The itinerary for praying for blessings had already been arranged. Originally, the prayers would be completed today, and after the preparations tomorrow morning, they would set out from Xiangguo Temple and go directly to the palace. However, His Majesty's prayers were not going well, and the rumors outside were even worse. His Majesty was unwilling to leave Xiangguo Temple at this moment.
Firstly, it would bring disgrace to Master Xuqing and affect the popularity and reputation of Xiangguo Temple. It would also be unbecoming of an emperor to leave in anger. Secondly, Your Majesty cannot just leave in shame. It is truly God’s fault. Earlier there was news that Your Majesty had killed his brother to seize the throne. Your Majesty would never allow the two to be linked together.
All of this was within Shen Xihe's expectations, because it was they and his wife who tampered with the incense. However, this was not within Concubine Rong's expectations. Concubine Rong only knew that they would set off early tomorrow morning, and what she had arranged must be done tonight.
If you miss tonight, you will miss the best opportunity to strike a blow against Shen Xihe in the palace, because this time on the trip to Huguo Temple, all the female members are taken care of by Shen Xihe. Of course, this does not include these, but also includes everyone's accommodation, food, safety, etc.
There are too many places where they can make changes. Shen Xihe doesn't want to assign so many people to keep an eye on Concubine Rong, as this would expose his spies in the palace. Don't forget that there is a Majesty behind Concubine Rong. The Majesty just wants to see how many cards she has so that he can quickly clip her wings.
Shen Xihe doesn't like to be passive. She likes to take the initiative. At the same time, she likes to defeat those who have direct conflicts of interest with her in one move and doesn't like to get entangled with others.
She lowered her head and stroked the short-lived hair. She was not a cat and did not like to enjoy the meaningless pleasure that a cat enjoyed when playing with a mouse.
Since Concubine Rong has made a move, we must be able to withstand her moves.
The moon was above the willows, and the Xiangguo Temple, shrouded in candlelight and moonlight, was filled with the chirping of cicadas.
The lights were off in Shen Xihe's room, because it was a Buddhist place. Even she and Xiao Huayong lived in separate rooms. There were not only her and Xiao Huayong in the yard, but also Li Yanyan and her husband. There was a lack of meditation rooms, so the ministers all found places to stay outside.
The spy hiding in the dark saw that the lights in Shen Xihe's room were off, and immediately went back to report. Concubine Rong had her hair loosened and was sitting in the dim room. Half of her face was reflected in the bronze mirror under the moonlight, and her eyes were gloomy: "According to the plan."
This was the first time that Shen Xihe took control of the palace, and he had to send his confidants to guard many important places. For example, the kitchen of Xiangguo Temple. From today to tomorrow's breakfast, the vegetarian food and snacks in between would all be eaten by nobles, so they were naturally of vital importance. Shen Xihe could not expose the people he had planted in the palace, so he sent Zi Yu to guard the kitchen.
Zi Yu was originally in charge of the dining room in the East Palace. If one conducts an in-depth investigation of the people around Shen Xihe, it is not difficult to find that the maids around Shen Xihe are all cunning and skilled, and it is not easy to calculate and take them down. Only Zi Yu is the easiest person to deal with.
Zi Yu was managing the kitchen diligently and conscientiously, when she suddenly heard a familiar voice and turned around to see "Short-lived". She called out "Short-lived" and "Short-lived" ran towards her. There happened to be some fish cakes in the kitchen, so she brought them over to feed "Short-lived". Just as she handed them over, a whistle sounded and Zi Yu's attention was instantly attracted. In the blink of an eye, the "Short-lived" in front of her suddenly showed its sharp claws and scratched Zi Yu's arm fiercely.