Transmigrating into a book, seducing him to rise to power

Inside the main hall of Zhaochun Hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed as if water could drip from it.

Sitting in the head seat, Jun Zechen's handsome face was filled with majesty. He slightly closed his eyes, as if suppressing his inner anger.

In the vast hall, only the rhythmic tapping of his long, slender fingers echoed in everyone's hearts.

By this time, Anshun had brought all the relevant people over.

Ying'er, the palace maid who fell inexplicably on the high platform, was Li Shangfu, who was in charge of Chunshu Consort's palace attire for this occasion.

Anshun also summoned Chen Shangfu. Although she was not in charge of the concubines' palace attire, she was a female official sent by His Majesty to assist the Noble Consort.

The Imperial Concubine, Consort An (An Jinyan), and other high-ranking concubines have been waiting in the main hall of Zhaochun Palace, and they do not know the current situation of Consort Chunshu.

Meanwhile, the newly arrived concubines, including Lin Ronghua (Lin Miaoyin) and Ye Ronghua (Ye Yaqin), were waiting in the side hall.

His Majesty has ordered that no one is allowed to leave.

Li Shangfu, standing to the side, was at a loss. Whenever her gaze inadvertently swept towards His Majesty, she would swallow hard, her whole demeanor as if she had done something wrong and felt uneasy.

In contrast, Chen Shangfu remained calm and composed, merely glancing sideways at everything.

Although the high-ranking concubines, such as Consort Gui and Consort An, were in a position of great power, they could not hide their unease at this moment.

Miaoyun slowly approached, pushing a clothes rack filled with palace dresses.

She knelt down and respectfully bowed to the Imperial Concubine.

He then raised his head, his face filled with grief and indignation.

"Your Highness, my mistress has always been kind and generous in the harem, and has never harmed anyone..."

"The style of this palace dress was designed by the master himself for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. He even specially sent the brocade bestowed by His Majesty to the Imperial Clothing Bureau to make the palace dress, just to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday. But now the fabric of this palace dress has become ordinary brocade."

Her voice trembled with anger, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.

She paused, her voice choked with emotion, and continued, "That would be one thing, but why was there poisonous liquid mixed into the embroidery patterns on the palace dress?"

The imperial concubine stared wide-eyed, her face showing innocence, and shook her head repeatedly.

The imperial concubine turned to look at Jun Zechen, but all she saw was the chilling aura in his deep eyes, which made her shiver involuntarily.

Sensing his indifference, the Imperial Concubine quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I absolutely did not tamper with Consort Chunshu's palace attire! I would never do such a thing!"

Then, the Imperial Concubine turned to Li Shangfu, who was standing to the side, and questioned him sternly.

"Li Shangfu! I entrusted you with preparing Consort Chunshu's palace attire, why has this happened!"

Li Shangfu trembled uncontrollably upon hearing the question.

She lowered her head, swallowed hard, and tried to calm her inner fear.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, reporting to the Imperial Concubine..."

Li Shangfu's voice trembled slightly. She took a deep breath and tried to make her tone sound calm.

"When the people from Consort Chunshu's palace first sent the Yun brocade to the Shangfu Bureau, it was a young palace maid who took it over. Perhaps the young palace maid forgot to record it, because the palace maid who made the Yun brocade for Consort Chunshu later was a different person."

"She was unaware of this, which is why she did not use the brocade sent by Consort Chunshu, but instead used the brocade from Consort Chunshu's allowance."

After saying this, Li Shangfu's knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I failed to manage the palace servants properly, which led to this mistake."

"But! The embroidery pattern on Consort Chunshu's palace dress is poisoned, and I was completely unaware of it!"

Jun Zechen's gaze was icy. Did she mean that Consort Chun Shu's use of Yun brocade was beyond the prescribed amount and extravagant?

Upon hearing this explanation, the Imperial Concubine breathed a sigh of relief; as long as it was an unintentional mistake, that was all that mattered.

Standing to the side, Chen Shangfu, whose expression remained unchanged, pondered for a moment before speaking, "Li Shangfu, the brocade sent by Consort Chunshu is recorded in the Bureau of Clothing and Apparel. Has Li Shangfu not checked it?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Shangfu's body stiffened.

She never expected that this Chen Shangfu would directly undermine her.

Although Chen Shangfu had not been at the Shangfu Bureau for long, her ability to organize and record accounts was renowned.

Moreover, how could a high-ranking concubine like Consort Chunshu not have a record of the brocade she sent to the Imperial Clothing Bureau?

If what Li Shangfu said is true, and the young palace maid who took over the job had no record, then wouldn't all the responsibility be placed on that young palace maid?

Chen Shangfu would naturally not allow such a thing to happen.

Li Shangfu's heart pounded, and his eyes flickered slightly.

Because Consort Chunshu was a high-ranking consort, the brocade in her allowance was already of the finest quality. In addition, Li Shangfu believed that Consort Chunshu would not offend the Noble Consort at all, and even if she knew that the Shangfu Bureau had embezzled the Yun brocade, she would not make a fuss.

The Imperial Concubine wouldn't care about the fabric of Consort Chunshu's palace dress, since she had clearly expressed her dissatisfaction with Consort Chunshu in front of Li Shangfu.

By using ordinary brocade instead of cloud brocade, Consort Chunshu's palace attire would not overshadow Consort Gui's.

Li Shangfu stammered nervously, "Chen Shangfu, this official... this official has never seen the record book."

Jun Zechen's cold gaze fell on Li Shangfu; he had no intention of listening to her explanations anymore.

"Take him to the Censorate!"

Li Shangfu's eyes widened, his body trembled uncontrollably, and cold sweat poured down his back.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I only gave the order for Consort Chunshu's palace attire. I do not know how the people below did it."

Li Shangfu stammered in his defense, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! My crime doesn't even warrant the punishment of the Ministry of Justice; it's merely a matter of oversight!"

However, Jun Zechen remained as cold as ice, showing no sign of wavering.

The eunuchs stepped forward, preparing to take Li Shangfu away.

Li Shangfu was even more terrified. She knew that once she was taken to the Censorate, she would be subjected to severe torture, or even execution, and would either be crippled or rendered useless.

Her eyes were filled with fear, and she kept shrinking back. "No, no!"

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please save this humble official!"

Li Shangfu looked at the Imperial Concubine almost pleadingly, "This humble official merely followed your instructions and casually arranged for others to make palace attire for Consort Chunshu. This humble official knew nothing about it!"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Concubine's heart skipped a beat.

She looked at Jun Zechen uneasily, and his indifferent gaze filled her with immense fear.

She never intended to harm Consort Chunshu. She knew that Consort Chunshu was a little petty, but she never thought of harming her.

"What is Lady Li saying? What does your lax governance have to do with me!"

The imperial concubine retorted confidently, but her voice trembled slightly.

Li Shangfu tried to continue arguing, but was forcibly pushed to the ground by two eunuchs, repeatedly shouting "No!"

The eunuchs showed no mercy and dragged her out.

Then, Jun Zechen asked An Shun expressionlessly, "Have all the palace servants who came into contact with Consort Chunshu's palace attire been questioned?"

"Your Majesty, the questioning has been completed, but..."

An Shun sighed, "There were five palace maids who made the palace dress for Consort Chunshu. Just now, when I sent people to look for her, one of them drowned in the dead well outside Yaxiu Pavilion."

"The incident happened suddenly today, and there was too little time. This servant has not yet fully investigated the reasons."

Jun Zechen nodded, knowing that it would be difficult to find out everything in a short time.

"Anshun, you are to investigate the poison in Consort Chunshu's palace attire and the palace maid who fell from the high platform. I will investigate them thoroughly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Anshun replied emphatically. "This servant will definitely investigate to the fullest extent of the law!"

"Everyone, step back. The Imperial Concubine may remain."

Jun Zechen's deep eyes revealed no emotion, and his tone was completely calm, yet his cold words made the Imperial Concubine feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

After leaving, Consort An breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the Imperial Concubine, and turned to leave with a sarcastic smile on her lips.

Soon only Jun Zechen and the Imperial Concubine remained in the main hall.

Jun Zechen sat there with an imposing and aloof air, his demeanor brooking no disrespect.

The Imperial Concubine stood in the center of the hall, her hands nervously clasped together, looking helpless and fearful.

The hall was shrouded in a suffocating silence, as if a thick layer of frost had solidified in the air, causing one to involuntarily shiver.

Jun Zechen's cold gaze fell upon the Consort, making her feel as if her last layer of protection had been stripped away.

The Imperial Concubine knew she had indeed been negligent in the matter of Consort Chunshu's palace attire, but she never expected to anger Jun Zechen to this extent.

She bit her lip and finally mustered the courage to speak.

"Your Majesty, I know that I did not take good care of Consort Chunshu's palace attire, but for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, I was focused on the Empress Dowager and did not notice the lack of attention from the servants."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a plea.

"Consort Chunshu has developed a rash, which is quite severe, but she will recover after a few days of rest. Is it necessary for Your Majesty to be so angry? I believe I have done a very good job at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet today."

After all, the Empress Dowager was very satisfied with the palace dress she sent, and there were no mishaps at today's birthday banquet.

"Consort Chunshu has miscarried."

Jun Zechen uttered these words one by one, his eyes fixed on the Imperial Concubine.

The imperial concubine stared wide-eyed, feeling dizzy and disoriented. She opened her mouth in surprise, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

"What you thought was a perfect birthday banquet was actually because Consort Chun Shu endured it all for you. She was wearing uncomfortable brocade and poisoned palace attire, and was in extreme physical discomfort."

"For you! To prevent you from making a mistake in front of the Empress Dowager, she held on for almost a whole day!"

Jun Zechen suppressed his anger, his voice low and hoarse.

If Yao Yao hadn't been so kind, if she had rested and sought medical attention sooner, perhaps their child...

Jun Zechen closed his eyes briefly, then opened them, his gaze turning cold, and continued, "Her baby, less than half a month old, is gone because of you!"

The imperial concubine was terrified and instinctively took a few steps back, repeatedly muttering "No, no."

Her eyes were filled with fear, and she was trembling all over.

"Your Majesty, I didn't mean it. I didn't know Consort Chunshu was pregnant. I never intended to harm Consort Chunshu. I didn't mean it..."

The imperial concubine explained incoherently, her voice full of pleading.

Jun Zechen stood up, his eyes growing increasingly terrifying, as if he wanted to devour the imperial concubine alive.

"Yes! You didn't do it on purpose! You are..."

He didn't say the word "stupid".

He simply glared at the Imperial Concubine with eyes as sharp as swords, making her feel utterly ashamed.

The palace was deathly silent, with only the sound of the Imperial Concubine's sobs echoing in the air.

She knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, while Jun Zechen looked at her expressionlessly, the coldness in his eyes impossible to conceal.