Chapter 177:

Emperor Jing did not tell Layue about this matter, and even if he truly knew the truth, he would not speak much about it.

In Emperor Jing’s view, Layue had already accepted the reality of her mother’s absence. Knowing about this matter now, which might involve some hidden schemes, would only drag her into the fire again.

Emperor Jing simply could not bring himself to do that.

“The investigation can proceed, but there is one thing I want you to understand—I do not want anyone from the Shen family to find out about this, and even less so Shen Guifei.”

Emperor Jing made himself clear. The Sixth Prince was momentarily stunned, then understood, narrowing his eyes slightly.

This gesture made the two brothers appear somewhat alike.

“Your Majesty truly cherishes Shen Guifei,” the Sixth Prince remarked.

Emperor Jing remained expressionless: “I’m simply telling you what you should do.”

Rarely, Yan Lie did not argue with Emperor Jing and simply agreed, then excused himself and left.

At this moment, he had no mind for anything else.

Seeing his reaction, Emperor Jing did not press further, but he did take Layue’s mother’s matter to heart.

Recently, perhaps because the Empress Dowager’s illness had worsened, everyone had been behaving themselves, afraid of causing any trouble that might anger the Emperor. Still, there were always those with ulterior motives. Not long ago, when Emperor Jing accompanied Shen Guifei to visit the Empress Dowager, carrying a food basket, and soon left, everyone knew about it.

Some people began to think too much.

Even more so, some wanted to use this incident to their advantage.

“Your Highness, that new palace maid assigned by the Imperial Household recently has been lingering around the kitchen. Qiaoning has already tested her several times on purpose, and there must be something suspicious about her. How should we deal with her?”

Jin Xin asked.

Arresting her might eventually uncover the truth, but based solely on one person’s testimony, there was insufficient evidence.

In theory, the best course of action would be to do nothing and observe what she intended to do. However, Jin Xin was worried it might not be safe enough, especially since the three young masters were still young, and the eldest and second princes often came around.

If anything were to happen, they would be guilty beyond redemption.

Layue thought for a moment and decisively said, “We will detain her. We cannot afford to take risks. I want to find out who is so foolish to dare harm me at a time like this.”

In fact, judging from this, the person probably wasn’t very clever.

Bai Youran was under her control. Even if she had a moment of carelessness, there was still the Emperor.

As for Fu Jin Yao and Li Yanran, the two were certainly under the Emperor’s watchful eye. Before Zhu Yuning left, she had told her those things, and Guo’er would definitely report them. And the Emperor had been especially considerate toward her, seemingly with intention. Although she dared not fully trust this, she was always worried about the children.

Therefore, whoever was behind this incident must be someone outside of those few individuals.

After hearing her mistress’s words, Jin Xin nodded in agreement and then left to handle the matter.

Actually, she shared the same opinion, but still could not take action on her own.

Looking at the young girl brought before her, Layue examined her carefully. She appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, but her eyes held a hint of cunning.

Without even speaking, Layue could tell she would try to deny everything.

She simply continued watching, while the young servant girl knelt on the floor, biting her lip, seemingly ready to proclaim her innocence at any moment.

“Send her to the Office of Discipline and say she was plotting mischief in the kitchen.”

As soon as Layue finished speaking, the young girl began to scream, “Your Highness, I didn’t do it, I didn’t do anything!”

Xiao Dengzi ignored her cries, stuffed a cloth into her mouth, and dragged her out.

“Your Highness, why not question her first?” Tao’er still felt puzzled.

Layue smiled gently, “Question? What should I ask? I won’t ask anything. I’m sure the Office of Discipline will handle the interrogation well. Since she’s willing to be someone else’s pawn, she should know what to expect.

If she was truly being manipulated, I might deal with her differently. But look at her, look at her eyes and expressions. She clearly wants me to know she has ambitions. In fact, she’s probably waiting for me to ask her something. Someone like her, even if she were to defect, I wouldn’t dare to accept her. Sending her to the Office of Discipline, I’m sure she will explain her intentions clearly.”

The others nodded in understanding.

Jin Xin added, “Actually, sending her to the Office of Discipline might not be a bad thing. Once she’s there, the Emperor will certainly find out. Perhaps we won’t need to do much ourselves.”

Upon hearing this, Tao’er became even more delighted.

“Exactly! This is indeed a good idea!”

Layue casually ran her fingers through the threads in the basket, picking up one strand. Her lips curved into a smile, but her eyes held little warmth: “It seems these days have been too peaceful. Some people must be feeling uneasy now!”

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, knowing that although their mistress had sent the girl to the Office of Discipline, she was not truly happy.

Seeing everyone watching her carefully, Layue let out a soft laugh, her expression genuinely warmer now.

“Bring me the list of the palace consorts.”

Xing’er quickly lifted the curtain and went out.

“How many palace consorts are there now in the palace?”

Even without looking at the list, Jin Xin already knew the answer.

“Altogether, there are forty-six.”

In the past, she hadn’t thought much of it, but upon closer count, it really was quite a number!

“That’s quite a number indeed!” Layue said as she played with the threads, her expression unreadable.

Compared to an ordinary household, this number was naturally enormous. But this was no ordinary household—it was the imperial harem, where in comparison, this number was actually quite small. It was even fewer than in her previous life.

Although that was the case, Layue couldn’t help but feel that there were too many women in the palace now. Otherwise, how could there be so many troubles?

The others looked at their mistress, unsure of her thoughts. But recalling her earlier mood, they dared not speak much.

“Your Highness?” Jin Xin asked cautiously.

“When there are too many people, it’s better to deal with them properly. After all, in two years, the Emperor will select even more beautiful young women to enter the palace. It would be better to send away those who don’t know how to behave properly now.”

Even among her closest maids, Layue had never spoken like this before.

The others exchanged glances, unsure whether their mistress was truly serious.

Jin Xin, having followed Layue the longest, finally spoke, “Your Highness, please don’t act rashly. In my humble opinion, this may not be the best course of action. Many of the consorts in the harem, if they remain peaceful and obedient, can naturally survive to the end. It’s those like Consort Qi, Consort De, and Consort Xian, who kept stirring up trouble, that eventually lost all favor. Your Highness, please think carefully!”

Even though Guo’er was still around, for their mistress to speak like this was practically inviting the Emperor to find out!

How could their mistress be so careless!

“Who can be completely without fault? Besides, if they are truly innocent, why would I trouble them?”

Shen Layue’s expression was indifferent, leaving everyone puzzled.

Although they didn’t understand, Layue clearly knew exactly what she was doing.

Her intention was merely to let the Emperor know. The Emperor treated her very well and claimed to love her dearly, but she still felt deeply uneasy and uncertain about his true feelings.

She dared not, and could not, respond to his affection.

This was merely a small test.

If the Emperor truly loved her, he would naturally be concerned about her concerns and think about what she thought.

If not, she must firmly guard her heart and absolutely must not fall in love with him, lest she repeat the tragedy of her past life.

Although she did not expect to monopolize the Emperor’s affection in the palace and have him only for herself, she clearly understood that some people still needed to be removed, or else they would remain a potential threat.

How she felt herself was not important, but she had her children to consider—she could not help but think of her beloved child.

If the Emperor truly loved and cared for her and handled everything for her, she naturally would not need to intervene.

But if the Emperor could not handle it, she would have to find another way.

Meanwhile, in Xuanning Hall, Emperor Jing learned of her words. After a long while, he finally smiled.

This little girl was actually testing him!

“Lai Fu, has the palace maid confessed yet?”

“Your Majesty, she has already confessed. It was indeed instigated by Concubine Fang.”

This Concubine Fang referred to Fang Ci.

Fang Ci had only recently improved a little, but now she had relapsed into her old ways.

Emperor Jing’s expression darkened. So she actually thought she still had a chance to make a comeback after he had spared her before?

If he had not fallen in love with Layue, he indeed used to like clever, calculating women who were as cunning as little foxes.

But although he liked such women, he disliked when they harmed others. Back then, he had thought it was just unnecessary worry, a contradiction within himself.

Only today did he realize that there truly were such women—his little Yue’er.

Fang Ci, although somewhat calculating, upon closer inspection, was nothing more than malicious and foolish.

“Who else was she incited by?”

“It hasn’t been discovered yet. However, that little palace maid is not simple either. According to her statement, although Concubine Fang instructed her, she didn’t really intend to harm anyone. She only pretended to act suspiciously, hoping to show some flaws and wait for Shen Guifei to summon her. Then she could perform and gain favor with Shen Guifei. According to her, any clear-eyed person could see that Shen Guifei was far more favored. It would be more promising to follow her instead.”

Emperor Jing, enraged, ultimately let out a bitter laugh: “So this was her scheme. I have always known the harem is rife with intrigues, but now I see there truly isn’t a single innocent soul here. Even a lowly palace maid dares to plot against the Imperial Consort, believing everything will go her way? Yue’er was right to be concerned. These people truly need to be dealt with properly.”

Lai Fu stood aside, waiting for Emperor Jing’s orders.

“I don’t want to see Fang Ci ever again. Deal with her. Since she enjoyed scheming so much, let her go underground and scheme with Consort Qi, Consort De, and the others all she wants.”

The higher-ranking ones were troublesome to handle casually, but what was Fang Ci? Emperor Jing didn’t even need to find an excuse to get rid of her.

Fang Ci had only been in the palace for about a year, but ultimately, due to her own foolishness, she quickly disappeared without leaving even a ripple.