The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

On August 12, the emperor returned to the palace.

Because Shen Meizhuang was pregnant, Yongzheng gave her a large carriage for her to use. Looking at her own narrow carriage and thinking about the bumpy road on the way here, An Lingrong hardened her heart and followed Caiyue who came to call her and got into Shen Meizhuang's carriage.

There is a different world inside this carriage, with tea, snacks and a soft couch on one side for resting.

An Lingrong half-leaned on the couch and spoke to Shen Meizhuang, "Sister, have you been okay these days?"

"Everything else is fine, except that I've been vomiting more often and can't stand anything greasy or fishy. Both Su Ye and Doctor Zhang said I'll be much better after the first three months."

An Lingrong leaned forward on the couch with her elbows, and stroked Shen Meizhuang's belly with her palm. "Sister, your belly doesn't seem to be getting bigger!"

"It's still early! The due date is next April."

"Then I'll make some more clothes for you when we get back to the palace."

After saying a few words, An Lingrong couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep. There was nothing she could do as she had gotten up too early today!

Seeing that she fell asleep, Shen Meizhuang picked up a thin velvet blanket and placed it on her belly, then took a book and read it slowly.

"Rong'er, Rong'er, wake up, we're almost there!"

The carriage was indeed comfortable, with good sound insulation and ventilation. An Lingrong slept directly in the Forbidden City.

Shen Meizhuang stood up and helped her tidy up her messy hair.

An Lingrong followed Shen Meiyu out of the carriage in a daze.

Xiao Luzi stepped forward and saluted, "My two young ladies, the Empress has issued an imperial decree, asking you to rest early today and go to Jingren Palace to pay your respects tomorrow morning."

"Sister, go to your palace."

The Ministry of Internal Affairs had already cleaned up Yonghe Palace and moved things from Xianfu Palace, so Shen Meizhuang could move in with just her luggage.

Yonghe Palace is a two-courtyard building complex, facing south. The main gate is Yonghe Gate, the front hall is Yonghe Palace, and the back hall is Tongshun Zhai.

When Shen Meizhuang came in, the courtyard was already filled with servants kneeling respectfully, "We respectfully welcome the queen back to the palace."

According to convention, a concubine is the head of a palace and is in charge of the affairs of that palace. She is allowed to have six eunuchs and six palace maids. Because Shen Meizhuang was pregnant, the emperor gave her two more eunuchs.

Looking at so many unfamiliar faces, Shen Meizhuang started to think about what would happen if her palace was exposed.

"Get up!"

An Lingrong looked at the crowd, thought for a moment, and then said to Xiao Shi, "Go to Suiyuxuan and invite Aunt Jinxi!"

"What do you want Jinxi to do?"

"Sister, we need to find out the details of these people. Xiao Luzi, go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and get their files."

As they walked into the hall, An Lingrong smelled an unusual scent. "Sister, you rest in the outer hall. Su Ye, you look after me. Cai Yue and Cai Xing, come with me."

The bedroom was magnificently decorated with exquisite decorations, but An Lingrong had no time to appreciate it and began a thorough inspection.

The bed curtains were made of moon-shaped yarn worth a thousand gold, and a bright red brocade quilt was folded on one side. A pillow embroidered with the word "Fu" in dark gold thread caught An Lingrong's eye. She twitched her nose carefully, feeling something was wrong. "Caiyue, bring me a pair of scissors."

He took a pair of scissors and cut open the pillow. The cassia seeds inside scattered all over the floor, revealing two dark cloth bags. When he opened the bags, he found red powder with a faint fragrance.

Shen Meizhuang stood up to look.

Su Ye was shocked and pulled Shen Meizhuang back, "My Lady, it's Cinnabar."

An Lingrong knew that cinnabar was mercury sulfide. After use, cinnabar oxidizes with sweat and air, and the chemical components can be absorbed through the skin, potentially causing mercury poisoning, affecting the central nervous system, and potentially causing liver and kidney damage, leading to symptoms such as loss of appetite, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

For pregnant women, it may cause miscarriage or even premature birth. It enters the pregnant woman's body after being absorbed through the skin and may enter the placenta through blood circulation, affecting the development of the fetal nervous system and the fetal intelligence.

What a cruel thought.

Continuing to search, they found several camphors in the secret compartment of the spice box at the bottom of the box.

Camphor volatilization can kill insects and disinfect, but if the human body is in contact with clothing fumigated with camphor for a long time, it will have symptoms such as dizziness, headache, drowsiness, sweating, vomiting and weakness, similar to pregnancy. After a long time, it will cause poisoning and coma.

"Are they that impatient? This is only their first day back in the palace!"

In the Suiyu Pavilion, Zhen Huan was just about to lie down to rest when she heard the news that Yonghe Palace had invited Jinxi to come. Thinking that this was not good, she and Jinxi hurried to Yonghe Palace. When they arrived, the palace was in a mess.

An Lingrong called Jinxi over and whispered to her for a while, and then Jinxi took the servants kneeling outside the hall to the back hall.

After another round and finding no other questions, An Lingrong sat down and drank a cup of tea. "Sisters, what should we do now?"

Shen Meizhuang's face turned pale and she held the cup tightly.

"Oh, sister." Zhen Huan pried her hands apart and found that her palms were cold.

After finishing her tea, An Lingrong finally spoke:

"There are two options now. First, we can endure what happened today. The person behind the scenes will think we've been tricked and might let down their guard, waiting to attack us all together in the future.

Second, we will report this to the Emperor and have him conduct an investigation. Of course, we might only uncover a few minor figures, but we can serve as a warning to those behind the scenes and make them wary."

Both methods have their pros and cons, and the three of them couldn't make a decision for a while.

At this time, Jin Xi entered the hall with a thick stack of papers, "My lady, I have finished asking questions!"

An Lingrong took it, "Xiao Luzi."

Xiao Luzi also handed the booklet he got from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to An Lingrong.

Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang stretched their heads to look, "I asked my aunt to ask for information about those new people who called in."

The contents on the paper were clear and detailed, including ancestral home, who were in the family, why he entered the palace, where he had served, what rewards and punishments he had received, what he was good at, and why he was transferred here. All were recorded on the paper one by one.

By comparing it with the archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we can know whether those people are lying.

The three of them picked and chose and took out five pieces of paper, "Xiao Shi, send these five people back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Although lying does not necessarily mean that one is a spy, it is always unreliable to use dishonest people.

An Lingrong picked out four more. "Sister, you have so much here. All the servants in the palace want to come in and make a career, so they all use some tricks. These four have no background, and they didn't spend money to beg anyone. They were transferred here inexplicably. It's a bit strange."

Among the fourteen palace maids, more than half have problems.

Damn, what a dangerous place this is.