Wearing a book, hooking him up

"Your Majesty, the Royal Concubine fainted while watching the execution today. She has woken up now and sent someone to say she wants to see you." Anshun reported respectfully.

An indescribable complex expression flashed across Jun Zechen's eyes, and then he said softly: "Let's go to Yikun Palace."

Some things really should be made clear.

When Jun Zechen arrived at Yikun Palace, the bloodstains outside the palace left by the caning had not yet been cleaned up.

Jun Zechen couldn't help but frowned slightly, then he raised his leg and stepped into the Yikun Palace.

He said in a deep voice: "Where is your master?"

"Your Majesty, the master is ill and is resting in the bedroom." A palace servant lowered his head and answered cautiously.

Upon hearing this, Jun Zechen walked straight towards the bedroom without saying a word.

When the imperial concubine saw Jun Zechen coming in, she quickly got up from the bed and said in a slightly weak voice, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Get up, you are not feeling well, sit down." Jun Zechen's voice was still faint.

After paying her respects, the imperial concubine sat on the bed, while Jun Zechen slowly sat down on the chair opposite.

Her face was extremely pale. She had never seen anyone die in front of her like this before, and had never witnessed such a bloody and cruel scene.

Even if she briefly recalled that scene at this moment, her stomach would churn and she would feel nauseous.

"Your Majesty...you know everything?" The imperial concubine asked carefully with a pale face.

"What do you think I know?" Jun Zechen's voice was still calm.

"Your Majesty, must you be so cold to me? Does Your Majesty hate me now..."

The imperial concubine lowered her head, her voice filled with endless paleness and loneliness.

"I can accept you scheming against those who hurt you, but why do you want to scheme against Concubine Chun Shu?" Jun Zechen asked in a cold and indifferent voice.

"So that's how it is. Your Majesty is so angry because I plotted against Concubine Chunshu?" the imperial concubine murmured.

Jun Zechen frowned tightly, and then asked: "Are you so jealous of Concubine Chun Shu? Even though she once saved you, even though you used to have such a close relationship?"

"When we were in the Eastern Palace, I asked you, it's hard to be my Crown Princess, but you chose to stay, so you should know that I will have more women in the future."

The imperial concubine's mood suddenly became a little unstable and her eyes became red.

Her voice trembled as she spoke, "But all the women who came after her were different from Concubine Chun Shu. Your Majesty, do you know how different you were to Concubine Chun Shu? It was she who snatched you away from me!"

Jun Zechen's face darkened instantly. He knew that his heart had indeed uncontrollably leaned towards someone else.

But this is definitely not an excuse for her to scheme against innocent people.

"My heart has changed. The one whom the Imperial Concubine hates should be me, not others. You should take care of yourself."

After saying that, Jun Zechen stood up and prepared to leave.

The imperial concubine's heart skipped a beat. No, she absolutely couldn't let him leave like this.

She hurriedly got off the bed, ran quickly behind Jun Zechen, and hugged his waist tightly.

She cried, "Your Majesty, I was wrong. I will never do such a thing again. I will not hurt Concubine Chun Shu again. I will be magnanimous. Please don't leave... Your Majesty, please give me another chance..."

Jun Zechen closed his eyes, then opened them with indifference in his eyes.

But in the end, he couldn't bear to be cruel to her, and his voice softened a little: "Go back and rest, I still have things to deal with, I will come to see you in the evening."

After saying that, he gently separated her hands that were around his waist, looked straight ahead, and walked out of Yikun Palace without any reluctance.

Cining Palace.

When the Queen Mother has nothing to do recently, she is always immersed in fiddling with flowers and plants.

She found a lot of books about flower arrangement and studied them carefully.

At this moment, the Queen Mother was concentrating on taking care of the various kinds of flowers that had just been delivered to the greenhouse. She carefully selected them, matched them into extremely harmonious colors, and then placed them in exquisite blue and white porcelain vases.

It is truly a delight to the eye when completed.

Aunt Jinhua stood quietly beside the Empress Dowager, reporting in a soft voice the details of the recent poisoning of the Imperial Concubine.

"Empress Dowager, the maids Qin'er and Ping'er who poisoned the Imperial Concubine have been sentenced to death by His Majesty. They were caned in the Yikun Palace."

The Queen Mother chuckled upon hearing this.

Then he said slowly: "Jinhua, tell me, is this Concubine Chun Shu quite smart?"

"When I first saw her, I thought she was weak and cowardly, but now it seems that her weakness is towards the emperor, and her cowardice is towards the enemy."

"When the Imperial Concubine deliberately framed her, Concubine Chun Shu took the initiative to stop investigating the case in order to show fairness. This really set an example for the entire harem. She is very clear-headed and smart, but she doesn't scheme against others."

Aunt Jinhua has followed the Empress Dowager for decades, so naturally she has her own set of standards for judging people.

"Yes, these women in the harem all wear masks just to survive better. As long as they don't hinder the interests of the royal family and don't hurt the emperor, I don't mind how they scheme."

The Empress Dowager had been in the harem for decades, but it was only in the last decade that she understood one thing: what one should calculate in the harem is the Emperor's heart, not the other concubines.

She didn't know whether Concubine Chun Shu was truly naive or just pretending to be, but she was a smart person, and everything she did was after the emperor's heart had already leaned towards her.

The Queen Mother seemed to suddenly remember something and asked again, "The Emperor punished someone in front of the Imperial Concubine, but the Imperial Concubine didn't make a scene?"

Aunt Jinhua frowned slightly and said slowly: "I heard that the imperial concubine couldn't bear such a shock and fainted directly, and asked someone to invite His Majesty to the Yikun Palace."

"His Majesty...has already gone to visit the Yikun Palace."

The Queen Mother's eyes suddenly darkened. The Imperial Concubine's skill was still too superficial.

This is also the reason why the Queen Mother dislikes her.

The education and scheming skills that a noble lady from an aristocratic family received since childhood are not something she can learn in a short period of time.

If the imperial concubine becomes the queen in the future, not to mention whether she has the skills to lead the harem, just because of her jealousy, she will never be able to become a qualified queen.

After Jun Zechen returned to the Qianqing Palace, he sat on the dragon throne, staring at the dark guard leader Lingyi standing below, his eyes flashing with anger.

"I just want you to find a fish. Is it that difficult?"

Jun Zechen's secret guards are divided into his own private guards and royal secret guards.

The private guards were trained by him personally when he was the crown prince, while the royal secret guards were passed down by the royal family to every generation of emperors.

This time, Jun Zechen sent private guards to search. In Jun Kingdom, he already had many industries spread across various cities, and each city was equipped with corresponding secret guards.

It has been four days since Yaoyao's birthday, but there is still no news.

Lingyi stood quietly. He was wearing a cold mask, so his expression could not be seen at all. However, his voice was exceptionally cold and hard.

"Your Majesty, I have already ordered the secret guards in each city to search for it with all their might. There are many cities in the kingdom with developed fishing industries. Now we only know the general appearance of the butterfly carp, which is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It is really difficult."

"I just don't know what special environmental requirements this butterfly carp has?"

Jun Zechen was silent for a moment. This butterfly carp is so rare?

The secret guards usually go to the places in each city where there are the most varieties of fish. If they can't find them in those places, then the world is so big that there are many more places to look.

Jun Zechen thought for a while, and Yaoyao seemed to say that she had read a book.

Then he turned his head slightly and instructed Anshun: "Anshun, send someone to invite Minister Su. I am very curious about the book "Records of Strange Beasts" in his collection. Ask Minister Su to bring the book."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Anshun responded respectfully, then stepped back and ordered someone to go out of the palace to summon Minister Su.

When Minister Su, who had met with some court officials to handle government affairs in the palace, heard His Majesty's request, he was confused. What is the book "Records of Strange Beasts"?

He didn't have any impression of it. Could it be that Yaoyao told His Majesty about it?

Although he had many questions in his mind, Minister Su asked his colleagues to return home first, and then he quickly walked to his own study to find the book that His Majesty wanted.

There are thousands of books in this study, all neatly placed on the bookshelf.

Most of the books that Minister Su read were related to politics, history, and strategy. Only his daughter, who read all kinds of books, would pay attention to books like "Records of Strange Beasts".

By the time Minister Su finally found it, he was already sweating profusely, and the young eunuch waiting outside also looked a little anxious.

Then he hurried towards the palace.

This was the first time he came to the Qianqing Palace for matters not related to state affairs.

As soon as he walked in, he saw His Majesty sitting upright on the majestic dragon throne, dealing with memorials with a calm expression.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Minister Su walked steadily to the center of the hall and saluted respectfully.

"Minister Su, please stand up." Jun Zechen's voice was calm and steady.

When Jun Zechen first ascended the throne of the crown prince, he had a head-on confrontation with Minister Su in the court.

However, it is normal to have different political views.

Minister Su's ability to handle government affairs is obvious to all. He is an old fox with deep plans.

However, because he is Yaoyao's father, Jun Zechen likes him much more.

Minister Su presented the book, and then An Shun stepped forward to take the book and respectfully handed it to Jun Zechen.

Jun Zechen flipped through the book carelessly and asked casually, "Does Minister Su know about Butterfly Carp?"

Minister Su frowned slightly and answered with a confused look on his face: "Your Majesty, I don't know."

At this time, Jun Zechen happened to find the introduction about butterfly carp in this book.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly with a hint of ridicule.

"It seems that Minister Su is not familiar enough with the books in his study."

Then he continued, "The butterfly carp recorded in this book is extremely beautiful and likes warm waters with pure and sweet water. From this description, I think it is possible that it grows in Yulong City."

A hint of thought flashed across Jun Zechen's eyes, and his brows furrowed slightly. The butterfly carp has such high requirements for the environment that it is not easy to transport it to the capital alive.

Minister Su is still a little confused. Why did His Majesty call him here?

Although he didn't understand, he quickly replied, "If Your Majesty likes this butterfly carp, I will notify the Lord of Yulong City to search various lakes and find it for Your Majesty."

"Well, I trust Minister Su. Please give orders for the cities where the butterfly carp described in the book may grow. I like this butterfly carp. Please have someone find it and present it to me. I will reward you handsomely."

There was a hint of majesty on Jun Zechen's face.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Minister Su replied respectfully.

He did not have any extra thoughts about His Majesty's request, nor did he think it was a luxury because it was time-consuming and laborious.

After all, every year each city worries about what to present to His Majesty. Since His Majesty has what he wants this year, just let the cities below look for it.

I wonder what Minister Su would think if he knew that his Majesty had called him to the palace to look for the butterfly carp in order to please his daughter.