Yuán Méng Dié heard about the movements of Chǔ Lián Ruò and suspected that it was related to her own affairs, so she sent someone to Xī Yán Gōng to investigate. The entire night, the imperial palace was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere.

  Chu Lianer went to bed after the emperor left, not because Chu Lianer was careless, but because she knew too well about Shi Yu Yin and Xu Rong. Shi Yu Yin won't make any moves in the next few days either. Xu Rong's side will be closely watching the movements in the palace, and nothing will happen on Xu Yang's side. These next few days should be the most relaxing for herself, she should take a good rest and watch the show.

  After receiving the news, Wang Fu's face was always bad. He wanted to protect her and watch the scenery together, but every time she was the one taking risks while he was behind her. It was time to speed up things. Although the prime minister had absolute power, who would really be willing to be under someone else? It was time for the strategist by the prime minister's side to make a move.

  In recent days, the Prime Minister's residence has been quite restless. As the saying goes, "the Prime Minister's door is a seven-product official", and the Prime Minister, Xiurong, and Xiuyang have formed a three-legged tripod situation. Under such circumstances, there will be people who rely on their power to bully others, and some of the strategists below also want to rise through the ranks and get rich. They have been persuading the Prime Minister to take action after the birth of the Queen's child. The Prime Minister had been hesitant and had not made up his mind, but after his daughter's incident and seeing that the Emperor had no intention of taking any action, he became extremely angry in his heart. Gradually, under the advice of the strategists, he began to have ideas. Xiuyang also planned to play a crucial role when the Prime Minister took action. In recent years, the Prime Minister's manpower and material resources are not to be underestimated. When two tigers fight, one must be injured. If Xiuyang seizes the opportunity to take action at that time, great things can be achieved.

  Inside and outside the palace, a dark undercurrent was flowing, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense. It is unknown what method Xū Yáng used to make Lán Ruò and Dié Wǔ, who were originally supposed to be silenced by Shī Yù Yīn, found by Yuàn Mèng Dié. The two were sent to a brothel where they suffered humiliation, and Xū Yáng also hinted to them that all of this was Shī Yù Yīn's order. The two hated Shī Yù Yīn to the bone, and when Yuàn Mèng Dié appeared and said she would help them redeem themselves if they spoke out, the two did not hesitate to reveal Shī Yù Yīn's actions, including the matter of secretly harming the former empress.

  The entire palace was in an uproar, and when Xi Rong found out, she regretted it even more, saying that she had wrongly accused the former empress. Chu Lian coldly sneered from the side, while Shi Yu Yin could no longer defend herself in front of Lan Ruo and Die Wu's testimony and the evidence they had hidden. At first, she refused to admit her guilt, but later, faced with irrefutable evidence, she finally confessed. The entire court was filled with petitions calling for Shi Yu Yin's execution, but both Yuan Meng Die and Chu Lian did not want to let her off so easily. They both pleaded with Xi Rong on her behalf, and Xi Rong, taking into account Shi Yu Yin's years of loyal service to the emperor, decided to imprison her in the Cold Palace instead, allowing her to experience the desolation of being a former empress.

  Chu Lian didn't know that Yuan Mengdie's hatred for Shi Yuyin wasn't any less than her own, so after Shi Yuyin entered the Cold Palace, she didn't make things difficult for her. But according to Qingqing, after Shi Yuyin entered the Cold Palace, Yuan Mengdie ordered people to try out all sorts of cruel punishments on Shi Yuyin's body. Xū Róng also never asked about Shi Yuyin's situation in the Cold Palace. Such a cold-hearted and unfeeling man, how could she have thought he was the one she would entrust her life to?

  After Shi Yu Yin was demoted to the Cold Palace, Chu Lian Ruo worked with Die Gui Fei to manage the six palaces, but she wouldn't usually bother with such things. Die Gui Fei was very pleased that Chu Lian Ruo had this self-awareness and even warmed up to her a bit, no longer looking at her with an arrogant expression.

  Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's already midsummer. The summer in Beijing is no different from being in a steamer basket. Xiurong feels too hot and there haven't been any major events recently, so she decides to take Butterfly Empress, Evening Empress, and several princes to escape the heat. After traveling by carriage and boat, everyone arrives at the temporary palace for escaping the heat. Outside the palace is a forest used for hunting, which was cleaned up by people sent by the emperor when he decreed that they would come here to escape the heat. The remaining animals are all harmless prey.

  Because they had just arrived at the temporary palace, although someone had been sent to tidy up, it would still take some time for the various masters to arrange their usual things. Seeing that the palace maids were all busy sorting out things, Xiurong and the princes, having nothing better to do, agreed to go hunting in the woods. Yu Mengdie was not feeling well and stayed behind at the temporary palace without going out. Chu Lianruo thought hunting was meaningless and didn't join them either. The emperor's mood was relatively good and he didn't mind so much, so he took the princes and left.

  Chu Lian took advantage of the time when the palace maids were tidying up to take a stroll around the temporary palace with Qing and Si Wei. The entire temporary palace was built on a grand scale, its majestic momentum awe-inspiring. It was unknown how many people's blood and sweat had been poured into building this deep and mysterious palace. The golden glazed tiles shone brightly in the sunlight, as if the entire palace was radiating golden light, looking incredibly beautiful.

  Walking in the garden, there are artificial mountains everywhere, cleverly deceiving heaven and earth without any signs of human workmanship. The various colorful flowers in the garden are competing to bloom, looking exceptionally beautiful. Chu Lian told Qingqing to take some tea and snacks to enjoy while admiring the flowers.

  Youyou owed a debt and went down to fetch tea, while Si Wei and Chu Lian strolled along the garden.

  "Your Majesty, look at the rose over there, it's really beautiful. The half-stemmed lotus here is also much more beautiful than those in the palace, it can be seen that the florists in this temporary palace have put in a lot of effort."

  "This palace is usually empty, with no master coming to admire it. It can be seen that these flower artisans are also flower lovers." The roses in the garden were particularly beautiful, with large clusters of colorful flowers and unopened buds nestled among the green leaves, looking especially shy. Beautiful things always bring joy to people's hearts.

  Chu Lian Ruo gazed at the blooming flowers, feeling unusually relaxed. Before long, Qing brought tea and snacks to the garden. There were several plates of pastries, which Qing couldn't carry alone, so she called over a few palace maids to help. They found a pavilion and set down the tea and snacks. Chu Lian Ruo then dismissed the palace maids.

  "Qing Qing, Si Wei, you both sit down. Let's appreciate this beautiful scenery together." Chu Lian Ru told Qing Qing and Si Wei to sit down as they were standing at the side, so that they could admire the flowers together.

  At first, Qīng Qīng and Sī Wēi didn't dare to sit down, but Chǔ Lián Ruò's intimidating and commanding tone made the two of them sit down as well. In fact, saying "sit down" was almost like squatting, and Chǔ Lián Ruò just let it go, some things are accepted differently from birth, no need to force it.

  "Your Ladyship, since you just arrived at the palace today and some things are not fully prepared, I ordered the kitchen to make a few small pastries. Would Your Ladyship like to try them?"

  Chu Lian glanced at the four plates of dim sum, crystal clear and translucent. The fresh milk and snowflake-like layers were distinct and fragrant, overflowing with milky aroma. The golden-colored apple pastry was sandwiched between the emerald-green cucumber and shrimp filling, whose refreshing scent subtly emanated from the dough. It was evident that the kitchen staff had put in a lot of effort.

  Seeing Chu Lianruo's satisfaction, Qing placed the chopsticks in front of her. Chu Lianruo picked up a piece of xī mǐ pán and tasted it. The fragrance was refreshing and indeed relieved the summer heat. The afternoon passed by in the pavilion, savoring pastries and admiring flowers.

  The sun sets in the west, and there is still no news of the emperor's return. During this time, Yuan Mengdie sent someone to ask about it, but Chu Lianruo also didn't know where the emperor was. Yuan Mengdie became anxious and sent people to check at the place where the emperor went hunting, but nothing was found.

  Chu Lian also knew that the emperor had not returned, and if she made any noise, she would attract trouble from those with ulterior motives. So, she also sent people to search for the emperor in all directions. Xū Róng and several princes finally returned at the hour of hai, Xū Róng's clothes were slightly damaged but his spirits were high.

  Chu Lian and Yuan Mengdie received the news, they went to the gate of the palace to welcome Xū Róng. He looked a bit disheveled but had a genuine smile on his face. Before the two could pay their respects, Xū Róng strode into the palace.

  "Two beloved concubines, guess what I have gained today?"

  "The emperor is so delighted, I guess the emperor must have hunted down a satisfactory prey, I'm stupid and really can't guess what it is." Yu Mengdie said, not waiting for Chu Lianruo to speak.

  "The imperial concubine is so clever, how can't she guess? Guess again." Xū Róng was in a great mood and rarely played guessing games with Yuán Mèng Dié. Chǔ Lián Ruò pretended to be thoughtful on the surface, but actually couldn't wait for Yuán Mèng Dié to guess quickly.

  "I am stupid and foolish, I hope Your Majesty will tell me." Yu Mengdie's naive expression made Xiurong even more delighted.

  "Your Majesty, the Emperor has indeed hunted a black bear." Li Gonggong looked at the Emperor's expression and knew that no matter what, the Emperor would not blame himself today, so he said the reason why the Emperor was so happy.

  "The Emperor is truly powerful, I heard from Father that black bears are terrifying, with great strength and ferocity, and extremely difficult to deal with." Yuan Mengdie's face was full of surprise. Xiurong had always been in the deep palace, originally it was rare for him to leave the palace, today he just arrived at the hunting palace and hunted a black bear, it can be seen that his martial arts skills are also very high. Father's confidant came into the palace some time ago, secretly telling Yuan Mengdie about Father's unyielding thoughts. After the miscarriage incident, Xiurong's performance made Yuan Mengdie give up on him a lot, and she also discovered that whether it was being a noble consort or an empress, it all depended on the emperor's thoughts. The example of the previous empress wasn't proof that the emperor's favor is unreliable? If so, why not become that high-and-mighty princess herself?

  Yu Mengdie was still struggling psychologically, and the prime minister did not say much to her about these things. However, knowing a daughter best is her mother, the prime minister's wife had already seen through Yu Mengdie's thoughts from her behavior. Chu Lianyou was also not completely unaware of these matters, after all, the spies of Xuyang were omnipresent.

  "Is Your Majesty injured? Let's go back to the palace and rest for a while." Chu Lian asked with feigned concern, but Xi Rong saw that Yuan Mengdie was only concerned about her prey, whereas Chu Lian showed concern for herself. In an instant, she felt it wasn't right to bring Yuan Mengdie to the imperial palace. Lowering her head to take a look at her own appearance, which indeed looked somewhat disheveled, she then led Li Gonggong back to the palace.

  Several princes saw that it was late and bid farewell to the emperor, and Chu Lianruo couldn't help but spend another night in the palace. When Liushuang served as a companion for the night, Chu Lianruo took him to the garden during the day. Although Liushuang always said he had no regrets, Chu Lianruo's heart was still very painful and could only walk away from afar.

  (

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