I swept the harem by pretending to be weak

No matter how innocent she was, Ai Ziyi understood that matters concerning the royal bloodline must not be interfered in under any circumstances.

Not to mention actively getting involved, even if she was passively dragged into it, it would be a huge trouble. Not to mention that her father was only a general of the fourth rank, even the powerful General Lin would be useless.

Didn’t you see that their virtuous concubine didn’t say a word?

“Princess Chen, you should calm down. Don’t always think about bothering the emperor with every problem. We are all sisters in the harem, and we should support and care for each other. If we make too much trouble, it will make no one look good.” The queen’s tone softened a little, and she no longer looked like she was going to blame the emperor.

"Sisters, sisters, you are sisters on the surface, but you are quicker than anyone else to stab each other in the back in secret. I really can't afford such sisters." Chen Fei took another sip of tea and smiled coldly.

Han Cairen was still kneeling alone in the center, looking somewhat pitiful.

"Empress - Aman can prove what happened to Concubine Chen!" Han Cairen knew very well that she must not let these two giants of the palace shake hands and make peace, otherwise she would really have no way to survive. The Queen would not protect her, and Concubine Chen would definitely kill her as soon as possible.

"The A'man you are talking about is the girl who ran away from my palace? To be honest, I am also very confused. How could she, a regular palace maid, run away and disappear without a trace? It seems that someone must have hidden her on purpose!" Concubine Chen was furious.

"It was because of her mistake that my second princess became seriously ill. If the second princess hadn't been in any serious trouble, I would never let her go, nor would I let the person who secretly instigated it go!"

Liu Zhirou was also surprised. She originally thought that Chen Fei was a secretive person, but she didn't expect that she would express her emotions so clearly.

However, this might not just be a simple expression of emotion, but also a deterrent to those who are secretly spying on the mother and daughter.

Han Cairen, who was kneeling below, bit her lips and tears fell, looking pitiful.

It’s just that the people sitting here are not the kind of people who are gentle and considerate to women.

"No matter what, call A'man over and ask her to tell you what she knows. If she doesn't have anything valuable, hand her over to Concubine Chen." The queen made the ruling without mercy.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Aman..." Han Cairen stammered and couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"Tell me where she is immediately so that you can be spared physical pain. How can we tolerate the existence of such sinister and disrespectful people in this majestic palace?" Chen Fei's words undoubtedly put a lot of psychological pressure on her.

"I...I don't know." Han Cairen almost collapsed completely.

"What did you say? Are you deliberately making excuses?" the queen asked.

"I dare not refuse, but A'man... has always contacted me unilaterally. When she doesn't want to see me, I can't contact her!" Han Cairen was already extremely panicked.

She knew very well that Concubine Chen and the Queen were not joking, and they were not so soft-hearted as to be unwilling to take action against her. On the contrary, if she really concealed something important, then she would inevitably go to the Ministry of Punishment.

When Han Cairen thought about what he would face if he entered that kind of place, he wished he could just run into a wall and die there.

But Han Cairen still held on to one last glimmer of hope. What if she could turn the tables? What if she was worthy? Wouldn't that mean she could be exempted from the death penalty? She had no other expectations. As long as she could survive, it would be fine. Even if she was demoted to a commoner, or sent to a temple to become a nun and pray for blessings, it would be fine.

Han Cairen clearly understood that when the big tree of Concubine Shu fell, she would no longer have anyone to rely on. If she was the kind of person who had never sought refuge with high-ranking concubines, even if she suffered some oppression, she would at least be able to survive, and no one would deliberately target her.

But she had already taken refuge with Concubine Shu, and during that time she had done countless things for her and received countless bonuses, so it was time for her to pay back her debt.

Is there anything that has only benefits and no risks?

But it was obvious that she lost the bet.

She did not use her words to catch Chen Fei off guard and reveal her flaws, nor did she present overwhelming evidence that could truly make the final decision. And Aman, whom she regarded as a life-saving straw, has not been heard from until now.

She even suspected whether A'man was playing tricks on her on purpose, or whether A'man had fallen into Chen Fei's hands and was strangled to death silently in the corner of some rockery or drowned in some abandoned dry well.

The more Han Cairen thought about it, the more scared he became, and he felt that he was truly hopeless.

But if she could see Chen Fei's expression, she would definitely understand that A'man was indeed very important, but she just couldn't persuade her.

Even when Han Cairen asked the Queen to gather everyone together and openly accused her of cheating, Concubine Chen's expression did not look so ugly.

Liu Zhirou's heart moved and she listened carefully. As early as when she had just served the emperor in the emperor's bedchamber, she found that the palace here seemed to be very different from the palace she understood. After what happened today, she was undoubtedly more certain of it.

Her idea was quite reasonable. Logically speaking, A'man was just a little palace maid, a person who could be stepped on by anyone in the entire palace.

But it was just such a little palace maid that made the highest-ranking people in the entire harem helpless.

It would be fine if A'man really did his duty and had no evidence to hold against him, but there was clearly a big problem with A'man, and yet he was nowhere to be found, nor was his body found. Chen Fei couldn't even find him, let alone solve this problem.

If the Queen had taken her in and sheltered her, then at the first scene of accusing Concubine Chen, the Queen would have asked the maid to come out and testify. Otherwise, the incident today would have alerted the enemy and would only have made Concubine Chen more vigilant without achieving any effect.

If the queen hadn't taken her in and protected her, who would have wanted anything from this little maid? The emperor's battles were usually in the previous dynasty, and the queen mother had been recuperating for many years due to poor health and didn't care about anything.

If Aman escaped by her own ability, then what did she eat, drink and where did she live in the palace where rules were strict and patrolled all the time?

It's extremely strange.