sjar Chapter 274: Undercurrents in the Imperial Palace
Chapter 274: Undercurrents in the Imperial Palace
Zhen Huan sat on the couch, her eyes filled with worry. "Although I've already informed the Emperor, I still feel uneasy. The Empress is full of tricks, and who knows what tricks she'll come up with next."
An Lingrong sipped her tea and spoke slowly, "Huan'er, the people we've investigated haven't shown any abnormalities yet, but we can't let our guard down. I have a feeling the Jingsi Temple incident isn't that simple, and the maid's appearance is far too coincidental."
Concubine Hua frowned, "Lingrong is saying that the palace maid might have been deliberately arranged by the Queen to lure us into this?"
An Lingrong nodded slightly: "That's possible. The Queen saw that her conspiracy was exposed, so perhaps she wanted to use the same trick against us and make us lose our composure."
Zhen Huan pondered for a moment. "If that's the case, we must remain calm. Regardless of whether the maid is real or fake, strengthening the palace's defenses is our top priority. I'll discuss with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and send more patrols."
Zhen Huan stood up and went to the Imperial Household Department. She said to the head steward, "Eunuch, there may be some unforeseen events in the palace. We need to send more people to patrol the area, especially around the palaces where I live, Imperial Noble Consort An, and Consort Hua live. We must not slack off in the slightest."
The head steward of the Imperial Household Department quickly responded, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will make the arrangements right away."
On her way back to the palace, Zhen Huan ran into Chun Er. Chun Er came over and said, "Sister Huan Huan, I heard that things are not going well in the palace. Did something happen?"
Zhen Huan patted Chun'er's head and said, "Chun'er, don't worry about this matter. I will handle it myself. Just stay in your own palace and don't run around."
Chun Er pouted: "Chun Er also wants to help sister."
Zhen Huan smiled and said, "Chun'er, be good. If you behave well, you will be helping your sister a lot."
Back at the palace, An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, I want to go to the Imperial Hospital and ask Doctor Wen if there's anything I can do to prevent that possible arson plot, like fire retardants or antidotes, just in case."
Zhen Huan nodded: "Alright, Lingrong, you go ahead and be careful."
An Lingrong went to the Imperial Hospital and met with Doctor Wen. "Doctor Wen, do you know of any medicine that can be used to deal with possible dangers in the palace? For example, to prevent the spread of fire or to detoxify some drugs?"
Doctor Wen pondered for a moment. "Your Highness, there are several herbs that can be made into fireproof sachets, such as Patchouli and Atractylodes. Wearing them on your body or placing them indoors will have a certain flame retardant effect. As for the antidote, I can prepare some commonly used antidote pills to prevent poisoning in water or food."
An Lingrong said, "Then I'll have to trouble Imperial Physician Wen to prepare it as quickly as possible. The more the better."
Doctor Wen bowed and said, "I obey your command."
Concubine Hua was sitting restlessly in the palace. She said to Zhou Ninghai, "Go and ask if there's any new news from the Queen. I'm getting really impatient."
Zhou Ninghai said, "Yes, Madam."
After a while, Zhou Ninghai returned to report, "Your Majesty, the Queen's Palace appears peaceful, but I discovered that Jianqiu has secretly left the palace and is nowhere to be found."
Concubine Hua's eyes glared. "They must have gone to discuss countermeasures with Lord Li. We can't let them succeed. Zhou Ninghai, take some people and quietly follow them to see where they meet and what they say."
Zhou Ninghai took the order and left.
After Zhen Huan and An Lingrong returned to the palace, they informed Concubine Hua about the medicine prepared by Doctor Wen.
Concubine Hua said, "Lingrong is really thoughtful. With these medicines, we have more protection."
At this time, Zhou Ninghai returned to the palace, panting, "Your Majesty, I followed Jianqiu to an abandoned farm on the outskirts of the city and saw her having a secret conversation with Lord Li inside. It was too far away, so I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I saw that Lord Li looked panicked, and Jianqiu seemed to be comforting him."
Zhen Huan said, "It seems that the Queen and Lord Li haven't given up yet. We must prepare a countermeasure in advance."
An Lingrong said, "I have a plan. We can spread the news in the palace that the emperor has obtained the key evidence of their conspiracy, so that they will panic and lose their composure."
Concubine Hua clapped her hands and said, "This is a very good plan. I will give orders right away to have the palace maids and eunuchs spread the news."
Thus, the news that the emperor was about to severely punish the queen and Lord Li began to spread quietly in the palace.
The Queen heard the news in the palace and her face turned pale. "How is this possible? My plan hasn't even been implemented yet, how could they have evidence? Could it be that the maid betrayed me?"
Jianqiu said from the side, "Your Majesty, don't panic. Perhaps this is just a rumor spread deliberately by Zhen Huan and the others to make you lose your composure."
The Queen angrily said, "Regardless of whether it's a rumor or not, I can't just sit there and wait for death. Jianqiu, go and arrange for our accomplices in the palace to find an opportunity to poison Zhen Huan and the others' food and drink. We'll get rid of them first."
Jian Qiu hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, this is too risky. The palace is heavily guarded right now, and Doctor Wen has been preparing medicine for them. If we're discovered, we'll be completely finished."
The Queen said sternly, "I can't care about that anymore! This is our last chance, we must try."
Jianqiu said helplessly: "Yes, my lady."
Zhen Huan, An Lingrong, and Concubine Hua also anticipated that the Queen might become desperate and act with caution, so they made their food choices even more cautious. They had the palace maids taste all food first and only drink boiled water.
Zhen Huan said, "The Queen is now at the end of her rope. As long as we hold on, she will reveal her true colors sooner or later."
An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, we can't just defend ourselves. We can arrange for some trustworthy people to go undercover in the Queen's palace to see what she will do next."
Hua Fei said, "I have a young eunuch beside me who is very clever. Let him try."
Zhen Huan nodded. "That's very good. We must proceed with caution. We must completely crush the Queen and Lord Li's conspiracy and restore peace to the harem."