Chapter 37: Lady Ning Was Extraordinarily Cautious

Ning Wanyin’s gaze swept over the three palace maids, one of them was silent and inconspicuous, the one whose eyes had been darting around.

If Ning Wanyin hadn’t been paying close attention, she wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual.

“Concubine Shun, please be aware, this servant usually doesn’t dig the soil this deep when planting flowers… I really don’t know what was hidden in the flowerbed…” another palace maid pleaded.

Concubine Shun was at a loss for words. She never imagined that safflower was buried under the flowerbed where she admired flowers every day!

She thought that as long as she didn’t step out of the palace, she would be safe.

But it turned out…

“Chunni has been punished, you are all innocent, I will not implicate you.” Ning Wanyin said calmly.

The three palace maids hurriedly kowtowed to Ning Wanyin, “Thank you, Lady Ning, for your grace!”

Ning Wanyin sat back on the rattan chair and said calmly, “Continue to investigate. Water tanks, rockery, flower pots… all seemingly inconspicuous places, turn them all over.”

“Yes.” The palace maids and eunuchs accepted the order.

This time, everyone had no doubts and searched carefully.

As the sun set, Changchun Palace was thoroughly searched inside and out.

No other suspicious items were found.

Concubine Shun and the palace maids and eunuchs all breathed a sigh of relief. Concubine Shun thought that this Lady Ning was just lucky, a blind cat catching a dead mouse…

She had just been careless and didn’t think to check the flowerbed.

The next moment, she saw Ning Wanyin looking at everyone and said, “Today, Changchun Palace has been thoroughly searched, for now, it’s clean. But to prevent anything harmful to Concubine Shun from appearing again, I have drafted a few palace rules. Lianrui, read them out.”

Lianrui took out a scroll that she had prepared from her bosom, opened the first page:

“Trial Regulations for Changchun Palace Palace Rules, First, everyone entering and leaving Changchun Palace must be searched.”

“Second, Changchun Palace, inside and out, will be searched once a day.”

“Third, palace maids and eunuchs cannot interact with outsiders. This servant will explain this, my mistress is doing this to prevent those who are friendly with you from using you to harm Concubine Shun. No matter who your friends are, from now on, you are not allowed to have private interactions, until after Concubine Shun gives birth.”

“Fourth, all gifts sent to Changchun Palace will be sealed and stored in the warehouse.”

“Fifth, the food sent from the Imperial Kitchen will be inspected for poison by two imperial physicians in rotation.”

“Sixth, besides Judge Zhao, Changchun Palace needs three more imperial physicians, two imperial physicians will come to check the pulse every day, and the pulse records of the two imperial physicians will be cross-checked.”

“Seventh, except for the Emperor, all visitors to Concubine Shun will be refused. The Emperor has given an order, Your Ladyship is unwell and should rest quietly, she should not see guests.”

…

“Ninety-seventh, the clothes that Concubine Shun wears every day must be checked by a female physician before she wears them.” (In case someone tampers with the soap when the clothes are washed)

“Ninety-eighth, cats and dogs are prohibited from entering Changchun Palace.” (In case Concubine Shun is startled)

“Ninety-ninth, there cannot be a single stone on the road in Changchun Palace.” (In case Concubine Shun trips)

“One hundred, the water in the lotus pond will be checked every day.” (In case the water is tampered with in case of fire)

The entire Changchun Palace was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was stunned.

After Lianrui finished reading, Ning Wanyin looked at Concubine Shun, “For now, these are the rules, if there are any omissions, I will add them. Concubine Shun…

“Mother, do you have any objections to the palace rules I have set?”

Concubine Shun recovered from her immense shock.

At this moment, she realized that she wasn’t just careless, she was careless in every way.

These details, if Ning Wanyin hadn’t mentioned them, she wouldn’t have thought of them…

This Lady Ning was simply extremely cautious.

For a moment, she even felt that the Emperor was right to blame her for being careless.

“I… I think it’s very good…” Concubine Shun was so stunned that she forgot to use the proper self-address.

Ning Wanyin smiled slightly, “As long as Concubine Shun is satisfied. It’s getting late, I’ll take my leave.”

Then, she turned to the palace maids and eunuchs and said, “As long as everyone in Changchun Palace works together to protect Concubine Shun, the Emperor will see your loyalty and will not treat you badly.”

The palace maids and eunuchs were stunned and bowed in a daze, “We will obey Lady Ning’s orders.”

Ning Wanyin left.

Concubine Shun returned to the inner chamber in a daze, “Chunque, did you hear? One hundred palace rules…”

“This servant heard. This… this Lady Ning is so meticulous…” Even Chunque was stunned. Even if she disliked Ning Wanyin, she had to admit that she was truly strong.

“No wonder the Emperor asked her to take care of me… The Emperor is truly concerned for me, but I wanted to drive her away, I was so stupid… Chunque, don’t neglect Ning Wanyin, don’t make her angry!” Concubine Shun recovered and hurriedly said.

She realized that she had been careless, thinking she was cautious, but she had many loopholes.

No wonder she was almost harmed twice.

Now, with Ning Wanyin’s meticulous arrangements, the entire Changchun Palace was practically airtight, she couldn’t even imagine how her enemies could harm her.

This time, she would definitely be able to give birth to the imperial heir safely!

If it was a prince, she would rise to power through her son, becoming the second most powerful person after Noble Consort Shu, even Consort Zhuang would be inferior to her in the future.

And the prerequisite for all this was Ning Wanyin’s help.

Concubine Shun didn’t expect Ning Wanyin to be so dedicated, she wondered for a moment if she had misjudged Ning Wanyin, was Ning Wanyin actually a kind and good person?

“This servant understands. As long as Your Ladyship can give birth safely, you will definitely be more favored than her in the future. Before that, this servant will definitely pamper her for Your Ladyship’s sake!” Chunque quickly replied.

Concubine Shun urged again, “Pass my order, everyone in Changchun Palace must respect Lady Ning, don’t neglect her. Go and give her a box of the pearls the Emperor gave me, quickly!”

These were two boxes of top-grade South Sea pearls that the Emperor had given her when she was pregnant with the dragon heir, she treasured them.

“Yes.” Chunque accepted the order.

…

Ning Wanyin had just returned to Lingsxue Pavilion when Chunque came over with a box of pearls, smiling brightly:

“Lady Ning, this is a small token of appreciation from our Concubine Shun! Please accept it.”

Ning Wanyin glanced at the box full of pearls, she accepted it calmly, “Thank you, Concubine Shun.”

After Chunque left.

Ning Wanyin dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs, only Lianrui remained to serve her.

“Mistress, you gave all the palace rules you carefully thought up to Concubine Shun, and now everyone in the palace will follow suit, it’s a waste for them to take advantage of it.” Lianrui felt a little wronged, our mistress hasn’t even used them yet.

“It’s only a matter of time, unless I don’t use them, won’t it be the same then?” Ning Wanyin didn’t care: “I don’t mind if there are more palace rules in the palace…

“It’s true, whether others have children or not, it won’t affect the mistress’s favor!” Lianrui thought for a moment, nodded with a smile, and then asked with concern:

“Mistress, you’ve guarded Changchun Palace so tightly, wouldn’t the person behind this have no way to strike again?”

Ning Wanyin smiled faintly, “Fishing requires patience. Now that I’ve just been ordered to take care of Concubine Shun’s pregnancy, there’s an obvious loophole, so the enemy will hesitate and doubt that it’s a trap of ours.”

“The tighter the guard, the more anxious the other party will be. When the enemy finally waits for a moment of our carelessness after much effort, that’s when the flaw will be logical. It’s not the right time yet, wait until the storm over Tang Meiren’s case subsides, everyone relaxes, that’s the perfect opportunity.”

Lianrui nodded, seemingly understanding, “Mistress, have you already planned your strategy? Have you found the spy in Changchun Palace?”

“Let’s wait and see.” Ning Wanyin said in a deep voice, pausing for a moment, she continued, “By the way, tell our palace maids and eunuchs to also follow the palace rules of Changchun Palace. In case someone can’t do anything to Concubine Shun, they might use our people to harm her…”

Lianrui nodded and said, “Mistress, the spy who hid the ash from the medicine hasn’t been found yet, it’s better for us to be cautious, maybe we can find some clues.”

Ning Wanyin’s eyes were deep.

It wasn’t just the ash from the medicine…

There was also the fire in Linlang Palace, if they wanted to frame her, there must be an inside man in Lingsxue Pavilion.

…

Ning Wanyin took on the task of taking care of Concubine Shun, and many people were waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

But the safflower dug up from the flowerbed and the one hundred palace rules immediately subdued the entire palace.

Lady Fang was so angry that she made a voodoo doll. Who would dig three feet into the ground? Who could think of one hundred palace rules for defense?

What’s wrong with Ning Wanyin?

Now that the safflower has been discovered…

Changchun Palace is guarded so tightly that even a fly can’t get in.

She’s not a god, how can she send the abortion medicine in again?

No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure out how to do it.