Quick Transmigration: Host, Please Be a Mute Beauty

Chang Le Hall.

Jiang Qiao lay on the bed, staring blankly at the brocade bed curtains. She never thought she would lose tonight.

[Host, don't be sad, it's all that bastard emperor's fault!]

"Only now do I understand why the original owner was so arrogant and domineering in the palace. She never received her father's love since childhood, so she wanted to attract attention like this."

[Host, what are your plans for the next step?]

"Judging by the time, Jiang Ji should have found out the reason for the Empress Dowager's illness by now!"

Yu Xing pushed open the door and ran in, "Princess, the First Prince is alright. He was rescued by Miss Qin from the Minister's Mansion."

Jiang Qiao slightly curled the corners of her lips, her voice indifferent, "In the end, I couldn't defend against it..."

Yu Xing didn't understand, "What didn't you defend against?"

"It's nothing, Yuxing, you can go now!"

……

The banquet ended early; too many things had happened tonight, and the officials dared not linger.

Chi Qi'an looked at the closed palace gates, his eyes revealing emotion.

Amu, who was beside him, reminded him, "General, no, my lord, the old general is still waiting at the manor. He said he wants to wait for you to come home so he can have a couple of drinks with you. Let's go back quickly! It's already very dark."

Chi Qi'an has already been granted a noble title and can no longer be called a general.

"Just call me General!"

"Yes, General!"

……

Tonight, Jiang Ji did not go to Kunning Palace, but stayed alone in Yangxin Hall.

The events of today's banquet remain a thorn in his side. In truth, he knows that the Consort was behind the tea ceremony tonight, but he simply refuses to believe it.

It was already the hour of Yin (3-5 AM). Jiang Ji tossed the memorial aside and walked again to the picture given to him by Lou Zhuxin. The beautiful woman was graceful and innocent.

There was a sudden noise from the roof beam. Just as Jiang Ji was about to call for his guards, an envelope fell from between the roof tiles. Jiang Ji bent down to pick it up, saw what it was, and then threw the envelope on the ground.

The envelope contained correspondence between Lou Zhuxin and the Prime Minister's residence, detailing Lou Zhuxin's arrangements for the Prime Minister's office. Jiang Ji clearly remembered the handwriting; it was Lou Zhuxin's.

At that moment, Li Dequan also walked in.

Jiang Ji asked, "What is it?"

"Your Majesty, there is a result regarding the matter of someone plotting to harm the Empress Dowager."

"Say!"

Li Dequan knelt down, stammering and not daring to utter a sound.

"Yes... Consort Zhu, the night-blooming jasmine fragrance was sent by the Prime Minister's residence."

Jiang Ji's palms trembled slightly. "Take me to find that maid named Fanglan from today!"

Chi Qi'an, who was on the rooftop, listened to their conversation before riding the wind away.

……

Kunning Palace.

Lou Zhuxin huddled under the covers, her body still trembling. She couldn't sleep and had been awakened several times by nightmares.

She dreamt that Jiang Ji knew the truth and banished her to the cold palace.

Granny Liu entered the inner hall carrying a lantern. "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Lou Zhuxin heard the sound and threw herself into Granny Liu's arms, crying loudly, "Granny, you're all I have left, please don't leave me."

Granny Liu hugged her, "Your Highness is someone I watched grow up, and I would never betray you."

"But keeping Fanglan around will only cause trouble in the end. What should I do, Granny?"

"Kill her!"

Lou Zhuxin nodded, "Yes, kill her, and everything will be sealed away. The Emperor will never know that he loved the wrong person!"

She reminisced about her childhood.

That year, she was just an unfavored concubine's daughter in the Prime Minister's mansion. At a palace banquet, she met the handsome and refined Jiang Ji. The man was gentle and elegant, and all the noble ladies were attracted to him.

Later, she met Jiang Ji a few times with her elder sister. At a flower-viewing banquet, she picked up a painting. The painting depicted a woman wearing a veil. She was so engrossed in looking at it that she had no idea someone was standing behind her.

"Did you draw this?"

The man's voice startled her, and the painting fell to the ground.

Lou Zhuxin recognized the person who came; it was Jiang Ji, the Jiang Ji whom all the women in the capital wanted to marry.

Perhaps it was vanity at play, Lou Zhuxin did not deny it.

Jiang Ji picked up the painting from the ground. "You painted so well. Whose daughter are you? I've never seen you before."

……

It was during this time that Lou Zhuxin met Jiang Ji, and she took it upon herself to give him the painting.

The two met frequently afterward, and their feelings for each other deepened.

On one occasion, Lou Zhuxin was invited by Jiang Ji to visit the Prince's Mansion. She accidentally discovered the character "眠" (sleep) on the pear blossoms in the painting. Fearing that something might go wrong, she cut the character off.

Everything she owns comes from this painting, and she cannot let the owner of this painting ruin her life.

Later, Lou Zhuxin kept inquiring about girls in the capital whose names contained the character "Mian" (眠). She learned about Bai Mian, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family, who was a woman of exceptional talent and beauty.

Lou Zhuxin glanced at her secretly, and in that one glance, she knew she was no match for her.

Fortunately, Bai Mian and Jiang Ji had not been in contact.

She successfully married Jiang Ji, and those days were the happiest time of her life. Jiang Ji treated her very well, and although she was only a concubine, Lou Zhuxin was very content.

She was filled with lingering fear until she heard that Jiang Ji was going to marry Bai Mian as his legal wife.

In order to prevent Jiang Ji from knowing the truth, Lou Zhuxin has been trying to stop Jiang Ji and Bai Mian from getting together.

However, Jiang Yanchuan's presence was still too much of an eyesore. This child was too smart. Lou Zhuxin knew that Bai Mian and her son would ruin everything she had painstakingly planned, so she had someone write a letter to slander Bai Mian!

Things went really smoothly; that silly woman Bai Mian didn't even put up a fight!

She was imprisoned forever in Qiwu Palace, and Jiang Ji would never know the secret of the Beauty Portrait.

But a mother's status depends on her son, so that child couldn't be kept. It's a pity that the child was lucky and didn't die from the fall, but it's better that he's mentally challenged.

Lou Zhuxin finally enjoyed a few years of peaceful life.

……

Granny Liu saw that Lou Zhuxin was asleep, covered her with a blanket, and tiptoed out.

-

When Jiang Ji came out of the prison, his mind was blank, and Fang Lan's words echoed in his mind.

He couldn't believe that his bedmate over the years could be so vicious, committing so many heinous acts.

It turns out that Bai Mian's affair was a frame-up, the Crown Prince's mental instability was a murder, and the long-term hardship at Qiwu Palace was a special privilege. The Empress Dowager...

Li Dequan followed behind Jiang Ji, not daring to speak.

"Li Dequan, I never knew I could see things so clearly. Come with me to Qiwu Palace!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Ji stood in front of Qiwu Palace all night, only returning to Yangxin Hall to change clothes just before dawn.

He drafted an imperial edict and had Li Dequan deliver it to Kunning Palace.

……

Jiang Qiao had just woken up when she received good news from Yu Xing.

"Princess, you don't know, Consort Zhu has been banished to the Cold Palace, and your confinement has been lifted!"

Jiang Qiao sat up. "Is Ayan feeling any better?"

"His Highness is still not awake."

Jiang Qiao knew that Qin Pianyue was the one who caused Jiang Yanchuan to become like this, and that she had failed to protect him.

"Please help me wash up first, then I'll go check on Ayan."

"Yes."

Jiang Yanchuan was sent back to Yonghe Palace yesterday and is now lying on a sandalwood bed, his face pale.

Qin Pianyue's poison dosage was too high.

Jiang Yanchuan opened his eyes, and the childishness was gone, replaced by an overly clear gaze...