Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

The Prime Minister, who should have been thousands of miles away, was dressed in casual clothes, holding a fan and smiling like a playboy, looking at his mistress.

"We're all here to hear the story of the two consorts, so why don't you share a table, Madam, so there's more people to discuss it with?"

Hearing the voice, Wei Rong finally turned around, surprised but not astonished: "I was wondering why the east wind was blowing today. It turns out we have a distinguished guest."

Seeing that they had met, the waiter breathed a sigh of relief and quickly added a seat: "It's great that you two know each other. As this gentleman said, having more company makes listening to stories less boring. I'll also bring you a stack of mugwort pastries, a seasonal treat that only our Hongxiuzhao has."

After taking her seat, Ling Xianru drank Wei Rong's tea without any hesitation, and even commented after finishing: "Madam, this pot of Biluochun is a bit astringent."

"It seems that even though you're eating and drinking well in Yiling, you can still complain about the first-batch Biluochun tea in Yunjing City," Wei Rong retorted sarcastically.

"It's a misunderstanding," Ling Xianru waved her hand at Mo Yu. Mo Yu, understanding the situation, went to get a new tea set and put a pot of hot water on the stove. "I'll brew you a pot of tea that isn't bitter."

Qiaoyu looked at this and that, completely bewildered, unable to understand what the Prime Minister was trying to do.

Was his sudden appearance merely a coincidence?

Wei Rong turned her gaze to Ling Xianru's hands.

Her long, slender hands looked like they had never suffered, with not a single callus, and her nails were perfectly rounded. It would be hard to find someone in Yunjing City who could match them.

He quickly washed the teaware, seemingly unconcerned about the heat, his fingertips turning slightly red from the hot teaware.

He remained unmoved, focused intently as if he were handling official business.

Sometimes God is indeed unfair; He was given such a face and a pair of impeccable hands.

Logically, Wei Rong should have felt honored that the Prime Minister had personally brewed the tea, but when the teacup was placed before her, she did not drink it immediately: "You didn't come here specifically to find me, did you?"

When did this man return to the capital? There has been no news of him at the morning court sessions these past two days.

Yet he could appear before her so quickly, whether intentionally or by chance, it was unclear.

The tea in front of me was emerald green, steaming gently, and the person holding it had a slight smile in their eyes, as if they were casting bait.

Wei Rong stared at him quietly for a long time before finally reaching out to take it.

But even as she lowered her head to sip her hot tea, Ling Xianru did not take her gaze off her face.

It seems that after leaving the palace, this man became even bolder and more arrogant.

"Not bad, it's probably because the adults brewed it themselves, which adds to its beauty." The tea is indeed no longer bitter, so it seems that Ling Xianru has indeed done some research.

But—"Why are you always staring at me like that?"

Even outside the palace, wasn't it rather impolite for Ling Xianru, as a subject, to stare directly at the Empress?

To put it bluntly, it's breaking the rules.

Ling Xianru held the teacup, seemingly oblivious to the scalding heat, only finding the injury on Wei Rong's lips excessively offensive.

He looked away and took a sip of tea: "It seems that quite a bit of trouble has happened at the house while I was away."

The biggest thing was that Ruyi had died. Wei Rong realized that he had been looking at her wound, and just then, that spot seemed to be itchy, so she touched it with her fingertip.

It doesn't hurt anymore, but the bruises haven't faded.

"With your abilities, sir, how could you possibly be unaware of what's going on in this household?" Wei Rong clearly didn't believe he was ignorant. "Otherwise, why would you come to listen to the tale of the two consorts?"

The story of the two consorts was causing a sensation in Yunjing City, but when she asked Wei Jin to spread the story, she instructed him not to hide anything and to treat it as unofficial history of the imperial palace.

Therefore, many people have directed their criticism at Wei Rong and Shen Mingxiu regarding the two concubines.

Who doesn't know that the most prominent concubine in the palace is the one from the Shen family? She rose to prominence and even overshadowed the Empress.

The matter of Caiyue happened to involve the two key elements of the Imperial Guards and the Patrol Battalion, and it was also rumored outside the palace for a time.

This part happens to be mentioned again in the story of the two consorts.

When people have nothing better to do than chat over tea and meals, they can make up things that don't exist, let alone something that has a nose and eyes.

Therefore, everyone suspected that another murder had occurred in the palace, that the emperor had sided with the concubine and beaten the empress, and that a life had been lost in vain.

The life of a palace maid is insignificant in the eyes of others.

However, the Shen family has had such a smooth run in the past six months that naturally some people are envious.

Shen Mingxiu's rise to the rank of Imperial Concubine and her exclusive favor were something many people resented. Even the Empress Dowager was upset, let alone the political enemies of the Shen family.

They said that the political enemies overestimated the Shen family. Shen Congxin, who came from a family of scholars, only rose to power by relying on Shen Mingxiu's connections.

If a person without virtue or ability can sit in the position of imperial concubine and kill someone without paying for it, then wouldn't the position of imperial concubine be something that only the most beautiful person can take?

The grand scheme of things is beyond the reach of the world!

"Seeing is believing," Ling Xianru did not deny it, "A lady of such high rank is being bullied like this."

Whether it was her imagination or not, Wei Rong felt that she heard him make a "tsk" sound at the end of his words, which sounded both sarcastic and helpless.

But Wei Rong felt it was more of a mockery. After all, Shen Mingxiu was the apple of Ling Xianru's eye, and he came here just to watch the show, right?

"Your Excellency should be happy. It's me who's been bullied, not that pampered beauty." Not in the palace, she didn't need to worry about the rules. The scab on her lip happened to itch, so she bit it a few times. "Did you really come here to listen to the story, or to demand an explanation?"

She said, "What a coincidence! They knew where I was and came specifically to share a table with me."

They must have been prepared to settle accounts long ago.

Ling Xianru's gaze lingered on the corner of her lips. Perhaps Wei Rong herself had realized that when she was angry in situations where she couldn't express her temper, she liked to torture herself.

Either you scratch your palm with your fingernails, or you bite open a scabbed wound without thinking.

It's as if you can't feel pain.

This might be a self-defense mechanism developed over the past three years in the inner palace, but Ling Xianru does not agree.

"A beauty," Ling Xianru finally scoffed, "a femme fatale?"

After killing two people in the forbidden area of ​​the palace, he didn't know whether to call Shen Mingxiu stupid or brainless.

Even if she is favored, Xiao Heng can only protect her for a while, not forever.

Besides—besides, the person she wanted to frame was Wei Rong.

They had already let her off the hook once, but this time, Wei Rong was beaten again.

He angrily drank the whole cup of tea, a surge of rage rising in his chest; he hadn't felt such an impulsive urge to kill in a long time.

Wei Rong had a feeling that something was wrong with his expression. When Shen Mingxiu was mentioned, she didn't see him show any disappointment or want to speak up for her. She couldn't understand it.

Just as the story of *The Romance of the Western Chamber* was coming to an end, the storyteller immediately followed up with, "I'm sure everyone is eager to hear the latest sensational palace secret—the Tale of the Two Consorts, isn't that right?"

Immediately, someone below started commotion: "Old sir, what you're saying sounds so convincing, is it true or false? We've heard that the 'two consorts' refers to the Empress and the Virtuous Consort?"