"What's going on?" Yuan Qi asked in a low voice.

  "Your Majesty, yesterday at the Fragrant Garden... something happened. I no longer dare to go to various gardens and pavilions, but the imperial physician instructed me to take more walks, which would be beneficial for the fetus. So, I was strolling slowly on the palace path ahead, walking to a secluded area, when suddenly two palace maids rushed out and bumped into me with great force, and then...” Mei Niang's voice became inaudible as she sobbed.

  "What did those two palace maids look like? Do you still remember?"

  Mei Niang thought for a moment, somewhat hesitantly said: "At that time was too flustered, did not remember their appearance...... However," she thought for a moment, suddenly as if had an epiphany, very affirmatively said: "Their skirts, embroidered with flowing green auspicious clouds."

  The eunuchs and palace maids present all changed their expressions upon hearing this.

  In the palace, there has always been a strict hierarchy. Generally, concubines in the palace were not allowed to wear overly luxurious clothing. Only those who had been granted the title of imperial consort by the emperor and served as attendants before him were qualified to wear clothes with embroidered patterns. There were also strict regulations within this: the attendants of the empress wore five-colored flowers and birds as decorations, while the attendants of the imperial consorts could only use blue auspicious clouds as symbols. Every year when making palace attire, the Imperial Wardrobe would strictly manage it, never allowing any phenomenon of overstepping one's bounds to appear.

  Yuan Qi's eyes grew even colder as he listened. It was now beyond doubt that the mastermind behind the scenes must be one of the two imperial consorts, Zhou or Qi.

  "Have both of them come here quickly, I will personally interrogate!"

  He said in a low voice, Qin Xi was clever and knew without asking that "the two of them" must be referring to the two imperial consorts. He hastily ran off to deliver the order.

  ****

  Just a moment ago, Consort Qi hastily arrived. She was also admiring the flowers in the Gathering Fragrance Garden today and upon hearing of this great matter, she did not dare to tarry and hurried over immediately.

  Her face was slightly flushed, her forehead beaded with sweat, clearly she had walked here personally instead of using a sedan chair.

  She only knew that Mei's child was gone, and seeing the strange gaze of the crowd on herself, she felt a sudden chill in her heart. She forced a smile and curtsied to the emperor: "Your concubine has seen Your Majesty!"

  Yuandi said in a low voice: "Don't give me this kind of empty courtesy, Mei Gui was harmed by someone this time, and the people in your palace are also suspected, what do you have to say?"

  Zhi Fei was so frightened that her soul was scattered, if she was tainted with this crime, even if Yuan Qi's favor towards her was strong, he would not spare her. She knelt on the ground and cried out in distress: "I swear to heaven, I absolutely did not do such a thing..." She forced herself to calm down: "What is going on? If it is said that there are suspicions in my palace, what evidence is there?"

  Yuanyi hinted to Qin Xi, and he immediately understood the whole event and told it in a serious tone. Qi Fei listened and felt both wronged and angry, with tears welling up in her eyes: "Your Majesty, the one who embroidered azure clouds on her skirt is not just me, Yunqing Palace. The one from Linrui Palace, Zhou Guifei, who always holds knives and swords, is the most suspicious. And I heard...". She immediately added fuel to the rumor she had heard: "Yesterday, Mei Meimei and Zhou Guifei were watching fish in the pond at Juxiang Garden, and Zhou Guifei's maid even pushed her into the water, giving her a big fright!"

  "Nonsense!"

  Just arrived Zhou Guifei heard this remark, her eyes were like cold electricity staring at her: "Such a rumor that reverses black and white, only ignorant women like you can make it!"

  Although she rushed over, her wide robe and sleeves were still immaculate. She explained to Yuan Qi with a calm and composed tone: "Yesterday, Mei Niang accidentally fell into the pool, if it wasn't for my maid's rescue, she would have suffered from cold damage to her vital energy."

  Yuan Qi looked at her with sincere and clear eyes, if he hadn't heard Qu Yun's report, he would have believed her. He sneered: "Your father has many skilled men in the army, just one or two of them can accomplish this... how do you expect me to believe you?"

  The father of Imperial Noble Consort Zhou was the renowned General Zhou Gong, who in the previous dynasty had been a capital garrison general under Emperor Jingyue. From his youth he had a reputation for being knowledgeable about military affairs. When the previous emperor founded this dynasty, he responded to the circumstances and led his troops to surrender. Although the previous emperor could not fully trust him, he also did not want such talent to be wasted, so he allowed him to join the garrison of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

  Unexpectedly, the previous emperor passed away in his prime, and the new emperor was only a ten-year-old child. The Empress Dowager took charge of state affairs with her prestige, but despite her wisdom and good strategies, she was still a woman after all. The Tartars saw this as an opportunity and began to make aggressive moves again. In this critical moment, the noble families and various regional kings put aside their past differences and united to defend against the enemy.

  In this battle, the greatest merit was obtained by Zhou Jun. He used a surprise attack to capture Tianmen Pass, cutting off the Tartar army's supplies, which forced these tiger-like enemies to retreat. The court and the barbarians were barely able to fight to a draw, thus avoiding being ridiculed by the world.

  Afterwards, he rebuilt the Zhenbei Army and forced the imperial court to give him the entire Beijun as his fiefdom, with no one rivaling his power.

  Such a powerful figure, sending his daughter into the palace, although not immune to suspicious speculation, still actively demonstrated his sincerity. The imperial court, in order to win over the military's heart, initially conferred upon Madame Zhou the title of Guifei, second only to the Empress, and can be said to have been honored to the extreme.

  As for General Zhou's arrogance, Yuan Qi had long been resentful in his heart. This time, taking advantage of the opportunity, he finally burst out.

  But the Empress Dowager Zhou saw that the Emperor was truly angry, and she only slightly smiled coldly. She fearlessly met Yuan Qi's gaze, saying word by word, clearly: "Your Majesty has long had suspicions about my father, I have nothing to say..."

  She stood up, snatched the short sword from the maid's hand, and with a clang, drew out the blade.

  The cold light shone on her icy and crystal-like beauty, she glanced indifferently at the guards standing in front of the emperor with a mixture of shock and suspicion, and then suddenly chopped down towards the jade stone steps.

  She infused her sword with true energy, and when it clashed with the stone, a clear ringing sound was heard. The short sword broke into two pieces.

  "Your Majesty, I swear on the honor of a warrior that today's events are not my doing. If I am lying, may my father and I be beheaded like this sword!"

  She said with a crisp tone, her words firm and resolute, with a hint of a metallic ring.

  A martial artist making such a vow with a broken sword, it can be said that she is extremely unyielding. The emperor looked at her stubborn and cold expression, his anger slowly subsiding.

  The Empress saw the Emperor's attitude soften, and hastily stepped forward to cry out: "Your Majesty, don't listen to her nonsense. Anyone can make such vows with a red face and white teeth, she must be the one who harmed Mei..."

  She sobbed and began to recount the arrogance and tyranny of Empress Zhou in her daily life, and under the cover of crying and making a scene, she even managed to clear herself of all blame.

  Yuan Qi couldn't bear her crying and shouting, loudly scolding: "Today we'll stop here, you two get out of my sight! Consort Qi, if you continue to be so unruly, I'll immediately strip you of your title!"

  This move was very effective, and Empress Qi stopped crying, only sobbing softly, and was escorted out by the palace maid. However, Imperial Noble Consort Zhou remained calm and composed, bidding farewell to the Emperor, straightened her back and left.

  ****

  Changyang Palace

  The queen listened to the distant noise, and smiled with gentle nobility.

  She was admiring the embroidered gold and pearl inlaid suite, smiling leisurely as if watching a fire from across the bank: "Mei Niang this little girl really came up with a good plan... Unfortunately, it's still no match for your cunning, Aunt E!"

  The middle-aged woman standing beside her smiled, with a round face and kind eyebrows, looking even more amiable when she smiled: "If I can't capture this little girl easily, how can I still serve the empress dowager with my head held high? When the imperial edict was passed down from the empress dowager's side, I knew it was time to take action."

  She glanced at the empress again: "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm relying on my old age to deceive you, but this time you're being too reckless. Although that juice has a similar flavor to pine nuts, those who are familiar with this kind of thing in the jianghu can still tell them apart. That Shang Yi, I heard she was recommended by Qu Yun, and at such a young age, she's already mixed with people in the jianghu. Do you think you can deceive her?"

  The queen sincerely apologized: "I've caused trouble for my aunt, and Shu Jing is really sorry."

  "The empress said so, it's really killing me... If you must say, that little maid Mei is too foolish, relying on her father having two coins, thinking she can bribe the eunuchs guarding the palace gate to let outsiders in - it's really laughable, who among the people above and below would dare disobey the empress's orders? That female doctor had barely entered when someone had already informed us!"

  The queen laughed with great joy: "That day I went to Mei Niang's palace in a simple carriage, and entered the main hall directly. The woman's face was truly colorful... She had just learned that it was a girl, and was so disappointed, and suddenly saw me, her face... turned white like a ghost."

  "That day, I made it clear to her that the palace had already given her a warning. This little girl was ruthless and let the divine doctor leave behind an abortion medicine that would take effect after a while. She heard it was safe and wouldn't harm her body, so she used it hastily... Hehe, this dirty water will be poured on those two people's heads, guaranteeing they'll have a hard time speaking up for themselves. I'm afraid... now they're in front of the emperor, accusing each other!"

  The Empress laughed so hard her body shook: "However... what I said to Mei Gui that day wasn't entirely a lie, this child of hers is just a girl, and can't bring honor to the family through her son. If she cooperates with me, gets rid of those two thorns in my side, and still doesn't give birth to a boy, why would I make things difficult for her? From now on, as long as I occasionally promote and support her, and there's no more sabotage from Zhou Gui Fei, her life will be one of luxury and splendor... If luck is on our side, and the Emperor starts to suspect Qi Fei, then half of his favoritism will shift to her, making it an even better deal!"

  She seemed quite satisfied with this win-win situation, and after some thought, she asked in surprise: "Why are you so sure it's a girl? If the divine doctor diagnosed it as a boy, Madam Mei would never agree to this deal!"

  Auntie Wu showed that gentle and kind smile again, but only looked at the Empress. The Empress thought for a moment, then suddenly became shocked and her soul flew out: "Could it be...?"