ould give her time to tidy up a bit. She then asked, "By the way, where's Lüzhu""Miss Lüzhu..." Lu Zhu suddenly stopped. She had forgotten she couldn't call her sister in front of others. Glancing at...The Second Chapter: Abnormalities in the Imperial Palace are Numerous

"She is indeed an extraordinary woman." Putting down whatever he was holding, Feng Changqing's lips curved into a pleasant smile as he took a sip of hot tea.

Ning Fu noticed that Feng Changqing seemed to be in good spirits and continued, "Then Your Majesty, what about Consort Xiao’s quarters"

"Short-sighted and narrow-minded. What else can I say about her" His tone was impatient, clearly showing his unwillingness to continue with this topic. He waved his hand and said, "I don’t want to see her in the next month."

Understanding Feng Changqing’s thoughts, he also pondered over that Hongxue Concubine who had never been summoned yet could gain such attention from the Emperor—she must not be underestimated.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I shall withdraw now."

Awaited Ning Fu's departure before Feng Changqing relaxed his furrowed brow; if he had known earlier, he would have let her stay closer to him.

However, Qi Lin was struggling with how to approach Empress Dowager.

Luckily, without a Queen Mother in place, according to the palace rules, they only needed to pay respects to Xiao Ran every three days. Other than that, they could remain within their own quarters or attend to the Emperor.

Of course, she knew Feng Changqing wouldn’t favor her.

"Lady Qi Lin, please hold this hot-water bag; do not freeze your hands." Lüzhu handed a hot-water bag to Qi Lin and sat beside her, softly saying, "Jinyu has become more obedient, but it seems she doesn’t take care of you properly."

Qi Lin brushed off the dust on her skirt and glanced at Bice and Core who were cleaning. She said nonchalantly, "In the past, Chrysanthemum didn’t serve me closely either; now that our quarters have become larger, I still consider you my personal maid, this is enough for me."

Lüzhu opened her mouth but couldn't voice her thoughts and hung her head down instead.

Unexpectedly, Qi Lin held her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Lüzhu was slightly taken aback; she was somewhat moved and wanted to speak up when she felt Qi Lin pressing on her shoulder. Seeing Qi Lin smiling yet shaking her head, she was surprised.

"Aunt Jinyu." Spotting Jinyu walking towards them with a smile, Qi Lin called out to her.

Jinyu paused, gathering herself and walked over formally, saying, "Lady Qi Lin, what is your wish"

"No orders for now. The weather today is fine; go inside and fetch me that jade step ornament so I can wear it. I plan to take a walk." While playing with her silk scarf, Qi Lin carefully observed Jinyu’s expression, noticing her slight panic; she smiled slightly and asked, "What's wrong"

Jinyu tightly clutched her sleeve corner, awkwardly twisting the corners of her mouth as she stammered, "Lady Qi Lin, don’t you have a jade step ornament I... I was unaware."

"How could there not be one!" Lüzhu abruptly stood up and raised her voice, looking down at Jinyu condescendingly and said, "That is an imperial gift; are you questioning the Emperor"

Upon hearing it was a royal gift, Jinyu’s face turned pale. How could she not know about that step ornament It was simply because it wasn’t in her quarters but on Qi Lin herself as Qi Lin usually didn’t adorn herself. She hadn't expected...

"Why are you hesitating Quickly fetch the step ornament."

After Lüzhu’s words, Jinyu felt even guiltier and lowered her head, sweat beading on her palms.

Qi Lin knew it was just an ordinary jade step ornament, not a gift from Feng Changqing; perhaps it had been taken by someone near her who misunderstood her behavior.

"Alright then, let’s say I forgot about it." Putting down the hot-water bag, Qi Lin rose and started to play with the potted plants beside them. Seeing Jinyu heave a sigh of relief, she suddenly raised her voice again, "But you all must listen carefully."

All the people hurriedly knelt down, and those with a guilty conscience naturally couldn’t escape Qi Lin’s eyes.

"Although my沁泉軒is small, it has attracted rats. I grew up in a poor family since childhood, so even though I don't know much else, I do know how to deal with these pests." Scanning the kneeling people, she continued, "Do you know what I did when I found out there were rats in the warehouse"

The crowd was silent but uneasy.

"I set fire to that place. Afterward, any surviving rats I captured, I tied up and let them starve to death." As she spoke, Qi Lin felt a wave of discomfort; she had always been terrified of rats, even screaming when she saw one, yet managed to hide it well.

Using Empress Wu Zetian's horse-training technique—first coaxing them, then beating them if they didn’t listen, and finally killing them if necessary.

Unfortunately, she wasn't a killer.

But she could be terrifying.

"What do you think, is this satisfactory" Smiling at the crowd, everyone except Lüzhu seemed eager to leave. Qi Lin continued, "However, I am not completely merciless; if the rats behave themselves, perhaps I will spare them."

"My Lady is kind," the people who heard this quickly knelt and thanked her.

Jinyu secretly glanced at Qi Lin, only to meet her gaze. This time she didn't lower her head, but felt a slight admiration in her heart.

"I am tired, all of you can leave." Finding an excuse, with Lüzhu’s support, she walked towards the inner room.

"My Lady, that was quite a clever move," Jinyu had known Qi Lin to be shrewd and outspoken since before they entered the palace, her respect for her growing every day.

"Alright, you can go rest too. I want to read some books."

Jinyu didn’t say much more but bowed slightly and left.

After dismissing Lüzhu, others entered the room and knelt down slowly.

"Slave girl greets My Lady."

Looking at Jinyu, she casually told her to rise and returned to reading her book.

Seeing Qi Lin had no intention of asking further, Jinyu could hold back no longer. She took out the hair ornament from her sleeve and lowered her head even more.

"Didn't I tell you not to"

"My Lady," knowing she deserved blame, Jinyu quickly bowed several times before continuing, "Recently, one of my sisters contracted a cold that wouldn't heal. I heard there was an ancient remedy available in the market but it was too expensive; so I— My Lady, please punish me."

Her eyes narrowed. She had initially thought Jinyu harbored resentment for her previous words, yet there was more to this situation than she expected. However, Qi Lin didn’t intend to believe everything.

In the palace, trust no one.

This was what Yu Mu wrote in his last letter.

Gazing at Jinyu, Qǐ Lín closed the book and softly said, "If that hairpin could save a life, it would be an act of virtue on my part. In this case, you have done me a good deed."

Jinyu slightly raised her head to see Qǐ Lín looking at her calmly with a smile on her face. She lowered her head again.

"You should get up now."

She was momentarily stunned, thinking that kneeling wasn’t the solution either. She had no choice but to rise and say, "Thank you, Noble Consort."

"Leave now; I need some rest." Not wanting to prolong the conversation, she found a reason to dismiss her. However, Jinyu felt uneasy holding the hairpin, so Qǐ Lín smiled and said, "That worthless thing is yours as a reward. Also, go to the treasury and take some silver coins for yourself; it's my way of showing you some kindness."

Without waiting for any response from Jinyu, she had already lain down and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

Feeling that Jinyu had knelt in gratitude before leaving, Qǐ Lín slowly opened her eyes. The surroundings were so quiet that all she could hear was her own breath. She then carelessly stretched out her legs and rolled around on the bed, enjoying herself immensely.

The tense body finally relaxed, it felt too good.

"Cough."

Qǐ Lín froze in place with her feet still in mid-air. She turned back dumbly.

"Seems like I came at an inconvenient time," he thought as he suppressed the urge to laugh, though his lips curled slightly anyway. He leaned against a pillar next to him and watched Qǐ Lín's petrified figure.

After several seconds of being stunned, Qǐ Lín rolled off the bed in a graceful manner that startled everyone outside. But due to Feng Changqing’s order not to enter, they could only stand by helplessly.

Bending down and poking at her back with his hand, he asked, "When are you going to stop"

Upon hearing this, Qǐ Lín suddenly got up and started scratching her head on the floor while saying, "Your servant didn't know that Your Majesty had arrived. I failed in welcoming Your Majesty properly at the gate; please forgive me."

A few seconds passed without any reply from Feng Changqing. Qǐ Lín felt curious but then heard Feng Changqing's loud laughter as she raised her head.

"Puhaha, hahaha." Feng Changqing burst into exaggerated laughter and even held his stomach.

Qǐ Lín was puzzled by why he was laughing. Did it mean he wanted to kill her

"My dear consort, is this an invitation for me" He then shifted his gaze towards Qǐ Lín’s neckline where the collar was slightly open, revealing a tempting sight.

Qǐ Lín first froze but quickly moved her gaze towards her neck. She immediately covered herself and blushed as she hurriedly turned around to put on her clothes properly.

Feng Changqing had stopped laughing, but Qǐ Lín knew that he was still holding back his amusement. After putting the clothes on, when she turned around, Feng Changqing seemed to act like nothing happened as he sat calmly at the desk drinking tea leisurely.

"Why did Your Majesty come here" Knowing that Feng Changqing wasn't angry, she felt frustrated and said as she walked over, "You could have given me some notice."

“I don’t need to inform anyone when I visit my own harem,” he replied without caring about Qǐ Lín’s impropriety. He continued drinking his tea, “The tea here is just like in Drunken Flower Tower. So it looks like you and that piece of wood are quite close.”

Hmm Did the Emperor know about Yu Mu Of course, since he had drunk Yu Mu's tea before, he could naturally remember him.

"What is Your Majesty’s purpose in coming this time" She didn’t believe that Feng Changqing came here to snatch her away or just passed by. When she raised her head, she noticed a red stain on the Emperor's neckline, which seemed like it was left by someone else.

Blushing, she averted her gaze and chuckled The emperor's life is indeed quite... varied.

Acting nonchalant, she sipped her tea while waiting for Feng Changqing to speak.

However, Feng Changqing merely drank his tea silently. He seemed to increasingly enjoy this carefree feeling. It was only here with Qi Lin that he could be like this.

"These are the plans of Changle Palace. I've marked out routes for you where you can move freely without being disturbed by others." Pulling out the prepared drawings, he continued, "Although I have given these to you, you must remember: these paths are riddled with traps and mechanisms. If you make a mistake, it could be fatal."

Mechanisms Qi Lin was taken aback; there were actually mechanisms inside That made sense then—the strangest thing she had noticed since entering the palace also got explained. On the ninth level, she rarely saw imperial guards except for Feng Changqing who was accompanied by Qin Xiao and a few others, all of whom seemed to be highly skilled.

So there were mechanisms after all.

Bloody hell, that means my head could literally fall off at any moment Moreover, I don't know where the mechanisms are. Quickly checking if the drawings had any notes on them, but they didn’t have anything marked.

"Would you really think this emperor would tell you such crucial information" Feng Changqing read her thoughts and said, "Don't worry though, as long as you stick to these routes, you'll be safe."

What Why does it feel like I'm being toyed with

"This emperor has an idea."

"Please share it."

"Teasing you is quite amusing."

"Die."

"Hahaha You are the first woman to tell this emperor off like that."

What kind of people were in this palace

Feng Changqing was absolutely unique and strange.

"Mistress, still thinking about today's events Green Bamboo had no choice. It was His Majesty who... "

"It’s fine, I'm not angry." However, looking at those plans, it seemed she would start preparing tomorrow. "Green Bamboo, keep an eye on Junyu these few days; she..."

"She's a loyal servant and won't do anything to you."

Huh Qi Lin quickly closed her outer robe, grabbed the pillow by her feet, and flung it violently.

But it was caught deftly by that person.

"How did you end up here" Hadn't he said there were mechanisms

The man smiled at Qi Lin and replied, "I have a basic understanding of mechanisms."

Liar!. I don’t need it. Aren't you fond of him Why are you still doing these things""Do you think I want to" Bu Yao glared at Qi Lin and forcefully pushed the sachet into her hands. She then said, "I can’t...