Harem Daily Life

Chapter 846 No Face

Shu Cairen was choked and speechless, her face flushed red, her eyes filled with anger. She took a deep breath and was about to refute again, but Li Zhaoyi beside her gently pulled her sleeve, trying to persuade her not to confront the Queen.

Shu Cairen flung her sleeves and said angrily, "What do you mean by that, Your Majesty? Am I really so unworthy of Your Majesty's eyes?"

Seeing that Shucairen was extremely angry today, Li Zhaoyi didn't want to make things awkward, so she stood up, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Shucairen may have been anxious and said something she didn't want to care about. I hope Your Majesty won't bother with her."

Tao Yanyan glanced at Li Zhaoyi and secretly praised her for being sensible.

But looking at the enraged Shu Cairen, she felt she had to piss her off today. She smiled and said, "Li Zhaoyi, you're so thoughtful. I don't want to argue with her, but if I don't explain things clearly, she'll just keep making trouble."

Shu Cairen, who was accused of being unreasonable, was almost angry to death.

"Ms. Shu, you have always been very self-righteous and rarely take others seriously. For so many years, you have been openly and covertly opposing me. I am too lazy to talk about the things you have done behind my back. I believe that everyone here has been in the palace for many years and is well aware of it. I can just say in front of everyone that I don't want to give you a chance, and I won't be afraid of people criticizing me later. Because, in my heart, you are not worth giving you a chance at all."

Being called unreliable and worthless, Shu Cairen's face almost turned black with anger.

After coming out of Changle Palace, Shu Cairen was supported by Xiao Tang. Her head was buzzing all the way and even her steps were a little unsteady.

"She's really going too far. She doesn't even give me any face!" Shu Cairen felt so angry whenever she thought of how Empress Tao had just criticized her for nothing.

Unfortunately, her relationship with the Queen Mother has reached a freezing point, and even going to the Queen Mother to complain is blocked.

"Talented lady, calm down. Wait till night, and we'll go stir up some trouble and make Queen Tao suffer a little, so as to avenge you." Xiao Tang whispered in Shu Cairen's ear.

"Before, you all played pranks on other concubines. Why don't you think of a way to play pranks on Queen Tao directly? Humph, she's always so mean. I'm going to make her suffer."

As for Tao Yanyan, she gathered people to discuss the matter but got no results, so she simply decided to give it her all and become self-reliant.

At this time, Chang Tai hurried in to report that after several days of investigation, he had some clues.

"Your Majesty, I have been investigating for several days, gathering information from everywhere, and have discovered that all the recent events in the palace are strange. Let me first discuss Concubine Zhou."

"Concubine Zhou clearly didn't need to go through the Plum Garden that day. It was a young palace maid beside her who told her there were some newly blossoming plum trees there, so she took a detour to take a look. Who would have thought that the road to the Plum Garden was being repaired that day, leaving many potholes? Concubine Zhou fell into one of them and sprained her ankle. I later investigated and found that the young palace maid had a very good relationship with Xiao Xin, who was with Concubine Shu. I wonder if this is related to the person in Liufang Pavilion?"

Chang Tai paused after he finished speaking, and Tao Yanyan thought for a moment before letting him continue.

"Let's talk about Xu Zhaoyi. Lanlan, who was close to Xu Zhaoyi, said that Xu Zhaoyi loved to eat and had good relationships with the other palaces, so the concubines from other palaces often sent food to their palace. On the day of the accident, Xu Zhaoyi ate drunken shrimp and crabs, which were a bit cold. At first, I thought these two things caused her diarrhea, but later I found out that these two things were given to Wang Zhaoyi and Li Zhaoyi respectively by Shu Cairen. The two Zhaoyis took some and gave them to Xu Zhaoyi. The two Zhaoyis ate them without any problems, but Xu Zhaoyi suffered from diarrhea for many days."

Tao Yanyan frowned. "Everyone's physique is different. Some people are fine after eating it, while others get diarrhea. It's not surprising. Do you think that these drunken shrimps and crabs are the work of Shu Cai's people?"

Chang Tai didn't dare to jump to conclusions, so he said, "Don't have the intention to harm others, but be on guard against them. I will continue to investigate. If it is finally found that the incidents involving the several people are inseparable from the person in Liufang Pavilion... Madam, I am afraid that person is really behind the evil."

Mingyue stepped forward and said, "Come to think of it, on the day the Third Princess's clothes were smeared with itching powder, Xiao Tang, who works for Shu Cairen, happened to be at the clothing department. Although no one saw her put anything in the Third Princess's clothes, no one can prove she didn't. Everyone's testimony says they were busy and didn't see Xiao Tang do anything. What if she secretly sprinkled the powder while others were busy?"

"Consort Shu..." Tao Yanyan pondered, "If she really did it, why did she do it? There must be a purpose. Could it be... palace affairs?"

Mingyue and Changtai looked at each other, and they both felt that it was probably for the power over palace affairs.

"Could it be that she wants to help manage the six palaces, so she does everything she can to make Concubine Xian, Concubine Zhou and Concubine Xu too busy to take care of themselves, so that it will be easier for her to take the throne?" Tao Yanyan asked doubtfully.

Mingyue felt that the Queen had discovered the truth: "Your Majesty, Concubine Shu took the initiative to take charge of palace affairs today. It seems that... she has been plotting this all along."

Suddenly, there was a panic sound outside, and Qingfeng hurried back to report that several frogs had been found and the palace servants were catching them everywhere.

"How come frogs suddenly appear? Children, be careful over there and don't touch them." Tao Yanyan hurriedly instructed.

Once four frogs were found, there would be five or six more. The lights in Changle Palace were brightly lit and the palace servants were busy catching frogs.

"Second sister, this green thing makes an unpleasant sound, croaking." He Xiaobao felt a little frightened when he saw his second sister playing with a frog.

"Don't hide so far away. This little frog won't bite. If you don't believe me, touch it." He Yue said, and moved the frog closer to He Xiaobao. He Xiaobao was so scared that his mouth pouted and he burst into tears.

"I told you not to scare him, why did you get so close to him!" He Xuan was helpless. She picked up the crying He Xiaobao and walked aside to comfort him.

However, He Xiaobao was chubby, and He Xuan gave up after holding him for a few seconds, so she had to give He Xiaobao to Shuang'er.

"How strange! How did a few frogs come in?" Yu Cheng glanced at He Yue: "Could it be that you, Second Princess, secretly caught them?"

He Yue paused and said unhappily, "I'd like to catch it, but do I have the guts? Mother warned me not to play with these things anymore."

As He Yue was talking, she spotted another frog and immediately ran to catch it. Having gotten two little frogs at once, He Yue beamed with joy and tried to hide them in her room, but Tao Yanyan, who happened to be there, caught her red-handed.

"Are you still playing? Don't you mind it's dirty?" Tao Yanyan touched He Yue's head, and He Yue had no choice but to hand over the spoils obediently.

"Don't be afraid. The palace servants have searched everywhere and should have caught them all. Just sleep well tonight and don't think too much."

The children were very well-behaved and nodded, then were taken away by their respective nannies to rest.

Tao Yanyan was also tired today. Not long after she returned to her room, He Linzhang came over. Tao Yanyan briefly said a few words about frogs and prepared to lie down and rest.

But as soon as she turned over the quilt, a frog jumped on her and scared her half to death.

"Ahhhhh, help!" She jumped directly onto He Linzhang.

"Alright, alright, don't worry. I'll get someone to clean it up right away. Look how scared you are."

The little queen was frightened and her face turned pale. He Linzhang carried her to the study as if she were a baby.