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The next morning, before Mu Junqi could get up, she heard that there was already a commotion outside. Last night, Mo Xiao Li had taken her several times, and now her body still felt a bit uncomfortable. She felt lazy and didn't want to get up, but some people were hoping she would show up.
When Mu Junqi finished dressing under the ambiguous gazes of Huixin and Ziyue, before she could even start her breakfast, Mu Yueqing arrived. Since she had come out, she hadn't seen Mu Yueqing, and she didn't expect her to have such patience, waiting so long to come.
When Mu Yueqing entered, Mu Junqi was sitting at the table having breakfast. Before she could speak, Mu Junqi said, "I wonder what my sister wants to do here in This Palace?"
Mu Yueqing didn't respond but instead stared intently at the food in her bowl. Mu Junqi glanced at her own food and then looked up again, saying, "Why is my sister staring at my bowl as soon as she arrives? Have you not had breakfast yet? If you're hungry, I can serve you some rice right now." Saying this, she instructed Ziyue to fetch another bowl and chopsticks.
Only then did Mu Yueqing speak. "The Consort is worried that after eating here, you wouldn't even know how you died. It's better not to eat anything."
"In that case, may I ask what brings my sister here so early in the morning?"
Mu Yueqing walked to the opposite side of Mu Junqi and said, "As you can see, today the Consort actually wants to tell you something."
"Oh? Is that so? I didn't expect my sister to be so kind; I really misunderstood you before," Mu Junqi said with feigned surprise.
Huixin couldn't help but laugh at this Empress's demeanor but quickly suppressed it after catching Ziyue's warning glance.
Mu Junqi then looked at Huixin and said, "Huixin, since it's so funny, go ahead and laugh. Otherwise, others might think This Palace is mistreating its servants—"
Huixin nodded but dared not continue laughing. Meanwhile, Mu Yueqing's fists clenched tightly under her robe, yet her expression remained unchanged as she smiled and said, "I really didn't expect the bond between the Empress and her servants to be so deep." She then sighed and added, "It's truly pitiful for Mur that girl; she just died like that—"
"How do you know?" Mu Junqi suddenly asked in a low voice.
Mu Yueqing realized she had misspoken; her eyes flickered for a moment but quickly regained composure as she looked at her and continued speaking. "How do I know? After all this time without knowing, if she's not dead, then what is it?"
Mu Junqi stood up angrily and walked in front of Mu Yueqing to meet her gaze. "Actually, This Palace does not wish to be your enemy. But if you cannot keep yourself clean in this harem, it won't be long before you leave here forever. If you don't believe me, then let's give it a try!"
After leaving those words behind, she turned around and said, "Someone! Show her out!"
Before leaving, Mu Yueqing took a deep look at Mu Junqi without saying anything and left with the palace maids.
Once outside Qinxiang Garden, Mu Yueqing no longer needed to pretend. She stomped her feet in anger; her beautiful face twisted slightly due to rage. Ruiqing beside her advised, "Your Highness, there are many people around; don't let anyone see you like this. We can discuss it when we get back."
Only then did Mu Yueqing realize where she was. She calmed down a bit and headed toward bbb Palace. As soon as she entered the door, she angrily threw the Heater in her hand onto the ground with a loud crash that sent it rolling far away.
Immediately, she shouted, "Mu Junqi! I will definitely trample you underfoot!"
The palace maids lowered their heads, quietly afraid to utter a word, each trembling with fear. Whenever their master was in a bad mood, they would become targets, fearing that today might be the day that a poor soul would suffer.
At this moment, Ruiqing stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, although the Emperor currently favors the Empress everywhere, there will come a day when he will grow tired of her. At that time, you will have your chance—"
Mu Yueqing was not inclined to listen, but upon hearing this, she became even angrier and said, "Do you not know that the Emperor has favored that woman for two years? So tell me, how long will it be before he grows tired of her? A month? A year? Or a lifetime? If you do not know the Emperor's heart, how can you know when he will tire of that Wretched Woman? If you cannot think of a way to bring the Emperor to my chamber, then I will have you killed!"
Hearing this, Ruiqing immediately knelt on the ground, panic evident on her face as she said, "Your Highness, please calm your anger. I only feel it is unfair for you. But no matter what, the Emperor is still a man. You are so beautiful; as long as you are willing to show yourself before him, it won't be long before he is yours."
Mu Yueqing finally eased her breath and looked thoughtfully at Ruiqing and said, "So what do you suggest I do?"
"Your Highness, I believe that with Year-End approaching, there will be many events to prepare for. This is the time when banquets are most frequent. As long as you prepare an impressive performance, everyone will be amazed. At that time, won't the Emperor belong to you?" Ruiqing said deliberately lowering her voice.
Mu Yueqing pondered and said thoughtfully, "So according to what you're saying, I still have to wait half a month?"
"Your Highness, you must endure now and find a suitable opportunity for a decisive success. Do not seek quick gains."
Mu Yueqing did not respond but nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly as if recalling something, she looked up at Ruiqing and said, "Speaking of which, last time you mentioned that as long as we bribed Lin Mama from the Cold Palace we could definitely eliminate Consort Qian. In the end, we only managed to demote her. What exactly happened?"
Ruiqing immediately knelt down upon hearing this and said, "Your Highness, I also find this matter strange. Logically speaking, Lin Mama had already been bought off by us; what she said before dying should naturally be true. However, that Golden Maid really does not know who took her away."
After pausing for a moment she continued: "Actually, I went there that day specifically to confirm it. But right after that, nothing happened. So it must be that someone is watching everything from behind; you must be careful. It is possible they want us to fight among ourselves while they reap the benefits."
After listening to Ruiqing's analysis, Mu Yueqing suddenly understood and looked at her incredulously: "So according to what you're saying, who in this harem is most likely to be that person?"
"Actually, I'm not very sure either but I feel that Consort Xi seems quite elusive. She doesn't compete with anyone; all day she either takes care of the Empress Dowager or looks after the Little Prince. Moreover, she takes care of the Little Prince exceptionally well; it's truly strange. So I think either she does not want to be enemies with others or she is the one pulling strings behind the scenes," Ruiqing thought for a moment and then said.
Mu Yueqing did not believe her words and walked in front of her saying: "I don't think it should be her. She seems like someone everyone would bully; if it weren't for relying on the Empress Dowager's support, how could she become a consort? So from now on you should still be cautious; there may very well be someone behind trying to bring me down."
"Understood," Ruiqing replied.
Chapter 141
The next day would be New Year's Eve; therefore everyone was busy preparing for the New Year festivities. Each palace began making arrangements related to the celebration; the entire imperial palace was filled with a festive atmosphere. However, beneath this happiness in Qinxiang Garden was not as quiet as usual.
The great hall was filled with people, all wearing serious expressions as they looked at the person kneeling on the ground. Finally, Mu Junqi spoke first, "Who sent you here?"
The person bowed their head and remained silent. This individual was the one who had poisoned someone that day. Due to their tall stature, they were not hard to find in the imperial harem. Initially, Mu Junqi thought it might not be this person, but soon she saw them interacting closely with a palace maid from Qinxiang Garden. After careful investigation, she discovered the truth.
At this moment, it was time for everyone to interrogate him. The palace maid's name was Liu Er; she was quite pretty and had only recently been transferred there. Usually quiet and diligent, no one expected her to be involved with outsiders in such a way.
"Lift your heads so This Palace can see you!"
However, the two individuals continued to keep their heads down and refused to speak. In the end, Ziyue had no choice but to step forward. Ziyue walked over and forcefully lifted their heads. When their eyes met, everyone noticed the red spots appearing on their faces, which startled Ziyue into taking a step back. The others in the hall also gasped in shock.
Mu Junqi did not expect such a scene. She was taken aback when she raised her head, but then she stood up. Huixin quickly intervened, saying, "Your Highness, you must not approach them! What if that is contagious?"
But she remained unfazed and continued to walk forward. When she reached the two of them, she said, "If you don’t want to die, tell me everything about this matter honestly. Perhaps This Palace will spare your lives and allow Dr. Xia to treat you. But if you refuse to listen and continue to remain silent, then This Palace will let you experience what it means to be torn apart by five horses!"
Her tone was calm, yet it made everyone present gasp in fear; they never expected the usually gentle and humble Empress would show such a ruthless side.
She continued, "Of course, if you decide that This Palace cannot help you, then you are free to try your luck. At that point, your families will understand what it means to suffer worse than death!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Er could no longer bear it. With tears in her eyes, she looked at her and said, "Your Highness, please spare me! I was wrong; I was wrong! Whether you want to kill or torture me, I won’t say anything—just please spare my parents; they know nothing about this."
"Very well," Mu Junqi replied. "As long as you tell This Palace about this matter, not only will This Palace spare your parents' lives, but I will also give them some silver for a comfortable old age."
"Okay—okay! I will speak! Not long ago, when I had just been transferred to Qinxiang Garden, a man in black came to find me and asked me to do something for him. But I didn’t dare; as a result, they fed me a pill that would poison me if I didn’t get the antidote within three days. With no other choice, I had to work together with Little Li to carry out this plan." Liu Er spoke while crying.
Mu Junqi sighed as she listened to her and then turned her gaze toward Little Li beside her. "Don’t you want to speak now?"
Finally, Little Li knelt down and said, "Your Highness, please spare me! Actually, I don’t even know who that person is; they threatened me too! A few days ago they called for me again and gave me a packet of poison to put into the kitchen's food. Since I had learned about it through Liu Er before, I took the opportunity of visiting Liu Er to sneak into the kitchen and poison the food. Afterward, I was worried that you would eat it; later I heard that a palace maid died from it. At that moment, I felt really lucky; you all know what happened next."
Mu Junqi listened silently as they finished speaking. Although this incident wasn’t intentional on their part, they had caused the death of a palace maid; thus it counted as a wrongdoing. Just as she was about to speak, Ziyue quickly gestured for her attention.
Though Mu Junqi still felt somewhat puzzled, she followed Ziyue over. Ziyue then whispered urgently, "Your Highness, don’t you think their testimonies sound premeditated? Shouldn’t we continue questioning them?"
Mu Junqi looked back at the two individuals again and saw Ziyue shake her head as she said: "This Palace believes they are not lying; someone truly threatened them. Their eyes do not show calculation; otherwise we wouldn’t have found them so easily. Perhaps this was their plan from the beginning—not betrayal but rather an attempt to free themselves from their threat. We might be able to obtain more useful information."
Upon hearing this, Ziyue fell silent. The two of them walked over and looked at him. Mu Junqi continued to ask, "In that case, let me ask you, besides wearing black clothes, what other characteristics did that person have?"
Little Li raised his head and thought carefully before saying, "That person has been very well hidden. He only communicated with us through notes and we never heard his voice, so I don't know what characteristics he has."
Liu Er quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, that person seems to have never spoken from the beginning. We could only see a pair of eyes; everything else was obscured, and it was quite dark at the time, so we really couldn't tell what he looked like."
With no other choice, Mu Junqi returned to her position and said to the two of them, "You two assisted the thief in killing the palace maid. Considering that you did not do it intentionally, you will be punished to serve a year in silver and reflect on your actions in the Shenxing Division. Of course, I will also fulfill my promise to save you."
Upon hearing her words, the two exchanged glances and began to cry with gratitude. They then deeply bowed several times before saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing our lives."
"I also thank Your Majesty for sparing our lives; you will surely be rewarded," they added.
"Alright, take them away," Mu Junqi said with a smile, waving her hand. Shortly after, several eunuchs came over to escort them out.
Once the hall was empty of others, Huixin turned to Mu Junqi with a frown and said, "Your Majesty, why did you punish them so lightly? People like them should be executed by slow slicing to prevent them from committing heinous acts while we are not paying attention."
Ziyue playfully poked her forehead and said, "Your Majesty is being kind. Besides, those two are pitiful as well; perhaps after spending a year in the Shenxing Division they will change for the better. Moreover, today they have received Your Majesty's grace; they will surely find a way to repay it in the future."
Huixin nodded in agreement. However, Mu Junqi gazed at the two with a faint smile while a shadow of gloom passed over her eyes.
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