Chapter 88

"She is actually the daughter of that corrupt official?" Thinking of Bai Zhi being burned to death in prison by Xu Xiao, Lin Jiaojiao's eyes were as cold as ice, "No wonder she wanted to frame me this time!"

"This...?" Qingdai was a bit puzzled.

She didn't understand the case Lin Jiaojiao was involved in, so she initially thought Imperial Yu Fei framing Qingju Pavilion was just for inner palace infighting.

But Guo Shi was also shocked. She knew the inside story. After putting the sleeping Zhu Geer on the bed and tucking him in, she roughly explained the course of the case to Qingdai.

After listening, Qingdai felt deep admiration for Lin Jiaojiao!

Before, she only felt Lin Jiaojiao was clever, but now she discovered that besides being clever, Lin Jiaojiao was also a courageous person!

Who could avenge their maid by poisoning the entire Xu family of the Dali Temple Minister just because their maid was burned to death!

It must be that Imperial Yu Fei's hostility toward Lin Jiaojiao lay in this!

It was just that because Lin Jiaojiao was in the imperial palace, had just been valued by the Emperor, and was protected by the Empress Dowager, it wasn't easy to kill her directly!

"In the future, we must be careful about Imperial Yu Fei—" Qingdai naturally could figure out the crux of the matter, she suggested, "Lin Guniang, since your medical skills are superb, take more opportunities in the future to take the pulse of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Empress Dowager."

"In this way, she will definitely not dare to easily make a move against you."

Qingdai's suggestion was not wrong; as long as Lin Jiaojiao walked in the palace often, she would become a "conspicuous target." Anyone who made a move against a conspicuous target would definitely be thoroughly investigated!

In this way, Lin Jiaojiao had a new idea: being a conspicuous target was fine, but she must create opportunities for others to make a move. Only in this way could she fight back!

But Guo Shi didn't quite understand, "Hey, wouldn't that mean letting Lin Guniang stay in the palace forever?"

Finally, she asked a question that almost made Qingdai choke on her own saliva: "Hey, Lin Guniang, you entered the palace—could it be that you were taken by the Emperor and are going to be named a concubine?"

Who knew Lin Jiaojiao would ask back: "If I'm named a concubine, can I then topple that Imperial Yu Fei?"

"Then the price is too high!" Guo Shi curled her lips, "The imperial palace looks like a good place from the outside, golden and brilliant, but inside it's no different from the three acres of land in our village!"

Qingdai was a bit surprised: "Why do you make such an analogy?"

Guo Shi answered straightforwardly: "Isn't it? The Emperor is like the water used for farming in the village; every family needs it, but every family breaks their heads to get the water to irrigate the land!"

Lin Jiaojiao laughed out loud, giving Guo Shi a thumbs up: "Isn't it? Everyone in this inner palace wants to share the rain and dew, but they can't fight and break their heads for this little bit of rain and dew!"

"Then don't stay in this imperial palace!" Guo Shi said quickly, "I just brought Zhu Geer in tonight, and I ran into such a filthy thing!"

"But I still have to wait for the result of the case." Lin Jiaojiao shook her head helplessly, "Otherwise, I wouldn't want to stay here either."

Thinking about staying in this imperial palace, besides guarding against other concubines making trouble, she mainly needed to guard against Imperial Yu Fei's framing; these days were not easy to live.

However, as the saying goes, the enemy of an enemy is a friend—

Lin Jiaojiao asked Qingdai, "Qingdai, in this inner palace, Imperial Concubine Ning is able to contend with Imperial Yu Fei, right?"

Qingdai both nodded and shook her head, "Yes and no. Imperial Concubine Ning was originally an Imperial Concubine, but her maternal family is of low status, and she is as indifferent as a chrysanthemum, not fighting or grabbing, and has never participated in these inner palace fights for favor—"

But as soon as Lin Jiaojiao heard this "indifferent as a chrysanthemum" personality, she immediately knew in her heart: this Imperial Concubine Ning was definitely not easy to provoke!

Being indifferent as a chrysanthemum should just be her surface persona; who knew if she was hiding more unspeakable thoughts in her heart!

Otherwise, how could she have given birth to an imperial son in this inner palace and even been named Crown Prince?

Thinking about it this way, Imperial Concubine Ning was a double-edged sword. If used well, she might be able to topple Imperial Yu Fei; if not used well, wouldn't she hurt herself?

It seemed she needed to learn more about Imperial Concubine Ning before taking action.

Lin Jiaojiao continued to ask: "Then besides Imperial Concubine Ning, who else in this inner palace has ever disgusted Imperial Yu Fei?"

Qingdai thought and said: "There is also Xi Pin. Although she is the legitimate daughter of a frontier official, she has now been thrown into the cold palace—"

Living in the cold palace? Lin Jiaojiao pondered in her heart, "How was she thrown into the cold palace?"

"It was because of the aphrodisiac matter," Qingdai lowered her voice, "That day Lin Guniang noticed the food brought by the Emperor had an aphrodisiac, the Emperor issued a palace search order, and finally, the aphrodisiac was found at Xi Pin's place—"

Lin Jiaojiao was a smart person and immediately knew the crux of the matter: Imperial Physician Jia was Imperial Yu Fei's personal physician. After the incident that day, he took the initiative to volunteer to go to the Imperial Hospital to boil medicine, probably mainly to pass information!

This Xi Pin must have been framed at that time and thrown into the cold palace!

Lin Jiaojiao couldn't help but sympathize with this Xi Pin she had never met, and at the same time felt angry at Qin Yuan's ignorance!

"Oh my, do you really want to fight with these imperial palace Niangniangs?" Guo Shi couldn't sit still: this inner palace was as deep as the sea. If such a thing happened just after entering today, what about tomorrow? The day after? The day after that?

"No," Lin Jiaojiao shook her head and looked at the candlelight. Although the candlelight flickered, Lin Jiaojiao's eyes were extremely firm, "It's just for self-protection before the case is cleared."

Hearing this, Guo Shi finally felt slightly relieved. If Lin Jiaojiao really wanted to participate in the inner palace fight for favor, then she and Zhu Geer would definitely live in fear!

Guo Shi continued to ask, "Then after the result is found, what are your plans?"

"After the result is found, I will leave the imperial palace and open a medical clinic outside." Lin Jiaojiao's eyes shone with hope under the flickering candlelight, "In this way, I can save lives and realize my life's value, and also earn money to raise the child."

Guo Shi had lived in the marketplace after all, so she asked back: "That's a place to go, but where will the money to open the medical clinic come from?"

"Borrow some from Song Shijie." Lin Jiaojiao laughed, "I've saved him so many times; even if there's no ten thousand taels of gold, borrowing some money to open a medical clinic should be fine, right?"

"Why not borrow from General Lu?" Guo Shi said, seeing Zhu Geer in his sleep making a sucking motion with his little mouth, and knew the child was about to wake up hungry.

She walked over, picked up the child, lifted her clothes, and began to breastfeed.

Qingdai, a maid who had never experienced such things, had never seen such a scene. She was so shy she turned away, pretending not to see this scene.

Lin Jiaojiao was already used to it, but hearing Guo Shi mention Lu Zhenting, she felt a bit embarrassed: "What if I lose all my capital and can't pay him back?"

Guo Shi curled her lips, "How come I don't see you feeling sorry for Master Song's money."