Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Fawning

The setting sun is as red as blood, dyeing the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City with a dazzling color.

Guanju Palace.

Lan Qi reclined on the couch, her slender fingers gently turning the pages of a scroll. Suddenly, the palace door was gently pushed open, and a dark figure slipped in silently. Lan Qi didn't look up, as if she already knew who was coming. She simply asked calmly, "Is it done?"

"My lady, it's all done." The man who came was Jinzhong. He lowered his voice, "My lady, you divined that Ai'er was in love with Master Anduo and asked me to find her. Ai'er thought that Master Anduo would be sentenced to death, so she took the initiative to expose the Imperial Concubine to the Emperor. While the snipe and the clam quarreled, the fisherman benefited, and Ai'er committed suicide. Now, even if the Imperial Concubine and the Emperor want to investigate, they won't be able to trace it back to us."

Lan Qi put down the scroll in her hand and sneered, "I only helped Noble Concubine Jia to add fuel to the fire. It's a pity to waste such a precious life."

"I feel it's a pity, but if I don't shut Ai'er up, I'm afraid more people will be implicated." Jinzhong carefully observed Lan Qi's expression and said tentatively, "Now that there are witnesses and evidence, and no one can testify against her, it will be difficult for the Imperial Concubine to turn things around."

Lan Qi stood up and walked to the window, looking at the palace in the distance that was gradually swallowed by the night. A meaningful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "That's not necessarily true."

If Ruyi didn't have some skills, how could she have survived in the harem for so long? In her previous life, she had Hailan's help. Now Hailan has been confined to the Yanxi Palace, and Ruyi has no relatives in the palace. Lanqi is very curious about how Ruyi will escape this time.

If she really failed in this "affair", it would make Lan Qi feel bored.

Lan Qi held her chin in her hand and suddenly said, "Jinzhong, keep an eye on the Ministry of Punishment. If anyone wants to attack Suo Xin, have someone bribe the jailer to injure her as severely as possible. Someone will naturally take the blame for us anyway."

"I understand." Although Jinzhong was puzzled, he still followed the order and did his job.

As the night deepened, the lights in the Hall of Mental Cultivation remained brightly lit. Hongli lay half-reclining on a carved rosewood recliner, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed, as if enduring immense pain.

At this moment, a maid came in, stopped in front of Hongli, and called softly, "Your Majesty?"

Hongli opened his eyes and rubbed his temples tiredly. "It's Yuhu. Have you found any clues?"

Yu Hu's heart trembled. She lowered her eyes to hide the complex emotions in them and said softly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. When I was here, Ai'er from the Bingshi hanged herself. She left a suicide note before she died."

Yu Hu presented the suicide note.

Hongli didn't expect that Ai'er's letter was full of dissatisfaction with Ruyi, and that she risked her life to report the Imperial Noble Consort. She was afraid that Ruyi would harm her after a comeback in the future. Ai'er couldn't bear the pressure, so she committed suicide.

Could it be a frame-up?

Is there really someone in this world who would risk their life to frame someone else? Yes, when Concubine Mei gave birth to a freak baby, Imperial Noble Concubine Huixian bribed the eunuch Xiao Fuzi to frame Ruyi. Later, he ran into a wall and died in Changchun Palace.

The scene of Anji supporting Ruyi in Anhua Palace flashed through Hongli's mind again. Ruyi was chosen by him personally as the Imperial Noble Consort, the person who would be the mother of the country in the future. Hongli would never allow his partner to have any stain, even if that person was Ruyi.

Hongli said, "Yuhu, do you think the Imperial Noble Consort will really betray me?"

Yu Hu smiled and said, "I don't know. I only know that in the harem, people's hearts are unpredictable. In order to fight for power and profit, they can do anything."

"Yes, human hearts are hard to predict..." Hongli smiled bitterly, and the smiles and frowns of Ruyi in the past emerged in his mind. Those behaviors that once made his heart beat faster now seemed like loud slaps in the face, slapping him hard.

"After Empress Xiaoxian passed away, the throne was left vacant. The concubines in the other palaces were all eyeing it covetously. There was no guarantee that someone wouldn't harbor malicious intentions and try to use this opportunity to frame the Imperial Noble Consort." Yu Hu paused. "Your Majesty is wise and will surely see through everything. If the Imperial Noble Consort is truly wronged, Your Majesty will definitely clear her name. If the Imperial Noble Consort has truly done something shameful..."

Hongli remained silent, yet a turbulent storm surged within him. Yu Hu's words, like a flash of lightning, illuminated a corner of his mind he had been deliberately avoiding. Indeed, within the harem, there was no shortage of intrigue and deception. Ruyi, now in a high position, would naturally become the target of public criticism.

"I understand, you can go down first."

Yu Hu turned and left, walked a few steps, stopped, and looked back at Hongli.

Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Yuhu is Hongli's wet nurse. She has watched him grow up and knows the emperor better than anyone else. Hongli is a heartless emperor. He and Ruyi have been childhood sweethearts, but he still does not trust her and even puts her under house arrest. She calls her the Imperial Noble Consort, with the same rank as the Vice Empress, but her treatment is not even as good as that of a noble lady. Ruyi always likes to wander around relying on her worthless friendship with the emperor. Not to mention that she cannot be compared with the deceased Empress Xiaoxian, if the late emperor's abandoned empress Ulanara Yixiu knew about this, she would probably be so angry that she would jump out of her coffin.

Several days passed like this.

Although Ruyi was confined to the Yiku Palace, she had no worries about food, clothing and other expenses. There were people to serve her, and she could eat and sleep. Except for not being able to go out and see the emperor, everything was fine for her.

Hongli also specially found four skilled maids to look after her.

Li Yu, on the other hand, was busy running around for惢心's affairs. He went to the Ministry of Punishment to give money and asked them to take good care of惢心, and also went to Jiang Yubin to discuss countermeasures.

But惢心 was not having a good time in places where no one could see. She was whipped again and again, and she fainted from the pain several times. They also poured salt water on her. After being tortured for several days in a row,惢心 vomited blood and there was not a single piece of healthy skin on her body.

Yuyan naturally would not miss this excellent opportunity. She asked Zhenshu to bribe the jailer with money and use severe punishment to force惢心 to confess.

She didn't believe that惢心's mouth was harder than the torture instruments of the Ministry of Punishment.

The jailer put Suo Xin on a bench and tied her hands and feet with ropes, saying, "I'm sorry, young lady. If you don't confess, we have no choice but to torture you."

Seeing the jailer pick up the torture instruments and clamp Suo Xin's calves, she was terrified, struggling and screaming: "What are you going to do? My lady, save this slave, ah——"

There hasn't been a banquet in the palace for a long time since Jingse got married. As the Emperor's birthday is approaching, Zeng Huan wants to invite all the concubines in the palace to come for a small gathering.

Hongli was naturally happy. Such a big event as the Wanshou Festival should have been handled by the Imperial Noble Consort Ruyi, but Ruyi was under house arrest now and Imperial Noble Consort Jia was pregnant and should not be working hard, so this matter naturally fell into the hands of Lujun.

Ever since being scolded by the emperor last time, Lujun has come to terms with it. It doesn't matter whether she becomes queen or not, as long as her child is safe.

Le Ji danced in the center, while Rui Ji, holding Yong Rong, pointed at the cakes in front of them, asking him what he wanted. Lu Jun quietly wiped away her tears, picked up the wine in front of her, and drank it all in one gulp.

Yongqi looked at Ruiji and Yongrong infatuatedly. He was so envious of his sixth brother. Although Empress Chun was not favored by the Emperor, she found a foster mother who loved Yongrong. On the other hand, his biological mother was under house arrest, and his foster mother was also under house arrest.

Wanyin saw Yongqi's brows furrowed slightly and knew he was worried about Ruyi. She picked up a chicken leg and put it in his bowl, saying with a smile, "Fifth Prince, are you worried about the Imperial Concubine? Don't worry, the Imperial Concubine is blessed by heaven and will be safe and sound."

Yongqi held back his tears and nodded heavily.