Saving the foolish general, she accidentally becomes his favorite.

Ye Li saw the new concubine surrounded by admirers, and that face… she never expected it to be her… she suddenly felt that the world was truly amazing…

She had considered many possibilities, but she never imagined that person would be willing to enter the palace.

Consort Lan, now awaiting punishment, found the sight of the Emperor's new favorite concubine an eyesore. She urged Mu Nianchen:

"Miss Mu, let's hurry up, I'm afraid the evidence will be destroyed if we're too late..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Li nodded and continued forward.

They bypassed the grand procession.

Ye Li thought that since everyone was in the palace now, she and that person would eventually meet again.

Lan Fei hurried away, and the maid pointed out the location of the soup ingredients she had prepared for Mu Nianchen. Ye Li looked carefully and found no medicine that could cause miscarriage.

Seeing Mu Nianchen shake his head, Lan Fei couldn't help but sob:

"I knew it, I knew I was doomed. If they wanted to frame me, they wouldn't leave a trace..."

As she cried, she knelt down, tears streaming down her face.

"My mother is still ill, and I am about to follow her in death. If I had known, I would never have entered the palace..."

The maidservant, who was also sobbing uncontrollably, comforted Consort Lan.

"It's all my fault, Your Highness. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault that I've dragged Your Highness into this mess."

Ye Li found their chatter annoying. She just hadn't found the drug yet, which didn't mean they would necessarily be convicted.

Mu Nianchen spoke:

"Stop crying, think quickly, do you have any clues?"

The maid looked at Mu Nianchen with teary eyes: "I don't know. I just went to the outhouse once. I didn't dare to slack off the rest of the time."

Mu Nianchen continued to ask:

"After you served the soup, no one else touched it. Did anyone chat with you then?"

The maid thought for a moment and said, "All the food ingredients for everyone must be tested for poison by the eunuchs, so I'm standing with the other concubines' maids..."

Mu Nianchen analyzed:

"If it wasn't mixed into the soup from the beginning, then it must have been poisoned after the soup started to cook, or even after it was brought into the Ni Chang Palace. Otherwise, how could the Empress have discovered it before drinking it? Logically speaking, the imperial fetus should have been lost after drinking it..."

At this point, Ye Li finally realized that something was wrong!

The soup was never given to the Queen before it was discovered!

Mu Nianchen asked the maid, "How did you accidentally spill this bowl of soup? Do you remember if someone pushed you?"

The maid recalled, "I felt a pain behind my knee, and then I panicked and fell to the ground..."

Ye Li realized at this moment that this scheme might not be for Consort Lan, but because someone needed to be suspected of framing the Empress in the main hall.

If the Empress's unborn child was nearly harmed, then the Emperor would personally visit the Ni Chang Palace.

This scheme might have been designed to attract Xuanyuan Ming's attention, not specifically targeting Lan Fei; it's just that Lan Fei was unlucky.

However, man proposes, God disposes. No one knew that Xuan Yuanming was now very fond of his new favorite concubine. Judging from the situation, even though Xuan Yuanming had received the news and gone to the Ni Chang Palace, his heart was still with this favorite concubine.

Having understood the implications of the situation, Mu Nianchen spoke to Consort Lan and her maid:

“This matter is not your fault. Someone put this abortifacient in the Ni Chang Palace and then tripped you with a hidden weapon, which led to the discovery that the medicine you presented was harmful to the imperial fetus.”

Lan Fei cried and asked, "Who is it? Who did I offend to deserve this?!"

Mu Nianchen looked up at the sky and sighed:

"I doubt you'll find anything even if you investigate. You should think about what to do next."

Lan Fei clung to Mu Nianchen's leg, pleading tearfully:

"Miss Mu, please, save me! I really didn't do it!"

Mu Nianchen couldn't bear it in the end, but asking her to plead with the Empress for Consort Lan's sake would be of no use.

Finally, Mu Nianchen pointed out a clear path for Lan Fei:

"Now that the Emperor has a new favorite, the power struggles in the palace will start a new round of factionalism. For the time being, they won't have time to pay attention to you. You'd better find an excuse to leave the palace to worship Buddha."

"Leave here to lay low for now. You can come back later or start over elsewhere, it's up to you."

Lan Fei stared wide-eyed at Mu Nianchen:

"What did you say? You want me to leave the palace to worship Buddha? Then I'll never have the chance to come back for the rest of my life!"

Mu Nianchen was also losing patience. She patiently analyzed the situation, saying:

"You're in this palace because you're out of favor and your family isn't powerful, so you're the one who's being made a scapegoat this time. Once you leave the palace, you won't have wealth and honor, but at least you'll live a peaceful and fulfilling life."

"Think about it yourself," Mu Nianchen said, and then prepared to leave.

Watching her retreating figure, which she didn't turn back to, Lan Fei knew that everyone had abandoned her. Finally, she rushed towards Mu Nianchen, determined to make her stance clear:

"Miss Mu, please help me get out of the palace! I'm willing to do anything, whether it's to worship Buddha or to learn medicine from you. Please help me!"

"Please, I really don't want to die! I want to see my mother again, please!"

Lan Fei wept bitterly, but Ye Li ultimately couldn't resist her feelings and took her to the Emperor Emeritus.

With the Emperor Emeritus's approval, Consort Lan's trip to worship Buddha became a matter of course.

On the surface, it was because Consort Lan had offended the Empress that Mu Nianchen investigated the truth and brought her before the Emperor Emeritus for punishment, forcing her to copy scriptures at a Buddhist temple to reflect on her mistakes.

However, when Ye Li saw her off to the carriage, she secretly slipped some gold and silver valuables to Consort Lan and said to her:

"You can go to a Buddhist temple, or anywhere else you want to go."

Consort Lan never expected things to take such a dramatic turn. This young lady, Mu, took her to see the Emperor Emeritus, and after just a few words, the Emperor Emeritus actually allowed her to leave the palace…

This was no small matter, but she did it so naturally...

Even after boarding the carriage, Consort Lan was still in a daze. However, remembering the principle of repaying a small kindness tenfold, Consort Lan knelt down before Mu Nianchen and respectfully said:

“I will never forget the great kindness and virtue shown to me by Miss Mu today. I would like to visit my ailing mother first. Please leave me an address, Miss Mu. I will definitely come to your house in the future and serve you as my servant to repay your kindness.”

Mu Nianchen waved his hand, declining: "I don't need another servant like you. Go, go, get away from this troublesome place."

Ye Li saw Lan Fei off.

Suddenly a eunuch rushed over and shouted loudly:

"Miss Mu, something terrible has happened!"

"Go to the Palace of Rainbow Robes immediately! Her Majesty the Empress is having trouble with her pregnancy!"

The eunuch saw Mu Nianchen as if he had found a lifeline, quickly grabbed him and walked back, muttering to himself:

"Just now, as soon as His Majesty returned to the palace, the Empress told him about Consort Lan's attempt to frame the imperial heir. His Majesty was furious and was about to punish Consort Lan when the Empress said she wanted His Majesty to stay overnight at the Ni Chang Palace. After that, for some reason, the Emperor and Empress suddenly started arguing..."

"Now that Her Majesty has suffered a miscarriage, the situation is truly dire!"