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

Su Yao knelt on the ground, her body trembling, her eyes full of fear: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I will never dare to do it again!" Her forehead was pressed against the ground, her hands stretched forward, and she kowtowed continuously, leaving red marks on her forehead.

Zhen Huan frowned slightly, her eyes revealing majesty: "Hmph! Su Yao, do you think begging for mercy will help? You stirred up trouble in the harem and almost caused a disaster again!" She took a step forward, looking down at Su Yao, with her arms folded across her chest and a serious expression.

An Lingrong sighed softly, a trace of pity flashed in her eyes, but her tone was still stern: "Master Su Yao, we wanted to give you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. Do you know how many people your actions will harm?" She shook her head gently, her eyes filled with disappointment in Su Yao.

Su Yao raised her head, her face full of tears: "Your Majesty, I was blinded by greed! I just wanted to have a place in the harem, so I did such a stupid thing. Please forgive me this time!" Her lips trembled, and her eyes were full of pleading.

At this time, Chun'er came over and said angrily: "Hmph! Just because you want to have a place, you can hurt others? You are so selfish!" Her little face flushed red, her fists clenched, and she wanted to hit Su Yao twice.

Mei Zhuang also came over, her expression calm but her words forceful: "Su Yao, the peace we have worked hard to maintain in the harem cannot be destroyed by you at will. If I let you off easily this time, won't others follow suit in the future?" She stood beside Zhen Huan and An Lingrong, looking at Su Yao firmly.

Su Yao sat on the ground in despair, her eyes empty: "Then...then how are you going to deal with me?"

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong exchanged a glance, and Zhen Huan spoke slowly, "Considering that this is your first offense and your willingness to admit your mistake is acceptable, I and Concubine An have decided to ground you for a month. You'll have to take care of yourself. If you do it again, I won't let you off lightly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!" Su Yao kowtowed repeatedly as if she had been pardoned.

After this incident, everyone in the harem was talking about it.

"Empress Wan and Empress An are so kind. If it were me, I would not let Su Yao go so easily." said a lady.

"Yes, these two ladies are a blessing to the harem. With them around, we can feel more at ease." Another lady echoed.

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong were walking in the palace. They heard the palace maids talking and smiled at each other.

"Sister, it seems that we handled the situation appropriately this time," An Lingrong said.

"Well, but we still can't let our guard down. We have to keep the harem peaceful." Zhen Huan nodded.

"By the way, sister, the palace has been using a lot of spices recently. We have to go to the spice warehouse to check." An Lingrong suddenly remembered.

"Okay, let's go." Zhen Huan said.

The two men came to the spice warehouse, but found that the manager of the spice warehouse looked panicked.

"What's wrong with you?" Zhen Huan asked.

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened! Some precious spices are lost from the spice warehouse!" the steward replied in panic.

"What? How could it be lost? How did you guard it?" An Lingrong frowned, a hint of anxiety flashing in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, we don't know either! They were still there when we counted yesterday, but we discovered they were missing today." The steward knelt on the ground, trembling.

"Immediately seal off the spice warehouse and don't allow anyone in or out!" Zhen Huan ordered, "We must thoroughly investigate this matter!"

"Yes, your majesty!" The guards immediately took action.

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong began to carefully search the spice warehouse, hoping to find some clues.

"Sister, look here, there are some strange footprints." An Lingrong said, pointing to the footprints on the ground.

"Well, it looks like someone sneaked in." Zhen Huan squatted down and carefully observed the footprints. "We can see if we can find the suspect based on the size and shape of the footprints."

"Your Majesty, I feel these footprints are familiar." said a guard.

"Oh? Have you seen him?" An Lingrong looked at the guard.

"I...I dare not say." The guard hesitated.

"Just tell me what you want, I will pardon you." Zhen Huan said.

"I think these footprints belong to a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department. He often comes to the spice warehouse to deliver things." The guard replied.

"Go and find that eunuch immediately!" Zhen Huan ordered.

Soon, the eunuch was brought in.

"Do you admit your guilt?" Zhen Huan looked at the eunuch sternly.

"Your Majesty, I don't know!" the eunuch answered in panic.

"Hmph! You still dare to quibble! The footprints in the spice warehouse are yours, and you still say you don't know?" An Ling shouted angrily.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have been to the spice warehouse, but I did not steal spices!" The eunuch kowtowed repeatedly.

"Then why did you appear in the spice warehouse, and how do you explain these footprints?" Zhen Huan asked.

"Your Majesty, I... I was ordered to do this. Someone asked me to come to the spice warehouse to get a package. My words do not count, so I dare not disobey!" the eunuch cried.

"Who ordered you to do this?" An Lingrong asked.

"Yes...it was a palace maid. I don't know who she belongs to. She gave me some money and asked me to do something for her." The eunuch replied.

"Do you remember what that palace maid looked like?" Zhen Huan asked.

"I remember it, and I can draw it," said the eunuch.

Based on the eunuch's description, a portrait of the palace maid was drawn. Zhen Huan and An Lingrong took the portrait and asked around in the palace, and finally found a clue.

"Your Majesty, this palace maid is a distant relative of a nanny who was previously with the Queen. I think the remnants of the Queen's followers are unwilling to give in and are here to cause trouble again." A palace maid reported.

"Hmph! These people are really haunting us!" Zhen Huan said angrily, "Keep investigating. We must find everyone involved in this!"

After some investigation, they finally found all those who participated in stealing spices and eliminated another group of the queen's remnants.

"Sister, it seems that although the queen has fallen, her power is like weeds and needs to be cleaned up from time to time." An Lingrong said.

"Yes, we can't give them another chance to disrupt the peace of the harem." Zhen Huan nodded.

As the harem stabilized, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong began to care about the situation outside the palace, especially the spice shop of An Lingrong's mother and Aunt Xiao.

"Sister, I'm a little worried about the spice shop. I've been busy with the affairs of the harem recently and haven't had time to take care of it." An Lingrong frowned.

"Lingrong, if you are worried, we can send someone to check on her," Zhen Huan comforted.

So, Zhen Huan sent a reliable person to check the spice shop.

A few days later, the people who were sent came back.

"My Lady, everything is fine at the spice shop, and business is still booming. But..."

"Just what?" An Lingrong asked hurriedly.

"It's just that there have been some strangers hanging around the spice shop lately, and they look a little suspicious."

"Humph! Looks like someone wants to attack the spice shop again." Zhen Huan's eyes were stern. "We have to find a way to protect the spice shop."

"Sister, I want to go out of the palace and see for myself." An Lingrong said.

"No, Lingrong, you can't leave the palace now. It's too dangerous. We can ask people outside the palace to pay more attention and then find a way to solve it." Zhen Huan dissuaded.

"Then what should we do? The spice shop is the hard work of mother and Aunt Xiao, and there can't be any mistakes." An Lingrong paced anxiously.

"We can contact the government and ask them to secretly protect the spice shop. At the same time, we can also find a way to find out the mastermind behind the scenes in the palace." Zhen Huan said.

So, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong contacted the government to protect the spice shop, and at the same time launched an investigation in the palace.

After some investigation, it was discovered that it was a businessman related to Hua Fei's family who was jealous of the spice shop's business and wanted to sabotage it secretly.

"Hmph! It's these people again, so hateful!" An Lingrong said angrily.

"We can't let them succeed. We have to let the government punish them," Zhen Huan said.

After receiving the news, the government took quick action and arrested the merchant and his men, and the crisis of the spice shop was resolved.

"It's all thanks to my sister this time. If it weren't for you, I really don't know what I would do." An Lingrong said to Zhen Huan gratefully.

"Lingrong, we are sisters, there is no need to say that. What we have to protect is not only the harem, but also everything we cherish," Zhen Huan replied with a smile.

After this, a period of peace descended upon both the harem and the outside world. Zhen Huan and An Lingrong continued to work hard for harmony in the harem, organizing various activities to enhance the relationships between the ladies, while also caring for their families and the people outside the palace.

Once, a poetry conference was held in the palace, and all the ladies in the palace came to participate.

"Sisters, we are holding a poetry competition here today, and everyone can show off their talents." Zhen Huan said with a smile.

"Yes, I hope everyone can have fun." An Lingrong also said.

At the poetry conference, the ladies recited poems and composed lyrics, and the atmosphere was very lively.

"Empress Wan, Empress An, I have a poem to present to you." A lady stood up and said.

"Okay, tell me about it." Zhen Huan nodded.

The young lady recited a poem and won rounds of applause.

At this moment, a little palace maid came running over and whispered a few words in Zhen Huan's ear. Zhen Huan's face changed.

"Sister, what's wrong?" An Lingrong asked.

"News came from outside the palace that a plague is spreading and the situation is critical." Zhen Huan said seriously.

"What? Plague? What should we do?" An Lingrong was shocked.

"We have to find a way immediately. We can't let the plague spread to the palace, and we must also help the people outside the palace." Zhen Huan said.

So, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong took action immediately. They summoned the imperial doctors in the palace to discuss countermeasures.

"My dear doctors, there is a plague outside the palace. We must develop a prescription for prevention and treatment as soon as possible." Zhen Huan said.

"Your Majesty, this plague is coming with all its might. We need time," the imperial physician replied.

"Time is running out, we have to hurry!" An Lingrong said anxiously.

The imperial doctors began to develop prescriptions day and night, while Zhen Huan and An Lingrong organized people in the palace to prepare medicinal materials and epidemic prevention supplies.

At the same time, they also reported the situation to the emperor, who ordered the government to fight the epidemic with all its strength and asked the harem to assist.

After unremitting efforts, the imperial doctors finally developed an effective prescription and began to treat the people outside the palace.

"I hope this plague will pass as soon as possible and the people can be spared from suffering." Zhen Huan looked towards the outside of the palace with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, sister, we must do everything we can to help them." An Lingrong nodded, her eyes revealing determination. She clenched her fists slightly, "This plague is coming with such force, we can't just stand by and watch everyone suffer."