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

On the day of the palace banquet, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong attended in their finest attire, sitting at the upper seats with dignified demeanor. Lingxi watched curiously from the side, while Fu Heng and his guards stood vigilantly on all sides.

Zhen Huan smiled and said to everyone, "Today is a palace banquet, and all the sisters are gathered together. It is indeed a grand event. I hope everyone enjoys it."

Everyone expressed their gratitude.

After three rounds of drinking, with singing and dancing in full swing, a young eunuch suddenly rushed in with a panicked look on his face, fell to his knees with a plop, and shouted, "Old Buddha, Empress Dowager An, something bad has happened!"

Zhen Huan frowned slightly and asked, "Why are you so panicked?"

The young eunuch trembled and said, "Your Majesty, I have detected a strange fragrance outside the palace, and several palace maids and eunuchs have fainted after smelling it!"

An Lingrong's eyes glared. "It must be the incense from those concubines! Fu Heng, have you found out the source?"

Fu Heng stepped forward, clasped his fists, and said, "Empress Dowager, I have sent people to investigate. The initial assessment is that it came from the direction of the western corner tower. I will go and check it out right away."

Zhen Huan nodded: "Go quickly! We must not let this incense spread."

Lingxi grabbed Zhen Huan's sleeve with some fear: "Master Buddha, what should we do?"

Zhen Huan comforted him softly, "Don't be afraid, Lingxi. I and Queen Mother An are here."

At this moment, a concubine stood up in feigned surprise and said, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager An, how could there be an aphrodisiac incense at such a nice palace banquet? Could it be that someone is deliberately trying to frame us sisters?"

An Lingrong looked at her coldly, "Don't be so hasty to distance yourself from this, Madam Dowager. This matter has not yet been thoroughly investigated. This palace and the Empress Dowager will bring justice to everyone."

Another concubine also echoed: "That's right, this matter of the incense can be a big deal or a small one. If we can't find out, I'm afraid everyone in the harem will be in danger."

Zhen Huan glanced at everyone and said, "Sisters, please don't panic. This palace and Empress Dowager An will handle it properly."

Fu Heng returned quickly, his expression grave. "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager An, I discovered a secret compartment in the west corner tower. There's still some remaining incense inside, but... I didn't see anyone suspicious."

An Lingrong thought for a moment and said to Fu Heng, "Go and bring here all the palace maids and eunuchs who were on duty near the west corner tower today. I will interrogate them personally."

Fu Heng took the order and left.

Anarchun whispered to An Lingrong, "Queen Mother, this incense seems a little special, not like an ordinary incense. I'm worried there's something fishy going on."

An Lingrong responded in a low voice: "Princess Chun, do you have a way to cure this poisonous incense?"

Anarchun nodded: "I can give it a try, but it will take some time to prepare."

An Lingrong said, "Then go and prepare quickly, just in case."

After a while, Fu Heng came in with several palace maids and eunuchs. They were so frightened that they trembled and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Zhen Huan said sternly, "I'm asking you, who placed this incense in the corner tower? Tell the truth, or I'll punish you severely!"

A palace maid cried and said, "Your Majesty, we really don't know. We were just on duty nearby and didn't see anything."

Another eunuch also shouted: "Her Majesty, we are innocent!"

An Lingrong carefully observed their expressions, then said to Fu Heng, "Fu Heng, take them away first and lock them up separately. I will interrogate them in detail later."

After Fu Heng left with the palace maids and eunuchs, Lingxi suddenly said, "Old Buddha, Empress Dowager An, could it be that someone deliberately ordered them to do this and then hid themselves?"

Zhen Huan glanced at Lingxi approvingly: "Lingxi is right. Fu Heng!"

Fu Heng returned and asked, "What instructions does the old Buddha have?"

Zhen Huan said, "You should secretly investigate to see if anyone has had contact with these palace maids and eunuchs recently, or if they have any unusual behavior."

Fu Heng replied, "Yes, Lord Buddha."

Just then, a commotion erupted outside. Fu Heng went out to investigate again, and upon returning, he reported, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager An, several ministers' families are outside the palace gates, seeking an audience. They've heard about the incense in the palace and are worried about their daughters' safety."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong exchanged a glance, and Zhen Huan said, "Let them wait in the side hall. I will go see them after I have dealt with this matter."

An Lingrong said to Anar Chun, "Princess Chun, how are your preparations going?"

Anarchun replied, "Queen Mother, everything is almost ready. Just give me a little more time and I will be able to prepare the antidote."

However, in the midst of this chaos, another young eunuch came to report that some strange symbols and powders were found among the flowers in the imperial garden, which seemed to be related to the aphrodisiac incense.

Zhen Huan sighed helplessly, "This matter of the aphrodisiac incense is becoming increasingly complicated, Huan'er. It seems we must be extremely vigilant in dealing with it."

An Lingrong clenched her fists and said, "Don't worry, Empress Dowager. No matter who is behind this, we won't let them succeed."