The Legend of Zhen Huan: Rebirth of An Lingrong: Counterattack to Become the Queen Mother

Chapter 281 Ling Huan's battle of wits with Jing Bolang

After Zhen Huan returned to the palace, she was still in a state of panic. She said to An Lingrong and Concubine Hua, "Although the situation has been temporarily resolved, the forces behind that minister may not give up. We must remain cautious."

An Lingrong nodded slightly: "Huan'er is right. Although the letter can attract the attention of the emperor, it will be difficult to eradicate it completely."

Concubine Hua's beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent: "Humph! No matter what power he has, if he dares to play tricks in front of me, I will not let him off easily!"

Chun Er blinked her big eyes and said, "Sisters, what should we do next?"

Mei Zhuang thought for a moment and said, "Let's start by investigating the minister's spies in the palace. If we can cut off their source of information, we'll be able to gain the upper hand."

Zhen Huan praised, "Sister Meizhuang, this is a very good plan. Lingrong, you have many spices. Do you have any that can help calm the mind and detect whereabouts?"

An Lingrong chuckled and said, "Huan'er, I do have a fragrance called 'Spiritual Insight Fragrance'. Burning this fragrance can make one's mind clear and more aware of any disturbances around them."

"That's great," Zhen Huan said. "Then burn this 'Spiritual Incense' at several key locations in the palace, and arrange for reliable people to keep a secret watch."

A few days later, the young palace maid in charge of guarding the incense came to report: "Your Majesty, while burning incense in a corner of the Imperial Garden, I noticed a young eunuch walking hurriedly and with evasive eyes, which was very suspicious."

Zhen Huan's eyes glared, "Have you ever followed him?"

The young palace maid replied, "Your Majesty, I followed him for a while and saw him go into a small side room in the Imperial Household Department. I didn't want to alert him, so I didn't get any closer."

An Lingrong asked, "What is the use of that little side room on a daily basis?"

Mei Zhuang said, "I've heard that it was a place where old things were stored and few people went there. It seems there must be something fishy going on."

Hua Fei immediately stood up and said, "Let's go and meet him!"

Everyone came to the small side room of the Imperial Household Department. Concubine Hua waved her hand and the guards came forward and surrounded the small side room.

Zhen Huan shouted, "Listen up, everyone inside! If you come out obediently, I'll give you a lighter sentence. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

A moment later, the young eunuch came out tremblingly. Seeing this scene, he knelt down with a plop and said, "Madam, spare my life!"

An Lingrong asked, "Why are you sneaking around in this remote place? Are you colluding with that minister?"

The young eunuch turned pale with fear. "Your Majesty, I was forced into this. The minister promised me a large sum of money and told me to keep an eye on the ladies in the palace and pass on any news to him via carrier pigeon."

Zhen Huan sneered, "You are loyal, but do you know that this is a crime of deceiving the emperor?"

The young eunuch kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I know I am wrong. Please have mercy on me!"

Mei Zhuang said, "If you want to live, then confess everything you know. What other conspiracy does the minister have?"

The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, then said, "I heard from the minister's entourage that they are secretly preparing a drug that will knock the ladies unconscious and then frame them."

Chun Er exclaimed in shock, "They have such cruel hearts!"

An Lingrong asked, "Is the drug ready?"

The young eunuch said, "It's not ready yet. They're just missing a few precious medicinal herbs. They're trying to get them into the palace."

Zhen Huan asked, "Do you know which herbs they are?"

The young eunuch said, "It seems there are Tianshan snow lotus, thousand-year-old ginseng and deep-sea pearls."

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong looked at each other and saw worry in each other's eyes.

Zhen Huan said, "These herbs are all very rare. If they want to get them into the palace, they will definitely take action. We must strengthen inspections at the palace gate."

Hua Fei said, "I will arrange it right away."

A few days later, the guards at the palace gate intercepted a batch of suspicious goods, which contained the medicinal herbs.

Zhen Huan brought the herbs to see the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is what I and others intercepted at the palace gate. It is the key item in the minister's conspiracy to frame us. Please understand."

The emperor looked at the herbs, his hair standing on end in anger. "How dare that traitor be so audacious! I will execute his entire family!"

Zhen Huan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Now that the minister's conspiracy has been exposed, I believe the most urgent task is to appease the people in the harem and not let them panic."

The emperor nodded and said, "Huanhuan is right. I will leave this matter to you. You must ensure peace in the harem."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhen Huan accepted the order.

Back in the palace, An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, although that minister is about to be executed, the people in the harem are in a state of panic. What should we do?"

Zhen Huan thought for a moment and said, "We can hold a palace banquet and invite all the sisters to attend. At the banquet, we can make it known that the emperor has dealt with this matter and reassure everyone."

Mei Zhuang agreed, "This is a good idea. We can also use this opportunity to enhance the friendship among the sisters."

At the palace banquet, Zhen Huan stood up and said, "Sisters, although there have been disturbances in the palace recently, the Emperor is wise and has brought those who attempted to disrupt the harem to justice. From now on, you can rest assured that we sisters will still live in harmony and support each other."

All the concubines nodded in agreement.

However, just as the palace banquet was underway, a young palace maid suddenly screamed, "Ah! Madam, this wine is poisonous!"

Suddenly, the banquet was in chaos.

Zhen Huan's expression changed: "Don't panic, everyone!"

An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, it seems someone else wants to take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble."

Concubine Hua angrily said, "I want to see who is so ignorant of his own life!"