Time Travel: The actress's acting skills exploded, and she was favored by the harem

When she finally didn't have to pretend to be strong anymore, Hu Xiaoyi's spirit instantly collapsed.

Although Jiuma doesn't know as much as Yinlian, she is still someone close to her. Although she has been in the palace for a short time, she is indeed not clean.

"Master, please be at ease. After all, the Queen has promised not to impose severe punishment. Master Qi also agreed just now. They shouldn't go back on their word." Yinlian said this without any confidence, just to comfort her master.

"You have been in the palace for so many days, how can you still be so naive? The Queen only said that torture should not be used lightly, which obviously left a lot of room!" Hu Xiaoyi bit her lip and said.

UnionPay remained silent. She knew in her heart that her master was right.

"Everything else is a small matter. When we contacted Prince Rui's spies...did we do it cleanly enough?" Hu Xiaoyi raised her eyes and asked.

Yinlian thought carefully about every contact and said, "I have always been cautious. I should not have revealed any flaws. Jiuma will not know about it..."

After a moment's silence, Hu Xiaoyi said, "Even so, it's not safe enough. Judging from the situation today, there must be more than one person who is thinking of operating in the Ministry of Punishment."

"After all, that servant has been with us for a short time. If he can't stand the threats, inducements and severe punishments and colludes with others to harm me, it will be troublesome!"

Hu Xiaoyi had to admit that she lost miserably in this contest.

She felt deeply annoyed. If she had known this would happen, she should not have provoked Jin Shuyi so easily. That woman was not only cunning but also did not play by the rules and was very wild.

The more Yinlian thought about it, the more frightened she became. She looked at Hu Xiaoyi anxiously and asked, "Master, what should we do? Otherwise, shall I ask for help from Prince Rui?"

"Stupid!" Hu Xiaoyi scolded, "Prince Rui's status is sensitive. We must not let him directly intervene in the affairs of the Ministry of Punishment. The person in charge has just changed. It is a sensitive period. If we arouse the emperor's suspicion, we will only die more miserably! Moreover, Prince Rui is not a good person. If he helps too much in this matter, we will have more and more handles in his hands, and it will be even more difficult to withdraw."

Yinlian was scolded by her so much that she dared not say anything more and could only lower her head and bite her lip.

Hu Xiaoyi thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll give you some money. You go to the Ministry of Punishment first and let Jiu Ma know that I have never given up on him. Give him enough hope to survive so that he can keep his mouth shut. But you must not let him harbor resentment."

After Hu Xiaoyi finished speaking, he took out several large-denomination silver bills without hesitation.

Yinlian agreed and left with the banknote.

Looking at her back, Hu Xiaoyi sighed.

She knew that she and Yinlian entered the palace late, and although their family backgrounds were prominent, their roots were not deep, so Yinlian's arrangements would surely be of no use.

However, Hu Xiaoyi didn't really expect to get Jiuma out in this way. Her real purpose was to calm Jiuma's emotions and prevent him from losing his mind.

If a person's mentality collapses, his bottom line will also be gone.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, the Queen summoned Shen Zhiyao and Concubine Zhuang to have tea together. Because Concubine Wanxian was pregnant, the Queen ordered her to stay in Zhongjin Palace and take care of her baby.

The three of them were eating snacks and listening to Shijin's report.

Shijin added a piece of cake to each of the three people's plates, and then said, "These past two days, Concubine Zhao's people have been very busy. They have sent a lot of money to the Ministry of Punishment, and are instigating the execution of Jiuma so that he can confess to something dirty."

"Also, Hu Xiaoyi's personal maid Yinlian has been active in the Ministry of Punishment recently, and she has spent a lot of money just to make Jiu Ma's life better."

"This servant's worth has really doubled now! These people are so rich and generous!" Concubine Zhuang teased.

"Hu Xiaoyi is not ruthless enough. She cares too much about her reputation and wants to establish a good image. She didn't do her best to protect Jiu Ma, which is her biggest failure." Shen Zhiyao snorted and said, "Once someone enters the Ministry of Punishment, she has no say..."

"Haha, she cares so much about her reputation, isn't it just that she wants to climb up the social ladder? In my opinion, she has quite big ambitions!" Concubine Zhuang sneered.

Thinking of how Hu Xiaoyi had asked for leave many times when she should have paid respects, which was obviously disrespectful to the queen, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Queen, should we also lend a hand?"

The queen chewed the cake in her mouth slowly and nonchalantly before shaking her head and saying, "I advise you not to think about it."

"Why? Shouldn't we take this opportunity to give the fallen dog a beating?"

Concubine Zhuang couldn't understand why. Didn't the Queen send people in just to punish Hu Xiaoyi?

The queen turned to look at Shen Zhiyao: "What do you think?"

"Something is bound to happen to Jiu Ma, and someone will rush to take action, which may even alert the emperor. If we get involved, it will only make things worse." Shen Zhiyao pondered.

When Concubine Zhuang saw the Queen giving Shen Zhiyao an admiring look, she felt extremely upset and angrily poked the pastries on the plate with her chopsticks, as if to vent her anger.

Shen Zhiyao burst out laughing: "My Lady Imperial Concubine, please stop poking me. No matter how many holes you poke, eating them won't mend your heart..."

"You!" Concubine Zhuang glared at her unhappily and didn't want to stop eating with the chopsticks in her hand.

"That's enough." The Queen put another piece of cake on the plate in front of Concubine Zhuang and smiled to comfort her: "She has her merits, and you have your merits too. Try this jujube kernel cake."

Apart from the emperor, few people could enjoy such treatment. Concubine Zhuang was immediately delighted and smiled like a flower. She glanced at Shen Zhiyao frivolously, raised her lips in a protest, and then started to eat happily.

Shen Zhiyao looked at Concubine Zhuang with great interest, but she didn't think much of it. She just thought she was very interesting.

At this time, in Changdeok Palace, Qi Tong, the new head of the Shenxingsi, was meeting the emperor.

Bo Muxi weighed a gold ingot in his hand and asked, "In just two days, you have collected so much?"

"Your Majesty, there are many masters in the harem who gave me money, all of whom asked me to be ruthless to Jiuma. Only the people in Zhengfu Palace were willing to spend a huge price to save Jiuma's life." Qi Tong said truthfully.

"Hmph..." Bo Muxi snorted coldly, put the gold ingot in his hand on the table, and asked casually: "Did Jin Shuyi send it?"

"No." Qi Tong answered quickly and affirmatively.

Upon hearing this, Bo Muxi couldn't help but chuckle and thought to himself: What a cunning thing.

The emperor had been busy with government affairs recently and had not entered the harem. But that night, he suddenly turned over Shen Zhiyao's name card.

Bo Muxi wanted to go to Cuiweixuan to see Shen Zhiyao that afternoon, but looking at the pile of memorials on his desk, he had to deal with them patiently until the evening.

When the imperial carriage arrived at Cuiweixuan, Shen Zhiyao greeted him at the door as usual, still dressed freshly, decently and beautifully.

When Shen Zhiyao saw Bo Muxi getting off the chariot, she politely greeted him: "May the emperor be blessed with good health."

"My beloved, please stand up." Although Bo Muxi smiled gently, he did not hold Shen Zhiyao's hand as usual, and seemed a little distant.