The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Cao Bin hurried in from the palace gate, bent over and waited for instructions.

His brows were lowered, his gaze fixed on the foot in front of him, a standard posture of submissiveness. Even his breathing was very light, for fear of displeasing his master.

He has always been like this.

The emperor suddenly changed his mind and asked him to investigate. He only asked, "What do you think of Concubine Zhao?"

"Concubine Zhao?"

Cao Bin glanced up at his master in confusion, then lowered his gaze humbly. "I wonder what your majesty is asking about? As for whether she treats you well, I feel that Concubine Zhao is very dedicated and considerate to you. If she can serve you comfortably, I think she is very good."

The emperor asked, "Do you think she is a good person?"

Cao Bin lowered his head and answered cautiously, "I dare not speak ill of the imperial concubine. However, the young eunuchs and maids in the palace often praise Concubine Zhao, saying that she cares deeply for the servants and is very kind. There have been many rumors these days because of Ying Ronghua's incident. The palace maids are privately divided into two factions. One faction feels that Concubine Zhao has been wronged, while the other thinks that she may be feigning kindness. The truth is unknown, so I can't say anything. Of course, it is wrong for palace maids to talk about their mistress in private. I have already informed the Palace Administration Department to reprimand everyone and refrain from gossiping."

The emperor pondered for a moment and ordered, "Go and call Zhang Lin."

"Yes."

Cao Bin respectfully withdrew and ordered his men to summon Zhang Lin, the commander of the Tiger Guards.

The Huben Guard was a private army established by Taizu, specializing in espionage.

Are they going to investigate Concubine Zhao?

The Duke of Zhenguo did a good job of flattering Concubine Zhao.

Cao Bin lowered his eyes.

He doesn't care who wins or loses, Concubine Zhao, Concubine Yue, or the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

But the emperor did not allow him to investigate Concubine Zhao, and instead mobilized the Tiger Guard Zhang Lin...

Your Majesty no longer believes him?

Was he too close to Chunxi Palace? It seemed not.

But Cao Bin still became alert and decided to stay away from the people and things in Chunxi Palace until Concubine Zhao regained her trust, so as not to arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger.

He gradually rose to become a high-ranking eunuch in front of the emperor, and caution has always been his top priority!

……

"Lu Guinian, you bastard! I've been with you since I was even a teenager. For so many years, I've washed your clothes, cooked for you, and helped you study for the imperial examinations. Now that you're rich, you don't even take me seriously. I asked you to make me some jewelry, but you refused, and in the end, you even dared to trick me with fake things! Come here! Come here!"

An ordinary neighborhood in Beijing.

An ordinary house.

The courtyard at the deepest part of the alley is narrow and simple.

The sky gradually darkens and the stars twinkle.

A young woman stood in the yard, one hand on her waist and a rolling pin in the other, cursing loudly.

A man in gray clothes was squatting in the corner of the yard, holding his head, trembling, and constantly whispering and begging for mercy.

But in the end, he was intimidated by the woman's aura and had to move out of the corner and move closer to the woman little by little.

"Hurry up!" the woman shouted.

The man quickly sped up, and just as he got in front of the woman, he was kicked down by her.

The rolling pin crackled and hit the man like raindrops.

"Madam! Madam, calm down! Ouch, it hurts so much... Madam, please listen to my explanation. I didn't mean it. I just wanted to cheer you up. Madam, calm down! Don't hit me in the face. Oh, don't hit me in the face. We agreed not to hit people in the face when we fight! I have to go to court tomorrow morning. I'll be laughed at by others..."

The young woman hit him even harder.

"Are you afraid of being laughed at? I've already been laughed at, you bastard! You tricked me into thinking I was being given a royal gift by using a piece of shabby jewelry. You made me lose face in Bixiao Pavilion today. You're absolutely outrageous!"

"Madam, madam, that's just a pawnshop. Those who laugh at you are ordinary people. I am in court, surrounded by court officials. I dare not let them see my face swollen like a pig, especially His Majesty. I can't let him see it. It will pollute His Majesty's eyes..."

"Bah! The Emperor should know you're a liar!" The young woman chased after him, rolling a rolling pin in hand. The two of them ran all over the courtyard. "How dare you take these low-quality, forged pearl flowers and lie to me that they were given by the Emperor. You even said they were worn by Consort Zhao, the most favored concubine in the palace! I really believed your lies!"

The neighbors all moved when they heard the noise.

Some came to the gate of the courtyard, some looked over here from over the wall, and some stood on the roof of their own house.

Watch the fun happily.

Lord Lu was punished by his wife again!

This time he was not scolded for his low monthly salary and inability to earn money, but for being so bold as to cheat on his wife.

"Hit him hard, Sister Lu! Hit him hard and teach him a lesson!"

"That's right, that's right. He's already gotten cocky after just a few days in office, and he even dares to lie to you. What if he deceives the emperor and the people in the future? Hurry up and make him obedient, otherwise he will become a bad official!"

"Sister Lu, you look great even without jewelry. You're the prettiest person on these streets. Don't believe any men's lies from now on. Don't accept any jewelry you're given. Just give it to me! I'm ugly, and I rely on jewelry to look good!"

The people living around here are all ordinary people, and they are relatively poor. Lu Guinian's original salary at the Hanlin Academy was too low, and he could only afford to rent a house here to support his family. Recently, he has won the favor of the emperor and can enter and leave the court, but he has not moved away.

The old neighbors loved to see him being beaten by his wife.

Scholars are well-mannered and arrogant, but it's really interesting to see them running away in fear when they are beaten.

Everyone was talking and joking.

It turned out that Lord Lu was beaten today because he had given his wife an extremely beautiful pearl flower a while ago, saying it belonged to Concubine Zhao in the palace.

His wife treated him like a treasure and treated him with great respect.

As a result, the family expenses were insufficient recently, and the salary had not yet been paid, so his wife took the pearl flowers to the pawnshop to do "live pawning" - that is, she first used the pearl flowers as collateral to borrow some money from the pawnshop, and when she had money, she would repay the pawnshop with interest and take the pearl flowers back.

The pawnshop took the pearl flower and took a look at it.

WTF.

It's not jewellery, it's just a low-quality imitation. Since it's a good imitation, I'll lend you a hundred copper coins.

His wife didn't believe the pearls were fake and had a quarrel with the pawnshop owner.

It ended up being a big joke.

When I came back, I sat at the door with a rolling pin, waiting for Lu Guinian to come home.

So when Lord Lu came back from his official business one day, he was chased all over the yard before he could even eat a bite of food.

Alas, how pitiful!

&

"Your Majesty, His Majesty didn't drink any soup today."

Chunxi Palace.

Xiaohui, who had delivered soup to the emperor, came back and reported the situation.

Recently, no matter what the Empress sent, His Majesty would drink it on the spot. After drinking, he would also give the Empress something else, such as food, antiques, and precious jewelry. He was very generous.

But today, when she went to deliver the soup, the emperor was only concerned with reading the memorials. He just said "hmm" lightly, gestured to put down the food box, and let her go.

Fei Wan then asked, "Why, Your Majesty, is you busy today?"

Xiao Hui shook her head. "It seems like he's just pretending to be busy. I don't think the memorial he's reading is important. He just doesn't want to drink the soup."

"Did you eat too much dinner?"

Xiao Hui shook her head again. "I left Chenqian Palace and went to the kitchen to ask. Eunuch Jinshou said that His Majesty didn't eat much tonight, just like the past few days."

It is a serious crime for the kitchen to disclose the emperor's daily life.

But Jin Shou was promoted by Concubine Zhao, so naturally he would be loyal to Chunxi Palace.

He revealed some information in private to help Concubine Zhao maintain her favor, thus consolidating his position.

Fei Wan understood about 70% of what he said: "That is, Your Majesty has listened to the words of the Duke of Zhenguo and has become suspicious."

Xiao Linzi used to be in the imperial court.

After a period of unremitting efforts, they finally captured a young eunuch.

This person was inconspicuous among Cao Bin's many disciples, but he was sharp-eyed and sharp-witted, and beneath his honest appearance hid a lively heart. He was not of the same kind as the group of Cao Bin's adopted son Cui Liang. On the surface, he coaxed them, but secretly had his own ideas.

Xiao Linzi wanted to win him over, and this person wanted to find an opportunity to stand out. After they let down their guard and gained trust, they hit it off.

Today, the Duke of Zhenguo met with the Emperor and said a lot of bad things about Concubine Zhao in private. This young eunuch was standing guard at the palace gate with Cao Bin and vaguely heard a few of his words.

Although he didn't know the whole story, it was enough for Fei Wan to understand what was going on.

The first person to make a fuss about the relationship between Lu Guinian and her was actually the Duke of Zhenguo.

Fei Wan sneered faintly.

She and Lu Guinian exchanged messages in private, knowing that one day they would be discovered, so they made preparations early on, appearing to be hostile to each other, waiting for someone to make trouble so that they could easily deal with it.

Zhuhua was the idea she gave to Lu Guinian in advance.

Oh no, I was discovered by the Duke of Zhenguo!