After finishing the cold noodles, Wen Fuyue saw off Wei Sinian, who needed to meet with the ministers temporarily. For a moment, she didn't know what to do.
So many things had happened last night!
Wen Fuyue guessed that the person who had tried to harm her last night was most likely the Empress Dowager. But if it was really her, why had Wei Sinian discovered it in advance?
When Wei Sinian came to find her last night, it was obvious that he knew the inside story. Wen Fuyue had only met the Empress Dowager a few times, but she had an intuition that the Empress Dowager was not an easy opponent. After all, she was the biggest winner of the previous palace intrigue.
Moreover, the last time the Empress Dowager had deliberately made things difficult for her to humiliate Wei Sinian. It was very likely that she was behind this incident as well.
It seemed that there was more to the story. Wen Fuyue thought to herself secretly and decided to ask Liang Xinyue about it sometime.
Before she knew it, she had walked into the courtyard.
She had been here for over a month. From being cautious and unfamiliar at first, Wen Fuyue was now quite familiar with the place.
At first, she regarded this place as a world in a book. Later, she gradually realized that everyone here was real, with their own thoughts.
All in all, the situation was much more dangerous than she had initially imagined. Fortunately, she had known some of the plot in advance, and Wei Sinian had helped her a great deal for some unknown reason.
He was really an unpredictable man.
Thinking of the man's handsome yet cold and somewhat demonic face, Wen Fuyue heaved a deep sigh with mixed feelings.
"Please go back, Concubine Lan."
Just as she turned to the gate, the palace gate was closed. Wen Fuyue heard a voice coming from outside and subconsciously frowned.
What was going on? Was Liang Xinyue outside? Why didn't the guards let her in?
It must have been Wei Sinian's decision. After a moment's thought, Wen Fuyue remembered that Wei Sinian had lingered at the gate before leaving, muttering something. Then he had left in a hurry.
She called out to the outside, "Let Concubine Lan in."
The original guards at the gate and the few that Wei Sinian had just transferred looked at each other. They were a bit hesitant when looking at Liang Xinyue.
The Emperor had just told them to guard the Imperial Concubine well and not let anyone disturb her. But now the Imperial Concubine had told them to open the gate.
Forget it. Since the Imperial Concubine had spoken, they might as well let Concubine Lan in.
Liang Xinyue watched as the guards looked at each other for a long time, hesitated and stammered. After much hesitation, they finally let her in.
"Your Imperial Highness." Only then did she notice Xiaofuzi, the apprentice of the grand eunuch Anfu, standing in an inconspicuous place. He said to her, "The Emperor just gave us servants the order not to let anyone disturb the Imperial Concubine.
"Now that the Imperial Concubine has spoken, we servants have no choice but to let you in. We just hope that you can understand our difficulties and don't blame us."
After hearing this, Liang Xinyue became even more anxious. Her eyes darkened slightly as she looked at Xiaofuzi. She nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Father-in-law. I will be more careful."
It seemed that something really had happened last night. Liang Xinyue was sure of her conjecture and quickened her pace. She didn't know how Wen Fuyue was. She hoped that she was okay.
"Your Imperial Highness!"
As soon as the door opened, Wen Fuyue saw Liang Xinyue rushing towards her. Her steps were getting faster and faster. She lifted her skirt so quickly that Wen Fuyue was a bit stunned.
"Slow down, slow down!" Wen Fuyue looked at the heeled shoes on her feet and was afraid that she would fall. She quickly reminded her.
"Are you okay?" Liang Xinyue stopped and immediately grabbed Wen Fuyue's hand. She asked nervously, "Are you injured anywhere? Why do you look so pale?"
Wen Fuyue's usually rosy complexion now looked a bit pale. There were big dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes looked lazy.
After all, she hadn't stayed up late for a long time. Last night, in order to wait for Wei Sinian, Wen Fuyue had hardly slept all night. She had only managed to fall asleep at the edge of the bed for a while when dawn was approaching.
"I'm okay." Wen Fuyue felt a warm current flowing in her heart as she saw the genuine concern in Liang Xinyue's eyes. She couldn't help but say gently, "I just didn't sleep well last night. Don't worry."
"That's good." Liang Xinyue also knew that it was probably not appropriate to talk about what had happened last night. So she felt relieved.
It was good that Wen Fuyue was okay. Looking at Wen Fuyue's gentle smiling face, Liang Xinyue couldn't help but sigh. How could such a kind person have fallen into this muddy pit of the palace?
"Don't worry." Wen Fuyue led her to sit down at the new small table under the osmanthus tree. She poured a cup of tea for her and then got up and jumped a few times.
"See, I'm really okay. I just didn't sleep well last night."
"You're really something!" Liang Xinyue was speechless. She looked at her and laughed, "Okay, okay, I know. Sit down quickly."
"I'll tell you what happened last night." Liang Xinyue winked at Wen Fuyue, indicating for her to send away the maids beside them.
"After you left last night, Concubine An suddenly ran in front of the Emperor and said that she had something to report. After she finished speaking, the Emperor's face looked terrifyingly ugly. He immediately led the guards and Anfu and left, leaving behind a bunch of ministers."
Although Wei Sinian didn't like the noise of the banquet and had often left halfway before. But combined with Concubine An's performance and the news that had spread this morning, what had happened last night must have been quite a big deal.
"At noon, there was also news that the Empress Dowager missed the late Emperor. So she would stay behind closed doors for the next six months, copying scriptures, and asked people not to disturb her."
Wen Fuyue was really shocked now. She slightly widened her round eyes as she looked at Liang Xinyue. She subconsciously picked up the cup and took a sip of tea to calm her nerves.
Copying scriptures? The Empress Dowager was most likely under house arrest!
Wen Fuyue didn't expect that Wei Sinian would actually go to such great lengths for her. The shock in her heart was indescribable. She didn't know what to say for a moment.
"You didn't even know about this?" This time it was Liang Xinyue's turn to be shocked. She looked at Wen Fuyue as if she were looking at a rare treasure. Then she laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad. It seems that I've made friends with a favored concubine this time. Won't I rise to power along with you?"
Wen Fuyue: "..." That was the logic, but it couldn't be put that way! Who would compare themselves to chickens and dogs?
"Pfft."
She was amused by what Liang Xinyue had said to liven up the atmosphere. She said to her, "Thank you. Something really did happen last night. I think the Emperor has kept the news so tightly locked that he probably won't let me talk about it.
"You're a smart person. You should be able to guess some of it."
After Wen Fuyue finished speaking, both of them fell into deep thought and began to sort out their thoughts.
What had happened last night was related to the Empress Dowager. Wei Sinian had left the banquet in a hurry to find her after hearing what An Ling'er had said. In fact, there were only two people who had tried to harm her last night. Wen Fuyue had seen someone push her into the water and then run away. The other person might have been worried and had even jumped into the water to drown her personally.
But in the end, that person had been killed by Wei Sinian.
In the palace, the only people who dared to kill so openly were Wei Sinian and the Empress Dowager.
What about An Ling'er? Wen Fuyue had an intuition that she might be a very important part of the incident, but she had changed her mind at a critical moment.
Otherwise, it would have taken her a great deal of effort to escape successfully.