Walking quickly into the hall, Lai Fu raised his eyes and saw Tong Yi kneeling on the ground, leaning lightly on the emperor's legs, blinking her eyes and listening to what the emperor and Concubine Hui were saying. How could she be described as well-behaved and obedient.
The emperor liked her like this. He gently touched her head and said, "I will have lunch here today."
Tong Yi looked up and asked frankly, "Are you here?"
Everyone present understood what she meant. Concubine Hui certainly didn't want Tong Yi to take all the benefits. She was about to say something when her son patted her on the back. After thinking about the current situation, she had to endure it.
The emperor was about to agree with her when he heard his usually quiet chief minister say, "The second prince won't be able to stay in this palace for long. I'll have someone serve him food right away."
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then understood. That's right, Yan Xi would not allow a confined person to stay under his nose. Thinking of the wooden tray he brought in, the emperor felt a little guilty. Evidence and the like were not so easy to obtain. He didn't know how much effort he had put in, but now...
The emperor's enthusiasm suddenly cooled down. He patted Tong Yi's head and said, "It's right here. Serve the meal."
"yes."
Tong Yi was not unhappy. She just said "oh" and lay on the emperor's legs again without moving. She would roll the emperor's fingers from time to time to play with them. Her appearance made Gu Cheng'an involuntarily look over there.
The side hall was extremely quiet, with the windows half open. Gu Yanxi listened to the noise and found that there were only two palace maids inside.
Judging from Lai Fu's statement, Tong Yi should be extremely favored at this time. The treatment she received should not be comparable to that of Concubine Hui, who had been a concubine for many years, but she should not be treated so coldly.
Hiding in the dark, watching the palace maid leaving with the basin, Gu Yanxi looked around, sneaked in silently, and threw the mung bean-sized meatballs at the feet of another palace maid. After a while, the palace maid rubbed her eyes, sat down with the support of the pillar, and fell asleep.
Gu Yanxi stepped forward and wiped the powdered pills clean, leaving no trace. She glanced around the room and entered the bedroom without any delay.
From this we can see that Tong Yi is favored. At a glance, there are treasures placed randomly everywhere, and there are a few large pink pearls scattered on the bed, one of which has rolled to the edge of the bed. It is obvious that the owner of the bedroom does not care much about these things.
Gu Yanxi looked around and walked straight to the incense burner. He opened the lid and smelled it. The incense was not strong, but it was one of the commonly used in the palace. He picked up a little and put it away, then shook the incense burner to even out the ash so that no one would notice anything.
After carefully checking all possible places in the house, he did not find anything suspicious. Gu Yanxi frowned slightly. Could it be that he was too suspicious? Was Tong Yi just sent by the Tong family to help Concubine Hui consolidate her favor
There were footsteps outside, followed by a soft cry, "Oh my God, Xiaoxiang, why are you sleeping? Wake up."
The maid was just drugged, and woke up quickly after being shaken by Xiaoxiang. She yawned and said vaguely, "Did I fall asleep? I'm so sleepy."
"You'll be in trouble if the queen sees you." The maid who spoke first subconsciously glanced outside the palace door. She was relieved when she was sure that the queen would not come back. She helped the man up and said, "Go wash your face and wake up."
The two of them walked to the back hand in hand. It was a good opportunity to leave. Gu Yanxi looked back for the last time. When he withdrew his gaze, he was blinded by the sunlight shining on the window frame. He subconsciously squinted his eyes, but the next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked over.
Without caring about being seen by the two palace maids, he went forward and closed the two long half-leaf-shaped decorations on the top of the window. Then he looked closely at the window lattices, and an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he closed the open half of the window.
"ah!"
Gu Yanxi turned around, and the mask revealed his identity.
The two palace maids hugged each other and trembled, and immediately knelt on the ground when they recognized the person.
Not wanting to alert the enemy, Gu Yanxi made a gesture to Chen Qing who was running in. Chen Qing understood and slashed the two palace maids on the back of their necks. The two fainted on the ground without a sound. Two people came in from outside the hall and carried them out.
"Immediately send people to guard the Tong family and the Second Prince's mansion. No one is allowed to enter but not leave. The Lanzhi Palace is loose inside and tight outside. All departments cooperate with me." Gu Yanxi looked towards the window. "There is someone inside the palace who is her accomplice. Find him out."
Following the prince's gaze, Chen Qing understood where to start and responded in a deep voice.
"Is there anyone useful in Lanzhi Palace?"
"The Second Prince has Qu Qi's men around him."
"Tell him to find a way to get Lai Fu to come out. Remember, don't alert the enemy."
"yes."
Walking out of the side hall, Gu Yanxi felt a chill on his back even though he was standing in the sun. This was the imperial palace, the heart of the Daqing Dynasty, and now someone was strangling his heart but he knew nothing about it. He even suspected that the matter of the eldest prince Gu Chengde was not that simple.
"Sir." Lai Fu greeted from afar, as frankly as if he had just met him by chance.
"Your Majesty, have you had your meal yet?"
"I am using it. Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"
"Yes, please tell the eunuch that I have something important to report to the emperor."
Lai Fu, who had been a shrewd man in the palace all his life, immediately understood that the purpose of the report was not the Crown Prince's report. The key point was the word "important". The Emperor never managed affairs in the harem, and he would not discuss important matters with the concubine.
The prince wants to lead the emperor away!
Lai Fu gasped. Could it be that the Second Prince was planning to do something bad to the Emperor
He pinched the tiger's mouth hard and said, "I will report to the emperor right away."
Inside the hall, Concubine Hui was sitting on the emperor's left, and Tong Yi was sitting on the right. Concubine Hui was serving food to the emperor, but the emperor picked up a piece of food and fed it into Tong Yi's mouth.
The veins on Concubine Hui's hands, which were holding the chopsticks, were bulging. She took a few deep breaths to suppress the sour feeling in her heart.
Lai Fu's heart skipped a beat when he saw this scene, and he hurried forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Seventh Constellation has something important to report."
The emperor raised his eyelids, as if he was addicted to feeding, and picked up another piece of food with chopsticks and put it to Tong Yi's mouth.
Tong Yi pursed her lips, opened her mouth unwillingly and bit down, looking at the emperor with aggrieved eyes.
The emperor's eyes were full of smiles. He knew Tong Yi didn't like this dish, but he just liked to see her unwilling but obedient look, with all her emotions showing on her face.
"What's so urgent? Just let him handle it."
There had been precedents for this matter, and Lai Fu was afraid of arousing suspicion so he did not dare to disobey. He bowed and walked out, reporting the truth to the prince.
"Please report this to His Majesty. This is a major matter that I cannot handle."
Lai Fu sent the message again.
The emperor laughed and said, "I don't believe him. Let him do it."
There was no need for Lai Fu to repeat himself, as Gu Yanxi had heard it. At this time, Qu Qi quickly approached and reported in a low voice, "Chief, everything has been arranged."
Gu Yanxi pulled her cloak closer, looked up at the sun obscured by dark clouds, and strode into the Lanzhi Palace.