Chapter 190:

As expected, the head oil of Qi Qiao indeed contained the ingredient of rare flower. However, this alone couldn’t prove that it was definitely done by Shuang’er.

Qi Qiao herself naturally also had the possibility to do so.

What was being watched now was simply who would reveal the truth under severe punishment.

And the facts did not come as a surprise to many. Under torture, Shuang’er confessed that her mistress, Li Yanran, had instructed her to do these things. Since entering the palace, she had been on good terms with all the quarters.

Certainly, there were those who didn’t go along with her, but there were also those who sought small gains, like Qi Qiao.

Li Yanran had long wanted to harm the Empress, but had been unable to find an opportunity. According to her thinking, using someone else as a weapon would be the best approach.

Precisely for this reason, she continuously incited Fang Ci, who had idolized her since childhood.

Though Fang Ci had schemes in mind, they were all on the surface, naturally becoming her weapon.

However, although Fang Ci was malicious, she did not succeed, which made Li Yanran extremely dissatisfied.

But who else in the palace would be influenced by her encouragement? It was absolutely impossible. And with new entrants to the palace in less than two years, she was worried she wouldn’t be able to wait that long, so she had no choice but to take desperate measures.

Originally, even if discovered, it would have nothing to do with them. Who would have thought that both the Emperor and the Empress trusted Ann Xiu Yi more, resulting in things turning out this way.

Under Shuang’er’s identification, Lai Xi and others dug up the unused rare flower powder from the courtyard of Tingyu Pavilion.

Since the incident occurred, Li Yanran had been confined indoors and had no opportunity to dispose of the evidence.

When asked how she could have such a substance, it went back to Fang Ci’s previous framing attempt, which had failed. She then thought of the incident where Empress Shen had an allergic reaction to the rare flower.

Although the rare flower was now strictly prohibited, it didn’t mean it was completely unavailable.

Li Yanran sent a letter to her family, and during the New Year visit by Lady Li, the rare flower powder was brought into the palace and handed over to Li Yanran.

Once the incident broke out, others had already anticipated Li Yanran’s fate.

Thinking back to the time when there were fewer people in the palace and no such disputes, and later with the constant influx of new people challenging the Emperor’s limits, it seemed that the Emperor had now lost his patience.

As a result of this incident, Li Yanran and her maid Shuang’er were both ordered to commit suicide.

Because of this,

Minister Li was demoted, and Lady Li was reduced to commoner status for conspiring to frame the Empress.

In an instant, the Li family rapidly declined.

Everyone saw clearly that if it weren’t for Minister Li’s previous high reputation and respect, Lady Li would certainly have been executed. This leniency was somewhat of a favor to Minister Li. However, although some favor was shown, the Li family ultimately fell into ruin.

The incident unfolded extremely quickly, and within half a month, everything had changed.

Everyone in the palace became even more cautious, not daring to be the least bit careless.

Even Lanyue could sense this change. Despite Fu Jinyao’s usual temperament, she had become much more subdued. How could she not be, when the Emperor’s icy gaze that day had made many people shudder, including her.

Everyone deeply understood that no matter what, they must never offend the Empress, otherwise the consequences would be unpredictable.

Just when everyone thought the matter had been resolved, there was yet another round of promotions within the palace.

Fu Jinyan, for repeatedly assisting in handling palace affairs, was promoted to the rank of Xianfei (Virtuous Consort). An Xiu Yi was also promoted to Defei (Virtuous Lady). Zhang Guiren, the victim of the rare flower incident, was promoted to Zhangbin (Lady Zhang).

All of this happened so suddenly that others were astonished.

The two daughters of the Fu family, the concubine-born daughter surpassed the legitimate one.

Fu Jinyan had risen to the rank of consort within a short year, not only that, but she was even one rank higher than her older sister.

After all, Huifei was merely a consort, not one of the Four Imperial Consorts.

No matter others, even Lanyue, was very confused about the Emperor’s intentions.

He would declare his love for her every day, but then he would bestow honors on others?

The Emperor did not consult with her. Upon hearing the news, Lanyue was stunned, her expression sour.

“His Majesty the Emperor arrives——”

Hearing the announcement, Lanyue looked up and saw the Emperor entering.

Unable to hide her expression in time, the Emperor saw her like this and understood immediately.

“My little Yue is upset?” Seeing her unhappy, the Emperor was actually delighted.

In his heart, he was happy because Yue’er’s behavior showed that she had feelings for him. Otherwise, why would she be like this?

Lanyue herself had not yet realized her own complicated feelings.

She just pouted in grievance.

“Your Majesty, what are you referring to? How could this humble subject possibly have any grievances?”

This statement was so bitter that even the Emperor could feel it.

With a smile, he wrapped his arms around her waist: “If you weren’t upset at all, why would my little Yue act this way? Besides, the moment I walked in, I could already smell the strong scent of vinegar?”

Seeing him teasing her again, Lanyue felt even more aggrieved.

But she bit her lip and finally recovered.

Looking at him again, she smiled seductively: “This subject didn’t either! Your Majesty must have smelled wrong.”

The Emperor, of course, did not believe her.

He placed his hand on her chest and said with a smile: “I’m glad you’re jealous.”

Look at that, he was just such a bad person.

Whenever he made her unhappy, he himself was delighted.

The Emperor nibbled her neck and said: “Today in court, I appointed Shen Shuping as the deputy commander of the imperial guards.”

In a casual sentence, Lanyue looked at him in surprise.

This matter had not leaked a single word.

Thinking again about the Emperor’s nature, he was indeed a man of strategy.

It seemed that he had deliberately hidden this to surprise her here!

That her brother could be promoted, Lanyue was naturally happy. Her brother Shen Shuping was not fond of literature, and his mind was not complicated.

He was especially fond of martial arts. When he was young, others mocked him as a “brute.”

Sometimes, even Lanyue thought that if her brother had been more cunning, perhaps he would not have been harmed by Bai Xiaodie.

But after learning the truth, she realized that no matter how cautious her brother was, if someone in a higher position wanted to frame him, there would always be a way to find a flaw.

Now looking at the Shen family, everything was going well, and the family was harmonious and happy.

Her brother did not crave power and position, but being recognized by others must have made him very happy.

“Yue thanks Your Majesty on behalf of my brother.”

Seeing her smile gently, the Emperor felt a bit jealous.

Muttering, “I know, you care most about your brother and sister. His promotion doesn’t need you to thank me on his behalf. You and I are a family.”

He had thought he was using this matter to soothe the matter of granting titles to concubines.

But looking at his sullen expression now, Lanyue found it somewhat amusing.

He was actually… jealous of her brother!

That shouldn’t be the case!

“Your Majesty and I are naturally a family, not only a family, but also a few treasures! Even so, I still have to thank you! My brother is so dull, and Your Majesty is willing to entrust my brother with important tasks, which must be because of my sake. How can Yue not be moved?”

Lanyue spoke sweetly.

Even though the Emperor truly loved her, he wouldn’t have given the matter to her brother just for her sake. It must be that her brother, Shen Shuping, still had qualities worth entrusting with important responsibilities.

But at this moment, Lanyue didn’t say that.

She slowly flattered the Emperor, and indeed saw him smile.

“You’re just a little fox. You know full well that I’m not a foolish person. Originally, I intended to promote him, but just hadn’t found a suitable opportunity. I took advantage of this situation to resolve it all at once. Others may think that I’m promoting him to compensate for the matter of granting titles to concubines. In this way, your brother can take office more smoothly. Don’t worry, Zhou Nan is a good judge of character and knows how to use people well. If he believes your brother is capable, then he definitely is.”

Lanyue smiled and poked his chest: “What others think, Your Majesty is trying to compensate for the matter of granting titles to concubines. I actually think that’s exactly what it is!”

Seeing her look so charming, the Emperor narrowed his eyes, feeling a surge of desire.

“You little girl, when did you become so silly? Why would I need to do that?”

He gently pecked her lips and spoke: “Promoting them has its own reasons. You should know that now my heart only belongs to you, how could I have any thoughts for others. Promoting them has many benefits. Let me explain them one by one to you.”

Lanyue looked up at him, wanting to see what reasoning he would come up with.

“Firstly, it’s good for you. Everyone inside and outside the palace knows that you have the Emperor’s exclusive favor. For a while, it’s okay, but in the long run, there will inevitably be trouble. And now, the matters that needed to be cleaned up have not yet been completely resolved. I’m too lazy to create trouble for both of us. Secondly, it can help you a bit. You can see that the people I promoted are all carefully chosen. They are all obedient people, or rather, smart people who know that you are absolutely not someone they can offend. Now that I have promoted them, they naturally know what they can and cannot do. Thirdly, after some time, I will let them know that the promotion of the concubines in the harem has absolutely nothing to do with the rise and fall of their families. I want to cut off their thoughts. To prevent them from always thinking that by sending a daughter into the palace, their family can rise to power overnight. Not a chance.”

After the Emperor finished speaking, Lanyue smiled and asked, “If the rise and fall of the concubines in the harem has nothing to do with the prosperity of their families, then why did you promote my brother at this time? What would others think? Isn’t that contradictory?”

The Emperor was unconcerned: “How can my Yue’er be compared to others?”

Seeing him like this, Lanyue curled her lips: “Tsk tsk!”

The Emperor raised his eyebrows slightly: “What? Do you doubt what I said?”

Lanyue quickly smiled apologetically: “Of course not, Your Majesty is just being suspicious.”

The Emperor patted her little bottom and said, “In time, they will naturally understand. Although Shen Shuping is not particularly clever, he does have his own strengths. Besides being capable, loyalty and obedience are his top qualities. Of course, even if he didn’t have these qualities, I would still value him, after all, he’s Yue’er’s good older brother! However, the position would be different. Just like your father and second uncle.”

The Emperor spoke from the heart, and Lanyue smiled and nodded, leaning into his arms.

The two were quite warm and affectionate.

“Your Majesty, Nurse Gui will be back soon, right? Earlier, the Empress Dowager said she would send her over to assist this subject.”

“I know.”