The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 338 Your Majesty, My Consort is Seriously Ill

In the darkness, the moon resembles a crescent-shaped sickle, with only a sliver of light remaining.

However, the two stars in front of it were particularly dazzling.

If you look closely, it looks like the night is showing a smiling face.

In the study of the Shen residence in the capital.

Everyone has calmed down.

Shen Shuhua sat in the chair, looking at her two daughters with a loving expression.

Wanyue was pulling Shen Cao aside to tell her about the funny things they had done in Xin'an County.

She is now incredibly grateful that she agreed to let Wanyue go to Xin'an County.

A smile played on her lips; she felt that today was the happiest and most blissful day she had had in years.

However, this happiness didn't last long before they heard an anxious knocking on the door.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Shen Yu'an suddenly felt uneasy.

He had just instructed them not to bother them unless it was absolutely necessary.

Sure enough, when he opened the door, he saw the butler looking anxious.

"Something terrible has happened, young master! News has come from the palace that something has gone wrong!"

Hearing the housekeeper's words, Shen Shuhua slammed her hand on the table. "Du Yuqing, she's been like this for so many years."

"My departure from the palace was clearly done in secret, so how did she find out?"

The four looked at each other in bewilderment. Was there an inside agent in the Moon Palace?

Shen Shuhua shook her head. "Impossible. There's no way there could be an inside agent in Yuehua Palace."

She's been in the harem for so many years, yet she can't even manage the people in her own palace. How can she possibly maintain her position in the harem?

"Mother, think about whether there was anything unusual today."

Shen Shuhua carefully recalled the events of the day, the only unusual thing being when Zhao Ruhui came in the afternoon.

Although she disguised it well, you can still sense the probing in her words if you think about it carefully.

"We need to think about how to deal with the Empress. According to the news from Granny Cao, the Empress has taken the Emperor to Yuehua Palace."

“Aunt, if the Empress dares to personally bring the Emperor to find you, she must have sent people to guard the palace gates.”

"What a good thing!"

The Imperial Concubine was not in her palace in the middle of the night and left the palace without permission. If this were discovered, it would be a serious crime.

Especially since it was the Empress who discovered this, she will definitely seize on this matter and kill Shen Shuhua.

Shen Shuhua also showed a hint of anxiety; this matter was somewhat tricky.

"At worst, I'll just say I accompanied Wanyue back to her parents' home."

Shen Yu'an felt a chill in his heart upon hearing Shen Shuhua's words.

His aunt has started talking nonsense, which means this matter is really difficult to handle.

Just then, Wanyue, who had been silent all along, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said with a smile, "Mother, I have a plan."

……

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor, dressed in his nightgown, looked down at the Empress with some impatience.

You could tell he was already very angry.

"You're saying the Imperial Concubine is ill?"

"She is ill. Why didn't her maid report it? Instead, you rushed here to tell me."

The Empress was speechless after the Emperor's words. It was common knowledge in the palace that she and the Imperial Concubine were at odds.

It was indeed a bit strange that the Imperial Concubine had come to personally invite the Emperor when she was ill. She glanced behind her and gave the other person a meaningful look.

The other person quickly crawled forward a few steps and said, "Father, it was your son who went to invite Mother."

"After yesterday's banquet, Mother Consort was probably upset by me. She originally wanted to sleep with me, but before I had even finished bathing, Mother Consort said she was unwell."

"Originally, I also thought it was Mother's old ailment, and that she would be fine after taking the medicine and sleeping."

"Who would have thought that when I went to Yuehua Palace to have dinner with Mother today, she was so unwell that she couldn't eat."

"After leaving Yuehua Palace, I felt increasingly uneasy. After dinner, I went to Yuehua Palace, but the palace gates were already locked."

"But I was really worried about my mother, so I went to ask the Empress Dowager for help."

"The Empress Dowager brought me to find the Emperor."

“Father, I wanted to come and see you before, but Mother said that you have been worried about the affairs of the Great Qing Kingdom, and she did not want to bother you with her own affairs.”

After saying this, she squeezed out a few tears, looking very worried about her mother's health.

The Emperor looked down at the two of them, and when he heard Zhao Ruhui say that Shu Hua had been feeling unwell since yesterday, he glared at her with a stern face.

If it weren't for what she did in public, Shu Hua wouldn't have fallen ill.

Shu Hua's health has been poor for years.

He quickly called Li Defu over to help him change his clothes.

"Go to the Imperial Hospital and summon all the imperial physicians on duty to Yuehua Palace."

"No, you should send someone to fetch Physician Li from outside the palace. He has been taking care of the Consort's health all along."

"I can rest assured with him here."

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, the Empress revealed a cold smile. This time, she wanted to see if Shen Shuhua would be so lucky to escape.

She is currently outside the palace, guarded by her men at the palace gates; there is absolutely no way she could return.

Unless she grows wings and can fly over the heavily guarded palace walls.

She followed behind the Emperor, and the entourage marched in a grand procession from the Hall of Mental Cultivation to the Moon Palace.

Inside the Moonflower Palace, Granny Cao was pacing anxiously back and forth in the courtyard.

After personally seeing the Imperial Concubine off at the palace gate, she quietly returned.

To her surprise, on her way back she saw the Empress leading a group of people hurriedly heading towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

She spotted Princess Wanming in the crowd.

She kept an eye on things and secretly inquired about it.

Upon inquiring, it turned out that the fact that the Imperial Concubine had left the palace had been exposed.

A chill flashed in her eyes as she thought of Princess Wanming following behind the Empress.

Upon returning to the palace, she immediately ordered everyone to extinguish all the candles and lock the palace gates.

Send someone to deliver the message to the Shen family immediately.

She just hoped that everything was still in time.

They hoped their master could return to the palace before the emperor arrived.

She paced anxiously back and forth in the courtyard when suddenly, there was a knock at the entrance of the Moonflower Palace.

'knock knock'

She was so frightened that she stood there, too afraid to utter a sound.

"What's going on? Wasn't it said that the Imperial Concubine was seriously ill? Why are the palace gates tightly closed and not a single candle lit?"

"Empress, you had better give me an explanation."

When the Empress saw the tightly closed gates and the pitch-black Yuehua Palace, she was overjoyed; Shen Shuhua had indeed left the palace.

She hurriedly approached the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I don't know the specifics either. But since we're already here, why not have the imperial physician examine Consort Wanming? That way, Wanming can have peace of mind."

Upon hearing the Empress's words, Zhao Ruhui quickly took a few steps forward, her face showing anxiety. "Yes, Father, since we're already here, why don't we let the imperial physician give Mother a proper check-up?"

The Emperor did not speak, but glanced at the Empress and Zhao Ruhui.

He gestured to Li Defu, signaling him to continue knocking on the door.

"knock knock"

"knock knock"

There was still no answer from inside the door.

"What's going on? Is no one inside?" The Empress asked anxiously, her face showing concern, as no one answered the door.

She was extremely excited. This time, she wanted to see if, in front of so many people, the gates of Yuehua Palace would open and there would be no sign of the Imperial Concubine.

Even if the emperor wanted to favor her, he probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it.