So it was you.

In the afternoon, in the imperial palace garden, Qiqi, who had been cooped up for more than ten days, burst out like a little bird released from its cage. Seeing the plum blossoms in bud, she ran over in excitement, laughing loudly over her shoulder at Yue’er. “Sister Yue, hurry over here, come on! I’ve been stifled these past few days. Only now do I realize how precious it is just to be able to walk around like this!”

Because she kept looking back at Hui Yue’er while walking backward, she accidentally bumped into Consort Shu, who was chatting with her closest confidante. Fortunately, Consort Shu was supported in time; otherwise, Qiqi would truly have been in serious trouble.

Consort Shu was of course badly startled. Her personal maid glared at Qiqi and shouted, “How dare you, a lowly servant, crash into Her Ladyship Consort Shu? Do you want to die?”

Seeing that she had collided with Consort Shu, Qiqi immediately dropped to her knees and lowered her head.

Hui Yue’er hurried over as well, knelt before Consort Shu, and said, “I pay my respects to Your Ladyship. It is my poor discipline that caused this. I beg Your Ladyship to take pity on Qiqi’s tender age and spare her. I am willing to bear all punishment myself. I implore Your Ladyship for mercy!”

She could not let Qiqi be punished again. If someone had to take the cane, then let it be her. After all, Yue’er had learned martial arts; a few blows would not matter much.

Just then, a familiar female voice said gently, “Your Ladyship, for my sake, please do not pursue this any further. Whatever the case, Princess Silk Moon is still, in some sense, my younger sister-in-law, isn’t she?”

Yue’er looked up and saw that it was the Jade Consort from the Prince of Valor’s residence. It turned out that the Jade Consort and Consort Shu had been close friends since girlhood. In the end, one became the emperor’s consort and the other the prince’s secondary wife; neither of them had the fate to be principal wife.

After hearing the Jade Consort’s words, Consort Shu smiled and said, “Very well. For the sake of the Prince of Valor’s consort, I shall not pursue this today. It is no great matter that you bumped into me, but if one day you were to run into Her Majesty the Empress, what then? In future, watch your step!”

With that, she left.

She made it sound as though Du Haiju were terribly malicious. In truth, Du Haiju’s pregnancy was the very last thing she wanted. Everyone in the palace knew full well how Xuan Yuanren felt about Du Haiju. If Du Haiju gave birth to a son, then the crown prince’s position would surely belong to him.

As the Jade Consort passed by Yue’er, she caught sight of the bracelet on Yue’er’s wrist. She froze for a few seconds and thought, So it was you. Her gaze toward Yue’er turned somewhat fierce, though only for an instant. The Jade Consort was very good at concealing her true thoughts.

Only after they had gone did Yue’er finally let out a breath of relief. Supporting Qiqi as she got to her feet, she said helplessly, “Look at you. No matter how happy you are in the palace, you must not lose your composure. Joy can very easily turn to sorrow!”

Qiqi nodded obediently. Yue’er had a bad feeling, as if something were about to happen. Perhaps it was a woman’s sixth sense.

In the palace, at Ever Peace Pavilion, Consort Shu had specially asked the Jade Consort to enter the palace today to help her think of a way to deal with Du Haiju. After hearing the whole story, the Jade Consort deliberately shifted the blame onto Hui Yue’er and said after some thought, “So the Empress planned this long ago. Hui Yue’er is a piece on her board, placed there to keep the emperor’s favor during her pregnancy.”

The Jade Consort wanted to use Consort Shu to get rid of Yue’er. Truly, the heart of a woman can be the most venomous of all.

Consort Shu said, somewhat doubtfully, “The emperor has already announced that during the Empress’s pregnancy he will not favor any other consort. Would the Empress still need to arrange a backup?”

To think of that much meant she was not entirely foolish. She had simply made friends with someone who led her into the ditch. The Jade Consort wanted to use her hand to remove Hui Yue’er, but she had not expected her close friend to use her instead.

The Jade Consort continued to fan the flames. “Who can be certain the emperor will actually keep his word? The Empress is simply preparing for every possibility. If you want to deal with the Empress, you must first eliminate Hui Yue’er. Best of all, make her disappear forever. That would also teach the Empress a lesson and throw her into confusion. Then wouldn’t you have your chance to move?”

After hearing this, Consort Shu nodded and agreed to deal with Hui Yue’er.

The Jade Consort knew very well that Consort Shu wanted to replace the Empress. So she exploited that weakness, borrowing a knife to kill. It was truly despicable to the extreme—to deceive even one’s own good friend. Such a person was terrifying indeed.

What methods would they use to deal with Hui Yue’er?

Ladies and gentlemen, young and old, men and women alike, hurry and shower me with golden tickets, red envelopes, and gifts. Do not hold back. Let the storm come even fiercer!