You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

In a warm chamber in the left-hand hall of Chuxiu Palace, the stove fire was burning brightly, crackling softly from time to time.

Consort Yu, Bai Qianrou, sat on a soft couch, holding a pink enamel teacup with a hundred flowers in her hands. She lowered her eyes and slowly skimmed the tea foam. The long, drawn-out sounds were sharp and thin in the spacious and warm Hua Palace. Her usually innocent and naive face was now gloomy and mature beyond her years.

The matter of the poisonous scorpion left her uneasy, causing her to be plagued by nightmares every night, in which she dreamt that the Imperial Guards, acting on the Emperor's decree, banished her to the Cold Palace.

Chu Nianci is a source of great anxiety for me. She is currently in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and could report me at any time.

We absolutely cannot let her disrupt the situation.

"Is what you said... all true?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it sent a chill down the spine of the kneeling eunuch below.

The young eunuch had a round face and narrow eyes, and was dressed in the low-class clothes of the Imperial Pharmacy. He was the same eunuch Xiao Dongzi who had passed the jade pendant to Consort Hui a few days ago on behalf of Lin Jingrui. At this moment, he was lying on the ground, and the sweat on his forehead was almost flowing into his eyes, but he dared not raise his hand to wipe it.

Consort Yu tapped the lid of her teacup gently.

Xiao Dongzi's shoulders trembled.

Consort Yu glanced at him and continued slowly, "So, Consort Hui did indeed go to the Imperial Garden to see Director Lin that day?"

The head palace maid, Yan Rong, who was standing nearby, immediately stepped forward and said sternly, "If you dare to fabricate even a single word, drag her to the torture chamber and beat her to death!"

Yan Rong was a dowry maid specially chosen for her by the Grand Commandant's mansion. She was sturdy, with a long face and narrow eyes, and she was efficient and knew some martial arts.

Xiao Dongzi hurriedly looked up: "This servant... dares not lie. That day, Imperial Physician Lin gave me silver and told me to take the jade token to invite Consort Hui. Consort Hui then followed me to the Imperial Garden. If this servant is lying, may I be struck by lightning!"

Upon hearing this, Consort Yu pursed her lips and looked at Yan Rong.

Yan Rong leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I've inquired. Consort Hui was originally the betrothed of Imperial Physician Lin, but somehow she was summoned to the palace on her wedding day."

Consort Yu frowned slightly.

Yan Rong turned to Xiao Dongzi and asked, "In your opinion, if we send another message, will they still meet?"

Xiao Dongzi shrank his neck: "Academician Lin should still have feelings for her... but I really can't say what Consort Hui thinks now."

Yan Rong sneered: "Tomorrow, think of a way to pass on a message to Imperial Censor Lin, asking him to meet you in the back garden of Kunning Palace."

Xiao Dongzi's face turned pale: "Passing on messages privately is taboo, this servant... this servant dares not do it again."

"What's the panic? Didn't you do it before and nothing happened?" Yan Rong took out a heavy silver bag from her sleeve and threw it in front of him. "It's not like I'm asking you to kill or set fires. It's just to pass on a message. Take this silver first. After it's done, you don't need to go back to the Imperial Pharmacy. I'll transfer you directly to the Construction Department outside the palace. That's a lucrative position."

Xiao Dongzi stared at the bag of silver, his Adam's apple bobbing. He struggled for a moment, then finally bowed deeply and kowtowed: "This servant... thanks Your Highness Consort Yu for your grace!"

Consort Yu then gently put down her teacup, her voice calm and gentle: "Go, and make sure it's clean."

Xiao Dongzi clutched his purse tightly, bowed, and retreated.

The hall fell silent again, with only the occasional crackling of the fire in the stove.

Consort Yu gazed at the darkening sky outside the window and murmured to herself, "An engaged couple... it's time to grant them their wish."

The Grand Commandant's Mansion now controls half of the army in the country. The biggest obstacle is the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. When she was selected for the imperial concubine selection, her father hinted that he must get rid of the Duke of Zhenguo's eldest daughter, Gu Qingmei. However, since the day the plan failed, she has been treated coldly after returning home. Her grandfather also said that if she makes any further mistakes, he has other granddaughters.

After much deliberation, I realized I could no longer hesitate.

She felt that Chu Nianci was the one who interfered, causing her to fail at the last minute.

As a result, she couldn't eat or sleep well. The best course of action now was to get rid of Chu Nianci before proceeding to the next step.

Yan Rong asked in a low voice, "What does Your Majesty intend to do?"

Consort Yu smiled slightly, but there was little warmth in her smile: "Tomorrow, during the palace audience, Consort Hui, who is now a titled concubine, will definitely go to Kunning Palace. It will be very interesting to see the couple meet."

"...If we go too far, we might offend the Empress." Yan Rong still hesitated a bit.

"I have already inquired. After the wedding, the Emperor did not perform the nuptial ceremony with the Empress. It is clear that the Empress is useless and there is no need to pay attention to her," Consort Yu said coldly.

"I heard that the Empress used Consort Qiao to drug Consort Shu," Yan Rong whispered a reminder.

"What medicine?" Consort Yu asked, frowning.

"It's a medicine to induce menstruation," Yan Rong said. "Although it's not fatal, Consort Shu will definitely be unable to serve the Emperor."

"Let it be chaotic, chaos is good, chaos is good for us so we can reap the benefits," Consort Yu said sinisterly. "In that case, I might as well help the Empress again and turn this menstrual-inducing medicine into a death warrant."

If we can eliminate the power of the Prime Minister's office and weaken the power of the Empress Dowager through this matter, killing two birds with one stone, my grandfather would certainly be happy to see it happen.

Besides, aside from the Empress and Consort Shu, only Consort Jia and I were left to serve him in bed.

Yan Rong understood and bowed her head in agreement.

"Even if we don't catch them in the act, as long as they meet, we can throw dirty water on them," Yan Rong said with a fawning smile.

"If we splash dirty water, we'll inevitably have to have the old nanny examine her body in the end," a cold glint flashed in Consort Yu's eyes. "If she's still a virgin after the examination, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain?"

"Your Majesty is overthinking it. I heard that she traveled all the way from the south to marry into the Western Capital and lived with him in the Lin residence for half a year. If His Majesty hadn't summoned Imperial Physician Lin to the south, both children would have already been born," Yan Rong said confidently. "As long as we bribe the midwife, we can say whatever we want about her health."

Consort Yu pulled out a handkerchief and covered her lips with satisfaction. She sneered and said, "Such a good story shouldn't be known only to us. Find someone to secretly tell Consort Qiao about this romantic affair. She's a big mouth, and it won't be long before the whole palace knows about it."

"Also, regarding this Xiao Dongzi... after it's all over," Consort Yu made a gesture of finality, "remember to have someone add something to his tea to make the couple's reunion more romantic."

After saying that, Consort Yu took out a ruby ​​ring from under the dressing table drawer and said, "Find a way to give it to Consort Qiao's maid. Tell her that this thing can make her wishes come true. Remember to do it cleanly and don't leave any traces."

Yan Rong understood, nodded in agreement, and left.

The warm light from the charcoal stove illuminated Consort Yu's calm and experienced profile, half bright and half dim. She thought to herself, "I must get rid of this uncertainty tomorrow."

The next day was the day for the emperor to have an audience with the emperor.

Chu Nianci got up early and looked at her face in the mirror.

Even without makeup, she was still dazzlingly beautiful.

Normally, her clothes are taken care of by her maid, but today she has an idea.

"My lady, which outfit would you like to wear today?" Tuanyuan asked softly.

Chu Nianci knew in her heart that she was just a minor concubine among this batch of newcomers. Although she had the title of "Hui", few people really took her seriously.

Today she's going to be the "eyes," and if she dresses too flamboyantly, she'll only attract attention and make enemies for no reason.

"I'll take that lady-in-waiting's uniform." She chose the simplest one.

This was also a way of giving the Empress face, so that she wouldn't think that she was being arrogant because of her status as a member of the Imperial Court.

They quickly and efficiently dressed and styled her.

The person in the mirror wore only a light touch of lip rouge, and her moon-white dress was trimmed with plain blue. A few wildflowers were embroidered on the hem, making her appear only slightly more distinguished than a palace maid.

Even with such deliberate restraint, her innate brilliance still cannot be concealed.

"Won't it be too plain?" Tuanyuan asked with some concern. "Those people are always quick to judge a book by its cover..."

"I understand the principle of 'respecting clothes before respecting people,'" Chu Nianci said calmly, "but now is not the time to flaunt it."

Tuanyuan nodded, then lowered her voice: "Your Highness, Manbao secretly told me this morning that although His Majesty often goes to the Empress's palace, he has never stayed overnight."

Chu Nianci was not surprised by this.

The late emperor entrusted the young emperor to three powerful ministers. Now that these three families are powerful, the empress should come from one of them.

The Empress Dowager, however, gave the Empress position to a woman from the Lin family, clearly intending to install a puppet to balance the three families.

The emperor may have simply gone along with it, but he may not have truly cared about the empress.

She remembered overhearing in her past life that the emperor and empress had not consummated their marriage.

All the emperor wanted was a balance of power in the court... Once the empress gave birth to a legitimate son, the situation could spiral out of control.

The empress, who had no favor and no children, had not shown her any kindness in her previous life.

Now that she has been given a second chance at life, Chu Nianci has no intention of interfering with the other party's eventual fate of being crippled.

She asked Tuanyuan to find the young eunuch Manbao so that he could find out the situation in the palace before the audience.

She never fights a battle unprepared.

Chu Nianci knew that something important would happen tomorrow.

In his previous life, Chu Shunqing received the emperor's reward for that incident, and upon his return, he arrogantly forced her to relinquish her position as the principal wife.

However, Chu Shunqing did not reveal the specific details at the time.

This time, she was prepared to adapt to the situation and try to seize the credit before Chu Shunqing could.