The delicate little cabbage was pushed by the old emperor

Finally, he sighed, stood up, and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. He stared at her red eyes and slowed down his voice: "I don't mean to blame you. I am also wrong in this matter."

Shen Leyan sniffed and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I will never dare to do it again... I will keep this matter a secret and will never reveal it to anyone. Please keep it a secret, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yong'an was stunned when he heard this. Although Shen Leyan was the first to initiate this matter, he also intended to push it forward. After all, it was Baoshun who let her in, and he was mainly interested in her.

He originally thought that they had had physical contact and was planning to summon her into the palace as a concubine, but he didn't expect that she would come and act as if nothing had happened...

Are all the girls nowadays so free and easy?

Emperor Yongle opened his mouth to say something but when he thought of her crying face just now, he said nothing and waved his hand to let Cuihu take her out of the palace.

Baoshun saw Aunt Cuihu leading Shen Leyan out. When he entered the hall, he saw the usually wise and mighty emperor with a frown and lips pressed into a straight line.

"Since Aunt Cuihu has escorted Miss Shen out of the palace, would you like me to go and reply to the Empress?"

"Tell the Queen that she was unwell and I happened to see her, so I allowed her to leave the palace early to rest."

"Your Majesty is wise. I will go right away."

On the other side, everyone returned to Yichun Pavilion after being tired of strolling in the Imperial Garden. When the banquet was about to end, Eunuch Baoshun, who was beside the emperor, suddenly came over.

After listening to Bao Shun's report, the Queen smiled and said, "It's good that she's back home. I was very worried when I saw Miss Shen hadn't returned for such a long time, and I was about to send someone to look for her."

The imperial concubine clenched the wine glass in her hand even more tightly. When she heard people in the palace say that Shen Leyan was missing, she started to panic and secretly sent people to look for her.

Unexpectedly, she had already left the palace and met the emperor. So did she enter the room... or did she discover her plan and escape?

No...it's impossible...Could it be that she was poisoned by Spring Fennel and then rescued by the Emperor...?

Fortunately, Baoshun left after saying this, so nothing serious should have happened, the imperial concubine comforted herself.

The queen had been secretly observing the imperial concubine and was very clear about her actions. Her people were waiting outside the Yiku Palace, but Shen Leyan never came out. However, seeing that the imperial concubine had not made any move, she guessed that the plan must not have been accomplished yet. When she saw that the imperial concubine secretly sent people out to look for something, she knew that Shen Leyan must have escaped and hidden.

I didn’t expect that Shen Leyan would actually meet the emperor. It was really good luck and God was helping me. The queen suddenly felt sad.

The banquet ended and everyone took their leave.

Aunt Cuihu sent Shen Leyan to the palace gate, and after seeing her get on the carriage, she returned to the palace to report.

Along the way, Shen Leyan leaned against the carriage and dozed with her eyes closed. Zhiyue saw that her young lady seemed to be asleep due to exhaustion and did not make a sound to disturb her.

When they were almost at the Prime Minister's residence, Shen Leyan warned Zhiyue: "Don't mention what happened in the palace today to others. If my parents ask, just say that I ate something bad at the banquet and returned home early because I was feeling unwell."

"I understand, please don't worry, Miss." In fact, Zhiyue didn't know what had happened. She was curious about why the young lady's clothes had been changed. Seeing that the young lady didn't say anything, she didn't dare to ask more. She guessed that it was a coincidence that the emperor arranged it. She kindly asked the imperial physician to help the young lady detoxify the medicine, and then sent the young lady out of the palace.

Shen Leyan was helped by Zhiyue to get off the carriage and went straight back to Chunyang Courtyard. She asked Caiyue to go to her mother's courtyard to report that she was safe and then went back to her room to rest.

Inside the Yangxin Hall

"Your Majesty, I have just returned from Yichun Pavilion and heard that Miss Shen ran away from the Imperial Concubine's Yikun Palace."

"Why would she go to Yikun Palace for no reason?"

"It seems that Miss Shen's clothes were accidentally wet by a palace maid, so the Imperial Concubine kindly asked Xia He to take her to Yikun Palace to change."

The emperor frowned and sneered: "When did the imperial concubine become so kind?"

Seeing that the emperor didn't show any anger, Baoshun continued, "Miss Shen must have been poisoned by the incense after entering the Yikun Palace. And I heard... I heard that the eldest prince is also in the Yikun Palace."

"Bastard!" Emperor Yong'an shouted angrily and threw all the memorials in his hand away.

Baoshun saw the emperor's face turn pale and immediately knelt down to ask him to calm down: "The eldest prince entered the palace yesterday and has been staying in Yikun Palace ever since."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Miss Shen sneaked out through the back door not long after she went in. I guess nothing happened." Knowing that the Emperor might be a little concerned about Miss Shen, Bao Shun added another sentence.

Emperor Yong'an certainly knew that nothing happened, but it almost happened!

He was already feeling depressed because of what the woman said about pretending nothing happened. He was even more furious because he didn't treat her as his concubine and was almost plotted to become his son.

Ministers of the previous dynasty repeatedly brought up the issue of opposing crown princes, but Emperor Yongle just let the two factions argue without expressing his position.

Now the harem is also involved in the previous dynasty's dispute over the succession of the crown prince. The imperial concubine has gone to great lengths to make Shen Leyan the eldest prince's concubine, simply to get the help of the Shen family.

"Ye Yun has a very good plan."

Baoshun was also very surprised when he heard the emperor calling the imperial concubine directly by her name, and knew that the emperor was really angry at the moment.

The eldest prince had always been lustful, with numerous concubines in his harem. Aside from his principal wife, who was the daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, most of the others came from humbler families. The emperor turned a blind eye, as having three wives and four concubines was common in ancient times. As long as it didn't damage the royal family's reputation, he didn't have the time to meddle in other people's affairs.

This time it was really excessive. Not to mention Shen Leyan's identity, regardless of whether she was willing or not, they designed to force her, not to mention how the Prime Minister would treat her if he knew.

Moreover, the emperor also had some feelings for this woman, which was the main reason why Emperor Yong'an was angry.

Baoshun thought, I'm afraid the eldest prince will be in trouble this time.

"I hereby decree that the First Prince Xiao Duo, in collusion with powerful officials, formed a clique for personal gain, and defied the authority of the Emperor, be confined to his palace for one year to reflect on his mistakes and not be allowed to enter the palace unless summoned. For failing to discipline the Imperial Concubine, she will also be confined for three months and fined six months' salary."

"I obey your order." Baoshun quickly stood up and went to Yiku Palace to announce the order.

Kunning Palace

When the queen heard the decree that both the imperial concubine and the eldest prince would be punished, she was so happy that she slept better and went to bed early.

In the courtyard, spring flowers are in full bloom and the night is quiet.

After turning around the palace gate, the Yiku Palace was brightly lit, the palace maids were kneeling on the ground, and the vases and cups in the hall were broken all over the floor.

Xia He, the personal maid, knelt forward and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. Don't get yourself hurt by anger. The Emperor cares deeply about you. He only confined you to the house and didn't want to punish you."

"Yes, your Majesty, please don't let your precious body get upset. Perhaps the eldest prince angered His Majesty in the court, so even you were punished."

"Why is it that our eldest prince was punished for forming a clique and engaging in private activities, but the third prince didn't collude with the ministers? Why is he fine?"

"Perhaps the eldest prince did something else to anger the emperor."

"The Queen must be extremely pleased this time."

"Your Majesty, please be at ease. There is still a long way to go."