The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Princess Li couldn't believe her ears.

She stepped forward and grabbed the palace servant who came to report the news, and asked again: "How could Liu Shuyi assassinate His Majesty?!"

Is she crazy?

Even if he doesn't care about his own life or the Shunyi Marquis's Mansion, he doesn't care about the Fourth Princess' future either?

When Concubine Deng's incident happened, Concubine Li had been sent away in advance, so now she only knew the version that the emperor deliberately released, which was that Liu Shuyi framed Concubine Xu for miscarriage and Concubine Zhang for premature birth, and Concubine Deng hurried back but fell off the carriage and fell into a coma, her life was in danger.

Although Concubine Li didn't know the truth and wasn't very good at thinking about such detailed things, she had been in the palace for many years after all, and had already smelled something unusual from the events that happened one after another: "Ruyi, you go back to the palace first, keep an eye on Xianqiong, and don't let her run around!"

Ruyi knelt down and said yes. After thinking for a while, she said, "After I leave, Madam, please don't let anyone come and say something to you and you believe it!"

Concubine Li paused and said, "I know, I know. You are so nagging. What can I do as a grown-up? You should go and look after the Second Princess first!"

Ruyi had no choice but to turn around and say a few words to the other palace maids brought by Concubine Li, then she took the order and returned to Dexin Palace to find the second princess.

When the fourth lady Deng Qingsui saw that the master and servant had finished talking, she remembered Concubine Li's exclamation and stepped forward to pay her respects before asking, "Madam Concubine Li, I just heard..."

Concubine Li turned her head and looked at the somewhat unfamiliar girl. Her identity came to her mind. Then she thought of the virtuous concubine lying unconscious on the bed, and she couldn't help but soften her heart a little: "Don't be afraid, it was that restless person who had evil intentions and made a fuss in front of the emperor. Your Majesty is both civil and military, so how could he really let her succeed? It's just that someone from the imperial court summoned Imperial Physician Lin to come and treat your majesty's injuries. It's nothing serious."

"Your Majesty, is he injured?" Deng Qingsui showed worry on his face, and his hands in his sleeves couldn't help but shiver slightly.

Concubine Li did not notice her strange mood and only consoled her: "It's just a minor injury. Miss Fourth, why don't you go comfort the other two ladies first? They are younger than you and look very frightened."

As she spoke, she glanced at the fifth and sixth young ladies who were already standing together, and slid her eyes away from the fifth young lady Deng Qinglan with some disgust: "I will probably stay here all the time. You are too young to help the imperial physician, so just staying here with me is already a way of showing your love to the virtuous sister. If there is anything missing or something happens, the fourth young lady can come to me."

"Your Majesty is so kind. I would like to thank you on behalf of my elder sister and younger sisters." Deng Qingsui looked anxious.

Concubine Li waved her hands and said, "Sister Xianfei and I have always been good friends and she has taken good care of me..." As she spoke, she choked up, her nose felt sore, and she could no longer speak. She could only shake her head and motioned for Deng Qingsui to go over by herself.

Deng Qingsui politely took her leave and went to the corner where her two sisters were standing.

Seeing her coming over, Deng Qinglan couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty was assassinated? Who is Liu Shuyi? Is Your Majesty okay?!"

Deng Qingsui shook off her hand that was stretched out to pull her: "Your Majesty, it's alright, Fifth Girl, this is the palace, not the mansion, you should at least be dignified!"

"I'm worried about His Majesty's safety, what's wrong with that?" Deng Qinglan hated the way Deng Qingsui imitated her elders and called her "Fifth Girl" all the time.

She rolled her eyes, but then heard Deng Qingjin whisper, "… Fourth sister is right, Fifth sister, you have already caught the eye of Concubine Li because of the outfit you wore today, so you should pay more attention to your eldest sister and stop making fun of us."

Deng Qingjin had been resentful of the treatment among the sisters, which seemed equal in appearance but was actually very different. However, she was the youngest and her studies were not suppressed, but she was not as good as her two elder sisters. As for appearance, she was only comparable to Deng Qingsui, so she did not have the confidence to rebel like Deng Qinglan.

The sisters had a small argument with each other, and it ended with Deng Qingsui walking out in annoyance.

"Cough cough..." Deng Qingsui couldn't help coughing when the cold wind outside the door blew in, and his head also felt a dull pain.

She quickly walked forward a few steps and asked a palace servant passing by if she could lead her to the palace. The palace servant respectfully led the way for Deng Qingsui. Along the way, there were palace servants coming and going constantly, and each of them was in a hurry, which made Deng Qingsui feel more and more nervous.

She arrived at the guest room, thanked the palace maid, and went in alone, not to use the toilet, but to wipe her face vigorously with a handkerchief.

The bathroom was very clean and there was a faint fragrance. Fresh water was brought in from the wall, and clear, clean cold water flowed slowly in a stone basin carved into the shape of a lotus. There were a few emerald green water plants and two small carps, one gold and one red, at the bottom of the basin.

Deng Qingsui wet a handkerchief with water from a stone basin and pressed it against her forehead, trying to soothe the dull pain.

She was unwilling to enter the palace.

Whether she was visiting the palace today because her elder sister was critically ill, or because Empress Dowager Hu jokingly said she wanted to arrange a marriage for them, or because Deng Qinglan and Deng Qingjin thought that she wanted to stay in the palace as a concubine... she was unwilling to do so.

But she had no choice.

I still don’t know how my eldest sister got off the train... She has always been careful and cautious, and she takes care of everything from food, clothing, housing and transportation. How could she get off the train so easily?

Moreover, she happened to injure her head and neck when she fell from the car, causing her to fall into a coma and even put her life in danger.

During the half day that Deng Qingsui had been in the palace, she had seen nothing but panic and tension everywhere. After all, she was still young and her intelligence was not the most outstanding. She could not correctly filter out what she really needed from the various information that came in, and she didn't even know how to take care of her elder sister.

I can only listen to the arrangements of my elders and do what I should do...

but.

Should we really do it?

Deng Qingsui squeezed her palms, and the translucent light curtain that had accompanied her for many years appeared in front of her eyes.

The Bad Reviews panel.

When she was still a child, she had used it once under the guidance of the Duke's wife. After that time... the Duke's wife died of illness, Concubine Deng fell out of favor completely, the Emperor also began to alienate himself from the Duke of Ying's Mansion, and she herself developed a lot of problems.

She raised her hand and lightly touched the bright red "bad review" at the top of the screen, and her eyes moved downwards -

There, after she was shocked to hear that her elder sister was injured and unconscious last night, she wrote the second "bad review" several years later in accordance with the earlier instructions of Concubine Xian.