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

Outside Qianqing Palace.

While Yunxi was sketching portraits of others, Prince Guo used the excuse of being drunk and, after obtaining the emperor's consent, temporarily fled the bustling hall.

It was almost an hour, and Zhen Huan still hadn't returned. He was worried and wanted to take the opportunity to come out and take a look.

What he didn't know was that as soon as he left, the Queen went to find Prince Heng, who disliked literature and spent his days in the palace like a year.

Standing in the courtyard of the Qianqing Palace, Yunli hesitated. A few more steps out of the Qianqing Palace would lead to the residence of the concubines, which was not a place that a prince like him could set foot in.

As he was hesitating and looking around, he saw a figure appear outside the western warm room of the Qianqing Palace. Although his back was facing Prince Guo, the evening primrose flowers on his clothes were clearly visible under the light of the palace lanterns.

He was very familiar with the pattern. It was made by him specially for Zhen Huan when he was in Shu. At that time, he just wanted to make amends for his recklessness. He never thought that it would become the only connection between the two of them in the years to come.

The figure stood quietly under the palace lantern, the warm yellow light reflected on her, without any warmth or vitality, only desolation and loneliness.

Across the yard, Prince Guo seemed to hear her heavy sighs.

Just as he was about to go forward and have a chat, the figure actually walked towards a deserted place at the back.

Prince Guo hesitated for a few moments, then followed.

The figure in front walked very fast and disappeared in the hall behind the eaves in a blink of an eye. At the end of the hall were two small rooms, which were originally the duty rooms for the palace servants during the night shift.

However, since the emperor started working in the Yangxin Palace, this duty room has been idle.

Prince Guo was chasing very closely. He saw the figure pushing the door and entering. Then a candle was lit in the room. In the candlelight, the figure on the window looked vague and moving.

Prince Guo put his hand on the door, but was afraid to push it.

"What can I give to someone who has left me? I have my own ice in a jade pot."

This tone is so familiar, this poem is indeed the promise he made at the beginning.

Prince Guo did not hesitate and pushed the door open decisively.

The door slammed and the lights went out. On that early winter night, the house was gloomy. The only sounds that could be heard were the clear and pleasant sounds of hairpins and rings colliding when people walked, and the rustling sounds of clothes rubbing against each other.

Prince Guo was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Zhen Huan turned off the lights. He thought for a while before asking carefully:

"But there are things that are hard to talk about. Maybe Xiao Wang can help me?"

"Don't worry, there are only you and me here, and what you say will never be heard by a third person."

He was answered only by silence.

Prince Guo waited for a while, but when he saw that the other party still didn't speak, he realized something was wrong and suddenly turned around to leave.

When I turned around, I saw Prince Heng standing outside the door with a surprised look on his face. I didn't know how long he had been there.

Seeing Yunli turned around, Prince Heng pretended to scare him and said:

"Good old Seventeen, the Queen's sister-in-law told me that she was afraid you would not be able to handle the alcohol, so she asked me to come and look after you. Who is in the room? Why don't you light the lamp?"

Prince Guo was immediately in a panic, with all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, but he remained calm on the surface:

"Fifth brother, you misunderstood me. I came to the purification room and heard some noises. I went in and saw that it was a wild cat. Now the cat has run away. We should return to the feast, lest the emperor gets anxious and sends people to look for it again."

Prince Heng was unhappy to hear Yunli's excuses. He was a rough man, but he had a rough intuition about people and things. At first, he just thought that the Seventeenth Prince had an affair with a palace maid, and he thought that men should be romantic, so he just made a joke or two. But Yunli's cover-up seemed guilty, so he decided to ask for clarification:

"Old Seventeen, you are not being forthright. I heard you talking to someone and saw a woman. Is there anything you cannot say to your fifth brother? The emperor is in a good mood tonight. If you really like a palace maid, your fifth brother will help you to beg her so that you can have her instead of sneaking around like this."

Prince Guo was even more afraid to agree to this, and only wanted to send Prince Heng away quickly so that Zhen Huan could escape. He hurried out of the room, grabbed the fifth brother's wrist with his hand, pretending to be affectionate but actually wanting to drag him away:

"Fifth brother, it's not true. How can I hide it from you as your younger brother? Let's go. Everyone is in high spirits tonight. I will drink a few more glasses with you. Let's not leave until we are drunk."

Prince Heng was finally sure that there was something fishy going on in the house. He remained calm and held Yun Li's hand, half jokingly and half testing him:

"Why are you in such a hurry to send my brother away? Is it because the people in the house cannot see the light?"

As he said that, he pulled Yunli into the house, wanting to find out what was going on.

The two men held hands and their bodies were very close to each other. As they pulled and tugged, the small silver knife worn as a decoration on Prince Heng's waist suddenly hooked onto Yunli's waist pouch.

This time, Yunli looked visibly panicked and reached out to grab the purse.

Unexpectedly, Prince Heng moved faster, blocking, pushing and snatching, and the purse was firmly in his hands.

As the two of them confronted each other, a gentle voice came from behind:

"Finally found you."

The visitors were the Queen and Cao Qinmo.

On the long street, Jinxi and Liuzhu supported Zhen Huan as they walked slowly forward.

Liu Zhu walked away while complaining on behalf of Zhen Huan: "These evil-hearted slaves actually treated you like this. Have you ever suffered like this?"

Thinking of the broken warm sedan chair, Zhen Huan felt even more anxious. She endured the excruciating pain on her instep and walked forward slowly, step by step:

"The more they try to stop me, the more it proves the problem. This little bit of physical pain is nothing to me. I need to walk steadily and return to the Qianqing Palace to see clearly."

What the three of them didn't know was that a huge storm ahead would sweep them over again.

In the hall, Prince Guo's heart instantly tightened. He asked timidly, "Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

The Queen smiled meaningfully:

"I saw that the two princes had been away for a long time, and I was afraid that they were drunk and couldn't find their way home, so I took the opportunity to take a breath and came to look for them. Fifth brother, what are you holding in your hand?"

As he said this, he winked at Jiang Fuhai, indicating that he should bring over the purse.

Yunli looked at Prince Heng with pleading eyes, hoping that he would help cover it up.

Prince Heng struggled for a while, but finally ignored his call for help. Instead, he grabbed his hand tightly to prevent him from moving, and threw the purse to Jiang Fuhai with one hand.

Yunli's heart suddenly felt like it was being fried in a frying pan. He clenched his other hand into a fist and watched the queen smile smugly, then slowly opened his purse.

Under a few dried Duruo petals is a folded piece of oil paper.

The queen pretended not to see the oil paper, but picked up a petal and sniffed it, then said jokingly:

"The beautiful girl in the mountains is Duruo. My Seventeenth Brother is very sentimental. Which girl do you like? Tell the Empress Sister-in-law. I will help you with this matter."

At this moment, Yun Li's heart was already turning over in the frying pan. He resisted the urge to look inside the house and pretended to be calm and said:

"You are joking, my sister-in-law. Du Ruo can improve eyesight, so I put it in my purse to relieve dizziness, but my sister-in-law misunderstood me."

The queen saw through his pretense and began to tease him: "This is my fault, Jiang Fuhai, return the purse to Prince Guo."

As he was about to hand over the purse, Jiang Fuhai stretched out his hands to take it, and Cao Qinmo spoke beside him:

"Your Majesty, I see something beneath the petals."

Under Yunli's expectant gaze, the Queen slowly withdrew her hand and raised her voice:

"I am even more curious. What is it that is worth Seventeenth Brother hiding so deeply?"

As he spoke, he picked up the oil paper bag with three fingers of his right hand, placed it on the palm of his left hand, and gradually opened the paper bag layer by layer.

Yunli's eyes were fixed on the queen's movements. Every time the queen lifted a layer of oil paper, his eyes dimmed a little. If Prince Heng had not held him tightly, he would have had the urge to snatch the oil paper package and burn it to ashes.

But it was just a thought after all. As the paper package was completely opened, the well-preserved statue was exposed to the eyes of several people.

The lights were dim under the eaves, and the queen held the statue in her hands and examined it carefully:

"She looks somewhat familiar. Seventeenth brother, is she the one you love?"

Seeing that the Queen did not recognize the person in the portrait for a moment, Yunli still had a glimmer of hope in his heart. When he was about to answer, Cao Qinmo suddenly shouted beside him:

"Empress, the more I look at this little statue, the more I think it is Concubine Wan."

Because of excitement, Cao Qinmo's voice was a little out of control. If she had known that Prince Guo was carrying this deadly thing, why would she have racked her brains to replace it.

But having this thing is just the icing on the cake. Adding it to the clothes in the room, Zhen Huan has no chance of turning around tonight.

She was so excited that she could hardly control herself:

"Your Majesty, please allow me to say something offensive. Your Majesty, please let someone come in and take a look."

Cao Qinmo's first words already made the queen's heart agitated. She had always secretly resented Prince Guo for bringing people into the emperor's bedroom and ruining her plan.

Originally, according to Cao Qinmo's plan, it was just to use false harem love to make the emperor suspect that Prince Guo was coveting something that did not belong to him.

Now, they don’t have to fabricate anything, the real evidence is right in her hands.

The Queen wanted to laugh heartily, but in front of Prince Heng, she put on a different front and pretended to scold:

"How dare you, a mere concubine in the harem, question the First-Class Heshuo Prince's defilement of the harem. Who instigated you to say that?"

Cao Qinmo cooperated very well. He knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he slid down:

"Your Majesty, I am not targeting Prince Guo. It is just that what happened tonight was too strange. Concubine Wan has not returned from changing clothes yet, and Prince Guo appeared in the empty hut. In addition, Prince Guo cherishes this statue very much. For the sake of the royal family's reputation, I dare to make a suggestion."

Yunli's already tortured heart had been torn into pieces, and every word Cao Qinmo said increased the pain. He had made a mistake from the very beginning, and any loophole in the royal family could become a fatal assassination. For that little bit of shameful thought, not only did he put himself in a passive position, but he also implicated the unsuspecting Zhen Huan.

His thoughts raced at this moment. He no longer wanted to watch the Queen's tricks. He was only thinking about how to turn the situation around in order to save Zhen Huan's life.

Prince Heng was different. He was surprised at first, then felt it was incredible, and then felt that everything made sense. All the doubts tonight were finally solved. When he heard the Queen scolding Cao Qinmo, he stepped forward:

"Imperial sister-in-law, you don't have to embarrass others. If this bastard really did something that disregarded brotherhood, I would be the first to object without you having to intervene. Is there a human or a ghost in this room? I can tell at a glance."

As he said that, he pulled Yunli hard into the house.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, there was constant laughter and joy, a scene of great joy and happiness in the royal family.

Ever since An Lingrong entered the palace, Concubine Xi had been holding her back and talking to her non-stop. An Lingrong looked at her inquiringly several times, but Concubine Xi covered her eyes with a smile.

Just when everyone was confused about Concubine Xi's intentions, Zhen Huan came back.

An Lingrong found an opportunity to return to her seat and asked Zhen Huan in a low voice: "Is everything going well?"

As soon as Zhen Huan entered the palace, she could not see the Queen and Concubine Shen. Then she looked again among the royal family, and found that Prince Heng and Prince Guo were also missing.

Thinking of the lost Manchu dress and looking at Jianqiu's evasive eyes, Zhen Huan secretly felt that something was wrong.

Suddenly, great panic enveloped her heart. She intuitively felt that a shocking conspiracy was about to come against her. This time was different from the previous matter with her father. In the past, she could plan a way out, but this time the other party's actions were treacherous and unpredictable, and she was completely passive.

Seeing that An Lingrong's concern was real, and thinking that she had no one to turn to, he calmed down and said solemnly:

"Empress Wen, you and I entered the palace on the same day, but our experiences were different. We were not familiar with each other before, let alone had any friendship. Logically, I should not ask this, but I am in a desperate situation now. If something unexpected happens, I ask Empress Wen to help take care of my weak mother and young sister who are far away in Ningguta."

An Lingrong had never seen Zhen Huan so helpless before. She asked anxiously, "What do you mean?"

As soon as she opened her mouth, Zhen Huan's next words flowed smoothly. She lowered her voice and briefly stated everything:

"I returned to the palace because I had a deal with the Queen. I wanted to find out the truth about my father's death. But from all the signs, the most suspicious person is the Queen. During this period of time, she realized that I was not of the same mind as her, so she wanted to eliminate me, a disobedient pawn."

"I lost an old piece of clothing from a few years ago in my bedroom, and two of the male guests left the table for no reason tonight."

"Empress Wen, you have to believe me. I have never done anything to damage the reputation of the royal family. There have always been rumors of private affairs in the harem, but a single false rumor is enough to kill me."

"I will argue with the emperor, but the other party has a plan. I think it will be difficult for me to escape. Please, Madam Wen, take care of my family for the sake of our fate of entering the palace on the same day."

Zhen Huan spoke these words quickly and urgently, describing her predicament one by one, but An Lingrong was terrified when she heard them.

Zhen Huan and Prince Guo?

Now is not the time to think deeply about some things from the past life. Because the trajectory of this life is different, things may not be as bizarre as in the past life.

If it was true as Zhen Huan said, the key to breaking the situation tonight was the emperor, she asked, "Have you ever had any private contact with Prince Guo? Did you leave anything with him?"

Zhen Huan also understood that An Lingrong was a meticulous person and always acted carefully. Her question might give her some ideas on how to respond, so she opened her lips and was about to answer.

The queen brought Cao Qinmo into the palace.

Following behind him were Prince Guo, who looked aggrieved, and Prince Heng, who looked indignant.

Looking at the high spirits that could not be concealed in the queen's eyes, and then looking at Concubine Xi's ambiguous attitude.

An Lingrong made up her mind that she would make a huge fuss tonight.