Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 542

Chapter 542: 542

The Emperor smiled, "Nannan and Nanny Qi have crafted such good momentum, it’s the right time to take advantage, how can I bear to waste your painstaking efforts?"

The time was too short, and even though he had only gathered limited information, he had already taken advantage of the situation and made arrangements.

The problematic soup bowl had been retrieved before Consort Xu De came into power and had been left unused, which was why it hadn’t been discovered.

He had examined that soup bowl, which under Nanny Qi’s identification, turned out to be an "antique" that could be traced back to the Late Emperor’s era.

This "antique" did not mean the bowl was old in terms of wear, but rather that such soup bowls had appeared in the Late Emperor’s harem.

The last time it appeared, it was in the Late Emperor’s harem where during a feud between two consorts, a favored concubine used such a soup bowl to design a plot against another consort who was pregnant, resulting in the pregnant consort suffering a miscarriage and becoming infertile for life.

This incident had caused a sensation at the time. The Late Emperor ordered a thorough investigation, and after the truth was revealed, the conclusion ended tragically with Chief Eunuch Ma Houcai, who managed the Imperial Prison, being stripped of his duties and meeting a grim death, while the malicious favored concubine remained unscathed, and the victimized concubine met a bleak end with an absurd outcome.

Back then, the Former Empress Dowager was furious and commanded Nanny Qi to inquire into the matter, but the Late Emperor was so absurdly incompetent that for the sake of his favored concubine, he fiercely resisted fairness and pursued his own will stubbornly, eventually causing the Former Empress Dowager to wash her hands of it and no longer intervene.

At that time, Nanny Qi had seen such a soup bowl. Therefore, today she instinctively sensed something wrong, but due to the long passage of time, she couldn’t recall it initially, though she eventually did.

After Huang Zude’s identification, he also confirmed that the medicinal herbs inside were quite old, yet had been well preserved in a sealed environment and still had strong potency, sufficient to terminate a pregnancy within two to three usages, which would be too late to detect, extremely sinister.

This kind of soup bowl had existed before his reign began, making the Emperor realize that someone had been plotting from very early on, waiting in the shadows.

It could be inferred that the person behind this acted very discreetly, coming from the era of the Late Emperor and having remained hidden under the surface for just the right moment, potentially even involved in that tragic incident during the Late Emperor’s reign.

In today’s palace, most servants had not experienced the events of the Late Emperor’s time, and at the time of the Ma Houcai tragedy, all his consorts had not yet entered the palace, which allowed him to eliminate most of the concubines from suspicion.

This was indeed very intriguing.

The Emperor could be certain that in the Ma Houcai tragedy, those who were silenced were silenced—those who did harm and their close associates were dead, and the harmed consort was praying for blessings at the Hetai Temple.

The other consorts from the Late Emperor who were in the know, he had already clipped their wings. Either they had been moved to the Hetai Temple to observe vegetarianism and pray or moved elsewhere to retire. They didn’t possess such great capabilities.

Moreover, the speed at which this news spread was unusual, not within the ability of ordinary people; it must have been someone very deeply embedded in the harem for over a decade.

However, nothing is absolute. He had Hu Miaomiao investigate the activity of the Late Emperor’s consorts, to rule out their misdoings.

From these deductions, it was clear that the person behind this had big ambitions, linked intricately with the Late Emperor’s harem and had invested efforts in the current harem while standing to benefit from their actions.

Such a person, from the former court’s harem, was precisely whom he suspected, and he vaguely already had someone in mind.

Conveniently, he had been waiting for that person’s counterattack, just not expecting that the scheme against his Little Concubine was premeditated; the beginning of the retaliation turned out to be targeting his Little Concubine.

Given that person’s nature, they wouldn’t just let it go, especially since that person’s daughter was currently lying low - he was waiting for that person’s next move, waiting for them to reveal all their pieces and strategies, who exactly the next move was aimed at was easy to guess.

That person had spread the news to muddy the waters, wasn’t it all in preparation for their next move? Otherwise, once successful, there would be no need for further actions.

He simply decided to adopt a strategy of using their plan against them, making the waters murkier, leading everyone to believe that his Little Concubine was in trouble, thus causing a big stir in the harem to bring the underlying plots to the surface.

Thoroughly investigating the Imperial Pharmacy was merely a ruse to mislead others into thinking that no one could recognize the soup bowl as an "old item."

In doing so, first, it allowed the person to lower their guard, confidently plotting their next move, yet it was not so easily done, there was tension amidst the laxity, laxity amidst the tension, all making it more credible;

Second, he took this opportunity to thoroughly cleanse the entire Harem, seeking out the hidden claws, and eradicate them all. Otherwise, he could not rest easy.

Actions taken leave traces, and now the hunter and the prey were beginning to switch roles. As long as the hunter hidden in the shadows struck again, they would move into light and become the prey.

Lian Hua was overjoyed, His Majesty had complimented her, which meant that he approved of her endeavor to frighten Consort Zhen.

She showed a bashful smile, elated by the praise, and could not help clinging to the Emperor, saying, "My Lord, I can also help you."

The Emperor pinched her nose, smiling, "Hmm, Nannan has always done well."

"I will continue to help you like this in the future." Helping His Majesty really made her happy, even more than catching fish at Huaqing Pool.

The Emperor’s eyelids twitched, as if foreseeing the shocking scenes to come.

His smile remained unchanged, and he subtly said, "Nannan need not worry about external affairs. If you do want to help me, why not wait in private until I decide what I want you to do, and then you can assist, how about that?"

He promptly switched from allowing Lian Hua to do what she initially wanted to do to things he wanted her to do, instantly gaining control of the situation.

Thinking something over, the Emperor’s gaze subtly shifted, becoming deeper.

Lian Hua was delighted and just about to agree—half the word "okay" already out—when she suddenly became alert.

She felt that His Majesty’s look was somewhat amiss at the moment, so she hesitated, and her response was no longer as forthright, tentatively saying, "Let’s see what the task is when you have thought of something."

No wonder she was so cautious; after all, having been around him for a long time, she was much more sensitive to the changes in the Emperor’s expressions and actions than an ordinary person, perhaps even more so than Zhang Qing.

When others failed to notice, she could sense the fluctuations in the Emperor’s moods.

Right now, that was the case; she felt something off about His Majesty’s gaze. Perhaps, if she agreed, it would be... well, better to wait and see.

The Emperor was slightly disappointed; his Little Concubine was becoming harder to deceive.

However, it was alright. His Little Concubine still owed him nine favors, and if there were any discrepancies in the future, he would deduct them from these nine, like if she still had thoughts of personally fishing at Huaqing Pool, he would use one chance then.

He knew his Little Concubine well; she had a principled approach to matters and rarely reneged on her promises.

Yet, he still wanted to tease her.

With this in mind, the Emperor showed a hint of disappointment, "Nannan just said she wanted to help me."

"Uh..." Her words already said could not be taken back, leaving Lian Hua uncomfortable, she mumbled, "It’s still, better to know what it is first..."