The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

The stable boys finally caught up and were terrified when they saw the Empress riding on that unruly horse!

"Your Majesty, please come down!"

"That horse is too fierce; it has already injured seven or eight people!"

"The Queen..."

Before she could finish speaking, Fu Luan had already ridden the horse around once; when she reappeared in everyone's sight, the wild horse had already been obediently tamed by her.

"What's all the panic about? I'm perfectly fine!" Fu Luan said, both amused and exasperated.

She was in a bad mood today and had wanted to ride a horse around the garden, but the groom and her palace servants all knelt down and kowtowed, so she lost interest.

“This is an exceptional horse! Even my Batu might not be able to compare! It’s not that it’s spirited, it’s sick! Look…” Fu Luan dismounted and personally opened the horse’s mouth. The experienced stable boy immediately saw the problem.

"Oh dear, something's stuck in its back molar!" The lead stable boy quickly reached in and pulled the object out of the gap between its teeth; it turned out to be a thin, long piece of wood.

Although it's small, this thing gets stuck between the horse's teeth, making it really uncomfortable.

This is a Wusun horse that was presented as tribute from the Western Regions. It was thoroughly trained before being presented as tribute, so although the horse was in pain, it endured it all. But when its endurance reached its limit, it is no wonder that it "went crazy" and "disobeyed"!

"I will accept this horse and give it its own stable..." Before Fu Luan could finish speaking, someone else chimed in, "These 120 Wusun horses are a gift from the 36 kingdoms of the Western Regions to Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty is not only going to accept this 'Ta Sha' horse!"

Fu Luan turned around and saw that it was Yarkand again!

"'Treading Sand'? Is that its name? Such a fine horse, why doesn't the Khan present it to the Emperor or to your precious younger sister? That's truly strange!" Fu Luan said with a half-smile.

Yarkand didn't take it to heart. He simply patted Tasha's back and said, "This is Little Khatun's heartfelt gift. She often says that the Great Wei values ​​'the emperor and empress as one,' so giving it to the empress or the emperor is the same."

"Moreover, the Empress is currently favored by the Emperor. Rather than offending both of you by sending sixty bolts of silk to each of you, it would be better to offer them all to the Empress. If you are happy, the Emperor will be happy, and the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions will be at ease."

"This horse was found in a field of white sand, and its four hooves are also white, so it was named as such. The people of the Western Regions are not as cultured as the Han people. If Your Majesty finds this name unpleasant or vulgar, you may choose another one."

Fu Luan smiled and said, "This name... is very good. I'm sure Ta Sha is used to it. Why change it when it's perfectly fine?"

"I heard that even the current imperial concubine changed her name!" A barely perceptible glint flashed in Yarkand's eyes.

Qingluan's name change was no secret; even the lowest-ranking palace maids and eunuchs probably knew about it. But for it to come from the mouth of Yarkand, the Khan of the Western Regions, was somewhat unusual.

Fu Luan did not show her doubts on her face, nor did she respond to Yarkand's words. She simply smiled and said, "Last year at the horse racing competition, I was fortunate enough to win the championship because the Khan was kind enough to yield to me."

"Back then, when the Khan was still a general, he promised me that one day he would settle our score with me on horseback in a fair and square contest. Does that promise still stand?"

Yarkand stared at Fu Luan's face, momentarily stunned; then he sighed, "Things have changed. Your Highness is now the Empress of Great Wei, and I..."

Fu Luan sneered, "I thought the people of the Western Regions were generous and magnanimous, but it turns out they can't even keep their promises! I've made a fool of myself. Let's return to the palace!"

Seeing that Fu Luan was angry, Yarkand knelt down and apologized, saying, "I've heard that Your Highness is unwell, and the palace has been in turmoil lately. It's really not a good day for horse racing! Perhaps we should wait..."

Seeing that her "provocation" had worked, Fu Luan couldn't help but laugh and say, "Of course not today! I still have things to investigate. How about tomorrow at Shenshi (3-5 PM), at the palace horse racing track, the place where the horse racing event was held last year?"

Yarkand couldn't help but sigh. He was only worried about Fuluan's health, but he could only agree verbally.

The next day, when the appointed time arrived, Yarkand waited and waited, but Fu Luan did not appear. He assumed that something had happened to Fu Luan and was extremely anxious.

But after he sent people to inquire from various sources, he learned that it was not Fu Luan who had the accident, but Qian Chonghua who had miscarried the day before—she was found hanged in her bedroom!

"Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress, Qian Chonghua hanged herself between midnight and 1 AM today..." reported Imperial Physician Wang.

"Sister Qian, you died so tragically! How could you just leave like this?" Pang Zhaoyuan cried loudly, as if no one else was there.

Yuan Li sighed, "I promised her yesterday that I would promote her rank and bestow a title upon her once she recovered, but who knew she would be like this now... Alas!"

“His Majesty is of good intentions, but some people… don’t think so!” Lady Yaozhang said coldly, her eyes bruised.

Seeing the hidden meaning in her words, Yuan Li's face immediately darkened: "Qing Tan, just say what you want to say directly, no need to beat around the bush!"

Lady Yaozhang gave Consort Pang, who was pretending to cry, a wink. The two knelt down together, and Lady Yaozhang then spoke: "Your Majesty, Consort Qian suffered a miscarriage yesterday and is gone today. Isn't that suspicious?"

"She testified against someone right here yesterday. Although she is gone, her servants are still here, Your Majesty! The matter of the miscarriage is to be thoroughly investigated by Her Majesty the Empress. I dare to ask you, is there any progress?"

Fu Luan said with a forced smile, "What, do I have to report to you, Madam, about what I'm investigating? I didn't know that the one in charge of the six palaces is actually Madam Yao Zhang? How about I entrust the Phoenix Seal to you for safekeeping?"

"I... Your Majesty, seeing that Sister Qian has suffered such a calamity, I spoke without thinking. I hope Your Majesty the Empress will forgive me..." Lady Yaozhang did not expect Fu Luan to bring up the Phoenix Seal, and she panicked for a moment; in front of Yuan Li, she had no choice but to back down.

Consort Pang said, “Your Majesty, I think the lady is absolutely right! When we first served tea to Her Majesty the Empress in February, Sister Qian offended Her Majesty the Empress because of the child.”

"Yesterday, Sister Qian suffered another miscarriage under mysterious circumstances. There were many people questioning her at the time, and I overheard a bit here. She started feeling unwell after she finished paying her respects to Her Majesty the Empress and left Changqiu Palace!"

"Even if I am slapped and demoted today, I must say this—Sister Qian's miscarriage is inextricably linked to Changqiu Palace! I'm afraid even her death today will be related to it... Ah!"

Yuan Li slapped her hard across the face. "You vile woman! You've tried to sow discord time and again, and I've tolerated it because you're pregnant. Now you're openly criticizing the Empress! Since you want to be slapped, I'll grant your wish!"

Fu Luan watched all this with a cold eye, appearing quite detached, as if she weren't the one being slandered by the people of Yaozhang Palace.

She gave Fu Ling a look, and Fu Ling immediately understood.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Qian Chonghua did not hang herself. She was hung from this beam after she died! To be frank... we can glean the true cause of her miscarriage from her corpse!"