On the other side, in the banquet hall.
Tonight was a welcome banquet for the envoys from the southern neighbor. At the beginning of the banquet, He Lianqi made a few remarks on the stage. Then, saying that there were still state affairs to attend to, he was escorted back to the Qianqing Palace by the palace servants.
Ye, sitting below, watched the back of the man gradually walking out of the palace. He raised his hand and took a sip of the wine in front of him. A most sinister smile curled up on his lips.
Shun had left the palace as early as that afternoon. By now, he might be carousing in some brothel.
Thinking of this, Ye put down his wine cup, suddenly stood up, and strode out of the palace.
Outside the palace, the night sky was boundless. A crescent moon hung quietly in the sky. The late - autumn wind carried a chill.
He looked up at the night sky. Immediately, a figure came to his mind, and he started walking in a certain direction.
On the other side, in the Chengqian Palace.
He Lianqi was bent over his desk. In front of him was an urgent report sent from outside the palace.
It was sent by Nan Gong Liuyun in great haste, but there was still nothing urgent in the official document. It only briefly reported their work progress. However, at the end of the letter, Chu Concubine was mentioned again.
"I wonder if Your Majesty has forgiven my adopted daughter, Chu'er. If not, this old official would like to atone for her sins here!"
The letter read like this.
After reading it, He Lianqi couldn't help sneering. He thought to himself that the old man Nan Gong was still trying to control the affairs in the harem even though he was outside the palace.
Then he thought of what had happened in Chu Concubine's palace that day. The image of that woman still made him feel disgusted.
After thinking this, he casually threw the letter aside and continued to read the official document in front of him without even glancing at it.
In Chu Concubine's palace.
It was late at night, but Chu Concubine still couldn't fall asleep. She was still sitting upright on the chair in the main hall, fully dressed.
Her eyebrows were deeply furrowed, and there was a fire in her eyes.
There were several palace servants kneeling at her feet. They buried their heads tightly on the ground, and their shoulders were trembling slightly.
Whenever Chu Concubine lost her temper, they would become extremely nervous, because they knew very well the character of the woman in front of them. If they made any small mistake at this moment, they might not be able to leave this palace alive.
The bedroom was silent for a moment. The air seemed to stand still during this moment.
Suddenly, Chu Concubine pointed at a maid and said in a deep voice, "You, go and call Concubine Lian here for me!"
The maid obviously hesitated for a moment. After all, it was already this late, and the gates of each palace should have been locked. Going to find Concubine Lian at this time was...
But she took another look at the woman in front of her. The fierce expression on her face immediately sent a chill down her back. Immediately, she replied "Yes, Your Majesty" and hurriedly ran out of the palace gate.
If she dared to refute the woman in front of her at this time, it would surely anger her, and her life might be in danger.
The little maid ran to the gate of Concubine Lian's palace and started banging on it. Soon, a sleepy eunuch came out.
As soon as he saw that the visitor was from Chu Concubine's palace, he immediately perked up and asked respectfully, "I wonder what the matter is, sister, coming here so late?"
Because Concubine Lian usually behaved so humbly towards Chu Concubine, the servants in her palace were also in awe of those from Chu Concubine's palace.
After all, if the master had already lost her dignity, let alone the palace servants who were one rank lower.
"Our mistress wants to see Concubine Lian," the maid from Chu Concubine's palace said, with a look of anxiety on her face.
"At this moment?" The eunuch asked in surprise, after all, it was already so late.
"Yes, right now. Hurry up and invite Concubine Lian!" The maid urged in a hurry.
She even pushed the eunuch, looking as if something extremely serious had happened.
Seeing that the situation seemed a bit serious, the eunuch immediately ran into the bedroom and woke up Concubine Lian who was sleeping.
Concubine Lian opened her eyes groggily. Her mind was still a bit dazed, but there was anger in her chest.
She hated most being disturbed when she was sleeping, especially when she had just fallen asleep.
"What's the matter?!" She said angrily.
The palace servant immediately knelt on the ground, burying her head tightly on the ground and reporting, "Your Majesty, someone from Chu Concubine's palace has come. They said that Your Majesty is wanted there on urgent business!"
After hearing this, Concubine Lian's eyebrows couldn't help but frown tightly. Her misty eyes regained their clarity.
She began to wonder what that woman could possibly want with her at this hour.
Before she could figure it out, she heard an urgent voice from outside the palace, "Concubine Lian, when will you be ready?!"
Interrupted in her train of thought, Concubine Lian's eyebrows frowned even tighter. Her annoyance deepened, but she still calmly replied, "Let me tidy up a bit. I'll go there right away!"
Then she got out of bed, was tidied up by her personal maid, and left the palace gate.
It took her less than a quarter of an hour to reach Chu Concubine's palace.
From afar, she could see Chu Concubine, looking extremely angry, in the main hall.
When Chu Concubine saw her, a venomous sneer curled up on her lips. That expression immediately made Concubine Lian's heart skip a beat.
"Concubine Lian, you're really my good sister!"
These words seemed to be squeezed out between her teeth.
Concubine Lian had no idea what she had done to displease Chu Concubine. Immediately, she bowed slightly and asked, "I wonder what Your Majesty wants from me at this moment?"
After hearing her question, Chu Concubine suddenly stood up in a rage. Her eyes stared fiercely at the woman in front of her. Then she threw a packet of something in front of her.
"You made this thing sound so miraculous, but I think you're just lying!" She roared.
Concubine Lian quickly picked up the packet, opened it, dipped her fingertip in it, and smelled it.
"This..."
The expression on her face froze for a moment.
Wasn't this the love potion incense she had given to Chu Concubine before? At that time, she had said that as long as a man smelled this incense, he would surely be unable to resist.
"I would never lie, Your Majesty. This incense is truly effective. My family specializes in researching all kinds of spices. How could I be wrong?" Concubine Lian replied in a flustered manner.
She was telling the truth. Her family really did research all kinds of spices. She had been interested in various spices since she was a child and had always been making incense.
This love potion incense was also personally formulated by her. It was made by grinding an appropriate amount of herbs such as angelica, sweet grass, flatspike lavender, tuhuo, and rhizome into fine powder and mixing it evenly with white honey to make pills the size of wutong tree seeds. It did have the effect of arousing passion.
If it had failed, either the method of use was wrong, or the man had extremely strong self - control.
After thinking this, Concubine Lian said to the woman in front of her, "Your Majesty, perhaps I used too little of the herbs. I'll make it again right away. This time, I'll surely satisfy Your Majesty!"