The maidservant is too charming. I want to help her become the queen.

However, Lu Qingqing showed no fear at all.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes, her face showing the look of being disturbed while waking up.

Erxi was even more timid than Xiaotao. She said timidly:

"My lady, I heard that a concubine once drowned in the pond in the Ouxie Courtyard. Although it is an old story, but..."

Erxi wanted to continue speaking tremblingly, but was interrupted by Xiaotao's words.

"Erxi, don't overthink it. This is all nonsense."

Lu Qingqing yawned. She didn't believe that there were ghosts in this world. Not to mention that there were concubines who committed suicide by drowning in the lotus pond outside the door, even if she was asked to live in a cemetery, she would not be afraid.

This is Lu Qingqing's awareness as a firm believer in materialism.

"Qingqing, how are you?"

The door of the main room of Ouxie Pavilion was pushed open with a creaky sound, and the female sisters of Xu Guan walked in from outside.

The Bishuiju where the two of them lived was only separated from Lu Qingqing's Ouxieting by a wall, so naturally they could hear the woman's wailing.

Xu Ming'er vaguely felt that the sound came from next door, so she called Xu Yue'er, and the two sisters jumped over the wall and rushed to Lu Qingqing's place.

Xu Ming'er sat beside the couch and whispered to Lu Qingqing:

"Qingqing, don't be afraid. When we climbed over the wall just now, we found a few fresh traces of hemp rope wear on the eaves of the courtyard wall at the corner."

"So, this isn't a haunting, it must be someone doing it on purpose!"

Lu Qingqing thought about it and realized that there were many people living in this palace who were not on good terms with her.

There are Shufei, Xianfei, and even Lu Panpan.

However, the last time Lu Panpan poisoned the Mixue Ice Palace with the heartbreak grass had just happened, so she estimated that what happened tonight was most likely done by Lu Panpan, just to vent the anger that she failed to vent last time.

When Erxi heard the woman from Xuguan say this, a huge stone in his heart fell to the ground. It turned out that it was not the soul of an innocent person who died in vain, but someone pretending to be a ghost!

She secretly clenched her fists and said angrily:

"My lady, we must report this matter to the Emperor tomorrow morning!"

"The ghost tricks in the middle of the night have frightened everyone. We must find out who did it and let the emperor avenge us!"

Lu Qingqing is favored by Li Xuansheng. As long as she asks for help, Li Xuansheng will definitely find out the person behind the scenes even if he has to turn the palace upside down.

Lu Qingqing leaned on the bed, brows lowered, lost in thought.

"Whether you will tell the emperor tomorrow or not, let me think about it."

If she simply complained to Li Xuansheng, maybe the matter would be brushed aside. After all, playing tricks only disturbed her sleep and did not actually hurt him.

Therefore, at most she was comforted by Li Xuansheng, which was of no great use.

Lu Qingqing lowered her head and gently stroked her belly.

During the time she lived in the palace, there was no queen forcing her to drink pregnancy-preserving medicine every day. She insisted on keeping fit and also received a lot of love from Li Xuansheng. So Lu Qingqing just found out that she was pregnant.

She was worried about her pregnancy and didn't know when to tell Li Xuansheng.

Just as she happened to run into a haunted place, she thought she might as well make a bigger fuss and give Li Xuansheng a surprise.

Lu Qingqing raised her eyes and smiled, her eyes narrowed into a beautiful arc, and said to the Xuguan female sisters:

"Ming'er Yue'er, thank you for your concern for me. It's late at night, you should go back and rest. I will know how to handle the matter of reporting."

The next day.

The news of a female ghost crying in the Ouxie Courtyard at night gradually spread in the palace. However, Lu Qingqing did not choose to tell Li Xuansheng.

In the following days, the entire palace was in panic.

The virtuous concubine no longer acted as the assistant in charge of the six palaces, and the virtuous concubine no longer observed Lu Qingqing's movements every day and tried to intercept Li Xuansheng.

Because they had done many bad things, they were afraid that the female ghost would move from the Ouxie Courtyard to their own palace.

Li Xuansheng still often came to Ouxieting to stay overnight as usual.

But he gradually discovered that Lu Qingqing's eyes became increasingly dull and had lost their former liveliness, and even her face became paler than before.

Even her most proud specialties, after Li Xuansheng tasted them, were either too salty or too bland, and were nothing like her usual cooking standards.

Especially at night, Lu Qingqing wanted to make love with him, but she always refused on the grounds that she didn't have the energy to do so. She was like a frightened deer and needed to snuggle tightly in his arms before she could fall asleep.

Li Xuansheng felt something was wrong and asked considerately:

"Qingqing, are you feeling uncomfortable living in the palace?"

"If you don't want to stay here, I will order the convoy to set off for Mulan Paddock tomorrow."

Lu Qingqing's face turned slightly red and she shook her head obediently.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. You are worrying too much. I am very happy living in the palace and I am not feeling uncomfortable at all."

"Your Majesty will have to discuss matters with the ministers tomorrow, so go to bed early."

Lu Qingqing hesitated when she said this. She opened her pink little mouth several times as if wanting to say something, but then kept silent.

Li Xuansheng's observation ability was far superior to that of ordinary people, so Lu Qingqing's subtle expression certainly could not be hidden from his eyes.

Just because Lu Qingqing was unwilling to speak up, it didn't mean he couldn't take the initiative to investigate.

After leaving Ouxie Courtyard, Li Xuansheng asked He Qing.

"Go check and see what happened to Noble Ming?"

As the chief eunuch, He Qing naturally knew what had happened in the Ouxie Courtyard. He had heard many rumors about ghosts in the past few days from the palace servants.

He Qing sighed, mustered up his courage, and reported back to Li Xuansheng with trepidation.

"In reply to your Majesty, I heard that the Ou Xie Courtyard seems to be haunted these days."

"It's just that when Your Majesty stays in the Ou Xie Courtyard, the nights are peaceful and calm. If you leave, even in broad daylight, there will be some unusual noises in the Ou Xie Courtyard."

Li Xuansheng's steps suddenly stopped, his angular and handsome face suddenly turned cold, and his expression was extremely ugly.

He lowered his voice and scolded He Qing.

"Such a big thing, why did you report it to me earlier?!"

He Qing fiddled with the whisk in his hand nervously, smiling awkwardly.

"I also want to tell the emperor, but..."

"It's just that the noble lady Ming specifically told me that Your Majesty is very busy and there's no need to bother you with such trivial matters. So I didn't say anything."

Hearing this, Li Xuansheng's heart tightened instantly, and a feeling of bitterness surged in his heart.

It’s all my fault for being careless. I didn’t notice Qingqing’s abnormality for such a long time.

Qingqing was thinking about him wholeheartedly, and was afraid of causing trouble for him. It was because of me that I failed to protect her...

Li Xuansheng felt as if something was blocking his heart. He was so angry that he had no place to vent it, so he scolded He Qing.

"Humph! Why don't you take my instructions so seriously? You just listen to her!"

"Please make it clear, are you my servant or the servant of Noble Lady Ming?"

He Qingyi broke out in a cold sweat.

But it was his bad luck that he happened to be in front of Li Xuansheng when he was angry.

He Qing nodded repeatedly.

Concubine Ming is deeply favored, and it was clearly the Emperor who asked him to take care of Concubine Ming, so why is he being blamed now?

He Qing couldn't even cry.

Li Xuansheng was not in the mood to discuss matters with the ministers at the moment, so he turned around and headed back towards Ouxie Courtyard.

The little palace maid outside the door was about to greet and report, but was stopped by his sharp look.

Li Xuansheng was about to push the door open when he heard the master and servants talking in the house.