Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"You know what, this trick actually worked."

Chen Furong chuckled lightly,

"Ever since I entered the palace, I have been telling Granny Wei fictitious family stories."

How could she have imagined that someone would tell the same lie over and over again for so many years?

Having heard this story for so many years, and now that it's become true, she has no reason to doubt it.

A few days ago, I received a letter from the Left Protector, saying that my "younger brother" had caused trouble and injured someone in our hometown, and that a lot of money was needed to resolve the issue.

I naturally told Granny Wei about it, and she secretly slipped me ten taels of silver.

In addition, I pretended to borrow some silver from other familiar palace maids and eunuchs, and scraped together a hundred taels, which I sent back to my "hometown" to resolve the lawsuit for my "brother".

If I relied on my own monthly allowance, it would take me several years of frugal living to pay it back.

I knew then that the Left Protector had asked me to do this mostly to make certain people in the palace think that I was currently very short of money.

If someone were willing to bribe me with a large sum of money, I would find it hard to refuse.

Sure enough, yesterday, Granny Wei approached me privately, gave me three hundred taels of silver, and asked me to do something for Her Majesty the Empress.

After it's done, I'll get another five hundred taels.

This matter involved secretly organizing the palace maids of Yikun Palace to create an incident that enraged the emperor when he summoned Consort Cao to his bedchamber, and then pinning the blame on Consort Cao.

"To make the emperor completely despise Consort Cao."

"This matter is very risky for you."

Wang Ziyan sat up and looked at Chen Furong on the bed.

"The emperor has a violent temper. If he really does something to enrage him, those involved will probably have a hard time keeping their lives!"

As the head disciple of Yikun Palace, even if you find a scapegoat, it will be difficult to truly absolve yourself of all responsibility.

Not to mention that the emperor might directly order you to be beaten to death, even Empress Fang could very well kill you to silence you.

We are both orphans picked up by the cult leader, growing up together, learning to read and write, and practicing martial arts together. I absolutely do not want to see you die a violent death!

"I am naturally aware of your kindness towards me."

Chen Furong hugged Wang Ziyan from behind.

"Having been in the palace for so many years, I know the temperament of every concubine in the harem like the back of my hand!"

Why did the emperor, after deposing Empress Zhang, suddenly appoint Consort Fang as empress within just a few days?

Among the concubines at the time, Consort Fang was the most low-key. She never showed jealousy when other concubines were favored, and she never interfered in the emperor's affairs.

Having experienced two empresses, Chen and Zhang, who were both opinionated, jealous, and even dared to advise him on his most cherished matter of Taoist cultivation, the emperor simply wanted to find a woman who would be easy to manage the harem for him.

After becoming Empress, Consort Fang indeed acted very magnanimously, never showing jealousy in front of the Emperor, and never advising him.

But in reality, this Empress Fang was simply very afraid of losing her life and knew exactly how to protect herself.

The reason why Wei Mama secretly bribed me to do this was simply because Consort Cao had become the most favored concubine in the palace, threatening her position as Empress.

If that's the case, then things are much easier!

Given our relationship, I won't hide anything from you.

When I was first sent to the palace by the cult leader, I was already on my guard and didn't really pretend to be a simple country girl all the time.

Instead, she displayed a meticulous and suspicious nature in front of Granny Wei, showing that although she was greedy for small gains, she valued her life even more.

What I fear most is being used as a pawn to be discarded.

In Granny Wei's mind, I am not someone who would willingly risk my life for money, nor am I someone who is easily deceived.

If you want to bribe me to do something, you must first eliminate any worries I might have and ensure my safety afterwards!

This time, she gave me a life-saving plan to put my mind at ease.

Before the operation begins, she will give me a token bestowed by the Empress, which allows me to travel freely between the Imperial Palace and the Western Garden.

After the palace maids started causing trouble, I immediately took the token to Kunning Palace to report to Empress Fang and asked Her Majesty to go to Consort Cao's palace to take charge of the situation.

The Empress, by virtue of my report, has pardoned me for my failure to properly discipline the palace maids.

"This life-saving plan is probably unreliable, isn't it?"

Wang Ziyan frowned.

"You went to the Queen's palace all alone, you were like meat on a chopping board!"

If I were Empress Fang, my first thought wouldn't be to protect you by reporting me, but rather to kill you to silence you!

"If you can think of that, do you think I wouldn't?"

Chen Furong whispered in Wang Ziyan's ear,

"I would never be so foolish as to report this to Empress Fang!"

In this situation, to save his life, he had to make the whistleblowing a public spectacle.

Wasn't Her Majesty the Empress going to bestow upon me a token granting me access to both the Western Garden and the Imperial Palace?

I took it directly to the Imperial Horse Administration, which was in charge of the four guards of Tengxiang and responsible for protecting the palace, and reported that I was acting on the orders of the Empress and asked the Imperial Horse Administration to send people to quell the riot and protect the imperial carriage.

In this way, I was acting under the Empress's name and with the people from the Imperial Horse Administration.

With witnesses from the Imperial Horse Administration, the Empress had no way to kill me beforehand to silence me, and could only protect me according to the agreement.

Don't worry, I'll protect myself without any problems.

Today I've found an opportunity to meet with you in private, not only to reminisce about the past, but also to ask you to make a trip to Taiyuan to report to the leader.

This matter is of great importance, and I dare not entrust anyone else to deliver this message except you.

I have been running Yikun Palace for several years, and I have become close to many of the palace maids. Two years ago, Empress Fang even arranged for a young palace maid to come in as an informant.

If I plan properly and make that little palace maid the ringleader, then fan the flames from the sidelines, it won't be difficult for them to collude and cause trouble without my direct involvement.

With the Empress herself involved, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How far this matter should escalate and what purpose it should achieve must be decided personally by the Sect Leader.

. . .

Southern Palace, Chonghua Palace.

This is the initial state of internal energy cultivated through internal martial arts techniques.

Lu Chen placed his left hand on the back of a military officer of the Imperial Guard who was sitting cross-legged. He used his mental energy to enter the other man's body through his palm and felt a faint trace of internal energy following the path of internal energy flow transmitted by Xue Ting.

Of course, Lu Chen's hand gestures were just for show, to make the other party think that he was also using internal force to probe.

After Xue Ting and several other Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) presented their internal martial arts techniques, Lu Chen ordered Tang Zhe and Miao Feng's hundred Yiwei (Imperial Guards) officers to divide into several groups and practice different techniques.

More than half a year has passed, and finally one of these officers of the Imperial Guard has mastered the Qi sensation.

The technique this person was practicing was the same one that Lu Chen himself had tried practicing for over a month, the one passed down by Xue Ting.

Unlike the powerful internal energy he had felt from "Over the Mountain Wind" and "Ghost's Sorrow," the trace of internal energy he had just cultivated after finding the Qi sensation was extremely weak.

Let alone passive defense, even actively channeling energy failed to create an internal force barrier to prevent Lu Chen's mental power from entering the body.

Even within the body, that trace of internal energy could not shake the power of thought in the slightest.

Under Lu Chen's perception, it was like a child trying to push an adult away.