I insist

Chapter 275: The Substitute Scholar

News came a few days later.

Qing Zhi stood in front of Song Miqiu and Yu Huailin. He subconsciously glanced at Yu Huailin before finally fixing his gaze on Song Miqiu.

"This is a scholar who failed the imperial examination. He comes from a poor family and has been spending money extravagantly lately, attracting the attention of many people. So it's not difficult to investigate him."

Qingzhi shrugged, looked at the thing in his palm, and said in a deep voice, "Some people have already suspected that he is being kept by someone, after all, he is quite handsome."

"How handsome is he?" Song Miqiu asked curiously, when she heard a few coughs from the person next to her.

She turned around and saw Yu Huailin looking at her with a grim expression. Song Miqiu immediately realized that she had said the wrong thing. She gave a dry laugh and reached out to pat Yu Huailin's arm to comfort him.

"It's all in here." Qingzhi handed what he was holding to Song Miqiu, and seeing the other's curious look, he explained with a smile, "This is the portrait of that failed scholar. I saw it before, and it surprised me a lot."

Song Miqiu raised an eyebrow. A portrait that could surprise Qing Zhi must mean that this scholar must be quite handsome.

A hint of excitement and curiosity shone in her eyes, completely oblivious to the gloomy expression on the man's face beside her. She smiled as she unfurled the scroll.

“This…” Song Miqiu’s gaze fell on the painting. Her eyes widened as she looked at Qingzhi in disbelief. She pointed at the flamboyant portrait on the scroll, her voice trembling with surprise, “Isn’t this that lover?!”

She instinctively covered her ears, her eyes wide with surprise.

"lover?"

Yu Huailin looked at Song Miqiu with confusion, and he suddenly remembered that she was the Empress Dowager's lover.

"I remember that after her lover was dealt with by the Prince of Yi, the Empress Dowager was heartbroken for several days."

Song Miqiu nodded vigorously, agreeing with Yu Huailin's words, "Yes, that's why I suspect that the Empress Dowager is using this person to think of someone else. She is clearly using the failed scholar as a substitute for her lover."

Qing Zhi listened to Song Miqiu's words from the side. He frowned, clapped his hands, and exclaimed, "Being at the highest point in the palace is really different. So many bizarre things can happen here."

He had heard that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had a deep and affectionate relationship, but now it seemed that it was nothing special.

The Emperor was merely one of the people the Empress Dowager favored.

However, it seems that the Empress Dowager's affection for the Emperor is not as great as that for a lover.

Thinking of this, Qingzhi chuckled and crossed his arms. He lowered his eyes to the portrait and asked with a smile, "Would the Emperor be furious if he knew that he was not as important as a lover in the Empress Dowager's heart?"

“I don’t know if he was furious, but I’ve discovered a way to make the Empress Dowager wish she were dead!” Song Miqiu narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on the portrait of the scholar, and said with a smile.

Now that the Empress Dowager is keeping a close eye on her, she needs to find a way to divert the Empress Dowager's attention away from her.

However, Song Miqiu was willing to risk trying something that would cause the Empress Dowager pain.

"What plan?" Qingzhi looked at the other person with some curiosity.

Song Miqiu beckoned to Qingzhi with her finger, and the other person leaned down and put his head in front of Song Miqiu, which made Yu Huailin a little unhappy.

Seeing this, Song Miqiu also noticed that Yu Huailin was a little emotional. She placed her hand on Yu Huailin's back, pressed down on his back, and forced him to bend over as well.

Song Miqiu glanced at Yu Huailin and muttered with a low laugh, "Petty."

Yu Huailin did not refute this; he was just petty.

Whether it was Qingzhi's imagination or not, he always felt that Song Miqiu seemed to be getting closer and closer to Yu Huailin, while at the same time drifting further and further away from him.

But he didn't care about that now; in his eyes, the most important thing was to resolve the Empress Dowager's matter first.

When Song Miqiu was at the Imperial Hospital, she heard that the Emperor's mood had improved a lot recently, so she immediately chose this day to examine the Emperor's pulse.

During this time, Song Miqiu had figured out a pattern: as long as he took the emperor's pulse when the emperor was in a good mood and spoke sweetly, the emperor would naturally reward him handsomely.

She immediately packed her medicine kit without any hesitation.

This amused Ming Taicheng, who was standing nearby, who said, "Why bother? No one is urging you to go see the Emperor right now. Why are you in such a hurry?"

“You don’t understand!” Song Miqiu said to Ming Taicheng while tidying up, “It just so happens that I haven’t taken the Emperor’s pulse for a while, and since it’s the right time to take the Emperor’s pulse, the Emperor will be very happy to say so.”

"I don't want to be glared at by the Emperor while taking his pulse. That would be terrifying!"

Listening to Song Miqiu's complaints, Ming Taicheng didn't say anything more. He waved his hand, signaling the other party to leave.

Song Miqiu had just arrived at the Emperor's palace when she wanted to ask the chief eunuch about the Emperor's current condition.

The other party, presumably considering that Song Miqiu was Ming Taicheng's friend and that Song Miqiu had left a good impression on him on previous occasions, lowered his head and said, "Is Consort Li inside? You can keep a close eye on her when you go in later."

Please pay close attention.

Song Miqiu frowned, looking at the other person with some confusion, but after seeing clearly the other person's eyes, she thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Understood."

As soon as Song Miqiu entered, he saw Consort Li about to sit on the Emperor's lap.

As soon as she entered, the other woman stood up awkwardly, playfully punched the Emperor's chest, and glared at Song Miqiu out of the corner of her eye, "Your Majesty, look!"

Song Miqiu clearly hadn't expected to encounter this scene. She subconsciously wanted to turn around and look at the chief eunuch, but she was afraid of getting involved, so she just smiled awkwardly at the two people in front of her.

Upon hearing Consort Li's words, the Emperor's expression turned ugly for a moment. He also did not expect that Song Miqiu would be so ungrateful as to choose to come in at this time!

She held up her medicine box and quickly explained to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I have come to examine your pulse. You should pay more attention to your health recently."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's unpleasant expression eased slightly. He gave a faint "hmm" and glanced at Consort Li.

Only then did the other party realize that the person in front of them was the legendary Song Miqiu.

She had only recently entered the palace, and she rarely saw the faces of some of them.

Consort Li gave a soft snort and lay down on the chaise longue beside her, looking quite annoyed. The Emperor felt sorry for her and said, "Just wait a little while! I'll be with you as soon as I finish taking your pulse, okay?"

Song Miqiu lowered her head and gently placed the medicine box in her hand aside. She didn't dare to look up at all, afraid that if she did, she would meet Consort Li's displeased gaze. She didn't want to offend anyone else.