An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

Now that Zhen Huan had a miscarriage, Ling Rong had no interest in watching singing and dancing. She just wanted the Emperor to investigate quickly to find out who had succeeded.

Xia Dongchun, who was standing by, saw Lingrong throwing the pastry back onto the plate, thinking that she didn't like it, and asked Mingyu to pass the pastry on her table over.

Because of the power behind Xia Dongchun, Ling Rong also wanted to make friends with her. Even though Xia Dongchun still mocked her family background from time to time, she could remain calm and accept some favors calmly.

These days, she also thought clearly that Xia Dongchun probably felt a little grateful because Lingrong helped her on the day of the selection. But for some reason, Xia Dongchun was different from her previous life. She knew the rules of the palace clearly, no longer mocked the high-ranking concubines foolishly, and no longer showed kindness to the queen in front of everyone.

"Xia Changzai, why do I always feel that you are not yourself now?" Ling Rong picked up a piece of dessert very politely, but she didn't have any desire to eat it after just smelling it. "Will Xia Changzai really be willing to befriend someone from a humble family like mine?"

Ling Rong stared at Xia Dongchun and easily noticed the unnatural look on Xia Dongqing's face, but she seemed unaware and spoke slowly, "Could it be that Concubine Xia has someone behind the scenes giving advice?"

"If you hadn't helped me that day, I would have naturally not taken you seriously," Xia Dongchun answered irrelevantly. She covered her lips with the handkerchief embroidered with winter jasmine flowers, "You called me a forbidden area in the palace, so be careful with your words. I will remember that."

Ling Rong lowered her eyes slightly to think. Xia Dongchun's action of covering her lips with a handkerchief was too deliberate. If it were in the past, she would have rolled her eyes and would not have had the brains to play dumb with her.

But now that he has been reborn, who knows if Xia Dongchun will have any adventures. He may not be able to speak with his lips covered with a handkerchief, for fear of touching some taboo.

Taboo...

Lingrong suddenly thought of the concubine who made Concubine Hua and the Queen silent. Her disappearance was too strange. Could it be that Xia Dongchun knew something? Lingrong felt her heart beating like a drum. She raised her eyes and wanted to ask Xia Dongchun directly, but she didn't know how to start. In the end, she could only bite her lip and shut up.

"What do you think about the matter of Lady Wan?"

"It was too sudden, but it was definitely not an accident. What did Xia Changzai know?"

"She acts like an actor all day long. She puts on a show wherever she goes. She also likes to act noble, making it seem like she's the only one in the palace who can read a few lines of sour poetry."

Ling Rong was silent. It would be fine if others said this about Zhen Huan, but Concubine Xia seemed to be the one who least liked to read books and learn poetry...

"I thought you knew something." As soon as Ling Rong finished speaking, Noble Lady Fucha in front of her immediately turned around and glared at Xia Dongchun fiercely.

Xia Dongchun was about to explode with anger, but Mingyu held her shoulders and she couldn't break free, so she could only sit down on the chair in anger. Furong's face was still angry, she picked up the teacup and put it heavily on the table, as if she was letting out her anger.

In this situation, how could Lingrong not know that these two idiots in Yanxi Palace were definitely involved in Zhen Huan's pregnancy, but she didn't know who would be the unlucky one.

Soon, the New Year's Eve banquet came to an end. This time, the emperor had no chance to recall his past by looking at the red plum blossoms. As soon as the banquet was over, he went to the East Warm Pavilion with the empress. The concubines present did not dare to go back to the palace directly, but followed the emperor in twos and threes and entered the East Warm Pavilion.

In the east warm room, Zhen Huan was crying quietly. She was still pregnant for a short time, and her belly hadn't even started to bulge yet, but the child had passed away so pitifully. Shen Meizhuang sat in front of the bed, holding Zhen Huan's hand sadly, tears falling down in strings, hitting the bright yellow brocade quilt.

As soon as the emperor arrived, Zhen Huan broke free from Shen Meizhuang's hand, and with tears in her eyes, she stretched out her hand to call the emperor. "Silang... our child is gone. Someone must have killed our child, Silang..."

"Wan Wan, I will definitely make a decision for our child." The emperor held Zhen Huan's hand and smoothed her messy hair. The two of them comforted each other for a long time before the emperor tucked the quilt in for her and stood up. "Have a good rest first, I'll go take a look."

The Queen was not one step behind. She also patted Zhen Huan's hand with a sad face and said, "Sister, take care of yourself. I and the Emperor will take care of the outside world."

Zhen Huan was so busy crying that she seemed oblivious to the Queen's comfort.

Seeing the emperor stand up, the concubines who were surrounding the door retreated one after another and found chairs outside to sit down, all with a look of pity and pity on their faces. Because there were so many concubines, Ling Rong had no place to sit, so she could only pull Xia Dongchun along, and the two of them picked an inconspicuous corner to stand.

"Zhang Mi, what's the situation with Lady Wan's pregnancy?"

"Your Majesty, when I and Imperial Doctor Jiang felt the pulse of Concubine Wan, we found that a lot of musk had accumulated in her body, and she also had a strong musk smell." Imperial Doctor Zhang bowed and shook his head. "This medicine can invigorate blood circulation and menstruation, and its pungent fragrance can reach the uterus and has the effect of inducing the birth of a baby. Concubine Wan's blood and qi are weak, so... I am incompetent and failed to save the heir."

"Musky."

"It was Lin Musk Deer," Jiang Cheng stepped forward hastily without waiting for Doctor Zhang to reply, "The drug is very effective. I immediately used acupuncture to stop the bleeding, but it was powerless to save the patient."

The emperor got the answer and nodded slightly. He quickly twirled the beads in his hand. He was familiar with Ling Rong's expression and knew that the emperor was on the verge of anger at this moment.

"When I felt your pulse, I found that the musk in your body has been there for a long time, not overnight. However, I and Doctor Jiang have checked your clothes, sachets, etc., and found only a faint musk smell, which seems to be something you just got."

"Who did the noble lady Wan meet tonight?"

"Your Majesty," Huanbi came out from the inner room, kneeling on both knees to salute, "After my lady came out of Suiyuxuan, she went to the New Year's Eve banquet with the emperor. Along the way, she met many concubines, but the one she had the longest contact with was Concubine Hua. It must be that Concubine Hua was jealous of my lady's pregnancy..."

"How outrageous!" Seeing that Huanbi wanted to put the blame on herself, Concubine Hua immediately became angry. She ignored Concubine Cao who kept winking at her to be patient, and strode forward and kicked Huanbi on the shoulder. Huanbi fell to the ground due to the heavy kick, but she still shouted to the emperor to help her.

Seeing Hua Fei being so presumptuous, the Emperor couldn't help but show some anger on his face. He just called Hua Fei, and Hua Fei, who had just been domineering and hitting people, immediately burst into tears of grievance, turned her back and stubbornly refused to look at the Emperor.

Seeing that Concubine Hua was silent, Concubine Cao could only bite the bullet and make amends for her, "Your Majesty, the Queen has always liked Wen Yi and often took Wen Yi to pick flowers in the Imperial Garden. She loves children the most. How could she harm Concubine Wan's child?"

"I have lost a child before, and I have not been able to get pregnant again for many years. Lady Wan is pregnant with the first child since the emperor ascended the throne. How could I harm her!" Hua Fei thought of her own child, and her heart was touched and she cried even more pitifully. "Now this little servant wants to slander my innocence with empty words. How can I not be angry?"

When the emperor heard Concubine Hua mention the lost child, his expression softened. For a moment, he couldn't blame Concubine Hua for a maid. "I don't disbelieve you. Don't cry."

"Yes, sister Hua Fei, the Emperor and I know you best." At this point, the Queen couldn't keep silent. She looked at the Emperor twisting the beads impatiently and knew that Hua Fei's disturbance made him quite annoyed, but she couldn't open her mouth to scold him, as it would hurt Hua Fei and the Nian family's feelings.

"That maid was just recalling the people that Concubine Wan had contact with, and she made a few random guesses. It won't be too late to punish her later. Right now, it is most important to find out what happened to Concubine Wan. Sister, please sit back and listen to what this servant has to say."

In front of the emperor, Concubine Hua bowed properly. She was very proud of herself after she vented her anger and was comforted by the emperor. She glanced at Huanbi who had just climbed up from the ground and knelt down with disdain, "Didn't you hear what the emperor and the queen said? Keep talking."

"Yes," Huanbi's face flushed red, whether from anger or shame. She almost squeezed out a word of yes from between her teeth, gritted her teeth and continued to recall, "Except... it was Concubine Shen. The young lady found that Concubine Shen's food was cold, so she discussed with Concubine Shen and replaced it with hot food from the young lady's table. Therefore, she stayed a little longer, until, something happened."

"Since Concubine Wan has the most contact with Concubine Hua and Concubine Shen, the two imperial doctors should check to see if they have been contaminated with musk?"

Zhang Mi and Jiang Cheng asked the two concubines for instructions and checked the sachets and pendants on their bodies. Finally, they presented Shen Meizhuang's sachet embroidered with a large chrysanthemum.

"Your Majesty, Queen, this sachet contains musk deer, which has a strong scent, the same as the one on Lady Wan."