The Queen has arrived: An Lingrong does not want to fight in the palace after her rebirth

Winter came in the blink of an eye.

Longkodo died of illness in an unnamed side hall in Changchun Garden.

As soon as he died, the former "Tong Xuan" party also collapsed.

The emperor used swift and powerful means to purge Longkodo's followers in the court.

At this point, the two powerful ministers who had been restraining the emperor since he ascended the throne finally disappeared, and all power in the court was returned to the emperor.

The Emperor was well, but the Empress Dowager was ill. She was seen by many imperial physicians and the prescriptions were changed again and again, but her condition did not improve.

Shen Meizhuang began to serve the empress dowager in Shoukang Palace again without taking off her clothes. An Lingrong and everyone else also went to take care of her for a few days, but the empress dowager never smiled. One evening, she drove everyone out and left Shen Meizhuang alone to take care of her.

The emperor, who had always been filial to the empress dowager, did not visit her this time for some reason.

At this time, the Dzungar Khan, who was far away in the west of the Qing Dynasty, also died in this winter, and his sons fought for the position of Khan.

The winner in the end was his youngest son Mog.

In the Dzungar Khanate, the person Moge admired most in his life was Galdan Khan, who had fought hard with Kangxi. In his opinion, it was the responsibility of a king to expand the territory and not be controlled by other countries, and it was an honor to die for it.

Of course, Galdan’s failure does not mean that he will fail forever.

The emperor, who was far away in the Forbidden City, was completely unaware of this sudden change.

In the harem, since Concubine Duan took charge of most of the palace affairs, she used a gentle policy to win over the hearts of the people, and she was humble and submissive to her superiors, not daring to lose her sense of propriety. For a while, she won praise from the palace.

Because of her ability, the queen, who was busy all day, had some free time and was happy to assign more affairs to her.

After paying respects that day, Concubine Duan presented a list to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, this is the menu I prepared for our family dinner on New Year's Eve. Please review it."

Unexpectedly, the queen waved her hand:

"You and I have been sisters for many years. I know that you are a careful and cautious person. Besides, the rules of the palace only change once or twice every year. There is nothing new. There is no need to read them too much."

Concubine Duan maintained a humble attitude: "Then I will ask them to prepare according to the rules. After New Year's Eve is the Lantern Festival. I wonder if the inner court will hold a lantern festival this year?"

Normally, the Queen should be in charge of all the ceremonies on New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival, but the Emperor asked her to be in charge of palace affairs, so she naturally had to ask about these. The Queen always had a faint smile on her face, but her smile was endless:

"The emperor wants to hold a grand lantern festival in the Old Summer Palace this year, as the people are returning home this year. The venue is spacious and will be grand. The families of the civil and military officials, as well as the relatives and their families in the clan can all go and watch. This time, I will leave the task of supervising the production of lanterns to you. You must be alert and not let down the royal demeanor."

Supervising the production of lanterns sounds easy but it is the link where mistakes are most likely to occur. Concubine Duan groaned in her heart but did not show it on her face and still respectfully accepted the task.

But after leaving Jingren Palace, she couldn't help but glance at An Lingrong.

There was worry in An Lingrong's eyes. The Queen had been too quiet during this period. Whether it was the matter of the Fourth Prince or the issue of power division, she had no backup plan.

In such silence, An Lingrong always felt that the Queen was planning something big.

At night, the emperor stayed in the Yangxin Palace, and An Lingrong sneaked to the Yanqing Palace in the dark.

At this time, the Yanqing Palace had long since gotten rid of the desolation it had seen in the past. Although the decoration inside could not be said to be gorgeous, it could be called elegant, which was very consistent with Concubine Duan's current status and circumstances.

An Lingrong frowned: "Sister Duan, I don't know why, but I feel panicky for no reason. I always feel like something is going to happen."

Concubine Duan also felt this way, and she expressed her concerns:

"Whenever there are many people at a banquet, it's easy to add or subtract something. But now she is in the dark and we are in the light, so we can't act rashly. All we can do is be more cautious."

Yes, the Queen had always had a very good reputation in the previous dynasty, and was praised and protected by a group of old ministers, which led to the fact that they can only passively guard against the Queen now.

An idea suddenly flashed through An Lingrong's mind, and she immediately expressed it:

"Sister Duan, there is another possibility. Could it be that the Queen specifically pointed out two banquets today as a trick? The more we focus on them, the more we will neglect other things."

Concubine Duan also had such worries in her heart. She sighed softly: "The Queen's actions are becoming more and more unpredictable, but there is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days, but you can never be on guard against thieves for a thousand days."

This should be the reason why Li Ying gave advice from behind. An Lingrong thought for a moment and said, "Sister Duan, why don't you focus on the preparations for the banquet, and Sister Shenpin and I will watch over the Queen from the dark."

Hearing this, Concubine Duan was not very supportive: "Do you really want to use Cao Qinmo?"

An Lingrong knew what was bothering her, and didn't dare to persuade her to be more magnanimous, so she could only analyze it from the perspective of interests:

"I know Sister Duan is worried that she is too utilitarian and smooth, and might do something bad, but Sister Cao is very smart and can restrain herself in time against unexpected tricks. Sister Duan, any knife can hurt people, but it all depends on how we use it."

Concubine Duan thought that no one in the palace could be as tricky as Cao Qinmo, so she stopped objecting.

After coming out of Yanqing Palace, An Lingrong went to Qixiang Palace again.

When she heard that she was asked to help keep an eye on Li Ying, Cao Qinmo's eyes flickered, as if she thought of something, but she finally agreed.

Therefore, in the days that followed, the three of them had a clear division of labor. An Lingrong was in charge of keeping an eye on Jingren Palace, Cao Qinmo secretly kept an eye on Li Ying's movements, and Concubine Duan was busy in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The three of them were nervous for a while, but the queen did nothing.

After paying her respects every day, she would tease the Sixth Prince and Zining, who were already one year old. The two little ones were just learning to walk and talk, and they would often giggle because of the adults' teasing. The inner hall of Jingren Palace would be filled with laughter.

Or she would just quietly watch as the palace servants decorated the Jingren Palace with window grilles and brocades, waiting for the arrival of the New Year.

This scene has a sense of peaceful and tranquil times.

The more leisurely she was, the more An Lingrong was unsure of what she was up to.

New Year's Eve arrived amid the three people's anxiety.

The entire night, Concubine Duan and the other two were on high alert, fearing that something might have been added to the wine, drinks, and pastries, or that some unexpected situation might have occurred among the families of the relatives and friends who were visiting.

But everything was normal and passed safely.

The few of them finally breathed a sigh of relief and just waited for the Lantern Festival to arrive.

As if she knew their anxiety, the queen lived an even more comfortable life.

In the blink of an eye, the Lantern Festival is here.

After dark, the Old Summer Palace was filled with colorful lights, and the light from the various lanterns made the starry sky dim.