An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

An Lingrong hadn't expected Baojuan to admit it so readily. She thought to herself, "This is for the best. It saves me the time of racking my brains to interrogate her." So she sighed and asked, "Then who instructed you?"

At this moment, Baojuan watched coldly without answering.

An Lingrong glanced at the sky; the horizon was already turning pale. The Empress Dowager always rose early, and soon she would get up, so this matter would inevitably be reported to her. After all, the person was taken from Shou Kang Palace, and she, a mere concubine, couldn't influence anything. The decision would ultimately rest with the Empress Dowager, and it would be difficult for An Lingrong to ask any further questions.

An Lingrong hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did Consort Li instruct you to harm me?"

On that day in Jingren Palace, Consort Li's wet nurse personally recounted how the prescription was brought into the palace and how it was prepared into edible pills, thus confirming the source of the poison. However, no answers were obtained regarding who received these medicines afterward, or who was instructed to administer the poison to An Lingrong and Lady Miaoyin.

Consort Li went mad that day at Jingren Palace. Although there was a statement from Consort Li's wet nurse, the quack doctor who provided the method had not yet been caught, and there were still many unclear parts of the story.

Even the emperor couldn't help but feel a headache, and could only resort to some underhanded tactics to downplay the seriousness of the matter.

If the person behind this is determined to get away with it, then dumping everything on Consort Li would be a good way to escape.

Therefore, An Lingrong originally thought that she would only lure Baojuan into revealing the mastermind behind the scenes, but she did not expect that although Baojuan readily agreed, she would keep her mouth shut about important matters.

As An Lingrong is the lowest-ranking concubine, if she were to mention other concubines first, and there is currently no concrete evidence to support her claims, given the large number of people and the potential for someone to spread the word, she would inevitably be accused of disrespecting a high-ranking concubine in the future, leaving her with no way to defend herself.

With this in mind, An Lingrong made up her mind and decided to use Consort Li as a test first.

Seeing the glint in Baojuan's eyes, An Lingrong knew that it was probably related to Consort Li. "The person who can promise you a future position as a palace concubine must be of a high rank. Moreover, since this person is confident in recommending you to the Emperor, she must also be quite favored by the Emperor. Considering all this, there aren't many in the harem. After thinking about it, isn't Consort Li one of them?"

Baojuan's brows twitched, as if she were disdainful, but she suppressed her emotions, not wanting An Lingrong to seize on any more words.

But An Lingrong caught the change in his expression in that instant.

An Lingrong smiled faintly, "Consort Li comes from a high social standing and is favored by the Emperor. In recent years, apart from Consort Hua's Yikun Palace, the palace the Emperor has visited most often is Consort Li's Qixiang Palace. Relying on Consort Li's favor, she does have the opportunity to show her face before the Emperor." Suddenly, An Lingrong seemed to remember something and quickly corrected herself, "Oh, so much time has passed, I forgot. She is no longer Consort Li, but Noble Lady Li."

Upon hearing this, Baojuan scoffed, "Consort Li? Noble Lady Li, hahaha, Qixiang Palace has already become a cold palace, so what if she is a Noble Consort? She's just an empty title."

Seeing Baojuan speak, An Lingrong continued, "I heard that Consort Li was originally from the Han Banner Army, but her father and brother were promoted to the Bordered White Banner Army because of their meritorious service in the war." An Lingrong noticed the change in Baojuan's expression and sighed again, "It's a pity that you have no father or brother to rely on. Otherwise, if we were to talk about your banner background, you would have had a chance."

"Hmph, Consort Li? She's nothing but someone who can only rely on her father and brothers for protection; she's got no future."

She's utterly brainless, timid, and indecisive. She's oblivious to her own predicament, only knowing how to secretly resent others' favor while being completely helpless.

When An Lingrong saw Baojuan mention Consort Li, she even omitted the honorific title, which showed that the person she had implicated was not Consort Li, and that there must have been someone else behind it.

An Lingrong frowned slightly, her face showing great regret. "Consort Li is also a pitiful person. She has been with the Emperor for so many years and is deeply favored, but she still failed to have a child as she wished. No wonder she has caused so much trouble."

Upon hearing this, Baojuan's face inexplicably showed a strange smile. "Of course she can't get pregnant. Her body is no longer capable of carrying a child."

Seeing An Lingrong's expression change slightly, Baojuan actually grinned. However, Baojuan had just been slapped by Shuangxue, and several bloody marks had already appeared on her lips. When she smiled, even more bloody marks appeared, making her look rather eerie.

An Lingrong was looking at Baojuan's appearance and couldn't help but feel a little frightened.

Suddenly, Baojuan stretched her neck out again, seemingly trying to get even closer to An Lingrong, which startled An Lingrong and made her heart jump.

Shi Ran was also startled and quickly pulled Bao Juan further away.

Baojuan said impatiently, "My lady, we've been mistress and servant for a while now, so it's no problem for me to talk to you a bit more today. But these things aren't convenient for so many people to hear. Would you please move forward a little?"

At this moment, Baojuan's appearance was already somewhat eerie, and her expression suddenly changed as she spoke, which frightened An Lingrong so much that her face changed color again.

However, An Lingrong quickly calmed herself down. At this moment, Shi Ran was still by her side, and although Bao Juan was currently detained, she was not about to commit violence in public and cause a situation where both sides would die. Therefore, she listened to Bao Juan's words and moved closer.

Shi Ran wanted to reach out and stop her, but Bao Juan said coldly, "Guard Shi is watching too closely. You've already tied my hands. If you're not at ease, why don't you stand even closer to Consort An? If I really have any schemes, you can help my mistress, can't you?"

These words were sarcastic and illogical. But An Lingrong didn't want to argue with Baojuan about such trivial matters. She just wanted to ask a few more questions before the Empress Dowager got up in the morning, so she gave Shi Ran a wink, indicating that he didn't need to worry.

Seeing that An Lingrong had approached, Baojuan wore a strange smile and said in a very low voice, "Your Highness just now pressed me with every sentence, simply trying to find out from me who the mastermind is."

Your Highness, do you also suspect that Consort Li lacks the talent to be a mastermind?

To be honest, I didn't give the order. She's a brainless idiot; how could she come up with such a meticulous plan?

However, her current confinement in the cold palace isn't entirely unjust; the death of Lady Miaoyin that day was indeed inextricably linked to her.

Upon hearing this, Shi Ran's arm stiffened involuntarily.

Shi Ran had been secretly investigating the cause of Miaoyin Niangzi's death. However, after the Flower Goddess Festival at Jingren Palace, the emperor intentionally prevented further investigation, forcing the abandonment of some leads. Consequently, the circumstances surrounding Miaoyin Niangzi's appearance at Qianli Pond, her fall from the mountainside, and the identity of the madwoman who suddenly appeared that day remained unsolved.

Upon hearing Baojuan mention this matter, Shi Ran stiffened involuntarily and wanted to ask a few more questions.

An Lingrong noticed Shi Ran's change and knew what he was thinking. However, Shi Ran was busy with official duties and it was inconvenient for him to speak, so she asked on his behalf, "Are you saying that Consort Li was indeed responsible for Lady Miaoyin's death?"

When Baojuan saw An Lingrong speak, she seemed to become interested as well, and shook her head with a smile, saying, "I already told you she's brainless, how could she think of such things?"

However, when Consort Li heard that Lady Miaoyin had become pregnant after only a few months of serving the emperor, she was so angry that she couldn't sleep for several days.

Therefore, when someone told her that a little medicine could quietly turn the fetus in her womb into a stillborn fetus, she was tempted and took action without thinking.

But this fool was too hasty and careless in her actions, leaving behind a mountain of trouble, which only made others have to clean up her mess.

An Lingrong pressed on, "Who told Consort Li that there was a remedy that could cause a miscarriage, and who cleaned up the mess for her afterwards?"

Upon hearing An Lingrong's question, Baojuan's eyes immediately showed a hint of wariness. "Of course, I can't tell you this easily, but it wouldn't hurt to say a little more."

Consort Li's body had long been unable to bear children, and she must have been aware of this herself, which is why she sought a way to improve her health.

But she's brainless; she doesn't know how to plan, she can't assess situations, and yet she dares to say she wants to have a son. Naturally, she can't be tolerated.

She was destined to be abandoned.

"Who exactly is instructing you? Consort Li is in the prime of her life, why can't she have children? Explain yourself clearly." Seeing that it was already dawn, but Baojuan was deliberately beating around the bush, An Lingrong couldn't help but feel anxious.

But Baojuan remained unhurried and chuckled, "Too clear? That's impossible. My lady, perhaps you already hate me to the bone and wish I were dead."

But I still want to live. Only by living can I have a chance to succeed, hahaha.

Besides, I'm not Consort Li. I know that if someone is no longer useful, who would bother to keep them around?