Reborn into the palace, she seduces the emperor's heart, driving the chief minister to madness!

Chapter 225 Palace Maid Qinglan

Hearing this, Chu Qingyin smiled and gently shook the man's sleeve, "Then I will thank Your Majesty on behalf of my brother."

The two embraced and cuddled for a while longer.

Chu Qingyin thought Pei Yuanling would stay in Feixue Palace to rest, but the man said he still had official business to attend to and returned to Zichen Palace.

Watching the man's tall figure gradually disappear into the night, Chu Qingyin unconsciously clenched her fingers, which were tucked into her sleeves.

Pei Yuanling was always suspicious, and he didn't know how much of what Pei Yuanling had actually believed.

The night was dark and quiet.

Inside the Zichen Palace, the lights were on, and Pei Yuanling sat upright before his desk.

There were many memorials in the hall, but for some reason I couldn't concentrate today.

Once suspicion arose, even after Chu Qingyin repeatedly assured him, he still felt something was amiss.

"Gu Li!"

The man in black, who had been hiding in the shadows, immediately stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Your subordinate is here."

"After this incident, the Chu family probably no longer believes that I can treat them as before. Now that Chu Tianheng has suddenly left the capital, there may be unforeseen circumstances."

Pei Yuanling raised his eyes to look at Gu Li kneeling in the hall, and ordered in a deep voice: "You follow behind Chu Tianheng and find out why he suddenly returned to Jiangnan. If it is true as Consort Liang said, then protect him for a while. If he has harbored rebellious intentions, then..."

Pei Yuanling's eyes darkened; he still refused to believe that Chu Qingyin would deceive him.

But now that things have come to this, he has to be extra cautious. If anything unexpected happens, he will have no choice but to place Chu Tianheng under house arrest.

Therefore, you must not hide anything from him, Yin Yin.

"If there is anything amiss, then bring the person back to the capital and, whatever the reason, I will personally interrogate them."

"Yes!"

***

After Lu Mingzhu was expelled from the palace, the concubines were afraid of incurring bad luck again, so they all behaved themselves a lot.

As for Qiao Qingling, although her intentions were not entirely good, by helping Pei Yuanling stage a play, she inadvertently brought the two back together, and Pei Yuanling did not demote her rank.

As long as she behaves herself in the future, Pei Yuanling will not harm her.

Before we knew it, autumn had arrived, and the scenery in the Imperial Garden was gradually tinged with the colors of autumn.

The once vibrant flowers have begun to wither, replaced by colorful maple leaves and golden ginkgo trees. A gentle breeze blows, and the fallen leaves rustle down, adding a touch of desolation to the imperial palace. However, the chrysanthemums in the imperial garden are in full bloom.

Having not left Feixue Palace for many days, Chu Qingyin was getting a little bored, so she took Xianglan to the Imperial Garden to admire the chrysanthemums.

The flowers in the palace are all taken care of by special people, and no withered flowers can be seen along the way.

As she walked, she admired the autumn scenery in the palace. She saw chrysanthemums of various colors and shapes, which complemented the golden ginkgo leaves, creating a unique and beautiful scene.

Unfortunately, the scenery within these square, high walls can never compare to the vast landscape outside the palace.

The master and servant walked slowly along the winding cobblestone path, the chrysanthemums by the roadside swaying gently in the wind.

As Chu Qingyin walked, she suddenly noticed a simply dressed palace maid sneaking around in the corner of the flower wall not far away, doing something suspicious.

Suddenly, a carrier pigeon flew out of the palace maid's arms.

Chu Qingyin frowned and recognized the palace maid as Qinglan, who had accompanied Lu Mingzhu into the palace.

But Lu Mingzhu has already been sent out of the palace, so why is she still in the palace?

Chu Qingyin subtly tugged at Xianglan's sleeve, signaling with her eyes to keep quiet.

Xianglan understood immediately and nodded slightly.

The two pretended to be nonchalant and continued walking along the cobblestone path, but their pace unconsciously slowed down, and their eyes were always on Qinglan's every move.

After the carrier pigeon flew away, Qinglan looked around warily. Only after confirming that no one was paying attention did she hurriedly turn around and walk towards the other end of the corridor.

Upon seeing this, Chu Qingyin immediately whispered to Xianglan, "You go back to Feixue Palace first, I have things to do."

"This……"

Xianglan looked at the departing figure, hesitant to speak, her face showing worry.

Qinglan's sudden release of carrier pigeons in the palace clearly indicates that she is not a simple person; she might be a spy planted in the palace by someone.

"It's alright, just pretend nothing happened."

Chu Qingyin's expression was calm; she had already made up her mind.

Xianglan bit her lower lip. Although she was full of worry, she knew that once her mistress made a decision, it would be difficult to change it. So she could only reply in a low voice, "Then please be careful, my mistress."

Chu Qingyin nodded. "Mm."

Once Xianglan's figure disappeared from sight, Chu Qingyin quickly followed behind her.

Qinglan walked extremely fast, as if afraid of being caught up, taking many detours and choosing secluded paths along the way.

Seeing that she was about to crawl out through a dog hole, Chu Qingyin had to call out to her, "Qinglan, what are you doing here?"

Qinglan's body stiffened abruptly.

As she slowly turned around and saw who it was, she forced a stiff smile: "This servant greets Consort Liang. This servant just came out for some fresh air..."

Chu Qingyin stared sharply at Qinglan, scrutinizing her from head to toe. She approached step by step and asked coldly, "Get some fresh air? You were just releasing carrier pigeons over there, and now you're trying to crawl out through this dog hole. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Qinglan's eyes flickered, and her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes. She tried to appear calm and said, "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. The pigeon just happened to fly into my arms. I felt sorry for it, so I released it."

Chu Qingyin sneered: "What a coincidence! Why would the pigeon fly into your arms instead of someone else's?"

She had no intention of letting Qinglan go.

At first, Chu Qingyin thought that this girl was sent by the Lu family to help Lu Mingzhu, but now that Lu Mingzhu has been expelled from the palace, she is still in the palace. There must be something fishy about this.

"Your Majesty, this servant truly did nothing..."

Qinglan grew increasingly fearful. Her master had specifically instructed her to secretly keep an eye on Consort Liang's every move.

Unexpectedly, she caught him releasing his carrier pigeons, and he was at a loss for what to do.

"Fine, I'll pretend I didn't see it, but if there's a next time, I won't let it go easily."

Chu Qingyin glanced down at her, seemingly agreeing, but secretly observing Qinglan's reaction.

Upon hearing this, Qinglan felt as if she had been granted a pardon and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty. I will be careful with my words and actions from now on and will never do it again."

As she stood up, a barely perceptible hint of relief flashed in her eyes.

Chu Qingyin noticed this subtle expression but did not expose the other party's little thoughts. She simply said, "Walk with me for a while."

"Yes."

Qinglan got up cautiously and followed behind her.

"When did you enter the palace?" Chu Qingyin asked casually.

"Your Majesty, I was originally a maidservant of the Third Madam of the Lu family. Later, when Consort Lu was selected to enter the palace, I followed her into the palace."

Qinglan carefully considered her answer, subconsciously trying to bring herself closer to the third branch of the Lu family.

Chu Qingyin frowned slightly and asked in a cold voice, "If that's the case, why didn't you go with Consort Lu when she left the palace?"