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

Zhen Huan gently pulled Chun Changzai and whispered, "Chun'er, don't get yourself hurt by anger. In this harem, impulsiveness won't solve problems."

Chun Changzai puffed out his cheeks and said, "Sister Huanhuan, how can we let her go so easily when she bullies others like that?"

An Lingrong frowned slightly. "Chun Changzai, Huan'er is right. We need to calm down and think carefully about our countermeasures. I have a feeling there must be something fishy going on. Madam Yu has suddenly become so bold. Someone must be backing her up."

Zhen Huan nodded. "Lingrong is absolutely right. I find it strange, too. Madam Yu may have been somewhat indulgent in the past, but such a blatant false accusation is definitely not something she could orchestrate alone."

At this time, the personal maid Huanbi stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, could it be one of those ladies who are close to Madam Yu? For example, Consort Kang or Consort Qi?"

Zhen Huan pondered for a moment. "Could Concubine Kang and Qi agree? Although they have had dealings with Lady Yu, they don't appear to have the courage or the will to do such things. However, suspicion cannot be ruled out, and we need to send someone to keep a close eye on them."

An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, I've thought of something else. Madam Yu dared to frame us in public today, so she must have been certain we couldn't produce any evidence. Could someone have taught her these false accusations in advance?"

Zhen Huan's eyes lit up. "Lingrong, are you saying someone prepared a story for her? That's quite possible. So where do we start investigating?"

An Lingrong pondered for a moment and said, "I think we should start by investigating the maids and eunuchs around Madam Yu to see if we can find any clues. Maybe they know something."

Zhen Huan replied, "Okay, I'll do as you say. I'll have Liuzhu and Huanbi investigate separately."

Liuzhu and Huanbi took the order and left. A few days later, Liuzhu returned to report, "Your Majesty, I've noticed that Cui'er, Madam Yu's personal maid, has been feeling uneasy lately, and often sneaks off to secluded corners of the Imperial Garden."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong exchanged a glance, and Zhen Huan said, "There must be something wrong with Cui Er. We must find an opportunity to question her alone."

An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, I have a plan. We can pretend to run into Cui'er in the Imperial Garden, then take her to a secluded place and interrogate her thoroughly."

Zhen Huan nodded: "This is a very good plan."

So, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong acted according to the plan. After "accidentally" encountering Cui'er in the Imperial Garden, Zhen Huan whispered, "Cui'er, come over here with me. I have something to ask you."

Cui'er's face changed slightly, but she didn't dare to disobey, so she had to follow Zhen Huan and An Lingrong to a secluded corner.

An Lingrong looked at Cui'er with a sharp gaze: "Cui'er, do you know that your master falsely accused us in front of the Emperor today?"

Cui'er lowered her head and whispered, "My Lady, this servant...this servant knows."

Zhen Huan said sternly, "Do you know if there's someone behind this? If you tell the truth, I might be able to give you a lighter sentence."

Cui Er hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Your Majesty, it was...it was Qi who promised. Qi promised to give my master some benefits and even taught her those false accusations, saying that if she could make the Majesty fall out of favor, there would be more rewards in the future."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong were both surprised. Zhen Huan asked, "It was Qi who agreed! Why would she do that?"

Cui'er said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, Qi Cheng was jealous of the ladies' favor and resentful that they stole the limelight at the last poetry competition, so he came up with this plan."

An Lingrong sneered, "This Qi agree is truly foolish. He thinks he can take advantage of us this way."

Zhen Huan asked, "Cui'er, do you dare to repeat what you said today in front of the Emperor?"

Cui Er fell to her knees with a plop: "Your Majesty, I dare not lie to the Emperor. As long as Your Majesty can protect my life, I am willing to testify."

Zhen Huan said, "Okay, if you can testify truthfully, I will protect you."

Afterwards, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong brought Cui'er to the emperor, told him everything that had happened, and asked Cui'er to testify.

After hearing this, the emperor's face darkened: "How dare Qi agree to be so bold!"

Qi promised to be brought before the emperor and tried to argue: "Your Majesty, I am innocent! It was Cui'er who framed me. I never did this."

The emperor angrily said, "Cui'er has confessed everything, and you still dare to deny it! I am extremely disappointed in you."

In the end, the emperor punished Qi by demoting her to an official girl and confining her to her house for six months.

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong successfully resolved the crisis again. Concubine Chun applauded and said, "Great! This is what happens when she frames her sisters!"

Zhen Huan smiled and said, "Chun'er, in this harem, good and evil will eventually be rewarded. As long as we stick to our original intentions, we won't be afraid of these conspiracies and tricks."

An Lingrong also said, "That's right, Huan'er. However, after what happened, we can't let our guard down and must remain vigilant at all times."

Soon after, news came from the palace that a flower viewing banquet was going to be held. Zhen Huan said to An Lingrong, "Lingrong, I'm afraid this flower viewing banquet might have some plot. We must prepare in advance to avoid being tricked."

An Lingrong nodded, "Huan'er, this time we must carefully select our clothing and accessories. We must show our elegance while not being too ostentatious."

Zhen Huan said, "I've asked the Imperial Household Department to prepare several sets of clothing. As for accessories, Lingrong, do you have any good ideas?"

An Lingrong thought for a moment and said, "I can use my newly made spices to make small incense pendants. Wearing them with clothing will not only be beautiful, but will also give off a unique fragrance."

On the day of the flower viewing banquet, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong dressed up and went there. As soon as they arrived at the banquet, they felt the subtle atmosphere.

When Concubine Xia saw them, she couldn't help but sneer, "Oh, Concubine Xi and Concubine An Lingrong are really putting in a lot of effort today. Are they trying to turn this flower viewing banquet into your exclusive event?"

Before Zhen Huan could respond, An Lingrong whispered, "Xia Changzai, the flower viewing banquet is a time for all the sisters to enjoy the beautiful scenery together. Your words have ruined this wonderful atmosphere."

Xia Changzai snorted, "I think you guys are just restless!"

Zhen Huan no longer paid attention to Concubine Xia and found a place to sit down with An Lingrong.

After a while, the flower viewing banquet officially began. The concubines admired the flowers and talked with each other.

Suddenly, one of the concubines exclaimed: "Oh, why did this flower suddenly wither?"

Everyone was shocked and looked towards the withered flower. Zhen Huan and An Lingrong also felt strange and walked forward to check.

An Lingrong squatted down and carefully observed the flower, frowning. "Huan'er, it looks like someone has tampered with this flower. Someone has applied poison to the base of the flower."

Zhen Huan's expression changed. "Another conspiracy! There's no peace at this flower viewing banquet. Lingrong, can you tell what medicine it is?"

An Lingrong shook her head. "It's unclear at the moment. We need to study it carefully. However, to be able to administer medicine so boldly in this palace, he must be someone who is extremely familiar with the layout of this palace."

At this moment, a young eunuch hurried over and whispered something in the ear of a concubine. The concubine's face changed drastically and she stood up: "Your Majesty, there has been a sudden fire in my palace!"

The emperor frowned and said, "What's going on? Go check it out!"

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong looked at each other, and Zhen Huan said, "Lingrong, I'm afraid someone did this on purpose again. Should we go and take a look?"

An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, don't be impatient. Let's see what happens first. Maybe this is a trap to lure us in."

So they waited there for news. After a while, the young eunuch came back to report that the fire had been put out, and only some clothes and ornaments were lost, but no one was injured.

Zhen Huan breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, it was just a false alarm. But who is behind this?"

An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, things in this palace are always so confusing. However, we will find out sooner or later."

After the flower viewing banquet, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong returned to Yongshou Palace.

Zhen Huan sat down on the chair wearily. "Lingrong, today's flower viewing banquet has been full of twists and turns. First, the flowers were drugged, and then there was a fire in the palace. What exactly is going on?"

An Lingrong sat beside her. "Huan'er, I suspect the same person is responsible for these two things. Their goal is to create chaos at this flower viewing banquet and then pin the blame on us or other concubines."

Zhen Huan said, "But we have no clue, how should we start investigating?"

An Lingrong pondered for a moment. "We can start with the withered flower and see if we can find any clues about who administered the poison. We also need to carefully examine the palace where the water leaked."

Zhen Huan nodded: "Okay, I'll do as you say. I hope we can find the mastermind soon and restore peace to the harem."

Although the future is still full of unknowns and challenges, they do not back down and continue to write their own legendary stories in this harem, moving step by step towards the throne of the harem master.