He asked you to serve him in bed and become his concubine, how did you manage to win his heart and s

Li Ruolan is currently pregnant, so Mu Xiaoci certainly wouldn't say anything harsh.

Furthermore, there are many suspicious points surrounding today's events, and he needs to investigate them thoroughly.

If it's a conflict between Li Ruolan and Consort Wan, it wouldn't be that difficult to investigate.

But now that the Empress Dowager is involved, things have naturally become more serious. Moreover, seeing that the Empress Dowager is showing favoritism, he can't help but side with Li Ruolan a little more.

If it really was Consort Wan's fault, then wouldn't Consort Lan be too wronged?

The Emperor, after all, is the master of this Forbidden City, and he wouldn't allow a woman carrying his child to suffer such injustice.

The Empress Dowager was still alive, and seeing that Li Ruolan was safe and sound, she inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, this matter is suspicious. Granny Li is my person, and I do not believe she would do anything to harm our offspring. Your Majesty must thoroughly investigate this matter."

The Empress Dowager's words were a warning, but also a threat.

Having lived to this age, she naturally has her own methods and is fearless in the face of Mu Xiaoci.

Today's events seem strange and suspicious, and our own people have been forced into this situation. No matter how I look at it, something doesn't seem right.

He had doubts about Li Ruolan, but he was even more suspicious of everyone else.

Consort Wan remained silent. The Empress Dowager had not yet found out the truth, and her presence here was to urge the Emperor to suppress the matter and avoid alerting the enemy.

How could Mu Xiaoci not understand the meaning? But he was not very satisfied with the Empress Dowager's domineering behavior today.

After all, he is the true master of the Forbidden City.

"Your Majesty, I also take this matter very seriously. We must not only give Consort Lan an explanation, but also an explanation to the palace rules, mustn't we?"

"Didn't His Majesty previously say that he would hand over the authority over the six palaces to me? How about I take over this matter?"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your understanding."

Mu Xiaoci went along with it, showing no disrespect to the Empress Dowager.

This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one.

Only after an investigation will we know exactly what happened.

The Empress Dowager didn't give Mu Xiaoci much time to think it over. After receiving permission, she took Consort Wan away.

Consort Wan's eyes were still red, but she was no longer as crazy as before. She was not as persistent as before when she saw Mu Xiaoci. She just bowed slightly and left with the Empress Dowager.

It certainly looked like a huge change had taken place, but Mu Xiaoci didn't know what it was.

This matter has become even more perplexing.

Mu Xiaoci then gave Richard a look, signaling Richard to also go and investigate.

The Empress Dowager would naturally handle this matter simply, according to the answer she wanted.

But Mu Xiaoci wanted to know the real truth.

After dealing with the Empress Dowager, he still needed to go back and check on Li Ruolan, who was injured inside.

The difference in her treatment before and after pregnancy was like night and day. She just waited for the emperor to come looking for her, and she could act coquettishly without restraint, begging the emperor to stay with her.

Feeling Mu Xiaoci's tenderness, Li Ruolan felt sweet inside and was completely immersed in this gentle dreamland.

As for what happened today, she had no worries at all.

First of all, it wasn't her fault that those beasts rioted; Granny Li did indeed press down on her and throw her to the ground.

She merely fueled the fire in this matter, and the investigation will not trace her back to her.

When the emperor is not overly suspicious, the time for her to make her appearance will be when the bracelet is discovered.

This time, we must deliver a fatal blow to Consort Wan and bring her down.

Li Ruolan was naturally confident.

Now that she has a child to rely on, she is even bolder than before.

Mu Xiaoci still had official business to attend to. After calming Li Ruolan down and having dinner with her, he said he was leaving.

The little girl was clingy. After her meal, she wanted to take her medicine. When she saw the emperor was about to leave, she complained that it was bitter and begged Mu Xiaoci to feed her personally.

"Her Majesty usually refuses to take her medicine, but today, with His Majesty present, she didn't throw a tantrum."

Granny Gui's well-chosen words truly created a harmonious and warm atmosphere.

They lived like a real married couple, in perfect harmony.

Even Richard was slightly surprised to see this: "This is the first time our Emperor has been so gentle."

Yunxi stood to the side, watching Li Ruolan's upper body practically cling to Mu Xiaoci, a faint smile on her face.

Such tenderness is only based on the fact that Li Ruolan is pregnant. What if she isn't pregnant?

No, there's no need to wait until she gets pregnant. By the time someone starts looking for clues, I'm afraid Li Ruolan's favor will soon be gone.

To be honest, Yunxi knew Mu Xiaoci fairly well.

This man is meticulous and extremely shrewd; every genuine emotion he reveals in the harem is intentional.

She had heard that the Li family had donated a thousand taels of gold to supply the soldiers at the front. Moreover, merchants from all over Jiangnan were also willing to open their granaries and donate grain to fill the food shortage.

The Li family may not have much else, but they certainly have a lot of silver.

This time, they squandered half of the Li family's fortune. What was the purpose of this?

Yunxi also wanted to know.

The Li family, being merchants by origin, never valued immediate gains, but rather the future.

Now, Li Zhengrong is successful in the court, and his daughter in the harem is pregnant. As long as the emperor gives him an important position, the Li family will be able to gain a foothold in the court in a short period of time.

With power and influence, money will only flow in from now on.

Mu Xiaoci was well aware of the Li family's intentions, but with war imminent in the Northwest, this was the only way he could stabilize public sentiment.

The Northwest cannot be lost, and our territory cannot be ceded.

He thought he had the ability to curb the development of the Li family, but little did he know that from the moment he gave the Li family important positions, the Li family had already begun to expand its business empire.

With the royal title as a gimmick, making money became much easier.

Fortunately, Yunxi knew about the plan in advance and would never allow the Li family to become a powerful overlord like in her previous life.

She still needed to find a way to enlighten Mu Xiaoci.

Fortunately, he did not completely succumb to despair.

After calming Li Ruolan down, Mu Xiaoci didn't linger. Instead, he took Richard back to the Dragon Palace.

Naturally, he was not a monarch blinded by beauty. As he prepared to leave, a young eunuch stood outside the palace, waiting for Mu Xiaoci and Richard to go out.

Yunxi looked at the familiar-looking eunuch and recognized him as Richard's little follower.

What was his name again? I think it was Li Gen. He was clever and eloquent. Later, when Li Ruolan became empress, he was the first eunuch to learn how to stand properly and received many rewards.

So, she's already become one of Richard's most capable assistants.

It'll make it easier for her to find you.

Yunxi stood at a distance watching them talk, then naturally turned away to avoid meeting their gaze.

Just as she turned around, Mu Xiaoci suddenly felt someone watching him. When he turned around, he saw Yun Xi's back as she turned and entered the bedroom.

He'd completely forgotten about that little palace maid today...

Yunxi was like a transparent person, always able to hide her presence. If you didn't specifically look at her, you probably wouldn't even notice her.

Such people are also easy to notice.

Neither the Empress Dowager nor Mu Xiaoci took this little palace maid seriously.

She's just a palace maid; how could she possibly turn the Forbidden City upside down?

Yet, even so, she left them with a mystery.

According to Consort Wan, she scattered a lot of cat food in the garden next to the Empress Dowager's residence, along with drugs that would drive cats mad.

Li Ruolan will definitely pass through that road on her way back to Yaoguang Palace. If she disturbs the cat's meal, she will surely be attacked.

But when they arrived, they found that the food had been sprinkled with chili powder, so the cat didn't eat it and didn't go crazy.

Wouldn't it have been an accident to run into Granny Li?

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager immediately sent people to investigate the scene, and they actually found the bracelet that Consort Wan usually wore there.

But Consort Wan broke that bracelet a few days ago.

"Your Majesty, this bracelet isn't mine! I accidentally broke it that day, and I was heartbroken for a long time. I haven't worn it since. This bracelet definitely isn't mine!"

"You mean someone framed you?"

The Empress Dowager's expression was very serious. Consort Wan had no other choice but to lower her head and explain her plan in detail.

Naturally, there was no mention of his relationship with Consort Su.

She knew that Consort Su and the Empress Dowager were at odds, so she thought it was better to avoid trouble and make the Empress Dowager feel more at ease.

The Empress Dowager was well aware of her ulterior motives, but she chose not to expose them.

"According to you, could it be that Consort Lan deliberately framed you for this?"

"Of course! If it weren't for her, who in this harem would dislike me?"

When asked about this, Consort Wan's sixth sense was remarkably accurate.

But the Empress Dowager asked again, "She is pregnant now, why would she take such a big risk to frame you? She is about to move out of Yaoguang Palace and will also be a concubine, on equal footing with you. She has no need for such despicable means."

"She's just that crazy, Aunt, really, there's no one else in this harem besides her..."

"And what about Consort Su?"

The Empress Dowager interrupted her argument and brought up someone that Consort Wan had always been unwilling to talk about.

Upon hearing these three words, Consort Wan's face turned deathly pale, and she began to stammer again.

"Aunt, the Imperial Concubine...she shouldn't frame me...No, Aunt, what should I do!"

Only now did Consort Wan remember the story of "using a borrowed knife to kill," and her mood became even more chaotic.

"Wan'er, do you know that only the two of us are left in our maternal clan? How can I protect you if you act like this!"

The Empress Dowager never intended to entrust the revitalization of the family to Consort Wan, after all, she was also a sickly person.

She was born with an illness, and her asthma was incurable. It would always flare up at certain times of the year. But because she was alive, the emperor still remembered the life-saving grace from that year and would not exterminate the last remaining bloodline of his maternal clan.

But if Consort Wan is not here, it's hard to say what will happen in the future.

The Empress Dowager knew that she was old and no longer had the energy to fight anymore, and originally thought that things were fine as they were.

But now that others are plotting against her, how can she just sit and wait to die?

Whether this was orchestrated by Consort Su or related to Consort Lan, she must find out.

It is absolutely unacceptable for these two women to use such despicable means to trample on him!