An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Consort Hua's question was cleverly asked.

While everyone's attention was focused on the child, Consort Hua steered the emperor in a different direction.

In truth, the emperor already had another suspicion in his mind.

Before being granted the title of "Daying", Lady Yuan was a palace maid in Yanxi Palace. As a palace maid, she could make friends with not only concubines and other palace maids, but also eunuchs and guards!

However, these matters concerned the royal family's reputation and were not questions that could be asked in public. Therefore, the emperor specifically ordered Su Peisheng to investigate, rather than having someone else do it.

The Empress knew that the Emperor valued his reputation and would not investigate the whereabouts of the concubines extensively. Moreover, Lady Yuan had just lost her child, and the Emperor also had to consider the feelings of the concubines in the harem.

Given the Emperor's temperament, he would likely suppress the matter first, appease the harem, and then find a pretext to investigate it slowly. And that was precisely the pretext the Empress wanted.

Regardless of whether Yuan was suspected of having a secret meeting with the guards.

When a concubine encounters danger in the harem, and this area is near the Yikun Palace, where the emperor's most favored concubine, Consort Hua, resides, and since this matter also involves the imperial heirs, it is natural to investigate. And as the investigation progresses, it is not difficult to find a connection that leads to the Yikun Palace.

Although the Empress couldn't do anything to Consort Hua on the surface, as long as the Emperor harbored resentment towards Consort Hua, there would be hope for the future. After all, Consort Hua was still younger than her. Therefore, the Empress was intentionally pushing things along.

Who would have thought that Consort Hua, who was usually straightforward, would have considered this possibility?

The Empress frowned and said, "The concubines don't have many daily affairs, so it's common for them to take walks in scenic places."

"However, the palace is always heavily guarded. Now that Lady Miaoyin is pregnant and has suddenly met with an accident, we cannot ignore this. Whether it was due to negligence on the part of the guards or someone deliberately plotting to harm the imperial heir, we must get an explanation."

"If Your Majesty the Empress wants an explanation, you can ask her once Lady Miaoyin wakes up," Consort Hua said defiantly, her tone becoming even firmer.

Suddenly, a flurry of activity was heard from the palace maids and servants inside the room, and the sound of a basin of water being overturned could be heard.

Then Man'er, who was beside Madam Yuan, ran out, her face still wet with tears.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, my lady has suffered a sudden hemorrhage. The imperial physician says, the imperial physician says, my lady may not make it through today."

Upon hearing the palace maid's report, the Empress looked deeply worried. The Emperor's expression darkened further.

“Your Majesty, the delivery room is filthy. Lady Miaoyin suffered a miscarriage and then postpartum hemorrhage. This is indeed strange. However, the affairs of the court are busy, and Your Majesty should prioritize the affairs of state. Please leave this place to me. You should go back early and not be late for tomorrow’s morning court.”

"Your Majesty must be deeply saddened by the loss of your heir, and I feel your pain deeply. However, Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance, so please do not worry about this matter," the Empress said, pressing on as she saw that the Emperor's expression remained unchanged.

After a long silence, the room was completely still. At this moment, even the falling of a single hair would disturb the stillness.

"Alright, I'll leave this to the Empress."

The Emperor rose and left. As he passed Consort Hua, he paused briefly. "The affairs of the inner palace can be handled by the Empress. Consort Hua is used to being pampered, so she should go back to her palace to rest as soon as possible." With that, he left with Su Peisheng.

After the emperor left, Consort Hua naturally did not want to stay any longer.

The Empress also sent the other concubines present back to their palaces, and ordered the head eunuch Jiang Fuhai to register all the people and things involved that day.

Afterwards, he asked the imperial physician to examine Fucha's pulse again. Hearing the physician's reply that the pregnancy was stable and there were no abnormalities, he relaxed and instructed Jiang Fuhai to handle the matter carefully before leaving with Jianqiu.

Once outside Zhongcui Palace, Jianqiu couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Letting Consort Hua go so easily is really letting her off too easily."

The Empress shook her head and said, "This matter was handled too hastily, which allowed Consort Hua to find a flaw."

“It is true that Yuan was outside Yikun Palace. She was clearly pushed. But there are no witnesses or physical evidence pointing directly to Yikun Palace.”

"As for the fact that Yuan Shi and her cousin who is a guard are quite close, since this was witnessed by a palace maid in Yanxi Palace, others must also know about it. It's possible that someone in Yikun Palace also knows about this, which is why Consort Hua made preparations."

Jianqiu lowered her head and said, "It was my carelessness."

“We need to be more careful from now on. In my opinion, there are probably more capable people than just Nian Shilan in this harem. There are definitely suspicious points in every aspect of this matter. Who exactly injured Yuan Shi at this time?”

"Your Majesty, do you think it might be Consort Qi? After all, she's the only one in the harem with a son," Jianqiu continued.

"Consort Qi? If she had that kind of guts, she wouldn't have only reached the rank of consort after all these years."

"I had intended to go with the flow today and give Nian Shilan a small punishment. However, His Majesty was already hesitant about the Nian family matter, and with Yuan Shi losing her child and His Majesty still grieving, his decision might be slower. I had anticipated this."

The Emperor ordered a thorough investigation, but fearing it might go too far, he assigned Su Peisheng to conduct the inquiry. This way, if anything were truly wrong, it wouldn't be publicized.

Privately, one still needs to consider Consort Hua's reputation.

Now that the Yuan family is gone, it has made things much simpler.

Jianqiu nodded. "But the Emperor still relies on Your Majesty. When he left, he only told Consort Hua to restrain herself. Now it's Your Majesty's turn to make the decision."

The Empress smiled without saying a word. There was a hint of bitterness in her smile.

The Emperor's favoritism towards Consort Hua is obvious to all, and this matter is not yet settled. The dead cannot speak again, and the Emperor's seemingly stern words are actually just a vague statement.

It will probably take some time before Consort Hua loses power.

The eunuchs who carried the sedan chair were always well-trained, but today the Empress felt rather uneasy sitting in the sedan chair.

Upon arriving at Jingren Palace, the Empress was so shaken that she developed a headache and didn't utter another word.