My Beloved Concubine Only Wants to Eat Melons

But she had given him twenty taels of silver for his errand, which was no small amount. Moreover, how could he know what she intended to do? There was really no reason for him to betray her.

Regardless, she did not want to admit it just like that when faced with the Empress Dowager's questioning...

Unexpectedly, while she was quickly thinking of an excuse, Yan Shu suddenly said, "Could it be that Miss Zhu Shu has someone in mind? Could your person in mind be from the bookshop?"

What?

When these words were spoken, everyone was taken aback.

One must understand, private dealings between palace maids and men outside the palace were also considered a grave offense!

Zhu Shu was startled, hurriedly saying, "No, no, no, the bookshop owner is a fellow townsman of this servant. I merely asked him to send a message home on my behalf through someone returning to our hometown. The silver was also meant to ask him to keep it safe for me."

Yan Shu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "It seems this bookshop owner is quite trustworthy. Miss Zhu Shu gave him the silver without fearing he might take it for himself."

However, the Empress Dowager no longer believed her, coldly saying, "Didn't you say earlier that the young eunuch was helping you? Now it's the bookshop owner? How did you come to know this fellow townsman while being inside the palace all day?"

As she spoke, she instructed Fu Hai, "Bring that letter to me."

Fu Hai responded affirmatively, hurriedly taking out a letter from his sleeve and presenting it to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager took it and saw that there were no words on the envelope. She opened it to find several characters written on the paper inside, which read, "The Rogue Scholar is likely one of the palace women."

Yan Shu felt reassured but feigned surprise as she looked at the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, why would Miss Zhu Shu write such a letter to send home?"

The Empress Dowager's face darkened completely as she looked at Zhu Shu, asking, "Who exactly was this intended for?"

Zhu Shu's face had turned deathly pale, yet she clenched her lips tightly and remained silent.

It was Fu Hai who stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, according to the young eunuch, this was to be sent to a bookshop called Ba Mian Bookshop at the southern end of Gongyuan Street. This shop has been operating in the capital for fifty or sixty years, making it one of the top bookshops. Besides selling stationery, they also employ people to write stories and print books for sale. However, it doesn't seem to be the same place that publishes the Rogue Scholar’s stories."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shu inwardly marveled—Supervisor Fu is truly impressive! To gather such detailed information in such a short time!

She thought about how she had been preoccupied with coming up with plans and hadn't even had the chance to ask the system for details.

Then she heard the system say, [Supervisor Fu has been in the capital for decades. He usually follows the emperor, always ready to answer any questions. He must be alert and observant, naturally knowing whatever the master wants to know.]

Yan Shu, [I see that Supervisor Fu is capable, but can you tell me more about this Ba Mian Bookshop?]

System, [Isn't it obvious? As one of the oldest bookshops in the capital, the Ba Mian Bookshop can only watch helplessly as other shops make money selling your stories. They must feel very unbalanced. Those imitators writing stories like yours are probably hired by them. They are likely behind this incident too.]

Yan Shu chuckled inwardly, [Good thing Scholar Zou didn't have them publish my stories. These people with twisted intentions deserve to lose money!]

Yet, she still couldn’t understand, [But how could a palace maid like Zhu Shu obtain such detailed information? And know to leak it to the Ba Mian Bookshop?]

System, [The owner of the Ba Mian Bookshop, Zhao Jingshi, has been spreading the word these past few days, offering substantial rewards for any information about you. With news flying around everywhere, it wouldn't take much effort to find out.]

Yan Shu immediately became interested, [Substantial rewards??? Tell me, how substantial?]

Cough, she needed to know what she was worth now!

The system replied, [Twenty taels of silver for your real name; thirty taels for your home address; fifty taels for your true identity.]

Yan Shu exclaimed, “!!!”

Good heavens, Zhu Shu was going to earn a hundred taels in one go!

If she had known it was so profitable, she would have done it herself!

System, [You’re now a concubine, don’t you have enough silver?]

Yan Shu, [Better to be prepared for any eventuality! It’s also commendable that the Ba Mian Bookshop is willing to invest so much, isn’t it?]

They wanted her name, address, and identity?

Ha, are they planning to hire an assassin to harm her next?

What a Ba Mian Bookshop.

For some silver, is it really worth it?

Of course, that was all future talk.

At the moment, the Empress Dowager coldly asked Zhu Shu, "What was the purpose of this? Writing such things and sending them outside the palace, what were your intentions?"

Zhu Shu hastily said, "Your Majesty, it's just that I heard the bookshop was paying for information recently, so I tried it out. It was all made up by me..."

Before she could finish, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes and said, "Since you won't tell the truth, send her to the Inner Court Supervision Office."

She then called out Fu Hai's name.

Zhu Shu was shocked and finally burst into tears, "Please, Your Majesty, spare me... "

The Empress Dowager sneered, "How many lives did you intend to harm? Is your life enough to make up for it?"

Zhu Shu just kept kowtowing and crying, "This servant knows it was wrong, this servant knows it was wrong..."

The Empress Dowager, however, was tired of talking to her and only instructed Fu Hai, "Such a talkative person should be silenced with a dumbing potion and exiled to the cold border regions. I treated her well, and she doesn't appreciate it. Let her reflect on her actions for the rest of her life."

Fu Hai responded affirmatively and had people drag Zhu Shu away.

For a moment, everyone in Cian Palace watched in fear, none daring to speak.

Everyone knew how much the Empress Dowager had favored Zhu Shu in the past.

Now...

Sigh, she brought this upon herself.

...

After dealing with this matter, Yan Shu returned to Ganlu Palace.

She knew that although Concubine Zhu Shu's actions were partly due to the involvement of Nursemaid Zhuang, ultimately it was Zhu Shu who came forward, so she could only punish Zhu Shu first.

Thinking about it, she still couldn't understand. According to the Empress Dowager's favor towards Zhu Shu in the past, as long as Zhu Shu behaved well, after a couple of years, the Empress Dowager might choose a decent husband for her and let her marry well.

Why did she abandon the smooth path and oppose her instead?

Was it because she thought if she could provoke those with ulterior motives to attack her, the emperor would notice Zhu Shu?

Just as she was thinking this, she heard an announcement from outside, "His Majesty has arrived..."

Eh, the emperor came?

Yan Shu snapped back to reality, thinking it was a good opportunity to discuss this with him, so she went to greet him at the door.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty..."

Before she could bow, Yuwen Lan had already strode in, anxiously asking, "How is it? Are you alright?"

Yan Shu immediately frowned and pouted, looking indignant, "Not fine."

Yuwen Lan was puzzled, "I heard from Fu Hai that the Empress Dowager had Zhu Shu given a dumbing potion and exiled to the border. Aren't you satisfied?"

Yan Shu quickly said, "The Empress Dowager's punishment was most appropriate. Your humble servant never thought otherwise."

Hmph, don't think you can drive a wedge between her and the big supporter!

Yuwen Lan, "..."

He wasn’t trying to drive a wedge...

He asked, "Then what else is troubling you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Has Your Majesty not thought about the root cause of this matter?"

Yuwen Lan replied, "Isn't it that woman harboring ill intentions, attempting to harm the master?"

Yan Shu raised another eyebrow, "Why would Zhu Shu, who was perfectly fine, want to harm me? Isn't it because she likes Your Majesty? She thinks that without me, Your Majesty would like her. So, the root cause of this matter is still Your Majesty."

Yuwen Lan, "???"

For a moment, he couldn't tell if she was trying to extort some benefits from him or if she genuinely thought so.

Then he heard her think, [Hmph, from being a target for you since the beginning to now being pregnant, hasn't it been hard for me? From Zhang Talent, Wang Lady, An Consort, Ning Consort, Zhou Consort to now Zhu Shu, who hasn't harmed me out of jealousy? I wonder why so many people are attracted to me!]

Yuwen Lan, "..."

Alright, so that's what she thinks?

But those people weren't drawn by him; they were chosen by the Ministry of Rites upon consulting the Empress Dowager.

And Zhu Shu... she was also someone close to the Empress Dowager!

But if he said that, he might be accused of driving a wedge between her and the Empress Dowager again?

He had no choice but to agree with her, "Alright, Zhu Shu likes me, and even though I didn't know, it's still my fault."

Sure enough, when he said this, she pursed her lips, saying, "That's not what I meant..."

Actually, Yan Shu herself was a bit unclear. Perhaps because of her pregnancy, her emotions had become more volatile lately.

She hadn't realized anything was amiss until she saw him, then she couldn't help but blame him.

Just then, the system chimed in, ding, [Generally speaking, such emotions are referred to as... coquetry. Scientific studies show that during pregnancy, hormonal changes can make women more prone to coquettish behavior towards their husbands.]

Yan Shu, "..."

[Emm, so was I just coquetting with the emperor?]

Tsk, pregnancy is indeed different from usual; it must be the little one in her belly causing trouble!

Beside her, Yuwen Lan, who had been listening quietly, suddenly understood.

So she was coquetting with him?

How rare, the girl who used to care only about money and food was finally learning to coquette and seek his favor.

Thinking this, he felt not anger but tenderness, gently pulling her into his arms, "Indeed, this is my fault. If I had noticed her intentions earlier and cut off the source of trouble, you wouldn't have had to worry today."

Strangely, perhaps due to the hormonal changes during pregnancy, Yan Shu found herself increasingly enjoying being held by him. She obediently leaned against his chest, saying, "How could Your Majesty have noticed Zhu Shu's intentions earlier? You don't have mind-reading abilities."

Yuwen Lan, "..."

For a moment, he felt stiff, wondering if she was speaking casually or testing him.

Fortunately, after listening carefully, it seemed she was just speaking casually, so he hurriedly agreed, "True, I don't have mind-reading abilities."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief; thank goodness she was naive, otherwise he would have been exposed!

Just then, Yan Shu said, "By the way, I almost forgot to tell Your Majesty. At the southern end of Gongyuan Street, there's a Ba Mian Bookshop. The owner is jealous of the profits from my stories and has been offering rewards for information about me. I suspect he intends to do something harmful to me."

Yuwen Lan immediately frowned, "Is that so?"