the wind grew stronger, and almost all the leaves on the trees had fallen off. The remaining ones would soon follow, drifting onto the water and flowing away.Ziyn stood beside the river quietly observ...Chapter 11 The Empress Dowager Summons

The news that Feng Changqing was staying overnight at Qinquan Hall spread like wildfire, drawing much attention.

In the past, concubines of the ranks of Lingren and Meiren never had the privilege of having an emperor stay in their quarters unless he summoned them; even then, it was difficult to see him. Hence, many Mei-ren and Lingren racked their brains just to catch a glimpse of his face.

However, everyone knew that since entering the palace, Qi Lin's Qinquan Hall had been deserted, and palace servants avoided going near her place. Qi Lin herself rarely appeared in public from then on.

This unprecedented event momentarily caused envy and resentment towards Qi Lin.

"Ah Chou."

Qi Lin rubbed her nose; these days she noticed many palace servants outside her palace door, and occasionally ran into the jealous Meiren. There was an unmistakable sense of envy in their words.

This made Qi Lin go out as a maid under cover of darkness to avoid being seen. She hadn't been to Changle Palace for quite some time.

She wondered if Empress Dowager had drunk the things she prepared, although she trusted Ah Chou's ability implicitly, her heart still harbored doubts.

No matter how capable Ah Chou was, could everything go smoothly without a hitch If it were not for Zi Yin’s help, would Empress Dowager have allowed such an unusual event

Thinking about the features and looks of Ah Chou, Qi Lin dared to guess but shook her head to dispel that thought.

Sneaking up to Changle Palace's gate, Qi Lin looked at the tightly closed gates. She found a hidden spot to sit; Ah Chou hadn’t been seen around for days, and she wondered if he would appear today.

Everyone envied Feng Changqing being able to stay overnight in her palace quarters. Only she knew that on that night, they did nothing at all.

In the end, when she said that she only regarded him as a bosom friend, Feng Changqing walked alone behind a screen and undressed himself, bathed himself without any words exchanged between them.

Behind the screen, she didn’t dare to take half a step forward or know what to say either.

"Is Elmwood also your bosom friend"

She remembered when Feng Changqing asked that question. She almost spewed out the tea in her mouth. The image of Elmwood and Zi Yin sleeping together lingered, so she shook her head vigorously to dispel it.

"He is my bosom friend."

Feng Changqing only hummed an acknowledgement and remained silent.

After Feng Changqing finished his bath, Qi Lin, though outwardly calm, was actually nervous as she prepared the bed for him.

"In the past you shared a bed with Elmwood. Tonight I sleep here in your quarters. You wouldn’t mind that"

Qi Lin was stunned by his words. Looking into Feng Changqing's gentle eyes, if she were blindfolded, she might have felt like she had returned to her days with Elmwood.

So that night they slept together without touching each other; it was a quiet and peaceful sleep.

But Qi Lin thought about many things—about the past, from meeting Ah Chou to Elmwood, from Drunken Flower Pavilion to the palace. From Zi Yin to Feng Changqing. She vaguely sensed that she was gradually understanding something, but yet unclear what it was.

While deep in thought, Qi Lin felt a breeze behind her and turned around. The familiar figure sat on the ground with his back to the crescent moon; she couldn’t see his face clearly.

"You came." Walking over, she greeted him calmly and continued, "The Emperor stayed overnight."

"I know." He spoke lightly, as if everything was under his control.

Zhili heard a sour feeling in her nose and sat down on a white stone block with her back to A'piao. "Did you send it to the Empress Dowager"

"I did." He didn’t want to say more today.

“Oh.” Zhili murmured softly, seeking out a white rock to sit on. “The Empress Dowager will probably summon you today,” she added after a moment, and then continued with another remark: "You are close to achieving your goal."

Goal Her goal

Zhili turned her head sideways to look at the calm A'piao. She gave a cold laugh and continued staring up at the sky.

This was clearly their goal, how could it have become just her goal It sounded as though she were using this matter to accomplish some sort of conspiracy of her own.

"A-are you upset about something" Feeling Zhili’s coolness, A'piao habitually asked. "Could it be that you are disappointed because the Emperor hasn’t appeared in recent days"

Before he had finished speaking, Zhili suddenly got up to her feet, and even in the darkness of night, he could feel the anger and chill emanating from those black pupils. Yet he continued looking at her with a smile.

"Yes, I am disappointed." Looking down at him coldly, she didn’t know why she was so angry, nor did she want to acknowledge that flicker of agitated emotion. "The Emperor promised me that if I could get the Empress Dowager out of Changle Palace, he would grant my wish to become empress. And becoming an empress—what honor is there in that Being second only to one person and above everyone else! How lofty a position. Zhili has never experienced such a feeling."

"Do you want to be the Empress" His tone was one of mild surprise mixed with doubt; he had always thought that Zhili cared nothing for fame or title.

Huh Zhili gave a cold laugh, she wanted to be empress! Like hell would she ever want to be empress.

"Yes, don’t you see" Yet she nodded against her will, looking at A'piao coldly and raising the corners of her mouth in a frosty smile.

A’piao got up. He had thought that Zhili would tell him about what happened that night and then explain to him how Feng Changqing’s presence made it impossible for him to act.

"Very well," he said, turning to leave.

After A'piao left, Zhili dropped down helplessly, hugging herself, burying her head in her arms.

What on earth was she doing When had she become so sentimental

"When did you start becoming so impulsive"

"At any time."

"You!!!" Zi Yin pointed at the man, clearly upset. "Do you know that what you’re doing might cause His Majesty to become suspicious and then suspect us instead"

"Suspect" Setting down his teacup with a smile, he replied, "He’s already started to doubt."

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have investigated Yumu and wouldn’t have looked into Zhili. Fortunately, not many people knew about Zhili's background.

"This time it was an investigation of the relationship between Yumu and Zhili. Thankfully nothing came up," Zi Yin said as he walked to the window and stood with his hands behind him, continuing: "But your actions tonight could very well lead to Zhili’s death. You must know that the power struggle in the harem is no less than that of the government."

"That depends on how capable she is," although… she had definitely been too impulsive this time.

At this time, Xiao Ran's chamber was still in slumber, the palace maids were all fast asleep, even those on night duty were sitting on the floor, deeply asleep.

The room was filled only with the crackling sound of the candle and the suppressed breathing sounds.

Xiao Ran tightly clutched at the bedsheet; her black pupils were bloodshot from anger. She simply couldn't believe what she had heard.

A moment ago, she was woken up by a sharp pain in her abdomen and called for a court physician who was on standby. Although she hadn't met him before, he did carry an imperial token given to him by the Emperor, so she allowed him to take her pulse.

But...

"May I ask boldly, does Madam often feel as if her lower abdomen is being torn apart and there are signs of menstrual blood"

She nodded, thinking it was just due to weakness. The Emperor had already sent tonics to regulate her body.

"Madam's condition is not due to weakness."

The court physician’s statement caused a frown to appear on Xiao Ran's face. If it wasn't due to weakness, what was it Before she could ask more questions, the physician had already spoken.

She couldn’t remember how the physician left her room; all she remembered was that after hearing his words, her mind went blank and she nearly fainted from shock.

"Madam is experiencing a miscarriage. But... Because of excessive consumption of safflower soup medicine, the fetus in your womb has already died."

Miscarriage She hadn't even been pregnant; how could this be happening All those court physicians who had examined her before couldn’t have all made false diagnoses

But what about these few days of abdominal pain and red discharge How was that to be explained

Who wanted to harm her Was it one of the concubines vying for favor with the Emperor

Yet, even if so, on the day in question, the Emperor had been present as well; the court physician who diagnosed her was also his personal doctor. How could he be so bold as to misdiagnose Unless... unless... it was impossible.

The thought of that "unless" made Xiao Ran clench her mouth in pain, not daring to let out a sound of grief.

Emperor... This is your own flesh and blood. How could you do such a thing What reason

She was shocked at first, then heartbroken; gradually, she understood that the Emperor had done this for one person—someone he treated specially...

That someone was...

"Ah Xue~~~"

Huh Hearing her voice, everyone looked towards the door. They saw Miao Tiao wriggling her round body at an unprecedented speed and bumping into several people.

Qi Lin ran behind Master An, fearing she would rush over to grab her. After the "earthquake" stopped slightly, Qi Lin cautiously peeked out.

"Haha... Aunt Miao, what do you want with me" Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Qi Lin was worried that Miao Tiao might rush over and hug her in excitement.

Miao Tiao didn't even take a sip of tea; she excitedly exclaimed "Grand Empress Dowager is summoning you."

What!

The imperial kitchen was suddenly buzzing with activity, and everyone shot envious glances at Qi Lin, as it was unprecedented for the Empress Dowager to summon a lowly attendant.

Qi Lin merely smiled; she naturally understood what was happening.

She tidied herself up quickly before following Grand Eunuch Su cautiously into the Empress Dowager's main palace.

She had initially thought that the Empress Dowger's residence would be filled with Buddhist scriptures or be silent, but upon entering, she noticed that it was similarly adorned with rock formations and flourishing flora. Every tree held a birdcage containing rare birds.

"Caw~ Caw~"

The crow’s call startled Qi Lin; this wasn’t an auspicious sign.

However, when she raised her gaze to see a pure white bird, she was puzzled. The crows had come from that direction earlier. How could it be

"Caw~"

The bird in the cage seemed to sense Qi Lin’s confusion and squawked again.

W-what A pure white crow!

"Chirp, chirp."

"Gack, gack."

In an instant, all the birds were fluttering around and squawking, bewildering the servants tending to them.

Qi Lin recalled the fortune-teller’s words and was slightly amazed at her own abilities; it seemed the birds were welcoming her

She finally reached the Empress Dowager's chambers and imagined what she might look like—Feng Changqing's mother, probably in her late forties.

In response to Grand Eunuch Su’s summons, Qi Lin entered with her head bowed.

"Servant Ah Xue greets the Empress Dowager. May you enjoy good health and long life." Kneeling outside the pearl curtain, she said carefully.

Without receiving an order from the Empress Dowager, the sound of a door closing made the room suddenly quiet, even their breathing sounded loud.

"Arise."

Qi Lin was taken aback. This voice belonged to a woman in her thirties, and she got up slowly with surprise.

"Lady Red Snow has worked hard,"

Eh Qi Lin froze before saying, "Your servant doesn’t know what the Empress Dowager means; there’s no Lady Red Snow here."

“A lowly servant would not have access to such precious fruits and be able to make exquisite dishes” The Empress Dowager smiled slightly. “I may reside in the deep palace, but I am well-informed about the outside world. How could I not know this"

Qi Lin slowly knelt down, pleading for forgiveness. "The Empress Dowager is wise and just. Red Snow heard that you weren’t eating well and resorted to desperate measures; please forgive me."

"After consuming your fruit platter and vegetable juice, my appetite greatly improved, even the Imperial Physician said I look much better. It’s all thanks to your efforts. What crime have you committed"that Drunken Flower Tower was a brothel, Qi Lin couldn't help but ask Caoer: "Caoer, is Yu Mu公子 a regular customer at Drunken Flower Tower""Ah Xue Sister, what are you talking about" Caoer looked at Q...