bed, and in less than a minute, she was dead.Xin Lan frowned more tightly, without scanning the body, Zero Nine is unable to determine the cause of death of that person.The night was as cool as water.The heavy clouds covered the moon, so that it only let out a little hazy light, even the stars are dull, only a few still bright.Only a few of them were still bright, but they could not light up the heaven and earth, nor could they light up the hearts of the people.Consort Liu fell softly on the bed, her face was blue and white, her chest did not rise and fall, she was already dead.Master, what's wrong with you master, wake up master!Ah Ruo shouted in panic at the bedside, gently shaking the person on the bed in her hand.Master, I'm going to call someone for you, master, wake up!A Rou had no time to react at all before she saw her master fall down in pain, and within a few moments he was quiet.A Rou trembled and reached out her hand and placed it under the nose of the person on the bed, but in an instant, A Rou dropped her hand with a pale face.How can this be, how can this be Impossible, it's impossible for something to happen to the master just like that.Ah Ruo opened the door and wanted to run out, and when she opened the door she was suddenly grabbed by a hand.Ah Lan, the master is gone.Ah Ruo's voice had a crying tone in it, a look of the sky falling.Ah Rou, calm down, you listen to me and you tell You do know isn't it! Is it her. I'm going to find her, I'm going to find her, why is she doing this to the master!Listen to me and talk!Ah Ruo couldn't listen at all and was about to rush outside.I'll tell His Majesty, I'll tell His Majesty everything!Ah Ruo chanted, breaking away from the hand that was pulling her.Suddenly her neck was strangled, and Ah Roo's face turned red, her feet were stomping around.Now that the situation is like this, are you still unable to distinguish what is a wise move?The man said, while strangling Ah Roo's neck with force.Ah Ruo, I do not want to hurt you, you calm down, listen to me, tomorrow if His Majesty asks, your master's body is already getting weaker and weaker, it will not last through tonight, understand?Originally here is that you Ah Ruo swayed her body and tried to make a loud sound, but could only make a little tiny sound that squeezed out from her throat.Ah Rou, she will pay us a lot of silver to get us out of the palace.Listening to her wrath, Ah Roo lifted her foot and viciously stepped on the foot of the person controlling her.Ah Lan took the pain and relaxed the force on his hand, and Ah Rou took the opportunity to run out.Ah Lan did not hesitate anymore, but continued to follow out.Ah Ruo ran on the road that led to the Golden Palace, although it was said that His Majesty was definitely not there, but as long as someone was alerted, no matter who it was, as long as it was not that person's people, there was hope.Ah Ruo covered her throat, where the pain was extraordinary.She passed through an archway and stopped in a hurry to see a man standing in front of her, looking from side to side as if looking for something.Ah Ruo felt bad subconsciously, immediately turned back to run.But the man seemed to have found her, and hurriedly came towards her.Ah Ruo could hear the sound of her heart thumping, at this time, the sound of footsteps came from the road on the left, she did not know who it was, but wanted to escape.She dove head first towards the road she was unfamiliar with, but felt the footsteps following her and couldn't get rid of them.She turned around and did find the approaching figure, she was at this end of the long aisle and the man was at that end, Ah Roo didn't know if it was Ah Lan, but knew that the man was also running forward. Ah Rou.The man called so.It was the person beside that person!Ah Ruo almost cried with fear, she wanted to shout to wake up the people around, but her throat could not make a sound.The man behind her was about to catch up with her, and Ah Roo struggled to run forward, but fell.She got up in pain and saw a palace ahead of her, just run and tap the door, someone would come out to save her.Being so panicked, she didn't know where she had run to and how this road should go.She ran with a limp and began to tap on the door over and over, looking at the people who were running in this direction as she did so.Please, please open the door.Ah Ruo prayed inwardly in despair, knocking louder and louder.Save her, save her!If you get caught, you'll die, you'll die!She didn't want to die yet, she didn't want to be a dead soul in the ground.Why is there no patrol at this time, why is there no one!The door was still not open, but the man was not far from her.Ah Ruo couldn't push the door, so she endured the pain in her feet and continued to run forward.She was grabbed by the collar and her eyes widened in horror.Regardless, she grabbed the hand and bit it hard, then pushed it back and continued to stumble forward.She saw the corner, one side of the wall, and could only run hard to the other side.A hand suddenly grabbed her, yanked her hard, and covered her mouth.Ah Ruo opened her eyes in despair, but heard a low voice behind her.Don't be afraid.T/N:Daren dren: title of respect toward superiorsNiangniang ningniang: empress, way of adress
