Seizing the throne, abolishing the adopted son, the imperial concubine rose to prominence

The palace search was so grand that all the concubines in the six palaces of the east and west were alarmed. In just one hour, all the concubines gathered in the front hall of Changchun Palace.

Even Concubine Zheng, who was specially exempted by the emperor, was present.

"I give you my concubine to the Emperor. Please give me your regards, Queen."

Concubine Zheng was dressed in a palace dress with peony brocade, a light-colored shawl with ruyi pattern wrapped around her arm, and a gold cloud-moon crown inlaid with tourmaline beads on her head. Her makeup was also very delicate.

Not only Concubine Zheng, but all the concubines in the palace were wearing pearl hairpins and hairpins, with painted eyebrows and lipsticks, and there was no trace of embarrassment on their bodies.

"Give the imperial concubine a seat."

The emperor didn't say a word at first and let the concubine stand on the ground.

Now, after hearing these gentle words, the excitement on these women's faces cooled.

No matter how carefully they dressed up, the emperor would not be able to see them.

"Your Majesty, except for He Chongyuan from Guanju Palace, everyone else has arrived."

After enduring for two hours, the queen's face remained gentle and calm.

"Cao Zhong."

The emperor called out.

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to search the six palaces and have discovered that, with the exception of the Imperial Concubine, all the other ladies and mistresses have contraceptive drugs in their residences."

Cao Zhong raised his hand to let the eunuchs waiting outside the hall in. He saw that on the trays held by the eunuchs were various items, from sachets and hairpins to cloth, as well as food and drink.

really.

Gu Youning thought to himself.

The faces of the concubines standing below changed drastically when they heard the word "avoid the child".

"That's not the incense burner from my concubine's palace. Someone has tampered with it."

Talented Chen Yufei raised her voice in astonishment.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must help me. This man is so vicious."

Chen Yufei ran to the center of the hall in anger and bowed, saying that the emperor was already cold towards the harem, and she might not even get a turn to sleep with him once every ten days or half a month, and someone actually gave her contraceptive drugs, which was really too much.

After hearing this, the other concubines also stood up and demanded severe punishment for the murderer.

But there was more vigilance in everyone's eyes, because the person who did this was just one of them.

Gu Youning's eyes inadvertently passed over these people, but his mind was actually focused on Concubine Zheng.

These problematic things almost involved the six ministers and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the palace. If they were done by one person, he must be someone in a high position in the palace.

Among the several high-ranking concubines, He Chongyuan came from a humble family. Even if she was favored, Xiao Heng had only been on the throne for half a year, so she probably could not accumulate such a great power in the harem.

Is she the queen from the Cui family or the concubine from the Zheng family?

"In my opinion, none of us are as blessed as the Imperial Concubine. Everyone else has these dirty things, even Fengyi Palace is not immune. Only Cheng'an Palace is clean."

A sweet and charming voice sounded behind Gu Youning.

The concubines who had been whispering and exchanging glances just now suddenly quieted down.

All the concubines present here have been serving the emperor since the Eastern Palace. Not to mention the girls from aristocratic families who have been carefully educated since childhood, even these girls from poor families are rarely rude or stupid.

The one who made such a big move to make the whole harem extinct was probably the ones above. The most likely suspect was Concubine Zheng who was unable to have children due to heart disease.

"What does Lady Lu mean? Are you saying that all these things were done by me?"

Concubine Zheng's beautiful and sharp eyes seemed to be fixed on that man.

"I dare not, but I was awakened just after falling asleep today, and the search also found something filthy and harmful. I am really timid. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

Lady Lu's alluring gaze turned upwards, her face flushed with anxiety, reflecting the long leaf-shaped gold earrings, which were extremely gorgeous.

"Don't talk nonsense. I ordered that the imperial concubine's rest should not be disturbed. There is no need to search Cheng'an Palace."

The emperor sneered at Concubine Lu, then looked gently at Concubine Zheng beside him.

As a result, the concubines in the palace below couldn't help but show bitterness on their faces. They were searched in the palace late at night and had no idea what was going on.

Only now did she realize that the palace was searched because she was suspected. In the emperor's mind, there was only one innocent concubine in the palace.

Concubine Lu closed her mouth with jealousy in her eyes. As she sat down, she caught a glimpse of Gu Youning, who was wearing the emperor's formal attire. She smiled and said, "Sister Gu is serving you today. I wonder what happened here that caused the emperor to order a search of all six palaces?"

Gu Youning had been sitting quietly holding the emperor's outer robe since the concubines came in from various palaces. Now when she heard someone mention her, she did not rush to speak, but instead cast her eyes on the emperor above her.

Xiao Heng saw the plea for help in those bright eyes, and thinking of the woman's anxious and out-of-control look just now, his gaze towards Lady Lu turned cold. "When did it become your turn to make decisions about the harem?"

"No, Your Majesty, I dare not."

Being scolded in front of everyone, Concubine Lu turned pale. In terms of favor and status, she was not as good as Concubine Zheng and He Chongyuan, but these two, one was a sickly woman and the other was pretending to be noble. In terms of sleeping with the emperor, she was the first in the harem.

The emperor also likes to indulge her.

"Immediately issue an imperial decree to all six palaces. All palace maids and eunuchs in the Six Shangs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs who handled these items will be given fifty strokes of the cane and expelled from the palace. The chief officials will be dismissed from their posts, given thirty strokes of the cane, and demoted to menial servants."

The emperor ignored Concubine Lu's opinion and turned his head to give instructions to Cao Zhong.

"Queen, I'll leave the rest of the matter to you to investigate. Remember not to wrong anyone or let anyone off easily."

"Concubine, I obey!"

The queen stood up and responded, her eyes flashing slightly.

When Concubine Zheng on the opposite side heard the emperor's decision, she grabbed the shawl wrapped around her arm inconspicuously.

"Let's all go back."

The emperor pressed his forehead and waved his hand.

"Your Majesty looks very tired. He has an early court tomorrow, so he should rest well. Concubine Gu has to take care of the eldest prince tonight. Why don't you come with me to Cheng'an Palace? I always have a tranquilizing soup in the palace, which will help Your Majesty sleep well."

Concubine Zheng had already withdrawn her hand from the shawl and was now trying to persuade the emperor with a worried look on her face.

"Your Highness's words make sense. State affairs are important. I will make sure to take care of Concubine Gu and the Crown Prince."

The queen also advised.

Although the other concubines wanted to drag the emperor into their own palaces, they did not dare to say anything because of the precedent of Concubine Lu, and they retreated quietly.

The emperor hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

"If Zheng'er continues to feel unwell, have the palace maid come and report."

When he reached Gu Youning, Xiao Heng helped the woman who was performing the ceremony to stand up and whispered something to her.

"Concubine knows."

Gu Youning subconsciously grabbed the emperor's sleeve and paused before letting go.

Xiao Heng paused for a moment.

"If the eldest prince needs help, please have Concubine Gu send someone to Cheng'an Palace as soon as possible. I will definitely instruct the palace servants."

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Concubine."

Gu Youning seemed to be oblivious to the cold gaze and expressed his gratitude sincerely.

The queen behind her held the hand of the palace maid and smiled gracefully.