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

Zhen Huan frowned, her eyes full of worry. She paced back and forth in the palace, her steps quick and heavy: "Lingrong, this incident is by no means accidental. There must be a big fish behind this!" She stopped suddenly and looked at An Lingrong, her eyes as sharp as a sword.

An Lingrong sat on a chair, her hands resting lightly on the armrests, her fingers tapping rhythmically, her expression solemn. "Sister, I think so too. Those assassins were able to sneak into the palace so easily. There must be someone colluding with them from inside and outside." She frowned slightly, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes. "We must find the person behind this as soon as possible!"

"Yes! We can't let the harem fall into panic again." Zhen Huan walked to An Lingrong and held her hand tightly. "We need to rearrange the patrol routes and increase the number of guards, especially in those remote corners." There was determination in her eyes, and her hands unconsciously exerted force.

"Yes, sister. And you must tell the guards to be vigilant and not let go of any suspicious people." An Lingrong nodded, her eyes fixed firmly on Zhen Huan. "And those palace maids and eunuchs, you must also tell them to pay attention to the movements around them and report any situation immediately."

At this time, Chun'er ran in hurriedly, her little face flushed red, and she said breathlessly: "Sisters, I just heard... some strange footprints were found in the flowers over in the Imperial Garden!" Her eyes were wide open, full of horror.

"Strange footprints?" Zhen Huan raised her eyebrows. "Let's go and take a look!"

The three of them arrived at the Imperial Garden and saw several guards gathered around the flowers. Zhen Huan stepped forward with a dignified look on her face. "Where are the footprints?"

A guard pointed to the flowers and said, "Empress Wan, it's right here."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong squatted down to examine the footprints. They looked like a man's, and the pattern on the soles was unusual. An Lingrong frowned, "These footprints don't look like those of someone in the palace. They look more like those of someone from outside the palace."

"Could it be that someone outside the palace has bribed a hit man?" Zhen Huan's eyes flashed with anger. "How audacious!"

"Sister, we have to follow this clue." An Lingrong stood up and dusted off her skirt. "Maybe we can find clues to the mastermind behind this."

"Chun'er, go and invite Concubine Jing and Sister Meizhuang, and we will discuss it together." Zhen Huan ordered.

Chun'er took the order and left. Soon, Jingpin and Meizhuang arrived.

"Concubine Wan, Concubine An, what happened?" asked Concubine Jing, her eyes full of concern.

Zhen Huan told her about the footprints, and Mei Zhuang frowned, "This is troublesome. If it's someone outside the palace, it will be even more difficult to investigate."

"No matter how difficult it is, we can't let these people go." Jingpin said sternly, "They are challenging the order of the harem!"

"We can start with the guards at the palace gate and ask them if anyone suspicious has entered or left recently," An Lingrong suggested.

"Okay, let's do it." Zhen Huan nodded.

Everyone arrived at the palace gate and questioned the guards. One guard recalled, "My dear ladies, a few nights ago, a truck carrying vegetables came in. We felt something was a little strange, as if there was something hidden under the truck, but we checked and found nothing unusual."

"Humph! There must be something wrong!" Zhen Huan shouted angrily, "How could you be so careless!"

The guards were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please forgive us. We know we are wrong."

"Now is not the time to assign blame. Think carefully about what's so special about that car?" An Lingrong asked.

"The cart... there's mud on the wheels, like it's been on a long journey, and the horse looks tired," the guard replied.

"It seems that they hid the people in the car and transported them into the palace." Mei Zhuang said.

"Let's follow this clue and find those people!" Zhen Huan ordered.

After some investigation, they found a clue in a small village outside the palace. The villagers said that they had seen several strangers sneaking around in the dilapidated temple outside the village a few days ago.

Zhen Huan and the others rushed to the ruined temple with their guards and indeed found some clues. There were some weapons and night clothes in the ruined temple, as well as a letter with the words "After the task is completed, there will be a generous reward." But there was no signature.

"These people are so cunning that they didn't leave any useful clues." Chun'er stomped her feet angrily.

"Don't be anxious, Chun'er. The paper of this letter is very special, as if it is only available in the palace." An Lingrong looked at the letter carefully, a gleam in her eyes.

"You mean, this was done by someone in the palace?" asked Concubine Jing.

"It's very likely. Let's go back to the palace and start the investigation from the letter." Zhen Huan said.

After returning to the palace, they searched all the palaces to inquire about the source of the letter paper. Finally, they learned from a young palace maid that this kind of letter paper was provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a new lady in the palace.

"Which young lady?" Zhen Huan's eyes narrowed.

"Yes...it's Concubine Lin." The little palace maid answered tremblingly.

Zhen Huan and the others arrived at Lin Changzai's palace. When Lin Changzai saw them, her face turned pale: "Empress Wan, Empress An, why are you here?"

"Mrs. Lin, why did you send people to assassinate me and Concubine An?" Zhen Huan glared at her, her eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

"Your Majesty, I...I didn't do that!" Lin Changzai explained in panic.

"Hmph! You still dare to quibble? This is the letter I found here, and it's the same as the letter left by the assassin!" An Lingrong took out the letter and threw it on the ground.

When Concubine Lin saw the letter, she collapsed to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I was forced to do this. Someone threatened the lives of my family members."

"Who is it?" Zhen Huan asked loudly.

"Yes... it's a mysterious man. I don't know who he is. I only know that he asked me to do this, otherwise he would kill my whole family." Lin Changzai said crying.

"It seems that there is someone behind this." Mei Zhuang frowned.

"No matter who it is, we will not let them go!" Zhen Huan clenched her fists, her eyes determined.

They continued to pursue the mysterious man's clues and set up a dragnet in the palace. Finally, late one night, the guards caught a suspicious man near the cold palace.

After interrogation, it was learned that he was a close confidant of the deposed queen. He was unwilling to accept defeat and wanted to take revenge on Zhen Huan and An Lingrong, so he planned this series of conspiracies.

"Hmph! You people are truly stubborn!" Zhen Huan shouted angrily, "Throw him into prison and keep him under strict guard!"

After the crisis was resolved, the harem returned to peace. Zhen Huan and An Lingrong breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew that the struggle in the harem would never stop.

"Sister, although we have overcome the difficulties this time, there will be more challenges in the future." An Lingrong looked at Zhen Huan with a hint of fatigue in her eyes.

"Yes, Lingrong. But as long as we sisters are united, there is nothing to be afraid of." Zhen Huan held An Lingrong's hand and said with a smile.

"Well, we must continue to protect the peace of the harem and not let those conspiracies and tricks succeed." An Lingrong nodded.

In this harem, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong are like two lighthouses, illuminating the darkness of the harem with their kindness and wisdom. Their legendary stories will be circulated forever in the harem and become the hope and strength in the hearts of everyone in the harem.

As the days passed, Zhen Huan and An Lingrong remained busy. They cared about the lives of the palace maids and eunuchs, and mediated conflicts between the ladies. Under their management, the harem became more and more harmonious.

One day, Chun'er came running over excitedly and said, "Sisters, I have a great idea! We can hold a banquet in the palace and invite all the ladies to attend. We can play games together and strengthen our relationship."

"This is a good idea, Chun'er. The harem hasn't been so lively for a long time." Zhen Huan said with a smile.

"Well, we can prepare some interesting games, such as guessing riddles, pitching pots, etc." An Lingrong also nodded in agreement.

So, they began to prepare for the banquet. The palace maids and eunuchs were busy setting up the venue, preparing food and game props.

On the day of the banquet, the palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and it was bustling with activity. The ladies were all dressed in beautiful clothes and were laughing and talking happily.

"Sisters, let's have fun today and forget about our worries!" Zhen Huan said to everyone with a smile while standing on the stage.

"Good!" The ladies cheered in unison.

The girls actively participated in the lantern riddle guessing session. Chun Er held a lantern riddle and excitedly shouted, "Sisters, I guessed it! This lantern riddle is..." Her eyes sparkled and her face was full of smiles.

During the game of throwing pots, Mei Zhuang displayed superb skills and won rounds of applause.

"Sister Mei Zhuang, you are so awesome!" the ladies exclaimed in admiration.

The whole banquet was filled with a joyful atmosphere. Zhen Huan and An Lingrong looked at this scene with great relief in their hearts.

"Sister, I am really happy to see such harmony in the harem." An Lingrong said softly to Zhen Huan.

"Yes, Lingrong. This is the result of our hard work." Zhen Huan replied with a smile.

However, in a corner of the banquet, a little palace maid had a strange look in her eyes. She quietly left the banquet, as if she was plotting some new conspiracy...