Chapter 288

Qingfeng glanced at the wisps of red clouds reflecting outside the window and asked urgently, "What time is it?"

"The third quarter of the Chen hour."

The third quarter of the Mao hour, the third quarter of the Chen hour—the Empress being possessed at this time could not be a coincidence. Is it really the Empress? Concubine Hui, what role are you playing in this conspiracy? She would wait and see.

Qingfeng thought of something and suddenly asked, "Why did Huang Jiao tell you to go out?"

"He said that from now on, he will come every other day to take your pulse, and he told me to go to the Imperial Medical Garden every day to get the medicine, bring it back to the Qingfeng Palace to brew, and not let anyone else handle it during the brewing process. He also said..." Fuling hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice to reply, "The child in your womb is delicate; you must be careful, careful, and even more careful."

Careful, careful, and even more careful...? Didn't he say in front of Yan Hongtian that there was no major issue? Qingfeng understood and sneered, "It seems whether this child can be born is still an unknown." As soon as Qingfeng finished speaking, a clamor suddenly came from the courtyard; it seemed a group of people had rushed in. Before long, Lan'er's crisp voice shouted, "What are you doing? How dare you trespass into the Qingfeng Palace!"

Listening to the rhythmic footsteps, they did not sound like eunuchs. Resting her hand gently on her flat abdomen, Qingfeng said to Fuling beside her, "Go and see what is happening."

Fuling nodded, pushed open the door, and saw more than ten Imperial Guards standing in the courtyard. And the person leading them was actually... him? The guard who had stopped her that night.

Tall, thin, and upright, with an indifferent temperament—even from just a side profile, Fuling had recognized him. Today, he was slightly different; his cold, stern face had long, narrow eyes that remained slightly squinted, inexplicably exuding a cold, sharp aura. Fuling took a deep breath before pushing the door open and going out, asking loudly, "Who are you, and what is your business in the Qingfeng Palace?"

Ming Ze looked up. Seeing it was Fuling, no emotion showed on his face, as if he were seeing her for the first time. He replied coldly, "General Ming Ze, Third-Rank Guard of the Imperial Guard. By the Emperor's order, I am to search every palace and hall in the inner harem. Please forgive me." After speaking, without waiting for Fuling to react, Ming Ze said loudly, "Search."

"Yes." As they spoke, several guards began to search the Qingfeng Palace, but no one dared to rush directly into Qingfeng's bedroom.

This person was so rude! Fuling felt a surge of anger and shouted, "This is the Empress's bedroom; how can you be so presumptuous? Since it is the Emperor's order, do you have a written decree?"

Ming Ze's sword-like brows furrowed slightly. He looked coldly at the woman standing on the steps glaring at him. Seeing the servant protecting her master, the one inside the room was likely the truly difficult one.

Under Ming Ze's cold gaze, Fuling felt an inexplicable heart palpitation, yet she refused to show weakness before him and could only glare back coldly just as he did. "Fuling." Fortunately, at this moment, a clear voice sounded from inside the room. Qingfeng pushed open the slightly ajar door and said, "Since it is the Emperor's order, let them search."

Fuling breathed a secret sigh of relief and replied in a low voice, "Yes."

Her complexion was very poor, pale and tinged with blue. Even at noon in summer, she was still wearing a long shawl. Ming Ze glanced at her before shifting his gaze, continuing to the guards beside him, "You two search the inner chamber, be careful and handle things gently. The others search all the servants' rooms thoroughly."

"Yes."

Ming Ze took two small generals into Qingfeng's room. Qingfeng gave Fuling a look, and Fuling nodded knowingly, following the two small generals into the inner room to watch them search. Only Qingfeng and Ming Ze were left in the outer room. Qingfeng sat on the soft couch by the window, holding a small hand warmer, her eyes looking out the window without even glancing at Ming Ze.

Qingfeng's disregard had no effect on Ming Ze. Standing in the center of the room, Ming Ze examined the furnishings. Although he did not rummage through everything, his sharp gaze and invisible pressure would definitely make anyone with a guilty conscience tremble. Qingfeng breathed a secret sigh of relief; fortunately, she had long since burned the items to ash, otherwise, she would certainly be restless now.

Ming Ze's gaze swept over the low cabinet beside the screen and saw a familiar ink-black umbrella leaning against the cabinet leg, looking somewhat abrupt. That was... his umbrella? Ming Ze remembered that rainy night, that disheveled yet beautiful face. She had actually kept the umbrella in the room the whole time?

Hearing Ming Ze seem to take two steps toward the screen, Qingfeng turned her head and happened to see him staring intently in one direction. Following his gaze, she also discovered the umbrella in the corner. Her heart skipped a beat, and Qingfeng's face suddenly grew hot. She quickly turned her head away, not daring to look at him again.

Qingfeng's face burned fiercely. That time, when Fuling asked if she should return the umbrella, she thought Ming Ze wouldn't care at all, and if things went wrong, he might think she was trying to use it to get close to him. In her annoyance, she told Fuling not to worry about it, so the umbrella had just been left there. She never expected Ming Ze would come to her bedroom. Now, who knew what he thought of her!

Qingfeng was both annoyed and embarrassed, but she heard Ming Ze's footsteps walking toward her step by step. At this moment, she could only pretend to be calm and continue staring out the window. The footsteps stopped, and for a long time, there was no sound. Just as Qingfeng was about to turn back, Ming Ze's low voice came from behind her: "The Empress suddenly went insane. The Xin family invited the Abbot of Yuquan Temple to exorcise the evil. That bald donkey said someone in the palace is using witchcraft to plot against the Empress."

The deliberately lowered voice spoke of something completely unrelated to the "umbrella," which made Qingfeng pause. Recalling his words, the term "bald donkey" made her want to laugh, and she coughed lightly to suppress the laughter, but Ming Ze's next sentence made Qingfeng unable to laugh.

"The Commander has already found a cloth doll engraved with the Empress's birth date in Concubine Hui's quarters. Concubine Hui is now being escorted to the Yilan Palace."

Concubine Hui? What on earth is going on? Weren't they trying to frame her? Qingfeng turned back in surprise to look at Ming Ze, only to find that, as in many times before, he left her with nothing but an indifferent back.

He had never given her a good look; why was he telling her this now? Qingfeng wanted to ask him, but at this moment, the two small generals had finished their search and walked out. Qingfeng could only give up.

The small general said loudly, "Sir, no abnormalities found."

The guards who had finished searching outside also reported quickly, "The entire Qingfeng Palace has been searched, no abnormalities."

"Sorry to have disturbed your rest, I shall take my leave." With a slight bow, he dropped the cold, emotionless sentence and turned to leave the Qingfeng Palace.

He always helped her when she was in trouble, yet ignored her when she took the initiative to be friendly. What on earth was going on in this person's head? Watching that receding back, Qingfeng gave a bitter smile.

Seeing the person beside her suddenly shake her head and smile bitterly, Fuling felt somewhat confused. At that moment, a scene flashed through her mind, and she finally remembered when she had seen Ming Ze! When her master was frightened by the Princess's dog in the Imperial Garden and almost fell, it was he who caught her. That day, the smile on her master's face had been very strange. Could it be that they knew each other?

"Fuling." Qingfeng called several times before Fuling came back to her senses.

"Help me to the Yilan Palace to take a look."

Fuling was startled and urged, "Master, it would be better to avoid it at this time." If last night's events were truly arranged by the Empress, or if someone was deliberately framing her, there was no telling what would happen next. It was too late to hide, so why bother getting involved in this muddy water?

Qingfeng shook her head and replied stubbornly, "What is meant to come cannot be avoided." She really wanted to know what Xin Yuening was up to! Was Concubine Hui innocent? Was the sachet in the pillow her doing, or was it a frame-up by the Empress? Recalling her interactions with Concubine Hui recently, Qingfeng had no answer. But she knew that no matter what, if she didn't go to the Yilan Palace now, she might never see Zhen Zhen again.

"Zhen Zhen has never practiced witchcraft in the inner harem."

Qingfeng had just stepped into the Yilan Palace when she heard Zhen Zhen's cold voice, calm yet incredibly clear. The servants in the Yilan Palace were stunned when they saw her, and then hurried to pay their respects. Someone wanted to go in to announce her, but Qingfeng waved her hand at him and said in a low voice, "Withdraw." Qingfeng was currently in favor and pregnant with the dragon seed, so the little eunuch dared not openly defy her and quietly retreated to the side.

Qingfeng did not enter immediately, but stood by the steps watching the situation inside. The main culprit of this affair, the Empress, was not in the hall. Zhen Zhen was kneeling alone in the center of the hall, wrapped tightly in a plain white cloak, her hair lightly pinned without any ornaments. It was clear she had been brought here early in the morning and had no time to attend to her appearance. However, her straight back and calm voice were enough to prove that she had not been crushed by this farce.

The Emperor sat in the main seat, his face full of gloom, yet he said nothing. The two Empresses Dowager sat on either side of the Emperor. Standing beside the Western Empress Dowager was a man in his early thirties, slightly plump, not wearing official robes, his expression arrogant. The aura of an official remained, even in front of the Emperor and the Empresses Dowager. This person's brows resembled Xin Yuening's, and Qingfeng roughly guessed his identity. Beside the Eastern Empress Dowager stood the Empress's personal female official, Shui Xin, holding a doll. The style and fabric of the doll were almost identical to the one placed in the Qingfeng Palace last night. On the right side of the hall, in the passage leading to the Empress's bedroom, an old monk in a Buddhist monk's robe holding a Buddhist staff was drawing some kind of charm on a long table, while several young monks were murmuring incantations.

Qingfeng sneered inwardly; what a grand display.

"Concubine Hui, you have always been of pure and good character. This Empress Dowager does not believe you would do such a thing, but why is such a thing in your palace, and you even set up an altar in the Lingyun Palace? How do you explain this?" Yang Zhilan's voice was as gentle as ever, but the look in her eyes as she watched Zhen Zhen lacked any kindness or trust.

"Your concubine does not know why this doll is in the Lingyun Palace. As for the altar the Empress Dowager mentioned, it is merely a table for offerings because your concubine has been feeling unwell recently, to worship the gods and pray for protection."

Zhen Zhen had her back to her, so Qingfeng could not see her expression, but her attitude of being neither humble nor arrogant in the face of this display already made Qingfeng cheer for her inwardly.

The plump man gave a light snort, walked to Shui Xin, grabbed the cloth doll from her hand, threw it in front of Zhen Zhen, and said coldly, "Concubine Hui, the Master has just broken your witchcraft. This is a vicious dual formation that requires two people to perform the ritual together to succeed. This doll only has the Empress's birth date; the other doll should have the time of the ritual. You had better say it—who is your accomplice?"

A dual formation? Qingfeng finally understood why there was an identical doll in her bedroom, and it only had the time written on it. It turned out to be a plan to kill two birds with one stone! If she hadn't been unable to sleep due to abdominal pain last night, she would probably be the one kneeling here today!

(End of chapter)