Transmigrated Female Official

"what?!"

Upon hearing that Ji Qili had been beaten, the Empress suddenly stood up, intending to move to the Changming Palace, but then stopped. She asked, "When did this happen?"

The man replied, "Just now, at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM)."

"Why did the message arrive at 9 PM?"

Seeing the Empress's furrowed brows, the male attendant's legs went weak. "Your Majesty... this humble servant would not dare to disturb Your Majesty's rest."

"Has the physician been summoned?"

"The physician has examined it and said it's a superficial injury, but fortunately there's nothing serious."

The Empress then sat down again and said, "Send someone to take good care of them, and report back immediately if anything happens."

"According to the order."

"Who on earth is so audacious as to lay a hand on a prince in the palace?" The Empress said this to Chonghuan beside her, but it also seemed like she was talking to herself.

Chonghuan asked, "Should we conduct a thorough investigation overnight?"

After a moment's thought, the Empress said, "I'll leave it to Lord Jiang to investigate tomorrow." She was more concerned about the Sixth Princess's impending childbirth.

Throughout the conversation between the Empress and her male attendant, Chu Qingluo and the other three kept their heads bowed and never raised them. It was as if they hadn't heard a thing, or as if it was none of their business.

At this moment, the arriving physicians were all in place, bustling about in the Sixth Princess's inner palace. The Eighth and Fourth Princesses also arrived, feigning excitement and anticipation. However, upon seeing Chu Yilin and Chu Qingluo present, the Eighth Princess's smile instantly froze on her face…

The group waited quietly in the outer hall. Apart from the occasional heart-wrenching screams of the Sixth Princess, no one dared to make a sound. After about half an hour, the cries of an infant finally came from the Sixth Princess's inner chamber.

Fang Ying brought the newborn baby to the Empress. She smiled, a rare sight on her face, and said excitedly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The princess has given birth to a baby girl. Both mother and daughter are safe and sound."

“A girl… baby.” The expressions on the faces of the Eighth Princess and the Fourth Princess became extremely distorted, but they still pretended to be happy and praised her.

"Excellent!" The Empress looked at the baby in Fang Ying's arms with relief, her eyes filled with joy. "The first phoenix heir has finally been born!" Her three princesses were all getting on in years, and finally, one of them had given birth to the first baby girl for the Ji Kingdom. After speaking, the Empress didn't forget to urge the Eighth Princess and the Fourth Princess, "You two need to catch up too!"

Since abandoning Chu Yilin, the Eighth Princess has been favoring a new lover, hoping to conceive a child as soon as possible. Besides this, she frequently summons physicians to examine her pulse, hoping to hear good news from them. But she is always disappointed!

Compared to the Eighth Princess's stunned silence, the Fourth Princess appeared much calmer. She said unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, it is actually a double celebration."

The Empress, puzzled, asked, "What is this double happiness?"

The fourth princess gently stroked her belly, unable to hide her pride: "Fulin is already three months pregnant."

"Really?!" The Empress was overjoyed and laughed, "It really is one happy event after another!"

Judging from these words, the Empress had already forgotten about the Fifth Prince being beaten up, and the only joy in the palace was the arrival of the newborn.

……

However, the very next day, once news spread that Ji Qili had been beaten unconscious in Qingliang Palace, the Empress remembered to investigate thoroughly. The person responsible for the investigation was Jiang Sha, a newly appointed third-rank female official.

Even if Chu Qingluo and the other three had alibis provided by the Sixth Princess, the case would most likely not have led to them. This is simply because Jiang Sha is the Sixth Princess's person.

However, this questioning process still had to be followed. Everyone who stayed overnight in the palace was questioned and their names were recorded.

Although failing to find the perpetrator would make things seem inefficient, Jiang Sha wasn't that foolish. Instead of admitting she couldn't find the culprit, she informed the Empress that she suspected Ji Qili had a past feud in the palace and that more people should be assigned to protect Ji Qili day and night so that the perpetrator could be apprehended if he committed the violence again.

When Chu Qingluo heard Jiang Sha mention "close protection" and "again violence," she almost burst out laughing. With so many people protecting him, Ji Qili would definitely have no chance to do anything bad again. Besides, she was secretly pleased with her revenge and wouldn't take any further action against him.

If things go smoothly for about ten days, Ji Qili will obediently go and join the sect.

By then, the matter will most likely be dropped.

Chu Qingluo was increasingly able to understand the significance of the princesses vying for the support of female officials. Having one's own people in important positions was indeed an extremely convenient thing.

However, Ji Qili's days were far from over. When Ji Qiran and Chu Yilin fought, it was a brutal beating, leaving Ji Qili with bruises all over his face, half of which was swollen. Even more dramatic, rumors circulated that one day he suddenly and angrily burned a pile of his own clothes. This act further tarnished his already damaged reputation.

After hearing about his burning of clothes, Chu Qingluo and Shaoyao laughed heartily for a long time at Guangrentang. Ji Qili knew perfectly well who had put the itching powder on his clothes, but for various reasons, he couldn't bring himself to report it—it was truly gratifying!

Right now, the only one in a worse situation than Ji Qili is Li Yan.

Chu Qingluo kept her word and called her to drink a pot of croton and chili tea every day. Li Yan was almost afraid to enter the palace, and would often claim illness and ask for leave. Chu Qingluo let her have her way; as long as she came, there would be tea waiting for her.

……

After the selection process ended, Ji Qili's incident occurred, and Chu Qingluo didn't have much time to attend to her shop. Fortunately, Gongsun Yu acted prudently and repaid the thousand taels of gold he owed the previous shopkeeper, saving her a lot of trouble.

During the time Wu Yang helped out at the clothing store, he would play his jade flute in his spare time. Each time, his flute playing would attract many onlookers, which boosted the store's popularity.

Everything was proceeding smoothly and in an orderly manner, and Chu Qingluo was able to enjoy the exhilarating feeling of taking revenge after a few days.

But before she could even enjoy her happiness, trouble struck the Chu family.

That noon, Yi Nuo's male attendant rushed back to the mansion and said to Madam Chu, "Madam, something has happened to the Fourth Young Master!"

Madam Chu was startled and grabbed him, asking hurriedly, "What happened?!"

Chu Qingluo happened to enter at that moment and overheard the male attendant's words. "What's going on?"

"They said there was something wrong with the pickled food that the Fourth Young Master brought to his classmates, and they're holding him back from leaving!"

"what?!"

"Does Mother still want Yinuo to take the pickled vegetables to the private school to sell?" Chu Qingluo asked, frowning.

"No!" Mother Chu hurriedly denied, "After you told me, I stopped letting him take him! How did this cause such a problem?" She was also completely confused.

"Let's not worry about that for now, let's go to the private school." Chu Qingluo pulled her mother along, then jumped back onto the carriage, urging Jiuwei and Tongmu to hurry up and drive.