Chapter 21

  Quan Pei changed into a refreshing outfit, removed her colorful headdress, and sat against the large pillow on the kang with no extra hair ornaments. Yin Zhen wore a plain dark blue robe with subtle patterns and sat silently beside her, not uttering a word. Li Shi supported her belly as she sat on the lower red wooden stool, looking at Quan Pei then at Yin Zhen, pursed her lips, stood up and said: "It's all this servant's fault..."

  "Don't take it upon yourself, you didn't do anything wrong." Guan said as she glanced out the window, where Yan Niang and the little maid who had informed on her were both kneeling in the sun: "Yan Niang is someone you brought from home, speak up for her."

  "......is the one who has been serving me since I was a child, originally brought into the palace because she seemed clever and sensible, but unexpectedly she is so stupid and cruel, and even learned to collude with outsiders to frame me and frame Furen, fortunately there was no big chaos, otherwise, I would not mind dying ten thousand times, as for how to deal with Yurong, it depends on the master's and Furen's intentions!"

  Li accompanied Quan Pei in this play, and it's still quite an achievement. If she hadn't pretended to have a stomachache and fooled Yan Gu Niang, Hui Fei wouldn't have been able to succeed either.

  Ruan Yu lightly nodded: "What does Master think?"

  Yongzheng turned to look at Quan Pei, saw that her expression was calm and peaceful, without any dissatisfaction or resentment, with a sparkling light in her eyes, as if it were the warm sunshine of March. Yongzheng gradually relaxed his eyebrows, sighed: "This matter, you arrange it."

  In the postpartum period, she was worried about this matter, and before she even recovered from childbirth, she was called out again to confront this issue. In Yongzheng's view, Quan Pei should be the most wronged person, even if this matter had been calculated to win. Unconsciously, he held Quan Pei's hand: "Always calling you like this, my heart..."

  Li looked at the two hands clasped together and her eyelids suddenly drooped, Grandfather was really different to Madame Fu...

  The voice of the lady was soft and gentle, with a hint of smile, like a spring breeze: "Things in the back house are my business, sir doesn't know how hard it is in the front court, we can't help, but at least we don't make trouble."

  Li thought to herself, if she were the Empress and this thing happened to her, whether she could completely retreat from it was still unknown. Moreover, after considering the situation of Consort Hui, even she had to admit that only the Empress could live in this courtyard as the Empress.

  Yongzheng waved his hand and let Li retreat to rest, after all, she was still pregnant.

  Under the scorching sun, Yan's daughter was sweating profusely, yet she still trembled like a sieve. Mrs. Li came out of the main room and crawled forward to plead: "Please! Please! I know I was wrong, I won't dare do it again! I won't dare do it again!"

  The maid who followed behind came up to protect Li Shi, and Li Shi stood still with her feet shoulder-width apart, looking down at the kneeling Yan Gu Niang. A cold smile played on the corner of her mouth: "If it weren't for the kindness of the mistress, I wouldn't even know how I'd die! You say you want me to spare your life? What a joke!"

  The Empress was so clever and capable that if she wanted to frame Concubine Hui, she might not even need to be cautious. If the Empress had any ill intentions towards her in her heart, it's likely that the child in Concubine Hui's belly would have been gone long ago.

  She looked at Fuhua's house with gratitude and quickly walked back to her own house.

  The goose girl knelt down in the courtyard and burst into loud sobs.

  Quan Pei frowned slightly: "I'm tired of talking to her, just send everything to Concubine Hui."

  Yongzheng nodded to Su Peisheng, who was attending beside him. Su Peisheng hastily went out of the house and called several eunuchs to take Yan Guiniang and Xiaoyu out of the courtyard together.

  The courtyard fell silent again, as if nothing had ever happened. The lush osmanthus trees cast quiet shadows, and the parrot under the eaves occasionally spoke a few words of human language, even the cicadas' chirping was not too loud.

  "Empress Hui, why must you have a falling out with Lady Li..." Only after the outsiders had left did Yongzheng express his inner doubts.

  "Where is the one who laid hands on Li's family, isn't it me she's pointing at? She framed me and took advantage of the chaos to lay hands on my precious brother. That way, even if the child was gone, they would only say I was negligent in taking care of him..."

  "Xuan was stunned: 'This is simply......'"

  Quan Pei tore off a petal and rubbed it in her hand: "Hui Fei is still very cautious, Da Fu Jin sent a long-life lock that had been used by a dead child, but it was just to confuse people. Our minds are all focused on Da Fu Jin, isn't it easy to overlook others? We were worried that someone would harm Bao Ge Er, but we didn't expect that they wouldn't directly target Bao Ge Er."

  "So it seems that Huifei's plan was indeed meticulous and airtight." Yongzheng said with a hint of proud smile, embracing Quan Pei: "But still got seen through by you, didn't I?"

  The bright red petals left a mark on Quan Pei's fingers, and she smiled as she dotted them on Yongzheng's face: "The peach-red brocade with chrysanthemum patterns bestowed by Empress Hui was something I sniffed out the conspiracy from just one whiff, because Li had always loved that color and pattern, and I'm a notoriously generous person."

  The moist touch made Yun Chen's eyes dim, and he tightened his grip on Quan Pei's hand. His lips moved closer to Quan Pei's ear, and the warm breath brushed against her cheek. Quan Pei curled up her lips and smiled, placing her fingers on Yun Chen's soft yet sharp mouth: "Is it better for Nalan to have a good family background or should she enter the door first?"

  The expression on Yan Zhen's face suddenly became one of crying and laughing at the same time, and after a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "What you said is also right!"

  The golden and silver transparent glass curtain was knocked by Yongzheng, making a crisp sound, reflecting the bright light in the house, Quan Pei's rare good mood made her eyes smile, and she was slightly teased and exploded...

  The imperial concubine couldn't remember how many cheongsam dresses she had changed into, and the one with the cloud pattern made of gold and silver thread still had stains from the Bi Luo Chun tea that had just been knocked over. Looking at Da Fu Jin standing by her side with her hands down, she was so angry that she wanted to swallow her whole: "Don't you have a brain?! Won't you confirm what happened to Li Shi first?! Now look! You've not only offended the noble concubine but also got yourself into trouble. Who knows what other tricks that sly Fourth Fu Jin has up her sleeve!"

  The chrysanthemum-patterned cloisonné hairpin on her head shook violently due to her agitated emotions, and it was already askew.

  The Empress Dowager sneered in her heart. She didn't think that Concubine Hui would also not have thought of it, thinking that she was so clever and calculated, but in the end, she still capsized the boat.

  The palace maid came in from outside and said nervously: "Fourth Madame has sent over both Yan Yu and Xiao Yatou, saying that they await Your Majesty's instructions."

  The empress's entire face lit up: "Good, good, really good, really great!"

  Yan Yu and Xiao Yaotou, one was responsible for letting Li wear the problematic fabric-made clothes and exposing the matter when Da Furen appeared, and the other was responsible for shouting out that Xiaorong had been poisoned when everyone arrived, but they ended up having the opposite effect.

  The Empress Dowager thought she was in control of the whole game, but it turned out that she had been playing a big show for others, which is both ridiculous and pitiful.

  She almost screamed: "Beat him to death! Beat him to death!"

  The shrill voice was heard only once and then stopped abruptly, as if it had been muffled. Consort Hui sat down on the chair with a thud, panting heavily, her eyes staring blankly into space.

  It was also unknown how long it took for the palace staff to come in: "They're all dead..."

  The Empress Dowager, exhausted, waved her hand and saw that the Grand Duchess was still standing in the corner. She loudly ordered, "This matter is not to be told to the Emperor!" The eldest prince couldn't bear this kind of behind-the-scenes evil deed, especially since they hadn't succeeded. The Grand Duchess only responded with a low murmur.

  The sun gradually shifted westward, and the inner palace began to darken. Not a single breeze was blowing, but the air felt stiflingly short. The palace maids were fanning themselves, while Consort Hui had only slept for a moment when the noble consort with a head full of pearls and jade arrived, almost illuminating the still unlit side hall.

  Behind her, the palace maid held a piece of bright pink satin with a peony pattern, and the imperial concubine's hand, stained with bright nail polish, still held a booklet. The sudden movement almost made Empress Hui jump up, but all she heard was the gentle voice of the imperial concubine, which seemed to be dripping with water: "......I know you recognize this satin, and this booklet on my hand is from Fourth Lady Fu, remember it's the gift we received on the third day of the new year." The imperial concubine covered her mouth and smiled lightly, with infinite closeness and gentleness: "I brought these things to show you, so that you know I'm aware of everything, but don't be afraid, I won't tell anyone else. I'll keep them safe by my side. Just don't forget, Fourth Lady Fu also has......"

  This thing may not work for a lifetime, but it can completely suppress Hui Fei for now. Moving to a concubine with a son is something that Guifei doesn't want to do and probably can't do either, but having a concubine with a son in her hands makes her very happy.

  Huī Fēi stood up, tidied her disheveled hairdo, and said with a hint of mockery: "When will you also be willing to run errands for a junior?"

  The imperial concubine smiled: "You don't know how sweet it is for me to run this errand? This morning wasn't I running around for you, compared to yours, this one is nothing?"

  The Empress Hui's face stiffened into a smile: "What is it that you want me to do?"

  "I'm just a new imperial concubine, what can I do? I only hope you won't be my enemy and keep an eye on those reckless people under your command."

  The Empress Dowager wants Huifeng to help her gain a foothold.

  The imperial concubine lowered her eyes and slowly smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes: "Don't think that just because you have this thing, you can do whatever you want. Don't go too far beyond the bounds of propriety, or it will be a case of 'the fish dies along with the net'."

  The smile on the imperial concubine's face gradually faded away: "I am not that greedy, just remember what I said."

  Dark clouds gathered at the horizon, and a strong wind gradually picked up, blowing away the distant Empress's skirt, like a butterfly dancing in the air. The Imperial Concubine stood behind her, narrowing her eyes to watch, remaining silent for a long time...

  A loud clap of thunder boomed in the sky, followed by a flash of lightning that split the horizon, suddenly bright as daylight. Quan Pei worried that Bao Ge would be scared, so she pulled the child to her side. Yin Zhen was reading documents, but he put them down and leaned over, "This little one isn't afraid at all."

  Quan Pei held the child in her arms: "You're not going to work anymore?"

  "Coming and going is all about military pay, it's annoying to watch."

  "Next year's spring will be able to set out on an expedition."

  He nodded thoughtfully and said in a somewhat absent-minded tone, "Yes, that's about it."

  "Are you guys going together too?"

  "This emperor never thought: 'The Empress Dowager has never said'."

  "The emperor is deeply afraid that you are ignorant of everything, so when going out, he brings all that can be brought along. This time, such a good opportunity, how could he not call you to go? As the old master, he must be thinking of following along."

  He sat down and fell into deep thought: "If I go, then so be it. This actually isn't a big deal, and it's also an opportunity."

  Wei Juan felt a bit sleepy, holding the child and half-reclining: "You discuss with Mr. Qing, when going out, safety must be guaranteed first."

  Yongzheng handed the quilt to Guan'er: "If you're sleepy, go to sleep. I know about this matter..."