"Empress!" Chuntao cried in panic.

Shen Ning sat on the ground holding her stomach and glanced at Chuntao. "Go and report to the Queen Mother."

…

Shen Ning was attacked in the imperial garden, and the maids in Libi's palace were caught red-handed.

Her men sprinkled fish-scented powder on Shen Ning's body, which he couldn't get rid of even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

"Li Bin, you are so brave!" The Queen Mother was furious and slapped Li Bin on the face, with murderous intent in her eyes. "You are so vicious."

Concubine Li was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she looked at Concubine Ying beside her in fear.

Concubine Ying frowned and warned her not to talk nonsense.

Concubine Li trembled and knelt on the ground. "The Queen Mother is aware of it, I...I don't know what mistake I made."

"I won't shed tears until I see the coffin! Your maid sprinkled fish-scented powder on Concubine Ning, causing her to be attacked by a wild cat in the imperial garden, which almost caused a miscarriage. Do you think the Ai family can't see such vicious thoughts?" said the Queen Mother. The tea cup hit the ground.

The palace maid quickly comforted her. "My queen, please don't get angry or you may hurt yourself."

The Queen Mother snorted and looked coldly at the eunuch beside her. "Beat the Ai family until they tell the truth."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me." Concubine Li knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

The eunuch went up to the palace maid, slapped her in the face, and whipped her with a whip.

The screams echoed in the inner hall, and all the concubines were trembling with fear.

This can be regarded as killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

"It seems that the emperor killed the maid next to Concubine Ying with a stick and failed to give you a warning." The Queen Mother said in a deep voice and spoke again. "The royal family has few heirs. If anyone dares to act secretly, then don't blame the Ai family... …”

The concubines were all tense.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was just following orders. I was ordered to bring fish-flavored powder back to the palace. I bumped into Concubine Ning. Those wild cats were fed by Concubine Nian. The Empress Dowager is aware of it. The Empress Dowager is aware of it." The maid who was beaten cried and knelt down and kowtowed.

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes.

Nianfei?

Huo Sinian?

Although the Huo family does not participate in court disputes and has no political conflicts with the Liu family, they are not their own people after all.

The Huo family never participated in the affairs of the prince and the court and the harem. When the new emperor ascended the throne, the Huo family suddenly sent a legitimate daughter in. This made the Liu family jealous for a long time.

However, this Huo Sinian kept a low profile and rarely showed up since entering the palace.

Huo Sinian said she was ill, so the Queen Mother spared her greetings.

Splashing dirty water on Huo Sinian...

The Queen Mother is not stupid, this must have been the instruction of her brother Liu Zhensheng.

Kick the Huo family out of the palace or hold them to account, completely breaking all possible ties between the Huo family and the emperor.

The Queen Mother was thoughtful, obviously she wanted to weigh the pros and cons.

The influence of the harem and the front court affects the whole body, and there are too many connections.

"The Empress Dowager, this young concubine claims to be ill and does not leave the palace every day, but she likes to feed wild cats in the imperial garden. It is impossible to say that she has no idea." Liu Yingying hurriedly stepped forward and deliberately reminded the Empress Dowager.

Wouldn't it be better to take the opportunity to get rid of Huo Sinian and appease Shen Ning.

What the palace should do now is to eradicate dissidents, rather than targeting its own people.

"Go and tell the story of the new year's concubine." The Queen Mother said in a deep voice.

Concubine Li and Concubine Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

…

Shen Ning's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother punished Li's concubine's maid, but Li's concubine said that those wild cats were fed by Concubine Nian, and they were just a coincidence."

Shen Ning leaned on the bed and sneered.

She had already guessed that Concubine Li and Concubine Ying would shift the responsibility to others. Except Concubine Nian, no one would feed those wild cats.

This was a well-meaning thing, but if it was taken advantage of by these people, it might lead to disaster.

So...this palace is like this. Even the smallest kindness may bring disaster to one's life.

How can we be kind in the backyard of this palace?

Sighing, Shen Ning sat up straight. "Let's go... We can't let them wrongly accuse a good person for no reason."

Shen Ning didn't have much memory of Huo Sinian from the Huo family. In her previous life, the Huo family stayed out of the matter and was not involved at all, let alone sending her daughter to the palace.

On the day she was crowned concubine, Shen Ning was also shocked. The Huo family... actually sent their daughter to the palace. This was not a good thing for the Liu family.

Regardless of whether Huo Sinian was an enemy or a friend, he definitely played a role in checking and balancing the previous dynasty in the harem.

Although her father, Shen Bozhong, was the prime minister, he had been cautious and never expanded his wings and party members over the years. He had been honest throughout his life, so in his previous life, he ended up being killed without anyone to help him.

But the Huo family is different. The Huo family is a veteran of three dynasties, and General Huo is the founding general with great military exploits. The Huo family has a very high status. Even if they do not participate in the fight for the heir or the disputes in the court, they have disciples all over the court and cannot be underestimated. watch for.

The Liu family has never dared to touch the Huo family, obviously to win over the Huo family. Liu Zhensheng is a disciple of the old man of the Huo family.

Shen Ning knew very well that Huo Sinian's value to Xiao Junhe... far exceeded hers.

"Empress, you don't have to go there, Your Majesty... went there in person." The maid ran in and supported Shen Ning.

Shen Ning was stunned for a moment. "Your Majesty?"

Xiao Junhe has been busy with government affairs in the DPRK these days. After all, after the new emperor ascends the throne, even a puppet has to deal with a lot of government affairs.

Did he go to protect Huo Sinian personally?

"The Queen Mother is passing on Concubine Huo Nian... Your Majesty happens to be at Concubine Nian's place."

Shen Ning glanced at the maid and said nothing.

Xiao Junhe went to Concubine Nian?

Concubine Nian had been complaining of illness since she entered the palace. The Queen Mother spared her greetings for the sake of the Huo family. Xiao Junhe never mentioned Huo Sinian, and even Shen Ning almost forgot about her.

Probably, Xiao Junhe also knows the importance of the Huo family.

She trusts Xiao Junhe, but... she also feels a little sour.

"Then let's go take a look too." Shen Ning whispered.

Chuntao knew that Shen Ning was feeling uncomfortable, so she hurriedly came up to support her. "Your Majesty, your Majesty may just go and have a chat with Concubine Nian."

Shen Ning shook her head, she didn't care...

As an emperor, with so many concubines in the harem, it was impossible for Xiao Junhe to be the only one.

I just feel a little uncomfortable.

It's okay, you'll get used to it.

…

The Queen Mother's Cining Palace.

Concubine Nian is a very beautiful woman, and she comes from a family of generals. She is skilled in martial arts. She looks more attractive than ordinary weak women, and she has an indescribable heroic spirit.

Among all the weak concubines in the harem, Concubine Nian is undoubtedly outstanding.

In the early years, there was a rumor in Kyoto that the most talented woman was Shen Ning, but the most beautiful woman was Huo Sinian.

Shen Ning and Huo Sinian had not had much contact. Huo Sinian had been following his grandfather at the border in the early years. He only returned to Kyoto these years. I heard that he was a wonderful man.

"I have met the Queen Mother. May the Queen Mother be safe and sound." Huo Sinian was happy and stood quietly aside.

"Concubine Nian, do you know why the Ai family brought you here?" the Queen Mother asked.

"Your Majesty has arrived."

Before Huo Sinian could explain, Xiao Junhe came.

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes. The emperor rarely participated in harem disputes. What happened today? He was so eager to protect her.

It seems that Xiao Junhe is very fond of this young concubine.

After taking a closer look at Huo Sinian, the Queen Mother sneered. He was a beautiful and wonderful person. Xiao Junhe grew up in a military camp and indeed had more things in common with Huo Sinian.

However, if Xiao Junhe falls in love with Huo Sinian, then Shen Ning, the old man... will be somewhat miserable.

But this is the palace, there is no such thing as so much dedication.

"Mother, I wonder what happened?" Xiao Junhe asked in a deep voice.

"The emperor has many things to do, so he did not inform him of the trivial matters in the harem." The Queen Mother still respected Xiao Junhe.

"Oh?" Xiao Junhe sat in a wheelchair and glanced at Huo Sinian. "I had a great chat with Nian'er. Seeing the people in my mother's palace in a hurry, I was worried that my mother had something important to do, so we came together. ."


Chapter completed!