Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

"It would be a lie to say I'm not angry. What I care about most is His Majesty's health."

An Ruyi slowly closed her eyes, enjoying the moment of tranquility.

Since the passing of the White Queen, all affairs of the harem have been entrusted to her management.

She has been doing this for more than ten years, and now that she is finally pregnant, she can finally steal a moment to rest.

Seeing his mistress enjoying herself so much, Qingwu naturally dared not stop kneading her hands.

"Your Majesty cares most about the Emperor, so why don't I have the kitchen prepare some snacks and send them over to Your Majesty?"

She remembered that whenever the Emperor visited Yong'an Palace, his favorite food was the pastries made in their small kitchen. He would eat a lot of them every time he came.

An Ruyi glanced at her subtly, then closed her eyes again and said...

"Either is fine, but you have to deliver it in person."

"What does Your Majesty mean?" Qingwu paused slightly upon hearing this.

Why should I personally make the trip to deliver some snacks?

"I only feel truly at ease when you deliver it. Otherwise, some ungrateful fools will be hovering around the Emperor, which is quite annoying."

As soon as An Ruyi spoke, Qingwu felt a strong smell of jealousy and quickly suppressed a laugh, afraid that An Ruyi would notice.

An Ruyi seemed to sense something and slowly opened her eyes, just in time to see the barely perceptible smile on Qingwu's lips.

"Are you getting bolder and bolder, daring to make fun of me?"

Although her tone was somewhat stern, her eyes still held an unyielding tenderness, making her a completely different person from the one who had punished Pei Suisui in the heavy rain a few days ago.

Upon seeing this, Qingwu quickly lowered her head and said...

"Yes, Qingwu would not dare to laugh at Your Highness. Qingwu will go there personally."

After saying this, she bowed to An Ruyi and then left the room.

After she left, An Ruyi glanced thoughtfully at the sandalwood incense burning in the incense burner beside her, and then spoke.

"This incense smells wonderful, was it sent by the Imperial Household Department?"

Seeing that none of the palace maids in the room dared to answer, An Ruyi felt a little angry. She was clearly the mistress of Yong'an Palace, but when she asked her question, she found that none of them dared to come forward and answer her.

"I will ask you one more time. Anyone who cannot answer will be dragged out and given twenty strokes of the cane."

As soon as she finished speaking, the palace maid who was waiting to serve her in the inner room hurriedly came out and knelt down on the ground, ignoring the glances from her companions.

"What? You know?"

Seeing this, An Ru leaned back on the soft couch, trying to suppress her anger. Her slender hands gently stroked her belly; she was less than three months pregnant, and her belly was not yet showing.

Although her health was relatively good, she was pregnant after all, so she naturally couldn't get angry easily.

The palace maid Xiang'er, who was lying on the ground, was assigned by the Imperial Household Department to serve An Ruyi at the beginning of this year.

Although Consort An, the most favored mistress of the entire Nanyang Imperial Palace, was the one who actually held the reins in Yong'an Palace, it was not An Ruyi who made the decisions.

Instead, it was Qingwu, a personal maid who entered the palace with Consort An in her early years.

Although Qingwu was only a few years older than them, according to the rules of the palace, they all had to call her Aunt Qingwu.

An Ruyi had no idea that her most beloved maid actually enjoyed beating and scolding palace maids in private, and even torturing them to death.

Because Yong'an Palace was crowded with people and eyes, the disappearance of a few palace maids was not a big deal on a regular basis. In addition, Qingwu was serving the master, so An Ruyi was kept in the dark.

She only arrived at the beginning of this year, and it was only after seeing that Qingwu had temporarily left Yong'an Palace that she dared to take a gamble.

"Your Majesty, Aunt Qingwu brought it this morning. She said it has the effect of calming the mind and stabilizing the pregnancy."

"It wasn't sent by the Imperial Household Department?" An Ruyi's expression froze slightly. She hadn't expected that it would be prepared by Qingwu.

but

Why didn't Qingwu tell me about this?

"It shouldn't be... sent by the Imperial Household Department. The spices sent by the Imperial Household Department yesterday were all put into the warehouse by Aunt Qingwu."

Xiang'er kept her head bowed low, afraid that An Ruyi would blame her. After all, she was also gambling.

As everyone knows, Qingwu holds a particularly special position in front of An Ruyi.

However, these people had already been living a life worse than death under Qingwu's hands. Rather than sitting and waiting to be tortured to death by Qingwu, they might as well take the initiative and try their luck at that slim chance.

Why are all the new spices being stored in the warehouse?

An Ruyi looked thoughtfully at the palace maid kneeling on the ground. Then she raised her head and found that the other palace maids in the room all lowered their heads in fear.

This scene was completely different from when she had made her threats earlier.

Could it be that they are all afraid?

Green Wutong?

Thinking of this, An Ruyi snorted coldly and snatched the cloud fan from the maid behind her.

"My lady..."

Xiang'er raised her head slightly, only to find that An Ruyi swept the incense burner on the table away with a single wave of her fan.

"pat-"

The incense burner, which was originally burning incense sticks, was smashed on the ground, scattering the unburnt incense sticks inside. Instantly, the exotic fragrance emanating from the burner filled the entire palace.

An Ruyi gazed leisurely at the grayish-white incense sticks scattered on the ground, a barely perceptible emotion flickering in her eyes.

"What's your name?"

"This servant...this servant is Xiang'er." Xiang'er quickly leaned back down, her body trembling slightly as she spoke.

An Ruyi looked thoughtfully at the kneeling palace maid in front of her, having her own plans in mind.

Since she became pregnant, Qingwu's various unusual behaviors have made her suspicious.

Thinking of this, she slowly began to speak.

"Take my token and leave the palace to deliver this incense ash to the Thirteenth Master's residence. You don't need to say anything else."

"My lady..."

Xiang'er looked up in alarm at the aloof An Ruyi. She couldn't tell whether An Ruyi had even heard a word she said.

Sending incense ash out of the palace?

Could it be that he has really become suspicious of Qingwu?

Xiang'er's gaze was somewhat dazed as she knelt blankly on the spot, lost in thought.

Seeing that the other party remained motionless, An Ruyi suddenly felt a headache coming on, and asked while supporting her head with her hand.

"What? Can't you walk?"

Xiang'er, whose thoughts were interrupted, quickly came back to her senses. She was horrified to realize that she had been staring at the Empress's face. She quickly lowered her head and used her handkerchief to wrap up a small portion of the spilled incense ash.

"Your Majesty, Xiang'er will go out of the palace to find that teacher."

She slowly stood up and carefully tucked the handkerchief containing the incense ash into her bosom. Just as she was about to turn and leave, An Ruyi called her back.

"You wait."

Xiang'er stopped in her tracks, thinking that An Ruyi was going to scold her. Her delicate face turned pale with fright, and large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, soaking her clothes.

She slowly turned her gradually stiffening body, somewhat apprehensively saying...

"Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"