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

three days ago.

While she was playing with Lin Shuang in the yard, she inadvertently discovered something unusual.

The colorful ball that the frost chased rolled across the bluestone slabs under the banyan tree, making a particularly dull and hollow sound.

This subtle change was small, but Shen Jiayu, always perceptive, immediately noticed something was wrong.

Without making a sound, she quietly went to check under the banyan tree and found that a bluestone slab was loose, as if it had been pried open.

After confirming the details, Shen Jiayu left with Lin Shuang.

Until the night was deep and quiet.

Shen Jiayu did not assign anyone to keep watch at night, but ordered Zhao Bingzhong to investigate the unusual situation.

Unexpectedly, a significant discovery was made beneath the bluestone slab. A black box lay there, and upon opening it, it was revealed to be a sorcery artifact.

Not only are their names listed, but their birth dates and times are also included. It's not just Zhu's information; it includes the birth dates of both princes.

Looking at those things, Shen Jiayu knew exactly what the Zhu family wanted to do.

She had Zhao Bingzhong restore the bluestone slab and then had him bury the box in the adjacent tea garden.

If the Zhu family wanted to find anything, they would have to turn the entire neighboring garden upside down.

Otherwise, nothing will be found in Wangyue Tower.

A thousand thoughts raced through Shen Jiayu's mind as she picked up her teacup and took a sip of the clear tea.

Hongling sighed with emotion, "Although this scheme brought down the Zhu family, it was still incredibly risky. His Majesty is not here today, and the Empress Dowager is bedridden. If they had succeeded, who knows what the consequences would have been!"

As Shen Jiayu listened to her sigh, a complex and profound meaning flashed in her eyes.

She paused for a moment, then spoke softly, "If we hadn't known about the Zhu family's arrangements beforehand, today... wouldn't have been such a problem, do you believe me?"

Hongling was taken aback: "Huh?"

Shen Jiayu concealed the intense emotions welling up in her eyes and said calmly, "I was just joking with you."

Hongling was filled with surprise and doubt.

She just heard what the Empress said!

Although she didn't know the reason, she knew her mistress was a hundred times smarter than her, so what she said must be true.

Could one really escape unscathed without knowing what the Zhu family was up to beforehand...?

As Hongling was pondering, a call interrupted her thoughts.

"Sister Hongling, the meal is ready again, you can put it on the table now."

Hongling suppressed her doubts and replied, "Coming right away."

After Shen Jiayu finished her meal, Zhao Bingzhong concealed the box and secretly brought it into the palace.

"Your Majesty, the things have been brought."

Shen Jiayu gestured for Hongling to take it, and said calmly, "Remember to keep an eye on the movements in front of the Emperor. I will go there as soon as His Majesty returns."

Zhao Bingzhong bowed and replied, "This servant understands."

*

at the same time.

Forget-Worries Pavilion.

This is Consort Hui's residence in the imperial palace.

After having breakfast, Consort Hui sat on the soft couch and began to do needlework herself.

In her hand was a cloak made of silver fox fur, with fine and even stitches; judging by the size, it was probably worn by a three- or four-year-old child.

As she quietly embroidered the patterns, Consort Hui's trusted maid, Yunzhi, entered the hall and whispered in her ear, "Your Highness, Consort Zhu is gone. She was poisoned by Consort Chen's men."

Consort Hui's expression remained unchanged, and she continued working: "What's so strange about this? It would be surprising if Consort Zhu survived after what Consort Chen said this morning."

Yunzhi couldn't help but say, "This Consort Chen is too domineering."

Consort Hui said in a calm tone: "You only found out today? She's always been like this since she entered the palace."

Yunzhi remained silent for a long time before whispering, "In the past, when I saw Consort Chen beating those lower-ranking concubines, I thought it was no big deal. Consort Chen is His Majesty's cousin, and those ignorant people dared to provoke her. But now, Consort Chen has directly taken the life of a third-rank Noble Consort. To say that I am not surprised would be a lie."

Consort Hui scoffed, "You all keep mentioning that Consort Chen is the Empress Dowager's niece and His Majesty's cousin. But you've all overlooked one point: Consort Chen is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo. The key point here isn't the Duke's legitimate daughter, but rather the Duke of Zhenguo's daughter. Who is Duke Shen Weixing? Besides being His Majesty's maternal uncle, he's also the Grand General leading 200,000 troops to guard the Northern Plains—a true battlefield commander, renowned throughout the Great Jing for his strict military discipline and iron-fisted methods. His daughter isn't one of those pampered young ladies in the capital; she's the daughter of a military family. I dare say that even now, Consort Chen is still concealing her true nature and sharpness; no one knows her true self."

Hearing these words, Yunzhi was startled for a moment.

In the past, the Empress always disdained to mention the concubines in the palace, but unexpectedly, she gave such high praise to Consort Chen.

Yunzhi couldn't help but ask what was on her mind: "Even though Consort Chen is of noble status and favored by the Emperor, Consort Zhu has served him for ten years. His Majesty must have some feelings for Consort Zhu. Now that Consort Chen has done this, won't His Majesty punish her?"

"Punishment?" Consort Hui's usually dignified and composed face revealed a rare hint of sarcasm. "Do you really believe that His Majesty has feelings for Consort Zhu?"

Yunzhi was taken aback: "No?"

Consort Hui lowered her eyes and said, "You have never known what kind of person His Majesty is."

Many years later, she still has vivid memories of that night.

After the emperor "sobered up," he sat on the couch with an inscrutable expression, while she knelt trembling on the ground, not daring to raise her head.

After a long while, a chillingly indifferent voice rang out: "I will grant you the title of Consort."

Jieyu was a third-rank official in the palace.

She never expected that the emperor would not only not be angry with her, but would also bestow such a high position upon her.

Just as she was lost in thought, the emperor, with his icy expression, said again, "Consort Luo, don't disappoint me."

She belatedly realized the emperor's intention.

It turns out they wanted to use her to control and take revenge on her elder sister.

From then on, she became a pawn in the emperor's hands.

Her purpose in being to suppress her elder sister and to become the emperor's eyes and ears in the harem was to suppress her.

Over the years, Consort Hui has grown increasingly fearful and apprehensive of him.

He is so cold-hearted and callous.

Emperors have never been heartless.

The poor foolish women in the harem are still smugly pleased with that little bit of favor they receive.

This situation changed this spring.

Consort Chen has appeared.

Consort Hui keenly sensed that His Majesty treated her differently from everyone else.

The fact that Consort Chen was promoted twice in a short period of time also proves this point.

Therefore, the issue of cloud weaving is crystal clear.

Consort Zhu, who had enjoyed the Emperor's favor for ten years, was nothing special in his eyes. How could she compare to the special Consort Chen?

Consort Hui stopped what she was doing and said confidently, "His Majesty will not punish Consort Chen."

Yunzhi was shocked.

Consort Chen holds such a high position in His Majesty's heart!

It took her a while to calm down, and she breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, we didn't fall out with Consort Chen. In fact, we even spoke up for Consort Chen today. Your Majesty is truly prescient."

Consort Hui gave a cold laugh and did not answer Yunzhi's question.

She was farsighted.

In truth, she had no idea how the confrontation between Consort Zhu and Consort Chen would unfold today.

However, she knew that if Consort Chen were to encounter any problems, once His Majesty returned to the palace and thoroughly investigated the matter, all those who opposed Consort Chen would likely meet a bad end.

What she did today was merely to comply with the emperor's wishes and protect herself.