Chapter 76: That newcomer is still sensible

After Imperial Yu Fei returned to the palace, the first thing she did was to send someone to investigate Lin Jiaojiao quietly.

Just after sending away the little eunuch responsible for the investigation, her head maid Peilan came up and served her dinner.

Imperial Yu Fei looked at the delicacies on the table and suddenly remembered that she hadn't had dinner with the Emperor at noon today. She grabbed Peilan, "Peilan, the food this palace brought to the Yangxin Hall at noon..."

"Mistress," Peilan knelt on the ground and told the story, "At noon today, the Emperor took the food to the newcomer living in the Qingju Pavilion, saying he was having dinner with her..."

As soon as Imperial Yu Fei heard this, her pupils dilated, and her breathing almost stopped, "And then? Did anything happen?"

"Mistress, the Emperor and that newcomer, both were drugged..."

As soon as Imperial Yu Fei heard this, she trembled so much that her hands loosened, and her chopsticks fell to the ground.

Seeing her mistress's shocked appearance, Peilan hurriedly raised her head and explained, "Mistress, that newcomer seems to know medicine. She discovered that the Emperor and she had both been drugged, so she called the Imperial Physician."

"So the Emperor and her, nothing happened..."

Hearing this, Imperial Yu Fei breathed a sigh of relief: "That newcomer is still sensible. What happened later?"

"Later, the Imperial Physician went to detoxify the Emperor and the newcomer. Imperial Physician Jia took the opportunity of boiling the medicine to come to our palace to give a reminder. This afternoon, our Ruyi Palace escaped a disaster, but..."

Imperial Yu Fei's brows tightened. Thinking that the aphrodisiac was put in the food by her, she couldn't help but grab Peilan's collar and ask urgently, "But what?"

"But the Emperor found unspeakable things from Imperial Wan Fei and Noble Xi Pin, sent Imperial Wan Fei to a temple outside the palace, and cast Noble Xi Pin into the Cold Palace."

"That is the punishment those sluts deserve." Losing two rivals, Imperial Yu Fei felt a bit of joy, but thinking that there was still the biggest enemy, Imperial Concubine Ning, she asked repeatedly: "What about Imperial Concubine Ning? Was anything found?"

"Nothing was found in Imperial Concubine Ning's palace, but," Peilan smiled triumphantly, "Because she managed the Inner Palace ineffectively, she was demoted by the Emperor to a Concubine."

"She should have been punished long ago, if it weren't for the merit of giving birth to the Crown Prince..." Imperial Yu Fei thought to herself.

She let go of the collar she was grabbing, smoothed the wrinkles on Peilan's collar, and sat back down, "It's good that nothing happened here."

"This matter is thanks to Imperial Physician Jia coming to give a reminder. Go back and prepare a hundred taels of gold, and send it directly to Imperial Physician Jia's mansion tomorrow."

"Yes." Peilan responded, picked up the chopsticks that had fallen to the ground, handed them to a little maid standing on the side, and told her to change to a new pair of chopsticks.

"Not only that," Peilan continued, "Eunuch Gao came to pass the order, saying that you are to assist Concubine Ning in managing the Inner Palace."

"Really?" Imperial Yu Fei was surprised and happy when she heard this, "Then wouldn't I be on equal footing with Concubine Ning?"

"That's for sure, maybe one day you can be named Imperial Concubine..." Peilan saw the little maid bring new chopsticks, so she took them and continued to serve food for her, putting a piece of delicious stewed meat into Imperial Yu Fei's bowl.

Imperial Yu Fei looked at the meat, and because her mood improved, she had a bit more appetite. She picked up the stewed meat and put it into her mouth. The meat was stewed soft and melted in her mouth.

Imperial Yu Fei was happy, but she still knew the reason in her heart: "The Emperor is just giving me some compensation because my father was poisoned. I still need to give birth to a descendant early to consolidate my position in the Inner Palace."

"It's still because Imperial Yu Fei is favored that the Emperor would intend for you to assist Concubine Ning in managing the Inner Palace." Peilan flattered, and put a piece of yam and osmanthus cake into her bowl again.

"That Hui Guiren is not favored. Even if she relies on the Empress Dowager, she is only a Noble Lady."

"Now she is also ordered by the Empress Dowager to face the wall and reflect for a month, which shows that even the Empress Dowager doesn't protect her."

Hearing this, Imperial Yu Fei felt strange: "Hui Guiren was punished?"

So, Peilan told Imperial Yu Fei everything she had heard from other little eunuchs and maids this afternoon, adding oil and vinegar.

"She is actually the future daughter-in-law of the Song family?" Imperial Yu Fei frowned and put down her chopsticks, feeling even more unhappy than before.

Thinking of the unconscious Song Shijie she met during the day, she felt a dull pain in her heart, but being in the Inner Palace, Imperial Yu Fei had to put away her feelings.

She asked sarcastically: "Then this future daughter-in-law, why doesn't she go and accompany her future husband, but instead enters the palace?"

Peilan was Imperial Concubine Yu's dowry maid and knew that Imperial Concubine Yu still hid feelings for Song Shijie. This was Imperial Concubine Yu's untouchable sore spot.

To say something disrespectful, if one day Song Shijie said something to the mistress, she might not care about the family's safety and run away with him from the Inner Palace!

Peilan raised her eyes slightly, observing the subtle changes in Imperial Yu Fei's expression, and said cautiously, "It is said that it involves the grievance case of the former Lin family. The Emperor thinks the matter is of great importance, so he let her enter the palace first and wait for the investigation results."

"This woman clearly has some ability." Imperial Yu Fei picked up a piece of roasted chicken and examined it. Her gaze seemed to pass through the roasted chicken and see Song Shijie's cold face from his youth.

His face was always tight, and only when he was eating roasted chicken would he reveal a trace of satisfaction and enjoyment.

It's just that I don't know, does Song Shijie still keep a cold face when facing that woman?

Forget it, Song Mu has never liked her. Now that Song Mu can enter the palace for that woman, Song Mu's attitude can explain a thing or two.

"That woman has great ability," Peilan countered sarcastically, "Otherwise the Empress Dowager wouldn't have taken her along with the maid to the Shoukang Palace."

"That's all irrelevant," Imperial Yu Fei didn't show as much unwillingness as the maid Peilan, "Today the Empress Dowager even punished Hui Guiren, who is a relative. Who knows if she won't punish that woman surnamed Lin one day."

"Yes."

But suddenly Imperial Yu Fei thought that the woman's surname was Lin, so she turned to look at Peilan and asked seriously, "Peilan, what is that woman's name?"

Peilan recalled and answered: "It seems to be called Lin Jiaojiao."

"Lin Jiaojiao!" As soon as Imperial Yu Fei heard these three words, she used both hands and slapped the chopsticks onto the table with a "slap"!

"You just said she was involved in what case? Have you found out the case clearly?!"

"This maid heard from the Imperial maid that it was the grievance case of the former Lin family, the case of embezzling military pay and being exterminated to the ninth generation—"

"I heard about this case from my father when I was a child," Imperial Yu Fei recalled, "The case was handled by my father personally at the beginning, no wonder—no wonder my father was poisoned!"

She suddenly realized, and instantly became angry, knocking over the food on the table, and her whole body trembled with anger!

"Good, a good Lin Jiaojiao. I said my father often eats pufferfish and has never had any problems in the past, but this time the whole mansion was poisoned!"

Peilan hurriedly went over to help her sit on the couch and smoothed her back to coax her: "Mistress, calm down, Mistress, calm down!"

But how could Imperial Yu Fei calm down? After learning the truth, she felt restless and couldn't sleep all night!

Imperial Yu Fei didn't sleep all night, just to ponder the countermeasures against Lin Jiaojiao!

Lin Jiaojiao in the Shoukang Palace was completely unaware. After having dinner with the Empress Dowager, she lay down in the side hall of the Shoukang Palace and fell asleep soundly.

In her dream, she was hugging Zhu Geer and rubbing her face affectionately.

And Zhu Geer in her arms was laughing, and growing up slowly under the careful care of her and Guo Shi...