Lu Mingyu was quick before, and once she had finished her business, she was not in a hurry at all. She did not follow Emperor Yongjia to the Yanxi Palace but went to the Jiofang Hall.

Within just one stick of incense, Empress Qiao hurried back.

“Royal Mother,” Lu Mingyu stood up to greet her.

Empress Qiao was worried and stepped forward to hold Lu Mingyu’s hand, looking her up and down, and scolded: “Why did you run into the palace when you should be in bed to take care of your pregnancy? Is the Emperor’s sudden visit to the Yanxi Palace related to you?”

Lu Mingyu replied frankly: “Yes, I went to see Royal Father and asked for mercy for Meng Guifei.”

It was natural for the victim to come in person to ask for mercy.

This step was paved in time, Emperor Yongjia should appreciate it, and the Eldest Prince and Jing’an Gōngzhǔ should be grateful.

Empress Qiao felt a little upset: “This morning, the Eldest Prince asked Ah Jing to intercede, but he flatly refused.”

Lu Mingyu continued softly: “Yes, Your Highness is devoted to me. How can I be selfish and only care about myself, and ignore Royal Mother and Your Highness?”

Empress Qiao’s nose was sore and her eyes suddenly became hot.

Even the daughter-in-law who had just entered the house could see how biased Emperor Yongjia was in protecting Meng Shi. As an Empress, she, apart from the title of the main wife, was not as favored as a lowly Su Shi in terms of the Emperor’s favor.

If Meng Guifei dies, the first person that Emperor Yongjia would vent his anger on was her, the Empress of the Central Palace.

Empress Qiao turned her head to the side, tears quietly falling.

Lu Mingyu sighed inwardly and felt a little pity for Empress Qiao. She whispered, “We are the ones who have the upper hand now. There is no need to kill them all. Let’s earn a reputation for kindness first. That Meng Guifei shouldn’t be dead. There will be many ways to deal with them in the future.”

Empress Qiao shed tears silently for a while, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and then turned back and said to Lu Mingyu, “You go back to the mansion first. If there is any movement in the palace, I will send someone to send you a letter.”

Lu Mingyu said, “There is no rush. I’m here, so I might as well wait in the palace for a while. It’s a good opportunity to use Meng Guifei to brush up on my reputation of being kind and generous.”

Empress Qiao was amused, and her gloomy and heavy mood was relieved a lot: “Okay, you can rest in the Jiofang Hall. Meng Guifei is still not awake in the Yanxi Palace, and Yang Gongren is having a difficult delivery. You are a pregnant woman and can’t be affected by blood and anger, so don’t go there.”

Lu Mingyu responded with a smile.

Empress Qiao was tense, and now she relaxed and felt tired.

Lu Mingyu whispered to comfort her: “Things have come to this, there is no point in being anxious. Royal Mother, go and have a rest first. If there is anything, I will have someone wake you up.”

Empress Qiao had not slept all night and was really exhausted. She nodded and said: “I will go and have a rest first. You don’t have to sit here, go to the side room and lie down and wait for news.”

Lu Mingyu agreed.

At this time, Li Jing, who was in the Ministry of Justice, also received the news that Lu Mingyu had entered the palace.

Li Jing’s brows were almost twisted into knots.

Calculating the time, Lu Mingyu had entered the palace, and she should have done what she wanted to do and said what she wanted to say. Even if he rushed to the palace now, it would be too late.

That was it! He had his intentions, and she had her persistence.

After a while, Li Jing relaxed his brows and ordered the eunuch who came to deliver the letter: “Go back and tell Xiaoyuan to stay by the side of the Second Huangzifei and wait for orders.”

The eunuch responded respectfully.

Li Jing thought for a moment and said, “The Ministry of Justice is investigating the case at a critical juncture, and I will still keep an eye on it. When you return to the palace, bring a message to the Second Huangzifei. Just tell her that the investigation is going smoothly at the Ministry of Justice, and let her relax and not worry about me.”

The eunuch took the order and returned to the palace, and immediately went to the Jiofang Hall to report. Lu Mingyu nodded slightly, indicating that she already knew.

But Xiaoyuan, upon hearing the message from his master, was so moved that he almost burst into tears. He was much more excited than Lu Mingyu.

Sure enough, His Highness was the most considerate.

Lu Mingyu rested in the side room, and Xiaoyuan was guarding outside the door.

…

Time passed in a flash, and another half-day passed.

Empress Qiao slept for two hours, and her complexion was finally much better.

Lu Mingyu ordered the imperial kitchen to send food over: “Royal Mother must be hungry, let’s eat first! Only when you are full can you have strength.”

When Empress Qiao smelled the fragrance of the food, she felt hungry and ate two bowls in a row before she stopped eating.

Lu Mingyu also had a good appetite and ate no less than Empress Qiao.

Empress Qiao was not in the mood to gossip, so she sent Cailan to the Yanxi Palace: “Cailan, go to the Yanxi Palace and ask if Meng Guifei has woken up.”

Cailan took the order and left. In less than an incense stick of time, she came back with a strange look on her face.

Empress Qiao’s heart sank: “How is Meng Guifei?”

The person she feared and hated the most in her life was none other than Meng Guifei. But now, Meng Guifei really couldn’t die.

Cailan responded in a low voice: “Your Majesty, Guifei has not woken up yet. However, she was barely able to take some medicine. There is another matter.”

“Yang Gongren’s fetus was in an abnormal position and she had been unable to give birth to a child. The Eldest Huangzifei had no choice but to put her offspring first and ordered the midwife to cut open Yang Gongren’s belly. The child’s breathing was weak and her cry was soft, but he was finally born safely. Yang Gongren bled too much, and the Eldest Huangzifei asked the imperial physician to come, but he could not save Yang Gongren.”

“When I went there, Yang Gongren had just closed her eyes.”

“The Eldest Huangzifei ordered me to come back and report to the Empress to see what to do next.”

Empress Qiao: “…”

Instead of waiting for the news that Meng Guifei had woken up, she received the bad news about Yang Gongren.

Lu Mingyu’s brows moved.

In the previous life, there was no such thing as Meng Guifei seeking death. Yang Gongren gave birth to a child safely and was named a fei, which was quite glorious. In this life, she died so miserably in the delivery room…

Empress Qiao finally said, “I know. Let someone bury Yang Gongren!”

After a pause, she said, “Having a baby is a happy event, but Meng Guifei hasn’t woken up yet. The good news of the birth of the Emperor’s grandson will not be announced for the time being. Let the Eldest Huangzifei take good care of the child.”

Cailan accepted the order respectfully and went to the Yanxi Palace to pass on the message.

In the Jiofang Hall, Empress Qiao and Lu Mingyu looked at each other.

Empress Qiao suddenly whispered, “This Liang Shi knows how to pick the time.”

Yes!

Whether it was intentional or forced, when Meng Guifei was dying, who would care about the life and death of a mere palace maid?

Lu Mingyu’s eyes flashed, and he said lightly, “After this incident, we should pay extra attention to her.”

People with dark and twisted hearts, once they took the first step and their hands were stained with blood, would act more and more cruelly and have no bottom line. The Eldest Huangzifei died before she could evolve to this point in her previous life. In the future, they had to be more careful about her.

Empress Qiao sighed silently and nodded.

Earlier in the Yanxi Palace, she had an impulse and hinted to the Eldest Huangzifei. But she had never expected that the Eldest Huangzifei would dare to do it.

A young and vibrant life just fell quietly and disappeared without a trace.

(End of this chapter)