On the other side, in Concubine Chu's palace.
Concubine Chu had just woken up today. At first, she felt in a great mood because it was the day when Nangong Liuyun would return to the capital. This meant she would have one more backer and safeguard. From then on, she no longer had to worry about anything.
After dressing and making up, she was about to go to the palace gate to greet him. But just before leaving the palace, she accidentally heard two little maids whispering.
"Have you heard? The Empress told the people in her palace that it was Concubine Chu who killed Concubine Lian and framed her!" one maid said.
"Really?!" The other maid immediately chimed in, asking curiously.
"Sure is! I heard the Empress also told the Emperor that she wanted to depose our mistress..."
Before she could finish her words, Concubine Chu rushed over in a rage and sharply interrupted them.
"Nonsense! Who gave you permission to gossip here!"
With that, she raised her hand and slapped the maid.
The two maids immediately knelt on the ground in fear. One of them kept saying, "It's the Empress who is framing you, mistress. It has nothing to do with us!"
Concubine Chu looked down condescendingly at these two lowly maids crawling at her feet. The anger in her heart was about to burst out uncontrollably. But she just kicked them twice and then rushed out of the palace gate.
She kept telling herself that she must not make the slightest mistake now. Even if she wanted to kill these two maids, she had to consider her current situation. She absolutely could not make any more mistakes.
But when she thought that Dongfang Yi actually dared to slander her behind her back and told the Emperor to depose her, did she really think of herself as something?
Good for you, Dongfang Yi. I will surely make you die a miserable death!
On the other side, one of the two little maids was still crying worriedly that Concubine Chu would come back to trouble her. But the other one patted the dirt off her body and stood up. Then she coldly said, "Stop crying!"
The crying maid ignored her and just did her own thing. She turned around and left the palace gate, hurrying in another direction, which was towards Lanfang Garden.
In no time, she arrived at Lanfang Garden. At this moment, Concubine Yao was waiting for her.
"Did you accomplish the task?" Concubine Yao asked.
The maid bowed respectfully and then replied, "Your servant has completed it. Concubine Chu is already convinced that it was the Empress who framed her. It seems she won't let it go easily."
After hearing this, Concubine Yao threw her head back and laughed twice. She nodded in satisfaction at the maid and then waved her hand, signaling her to retreat.
As for herself, she was thinking about her own plan. Since the Emperor of Dongsheng and the others already suspected her, she must find a way to get out of the suspicion.
The area in front of the Empress's palace was completely sprinkled with realgar. The Western glazed rattlesnakes couldn't get in by themselves. If she went into the Empress's palace herself, then after something happened to the Empress, she would be the biggest suspect, and that would be a great loss for her.
But now there was a scapegoat, Concubine Chu. What she had to do now was to completely enrage Concubine Chu, make her hate, make her unable to resist going to settle accounts with the Empress. Then she would quietly let the rattlesnakes follow her in. By then, only Concubine Chu would be suspected.
Thinking of this, the smile on her lips became even more sinister. It seemed as if she could already imagine how happy she would be after the plan was successful.
On the other side, filled with boundless anger, Concubine Chu walked to the palace gate, waiting for the return of her adoptive father, Nangong Liuyun.
Less than the time it took to burn an incense stick later, a group of people walked in. The one leading the group was Nangong Liuyun on horseback. When he saw the woman waiting in front of him, he immediately dismounted and said to her, "This old official pays his respects to Concubine Chu!"
Concubine Chu immediately stepped forward to support his body and said, "Father, there's no need for such formalities. You've been so tired from the long journey. Hurry up and follow me to the Qianqing Palace to meet the Emperor!"
The relationship between the two of them was originally one of mutual use. But because they needed each other, they had reached such a deal. In order to maintain the false peace on the surface, they had to pretend to be a loving father - daughter pair.
Standing behind Nangong Liuyun were his two sons. The eldest son, Nangong Tianci, wanted to step forward as soon as he saw Concubine Chu. But his father immediately grabbed him. He could only shout from afar, "Sister Chu, Sister Chu..."
No matter how much his father frowned, he didn't stop.
Concubine Chu had no choice but to bow to him and say, "Brother Tianci."
But in her heart, she felt a surge of nausea. This fat man had been pestering her since before outside the palace. She didn't expect that after so long, he still remained the same.
Nangong Tianci looked at his Sister Chu being so aloof and cold towards him. He drooped his eyelids with a bit of loneliness. Then he followed his father and the others to the Qianqing Palace. Along the way, his eyes never left that woman.
For him, Concubine Chu was like a celestial being. Since he saw her for the first time when he was a child, he had fallen in love with her. But later, somehow she entered the palace. He even cried to his mother for a while because of this. But gradually, the feeling faded. Unexpectedly, he could meet her again now. He didn't know how happy he was.
Nangong Yunze beside him saw the lecherous look of the man beside him towards Concubine Chu. He couldn't help but snorted coldly and cursed, "This fat fool actually dares to covet the Emperor's concubine. He doesn't even know his own place!"
Soon, their group arrived at the Qianqing Palace. Helian Qi was sitting on the highest seat at this moment. When he saw the people coming, he pretended to be very happy. He laughed out loud and then said, "I've been waiting for you gentlemen for a long time! You've been tired from the long journey. Please take your seats quickly!"
He still had to pretend to trust Nangong Liuyun very much so that his plan of luring the enemy in deep would not be exposed. By making him relax his vigilance like this, it would be easy to catch him in the end.
Thinking of this, the smile on his lips became even deeper. He began to talk with the people at the seats about the renovation of the imperial mausoleum in the past half - year.
After Nangong Liuyun finished reporting his work completely, he started to talk about another thing: "Your Majesty, this old official recently heard that his adopted daughter was involved in the incident of the Empress's misfortune. I wonder if the details have been investigated clearly?!"
Actually, one of the purposes of his return to the capital this time was to help Concubine Chu solve her current dilemma, so he asked directly like this.
Helian Qi replied without changing his expression at all, "I've already investigated this matter clearly. It was all Concubine Lian who framed the Empress. Gentleman, you don't need to worry!"