The Daily Life of a Concubine's Daughter After Transmigrating

"Your Highness, it's getting late, it's time to return to the manor," Zhilan reminded her.

Li Anqi nodded, stood up, and whispered to Shan Xingwen, "I will find out about the matter of the imperial merchants. Young Master Shan, please don't worry."

"I trust Your Majesty." Shan Xingwen's expression was slightly solemn.

As Li Anqi walked out of Yishantang, he looked back once.

Ran Yi was still standing in the same spot, her small figure stretching long in the setting sun.

She suddenly felt that the melancholy in her heart seemed to have dissipated somewhat.

"Your Highness, shall we return to the manor?" Zhilan asked softly.

Li Anqi smoothed the velvet flower at her temple, her gaze growing serious: "No, let's go to the silver shop first. I want to see exactly where the jewelry presented as tribute this year is 'inadequate'."

Three days later.

After dressing up, Li Anqi boarded the carriage to enter the palace.

When I entered Kunning Palace, the Empress was playing with a pug.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!" Li Anqi bowed dignifiedly.

The Empress turned her head to look at Li Anqi, her eyes smiling: "It's Consort Qi! Look at this puppy, isn't it cute?"

The pug has long, white fur and round, black eyes that give it a strangely pitiful look.

Li Anqi nodded and walked closer: "This dog has bright eyes and seems quite intelligent."

The Empress smiled and stroked the pug's fur:

"Yes, it is very clever. The Prince gave it to me, and I named it Chengxi. Just hearing this name makes me feel much better, and I can even sleep peacefully."

Chengxi means "carrying hope." The eldest prince is also called Lingxi. The lapdog filled the void left by the empress's grief over the loss of her beloved son.

Her name carries her hopes for the future.

This further demonstrates that Prince Lingluo has already expressed his stance to the Empress, showing that they are of one mind and share the same fate.

The Empress was hoping that Ling Luo could help her turn her life around, so how could she not be happy and pleased?

"In that case, congratulations to Your Majesty the Empress."

With a slight smile, Li Anqi accepted the exquisite wooden box handed to him by Zhilan, opened the lid, and presented it to the Empress.

"Your Majesty, this is a phoenix velvet hairpin that I made myself, and I present it to you specially."

The Empress's gaze fell upon the wooden box, and she was instantly captivated.

The phoenix was entirely wrapped in golden threads, its main body gradually changing from crimson to orange, and every feather was lifelike.

The phoenix's posture of raising its head and spreading its wings is particularly graceful, with a string of fine gold tassels as thin as hair held between its beaks, swaying gently with Li Anqi's movements, reflecting tiny golden lights in the sunlight.

The Empress's eyes lit up, and she reached out to gently stroke the phoenix's feathers: "The layers of these feathers..."

"Your Majesty, we used seven different shades of silk," Li Anqi explained gently. "The outermost feather tips were infused with gold leaf, which is why they change color with the light."

She carefully lifted the hairpin and lightly touched the phoenix's eyes with her fingertips: "The pearls inlaid here are from the South Seas, and I specially chose those with a light pink luster."

The Empress took the hairpin, and the tassels immediately fell like a drizzle. Each gold bead was only the size of a grain of rice, yet perfectly round, making a crisp sound when they collided.

The most exquisite part is that the ends of the tassels are adorned with a few thin, cicada-wing-like red jade-carved paulownia leaves that gently twirl with each movement.

"These tassels..." The Empress couldn't help but gently shake the hairpin.

“There are ninety-nine gold beads in total, symbolizing ‘longevity’,” Li Anqi said, lowering his eyes.

The Empress handed the hairpin to the maid beside her: "Put this on for me."

When the hairpin was inserted into the empress's towering hair bun, the entire inner palace seemed to light up.

The phoenix seemed about to take flight from the golden-threaded hair, its tassels dangling beside the empress's ears, swaying gently with her elegant head turn, casting dappled light and shadow in the hall.

"Such exquisite craftsmanship."

The Empress gazed at herself in the bronze mirror, a smile on her face. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned to look at Li Anqi and changed the subject.

"I remember you were the founder of Shan Kee Velvet Flower."

Li Anqi spoke calmly and bowed respectfully: "It is indeed your humble servant."

The Empress was deep in thought, and at the same time, she suppressed her smile and dismissed all the servants in the palace.

"Are you here to speak on behalf of Secretary Shan?" The Empress's tone was unreadable.

Li Anqi's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't show it on her face. She just lowered her head and said, "If we only talk about silk and jewelry, no one in the capital can compare to them. Even the Ding family in Jiangnan can't compare. I just can't understand it."

"..." The Empress frowned and glared at Li Anqi. "You are his concubine and also my matchmaker. I may tell you."

Before the Empress could finish speaking, Li Anqi's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, the Empress continued.

“It was Prince Xiao who instructed me to remonstrate with the Emperor.”

"Minister Pu and the Ding family of Jiangnan were both arranged by him."

"I don't understand either. Why would he take the risk of replacing Shan Ji? Is it just for the sake of this little bit of profit from the imperial merchant?"

The Empress was puzzled.

At first, Li Anqi couldn't understand it either, but gradually, she suddenly had a gut feeling.

Or perhaps he was too ambitious, not only targeting gambling dens and restaurants but also the profits of imperial merchants.

Or perhaps he deliberately suppressed Shan Ji, perhaps wanting to cut off his own source of income so that he would have no one to rely on outside.

Or, it's both.

Pu Yanshan, the Minister of Revenue, was originally a member of the Crown Prince's faction. After the Crown Prince was imprisoned, the Empress boarded Lingluo's ship, so it's not surprising that Pu Yanshan followed the Empress onto the ship.

But when did the Ding family of Jiangnan fall into his hands?

Li Anqi's whereabouts are unknown.

For some reason, she suddenly recalled the horrific scene of the Wu family being slaughtered by him, and her body subconsciously felt nauseous.

"What's wrong?" The Empress noticed Li Anqi's unusual behavior and suddenly took one of his hands. "Are you pregnant?"

The Empress's face gradually broke into a smile. "Prince Xiao will surely be pleased to know this."