Chapter Sixteen

  Even as the scorching sun was shining brightly on this magnificent city, the streets were still bustling with people coming and going. Three unassuming celadon green carriages drove into the 49th City and stopped behind the Tianxiang Pavilion on Qipan Street. The shopkeeper had likely received news early on and was waiting at the back door. Seeing a middle-aged man with a mustache get out of the carriage, he hurriedly welcomed him: "You must be Mr. Qing! Please come in and rest from your journey!"

  Mr. Qing's eyes added a few strands of smile: "You're too polite."

  Several men and young girls came down from the carriage behind, and the shopkeeper said to Xiaotou, "Take these few people to rest."

  Quan held the letter from Yongzheng and read it again, folding it neatly to one side. He said that he had found a scholar named Mr. Qing, who was a jinshi of Kangxi's 20th year, and was also known as "Divine Calculator" by locals. Before Quan even spoke, Mr. Qing had already guessed his identity. It wasn't divine calculation, but rather a broad perspective, being well-informed, and skilled at observation. He was indeed a talented individual.

  Also found a few servants with a clean family background and no entanglements, all of whom were allowed to live in the Tianxiang Pavilion.

  Quan Pei then had someone send a message to the Nala Fu, and had an ayah sent over to instruct the newcomer on the rules of etiquette, so that when it was time to use them, they would be usable.

  Yin Zan will be back in a few days, and the news that spread to the courtyard was most eagerly awaited by only one person, Yan Gu Niang. Those who were pregnant were worried about losing favor, and those who had lost favor were even more anxious. Before the new bride entered the mansion, Yan Gu Niang would be the sole favorite again.

  Li Yuanzheng was in the house, head down reading a book, when a small eunuch came in and said: "The Empress Dowager says she's not feeling well, wants you to go over." His eyes twitched a few times, then he said after a pause: "Trouble the Empress Dowager with a message, just say I'm not feeling well myself, afraid of misdiagnosing her pulse."

  The little eunuch sneered in his heart, with a rather arrogant attitude.

  The fifty-five-year-old empress dowager looked like she was only forty if you looked closely, but she always had a sleepy and elderly demeanor that made people think she was very old. However, the empress dowager at this moment was somewhat different. The palace maid cleverly covered her white hair with either a bun or a head flower, making it seem like she had a full head of black hair at first glance. Her face, which rarely had wrinkles, was covered with makeup, and her eyebrows were painted slightly upwards. At a glance, there was an added hint of charm between her eyebrows and eyes.

  The empress dowager sneered: "Not feeling well?"

  The little eunuch did not dare to speak, the empress waved her hand, and the little eunuch quickly retreated.

  The woman in the mirror had indeed lost her youthful beauty, and even with concealment, she showed signs of aging. The empress smashed the mirror to the ground with one stroke, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes: "If there's a next time, it won't be allowed!"

  The crown princess occasionally heard Quan Pei say a sentence: "...... Li Yuanzheng's life is clear and has no connection with anyone in the palace." She pondered again and again, and said to the palace staff: "Please ask Li Yuanzheng to come and take the pulse for Li Ce Fu Jun!"

  The prince called out as he passed by, and Li Yuanzheng hesitated for a moment before getting up. The prince's palace was lush with flowers and trees, and the small eunuch led him on his way, rarely seeing any palace people, but it was indeed quiet and secluded. The dense rose trellis almost completely covered the house, making it impossible to find the entrance. This was a good place for Li Ce Fu Jun to live, as the sign above the door read "Autumn Breeze Pavilion" in three large characters. Li Yuanzheng glanced up at it briefly before following the small eunuch inside.

  The gauze curtain fluttered slightly, with a different kind of ethereal fantasy. The eunuch stopped behind the screen: "Li Yuanzheng invites you." He only felt that something was not quite right, and walked forward with furrowed brows. Suddenly, a soft and joyful laughter came from inside, and the peach blossoms in his eyes flashed by. The crown prince was also inside, no wonder there were few people outside.

  On the carved flower bed, a thin and slender figure was faintly visible. The prince lay on his side with his clothes open, and the slender figure suddenly lifted its head. Li Yuanzhi was so frightened that his legs went soft, and it was clearly a man!

  The little eunuch who led him in had long since disappeared, the prince had already walked down from the bed, one foot kicked him to the ground, drew out the sword hanging on the wall and pointed at his chin: "How dare you!"

  "This is the first time I've seen such a sinister crown prince Li Yuanzheng: 'Someone framed me, but I didn't see anything!'"

  His mind was all muddled and he couldn't think clearly, who exactly was it, who exactly wanted to harm him?!

  Wang Lan put on her clothes and got out of bed: "This person cannot be forgiven. If it gets out, the slave will die a million times, but Your Highness is noble and can't tolerate such a thing!"

  This unfamiliar eunuch looked at Li Yuanzheng with a hint of a smile, and Li Yuanzheng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

  The prince smiled and looked at Wang Lan: "You're right."

  Li Yuanzheng was beaten unconscious by the eunuchs and taken away, with the outside world being told that he had prescribed the wrong medicine for the crown prince. Once locked in prison, it would be natural for him to "commit suicide out of fear of punishment" at night.

  The room fell silent, and Wang Lan knelt on the ground: "I was wrong."

  "Oh? Tell me?"

  "Li Yuanzheng teased me first, I'm a humble person with soft words, the only way to get rid of him is by using this method, please, Your Highness, punish him."

  The delicate Wang Lan was like a flower, with a beauty that others did not possess. The depth in the prince's eyes gradually faded: "Forget it, as long as there isn't a next time." However, a small imperial physician, no matter what the reason, could be killed and it wouldn't matter to the prince.

  The prince is not stupid, how could he not know such an obvious trap? It's more clever for Wang Lan to admit it than to hide it.

  The crown princess's anxiety was that she didn't see the imperial physician, and in a moment, a small eunuch rushed over and whispered a few words in her ear. The crown princess's face changed to be unpredictable, and she cursed: "Fool!" But he also hoped that Li Yuan would die quietly, so as not to leave behind trouble!

  Xiao Mantou whispered a few words to Xiao Yue, and Xiao Yue smiled and nodded her head: "We'll remember Wang Lan's feelings. He's not a bad person. In the future, you can do whatever you want!"

  He said and gave Xiaomantou another piece of silver: "Take it and spend it, let's just forget this ever happened!"

  Although Xiaomantou is small, he knows the way of survival well. He swore: "I understand everything my sister says, and I will definitely rot in my intestines!"

  Xiao Mantou also only knew that Fu Jin wanted to get rid of Li Yuanzheng, but he had no idea what the specific reason was.

  "It's already been locked up by the Crown Prince, and if nothing unexpected happens, he'll be gone tonight......" Li Yuanzheng is dead, but it was the Crown Prince who got rid of him, and had nothing to do with Quan Pei. The people behind him can't find any connection to Quan Pei even if they want to intervene or take revenge.

  "Let's just see who wants to save this person..."

  Quan Wan seemed to have never taken this matter to heart, still with a careless attitude. Xiao Yue let out a long sigh of relief, finally getting rid of the great disaster, and could sleep soundly at night.

  A black hair bun adorned with a single peony-shaped beeswax pin, the delicate color of the pendant resembling a just-opened peach blossom. The imperial blue cloud-patterned phoenix-embroidered flag-like robe was intricately elegant and exuded an air of nobility from afar. Her bright eyes shone with a radiant glow like sunlight on a summer day, dazzling and enchanting.

  It's been a month since I last saw you, and it seems like you've grown even taller. Your cheekbones are even more defined now, and your dark, deep eyes lit up with a thick smile when they saw me: "What brings you out with such a big belly?"

  Wei Ting's lips curled up in a smile: "It slipped out unintentionally."

  Yinzheng took the hand of Quan Pei and walked inside, followed by Li Shi, Song Shi, Yan Gu Niang and the eunuchs. The main room was suddenly crowded with people, Yinzheng waved his hand: "Everyone go out first."

  The disappointment in her eyes is self-evident, but who dares to argue with the imperial concubine?

  Yin Zan smiled and pinched Quan Pei's hand, went into the clean room to wash and change clothes, came out and wore a light gray silver-gray dark patterned round robe, the boots on her feet also became casual cloth shoes, and she looked much more spirited.

  It's been a while since he saw her, and it seemed like there were many things to say to Quan Pei. He held Quan Pei in his arms and put her on his lap for a try, then smiled and let her sit aside: "I can't hold you anymore!"

  His actions finally made Guan Yue lightly laugh and softly ask: "Are you tired?"

  Yongzheng lay on the couch: "You also lie down with me for a while, I'm really tired."

  Facing each other, they could clearly hear the breath from each other. The closer they got, the more they could feel the meaning of "white jade without blemish". Yongzheng smiled and reached out to touch Quanpei's cheek: "How can it be so smooth and delicate?"

  "Are you jealous?"

  Yin Zan smiled and hugged Quan Pei in his arms, taking a deep sniff of the scent on Quan Pei's body: "I really miss you." The smell of Quan Pei was like smelling home, making people feel stable and down-to-earth.

  "Mr. Qing is a capable person and originally didn't want to come to the capital with me." He started talking about his own affairs in a nagging tone.

  "How did you move him?"

  "But just one word of sincerity, I've been there many times before. I told him that even if I don't have power now, but if one day I do, and he comes to seek me out then, it won't seem sincere, nor will it be a great achievement... Tomorrow when I'm free, I'll go see Mr. Qing and arrange for someone to rent a house outside for him to live in first." Yongzheng was becoming more and more methodical in his actions.

  "It's fine this way..."

  The Crown Prince's consort, Li Ce Fu Jun, was pregnant. In the end, it was discovered by the imperial physician. The Crown Princess smiled and looked at Li Ce Fu Jun: "This isn't your first pregnancy, it's almost three months now, how could you not know?"

  Li Ce Fu Jin did not dare look into the eyes of the Crown Prince's consort, only lowering her eyelids and softly saying: "It was I who was remiss."

  The crown prince's consort saw that Li Shi was in such a delicate state, not daring to breathe loudly, and frowned: "Don't do something like this again in the future. If anything happens to you, others will say I'm incompetent at managing the inner palace."

  "Yes."

  The eunuch in the palace of the Empress Dowager came to deliver a message: "The Empress Dowager said that she was not feeling well and wanted Li Yuanzhong to take a look, saying that someone else's medicine was useless."

  The crown prince's consort rubbed her forehead: "Li Yuanzheng has made a mistake with the medicine and has been locked up by the crown prince. At this time, if he is released, it may not be good." What does the empress dowager mean? Why did she come to the crown prince just for a doctor, which really doesn't seem like her usual style.

  The eunuch did not leave: "In any case, we must invite Li Yuanzheng to come over once."

  The crown princess frowned: "I can't make decisions on this matter, if the crown prince is willing to let go, it will naturally be sent to the empress dowager, please wait a moment."

  A small eunuch rushed to find the prince, who was somewhat annoyed: "What is this old woman meddling with? Go and deal with her now!"