My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

In addition, Zhang also prepared a large bag, which contained some small change that she and her two concubines had saved, cloth, as well as some knee pads, scarves and other things they had made before.

Qiu Ning offered some advice, "Mother, given my eldest sister's personality, she's probably not going to appreciate these things and thinks they're not presentable enough. Besides, although she's a concubine in the palace, it's still a palace after all. The monthly allowance is much more generous than what we get in the prime minister's mansion. Besides, my eldest sister isn't one to take a loss, so there's no need to worry."

It was originally a sincere exhortation, but to Zhang, it seemed like Qiu Ning was jealous of her elder sister and was selfish and cold-hearted.

"Aning, how dare you slander your elder sister like this? Even if she made mistakes in the past, that's all in the past. It's not easy for her to survive alone in the palace now. If our head of the family just stands by and watches without giving any support, wouldn't that be disheartening?

Although these things are not worth much money, they are all gifts from me and your aunts. We have just had enough of our time in this cold palace, so we should do our best to help your eldest sister."

Qiu Ning looked at Zhang with some disappointment.

It was the same in the previous life. Qiuyao competed for favor with a group of concubines in the palace by constantly sucking the blood of the whole family. Zhang's eyes were damaged in order to embroider a few more clothes, but in the end she was still despised by Qiuyao.

Now, she has asked Li Desheng to cut off Zhang and others' scraps and not allow them to do work privately, but Zhang can still make these things. It seems that blocking alone is not enough, and loosening is also necessary.

We have to think of a way to let Zhang see Qiuyao's true face.

As I was thinking this, I saw Aoba coming towards me.

"Miss Aning, what's wrong? Who dares to offend you in this crime bureau? Tell me now, and I'll ask the queen to help you."

Qiu Ning waved her hand, as if not wanting to say more, and asked, "Why are you here? I haven't seen you for a few days. Is the queen okay?"

When Qingye heard Qiu Ning asking about the imperial concubine, his expression instantly became a little lonely, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Qiu Ning hurriedly pulled Qingye to a deserted place and asked Yueya to keep watch. He then asked solemnly, "But what happened to the Queen?"

"Hey!"

Qingye sighed and said, "The Empress is fine, but the poor Sixth Prince caught a cold after the Crown Prince snatched his umbrella, and he developed a high fever. The young eunuch beside the Prince risked his life to expose the Crown Prince's evil deeds, but in the end, the Crown Prince and the Empress were only confined to their houses for no real reason. Miss Aning, tell me, this is so unfair."

"Everyone else only sees the Empress's boundless glory and countless honors, but what I see is endurance and pain. If it were me, I would rather not have such glory and wealth, and just find someone to live a simple life with."

Qiu Ning pondered for a moment and quickly understood the emperor's intention. He then asked, "Qingye, if you were the emperor, faced with the choice between the kingdom and a beautiful woman, would you compromise your kingdom for the sake of a beautiful woman?"

"I..." Qingye hesitated, frowning as if he was really weighing something.

"Look, you're hesitant, aren't you? Your Majesty can have thousands of beauties, but if the throne is shaken, he will become a tyrant, and your wife will be condemned by thousands of people as a seductive concubine who seduces the emperor."

Qingye was shocked when he heard Qiu Ning's analysis and said, "So, Your Majesty is protecting my queen?"

Qiu Ning lowered his eyes and didn't answer directly: "How can you and I guess the emperor's heart? Maybe there is, maybe not. Or maybe, it's both."

Qingye was confused again and scratched his head. "Miss Aning, after hearing what you said, I don't feel as bad as before. If, as you said, Your Majesty really punishes the Queen and the Crown Prince severely, the court officials will definitely rise up and attack the Queen, right?"

"That's right. The former court and the harem are already closely connected. If Your Majesty wants to break the impasse, she must seek external help."

Upon hearing this, Qingye couldn't help but give Qiu Ning a thumbs up: "You and the Empress are on the same page. I came to you today because the Empress needs your help with something."

……

The next day, Qiu Ning left the palace early again. The difference from before was that this time, she was accompanied by a trusted maid from the imperial concubine's palace, Qing He, who knew some martial arts.

Speaking of which, we have to thank Su Qinian for this. At the celebration banquet for Prince Yong, he received an order from Emperor Shengjing to arrange the best for everyone in the imperial concubine's palace. It just so happened that among the new batch of palace maids who entered the palace, there was Qinghe, who was good at martial arts. Su Qinian took the initiative to assign her to Wan Rongyue.

Qiu Ning first went to Prince Yong's Mansion and handed the package prepared by Zhang to Qiu Yao, but was met with a cold face by the guard of the mansion at the door.

"I'm sorry, we don't know the person you're talking about. There are many women in the palace's backyard. If you want to bring something, you need the consent of the housekeeper and the princess."

Qiu Ning understood that the other party was asking for money, so without saying anything, he took out a few pieces of silver from his sleeve and said with a smile:

"This silver is for treating the two young men to a drink. Inside are some clothes and women's household items. Feel free to check. The person I'm looking for is called Qiuyao, the eldest daughter of the prime minister's family who was once famous in the capital."

The gatekeeper softened his attitude towards Qiu Ning because of the money. Then he said:

"Oh, I remember now. You're talking about the one who offended Concubine Su just one day after arriving here, right? No problem, don't worry. I'll have someone send this thing in later and hand it to her personally."

"Thank you, gentlemen. I'd like to ask you two how my young lady is doing in your mansion now. Has she won the favor of the prince?"

"This……"

The two servants looked at each other with hesitation, considering whether or not to tell Qiu Ning about what happened in the mansion.

Seeing this, Qiu Ning stuffed a few more coins into one of the servants' hands and said, "Please forgive me, my mistress is really worried about the young lady and is worried that she's not getting enough food or clothes back home, so she sent me here to deliver some things. Don't worry, I promise I won't reveal a single word."

For the sake of money, the gatekeeper finally told Qiu Ning everything about Qiu Yao.

Only then did Qiu Ning realize that the plot was different from the previous life.

In her previous life, Qiuyao was favored by Prince Yong as soon as she entered the palace because of her excellent piano playing skills. However, she was later at a disadvantage in the competition with other concubines and was almost framed and had a miscarriage, so she began to target her family members.

In this life, for some unknown reason, she was not favored in the palace. It was said that she was a lowly concubine at first, but was later promoted by the princess as an exception. Now she was clinging to the princess's thigh, and her life was pretty good.

And it seems that Qiuyao has started a backyard fight, and seems to be against a concubine.

After Qiu Ning had almost understood everything, he left Prince Yong's Mansion. Before leaving, he asked the two gatekeepers to keep an eye on what Qiu Yao did with the things after receiving them.

As expected, after seeing the things Zhang brought, Qiuyao felt that they were unlucky and not presentable, so she ordered Xianghe to burn them.

In her words, "Although I'm not favored, I have to go to the princess's courtyard every night to play the qin. If I happen to run into the prince and see me wearing something so old and tacky, wouldn't that make me look cheap?"

At the same time, he instructed Xiang He, "Go tell the messenger to tell her to pass on a message to mother. Tell her that if she really wants to help me gain a foothold in the palace, she might as well bring more silver. Although these things are good, I can't use them in the palace."

When Xianghe came over to reply, Qiu Ning had not gone far yet, so the servant at the door simply called him back.

When Qiu Ning turned around, he really saw Xiang He.