As the two talked, they soon arrived at the front palace.
The topic of discussion today was nothing more than one thing: the beauty pageant.
Most of the young ladies participating in the beauty pageant this time were somehow related to the people around His Highness.
"Your Majesty, the young ladies have been in the palace for quite some time. According to the ancestral tradition, it's time for the beauty pageant."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The common people outside are speculating. We should settle the position of the queen as soon as possible to reassure the people."
Listening to the noisy voices below, the young emperor was preoccupied with what he had discovered. He still couldn't quite accept the fact that he had been set up.
Fu Lu didn't expect his usually meticulous master to be in a daze at this moment. He gently reminded him beside.
"Your Majesty, the ministers are waiting for you."
Ji Heng came back to his senses, looked up, and said impatiently.
"Alright, that's all for today. I'm a bit tired. The Empress Dowager will take care of this matter."
After saying that, regardless of others' reactions, he directly headed towards the harem.
When he reached the gate of the Palace of Longevity and Health, his steps suddenly paused.
At this moment, he had to make a difficult choice in his life.
Should he really tell his mother about that matter? If so, Hui'er might be separated from him by life and death.
He didn't want to face that scene. But at the same time, he didn't want to endanger his mother's safety either.
So what should he do to achieve a win - win situation?
Just like this, Ji Heng stood at the palace gate, not knowing whether to leave or go in.
It wasn't until Xiao Xiao noticed him.
"Hey, Your Majesty, why are you waiting outside? You must be here to see the Empress Dowager. Just in time. The Empress Dowager is a bit bored inside. You can go in and keep her company."
Since things had come to this point, and the young emperor was already preoccupied, he absent - mindedly nodded and stepped in.
Completely immersed in his own thoughts, he almost bumped into the door.
It was Shi Muwǎn who happened to come out and saw this scene. She quickly reached out and supported him.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty? Do you have something on your mind?"
Looking up, he met a pair of caring eyes. Different from He Hui's false concern when looking at him, this was real care.
It was just this look that made the young emperor make a decision.
In the past, it was always his mother who protected him. Now it was his turn to protect his mother.
With the answer to his worried question, Ji Heng felt that his vision suddenly cleared up.
"It's okay, Mother. I've decided to listen to you and get along with Jin Min'er first."
Shi Muwǎn didn't expect that just overnight, the young emperor had thought things through so quickly. She was a bit worried, afraid that the young emperor was just pretending to be okay to keep her from worrying.
"If Your Majesty really minds, you can also make Miss He a noble concubine."
"Mother, please rest assured. I'm no longer a naive child. I just hope that you can let me arrange the concubines' positions this time, and you can announce them."
The young emperor's sensible appearance made Shi Muwǎn feel a pang of heartache. She almost unhesitatingly agreed.
"As long as you're happy, not to mention the concubines' positions this time, even if you want something else, Mother will help you achieve it."
Her tenderness made the young emperor know that all his decisions were worth it.
"Okay, thank you, Mother."
The young emperor had just left the Palace of Longevity and Health when Xiao Xiao walked in.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
"His Majesty is too sensible today."
These words made Xiao Xiao a bit confused.
"Isn't it a good thing that His Majesty is sensible? Does Your Highness have other thoughts?"
"Yes. Send someone to find out who His Majesty has met from yesterday to today. See if there are any strange people."
Although she didn't want to pry into these private matters, there was no other way. The young emperor's behavior was really too abnormal.
Xiao Xiao understood her master's feelings and agreed.
...
When she heard the report from her subordinate, her face looked a bit grim.
"Your Highness, His Majesty went to a small pond in the imperial garden last night?"
"Why did he suddenly go there?"
"Before that, His Majesty had appeared in the place where the young ladies were staying."
Putting these two sentences together, Shi Muwǎn's intuition told her that something was unusual.
"Go on."
Xiao Xiao reported in detail everything the young emperor had done last night.
When Shi Muwǎn heard that Concubine He had also appeared there, she almost sensed something.
"So, our Miss He was also there. His Majesty must have seen her go there and then followed her. For a young lady to secretly meet a harem concubine in the middle of the night, this is definitely not an ordinary thing."
"Before going to court this morning, He Hui also appeared at the gate of His Majesty's palace. At that time, His Majesty's attitude towards her had obviously changed."
Combining Xiao Xiao's information with the young emperor's unusual behavior today, she had roughly sorted out the whole thing in her mind.
"It seems that this Miss He really has a problem. Immediately send someone to secretly keep an eye on her. Don't let her notice. She should be more difficult to deal with than Concubine Rui."
If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely not be able to solve that poison.
Back then, she had obtained that poison from a divine doctor just for fun.
Now it seemed that it had really come in handy.
Unless it was a very rare antidote pill, it was absolutely impossible to solve the divine doctor's poison.
Xiao Xiao thought that her master's arrangement might not be very appropriate.
"Leaving such a dangerous person in the harem is not good for either Your Highness or His Majesty."
"Since His Majesty already knows that person's true face, and he told me today that he wants to choose the concubines' positions by himself, we should trust His Majesty."
So it was to catch the enemy in a trap. Xiao Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as these two masters knew what they were doing, it would be fine.
At this moment, on the other side, Concubine He didn't know that she had actually been targeted. She couldn't calm down at all. Since her conversation with He Hui, she had increasingly felt that this person was unreliable.
After all, she was just a branch of the main family. Now He Hui was completely using her as a pawn. She didn't even know if He Hui would spare her life after she ascended to a high position. No, she definitely couldn't rely on just one person.
These days, He Hui's anxiety had been noticed by the maids around her.
Finally, a personal maid couldn't bear it anymore and stepped forward to comfort her.
"Your Highness, are you worried about something?"
"Of course you don't understand what I'm worried about. Alright, all of you step back. I want to be alone."
The personal maid waved her hand, and the others all retreated.
After the door was closed, the maid patiently asked again.
"Your Highness, you can tell me anything. I'm your person, so I should share your worries."