Having transmigrated into a book, who would still want to be a secondary wife?

Upon hearing all this, the Empress felt a chill run down her spine, and her eyes burned with intense anger.

"Consort Zhong has some nerve! She actually plotted to harm me!"

Just thinking about Consort Zhong wanting to switch fates with her, I felt I had never seen such a vicious trick before.

In the imperial harem, all sorts of tricks are used to win favor, which is not surprising to her at all. However, she has never seen such a sinister and terrifying method before.

If Jun Ting and Ruo Zhen hadn't happened to enter the palace today, she probably would have fallen into Consort Zhong's trap!

She simply couldn't bear to think about what would happen if it really ended up like that!

"You should have told me directly just now, how could you allow her to wreak havoc on the harem like this?"

The Empress's face turned ashen. If such methods could be used once, there might be more in the future, wouldn't that be a huge problem!

Seeing this, Song Ruozhen couldn't help but look at Chu Junting. She didn't know how to explain this matter, after all, Consort Duan was not a good person to begin with, it was just a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

However, she naturally couldn't say that.

"Consort Duan doesn't get along with you usually, so let her and Consort Zhong settle this matter themselves. Why do you have to get involved?"

"Right now, there's no concrete evidence. If we say Zhen'er discovered it, not only will Consort Zhong hate her, but Consort Duan might not even believe it. Consort Zhong might even make a scene, and we'd only end up in trouble. Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

Chu Junting said matter-of-factly, "I'm about to get married to Zhen'er, and I don't want to get involved in this kind of trouble now."

The Empress calmed down and realized that Chu Junting's words made perfect sense. "You're right. It's indeed not appropriate to involve us in this matter. Let them resolve it themselves."

However, Consort Zhong had never encountered such methods before. Where did she find these vicious schemes?

“Zhen’er, you know more about this matter. Do you know where in the capital you would find such a vicious method? I haven’t heard of Consort Zhong consulting any masters recently.”

Song Ruozhen pondered and said, "Such a vicious method will certainly not be widely publicized, but... I have thought of someone."

"Who is it?" the Empress asked.

Before Song Ruozhen could speak, Chu Junting said, "The Ling family."

Upon hearing the man's words, a smile flashed in Song Ruozhen's eyes. Sure enough, Jun Ting shared the same thoughts as her.

The previous master of divination must have been a member of the Ling family. They found many people with metaphysical knowledge to do many shady things for them behind the scenes.

Now that the Ling family intends for Ling Qian'er to become the Princess Consort of Che, it's not surprising that they would give this idea to Consort Zhong. However, the Ling family's methods are truly insidious.

"The Ling family?" The Empress was slightly taken aback. Remembering that Madam Ling had indeed been visiting Consort Zhong frequently recently, she understood. "The Ling family is really quite audacious."

Seeing that marrying Jun Ting was hopeless, she wanted Ling Qian'er to marry Prince Che.

They felt that Prince Che and Consort Zhong were not enough to guarantee Ling Qian'er's future ascension to the throne of Empress, so they directly swapped her fate with Consort Zhong.

He really knows how to play the game. He's just a subject, yet he dares to scheme against even the Empress. What else wouldn't he dare to do?

They are nothing but traitors and rebels!

"Jun Ting, this matter is of great importance. They are simply treacherous and have wolves in sheep's clothing. I'm afraid we should inform the Emperor."

The Empress originally thought this was just a dispute in the harem, but now she felt that things were not so simple and might be more complicated than she had imagined. Since they had such methods, who knew if they might have even more ruthless methods?

"Mother, there is no need to worry. Father has always been farsighted and has his own judgment," Chu Junting said.

Seeing Chu Junting's unsurprised expression, the Empress couldn't help but recall the Emperor's furious reaction when she went to the Imperial Study to express her intention to have Junting marry Ling Qian'er.

At the time, she didn't understand what was going on, but now it seems like she suddenly understands.

It's likely that the Emperor sensed something was amiss back then, but she didn't realize it and even considered approving the marriage.

Looking back now, she was indeed very foolish.

……

After obtaining the Peony Fairy, the first thing Consort Duan did was to return home and offer devout worship.

"Your Majesty, this item was given to Her Majesty the Empress by Consort Zhong. Could she really be so kind? I'm worried there might be a trap involved."

The old nanny standing nearby couldn't help but try to persuade her, feeling that the matter was not so simple. Besides, Consort Zhong had always been a stingy person. She would rather keep any benefits to herself than give them away to others.

"This was given to Her Majesty the Empress by Consort Zhong. How could she possibly poison it if she dared to give it to her so openly?"

If something really goes wrong, she'll be the one who suffers; she wouldn't dare.

Consort Duan waved her hand, confident that her judgment was absolutely correct. "Recently, Prince Che has caused trouble one after another. I'm sure he feels ashamed himself, not to mention that the previous Princess Consort Che offended Song Ruozhen more than once."

In my opinion, Consort Zhong was simply trying to curry favor with the Empress and avoid blaming them for it.

"Your Majesty the Empress is truly strange. She just leaves such a fine thing lying around without appreciating it."

I had heard before that there was indeed a peony fairy, and that worshipping her would make one more beautiful. I thought it was just a folk tale, but now I have actually seen the real thing.

"You've seen how beautiful Consort Zhong has become lately, how can you just stand by and watch her gain more and more favor from the Emperor?"

Seeing that Consort Duan was so certain and understood the purpose, the nanny didn't say anything more. And in the following days, Consort Duan did indeed become more and more beautiful.

Seeing that Consort Zhong and Consort Duan had become visibly more beautiful, the women in the harem were filled with envy, only regretting that they hadn't gone all out like Consort Duan that day.

If only they could also obtain the Peony Fairy.

However, when everyone noticed that, in addition to Consort Duan and Consort Zhong, the Empress's complexion was also getting better and better, they couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Her Majesty the Empress is becoming more and more beautiful lately, she's absolutely radiant! Could it be that there's a third Peony Fairy?"

Consort Zhong was also puzzled. How could the Empress have changed so much? Could it be that Song Ruozhen gave her the idea?

The possibility immediately popped into her mind. After all, when Madam Ling mentioned the matter of worshipping the Peony Fairy before, she didn't believe it at all.

It wasn't until I truly witnessed its power that I fully understood.

Song Ruozhen is also quite remarkable in metaphysics, no wonder the Empress didn't care about the Peony Fairy she gave her, she must have had a better way.

"Of course not." The Empress shook her head with a faint smile. "I don't believe in these things."

The method she used was indeed given by Song Ruozhen, but it wasn't about offering anything; rather, it involved taking beauty and skin-nourishing pills.

At first she was skeptical, but now that she has seen the results, she is fully aware of Ruozhen's superb medical skills, which are truly remarkable.