The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The palace maid who accidentally spilled a bowl of soup was quickly taken away, but the commotion here had already attracted a lot of attention - or rather, there were already many eyes watching Lin Qiao's every move.

"You scared me. Aqiao, are you okay?" Zhuqueyin asked with concern. She saw it clearly just now. The soup was still steaming for a long time after it fell on the ground. If it was poured on someone, it would probably cause serious injuries.

Thinking of this, Zhu Queyin became angry: "Why are you so careless? If you have something hot in your hands, you shouldn't walk into the crowd!"

Lin Qiao and Xie's mother looked at each other, and both knew that the maid who brought the soup was probably up to no good, but neither of them planned to say it out loud in public. Lin Qiao comforted them, "Maybe the person who asked her to serve the soup was too hasty. But don't worry, I'm fine, right?"

Zhuqueyin pursed her lips and muttered, "What if something happens..."

Everyone laughed, and the originally tense atmosphere suddenly returned to normal.

On the other side, Chen Peiluan, who discovered a small accident at Lin Qiao's place, became a little restless - this time she did not try to compete with the Crown Prince's wife and insist on sitting in the front seat, but sat at the end of the row of the Shenguogong Mansion with her husband with a stern face. However, she did not expect that the Yongjia Marquis Mansion would actually bring Lin Qiao here.

She was holding back her anger, and wanted to find an opportunity to go up and stab Lin Qiao, but another voice in her heart was saying that now was not a good time to show up in front of her, and it would be better to wait until she could stand in front of her openly in another identity...

Just keep struggling like this.

Chen Peiluan watched a small disturbance.

In the past, in order to compete for the title with the heir of the crown prince who was in poor health, Chen Peiluan had been in and out of the palace very frequently. Especially since Empress Dowager Hu returned to the palace and a new queen was appointed, these women from outside the royal family could enter the palace to build relationships by sending festival gifts and listening to the teachings of the empress dowager/queen.

Chen Peiluan noticed that although the palace maid who brought the soup was also wearing the same uniform as the palace maids serving at today's banquet, she didn't know if it was due to her negligence or something else, but the color and style of the inconspicuous small velvet flower on the back of her head were different from those of others. Chen Peiluan, who had successfully competed for the title and became the wife of a duke in her previous life, had also participated in many palace banquets. After thinking about it carefully, she remembered that the small velvet flower was clearly a style commonly used by the palace maids in Chonghua Palace.

Chonghua Palace...

Chen Peiluan remembered something and couldn't help feeling a chill.

Perhaps her complexion was too ugly, Tao Er glanced at her and asked, "Madam, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Chen Peiluan gave him a complicated look: "Nothing."

When this man was not in power, he seemed extremely gentle, but once he came to power, he learned to turn his back on people.

Thinking of this, Chen Peiluan finally made up her mind - she would still fight for the title of Duke of Shen in this life, but she would no longer teach Tao Er how to be deceitful like she did in her previous life. She would just let him stay at home and take care of the children, and as for herself...if Empress Xie and Lin Qiao could get through this, then having the identity of a Duke's wife would make it easier for her to enter the officialdom.

But if that day really comes, due to the previous deal with the princess, I am afraid I will have to stand on the opposite side of Lin Qiao. But that's okay, isn't this what I have always dreamed of?

Chen Peiluan didn't say a word to Tao Er. Instead, she stared at Lin Qiao for several seconds, then stood up silently.

"Where is your wife going?" Tao Er was confused. He really couldn't understand the changes in his wife in recent times.

Chen Peiluan glanced at him and said, "Go talk to Madam He. Have fun by yourself. Don't walk around randomly, and don't get close to those playboys. If they come to look for you, ignore them."

"Oh." Tao Er nodded blankly.

Seeing that he still looked like a loser, Chen Peiluan no longer felt the annoyance she had when she was just reborn.

She turned and left, and easily found He Sangrou, who looked a little lonely and a little bit angry, not far from the He family's seat.

Putting on her usual smile, Chen Peiluan walked over and said, "Sister Sang Rou."

He Sangrou looked up in a panic, and when she saw it was her, she breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her to the corner: "Why are you here?"

"Singing and dancing are boring, so I thought about talking to you, sister."

He Sangrou sighed when she heard this: "Now my house is deserted, and you are the only one who is willing to pay attention to me."

After hearing what she said, Chen Peiluan couldn't help but look towards the He family - the descendants of the general's mansion and the military officers led by the old general were all drinking and laughing together, it was very lively.

He Sangrou, who was feeling sorry for herself, saw her actions, stamped her feet, and said with a cry, "Isn't it my mother's family? Those people, seeing that my husband was impeached, implicated me too..."

She pursed her lips tightly and refused to say anything more.

Chen Peiluan was speechless for a moment - even if Yao San had not been suspended or impeached, he would not be able to sit in the front seat at today's palace banquet. Besides, who would not build relationships with an old and highly respected general, but instead pay tribute to a gigolo?

Although she thought so in her heart, Chen Peiluan still patiently comforted He Sangrou and asked her, "Sister, did you see what happened on the table in Yongjia Marquis' Mansion just now?"

As soon as the words fell, He Sangrou's face changed drastically, and she quickly pulled Chen Peiluan to hide in the corner again: "You know?"

Chen Peiluan: ...

She had a headache: "You got involved?"

He Sangrou looked embarrassed: "...I just wanted to give it a try. Even if I can't expose her, I'll...make her look bad."

This is also a way for you to vent your anger.

He Sangrou originally wanted to say this, but for some reason, these words that she used to say normally to shift the blame could not be easily uttered when facing Chen Peiluan.

Chen Peiluan felt her heart beating wildly: "How can you order the palace maids of Chonghua Palace around?!"

“What?!” He Sangrou screamed and quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth. After taking a few deep breaths, she said in a low voice with fear and shock, “I didn’t know she was a servant of Chonghua Palace. It’s just… I just saw her standing there with nothing to do, so I gave her some money and asked her… asked her to serve a bowl of hot soup to the Yongjia Marquis’ Mansion…”

In fact, he told the palace maid that he and Lin Qiao had some personal grudge, and asked her to spill the hot soup on Lin Qiao.

Chen Peiluan heard the truth hidden in her words, and immediately felt overwhelmed: "How dare you do such a thing to the Queen's cousin for just a few dollars? How brave are you, and how brave is that palace maid?!"

"You are the daughter of General He, a woman of noble birth, so you may be able to escape unscathed. But what about the maid? Where can she go? Can she guarantee that she will not be punished or blamed for the burns done to Lin Qiao? Don't you think it's strange that you can easily bribe her to do such a deadly thing?"