Ping Zhao Lu

Xu Zhouye was stunned.

Queen Mother Jiang's expression suddenly changed, her eyes were full of disbelief, and she was speechless for a moment, unable to refute.

Seeing this, the maid Ke Xin hurried forward and knelt on the ground, pleading with the emperor, "Your Majesty, please do not do this. This matter originated in Fengluan Palace and has nothing to do with the Empress Dowager. Even if you want to search the palace, you should not involve Cining Palace."

Chu Yunxiao glanced at her coldly, "When is it your turn to speak too much here? Could it be that you want to tell me how to act?"

"I dare not!" Ke Xin was terrified. "I am just worried about the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager..."

"Zhao Dequan!" Chu Yunxiao's face was gloomy. "Drag this ignorant slave out. I don't want to see her again."

"Yes." Zhao Dequan waved his hand, signaling the palace servants on his left and right to drag the man up.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life!" Ke Xin was panicked and hurriedly turned to look for help from Queen Mother Jiang who was sitting in the main seat.

"Emperor, what do you mean?"

Queen Mother Jiang's expression was gloomy. "Kexin is my maid, how can you treat her so casually? Do you even take me seriously?"

"She speaks rudely and doesn't know the rules and etiquette. My mother doesn't know how to discipline her servants, so I naturally have to share her worries." Chu Yunxiao said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, please calm down." Xu Zhouye, who had been silent for a long time, spoke at the right time. "She was also concerned about her mother and lost her composure in a moment of anxiety. Your Majesty, please spare her life as this is her first offense."

Chu Yunxiao thought for a moment after hearing this, and then agreed to Xu Zhouye's request, "The Queen is right, then punish her to do hard labor in the laundry department."

Xu Zhouye smiled slightly: "Your Majesty is wise."

Queen Mother Jiang's face was extremely gloomy. The couple sang the same tune, one played the good cop and the other played the bad cop, treating her like dirt. It was really unbearable!

She took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, and said in a deep voice: "Forget it, let's do as the emperor says."

Although she was unwilling, she knew that it was not appropriate to confront Chu Yunxiao head-on at this time. It would not be too late to get him back when she found an opportunity later.

However, Chu Yunxiao didn't give up. He narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold glint flashing across them, and continued, "The palace servants around Queen Mother are becoming increasingly unruly. How about I send some smarter people to serve Queen Mother to avoid any more trouble in the future?"

His tone was calm, sounding more like an order than a negotiation.

Upon hearing this, Queen Mother Jiang could no longer suppress the anger in her heart. Just as she was about to explode, she suddenly remembered her nephew who had not yet returned to the court, so she had to suppress her anger.

She forced a smile and said calmly, "The Emperor is thoughtful, but I like peace and quiet, and too many people would disturb the tranquility."

"Alright." Chu Yunxiao agreed, and then added, "However, I hope that Queen Mother will not be too lenient, lest our reputation be ruined by those servants who don't know the rules and regulations."

*

When the concubines in each palace received the emperor's order to search the palace, they all looked shocked and had no idea why.

Only Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu Gui knew the reason.

When Concubine Xian heard the news, a look of ugliness appeared on her dignified face.

Xie Yushu, on the other hand, was waiting patiently for a good show to begin. She placed melon seeds and rice wine in the palace and invited the palace maids around her to enjoy them together.

Zhilan was puzzled. "Your Majesty, you seem very...excited?"

Xie Yushu said while cracking some melon seeds, "I'm so delighted to have been able to make that bitch, the virtuous concubine, fall flat on her face. I wish I could stand on the city wall, beat drums and gongs, and let the world know!"

Zhilan: "But Your Majesty, how did you know this matter was related to Concubine Xian?"

Xie Yushu raised her lips, her face full of mystery as she said, "From the first time I saw the Queen, I knew...that little bitch, Concubine Xian, had finally hit a wall."

"..."

I thought my master would say something amazing, but I never expected it to be... this.

The master really hated the virtuous concubine.

However, when the new emperor ascended the throne, the court was in turmoil, dominated by the Empress Dowager's faction. Consort Xian, siding with the Empress Dowager, had always regarded her master as a thorn in her side. She then suddenly reported her master's affair with a guard, leading to the guard's execution at the Empress Dowager's order. By the time her master learned of the affair, it was too late. The Empress Dowager had single-handedly handled all the actions, leaving her no opportunity to rebut.

Not only that, the virtuous concubine's father also falsely accused the master's father of corruption and bribery, threw him into the imperial prison, and eventually tortured him to death.

If the Empress Dowager had not taken into consideration that her master was a person favored by the Emperor and had not reluctantly kept him to please the Emperor, she would never have allowed him to survive until now.

Zhilan sighed deeply.

Xie Yushu didn't notice her actions and was absorbed in cracking melon seeds.

She thought to herself, if Chu Yunxiao had not saved her life back then, she would not be able to stay and see the retribution of the virtuous concubine.

However, Chu Yunxiao saved her life on certain conditions.

The reason for keeping her in the palace was simply to check and balance the harem. When necessary, she would be a chess piece at the emperor's disposal.

*

After nearly an hour of rigorous search, we finally got the result.

Queen Mother Jiang looked solemn as she sat waiting for the guards' report.

Chu Yunxiao and Xu Zhouye on the side had calm expressions, as if they didn't care about all this at all.

"Your Majesty, nothing unusual has been found in Fengluan Palace, nor in the other palaces. Only one item was found in Noble Lady Ye's palace."

The guard held the box and spoke respectfully.

When Queen Mother Jiang heard this, her expression suddenly changed.

Her eyes were as sharp as lightning, and she stared at the guard as he handed the things to Zhao Dequan.

Under the gaze of everyone, Zhao Dequan carefully opened the box and saw a box of white powder inside.

Looking at its appearance, it is difficult to tell what it is.

Zhao Dequan brought it close and sniffed it, then his expression began to change. He breathed with some difficulty. Even someone who knew nothing about pharmacology could immediately understand what this thing was.

Zhao Dequan hurriedly closed the box, then knelt on the ground, exclaiming in surprise, "Your Majesty, this, this is an aphrodisiac incense."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically.

Xu Zhouye's hands on his knees bent slightly involuntarily.

Chu Yunxiao's face was as cold as ice. "Bring Lady Ye here immediately. I want to interrogate her personally!"

"Yes." Zhao Dequan accepted the order and withdrew.

Not long after, Concubine Ye entered the hall under the guidance of the eunuch. She was pushed to her knees with a confused look on her face. She looked around in panic, and finally her eyes fell on the emperor.

She said with a look of grievance, "Your Majesty, I don't know what crime I have committed to cause Your Majesty to make such a fuss. I am truly terrified."

"You still have the nerve to ask." Chu Yunxiao's face was gloomy. He smashed the box in the eunuch's hand at her hard. She was so frightened that she subconsciously stepped back.

She glanced at the small object shaped like an incense burner at her feet and was immediately shocked. Then she forced herself to be calm and said, "Your Majesty, what is this?"

Concubine Ye smiled bitterly and said, "I don't understand what Your Majesty means."

Seeing that she was determined to play dumb, Xu Zhouye couldn't help but say, "This is the aphrodisiac incense we found in your palace, Noble Lady Ye. Such obscene things are strictly prohibited in the palace. How do you explain this?"

"I...your concubine, I really don't know. I guess, I guess someone deliberately framed me. I am innocent, Your Majesty." Concubine Ye cried.

"You still dare to quibble?" Chu Yunxiao's voice was as cold as ice. "Drag her out and beat her until she confesses."

"No... no, Your Majesty, spare me!" Concubine Ye kowtowed repeatedly, "Yes, it was given to me by the virtuous concubine. She said, she said that as long as I have this thing, I will gain Your Majesty's favor... I was confused for a moment, please spare me, Your Majesty!"

"Shut up!" Queen Mother Jiang was furious. "The virtuous concubine has always been docile and would never do such a despicable thing. But you, on the other hand, are trying to frame the virtuous concubine with fabricated lies. Your crime is even greater than mine!"

Concubine Ye had a hard time speaking out her grievances. She really had no evidence to prove that it was Concubine Xian who ordered it. It was a pity that she had been so confused in the beginning. If she had not been obsessed with gaining the emperor's favor, she would not have ended up in this situation.

It feels like this when you can't defend yourself.

"Noblewoman Ye has behaved inappropriately and stirred up trouble, causing unrest within the palace. She is demoted to a commoner and, effective immediately, will be banished to the cold palace."

Following Chu Yunxiao's order, Ye was ruthlessly dragged out by the palace servants.

For a moment, there was silence in the hall.

After a long moment, Queen Mother Jiang put away her fierce aura and said calmly, "I was impulsive and mistakenly blamed the Queen. Since this matter has nothing to do with the Queen, let's end it here. I am also a little tired and need to rest."

Xu Zhouye raised his lips and chuckled, "Your Majesty, your words are too serious. This is such a trivial matter, I will naturally not take it to heart. Since Your Majesty wants to rest, then I will take my leave."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Chu Yunxiao, bowed casually, and then walked out of the Cining Palace.

There seemed to be a smile on Chu Yunxiao's stern face.

He knew that his queen was in a bad mood.

After returning to Fengluan Palace, Xu Zhouye's restless heart could not calm down.

Chu Yunxiao was the emperor, and he was the queen, so he could not avoid sharing a husband with the concubines. He felt sour at the thought of this.

If it were in his previous life, he would have been more open-minded.

But now...

He selfishly wanted Chu Yunxiao to belong to him alone.

"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?" Qinghe asked worriedly.

His Highness's expression seemed to have been not very good since the incident with the aphrodisiac incense.

"It's okay." Xu Zhouye said hypocritically.

At this time, Su Ming hurried into the hall, "Your Highness, Master Rong has woken up."

Xu Zhouye was indifferent. "Well, send more people to keep an eye on him. If he causes any more trouble, I will punish him severely. And those imperial doctors..."

Xu Zhouye pondered for a moment, then continued, "Go tell His Majesty that I cannot make the decision on this matter on my own. I ask His Majesty to make the final decision."

"Yes." Su Ming responded and retreated.