Dethroned the Crown Princess? Then she became your mother

"Master, who came up with this ingenious plan?" Nanny Li lowered her voice and asked softly in Zhang Tianai's ear.

Zhang Tianai shook her head slightly, she also had no idea.

Nanny Li never expected that even her master could not see the truth behind this.

Was it Princess Kangping? His Royal Highness Prince Cheng? Or perhaps some other hidden power? Every possibility swirled in her mind, but she could find no conclusive evidence.

Zhang Tianai spoke slowly: "In the depths of this palace, everyone has the potential to be a mastermind." Her eyes were as sharp as torches, staring directly at Nanny Li.

Yet, amidst this fog, it seemed as though someone had been forgotten. That was Lady Liu, who had mysteriously disappeared before them. That sudden scream was like a meteor streaking across the night sky, fleeting yet heart-wrenching.

Was the architect's target these two, or someone else? Speaking of the beneficiaries, Liu met with misfortune, and the imperial concubine was pregnant. If Zhang Tianai, the favored concubine, were eliminated, how would the situation in the palace change?

But Zhang Tianai didn't jump to conclusions. She knew that within the palace, anyone could be a pawn, anyone could be the mastermind. Even the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess couldn't completely rule out suspicion.

"Then..." There was a hint of helplessness and confusion in Nanny Li's words. She seemed to have lost the ability to pursue the truth behind this.

Zhang Tianai glanced at her lightly: "It's hard to confirm, isn't it? Don't you have doubts in your heart?"

Upon hearing this, Nanny Li's heart trembled slightly, and then she fell silent. She did have a suspect in her heart, but she didn't dare to say that name easily.

"Except for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, I have doubts about everyone else." Zhang Tianai's voice was firm and resolute.

Nanny Li sighed inwardly.

Just as they were leaving the shadow of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and preparing to greet the sunlight outside, they unexpectedly saw the figures of Eunuch An and Chunmei. They were standing at the door of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, with a look of confusion and nervousness in their eyes.

At the same time, His Royal Highness Prince Cheng slowly walked out of the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. His figure stretched out in the sunlight, appearing particularly lonely and desolate.

Seeing this, Nanny Li couldn't help but feel a sense of alarm: "Master, should we wait for someone to replace us before leaving?"

Zhang Tianai didn't answer immediately. Her gaze lingered on Prince Cheng for a moment, as if she were lost in thought. Suddenly, she remembered what she had mentioned earlier about the secret guards, and why Eunuch An had arrived so quickly. Could this have been orchestrated?

She quickly adjusted her thoughts and decided to change her original statement. After all, in this palace, every word could become a handle for others.

At the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Eunuch An and Chunmei had never expected that the person emerging from the hall would be His Royal Highness Prince Cheng. They were filled with doubts. Why was His Royal Highness Prince Cheng here? Was he mistaken? Or was there a more complex conspiracy behind this?

Eunuch An's expression grew serious, and he dared not think any further. He looked at Chunmei and saw that she had hurried into the palace, seemingly searching for something. Perhaps she, too, was frightened by the appearance of His Royal Highness Prince Cheng, fearing that something was amiss.

Eunuch An turned his gaze towards His Royal Highness Prince Cheng, bowed, and tentatively asked, "Your Royal Highness Prince Cheng, why are you here?"

His Royal Highness Prince Cheng smiled faintly, a smile that carried a hint of drunkenness and unruliness. "I just came here to rest for a while. I drank a little too much, so I just found a place to rest. I didn't expect to be woken by you. What are you doing here? And why did that person rush in so hastily just now?"

Upon hearing this, Eunuch An became even more confused. He looked at the people he had brought with him, all of whom could be witnesses. If this matter were to become known, it would be detrimental to Concubine Liang.

He looked at His Royal Highness Cheng Wang again, trying to find the answer from his expression. However, His Royal Highness Cheng Wang just smiled faintly, seemingly not caring about the matter.

Eunuch An pondered in his heart and decided to test the waters with His Royal Highness Prince Cheng: "Your Highness Prince Cheng, this is where the women rest, and the men should be on the other side."

As he spoke, he pointed in a direction, trying to guide His Royal Highness King Cheng away from this place. The people around His Royal Highness King Cheng also seemed to realize something and cast strange glances at him.

His Royal Highness Prince Cheng simply smiled faintly, with a hint of drunkenness and helplessness: "This prince may really be drunk. I drank too much and just wanted to find a place to cool down, but I didn't expect to take the wrong road."

"Wrong way?" Eunuch An couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Can a simple sentence of "wrong way" offset all suspicion?

However, faced with the Prince Cheng's dominance and unruliness, Eunuch An did not dare to pursue the matter too much. He could only bow again and let the Prince Cheng leave.

His Royal Highness Prince Cheng did not linger for long, but quickly left with the people around him. He knew very well that staying in the palace for a moment longer would increase the danger.

Eunuch An watched His Royal Highness Prince Cheng depart, a sense of inexplicable fear welling up in his heart. He turned to look at Chunmei, only to find her already hurried over, breathlessly saying, "The Queen isn't in there."

Hearing this, Eunuch An couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He knew he no longer needed to worry about Prince Cheng's affairs, but the doubts in his heart did not diminish.

He looked at the people behind him again, trying to find clues from their expressions. However, they all remained silent, seemingly unwilling to reveal too much information.

At this moment, Zhang Tianai and Li Ma also arrived in palace attire.

"Madame Li, Chunmei." Zhang Tianai's voice was filled with warmth and concern. She looked at Eunuch An, trying to ask something.

"So you're here." Eunuch An's voice was filled with emotion and relief. He looked at Zhang Tianai and Nanny Li, trying to confirm his suspicions from their expressions.

Eunuch An questioned this, as did Chunmei. She even boldly took a step forward, gripping her master's hand tightly, her round face brimming with concern. "Master, where have you been? I thought you were still inside, but it was Prince Cheng who came out. It truly frightened me. Did you and Nanny Li leave together?" Her eyes widened with disbelief.

Seeing this, Zhang Tianai couldn't help laughing and repeated the previous conversation with Li Ma.

Nanny Li added that she had instructed a maid to fetch the palace attire while she remained guarding the master, waiting outside. During this time, she witnessed the maid's departure and then heard some noises. The master's resting place was actually in the back.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering what was going on. Turns out it was just a misunderstanding. That's easy to handle." Eunuch An reacted quickly and figured out what had happened.

He didn't dwell on how things went wrong, after all, Concubine Liang had appeared safe and sound. Eunuch An knew that Concubine Liang's attitude towards the matter was that as long as she was fine, it was fine.

Chunmei nodded slightly when she heard this.

Zhang Tianai asked again why they came suddenly. She vaguely remembered that they saw some movement when they came.

"It's all because of His Royal Highness Prince Cheng." Eunuch An and Chunmei answered in unison.

They explained that they had originally thought that Concubine Liang was resting there, so they had brought their men here. Little did they know that it was actually His Royal Highness Prince Cheng who was inside. His Royal Highness Prince Cheng was clearly displeased, and they were also feeling uneasy. After a few words, His Royal Highness Prince Cheng left. They then began to search for Zhang Tianai and her group.

At this moment, they happened to appear. At the same time, there seemed to be some noise coming from His Royal Highness King Cheng's side, but they did not find anything unusual.

"By the way, Concubine Liang, what about the scream you mentioned earlier?" Eunuch An hadn't forgotten this crucial detail. Both Concubine Liang and Nanny Li heard the scream, which proved that it was real.

They didn't hear the scream, perhaps because they arrived too late. But even so, they still wanted to know the truth.

Zhang Tianai did her best to describe the scream, and Nanny Li supplemented it. After hearing this, Eunuch An couldn't help but ponder. This matter was obviously no small matter.

He suddenly thought of Lady Liu, or Lady Liu. Could it be her? However, this young lady didn't seem to have any grudges against anyone, so this possibility seemed unlikely.

Chunmei was completely bewildered, her only concern being for the safety of her master and Nanny Li. She couldn't help but interrupt, "Who could it be? What could have happened?"

"It's precisely because something happened that we need to find out the truth." Nanny Li said.

Zhang Tianai softly responded, glancing at Chunmei, secretly resenting her naiveté. But she remained calm and said to Eunuch An, "Eunuch An, please send someone over to check. Perhaps something has happened to Concubine Liu. If something truly has gone wrong, it would be difficult to explain to the Emperor."

"Yes, that's what I meant." Eunuch An smiled awkwardly, "Although I have already sent people here, there can't be any mistakes on Lady Liu's side." He waved the whisk in his hand as he spoke.

Zhang Tianai, seeing this, waved her hand magnanimously, indicating she didn't care. Nanny Li also murmured in agreement. Chunmei stood quietly to the side, seemingly at a loss.

Eunuch An hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to stay or send someone over.

Seeing this, Zhang Tianai urged him to go quickly.

Eunuch An responded and left in a hurry with a few people. Before leaving, he took a special look at Zhang Tianai's palace dress, which seemed to have not been changed yet.

"Hasn't Concubine Liang changed into her palace attire yet?" he asked doubtfully. After all, the palace attendants were already holding the new attire.

Zhang Tianai smiled and replied, "The palace maids just brought it over. I'll go change right away." She told Eunuch An to go about his business, and that she would go check on the situation after she changed into her palace attire. After all, she was still worried.

Upon hearing this, Madam Li said softly, "This old servant will accompany the Madam."

"Okay." Zhang Tianai responded and began to instruct the palace servants to prepare changing clothes.

Chunmei approached the palace dress held in the palace maid's hand, took a careful look at it, and asked, "Which one is it?" Zhang Tianai also turned to look at Nanny Li and asked.

Nanny Li gestured and said, "It's the one the master ordered before." She explained that she had asked Hua'er to fetch it. As for the palace maid, she had disappeared. I'll thank her properly when I have time.

Zhang Tianai nodded and asked her to remember this. Nanny Li responded and told Huaer to fetch it.

Huaer responded shyly and bowed before leaving.

Zhang Tianai had noticed Huaer's shyness and efforts a long time ago. She smiled, asked Huaer to stand up and praised her.

After hearing this, Huaer blushed with shame and kept saying yes.