Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

The Third Princess watched her mother release all her emotions with a faint smile: "The Fourth Prince is of humble origin and is only fit to be our open chess piece. The open chess piece is responsible for attracting all firepower. Now that the open chess piece is useless, it is time for the dark chess piece to appear!"

Emperor Shenwu felt much better by the evening and did not want to let too many people stay in Qianzheng Hall.

In order to let Emperor Shenwu have a good rest, the prince took the initiative to receive several royal relatives, princes, and important civil and military officials who came to pay their respects to Emperor Shenwu in the afternoon. He had been accustomed to staying in Qianzheng Hall since he was a child and was familiar with court affairs. After seeing everyone off one by one, it was already dark.

Emperor Shenwu had no appetite the whole day, and he felt very annoyed seeing so many people hanging around in front of him.

When the prince returned to his bedroom, he met Li Xiang, who was trying to persuade Emperor Shenwu to have some food with a bitter face. The third prince and the fifth prince followed suit.

Emperor Shenwu was extremely annoyed: "Shut up, Chengluo, Chengrui, you don't have to guard me anymore! I'm much better now."

The Third Prince said helplessly, "Father, if this son and I leave now, tomorrow the Imperial Censor will accuse us of being unfilial. Father, please consider it as a way to protect us from being scolded. You should keep us for a few days! And at least you should have something to eat!"

The Crown Prince walked in, and the Third and Fifth Princes hurriedly saluted. The Crown Prince gave them a false hand and said, "No need to be so polite!"

"Father, my Third and Fifth Brothers have also been on guard for a whole day. Let them rest first! Your son will chat with you for a while."

Emperor Shenwu asked, "Have all those ministers left?"

The prince nodded and said, "Uncle Ding and General Qian just left. They wanted to see the emperor, but I persuaded them to leave."

Emperor Shenwu said, "Forget it. I'll see them tomorrow! Chengluo, Chengrui, please leave!"

The Third and Fifth Princes could only retreat to the side hall. They had been guarding the Shenwu Emperor the entire time. They were exhausted, especially mentally, as they had to be on edge the entire time. The Shenwu Emperor's unpredictable mood only made them even more restless! As soon as he left the bedroom, the Fifth Prince breathed a sigh of relief. It was simply because his father's pressure was too great.

As the two of them left Qianzheng Hall, they saw several palace servants carrying food and drinks into the hall. Li Xiang warned them, "Be careful!"

The Third Prince smiled and asked, "Eunuch Li, does Father want to have some food?"

His father had been very impatient just now, but Li Xiang smiled and replied, "These were ordered by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He said to prepare some light meals, and Your Majesty agreed!"

The third prince remained expressionless, but his heart was filled with hatred.

Li Xiang quickly added, "Your Highnesses have worked hard all day. I will immediately arrange for meals to be delivered to the side hall for you."

The fifth prince touched his belly, thanked the third prince together, and then returned to the side hall.

On the second day, Emperor Shenwu summoned more people than on the first day. Those civil and military ministers who were usually serious, obedient, and rebellious, as long as they had a number, ran to the palace to ask to see Emperor Shenwu. Emperor Shenwu selected some people, and it took a whole morning. Now, most of the ministers of the previous dynasty were relieved, knowing that the emperor's dragon body would recover soon.

Emperor Shenwu himself couldn't stand it anymore and was in an extremely irritable mood. On the morning of the third day, he forced the imperial doctors to check his pulse and said that he had recovered. He ordered all the princes, princesses and concubines in the side hall to be sent out of Qianzheng Hall. Now Qianzheng Hall became quiet. Only the crown prince stayed for another day. He and Emperor Shenwu briefly reported some scenes of the sea battle. Looking at the crown prince who was talking in front of him, Emperor Shenwu looked a little dazed, and felt that there was someone to succeed him. But when he thought of Lan Qingwu, he knew that if he couldn't handle this matter well, it would more or less affect the crown prince.

When the prince returned to Dongde Palace, it was already late. Without pausing, he immediately ordered, "Send someone to Wenquan Royal Manor to investigate!"

He wanted to know immediately what happened to his mother.

That night, Wenquan Royal Manor became bustling with activity. A group of men in black started fighting with the guards guarding Wenquan Royal Manor. Some of the men in black took the opportunity to slip in, but before they could run a few steps, they were intercepted by another group of men in black. The three groups then fought to a standstill!

In the Qianzheng Hall, Emperor Shenwu was leaning against the bed, holding a scroll in his hand, reading quietly and waiting quietly.

Late at night, a phantom guard finally appeared in the Qianzheng Palace bedroom and reported, "Your Majesty, tonight there are two groups of people in the open, and one group in the dark. We have only captured one of the two groups. The one in the dark is very slick and will slip away quickly when they see the opportunity!"

Emperor Shenwu's expression was cold and indifferent: "Are they all targeting the Queen?"

The man whispered, "Your Majesty just released the news that the Empress is at the Wenquan Royal Manor, and so many people are already restless!"

Emperor Shenwu has never stopped investigating the origin of the note. He and Lan Qingwu have a matter, but he will not tolerate others stirring up trouble.

"Find out who's behind those people! What's their motive? I just spread the news and carried an empty sedan chair over, and someone took action so quickly!"

The Phantom Guard lowered his head. "Your Majesty is strategizing, the mantis stalks the cicada, while the oriole waits behind. They really can't escape His Majesty's grasp!" "Yes!" The Phantom Guard excused himself and left.

Emperor Shenwu rubbed his brows. He would certainly not leave Lan Qingwu out of his reach. This was a good opportunity for all those people in the former dynasty and the harem who had evil intentions to surface. He would take this opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop!

When the Third Prince returned to the mansion, his wife was meeting two of his concubines. The three of them were chatting about family matters. When they saw the Third Prince, they quickly stood up and saluted. The two concubines immediately took their leave, not wanting to stay even a quarter of an hour. As usual, the Third Prince's wife asked, "Would your Highness like to have dinner with me?"

This made the Third Prince sound like the Third Prince's wife was trying to get him to leave. His face darkened immediately. "No need! I'll have my meal in another courtyard."

The Third Prince's wife nodded calmly, "Is the Emperor in good health? These past two days, my other sisters and I have copied some Buddhist scriptures to pray for the Emperor and the Empress!"

The Third Prince's eyes were dark. "You are the mistress of the Third Prince's mansion, my principal wife, so you should worry more about my offspring..."

The Third Prince's wife sneered and said, "So Your Highness is still worried about his own offspring? I thought you were deliberately indulging that clever concubine to make you childless!"

The Third Prince was furious. "You! What nonsense are you talking about? You mean you'll end up with no descendants! Your words are so harsh and full of curses. Believe it or not, I will report this to my father and have you divorced!"

The Third Prince's wife was not afraid at all, "You go now! I'll see if the emperor doesn't kill that vicious woman immediately!"

Speaking of this matter, the Third Prince's wife was furious: "I know that Concubine Qiao is shallow and domineering. Concubine Wang was pregnant but dared not tell anyone. I had no choice but to let Concubine Wang move into my courtyard to protect the child. But what about you? Have you forgotten that this child will take your surname Zhou after birth? You let Concubine Qiao come to visit Concubine Wang again and again under the guise of others, and finally caused the child to die! You still want to find your father? Come on! I will go to the palace with you now!"

The Third Prince was so angry that his chest heaved. He pointed at the Third Prince's wife and called her "you" for a long time. Finally, he flicked his sleeves and walked away angrily.

The Third Prince wandered around for a while before finally arriving at Concubine Qiao's courtyard. She was putting on her makeup in front of a mirror. A delicate petal adorned one side of her cheek, accentuating her snow-white complexion and making her look incredibly gorgeous! The Third Prince walked up behind Concubine Qiao and reached out from behind, grasping her delicate chin. "You are so beautiful, so charming!"

The corners of Qiao Shiqi's lips curled up into a smug smile, and then she said coquettishly, "Your Highness, what's the point of me being beautiful alone? Some of the jewelry I like can only be looked at but not touched. If Qiao'er could wear them, wouldn't Your Highness be able to appreciate Qiao'er's beauty even more!"

The maidservant gently stroked the Third Prince's chest with her delicate hands, and said in a gentle voice, "I will also serve Your Highness even better!"

The Third Prince's eyes in the mirror were calm yet unfathomable. "Oh? Whose jewelry did Qiao'er take a fancy to?"

Concubine Qiao chuckled and said, "Your Highness, I have all the things of the sisters in the palace, but Qiao'er doesn't want them. That year, Your Highness brought me into the palace, and Qiao'er thought the Seventh Princess's jewelry and jade pendants were very beautiful!"

The Third Prince smiled. In the mirror, their cheeks were pressed tightly together. The Third Prince stared at that charming face and made a promise: "How difficult is that? I will change the Japanese prince to take you to the palace. Whatever you want, just go and get it!"

The Third Prince's voice suddenly darkened, "Who cares about them now? It's their turn to be anxious! I'll let you do whatever you want!"

In the dark palace, Lan Qingwu finally woke up. She sat up and looked blankly at everything unfamiliar in front of her. The bed under her was very large, and the decorations and lamps around the dormitory were all unfamiliar.

Everything about the surroundings was unfamiliar, and Lan Qingwu couldn't help but feel uneasy. The room wasn't small, but he felt like he was alone inside. The air was eerily quiet. Lan Qingwu calmed down and thought about his current situation, as well as Ruping, Ruhan, Nie Wushuang, and others. Ruhan had just left the palace due to illness. If the Emperor Shenwu didn't want to attract attention, he wouldn't have touched Ruhan outside the palace. But Ruping was definitely injured. He wondered if anyone was taking care of her, if there was any medicine available. Xiaoqi and Yueyue hadn't seen him in so many days, and he wondered how the two children were doing.

There was only a dim light in the dormitory. Lan Qingwu moved cautiously, wanting to get out of bed to check, when he heard a sound coming from the door.

Lan Qingwu looked up and saw a forty-something nanny walking towards her with an expressionless face. The nanny was clearly an old palace maid, who had done her hair. Her face was serious and stern. Her cheeks were narrow, her nose was pointed, and her eyes were small and shrewd, giving off a sense of harshness and calculation. The key point was that Lan Qingwu had never seen this person before in all her years in the palace.

Lan Qingwu has always been sensitive to people's emotions, and she intuitively felt that the nanny in front of her had a bad impression of her.

The nanny walked straight up to Lan Qingwu and sneered, "Awake? I'm Nanny Yi. From now on, I'll be responsible for bringing you meals. You'll eat whatever I bring you! Also, don't leave this bedroom unless necessary. There's a washroom next to it. Don't go anywhere else except there! Just stay here quietly!"

Lan Qingwu asked, "Where is this place? Where is His Majesty? Why can't I get out?"

This is not Fengqi Palace. Where did Emperor Shenwu put himself?

Nanny Yi said coldly, "You have so many questions! You're just a little toy that His Majesty kept when he was bored. Do you really expect His Majesty to be with you every day? You're just a toy. Don't you know how much His Majesty favors the Empress? How could he have the time to come and see you? Don't be so arrogant just because you think you're favored!"

Lan Qingwu was stunned, not knowing what to say. But one thing was certain: this nanny who looked down on him thought he was the woman secretly hidden by the Emperor Shenwu, and she would probably not be kind to him.

Nanny Yi, however, studied Lan Qingwu's face, making him feel uncomfortable. A flicker of jealousy flashed in Nanny Yi's eyes. She truly hated those women who used their beauty to seduce men. They relied on their looks to attract men one after another! Of course, this was also because Nanny Yi herself was so ordinary-looking that no man had ever been willing to take a good look at her. Over time, this had left her psychologically extremely unbalanced and distorted.

At this moment, she looked at Lan Qingwu's fair skin, beautiful face, and long black hair. Although she was only wearing a snow-white nightgown, she looked as pure, flawless, and charming as the ice and snow on thousands of mountains.

Nanny Yi's eyes changed suddenly. She looked at Lan Qingwu from head to toe. Lan Qingwu felt uncomfortable and uneasy as if he was being stared at by a poisonous snake.

Nanny Yi said viciously, "A plaything that the emperor occasionally visits should only stay in bed. If you wander around, don't blame me for being rude."

After saying this, Nanny Yi walked out the door. After a while, she came back, this time with a bowl of porridge in her hand.