Entering the palace means entering a high position; I'm His Majesty's cousin, who am I afr

The red water chestnuts and green calyxes gaze at each other.

Hongling exclaimed in surprise, "Yesterday, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager were in our palace, and Chief Eunuch Qing personally conducted a thorough investigation. In the end, they only found Qi Ronghua. If it wasn't her, who else could it be?"

Shen Jiayu shook her head: "Qi Ronghua doesn't have that kind of guts."

If she had such courage, Qi Ronghua would have harbored resentment and plotted against him long ago after being beaten, instead of waiting so long.

Moreover, Qi Ronghua is a mean, foolish, and cowardly person, so he would never dare to directly attack her.

Shen Jiayu is more inclined to believe that someone deliberately lured Qi Ronghua into this trap.

The person behind it all wanted to scheme against her, and also against Qi Ronghua.

Hongling pondered for a long time, but she still couldn't figure it out. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she couldn't help but ask, "Then, Your Majesty, who do you think is responsible for this?"

Shen Jiayu narrowed her eyes and asked the two of them, "Who has been behaving most strangely in the palace lately?"

Hongling recalled the recent events in the palace in her mind, finally settling on a cold and aloof face, her brows furrowing.

Green Calyx also thought of this, and frowned in thought: "But Chief Eunuch Qing also investigated Consort Zhu's case, and there was no suspicious point."

Shen Jiayu already had a guess in her mind. She curled her lips into a cold smile and said, "This Consort Zhu has managed to absolve herself of all responsibility."

With that, she got up from the bed. "Help me wash up, then we'll go see Consort Qi. Since she accused Consort Zhu, she might know something. We'll soon find out whether Consort Zhu was behind all this."

Upon hearing this, Hongling hesitated, "If His Majesty finds out that the Empress has gone to the Cold Palace, will he blame us?"

Shen Jiayu raised an eyebrow: "What's there to blame? I've always been spoiled and domineering. When I found out I'd been tricked, I couldn't help but go to the Cold Palace to ridicule Qi Ronghua a few times. Isn't that perfectly reasonable?"

At most, they might find her unruly and prone to running around, but there won't be any major problems.

She can get away with it.

Hongling thought about it and realized that this made sense, so she quickly started to wash and groom her.

After dressing properly, Shen Jiayu slowly walked out of the palace gate.

The entire journey was speechless.

The sedan chair stopped in a secluded alley.

Hongling and Lü'e helped Shen Jiayu out of the sedan chair and stood in front of a dilapidated vermilion gate.

The atmosphere here was cold and desolate, with large flocks of crows circling in the air, cawing mournfully.

This is the Cold Palace.

If it weren't for the two guards standing watch at the palace gate, it would truly terrify anyone.

Upon seeing someone approaching, the two guards immediately stopped them, saying, "This is the residence of a disgraced concubine; unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter."

Hongling stepped forward and announced her title: "Our Lady is Consort Chen Zhaoyi."

Although the Emperor said yesterday that he would promote Shen Jiayu's rank, the decree has not yet been issued, so for now she is only referred to as Consort Chen Zhaoyi.

The two guards at the palace gate exchanged a glance, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes.

Even though these guards were far from the inner palace, they still served in the palace and knew what this name represented.

Consort Chen is the niece of the current Empress Dowager, the cousin of His Majesty, and the most favored concubine in the harem.

They can't afford to offend people like that.

Shen Jiayu knew what they were hesitating about, and said calmly, "If His Majesty questions me, I will take responsibility; it has nothing to do with you."

At this moment, Hongling stepped forward and secretly handed over some silver.

The guard hesitated for a moment, then accepted the silver, opened the palace gate, and said obsequiously, "It's dilapidated inside. Your Highness should come out as soon as possible."

Led by one of the guards, Shen Jiayu arrived at a side hall.

Shen Jiayu took Hongling inside, leaving Lü'e to guard outside.

As soon as you push open the palace door, a thick layer of dust rushes out, choking you and making you feel nauseous.

Shen Jiayu covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and slowly walked in.

Looking around, the furnishings inside were old and worn, covered with cobwebs, and the dressing table and vanity were covered with a layer of dust, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.

In the innermost room, there was a large bed with a half-drawn curtain. There were no blankets or pillows, only a few tattered mats.

At that moment, a slender figure was huddled inside, leaning against someone.

Hearing footsteps, he only moved slightly but did not turn around.

Shen Jiayu didn't approach, but stood several feet away, her voice clear and crisp, "Qi Ronghua."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Qi Ronghua froze, and after a long while, she turned around in disbelief.

Then she screamed, curled up on the tatami mat, covered her face with her sleeve, and cried out, "Don't look at me, don't look at me!"

Only then did Shen Jiayu get a clear look at her.

Qi Ronghua was still wearing her gorgeous clothes, but none of the pearls and gold hairpins in her hair were to be seen. Her hair was disheveled, as if someone had pulled them out. Her face was covered in tears and dirt, and she looked very disheveled.

These once pampered and privileged palace concubines have fallen into such a wretched state.

Naturally, they couldn't withstand it.

No wonder they behaved this way.

Shen Jiayu's eyes remained calm as she called her name again.

Qi Ronghua let out a sob, but at least she wasn't as disheveled as before.

Shen Jiayu didn't have much patience. Her voice was indifferent: "If you don't want revenge, then I won't force you."

She turned to leave.

Qi Ronghua, who had been curled up on the couch, finally reacted. She crawled to the edge of the couch on all fours, saying, "Don't go. What do you mean by that? You know I didn't do this, don't you?"

Shen Jiayu turned around, her gaze sharp and piercing: "I asked whether you wanted revenge, not whether this matter has nothing to do with you."

Even if someone lured Qi Ronghua into this scheme.

That would only happen if Qi Ronghua had bad intentions; if she were upright and honest, the matter might not have succeeded.

Qi Ronghua is not innocent, and Shen Jiayu sees this very clearly.

When Qi Ronghua met her gaze, she instinctively shrank back.

She had a feeling that she was completely seen through.

You see, she was the one who was tricked into this, and she spent the whole night thinking it over before she finally figured everything out.

Consort Chen Zhao, who had just woken up from the poisoning, not only knew that she was involved in the matter, but also that there was more to the story.

Qi Ronghua couldn't understand how Consort Chen had figured it out, and just how deep her scheming was.

Qi Ronghua dared not think about it in detail, nor did she have any extra time to think about it further.

She pondered for a moment, then gritted her teeth and raised her head. "This whole thing was Zhu Yao's scheme from beginning to end!"

Upon hearing this, Hongling's pupils contracted slightly, and she subconsciously looked at Shen Jiayu.

Shen Jiayu was not surprised, and simply nodded slightly. "Continue."

Qi Ronghua clenched her fists, her voice filled with hatred, "That lowly maid named Xuezhu by my side has been Zhu Yao's person from beginning to end!"

That night, filled with fear and hunger, she finally understood.

Xuezhu has long since become Zhu Yao's person!

When this group of new beauties entered the palace, Xuezhu deliberately praised Consort Chen's favor and beauty, hoping to provoke her jealousy and make her take action.

At the time, I didn't have the courage to do so and didn't dare to make a move easily. I only dared to cultivate relationships with the emperor to win his favor.

Seeing that one plan had failed, Xuezhu came up with another.

This time, she cooperated with her good master to lure herself into the trap.

First, that vile woman Zhu Yao deliberately caused trouble during the greetings, creating the illusion that she and Consort Chen were not on good terms.

Then Xuezhu revealed some false information to him, such as preparing to make a move and the Yihua Palace being heavily guarded, all of which were false!

Those two vile women were the ones who swayed me, gave me orders, and made me do everything in my power to make this happen.

He had foolishly fallen into the trap, allowing his own informants to fuel the flames. Little did he know, he had been completely outmaneuvered.

This thorough investigation only uncovered her own people and the witnesses and physical evidence related to Xuezhu's actions.

There's absolutely no suspicion about Zhu Yao because, apart from secretly instructing Xue Zhu, she hasn't done anything at all!