Reborn into the palace, she seduces the emperor's heart, driving the chief minister to madness!

Chapter 210 Provocation

Chu Qingyin raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Ya'er, her expression calm and undisturbed.

She waved her hand gently, signaling Xianglan to accept the gift, her voice cool and clear: "Please thank your master on my behalf."

Having said that, he stopped looking at her and simply told her to leave.

Crow couldn't see much jealousy on her face, so she didn't linger and could only leave awkwardly.

After Ya'er left, Xianglan couldn't help but mutter, "Your Majesty, Consort Qiao is clearly trying to anger you on purpose. She even went out of her way to send things over. It's really infuriating."

Chu Qingyin gently stroked the little snowball in her arms and said calmly, "It's just a little trick, let her be."

Even so, Xianglan noticed that Chu Qingyin's hand, which was stroking the little snowball, paused slightly, and a hint of loneliness seemed to appear in her eyes.

Xianglan felt a pang of sympathy seeing this, so she bent down and patiently said, "Your Majesty still loves and cherishes you, otherwise he wouldn't have..."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Chu Qingyin raised her head slightly, and what came into view were those items that had not yet been put into storage.

Xianglan quickly spoke up, shouting at the people outside, "You're all so blind! Why don't you hurry up and put these things away in the storeroom? What's the point of leaving them here in the way?"

The little snowball in Chu Qingyin's arms, who had been nestled casually, was startled by the sound. It immediately stood up, stretched out its paws, opened its glassy eyes, and meowed.

Chu Qingyin quickly reached out to comfort her, then said, "Xianglan, you can go down now. I'm a little tired and want to take a nap."

Upon hearing this, Xianglan stopped trying to persuade them and led the people who were moving the items away.

***

Consort Qiao stayed at Zichen Palace, received rewards, and was promoted in rank. Ya'er was extremely ostentatious in delivering the gifts, as if she wanted the whole palace to know about it.

When the news reached Lu Mingzhu's ears, she was so angry that she immediately threw the teacup in her hand to the ground.

"A little slut, she's managed to curry favor with His Majesty. If His Majesty weren't troubled lately and arguing with Consort Liang, what would she think she is, daring to gain face in His Majesty's presence?"

Yue Rong followed her lead and cursed, "His Majesty has always favored Consort Liang. Although there were some disagreements between them, it was only temporary. Consort Qiao took advantage of the situation and disregarded sisterly affection and social hierarchy. She is utterly despicable."

Lu Mingzhu took a while to catch her breath before looking up at Yue Rong and said, "Let's go and meet this Consort Qiao."

Another maid in her palace, Qinglan, stood to the side, never uttering a single word.

It wasn't until Lu Mingzhu changed into her newly tailored palace dress and was about to leave that Qinglan stepped forward to advise her, "Your Highness, Consort Qiao is currently favored, and you are not the only one in the six palaces who is resentful. Your Highness must not be the one to speak out."

Lu Mingzhu's expression changed slightly, her eyes filled with anger. "Qinglan, you rely on the fact that my mother left you by my side, and you've been controlling me in every way since you entered the palace. It's really annoying. If you insist on stopping me today, then leave the palace."

If it weren't for Madam Lu's repeated assurances before Qinglan entered the palace that she was her confidante, capable of lending her a helping hand in crucial moments and revealing palace secrets, she would have driven her away long ago.

Qinglan knelt down in fear, saying, "This servant dares not."

Lu Mingzhu looked up with a satisfied expression, then pulled Yue Rong out the door.

Fearing something might happen, Qinglan immediately sent a message to Lu Zhiheng.

In Consort Qiao's palace.

Qiao Qingling was talking with several other concubines who lived in the same palace.

"Sisters, please take a look and tell me which of these colors suits me best. I'll have a dress made so I can wear it when I go on an outing with His Majesty."

"His Majesty has always disliked extravagance. The Empress and Consort Liang's dresses are not fancy or ornate. Why not choose this lake-blue fabric? The ripples of the lake are faintly visible, which will better accentuate your beauty and charm."

"Yes, this lake blue really suits your sister's temperament."

Qiao Qingling was holding a pink silk ribbon with faint gold threads interspersed in the middle. When it came into view in the light, it inexplicably appeared dazzling.

But after hearing their words, he awkwardly put down his hand and picked up the lake-blue brocade next to him.

"Your Highness Consort Qiao, Lady Lu has arrived."

When the palace servants outside saw Lu Mingzhu's figure from afar, they immediately began to sing.

When the people arrived, everyone put down what they were holding and greeted Lu Mingzhu.

Lu Mingzhu looked at Qiao Qingling, her head held high without lowering even slightly, and her words showed no respect whatsoever, "Congratulations, Consort Qiao."

As he spoke, he told a joke, then covered his mouth and nose, as if he had been choked by some smell.

"What is this smell? Why is it so pungent?"

"odor?"

Qiao Qingling turned around and said with a smile, "Sister Lu has the best nose. This is incense bestowed by His Majesty. I specially had it lit so that we sisters could appreciate it together."

"Oh... so it was a gift from His Majesty. The smell is so strange to me, and it even smells a bit fishy. I thought it was a fox from the Beast Taming Hall that had escaped."

From the crowd, someone shouted, "What does Lady Lu mean by that?"

Lu Mingzhu immediately looked up, her eyes sweeping across the crowd. "Who is it? Who's speaking?"

Her bright eyes were fixed on the crowd, her tone full of dissatisfaction.

She saw resentment on everyone's faces, and then it settled on the palace maid behind Qiao Qingling.

"is that you?"

She pointed at the person and loudly ordered, "Yuerong, bring this lowly maid here. I want to see who dares to interrupt so easily."

The palace maid, who hadn't uttered a word before, suddenly became terrified and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy in fear, "Lady Lu, spare my life! It wasn't me, I wouldn't dare!"

Qiao Qingling couldn't bear to see the person beside her suffer, so she quickly said, "Beauty Lu, this girl has always been timid and wouldn't dare to say such things. Although you are angry, you can't be so blind to right and wrong."

The other concubines nearby quickly chimed in to mediate, "Consort Lu, you were the one who provoked us first, so why are you blaming others?"

"Provocation? Who provoked us?"

Lu Mingzhu snorted coldly, then glanced at the exquisitely made-up Qiao Qingling and sneered, "Who doesn't know that His Majesty has been at odds with Consort Liang lately and doesn't even visit the inner palace often? None of the sisters in the inner palace dare to disturb His Majesty, but you, you shameless vixen, seized the opportunity and climbed onto the dragon bed by stepping on your own sister's face."

"Since you're capable of doing it, are you saying people can't talk about it?"