Ji Mingxuan was brought back to Jing'an Palace by Xiaosu. The doctor had been summoned by Zizhu earlier. Seeing Ji Mingxuan's palm covered in bloody flesh, the doctor carefully took out some ointment, which Ji Mingxuan's beloved Zhichao eagerly accepted. Zhichao gently applied the medicine to Ji Mingxuan's wound and wrapped it up.

Ji Mingxuan instantly felt a cool sensation, replacing the pain with this coolness.

The doctor respectfully said, "Mistress Ji, apply this medicine three times a day for about three days, and it should be completely healed."

Zhichao looked at Ji Mingxuan's hand and said, "Doctor Li, will Mistress Ji leave any scars?"

Li Doctor hastily replied, "Mistress Ji, don't worry. Your Majesty has already considered this. The medicine contains some miraculous gel that won't leave any scars. For these three days, please avoid getting the wound wet and eat less spicy food."

Zhichao's face showed relief, and Ji Mingxuan smiled warmly. She nodded and said politely, "Thank you, Doctor Li."

Li Doctor bowed humbly, repeating his apologies.

Ji Mingxuan smiled. During the entire treatment process, this Li Doctor hadn't lifted his head once. At this moment, his head was lower than before, and Ji Mingxuan's gaze flickered.

"Red Zhu, accompany Miss Xiuhua to send off Doctor Li."

Red Zhu was stunned but quickly agreed, replying, "I will follow orders." Afterward, Red Zhu quickly addressed the still bowing Doctor Li, saying, "Sir, this way please."

Doctor Li gave Ji Mingxuan another bow and then retreated.

The room was extremely quiet.

Xiao Dingzi dared to step forward and said, "Mistress, this morning, the constant manager sent many rewards to Your Highness. Would you like to see them?"

Ji Mingxuan was surprised. It was only her second time serving in bed, yet she hadn't expected the constant manager to personally bring gifts. She nodded.

Xiao Dingzi suppressed his joy and retreated.

Ji Mingxuan said, "Zizhu, Xiaosu, please help Xiao Dingzi."

Zizhu and Xiaosu quickly bowed and followed Xiao Dingzi out. Only Ji Mingxuan, Zhichao, and Lǜzhū remained in the room.

Ji Mingxuan said tiredly, "How are Xìng-er and Jú-er? Are they working diligently?"

Lǜzhū hurriedly replied, "They are obedient and diligent."

Ji Mingxuan nodded. "What about the new imperial concubines and maids?"

"Lǜdōnzi is somewhat sharp-tongued, but he is very clever. Mùyáo doesn't talk much, but he does things very steadily."

Ji Mingxuan said, "Since it's like that, Lǜzhū, please remind them well. Although they are common imperial consorts and maids, they are still under my name."

Lǜzhū quickly nodded, saying, "Servant understands."

Ji Mingxuan nodded and closed her eyes.

The scene of Zhou Xiuhua today kept flashing through her mind. She loved the emperor; this much could be seen from her crazed look. However, she wondered why she would use such a bitter pill to frame her. If it were jealousy, Ning Jiejü wasn't the one who should be jealous of her. Why did she target her? Today, she mysteriously confessed to her, which also seemed strange. Ji Mingxuan frowned, Zhou Xiuhua, the younger daughter of the Grand Princess, although the Grand Princess and her husband didn't hold much real power, she came from an aristocratic family. Even though a common noblewoman's b*st*rd child might not compare to her, she should still be favored over her. Why did she go to such lengths... Ji Mingxuan thought about this and was unsure. She opened her eyes and looked at the items in the room. She felt like she had overlooked something. With her uninjured hand, she picked up the jade in front of her, suddenly her eyes lit up—Grand Princess!

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Everything originated from the Grand Princess, and Ji Mingxuan's thoughts became clear. Following her train of thought, she recalled:

The Grand Princess lived in the harem for eighteen years, and her mother was also a palace matriarch. Although the Grand Mother Empress passed away long ago, the Grand Princess brought her trusted subordinates to marry. Under the Grand Mother Empress and the Grand Princess's decades of cultivation, even after twenty years, their influence in the harem wouldn't be completely gone.

If the cakes and wine yesterday were made by Zhou Xiuhua, then her mysterious probing and framing of Ji Mingxuan today could make sense. It seemed that she didn't receive news about Ji Mingxuan being punished this morning, so she knew the plan had failed.

After failing, Zhou Xiuhua naturally wanted to find out the reason, leading to her inviting Ji Mingxuan.

Then, she first tried to show her true feelings to let Ji Mingxuan relax her guard. After all, in the harem, the most feared thing was showing genuine emotions. Yet, Ji Mingxuan didn't play along. She showed her true feelings too, and even her true feelings were misleading. After all, in the Mother Empress's palace, Ji Mingxuan could fall deeply in love, and it was possible that the emperor might develop feelings for her.

So, out of jealousy, Zhou Xiuhua was willing to risk everything. One was to eliminate Ji Mingxuan, and two, since Grand Princess Xiuhua fell into the water today, it would definitely cause a big stir in the harem. This way, either she could soften the incident from last night or delay her subsequent handling, which only she knew.

Ji Mingxuan thought about this and, although she didn't have complete certainty, she was about seven-tenths sure. New imperial concubines had shallow roots; it was difficult for them to even send gifts to the imperial palace, let alone gather inside information. So, being able to make cakes and wine to frame Ji Mingxuan, it couldn't be someone in the palace except for the elderly or this unusually born Zhou Xiuhua.

Firstly, the empress had been married to the emperor for many years. Though she might not fully understand the emperor, she still knew some taboos. Such a drug event that would make the emperor suspicious was something the empress wouldn't do to harm a small concubine without any threat, so she immediately ruled out the empress. Then, the duchess and constant consort were under house arrest, making it dangerous for the newly promoted Ning Jiejü to take risks. As for Yun Pin, she always obeyed the empress, and Ji Mingxuan had no conflict with her. It was hard to imagine her doing something like this. The remaining two old concubines, Lin Guiren and Han Meini, were relatively transparent in the palace. If she had really planned such an event, they wouldn't be obscure in the palace.

And Zhou Xiuhua was new to the palace, having high ambitions and unfamiliar with the rules. She liked the emperor, and she was angry at the two concubines who had "stolen" her chance to serve in bed. In a fit of anger, she might have done such a thing.

Ji Mingxuan sighed inwardly. If this was indeed Zhou Xiuhua's work, even if the emperor found out, he wouldn't deal with it. The court and the harem were closely connected, and since she was nominally the emperor's cousin, the Grand Princess wasn't dead, and the emperor would suppress it anyway. However, Zhou Xiuhua's influence would definitely be eliminated by the emperor.

Ji Mingxuan smiled bitterly. This was only the beginning, and she had already formed enemies with Duke and Zhou Xiuhua.

Just then, Xiao Dingzi, Xiaosu, and Zizhu carried the gifts given by the emperor today. Ji Mingxuan glanced at them and wore a smile of happiness.

Beautiful jewelry looked lovely, especially if it was from the person she 'loved'. Ji Mingxuan was naturally very happy.

She carefully chose two red combs and placed them on the table, then asked Zhichao to store them properly.

Zhichao nodded, took the items, and left to store them in Ji Mingxuan's private storage.

Ji Mingxuan scanned the room and said to Zizhu, "Go fetch the warm jade I stored."

Zizhu bowed and went to a cabinet nearby to get it.

Ji Mingxuan looked at the people left in the room and said, "Red Zhu, Xiao Dingzi, take the warm jade to Fanghua Pavilion South Hall and ask Miss Xiuhua if she's well."

Red Zhu and Xiao Dingzi quickly bowed and obeyed.

At this moment, Zizhu just took out a beautifully crafted box, which Ji Mingxuan received and opened, feeling the warm jade in her hand before closing the box again.

Zizhu handed the box to Xiao Dingzi.

Red Zhu and Xiao Dingzi quickly said, "Mistress, we will handle it with care."

Ji Mingxuan waved them away.

Only Zizhu and Lǜzhū remained in the room.

Ji Mingxuan stood up and stopped Zizhu and Lǜzhū from coming over to support her. She took a few steps and entered the inner bedroom.

Zizhu and Lǜzhū had to wait outside the door of the inner bedroom.

Ji Mingxuan lay on the couch, looking at her bandaged hand, constantly pondering.

Thinking and thinking, she couldn't come up with a good plan and started to feel sleepy.

"The emperor has arrived!"

Ji Mingxuan suddenly woke up, quickly opening her eyes.