The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

Chapter 278

"This servant couldn't find out."

Yan'er shook her head. "My fellow servant from the same hometown refused to say anything, only mentioning that His Majesty was furious and wanted to execute Concubine Ye, but the Imperial Noble Consort stopped him."

As soon as Noble Lady Liu received this news on one end, Concubine Cheng immediately understood the whole situation on the other.

She knew much more than Noble Lady Liu.

Cun Xin was applying medicine to Concubine Cheng's hand while saying, "My lady, Concubine Ye was too bold. How dare she... Does she have multiple lives?"

"How could she have such ability?"

The wound on her palm was frightening. When the herbal medicine was applied, she drew in a sharp breath from the pain. "If she had successfully drugged His Majesty, she wouldn't still be in Chuxiu Palace."

She would have already left Chuxiu Palace to become a high-ranking consort.

"Then why..."

"She was merely used as a stepping stone in someone else's scheme."

As for who plotted against her, Concubine Cheng couldn't figure it out. It must have been some coward who wanted to gain the Emperor's favor but feared drawing the Imperial Noble Consort's attention.

Cun Xin shuddered, truly worried for her mistress.

Fortunately, they had missed tonight's banquet due to the hand injury. Otherwise, who knows if they might have been caught up in the scheme?

"Has His Majesty not come yet?"

Concubine Cheng didn't care about Concubine Ye's fate. The servants had already informed the Emperor about her serious hand injury.

Noble Lady Liu would certainly send someone to invite the Emperor as well. It remained to be seen whose chambers he would visit.

This was a game between her and Noble Lady Ye, with the Emperor as the prize.

The Xuanwu Emperor, who was being anticipated by several parties, showed Jiang Xinyue a letter he had just received from an unknown source, speaking excitedly: "Yue'er, your cousin has written. With Cheng Yuan's help, he has obtained evidence of the Governor of Liangguang's corruption. However, he's now a target and can't appear in public, so he entrusted Cheng Yuan to deliver it to Qin Province."

"Who is this Cheng Yuan? Does Your Majesty find him reliable?"

After entering the palace, Jiang Xinyue had already investigated the backgrounds of all the consorts, so how could she not know this person's identity?

She was merely pretending in front of the Emperor.

Cheng Yuan was originally a minor official under Governor Yu. He was known for his uprightness and impartiality, which earned him many enemies and Governor Yu's displeasure. He was assigned to the public mortuary, specifically tasked with watching over the bodies of victims who died unnaturally.

In polite terms, he was a minor yamen official; in crude terms, he was just a mortuary keeper. It was clear that none of the living officials under Governor Yu wanted anything to do with him.

The night Jiang Yanxi learned he would be sent to Liangguang as an imperial envoy, he went to Jiang Xinyue's adoptive father to ask where he should begin.

After all, Jiang Yankun had served as an official for many more years and understood court politics and regional officials better than him.

He wouldn't become overconfident just because the Emperor currently favored him, thinking he could handle any challenge.

He still needed to listen to his cousin. The Imperial Consort had said that as long as the Jiang family remained obedient, they would be guaranteed prosperity for generations!

After Jiang Xinyue gained favor, Jiang Yankun had gathered a group of officials who wanted to support the Sixth Prince as crown prince.

After all, waiting to pick sides until after the Imperial Noble Consort became Empress wouldn't earn as much merit as supporting them now.

It was always easier to add flowers to brocade than to send charcoal in snow. Making an early commitment would bring either fortune or misfortune, but if the Sixth Prince truly became crown prince, they would be recognized as loyal supporters from the beginning.

Among these people, some had connections in Liangguang.

After inquiring, Jiang Yankun provided Cheng Yuan's name, suggesting he use this man as a breakthrough point.

After entering Liangguang, Jiang Yanxi operated in secret, going directly to the mortuary to work as a keeper, expending great effort to gain Cheng Yuan's trust.

Only then did he have his guards parade around as imperial envoys to attract Governor Yu's attention.

Soon, the guards were mistaken for the imperial envoy and were treated to fine food and wine at the governor's mansion.

Meanwhile, the real Jiang Yanxi stayed at Cheng Yuan's home. Together with the guards infiltrating the governor's mansion, they coordinated from both inside and out, having the guards pretend to be won over to make them think the imperial envoy had been bought off, thus lowering their guard.

After two full months, Jiang Yanxi finally obtained evidence of Governor Yu's embezzlement of imperial funds.

But at this point, if Governor Yu hadn't realized what was happening, he would have to be a pig.

Unfortunately, he wasn't a pig, so Jiang Yanxi faced another assassination attempt from these evil forces.

However, with experience from the first time, he was more prepared and wouldn't be as desperate as before.

He gave the real evidence to Cheng Yuan, who resigned from his position citing his desire to visit his daughter in the capital. The Cheng family had children - their eldest daughter was married to a wealthy merchant in the capital, and their second daughter had entered the palace as a consort, whom they rarely saw.

Conveniently, Lady Cheng was ill from missing her daughters, so Cheng Yuan successfully brought the evidence to Qin Province under the pretense of taking his wife to the capital for treatment.

Jiang Yanxi and his guards went into hiding, engaging in daily battles of wit with Governor Yu's men.

Knowing that the most dangerous place was often the safest, he directly took over Cheng Yuan's position at the mortuary, operating right under Governor Yu's nose.

No one expected that not only would he not flee, but he would stay in the place closest to danger.

Governor Yu couldn't be sure if the imperial envoy had fled or remained in Guangdong, and he dared not conduct large-scale searches for fear of causing panic among the people.

He could only investigate secretly on a small scale. By the time they would search the mortuary where Jiang Yanxi was hiding, half a year would have passed.

The Xuanwu Emperor laughed heartily, "Your cousin takes a completely different approach from your father. He should be cultivated well - he has the makings of a wise minister."

What did that mean?

If her cousin had the potential to be a wise minister, and her adoptive father was completely different, was he suggesting her adoptive father was suited to be a corrupt minister?

Was that an insult or a compliment?

"It's because Your Majesty knows how to employ talent that my cousin's abilities have found their place!"

Jiang Xinyue praised both men in one sentence: "To my cousin, Your Majesty is like Bo Le discovering his thousand-li horse. Without Bo Le, even a thousand-li horse would remain ordinary. It's because of Your Majesty that my cousin's talents won't go to waste."

The Emperor pinched her nose. "Yue'er, your clever mouth is flattering me again."

Jiang Xinyue laughed and dodged backward.

"Your Majesty..."

In this intimate moment, a young eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, from Lanyue Pavilion, both Noble Lady Liu and Concubine Cheng have sent people over... this..."

Jiang Xinyue's smile disappeared, and she pouted unhappily, "It's not just me trying to please Your Majesty. I see there's a long line of people waiting to please you. Your Majesty should hurry to comfort your Noble Lady Liu and Concubine Cheng! Don't let them put another hat on me labeling me as jealous and monopolizing your favor - I can't bear such a burden."

The Emperor rubbed his nose and cleared his throat with his fist against his mouth: "Then I... I'll go check on them."