At this time in the palace—

The Emperor had been sitting briefly in Consort Xiao’s quarters. Seeing that it was about time, he went to the imperial study.

The bowl of white fungus soup that Consort Xiao had personally made for the Emperor sat untouched on the table.

What a pity!

Consort Xiao’s expression was very unpleasant. She snorted sullenly, raised her hand, and swept it across the table. That bowl of white fungus soup tumbled from the table to the floor.

Bang—

A crisp sound!

The palace maids on either side trembled, burying their heads even lower.

Consort Xiao was exceedingly gentle before the Emperor, but toward these servants, she was terribly harsh.

The palace maids and eunuchs of the entire Zhangzhi Palace had basically all been “disciplined” by her.

Consort Xiao raised her brow. “Take everything away.”

“Yes.”

Several palace maids quickly came forward and carried away the items on the table one by one.

The palace maid Sang Lan on the side, seeing her mistress in a bad mood, couldn’t help but say, “Your Ladyship made the white fungus soup for His Majesty with such care, yet every time His Majesty doesn’t drink it.”

Sang Lan was Consort Xiao’s confidant. In this palace, she was the only one who could speak with Consort Xiao.

But as soon as these words came out, Consort Xiao’s cold eyes looked at her. “What did you say?”

“This servant said…”

“Kneel down!”

Sang Lan had misspoken. She hastily knelt down and quickly begged for mercy. “This servant spoke without thinking and made Your Ladyship unhappy. It’s this servant’s fault. This servant just… felt it was unfair to Your Ladyship.”

Consort Xiao’s face was dark. That slender hand gently brushed over her hair ornament, touching the Hainan pearl pinned in her hair.

The pearl was ice-cold, seeping into her fingertips, yet becoming even more frigid.

“Unfair? Sang Lan, then tell me, what’s so unfair?”

“Every time His Majesty comes, Your Ladyship personally makes a bowl of white fungus soup, yet every time His Majesty doesn’t drink it. This servant feels sorry for Your Ladyship.”

“Then do you know why His Majesty doesn’t drink this palace’s white fungus soup?”

Hearing that Consort Xiao’s angry tone had diminished slightly, Sang Lan raised her head and shook it twice.

Consort Xiao laughed once, but with several notes of bitterness.

Her gaze looked toward the outside of the hall as she spoke. “They all say Empress Xuanshu had a pair of skillful hands. She could thread needles and embroider images of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. She could also work in the kitchen and make delicious pastries and dishes. His Majesty had refined tastes, yet he most loved Empress Xuanshu’s bowl of white fungus soup. Although Empress Xuanshu has already passed away, no one can match her position in His Majesty’s heart. Even though this palace makes a bowl of white fungus soup every day, it’s ultimately not the bowl His Majesty wants.”

As she spoke, Consort Xiao’s eyes reddened, but on her dark expression, not a trace of sadness could be seen. What was there was only unwillingness and jealousy!

The Emperor’s deep love for Empress Xuanshu was a thorn in the hearts of all the ladies of the harem.

Moreover, after Empress Xuanshu’s death, the Emperor had never considered establishing a new empress. Consort Xiao had “casually” mentioned establishing an empress a few times at his bedside, but the Emperor had only brushed it off.

Of course, Jing Hua’s position as Crown Prince was probably also due to the blessing of his birth mother, Empress Xuanshu. For such an incompetent fool as him, if he weren’t Empress Xuanshu’s son, the Emperor wouldn’t even give him a glance. Establishing Jing Hua as Crown Prince also further represented the Emperor’s deep love for Empress Xuanshu.

Probably, this was loving all that belongs to the one you love!

Regarding the matter of establishing the Crown Prince, Consort Xiao’s teeth itched with hatred. How could that incompetent fool Jing Hua compare to even half of her own son Jing Yi?

When the Emperor first conceived the idea of establishing a Crown Prince, Consort Xiao had already allied with her maternal family and secretly won over many court officials who all submitted memorials recommending Jing Yi. But in the end, the Emperor had insisted on establishing Jing Hua.

After the incompetent fool ascended to Crown Prince, the court situation shifted sides again. Those who had originally supported Jing Hua almost all defected to the Crown Prince’s side.

The term “fence-sitter” originated from the imperial court!

Thinking of this, Consort Xiao clenched her embroidered fist and pressed it sullenly on the table.

Sang Lan didn’t dare make a sound. Having followed Consort Xiao for many years, she knew her sore spots!

After a moment, Consort Xiao finally glanced at her. “Get up.”

“Thank you, Your Ladyship.”

Sang Lan rose!

“Is that girl Xuan’er obediently staying in the palace?” Consort Xiao asked.

“Reporting to Your Ladyship, the Princess… left the palace.”

“She went to Prince Rong’s manor?”

“Probably so.”

Consort Xiao said angrily, “This girl always favors outsiders over her own family.”

Among the Emperor’s four sons, Crown Prince Jing Hua was eloquent with excellent verbal skills, most adept at flattery.

Third Prince Jing Yi had a deep disposition, and was cunning and clever. His methods of handling affairs were also clean and efficient—most like the Emperor.

Fourth Prince Jing Xian had fallen seriously ill over ten years ago and had been sickly ever since. For many years, he’d remained in his own palace, rarely coming out.

As for Seventh Prince Jingrong, he had always been unsmiling in disposition, steady in his actions, unflappable in handling affairs, and had never expressed any desire to compete for the Crown Prince position. Yet it was precisely that indifferent feeling that made him inscrutable, exuding a sense of threat.

Jingrong’s birth mother had been competitive and made mistakes during her lifetime, so the Emperor was also somewhat distant toward Jingrong.

However, Consort Xiao was someone skilled at reading situations. She was very clear about one thing—Jing Xian was worthless and needed no attention. Pulling the Crown Prince down from his position would also be an easy matter. But to help her own son sit on the Crown Prince’s seat, the one with the most threat was ultimately still Jingrong.

Even if the Emperor didn’t value him highly, he was like a willow branch waiting to grow—he would only grow longer and more slender. Sooner or later, he would reach toward the Crown Prince position.

To prevent before it happens, one must eliminate the threat at its root!

At this moment, a eunuch’s announcement came from outside.

“Prince Yi has arrived.”

Jing Yi’s robes fluttered as he walked in with clear steps. He bowed to Consort Xiao. “Your son pays respects to Mother.”

“Quickly rise.”

Consort Xiao smiled gently and hurriedly pulled her own son before her. Her own son—no matter how she looked at him, she was satisfied.

“Are you going to see your father? He just went to the imperial study.”

“Your son came specifically to find Mother.” Jing Yi’s expression was tense.

It seemed to be a very important matter!

Immediately, Consort Xiao dismissed all the servants in the hall, leaving only Sang Lan.

Consort Xiao was puzzled and somewhat nervous. She quickly asked, “What exactly has happened?”

In Jing Yi’s deep brows, a trace of apprehension was clearly evident.

His voice lowered slightly as he said, “Today, Jing Zhaoyin discovered a corpse. The deceased is Old General Li’s granddaughter. This matter is related to the disappearance cases.”

“So what?”

“That Master Ji has already taken over this case.” Jing Yi’s tone carried a hint of warning.

Consort Xiao nodded. “This palace naturally knows.” Then she added immediately, “But based on that person’s abilities, can she solve this case? For two months there have been no leads. This palace sees that she’s simply made empty boasts. Moreover, this palace doesn’t believe that this person Jingrong found can solve this case.”

Would such an extraordinary person exist in this world?

She had handed the disappearance case to that Master Ji merely to suppress Jingrong.

Jing Yi said, “Mother, do you know that this move—you made the wrong play.”

Consort Xiao was startled!

Wrong?

Where was it wrong?