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

Aunt Lan rushed over, and upon seeing the packet of cold food powder, her brows immediately furrowed. She knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "It was my oversight, please punish me, Your Highness!"

Chu Nianci quickly helped her up: "This has nothing to do with your aunt. You've just arrived here and aren't familiar with the staff yet, so this isn't your fault."

"His Majesty has explicitly forbidden this. If someone reports it, all officials will be held accountable. Fortunately, the young mistress was cautious and discovered it before the incident. It's already a stroke of luck. The most important thing now is to find out where this thing came from, what the other party wanted to do, and who made it." Aunt Lan knew that this matter was of great importance.

Tuanyuan was shocked by how serious the situation was, and her face turned pale with fright.

Chu Nianci pondered and said, "If this matter gets out, it will be a heinous crime. Given His Majesty's deep hatred for Hanshifen, he will definitely punish it severely, and it may even implicate the family. Therefore, I must first find out who is behind this."

Tuanyuan was both anxious and angry: "My lady, you are currently favored by the Emperor. Why don't we just report this matter directly to His Majesty? Why bother investigating it ourselves!"

"Whether I made it or not, the mere presence of Hanshi powder is enough to cause trouble. Being confined to one's quarters and thoroughly investigated is the least of one's worries," Chu Nianci shook her head. "Besides, His Majesty currently desires stability in the court. If it is found that important officials are involved, it will inevitably cause turmoil. I do not want to disrupt His Majesty's arrangements. The other party has gone to such great lengths, probably because they want to create chaos. Since they want chaos, I will maintain stability."

"I can't stop their scheme, but I absolutely cannot let them pin this crime on me." As he said this, a cold glint flashed in Chu Nianci's eyes.

Aunt Lan never expected that she would be so loyal and insightful at such a young age.

Approval couldn't help but show in his eyes: "This old servant also thinks that Your Highness's method is appropriate."

Tuanyuan was still stomping her feet in anger, "Who on earth is the heartless one who did this to the young master?"

Chu Nianci looked at the packet of cold food powder: "We've just moved in, and we can't have a single person on hand. Aunt Lan, pick a few honest and reliable-looking people to patrol the courtyard several times a day to prevent them from tampering with it again."

Tuanyuan couldn't help but huff, "You heartless bastards! The young master just distributed rewards a few days ago and treated the servants so well, yet there's still a traitor among us!"

Chu Nianci shook his head slightly: "I'm afraid he was coerced a long time ago."

"However, since the other side has started to take action, it means that the day they make their move is not far away. In the next few days, the spies will definitely try to send messages out."

"Keep a close eye on the eunuchs and maids below, and see who has been in contact with people from outside recently," Chu Nianci's tone turned cold. "I want to see which traitor is behind this."

Aunt Lan, Manbao, and Tuanyuan responded in unison, "Yes, we understand!"

Chu Nianci lowered her eyes in thought: those who wanted to harm her must be waiting for the right opportunity.

When are we waiting?

Naturally, that will happen when she falls out of favor.

Once she loses the Emperor's favor and falls out with Consort Jia and others, she will have neither the Emperor's trust nor any external support.

Those people will then take action immediately.

Everyone in the hall knew she was pondering important matters, so they all held their breath and waited quietly, not daring to make a sound.

A short while later, Chu Nianci picked up her teacup, took a sip, and looked up at Aunt Lan: "There's something I'd like to ask you for help with, Aunt."

Aunt Lan immediately replied respectfully, "Please give your orders, Your Highness."

Chu Nianci smiled slightly: "I would like to ask my aunt for help. Please report to His Majesty in private that I have started my period, but there is no need to record it in the Imperial Household Department. As long as His Majesty does not come to see me for seven or eight days, others will naturally think that I have lost favor."

According to palace rules, when a concubine is menstruating, she must report to the Imperial Household Department to have her name removed. If the Emperor is only informed but not recorded, it will appear to outsiders that the Emperor's favor has waned...

Once the other party feels that she has lost power, they will definitely take advantage of the situation.

When the time comes, the hidden agents will take action.

She could then turn the tables and launch a counterattack.

Aunt Lan understood and bowed her head, replying, "This servant understands."

She then instructed Tuanyuan, "Tell Consort Jia and Noble Lady Lan to believe that I have fallen out of favor, thus causing a conflict between them and attracting His Majesty's attention. Tomorrow, in the Imperial Garden, they will publicly quarrel with me."

To avoid alerting the enemy, Chu Nianci instructed Manbao to wrap the white flour back up as it was and quietly put it back in its original place.

After Aunt Lan and Man Bao left, leaving only Tuan Yuan in the inner room, she couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "My lady, Aunt Lan is, after all, someone sent by His Majesty... Would she secretly report such a big matter to His Majesty?"

Chu Nianci shook her head: "She won't say anything until the matter is clarified."

It seems that Aunt Lan has a bottom line and knows how to assess the situation; she won't do anything that harms others without benefiting herself.

Tuanyuan nodded, then glanced outside discreetly. Seeing that Aunt Lan wasn't nearby, she lowered her voice and said, "Although Your Highness is cautious, do you really trust her that much?"

Chu Nianci smiled slightly: "Whether it is credible or not depends on me and on her. If I am at the height of my power, she will naturally not have any disloyal thoughts. If I am useless, she will naturally not dare to hide it from His Majesty. But she is a smart person and knows what can be said and what should be swallowed."

Chu Nianci understands human nature and always keeps a degree of wariness around everyone.

If Aunt Lan really dares to betray her, she can take her in, and naturally she can also make her pack her bags and leave.

Sure enough, for several days afterward, the emperor did not set foot in Tangdi Palace.

The palace gradually became quiet, and everyone in the palace thought that Chu Nianci had lost favor.

Some people began to get restless and started scheming and looking for connections, but most people remained dutiful and quietly performed their duties.

Chu Nianci remained calm and simply instructed Tuanyuan to write down those names that were jumping around in the air, intending to deal with them all at once later.

This is a good opportunity to see who is useful and who is not worth keeping.

Strangely enough, Xiao Guizi and Zhui'er, whom she suspected, were quite well-behaved.

But Chu Nianci did not dispel the two people's wariness.

That day, Chu Nianci stood in the small garden of Tangdi Palace, and Tuanyuan deliberately raised her voice and said, "This servant heard that a new batch of red plum blossoms has arrived in Shanglin Garden, and they are blooming beautifully. Your Highness, since you like plum blossoms, this servant will accompany you to take a look."

Chu Nianci glanced at her: "You're the one who wanted to make plum blossom honey, aren't you?"

Tuanyuan smiled sheepishly and took her arm, saying, "My lady, I did want to make plum blossom honey, but I also saw that you've been working so hard these days, so I wanted to invite you out for a walk to relax."

"Let's go then." Chu Nianci was indeed a bit tired these days, so she readily agreed.

Tuanyuan fetched a cloak and carefully fastened it for her: "It's windy outside, Your Highness, please be careful not to catch a cold."

Chu Nianci specially asked Aunt Lan to stay in the palace to take care of things, and also specifically asked Xiao Gui'er to come along.

She exchanged a glance with Manbao, and the group headed towards the Imperial Garden.

Upon arriving near the plum grove, they encountered Shen Lanbing and Consort Jia.

Consort Jia stood before several rare red plum trees, her gaze complex.

Shen Lanbing also feigned indifference, glanced at Chu Nianci, and said with a sour tone, "When you were favored in the past, did you ever think of helping your sisters? Now that His Majesty is not coming, you have the leisure to admire plum blossoms."

As she spoke, a hint of jealousy actually crept into her eyes.

Consort Jia suppressed her emotions and forced a smile as she greeted him: "If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place. His Majesty hasn't come these past few days, and you must be feeling quite lonely, sister. Red plum blossoms are in full bloom, while green plum blossoms are already past their prime."

Chu Nianci chuckled inwardly: The two of them acted quite convincingly.

She still smiled and said, "Sister Jiafei is joking. If you like these green plum blossoms, I will have someone break off half and send it to Jingyang Palace, and send the other half to Sister Shen at Yuxiu Palace."

Consort Jia was taken aback, then deliberately feigned indifference: "Thank you for your kindness, sister, but you can keep it for yourself."

He then gave a soft hum.

"Who cares?" Shen Lanbing chimed in, adding fuel to the fire with a disdainful expression.

The news of this "conflict" between the three in the Imperial Garden quickly spread.

After nightfall, the eunuchs and palace maids began to have stomach problems and kept running to the outhouse.

Man Bao secretly rejoiced that she had been prepared and had been eating dry rations all along. Sure enough, the mole couldn't hold back any longer and began to make his move.

In two hours, everyone ran back and forth seven or eight times, hurriedly went to the Imperial Hospital to get medicine and take it. They didn't fall asleep until late at night. Because they had been so exhausted, everyone slept like logs.

Manbao also lay in bed pretending to be asleep, dragging it out until the fourth watch of the night, when a dark figure finally got out of bed and slipped out.

Manbao quietly followed, and saw the dark figure creep to the corner of the wall. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, it first meowed like a cat, then quickly pulled out a paper package from its pocket and tossed it over the wall.

After he walked away, Manbao emerged from the bushes. Although the man's face was covered, she had seen the knife scar on his hand when he reached out. So, among the eunuchs, only Xiao Guizi had a knife wound on his hand. Manbao also found a gold hairpin on the ground.

Then he tiptoed to the door.

Just then, I saw another dark figure sneaking by, pick up the item, and leave.

Manbao kept a close watch and only quietly retreated when she saw the man slip into the Xianyue Pavilion where Qiao Yingying lived.

It really was him… Man Bao rushed back to report to Chu Nianci…