An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

No matter how stupid Concubine Tian was, she knew that there was no way to separate the two of them. What's more, the Queen had returned and was eyeing the power in the harem. It was impossible for one person to handle it alone.

Fortunately, all the capable palace maids around the queen were gone, which constrained her in every way, and she has not been able to find out anything until today.

"Who do you think Fangying and Fangyu belong to? You'd better stop trying to touch them!"

Lingrong was also filled with anger. While she was speaking, she finally took a step back and asked Concubine Tian to come out from the wall.

“Almost all the people in the palace are the emperor’s people now. The meaning is very clear, that is, the emperor has no intention of changing the queen for the time being.

Even if you are anxious, you have to wait until this storm is over and the emperor is more relaxed before you find an opportunity to plot against the queen.

Also, don't blame me for not reminding you, the Queen herself knows medicine, so be careful with your methods of using poison or medicine, and don't let them become a handle for the Queen."

Concubine Tian was anxious and angry after being rebuked, but she also knew that she acted too hastily and almost made a big mistake.

She pulled her handkerchief and thought for a while before nodding, "I understand, the imperial kitchen will go and take care of it.

As for the almond issue, the person who knows about it has already dealt with it, so there won't be any problem.

But you are worried and remind me again and again. And...how do you know what I did?"

"Finally I noticed it," Lingrong turned her head and fixed her eyes on Concubine Tian's face again, "You and I have both been in power in this palace for a long time. Do you really think you are the only one who has planted a stalk in Jingren Palace?

Even the quiet Concubine Jing had people stationed in Jingren Palace, so it was not difficult to find out if there was any movement.

If you still want to sit on your throne as a concubine and have a chance to become the queen, please clean up all the evidence in your hands and build a good relationship with the Fifth Prince. Don't do anything unnecessary."

"I understand. I don't need your further words."

Concubine Tian straightened her clothes and wiped her face with a shaking handkerchief. "Don't use your limited manpower on me. If I find out, I will never forgive you."

Lingrong was not frightened by Concubine Tian. She raised her eyes slightly to glance at Concubine Tian and got into her own sedan chair.

Concubine Tian was indeed obedient. After learning the news, she really went to the imperial kitchen to deal with those who knew the truth - some of them were silenced with silver, and some were simply dismissed from their posts and disappeared without a trace after a few days.

The Queen had deliberately brought up the issue of almonds in order to induce Concubine Tian to destroy the evidence.

If Concubine Tian had handled the matter quietly and slowly, it would have been difficult for the Queen to notice anything unusual. Unfortunately, Concubine Tian's methods were drastic, and she got rid of everyone in less than two days, causing the Queen to immediately shift her attention to the servants who had disappeared without a sound.

After all, these people had worked in the palace. Even if Concubine Tian could erase the traces, it would not be completely gone. Soon, the queen found a person in charge of purchasing, named Ma Yuan.

At first, Ma Yuan was not in charge of purchasing, but a worker in the imperial kitchen who was responsible for washing vegetables. Later, he was promoted by Concubine Tian and had some power. He worked as a kitchen servant and a eunuch in charge of food.

Finally, Concubine Tian transferred him from the imperial kitchen on the grounds of his outstanding abilities and made him responsible for the purchase of ingredients.

The mutton and watermelon in the Old Summer Palace were all handled by a man named Ma Yuan.

The queen was extremely meticulous. Just because of Ma Yuan alone, she discovered that the death of the Seventh Prince was not done by Concubine Sheng alone. Concubine Tian also had her hand in this.

Unfortunately, for the Queen, Bai Zhi is no longer trustworthy. Even if she can dig out some more information, it cannot be used as evidence.

But Concubine Sheng deliberately kept her, which was like a trap, waiting for people to jump into it. No matter what, the queen could not accept being fooled again.

Although there was only Ma Yuan as a clue now, the Queen quickly checked for people related to Ma Yuan based on this clue.

When Ma Yuan was the eunuch in charge of imperial kitchen, he had great power because he was responsible for supervising and managing the operation of the imperial kitchen. He could show up in front of the emperor, the empress dowager, the queen and others from time to time, and he had great prestige among the servants.

Because of this reason, Ma Yuan accepted many apprentices, each of whom could make a lot of money by relying on his influence. Therefore, even if he left the imperial kitchen, these so-called apprentices would open the door for him.

Although Concubine Tian dealt with Ma Yuan, she did not deal with his apprentices completely. Under the Queen's huge amount of money, she actually found two of them, one named Huang Xingkang and the other named Fan Yaoguang.

Huang Xingkang did not accept the silver. He had no respect for Ma Yuan. He just had to obey him because if he did not become his apprentice, he would be bullied by others.

As for Fan Yaoguang, he did it willingly. He was not as good at pleasing others as the others, but he could occasionally get some benefits. After Ma Yuan and everyone else were transferred, he temporarily became a kitchen servant and no longer had to do those miscellaneous tasks.

After the queen learned about this, she did not rush to ask him for information. Instead, she began to support Fan Yaoguang, making his life more comfortable.

"Empress, Fan Yaoguang has been living a very comfortable life these days, and he has even begun to suppress Huang Xingkang intentionally or unintentionally."

"People who like to worship high things will definitely step on low things after they climb up. Both of them must know about Ma Yuan's matter.

Observe them for a while, and then use the opportunity of promotion to make them spill all the secrets they know, understand?"

"I understand, Your Majesty." Huichun bowed and disappeared into the dark night.

The Queen tightened her cloak. Fangying had already opened the door and came out, respectfully asking the Queen to go back.

"Empress, it's getting late and the dew is heavy. If you stand in the night wind like this and catch a cold, the Emperor will be worried."

She said she was caring, but in fact she was sent by the Emperor to monitor her. The Queen knew very well that Fangying could not be bribed at all. She stood there for a while, and then returned to the palace after Fangying's repeated persuasion.

Because the Queen's actions were covert, Concubine Tian had not yet discovered that someone in the imperial kitchen had second thoughts.

As for Ling Rong, after learning that Concubine Tian had sent away all the people who knew the truth, she immediately realized something was wrong. Such a big move could not fail to arouse the suspicion of the Empress.

Now it seems that when the Queen mentioned the almond issue, it was a trap in itself, just to make Concubine Tian anxious and deal with those who knew about it.

"It's terrible. If Concubine Tian handled it quietly, it would be fine. But so many people suddenly disappeared from the imperial kitchen. Anyone would think it was strange."

"It's too late now, madam," Zhaoshui informed Lingrong of the recent actions of the imperial kitchen, "If we ask Madam Tian to continue handling it, I'm afraid that she will end up losing more than she gains and hand over all the evidence."

"Forget it, let's handle it ourselves." Lingrong rubbed her forehead, feeling that Concubine Tian's methods were too radical. She really treated the emperor's harem as her own Fucha family's backyard.

"There is no need to keep an eye on the people in the Queen's palace. The most important thing is to keep an eye on Huichun and Xiuxia. These two, like Jianqiu, are loyal to the Queen. As long as they stay in the harem, they will work hard for the Queen.

Jingren Palace is now full of the emperor's people, and the queen dare not use them easily. When necessary, we can casually reveal the news to Fangying, and then the emperor will naturally find a way to keep a close eye on the queen. "

"Yes, ma'am."

Lingrong just gave a simple order. She only knew that there was a new faction in the imperial kitchen, but she had not yet figured out who was the one the queen was targeting.

What's more, Concubine Tian only said that she had dealt with it cleanly and refused to reveal who had been deployed in the imperial kitchen. Lingrong could only investigate based on the existing clues.

But they were already one step behind the Queen, and if they investigated now, it would be difficult to deal with it before the Queen.

The best way is to get rid of the two remaining minions of the Queen, trap her to death in Jingren Palace, and stop her from thinking about getting involved in the affairs of the harem.

However, how to deal with it without leaving any trace still requires careful planning.

Lingrong was also unwilling to spend time on these things, but the Queen kept pressing her as soon as she came out, forcing her to put all her energy into dealing with them.

It was not until the next day that Ling Rong received confirmed news that among the people who were sent away, there was a man named Ma Yuan who was the most critical figure.

"Although Ma Yuan is loyal, he likes to show off and often brag about what rewards he has received.

Especially when he was being praised by others, he dared to say anything nonsense, but fortunately he knew that this matter was serious and did not tell anyone what Concubine Tian had ordered. "

Zhaoshui paused, sorted out his thoughts, and then continued, "I asked around in the imperial kitchen, and many people only said that they knew Ma Yuan, but he has left now, and we don't know much about him.

Only one person named Fan Yaoguang came out and asked me what I wanted to do with him. He also said that I looked unfamiliar and asked which palace he was from. "

"He didn't say he knew Ma Yuan first, but asked you what you wanted to do with Ma Yuan first?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Ling Rong hummed, "I guess someone has asked about Ma Yuan before. I guess it was Huichun. How did you answer?"

“I just want to find the eunuch in charge of food. His name was Ma Yuan before, but now he can’t be found.

Fan Yaoguang then said that the eunuch in charge of food had been replaced and asked the servant to go to the front hall to look for it herself.

I asked him why Ma Yuan left his post, and he looked mysterious and tried to ask me for some silver.

Naturally, the silver was not given, and Fan Yaoguang was unwilling to talk more with the servant.

However, someone named Huang Xingkang mentioned that Ma Yuan was dismissed because he offended someone.

But he had just said a few words when Fan Yaoguang scolded him and the two of them walked away pulling each other, as if they were not on good terms. "

"It seems that these two people are the ones found by the Queen." Ling Rong's tone was very confident. After all, these two were the only ones who were familiar with Ma Yuan, and the Queen would not let them go no matter what. "The current situation is, keep an eye on Huichun and Xiuxia, and don't let Huang Xingkang and Fan Yaoguang go either. I want to know whether the Queen has bribed them.

If they are bribed, they will definitely find a way to pass on the news of your visit today to Huichun and Xiuxia."

"They both knew me. Wouldn't this give Her Majesty one more handle?" Zhaoshui was a little anxious. She immediately realized her mistake. "My Majesty, it was my carelessness. I shouldn't have asked the questions myself."

"It's useless to keep what has happened in mind. Besides, it's not certain that the two of them will be bribed by the Queen."

Zhaoshui knew that what Lingrong said was only the best possible outcome. The worst possible outcome was that these two people had been bribed by the Queen and were waiting to catch her in the act.

"If I have really been bribed by the Queen, then I will be pushing her into a pit of fire!"

"So what? You also said that we are only here to look for Ma Yuan. What evidence does the Queen have to prove that I am the insider or even the perpetrator?"

"But, Your Majesty..." Zhaoshui still felt uneasy. After all, the emperor was suspicious. This little thing might make him suspect Your Majesty and send someone to investigate.

The emperor did not conduct a thorough investigation into Bai Zhi's accusation this time. In Zhaoshui's opinion, this was because the emperor did not care about Concubine Wan. However, the empress dowager is the emperor's biological mother, and any clues would be investigated to the end.

"Do the next thing first. If you look back, you won't get anything done."

Lingrong had no intention of persuading her further. Zhaoshui had been in the palace for many years, so her worries naturally had some reasons, and her worries could not be relieved by just a few words from Lingrong.

However, Lingrong's luck was still good. Even though Zhaoshui went to look for Ma Yuan, Huichunyu Xiuxia did not get any news. The two of them continued to do their work quietly.

But the quieter it was, the more problems there were, which made Ling Rong more determined to get rid of these two people.

However, before the Ma Yuan incident caused any waves, the news that Xia Dongchun was pregnant was revealed first - it turned out that she had not come to Chengqian Palace in recent days because she was pregnant. The imperial physician told her that the fetus was unstable three months ago, so she really stayed in Yixingxuan obediently and never came out again.

Not only did Xia Dongchun not tell Lingrong, but even Concubine Tian knew nothing about it. When the two learned the news in Jingren Palace, they saw surprise in each other's eyes.

"This is good news. Has Lady Xia told the Emperor?"

"In reply to the Empress, I have already told the Emperor. It was he who asked me to stay quietly in the Yanx Palace three months ago and not to spread the word." Xia Dongchun smiled happily, looking very lovely with her curved eyes.

"The Emperor really cares about Concubine Xia," Concubine Qi was almost going crazy with jealousy. She almost squeezed out these words through her teeth, "I guess this baby must be a prince."

"I don't know the situation yet. After all, it's only three months. How can we be sure whether it's a boy or a girl?" Xia Dongchun stroked her belly. Lingrong thought she had learned her lesson, but she didn't expect her to say something that would make everyone jealous. "I think this baby is a prince, and the emperor is also looking forward to it."