An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

The hall was in chaos, and for a moment no one noticed why Consort Li had fallen to the ground.

Consort Li's one arm was held down by Xiao Yinzi, and her other arm was pinned down by Xiao Linzi, leaving her unable to move for a moment. Yet, she still managed to find strength from somewhere and struggled to open her fingers, like a drowning person desperately grasping at a straw, reaching out to grab Consort Hua's skirt. She kept repeating, "Consort Hua, save me, Consort Hua, save me."

Perhaps due to the excessive struggle, some of Consort Li's hair had come loose, adding to her tragic appearance.

Consort Hua, still shaken, yelled at Consort Li, "You madwoman! Take her away right now!"

For a moment, it was unclear whether the person being scolded was Consort Li or the two servants around Consort Li who were encouraging and controlling her.

However, given that the emperor himself was present in the hall, the servants naturally dared not obey the imperial decree at will.

The two eunuchs controlling Consort Li, Xiao Yinzi and Xiao Linzi, were no pushovers either. They just lowered their heads and looked at the emperor, waiting for his orders.

Consort Hua was filled with shock and anger, and wanted to slam her fist on the table, but when she saw Consort Li's ferocious expression, she became somewhat afraid.

Seeing the emperor's gloomy and uncertain expression, Consort Hua felt wronged. Although she was frightened, she refused to show weakness. She could only sit on the chair and point her finger at the two eunuchs, scolding, "How dare you two servants bully me? Tell me, did you two give Consort Li some kind of drug so that she could slander me?"

To plot against one's lord is a grave crime, and these words are of utmost importance. Upon hearing this, the two men immediately panicked and hurriedly kowtowed, begging for mercy and saying, "No, no, we didn't dare."

Only then did the emperor speak, saying to Consort Hua, "Consort Hua, do not lose your composure." His voice was slightly cold, no longer as gentle as before.

Upon hearing this, Consort Hua dared not utter another sound. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her phoenix eyes filled with tears, and she lowered her arm with a wronged expression.

An Lingrong watched and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Consort Hua truly deserved the title of "Phoenix of Ten Thousand." When she was arrogant, she had a touch of domineering cuteness; when she was coquettish, she also had a delicate and charming allure. No wonder she had always been favored by the emperor.

"Su Peisheng, go and see if Consort Li wants Consort Qi's handkerchief," the Emperor suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Cui Guo quickly took out the handkerchief that she had already folded and put in her sleeve and handed it to Su Peisheng.

Su Peisheng took the handkerchief, unfolded it, and presented it to Consort Li. Seeing that Consort Li was still in a daze, he bowed and asked, "Consort Li, do you recognize this handkerchief?"

But at this moment, Consort Li was in a daze, only muttering repeatedly, "I didn't harm anyone... Consort Hua... save me..."

An Lingrong sat at the very end, a little far away, and some of the words were barely audible, but the general meaning could still be guessed.

Consort Li did not admit that she had harmed Lady Yuan, and felt that Consort Hua could save her.

However, this fact is quite strange.

Consort Li sought medicine to conceive, but instead received a pill that would harm both mother and child. Did she intentionally want to kill Lady Yuan and her child? If so, why does she insist that she did not harm anyone?

As An Lingrong frowned in thought, she suddenly felt a gaze upon her. Looking up, she saw Shi Ran, who was waiting for imperial decrees in the hall, intently observing her. An Lingrong was startled, but her heart eased slightly as their eyes met. Shi Ran's gaze, though deep, held no malice; it seemed merely to be observation and probing…

Thinking of this, An Lingrong's gaze went straight to her. Seeing An Lingrong's calm and composed expression, Shi Ran was taken aback, and then quickly looked away, not daring to look again.

Su Peisheng, sitting at the head of the table, waved the handkerchief in front of Consort Li's eyes repeatedly, but Consort Li did not react. He then bowed to the Emperor and replied, "Your Majesty, it seems that Consort Li does not want this handkerchief."

The emperor pondered, while the empress listened with her eyes lowered, remaining silent.

Consort Hua, however, was still not satisfied. She glanced at the emperor's face and said in a low voice, "If it's not because you want a handkerchief, then what is the reason for your madness? You even want to implicate me."

Consort Duan, who had remained silent until now, slowly rose, bowed to the Emperor and Empress, and said slowly, "I have read some medical books for a few days and have seen a case similar to Consort Li's. The book mentions that the more insane a person is, the more vivid their memory of a certain event will be, and this event may be the cause of the patient's madness."

"Looking at her now, Consort Li seemed to be in a relatively stable state of mind when she entered. It seems that she suddenly went mad after seeing the handkerchief in Consort Qi's hand. So, I deduce that Consort Li must have been disturbed by this handkerchief. But what is so special about this handkerchief?" At this point, Consort Duan turned her head slightly and pointed to the pale yellow silk handkerchief that Su Peisheng was still holding.

When Consort Qi heard the conversation return to the topic of handkerchiefs, she panicked, gasped, and shrank back a little further into the chair.

Consort Duan looked sickly and pale, but she had a faint smile on her face and continued softly, "However, when I saw Eunuch Su hand this handkerchief to Consort Li, Consort Li did not react. It is clear that the handkerchief Consort Li is looking for may not be this one."

But I think it still has something to do with this handkerchief.

Your Majesty, this handkerchief is made of Shu brocade. Every year, the Shu brocade presented to the palace is registered and stored in the warehouse, and the Imperial Household Department also keeps records of which palace it is distributed to.

Consort Qi just said that this handkerchief was a personal gift from the Empress, so naturally, it's possible to find out who it was given to. Why not have the stewards of the Imperial Household Department, including Jianqiu, investigate together? Once they've clarified the matter, it won't be difficult to find out what's so special about this handkerchief that drove Consort Li mad, and what its unique features are.”

The Empress lowered her eyes for a long time before finally raising them with a smile and saying to the Emperor, "Consort Duan is always meticulous in her thinking; this is indeed a good idea."

The Emperor nodded and said, "That's a good idea." Then he said to the Empress, "Have someone do it."

The Empress agreed, and Jianqiu, who was beside her, immediately understood, bowed, and withdrew to carry out her duties.

Consort Hua seemed to want to argue, but seeing the emperor's icy expression, she swallowed her words back, though her pride remained undiminished.

Consort Duan spoke at length, seemingly exhausted, and coughed lightly a few times through her handkerchief. However, without the Emperor's permission, she could not sit back down without authorization, and could only wait for the Emperor's instructions with a faint smile on her face.

Upon hearing Consort Duan's coughs, the Emperor seemed to snap out of his daze. His expression softened as he looked at Consort Duan and said, "You have always been frail. Please sit down."

Consort Duan curtsied and was helped to sit down by the palace maid beside her.

Rumor has it that Consort Duan has been ill for a long time, and coupled with her weak constitution since childhood, even though the imperial physicians in the palace have tried their best to treat her with medicine, her condition has not improved.

In her past life, An Lingrong had also secretly inquired and learned that Consort Duan's illness had persisted because Consort Hua had used some underhanded tactics. She had prevented Consort Duan from living in imminent danger, but also prevented her from living a truly comfortable life. This shows that the two indeed harbored deep resentment.

At that time, An Lingrong was struggling to survive in the power struggle between the Empress and Zhen Huan, and she couldn't find out the details of many things. Her impression of Consort Duan was just that she was the daughter of a military family, with a calm and steady personality, but she was frail and sickly and didn't like to get involved in the intrigues among the concubines.

It seems that this is indeed the case now.

When the scene was chaotic, Consort Duan simply watched quietly. She only spoke after she had roughly grasped the situation.

The words Consort Duan just said neither covered up for the Empress nor sided with Consort Hua, which is why the Emperor adopted them. Such a person is indeed rare in the harem. No wonder that in her previous life, while others often had to use all their words to explain things, Consort Duan could dispel the Emperor's doubts with just a few words.

However, these were not what An Lingrong was most concerned about at the moment. What worried her now was that the emperor had sent people to investigate the handkerchief. If they really followed the clues, they might find some other leads as well...