Hearing the palace maid say that she saw her hit Liu Churong's leg with a stone, Concubine De, who was chatting with Liu Churong, changed her expression and became secretly worried. She pretended to look at Liu Churong inadvertently, and found that Liu Churong's expression did not change at all. She then felt relieved, thinking that Liu Churong did not hear it.
Soon Liu Churong was sent back to her bedroom, and Defei had no intention of staying. Liu Churong didn't care and didn't try to keep her.
Along the way, Concubine De walked very quickly, fearing that things would become out of control if she was late.
Defei's face was full of worry. She paced back and forth in the room. After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't find any good solution. Now she could only ask someone to keep an eye on the two palace maids.
"Dongxue, do you remember the two maids we bumped into by chance when we were escorting Concubine Liu back to the palace? Go and keep an eye on them for me."
After giving the order to Dongxue, Defei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even if she couldn't stop the palace maid from talking nonsense, at least she could know about it in advance and make preparations as soon as possible.
Dong Xue did not stop there, she found the two palace maids and followed them quietly. Because she was worried about being discovered, she had to stay away, so she could not hear what the palace maids were saying. However, the order she received was just to follow them, so there was no need to risk being discovered to listen to what they said.
Dongxue was following the two palace maids wholeheartedly and didn't pay any attention to the person behind her.
"Dongxue, why did she follow those two palace maids?" Behind Dongxue, Lianyun frowned, looking puzzled.
Lianyun thought about it and decided to continue following, just to see what was going on. Dongxue was still staring at the two palace maids at this time, and didn't notice Lianyun behind her at all.
After following Dongxue for a long time, Lianyun didn't see any next move. She couldn't help feeling confused, as she couldn't get any useful information just by watching her.
After a little thought, Lianyun quickened her pace and walked forward. Because Dongxue deliberately slowed down, she was soon caught up by her.
"Dongxue!" Lianyun waved and smiled softly.
Shen Qingwan and Defei's relationship was not that bad, and the maids knew each other well. After all, no one had any reason to be unhappy, but in their hearts, their masters' affairs were the most important. After all, in this palace, it was always good to have a reliable master.
Dongxue was startled when she heard someone calling her. She turned around and saw it was Lianyun. She curled the corners of her mouth and showed a faint smile as a response, then looked at the two maids in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Lianyun looked at Dongxue and asked knowingly.
"Nothing. The Queen wants me to do something." Dongxue answered absentmindedly, with a perfunctory tone in her voice.
Lianyun had prepared herself mentally early on, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get anything out of her. She didn't seem too surprised by Dongxue's reaction.
After waving to Dongxue, Lianyun quickened her pace and slowly caught up with the two palace maids that Dongxue was following. As the distance shortened, the conversation between the two palace maids gradually became clearer and reached her ears bit by bit.
"Although Empress Defei usually has a bad temper, I didn't expect her to do such a thing!"
"Aren't all the women in the palace like this? How can you survive here safely without any scheming?"
"That's true, but Liu Churong isn't a good person either."
The two were still whispering, completely unaware that they were being stared at from behind.
Lianyun already knew the whole story, smiled, and walked quickly towards her queen's bedroom. Because she didn't stay with the two for long, and Dongxue's attention was always focused on the two palace maids, Lianyun didn't arouse any suspicion.
In Shen Qingwan's bedroom, Lianyun had already returned.
"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you?" Lianyun said respectfully with her head down.
"What's the matter?" Shen Qingwan lowered her head and fiddled with the flowers in front of her, her voice as calm as water.
The flowers are in full bloom, but unfortunately, they always need someone to appreciate them.
Lianyun had long been accustomed to this. This was Shen Qingwan's personality. Sometimes, as a servant, she would worry about her own mistress.
“Your Majesty…” Lianyun hesitated to speak and looked at the palace maids and eunuchs around her with some embarrassment.
Seeing that she had been silent for a long time, Shen Qingwan looked up at her. Just as she was about to ask her why she didn't say anything, she was met with her embarrassed eyes.
Understanding Lianyun's meaning, Shen Qingwan waved her hand and said, "You all go down first!"
In a blink of an eye, they were the only two people left in the huge room. The surroundings suddenly became quiet and even the breathing of the two people could be heard clearly.
"What is it? Tell me."
"Your Majesty, I just saw Defei's maid Dongxue following two palace maids outside. I was curious, so I followed them to take a look. Later I found out that the two palace maids were talking about how Liu Churong pushed Concubine Qi into the water and was demoted to a noble lady by the emperor." Lianyun paused, as if trying to calm herself down.
"I heard that the reason why Liu Churong pushed others into the water was actually because Concubine De hit her leg with a stone at that time." There was some indescribable emotion in Lianyun's voice.
After listening to this, Shen Qingwan nodded slightly, indicating that she already knew.
"Then your Majesty...are you going to tell this to others?" Lianyun asked. If this matter were to be made public, Concubine De would inevitably be punished by the Emperor, and Shen Qingwan might then have one less competitor.
Shen Qingwan shook her head. She knew what Lianyun was thinking. But if she told the emperor now, he would know that Liu Churong was wronged. She would be favored even more. Besides, she didn't like Liu Churong. Fu Lingling, the daughter of Concubine De, was lively and intelligent, which made her like her very much. So, she could do him a favor.
"Don't tell anyone about this."
Shen Qingwan said softly, her fair face still indifferent and expressionless.
Since Shen Qingwan has spoken, Lianyun naturally would not say anything more. After all, her queen has her own intentions in mind, and these are not her concerns.
"When you have time, go see Dongxue and tell her to be careful and not let more people know about this." If someone with ulterior motives knew about this and told the emperor, she would not be able to hide it even if she wanted to.
Lianyun responded, and without staying any longer, went to find Dongxue immediately.