An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

Night, Yongshou Palace.

Because of Shen Meizhuang's policy of reducing the regular dishes by half, Zhen Huan has not had a full meal for a month and a half.

Every day they served some half-fried vegetables, and the porridge that was occasionally served was always rotten. Zhen Huan really couldn't eat it, so she only picked out some that she liked and ate a little.

The palace servants were reluctant to throw away the stale porridge. They were so hungry that they just rinsed it with clean water several times and then swallowed it.

Since entering the palace, Zhen Huan had never suffered such hardship. At most, she was slapped by the fierce woman Hua Fei, but she had never lacked food and clothing.

Her good sister Shen Meizhuang, who had the power to assist in managing the six palaces, not only did not think of helping her, she even added insult to injury by reducing her already meager food intake even more.

Huanbi, who was sent back to Yongshou Palace, said that Shen Meizhuang quickly gained the emperor's favor after she fell out of favor. When Huanbi pleaded with the emperor, he beat her with twenty boards and threw her back to Yongshou Palace without mercy.

Zhen Huan went to see Huanbi in person. Her face and buttocks were covered with bruises, and she had not been able to get out of bed and walk for five days.

What a cruel heart must one have to do such a wicked thing.

No matter what, Huanbi is still his sister, and he must get back what she has suffered.

But I don’t know what happened to me these past few days, but there are always strange shadows floating in Yongshou Palace. When I sleep on the couch, I always feel like there is a pair of eyes staring at me outside the window.

What’s even more terrifying is the footprints of those little kids. Once, they even stepped on my pillow. I don’t know who did this.

"My lady, maybe it was Kang Luhai and his apprentice." Liu Zhu thought about it and thought that only these two people were most likely to have second thoughts. "They usually like to be lazy. When my lady was confined, I heard them privately saying that they wanted to find a good master and leave Yongshou Palace."

"They are very greedy. The more you rely on them, the more they will become arrogant." Zhen Huan now realized that servants are the most unreliable in times of prosperity. Kang Luhai and Xiao Yinzi are not even as good as Xiao Yunzi, who is usually ignored.

"My young master, I will observe them more. Do you want to call Xiao Yunzi too--"

"No need, Xiao Yunzi is not completely reliable either." Zhen Huan hesitated for a while, but still waved her hand, "Liu Zhu, you have to work harder and keep an eye on these people.

When the house arrest is lifted in the future, we will send away those who need to be sent away. It is important to be reliable.”

"Yes, my lady. But these days, I don't know why there are always some strange things happening. Could it be that there is really——"

"The things about ghosts and gods in this world are the most untrustworthy. They must be done by people with ulterior motives. We haven't done anything wrong, so why should we be afraid of them?"

Although Zhen Huan was a little scared, she thought someone did it on purpose, so she was not that scared. But Liu Zhu was a little different. After all, her mistress's hands were not completely clean. And the child of Miss An...

But this matter was a thorn in the young lady's heart, and no one could mention it no matter who he spoke to. But Liu Zhu always felt unhappy when he saw it.

The young master used to be the most gentle and kind, why would she punish young master An in the cold winter? Could it be that young master An was the real murderer who harmed the young master?

No, no, Caiyue has already admitted her crime. To be honest, she is the maid brought by Concubine Shen from her home, and the master behind her must be Concubine Shen without a doubt.

No wonder, no wonder, Concubine Shen actually ordered people to beat Huanbi and cut the young lady's food. The young lady once regarded her as a close sister, but she completely changed after entering the deep palace.

"My lord, who could have done this? An Changzai?"

When Zhen Huan heard the name, a trace of disgust appeared in her eyes. She nodded, "It must be her. She lost her child unexpectedly, but she always thought it was my fault. It's not surprising that she would do this now.

Once the perpetrator is caught and brought before the Emperor, An Lingrong's days of being in favor will be over."

"But Lady Tian also felt that her miscarriage was related to the young lady."

"She? She doesn't have that brain." Zhen Huan gave a sarcastic smile. In her opinion, Concubine Tian was not very pretty and had no talent. If she hadn't been pregnant, how could she have won the emperor's favor.

It’s a pity that she lost her child but couldn’t figure out who was behind it and instead blamed me.

But the emperor is so cruel and does not trust me. Zhen Huan sighed deeply and her mood instantly fell.

The more she thought about it, the more unbearable she became. The emperor lit dragon and phoenix candles for her, painted her walls with pepper, placed red dates, peanuts, longans and lotus seeds on the couch, and fed her raw dumplings.

In all the cases, didn't he regard me as his wife? Why did he lock me up for those false charges?

Forget it, forget it. The emperor's love is all illusions. How can he have true love when facing all these charming women in the palace every day?

"My lady, please go to bed early." Liu Zhu felt so distressed when she saw her lady hugging her knees and crying again. She tried to coax her softly, but Zhen Huan remained unmoved and just stared blankly out the window.

Before she knew it, Zhen Huan fell into a drowsy sleep. She collapsed on the couch, frowning in her sleep.

Suddenly, something dripped onto her face, each drop was bright red. Zhen Huan was quickly woken up. She raised her hand to wipe the something off her face, only to find that the back of her hand was covered in a glaring red.

She hugged the quilt in fear and leaned towards the end of the bed. She looked up at the couch and saw a black object slowly falling down. The arm-like thing hanging down was dripping with blood.

There was only a dim candlelight in the room, which could not illuminate the scene on the couch. A child's cry suddenly sounded, and at the same time, the black mass on the top of the couch was slowly moving, slowly approaching him.

Zhen Huan was so scared that she couldn't make a sound. She closed her eyes immediately, her chest heaving up and down, and her heart almost jumped out of her throat.

The moment she closed her eyes, the child's crying stopped. Zhen Huan hesitated to open her eyes, but a pale face suddenly appeared in front of her, with blood gushing out of his eyes, dripping on her face.

The mouth opened and a child's shrill cry came out. Zhen Huan screamed heart-wrenchingly, her eyes rolled back and she fainted completely.

When Liu Zhu heard the scream, she rushed in immediately and saw that half of Zhen Huan's body was about to slide under the couch, and her face was a horrible red.

"My young master! My young master!"

Xiao Yunzi also rushed over at this time. He seemed shocked by the scene and asked Liu Zhu to carry Zhen Huan out together.

"Why is your face covered in blood? Please help wipe it off and see if you are injured." Xiao Yunzi handed Liu Zhu a handkerchief and urged her anxiously.

Liu Zhu didn't think much about it. She quickly wrung out the handkerchief and slowly wiped Zhen Huan's face. Soon the red on her face was wiped clean. Xiao Yunzi took the opportunity to step forward, took the handkerchief, and put it in her arms.

"Fortunately, the young master was not injured."

Liu Zhu also breathed a sigh of relief. She looked around carefully and asked, "Is it that - that thing from before has appeared again?"

"But the young lady didn't kill Concubine Tian. How is that possible?" Xiao Yunzi pretended to be unconvinced. He looked into the inner room, but his face was a little hesitant. "How about... I help the young lady take a look?"

"Okay, go quickly, I'll go call Aunt Jiaoyue, so that the young lady won't be scared when she wakes up." Liu Zhu hurriedly pushed Xiao Yunzi in. She was already a little panicked at this time, especially because Zhen Huan screamed so miserably before she fainted.

Xiao Yunzi still pretended to hesitate, and only went into the inner room after Liu Zhu urged him repeatedly. He dealt with all the things, threw them outside through the window, then dusted himself off and walked out.

"Liu... Liu Zhu." Xiao Yunzi wiped the sweat from his forehead, his expression was as if he had seen a ghost, "There is nothing on the young master's couch..."

"You, stop talking." Liu Zhu swallowed and interrupted him, urging Xiao Yunzi to light all the candles so that the young lady would not be too scared when she woke up.

Soon, Jiaoyue was also awakened from her sleep. She had been squeezed out of the position of the head aunt of Yongshou Palace by Cui Jinxi, and was called back halfway.

But before he could tremble for long, this master was demoted and confined to Yongshou Palace. If it weren't for that person's order, why would he follow this young lady who only looks like Queen Chunyuan?

The Yongshou Palace was busy all night, and the Chengqian Palace was also cleaned up all night.

When Baoque heard that they were going to the Old Summer Palace the next day, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep well the whole night. She packed Lingrong's bag over and over again, and finally even packed a set of embroidery needles that Lingrong often used.

Early the next morning, Lingrong was a little dazed when she looked at the things in the hall. Even Zhaoshui, who was usually steady, opened his mouth in shock - Baoque packed several large bags, and it seemed that he was planning to empty the entire Chengqian Palace.

"Bao Que, what are you doing..."

"My lady, you are awake! I am preparing things for you to go to Yuanmingyuan. You should bring all the things you like, otherwise you may not be able to use them."

Lingrong was amused by her words. The Old Summer Palace was fully stocked with all the utensils, so there was no need to bring so many things.

But Baoque was thinking about herself after all, so Lingrong did not scold her. She just asked Aunt Fangjing and Zhaoshui to sort out and put these things away again.

Fortunately, it was still early before they set out for the Old Summer Palace, so they managed to pack up for a while and even had time for breakfast.

Since the day the emperor stayed overnight, there has been more ice at Lingrong's place. It seems that the emperor has really been overheated.

However, the Old Summer Palace will be much cooler, and the ice can be used to freeze some fruits and vegetables, so life will probably be better.

"My lady, what happened before is done." Xiao Chizi quietly approached Lingrong and told her everything about how Xiao Yunzi scared Zhen Huan last night.

"Sister Zhaoshui and I went there together last night. Xiao Yunzi threw all the things he used out along the palace wall. Sister Zhaoshui burned them all yesterday. There will be no evidence left."

"Well done." Lingrong laughed happily when she heard that Zhen Huan fainted from fright. These tricks of teasing people were really useful. No wonder Zhen Huan used them against Concubine Li in her previous life.

However, all this happened in Yongshou Palace, and the emperor and the empress did not hear about it. The rumors about the baby spirit a few days ago were also suppressed by Concubine Hua, who made it clear that she did not want the emperor to hear any news about Zhen Huan.

Poor Zhen Huan was scared half to death, but she still could not get the emperor's mercy, so she was released from Yongshou Palace.

However, according to Zhen Huan's wisdom, she should soon suspect herself. After all, Concubine Tian's child was not killed by Zhen Huan, and the only one who was truly related to her was her own child.

However, if Concubine Tian knew this method, how could she not make good use of it?

Lingrong laughed wantonly. She secretly communicated with Fuzi and passed on the rumor about the infant spirit that the guards of Yongshou Palace had told a few days ago to Concubine Tian's ears.

He even exaggerated by saying that it was Concubine Tian's child who was unwilling to be killed by someone else and did not want to implicate his mother, so he decided to take revenge himself.

Concubine Tian was already heartbroken because of the loss of her son, and after hearing these remarks, her anger rose again. It was said that she had asked Xia Dongchun to help her bribe all the guards guarding the Yongshou Palace.

Ling Rong did not continue to ask Concubine Tian what she was going to do. After all, she had not yet completed her confinement and could not go to the Old Summer Palace with them. So she would leave Zhen Huan in her hands and let her figure out how to deal with her.

When I returned to the palace and saw Zhen Huan's miserable appearance, I felt even happier.

At the beginning of the Si hour, the carriage to the Old Summer Palace started. There were many concubines accompanying them. Ling Rong was just a concubine of the lowest rank and was only given an inconspicuous carriage.

Although it was inconspicuous, Lingrong was still happy. After all, in this life, the emperor personally told her that she was going, which was much better than in her previous life when Shen Meiyu and Zhen Huan asked her to go.

This time, the mausoleum was arranged in Shuimu Mingse, which was built in imitation of Yangzhou Shuizhuju. Running water was introduced into the palace to drive the fans. It is said to be the coolest place in the Old Summer Palace.

Lin Sese, Shui Lingling, although it is far away from Wanfang Anhe where the emperor lives, it is good for avoiding the summer heat. As soon as Ling Rong arrived at Fenglexuan, she comfortably collapsed on the reclining chair and slept for the whole afternoon. She woke up in a daze until she paid her respects to the queen in the evening.

"The young lady slept for a long time." Zhaoshui brought a few dishes of snacks, and Baoque wrung a handkerchief to wipe her cheek. Lingrong lay motionless and let the two maids serve her. She sighed in her heart that it was no wonder that some people would gradually be blinded by power after being served so attentively.

In my previous life, I was always thinking about fighting, so it was rare for me to sit down comfortably and enjoy the fragrance of flowers and the singing of birds on a summer afternoon.

"I really want to sleep in this garden forever." Ling Rong sighed comfortably. She opened her eyes and looked at the food on the table, and found that it had returned to its original standard. "It seems that Concubine Shen's reform has come to an end."

"My lady, the summer is already bitter. If you can't eat anything good, how are you going to get through this long summer?"

"Do you know who gave the order to restore this dish?" Ling Rong drank a glass of iced sweet soup happily, and was quite curious whether Shen Meiyu realized her own problem, or the emperor finally couldn't stand it anymore and took action.

But Zhaoshui revealed a person she had never thought of, "My lady, it's the Queen Mother."