The Legend of Zhen Huan: Rebirth of An Lingrong: Counterattack to Become the Queen Mother

Zhen Huan gazed into An Lingrong's eyes and said firmly, "Lingrong, let's first find a way to get close to Lipin's personal maid. I've heard she's very loyal, so perhaps we can start that way."

An Lingrong nodded slightly. "Huan'er, this very concept of love and righteousness can also be her weak spot. We must make her understand that if she continues to persist in her delusion, she would be truly unfaithful to Concubine Li."

Zhen Huan thought for a moment and said, "I think we can find an opportunity to meet her alone, starting with calling her sister and testing her opinion. What do you think?"

An Lingrong was a little apprehensive: "It's good to meet her alone, but if she gets nasty or starts yelling, won't we be in a passive position?"

Zhen Huan smiled softly, "Lingrong, don't worry. I'll arrange everything and have people stationed at the meeting place in advance to ensure everything goes smoothly. Furthermore, I'll treat her with sincerity and let her know we have no ill intentions."

An Lingrong was still a little worried: "Huan'er, people's hearts are hard to predict. Even so, we must be careful and cautious."

A few days later, Zhen Huan found an excuse and asked the eunuch to take Lipin's personal maid to a remote palace.

Seeing the maid, Zhen Huan said in a gentle voice, "You're here, sister. I know you're loyal to Concubine Li, but now that Concubine Li has been banished to the cold palace, she's made a serious mistake. If you continue to protect her, you'll only put her in a worse situation. You know, once you get involved in the affairs of the harem, you'll often get stuck deeper and deeper."

The maid fell to her knees with a plop. "Empress Xi, I don't know what you are talking about. If you want to punish me, I have nothing to say, but please don't involve Concubine Li."

An Lingrong stepped forward and gently helped the maid to her feet. "Why are you doing this? We don't mean to embarrass you. We simply want to find out the truth and perhaps help alleviate Concubine Li's guilt. Don't you want to give her a chance to reform?"

The maid raised her head, tears in her eyes: "Empress An Lingrong, I really don't know the truth. I only know that Concubine Li has been kind to me, and I cannot betray her."

Zhen Huan sighed, "You know, if the person behind this stirs up trouble again and harms more people, the blame will be placed on Concubine Li. Then, she will be truly doomed. If you tell us what you know, we can plead for Concubine Li in front of the Emperor and spare her some suffering."

The maid hesitated, biting her lip. "My Lady, I am really just a servant. What can I know?"

An Lingrong looked at her and said softly, "You've been with Concubine Li for many years. You must know who she associates with closely. Are there any unusual behaviors or objects? Even the smallest thing could be the key."

The maid was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Your Majesty, I only remember that there was a period of time when Concubine Li often met secretly with a young eunuch. Every time the eunuch came, he would bring an exquisite box with him, but I never saw what was in the box."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong exchanged a glance, and Zhen Huan hurriedly asked, "What does that young eunuch look like? Can you still recognize him?"

The maid shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, that young eunuch looked ordinary. I only remember that he had a small mole on his left eyebrow."

An Lingrong said to Zhen Huan, "Huan'er, with this characteristic, it shouldn't be difficult to find him. We can ask the Imperial Household Department to investigate."

Zhen Huan nodded: "Okay. You told us all this today, which is a wise move. We will definitely keep our promise. If we can help Concubine Li, we will not treat you unfairly."

The maid thanked her and left. Zhen Huan said to An Lingrong, "Lingrong, it seems this matter is getting more and more complicated. There must be someone behind this little eunuch."

An Lingrong frowned. "Huan'er, no matter who it is, we must find him. As long as the harem is in turmoil, we will never be at peace."

Some time later, news came from the Imperial Household Department that the young eunuch had been found, and Zhen Huan and An Lingrong immediately rushed there.

Zhen Huan looked at the young eunuch and said sternly, "Do you admit your guilt? You and Concubine Li secretly colluded to murder me and Empress An Lingrong. Confess the truth now!"

The young eunuch trembled with fear: "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I was just following orders. The other servants really don't know anything!"

An Lingrong sneered, "Following orders? Whose orders? If you don't tell me, today will be your death!"

The young eunuch cried, "My Lady, it's Consort Jing. Consort Jing is jealous of the two ladies' favor, so she ordered Consort Li to use spices to harm someone, and she also said that if the conspiracy is exposed, she will take care of it."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong were both shocked. Zhen Huan's eyes widened in disbelief, "Concubine Jing? How could it be her? During those years when I went to Ganlu Temple, she was the one who helped take care of Long Yue. I always thought she was someone I could trust, but I never thought she would do such a thing!"

An Lingrong also frowned and said, "Huan'er, I didn't expect this either. But this little eunuch has confessed, it seems this matter is not simple. But we can't just go to Concubine Jing to settle the score based on his one-sided statement. We must first find some evidence so that she can't deny it."

Zhen Huan calmed down and nodded. "You're right. We can start with this young eunuch and see if we can find any evidence of his contact with Concubine Jing, such as letters or something like that."

So they began to search the eunuch's residence carefully. Sure enough, under the eunuch's bed, they found an unsent letter, which vaguely mentioned Concubine Jing's instructions and the source of the spices.

Zhen Huan took the letter and said to An Lingrong, "Lingrong, with this letter, Concubine Jing will have no excuses. Let's go see the Emperor now."

After meeting the emperor, Zhen Huan presented the letter and cried, "Your Majesty, Concubine Jing has evil intentions. She has instructed Concubine Li to use spices to harm me and An Lingrong, and she is also trying to disturb the peace of the harem. Please, Your Majesty, help me!"

After reading the letter, the emperor's face darkened: "How could such a thing happen! I will not let you off lightly!"

Concubine Jing was brought before the emperor. After seeing the letter, she tried to argue: "Your Majesty, someone is framing me! I am innocent!"

An Lingrong stepped forward and said, "Madam Jingfei, this letter was found in the young eunuch's residence, and he has already confessed. How can you deny it?"

Concubine Jing's face turned pale, but she still said stubbornly, "This... this must be a deliberate frame-up. Your Majesty, please be vigilant!"

The emperor snorted coldly, "Jing Fei, you still dare to quibble! I used to think you were quite honest, but I didn't expect you to be so insidious and cunning!"

Concubine Jing fell to her knees with a plop, tears streaming down her face. "Your Majesty, I am truly wronged. I am truly loyal to Your Majesty, how could I have done such a thing? Someone must be jealous of my relationship with Zhen Huan and is deliberately framing me!"

Zhen Huan couldn't help but say, "Sister Jingfei, do you have any friendship with me? If we did, why would you instruct Concubine Li to use spices to harm Lingrong and me? During the years that Longyue was by your side, I thought you treated her sincerely, but I didn't expect you to be so cruel!"

Concubine Jing opened her mouth, but was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to refute.

The emperor was furious and slammed the table. "That's enough! Concubine Jing, stop quibbling. Because of our past friendship, I won't banish you to the cold palace. I will, however, confine you to house arrest and reflect on your mistakes, and reduce your salary. You'll have to take care of yourself!"

Concubine Jing collapsed to the ground in despair, crying and begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, please have mercy on me..."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong successfully resolved the crisis again, and their friendship became more indestructible through these hardships.

Zhen Huan looked at An Lingrong and said, "Lingrong, I am so grateful for your help along the way. Without you, I really don't know how I would have coped with the numerous conspiracies in the harem."

An Lingrong smiled and said, "Huan'er, we are sisters. We should share joys and sorrows. As long as we work together, we can overcome any storm in this harem."

However, they know very well that the struggle in the harem will never stop and new challenges may appear at any time, but they never back down and still move forward firmly towards the throne of the master of the harem, writing their own legendary chapter on this thorny road.

Please note that the plot setting here is quite different from the original novel, and the image of Concubine Jing in the original novel is not like this.