Quick Transmigration: Leisure

Since the emperor of this dynasty ascended the throne.

There has never been a precedent of using clandestine methods within the imperial harem to murder imperial heirs.

Therefore, the incident of Consort Ye's miscarriage caused a great stir.

A person who has been the sole favorite for ten months is inherently shrewd and capable of pleasing no one. He enjoys the Emperor's favor while also maintaining friendly relations with most of the concubines.

Consort Shu and Noble Lady Liang were even imprisoned for framing Consort Ye, and were not allowed to open the palace gates until the New Year.

Then, in the seemingly peaceful harem, such strange things happened without anyone noticing.

In addition, the familiar Imperial Physician Xue was unable to come to Yuhua Palace to check on Ping An's pulse due to an accident in his hometown, and the other imperial physicians did not have that trust, which further added to the drama.

The investigation into this matter lasted for a full month, causing a stir throughout the palace.

Every now and then, palace maids and eunuchs would be dragged away for interrogation. The servants of Jinzhu Palace were all taken away for a visit.

Fortunately, Xia Youmi had taken precautions.

Although she didn't personally manage affairs, she still issued several orders. Servants of Jinzhu Palace were not allowed to act alone; they had to be accompanied by someone when entering or leaving the palace, with two people supervising each other. They were to stay away from any palace with imperial heirs or favored officials, especially those from Yuhua Palace, who were forbidden from having any involvement; violators would be immediately sent back to the Imperial Household Department.

All items entering and leaving the premises must be registered, especially food samples, which must be retained. Every five days, when the patient takes their pulse, it is examined by Physician Ji, and additional medical records are kept by designated personnel.

Furthermore, their movements have been very simple these past few months, and they rarely visit the Phoenix Palace. They are also instructed that palace servants are not allowed to move around freely within the palace grounds. Any difficulties must be reported directly, and they are not allowed to receive any benefits other than the errand runner's reward.

With everyone united, they formed an inconspicuous but impenetrable defensive wall. No one could drag her down with them!

October.

After Consort Ye finished her postpartum confinement, all the concubines in the palace officially gathered at Yunlan Palace to await the public trial of the case.

Even those who had been confined were released. After Consort Liang took her seat, her first act was to send for the Virtuous Consort Xia Youmi—why should she be allowed to remain uninvolved!

Xia Youmi could only sigh: You really can't mess with a clingy person; she'll miss you more than anyone else.

Completely unaware that she had set a trap for Consort Shu, Consort Liang felt extremely smug.

In such an occasion, of course you can come and see what the gossip is all about.

Xia Youmi and her entourage entered Yunlan Palace without hesitation. Consort Shu, who had just taken her seat on the left, glared angrily, sending invisible daggers at Consort Liang, Consort Xian, Consort Zhao, and the others. She hated all things that displeased her!

But he had no choice but to get up and move to the right-hand side. Even His Majesty was to participate in the trial today, so he had to be patient.

After Consort Zhao took her seat in the main seat, Lian Shaoyuan and Ye Linghua made their entrance, both exuding an imposing aura.

Unexpectedly, the first challenge was aimed at his position.

Consort Ye's seat was the third one from the right, and it had been vacated for her in advance. However, Lian Shaoyuan felt somewhat dissatisfied with the distance between them. Today, Linghua was the focus, and sitting at the lower end of the table made her seem less imposing.

So he ordered people to bring the chairs forward, intending to place them in the first row.

He glanced at Xia Youmi on his left, who gave him a half-smile.

He glanced at Xu Feiwei on his right, whose anger seemed about to materialize.

After a few moments of deliberation, she finally ordered a chair to be placed next to Consort Shu. After all, Linghua had a proven track record of victories against Consort Shu. Facing Consort Xian would not only create a new enemy for no reason, but also be seen as reckless and prone to making rash moves.

Originally, once Linghua gave birth to an imperial heir, regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, she would be granted the title of imperial concubine.

She is now capable of holding this position.

What a show! The tension was already palpable from the very beginning. Lian Shaoyuan's actions indicated that the last imperial concubine position was reserved for Ye Linghua. This made the other concubines, the noble ladies who had given birth to imperial heirs but had not yet been promoted, and the high-ranking ladies waiting outside the palace for the next imperial concubine selection all grit their teeth in frustration.

This favor is like licking honey off a knife's edge.

Ye Linghua sat down expressionlessly, completely ignoring the stares of the crowd, while Consort Shu stood beside her, glaring angrily.

The case was tried under the supervision of Consort Zhao, and there were four assassinations in total, starting with the most superficial one.

The first eunuch brought in was the one who had orchestrated Ye Linghua's wrestling match. He had been tortured to the point of being almost unrecognizable, causing the concubines present to cover their eyes with handkerchiefs.

He was thin, with a pale, ashen face, but his tone was very firm:

"This servant was instructed by Consort Xian to smear wax on the steps of Yuhua Palace!"

"Pfft—" Xia Youmi couldn't help but burst out laughing. Feeling embarrassed for ruining the atmosphere, she took out a handkerchief to cover her face, straightened her expression, and continued to listen to the little eunuch's nonsense.

The eunuch's eyes showed even more despair, but he continued to give his testimony as agreed.

"The Virtuous Consort uses retreat as a tactic, outwardly avoiding the world, but secretly harming the concubines. She beats and scolds the eunuchs and maids, cuts their allowances, and forbids them from talking about it."

Xia Youmi came to her senses and somewhat understood the purpose of this frame-up, but she did not interrupt.

"Their personal maids took pleasure in abusing other palace servants. Some even killed them. Under such coercion, no one in Jinzhu Palace dared to tell the truth."

"Consort Xian wanted to take advantage of any favored concubine who was pregnant, but she was too well guarded. This time, she learned about Consort Ye's condition from the imperial physician and deduced that she was pregnant. She then threatened my life and my family, forcing me to apply wax to the steps of Yuhua Palace."

Upon hearing this, many people present changed their expressions. They had thought that Consort Xian was someone who didn't care about anything, but they never expected her to be so ruthless in secret! Some of those who had given birth recalled whether they had been plotted against.

Her gaze was fixed on Xia Youmi, and seeing that no one else was preparing to add insult to injury, she felt a little gratified that Liang Guiren had managed to refrain from interrupting.

This tactic and frame-up are extremely crude. Anyone who has had even a little contact with her would not believe it.

However, their aim wasn't to convict Consort Ye of miscarriage. Rather, it was to tarnish her reputation, a claim that was difficult to explain. The young eunuch said that even if she asked her servants, the answer would only be that Consort Xian was perfectly fine. While this was true, it would still make her believe she had been coerced.

This is why Consort Liang, knowing that Consort Shu had already suffered a setback at her hands last time and that her Jinzhu Palace was heavily guarded, still dared to fabricate false testimony.

Xia Youmi clapped her hands slightly and said to Liang Xun:

"I was wondering why Consort Liang had to personally send someone to Jinzhu Palace to invite her. So there's a good show waiting for us, and it can't be put on without me!"

All eyes turned to Consort Liang, who gripped the armrest tightly, unwilling to give in to the standoff.

She already knew how to deal with Consort Xian; this time, she was determined to teach her a lesson. She had to hold back!

"Stop making excuses. If you didn't give the order, how could this eunuch have made such a accusation?" Liang Xun squeezed out these words through gritted teeth, then looked at Consort Shu in front of her, pleading with her to help her kill Consort Xian.

Consort Shu received the signal but remained unmoved. She was indeed not on the list of those who wanted to harm Consort Ye. If she had helped that fool Liang Xun, then even if she hadn't done anything wrong, she wouldn't be able to clear her name.