An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Once this was made clear, the two chatted much more freely.

Although murdering the imperial heir is a serious crime, taking a risky military gamble is the most effective way to achieve a permanent solution.

It's important to know how dangerous the struggle for the throne among the nine princes was back then; so many of Emperor Kangxi's sons perished in this battle for the throne.

Moreover, the collusion of powerful officials and the proliferation of their factions further destabilized the court. Even now, though the emperor has ascended the throne, he is still plagued by the old problems stemming from the struggle for succession among the nine princes.

If a mother harbors great ambitions and plans to make her child the crown prince so that he can smoothly ascend the throne in the future, it would certainly be easier to eliminate potential rivals now.

However, the emperor had only recently ascended the throne and was in his prime, so doing so would be too hasty.

Zhen Huan was completely baffled; it was far too hasty to use such methods to plot against the crown prince at this point.

Having experienced everything in her past life, An Lingrong felt that this matter was inextricably linked to Jingren Palace.

However, the former Gyeongin-gung was a master of using others to do his dirty work, never doing anything that put himself in danger. But this time, the style and approach are quite different from that of the former Gyeongin-gung.

Moreover, on the surface, the three princes raised in the palace are: the third prince, born to Consort Qi; the fourth prince, who was rumored to be born to a palace maid and raised in the Yuanmingyuan Garden; and the fifth prince, who was born to the deceased Consort Yu and is now being raised by the Empress Dowager's side.

Among these three princes, the third prince was the emperor's eldest son, and his mother, Consort Qi, held a high rank. Therefore, the third prince was naturally the most likely to be made crown prince.

Although An Lingrong knew in her heart that as the Third Prince grew older, he would become less and less favored by the Emperor, it seemed that she was the biggest beneficiary of this step-by-step scheme.

However, if it were said that all of this was done by Consort Qi, then An Lingrong would absolutely not believe it.

It should be noted that among all the concubines in the harem, Consort Qi was probably the least capable of using her brain.

An Lingrong still remembers it very clearly. In her previous life, Consort Qi had committed the infamous act of poisoning someone under her real name, which shocked the entire harem.

Zhen Huan pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Thinking about this matter, I feel that the implication is too obvious. It's as if someone is using Consort Qi as a scapegoat to deliberately shift the suspicion onto her."

An Lingrong replied, "Sister is right, but..."

Although the current clues seem to have nothing to do with Jingren Palace, An Lingrong still feels that this matter is inextricably linked to the person in Jingren Palace. Or perhaps, just like the Empress instigated her back then…

But there's no real evidence to back up these claims.

After thinking it over, An Lingrong had no choice but to ask tentatively, "I did see the Fifth Prince in the Yimei Garden today. He is very handsome and his manners are very polite. It is clear that the Empress Dowager has taught him very well."

What if the Emperor favored the Fifth Prince, who was favored by the Empress Dowager? Wouldn't the Empress feel that the child raised by the Empress Dowager wasn't as close to her as the child raised by herself?

Upon hearing this, Zhen Huan shook her head and said, "Even so, regardless of whether the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, or the Fifth Prince becomes the Crown Prince, the Empress will still be the Empress Dowager and reside in the Eastern Palace. What is the point of doing all this now?"

At this point, An Lingrong had no choice but to give up. Indeed, the Empress was the Crown Prince, and no matter which prince succeeded to the throne, she would remain firmly in the Crown Prince's position, which was unshakeable. It was really difficult to associate this matter with her.

Fortunately, the topic of offspring has been raised this time, and An Lingrong thought to herself that Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang would probably be more careful about the matter of offspring in the future.

Having said that, An Lingrong picked up the teacup on the coffee table, only to find that the tea had gone cold while she was speaking. Just as she was about to call Shuangxue in to change the tea, she heard Zhen Huan ask again, "That person was too ruthless. How did you manage to escape, sister?"

An Lingrong then remembered that there was something important she hadn't told Zhen Huan yet.

An Lingrong said solemnly, "At that time, I was really scared, so I swore that I really knew nothing about Lady Miaoyin's affairs. That person said that he didn't need me to swear an oath, as long as I helped him find the person who harmed Lady Miaoyin."

Zhen Huan asked in confusion, "Did he say how he planned to investigate?"

“Yes,” An Lingrong nodded and said, “He said that someone in Yanxi Palace passed a message to Lady Miaoyin, saying that they were sending a message in the name of a family member, telling Lady Miaoyin that her family had obtained a folk remedy to guarantee that she would have a son.”

"What?" Zhen Huan was astonished. Who would have thought that Lady Miaoyin went to Qianli Pond because of this?

"That's right, that's what that person said. Because such so-called folk remedies are taboo in the palace, they can't be passed on openly. They can only secretly arrange a time for Lady Miaoyin to secretly go and get them. That's why Lady Miaoyin appeared at Qianli Pond."

Zhen Huan listened and couldn't help but shake her head. How many women in the harem didn't want to strive for a better future, yet they were ultimately burdened by their desires?

An Lingrong continued, "I heard that when Cui'er, who was by Fucha's side, discovered Lady Miaoyin that day, her fingers were clenched tightly, as if she were holding something, but there was nothing in her hands."

The man told me that someone must have lured Lady Miaoyin to the artificial hill at Qianli Pond, harmed her, and then, fearing exposure, snatched what Lady Miaoyin was holding.

At this point, An Lingrong and Zhen Huan exchanged a glance and both couldn't help but gasp.

This matter was probably not the work of one person, so it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather a well-thought-out plan.

An Lingrong continued, "That person said the messenger was in Yanxi Palace. Now, the palace servants in Yanxi Palace have either gone to the Shenxing Division or returned to the Imperial Household Department, which is considered verified. The only ones left are Baojuan and me..."

Zhen Huan asked anxiously, "So he suspects it's you?"

"Yes, because today he saw that I was accompanied by Shuangxue instead of Baojuan, so he assumed that I had killed Baojuan to silence her."

Zhen Huan frowned. "That's because he doesn't know that Bao Juan has been suspected and can no longer serve you closely."

"Hmm, hearing him say that calmed me down. After all, I know in my heart how I was drugged and harmed during those days."

But even after I explained it to him, he didn't believe me. He even mentioned that Meizi, who used to serve Lady Miaoyin, disappeared shortly after meeting him, and suspected that I had done something wrong.

"No wonder he's been so cautious; it turns out someone has already lost their life because of his investigation into this matter," Zhen Huan sighed.

"That's right, so I told him that since he could move freely in the inner palace, I couldn't escape the palace. Moreover, in order to prove my innocence, I also had to find out who was behind it all. Why not trust me this once?"

While the man was still hesitating, Shuangxue and Xiaoyunzi arrived. Seeing that someone had come looking for me, the man quickly left.

When I looked back, I only saw a few footprints.

Later, Xiao Yunzi said that judging from the spacing and depth of the footprints, they must have been left by someone who practiced martial arts. I then guessed even more strongly that they were Miaoyin Niangzi's cousin, who was a bodyguard.

Zhen Huan nodded, "In that case, it's indeed hard to think of anyone else besides him."

In an instant, Zhen Huan's expression changed. "Wait a minute, my sister has been back for so long, has anyone noticed where Bao Juan went?"

An Lingrong then realized that she had been so focused on telling Zhen Huan about this harrowing experience that she had forgotten that now that she had returned safely, Bao Juan must know that the matter had been exposed and would probably have already fled.

Zhen Huan quickly summoned Liu Zhu and Xiao Yunzi to search the Suiyu Pavilion.

After a while, the two returned to report. One look at their faces and they knew what had happened. Sure enough, Baojuan's clothes and luggage were still there, but she was gone.