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

"I thank Concubine Zhao for her concern, but unfortunately the Emperor has an order first, so I don't want to bother you with these trivial matters..." Shen Zhiyao changed the subject and said with a wicked smile, "But don't worry, Concubine Zhao, if we do a good job, it will be the same. The Empress will still ask for your permission and will not shortchange you of your reward."

Shen Zhiyao spoke happily, and everyone was laughing happily. This was simply a mockery of Concubine Zhao for being short-sighted and only making a fuss here to gain benefits.

It must be said that the Queen enjoyed watching this drama. She really liked Shen Zhiyao's character of doing things openly. She was strong but not reckless.

"Empress, look at this, Jin Shuyi, now that she has gained some power in the palace, has become less and less interested in her high position! I meant well, but she said such harsh things about me..." Concubine Zhao finally couldn't bear it anymore and complained to the Empress.

The queen is pregnant now, so it's not easy to hold back her laughter. She can only cough lightly: "Okay, you mean well, and she's just quick-witted, so let's stop arguing... I'm tired, let's all go. The weather is getting hotter and everyone's temper is getting irritable. Concubine Zhuang and Jin Shuyi urge the kitchen to make more soup for everyone to cool down."

"Yes."

Concubine Zhuang and Shen Zhiyao hurriedly responded, and everyone followed suit to express their gratitude. No one paid any attention to the furious Concubine Zhao.

Concubine Zhao cursed in her heart: This queen is a peacemaker, pretending to be fair, but in fact she is extremely biased! It is really unnecessary to ask her to judge the matter!

Everyone dispersed. Seeing that the Queen looked unhappy, Shen Zhiyao and Concubine Zhuang just said a few words of concern and then left.

After leaving Fengyi Palace, Concubine Zhuang said worriedly, "Did you pay attention to Concubine Zhao's face just now? It was as dark as the bottom of a pot. What if she ordered someone to cause trouble?"

The two have been working together for more than a week and have gotten along well. Their relationship has improved a lot, and although they still bicker occasionally, it's much better than before.

"I'm not afraid that she will cause trouble. To be honest, I'm worried that she won't dare to do anything!" Shen Zhiyao sneered: "Now the more we deal with her openly, the less she will dare to do bad things secretly. If something happens, who wouldn't suspect her?"

"Even if Concubine Zhao is stupid, she still has the Empress Dowager above her to keep her in check. She will definitely not let her do anything stupid." Shen Zhiyao analyzed calmly.

"I was wondering...how can you still have the time to argue with her..." Concubine Zhuang smiled suddenly, "You are really bad..."

"However, just because Concubine Zhao doesn't make any unusual moves doesn't mean others won't make any moves. During this period of time, we have to be willing to invest and plant more spies to gather information. Even if there are unusual moves, we have to know about them as soon as possible so that we can respond accordingly." Shen Zhiyao pondered.

"Hmm..." Concubine Zhuang nodded in agreement: "We must handle it properly, so as not to let the Queen's trust in us go unnoticed."

The two reached a consensus and went about their business separately.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed. Although there have been some disputes during this period, it is relatively peaceful.

The Queen's morning sickness has improved a lot, and she is also willing to give some guidance to Shen Zhiyao and Concubine Zhuang occasionally.

But in this peaceful situation, trouble arose.

At first, some rumors began to circulate among the people, which very vaguely said that the current emperor's succession to the throne was not legitimate.

Among them, it includes how the late emperor doted on the third prince, who was the royal family's designated candidate for crown prince. In fact, the third prince did not die of smallpox, but was murdered by a conspiracy between the current emperor and the empress dowager.

There are even rumors about the current queen, saying that she was supposed to be married to the third prince, but after the queen met the emperor, she also participated in the conspiracy to murder the prince.

The rumor spread extremely quickly, and even began to spread among many officials of the previous dynasty and the harem.

Shen Zhiyao and Concubine Zhuang knew about the news early because they had planted many spies in the palace in advance. They acted quickly and although they did not let the rumors spread in the palace, they also prevented people from spreading them secretly.

At this time, everyone was paying their respects to the Queen in Fengyi Palace. When it was almost over, Queen Dowager Zhao arrived angrily.

The rumors spread to Renshou Palace. The empress dowager was furious when she heard them. With Concubine Zhao deliberately adding fuel to the fire, she could no longer suppress her anger and rushed to Fengyi Palace in person to demand accountability.

She was not doing this entirely for Concubine Zhao. This matter concerned the foundation of the country. The current situation in Zhao State was not stable, and this fatal rumor made her very uneasy.

The queen hurriedly brought all the concubines to pay their respects to the empress dowager.

After getting up, the Queen said, "Mother, I was planning to take Concubine Zhuang and Jin Shuyi to the Renshou Palace to pay my respects to you. I guess I was inconsiderate and made you go there in person."

Queen Mother Zhao saw that the Queen looked unhappy and remembered that she was still pregnant, so she softened her tone and said, "If I were more impatient, I wouldn't have waited until now. While everyone is here, I can ask and talk to you face to face about some things."

"Yes, mother, please give me your instructions." The queen bowed.

"You have been taking care of your pregnancy recently, so this matter has nothing to do with you." Queen Mother Zhao turned to look at Concubine Zhuang and Shen Zhiyao, and asked sternly, "You two are handling the affairs of the six palaces on behalf of the Queen, so how can such absurd rumors spread in the palace? How do you run this family?"

Concubine Zhao was so happy when she heard this that her eyes were full of gloating as she looked at them, just waiting for the right opportunity to act.

After all, Concubine Zhuang was a legitimate agent, so she did not evade. She stepped out of the line and bowed, saying, "Empress Dowager, what I and Jin Shuyi discovered was not enough. We have taken a series of measures since then, but some people are so talkative that they have to spread such nonsense. I will definitely find a way to curb this trend next. Please calm down, Empress Dowager."

"Hmph, contain? At this point, do you have any idea? Tell me, how to contain it? It can't be just some empty words, right?" Queen Mother Zhao refused to give in.

Concubine Zhuang was frightened by the Empress Dowager's attitude of coming to accuse her. Not only was she nervous, but she also started to talk nonsense, which only made the Empress Dowager even angrier.

"Mother..."

"Queen, please don't speak first about this matter. Although the baby in your belly is almost four months old and is basically stable, the royal heir is more important. Please sit down."

Queen Mother Zhao pointed at the phoenix chair and said in a tone that brooked no refusal. The Queen had no choice but to keep quiet and sat down on the chair and watched.

Shen Zhiyao originally wanted to discuss the matter with Concubine Zhuang after paying her respects to the Queen, but seeing that the Queen Mother was already furious, she had to step forward first.

"Empress Dowager, please calm down for a moment. Your health is more important." Shen Zhiyao said, and then she walked forward and helped the Empress Dowager to the upper chair.

"Please sit down and talk first. We, the youngsters who have done bad things, should kneel down. If you don't sit down, how can we have the courage to speak? Look, Concubine Zhuang, who is usually so smart, doesn't dare to speak now."

Queen Mother Zhao glared at Shen Zhiyao coldly, but she could still see that she was smiling at her meekly and obediently. She didn't want to go too far, after all, she hadn't explained yet. Otherwise, she would seem perverse.

Queen Mother Zhao relaxed her expression, followed Shen Zhiyao's support and walked to the upper seat, but said, "Well, I will sit and listen. You must give me a decent explanation today! Otherwise, how can you live up to the emperor and queen's instructions?"