Quick Transmigration: The Female Supporting Character's Counterattack, A Guide to Cunning Strat

Li Shangxun felt a strange unease, but quickly suppressed it, and casually asked, "By the way, Awan, how did you end up in the palace using Song Xihe's name?"

Liu Shuwan's face turned deathly pale, her lips pressed tightly together, and she couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Seeing her like this, Li Shangxun placed his hand on the back of her hand, which was tightly gripping the bed sheet, and patted it reassuringly: "It's okay, if Awan doesn't want to talk about it, I won't ask."

Just then, Eunuch Liu came over with the medicine, so he took it, blew on it, and held the spoon to her lips, saying, "Here, drink your medicine first."

The palace maids and eunuchs around them showed no outward expression, but their eyes were filled with shock at the Emperor personally feeding them medicine.

Eunuch Liu was also shocked, but having witnessed the scene in the Cold Palace, the idea of ​​personally feeding the medicine seemed quite reasonable.

Thinking about it this way, he calmed down, displaying the composure of a wise man. In the eyes of the other servants, it was clear that Eunuch Liu was indeed worthy of being the Grand Eunuch, remaining calm and collected in the face of adversity.

“I…” Liu Shuwan stepped back, looked up at him, hesitated, opened her mouth, but stopped herself from speaking.

"Just remember, Ah Wan, no matter what it is, I trust you. There's no rush. You can tell me when you're ready. The medicine is getting cold."

Li Shangxun pretended not to care and held the spoon to her mouth again.

Liu Shuwan nodded and obediently drank a spoonful of Chinese medicine. The bitter taste swept across her tongue and rushed straight into her mouth.

She frowned. She had miscalculated; she had only thought about being sick and hadn't realized that traditional Chinese medicine was so bitter.

"I will do it myself."

Seeing that Li Shangxun was still planning to feed her spoonful by spoonful, Liu Shuwan quickly took the bowl containing the medicine and drank it all in one go.

The taste made her face change color, and she had to stuff two candied fruits in her mouth to barely suppress the nausea.

Li Shangxun was also taken aback, not expecting Awan to have this side to her. He chuckled and pulled the blanket tighter around her, saying, "Awan, sleep for a while. I'll wake you up for dinner later, okay?"

Liu Shuwan nodded. He tucked the blanket around her and left after she closed her eyes.

Once they had completely left the palace, Li Shangxun's eyes turned sinister: "What happened?"

"Your Majesty, Consort Song's original name was Liu Shuwan. She was originally a girl from an ordinary family. She happened to meet Consort Song when she was selling food with her father in the city."

Consort Song was reluctant to let her daughter enter the palace, so she used her parents as leverage to force her to enter the palace under the name Song Xihe, thus becoming Consort Song.

Qin Ming handed over the document, which recorded Liu Shuwan's life story.

Li Shangxun glanced through it briefly and asked, "Where are her family members now?"

"Your Majesty, shortly after Consort Song agreed to enter the palace, Consort Song ordered his men to take control of the Liu family and place them in a manor west of the Song family's residence."

"After learning that Consort Song had been sent to the Cold Palace, I stopped paying attention to them. They are probably still at that estate. I have already sent people to check on them," Qin Ming replied respectfully.

Undeniably, Li Shangxun felt a pang of regret upon learning that Liu Shuwan's family was still alive.

She cares so much about her family; if given the chance to leave the palace, she would probably leave without hesitation.

No, he won't give her that chance.

Upon seeing her, he had intended to send all the other women in the palace back, but now he could only postpone it for the time being.

"Send someone to investigate the Song family again. You may leave now."

"Yes." Qin Ming bowed and then took his leave.

"Liu Quan," Li Shangxun asked coldly, "how did Awan end up in the Cold Palace?"

Eunuch Liu hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, Consort Shu found Song Meiren's lost items in her room and sent her to the Cold Palace on charges of theft."

Li Shangxun lowered his eyes and twirled the ring on his finger. Hearing this, he paused, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips. Such charges were not uncommon in the palace.

"In that case, let's demote her to a concubine and send her to the cold palace."

"Yes."

Eunuch Liu hurriedly went to Consort Shu's Yikun Palace with Li Shangxun's imperial edict. From now on, he could only call her Consort Gu. He had a clearer understanding of the great favor Consort Song enjoyed.

*

In Yikun Palace, Consort Shu, who had been leisurely drinking tea, suddenly slammed her teacup down on the table with a crisp sound: "You said His Majesty released that wretch from the Cold Palace and took her directly to Qianqing Palace!"

"Yes, Your Highness." The maidservant knelt down at her feet in fright.

"She really is a vixen, able to seduce men even in the Cold Palace." Consort Shu's expression changed drastically, her eyebrows furrowing.

She was ambitious from a young age and decided that she wanted to marry the most distinguished person in the world.

Upon entering the palace and seeing the Emperor's appearance, her heart was completely devoted to him.

Unfortunately, the emperor did not want palace maids and concubines to get close to him, so he could only see them during grand ceremonies.

Although they rarely interacted, she was at least the closest to him, as was Consort De, though Consort De was of average appearance and not a threat.

After entering the palace, she dealt with many beautiful palace maids and concubines, but the emperor never interfered with her, which made her even more unruly.

She always thought that as long as she was closest to him and had a better appearance than others, he would see her sooner or later. She never expected that the vixen would beat her to it.

She slammed her hand on the table, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger: "Do you know how she seduced the Emperor?"

"This, this, this servant does not know." The maid trembled as she knelt on the ground, bowing even lower.

"Useless thing." Consort Shu got up and kicked her, still not satisfied, she stomped on her hand with her shoe.

The maid let out a muffled groan, clenched her teeth, and made no further sound.

The servants in Yikun Palace all knew that Consort Shu liked to beat and scold the servants whenever things didn't go her way, and if they made a loud fuss, they would only be punished more severely.

After a long while, the maid felt that she had lost all feeling in her hand. Only then did Consort Shu leisurely lift her foot and kick her hand away: "Fool, get out."

Li, the old nanny who had accompanied Consort Shu into the palace, stepped forward and offered words of comfort:

"Why is Your Highness so angry? Consort Song is just born into a humble family; how can she compare to Your Highness's pampered nature?"

Moreover, she's been suffering in the cold palace for so long; even if she were released now, she'd be incredibly thin, and since the imperial physician has been summoned, she probably won't live much longer.

After venting her anger, Consort Shu calmed down, but she still couldn't swallow her anger. Her eyes flashed with a sharp, dagger-like light, as if she wanted to tear Consort Song to shreds.

"Of course I know, but His Majesty actually brought that vile woman to the Qianqing Palace. Let her be smug for a few days, I will make her pay later!"

"However, the story of Consort Song being sent to the Cold Palace cannot stand scrutiny. Although she seems innocent, she may have smeared the Empress in front of the Emperor."

"Why don't you dress up and personally visit Consort Song? Firstly, you can test Consort Song's attitude, and secondly, you can show your face before the Emperor. With your beauty setting an example, Consort Song's plain appearance will surely no longer catch the Emperor's eye, and she might even quickly lose his favor."

Consort Shu's eyes lit up, her face beaming with joy: "What the nanny said makes sense. It's time to dress up. The peach-colored palace dress that the Imperial Wardrobe just received the other day is perfect, and there's matching jewelry too. No, I remember I have a set..."