Reborn into the palace, she seduces the emperor's heart, driving the chief minister to madness!

Chapter 61 Flower Appreciation

Qiu Zhu's gaze darted back and forth between Chu Qingyin and Xiang Lan, realizing that Chu Qingyin was clearly trying to get rid of her. Although puzzled, she still lowered her eyes, respectfully replied "Yes," and turned to leave.

After she left, Chu Qingyin called Xianglan over and told her about the lost earring, omitting her encounter with Lu Zhiheng and only saying that she lost it while taking a walk on the road.

"Go and return immediately, and under no circumstances should a third party know about this!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will certainly handle it carefully!" Xianglan understood the seriousness of the matter and immediately withdrew after speaking.

After she left, Chu Qingyin looked up at the window and fell into deep thought.

When she first entered the palace, she began searching for the eunuch who had poisoned her, but to this day she has heard nothing from him.

Previously, she had no real power base in the palace and dared not openly search for him. Moreover, given the passage of time, she feared the eunuch had already been silenced. Finding a living person is easy, finding a dead one is difficult.

She originally thought it would take more trouble, but unexpectedly, God delivered the person right under her nose.

Moreover, yesterday was the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. Since that little eunuch was able to slip away and walk around furtively outside, he was probably not the chief eunuch in charge of the concubines' palaces.

Moreover, she has recently been the sole favorite of the emperor, and all the concubines have been observing her closely. She only needed to see that little eunuch once to remember him, so she certainly wouldn't have missed him.

Besides these, there were only the eunuchs serving in the palaces of the less favored, lower-ranking concubines.

Now she can't care about anything else. Now that the villain has shown himself, she will no longer hesitate or hold back—even if she has to search the entire palace and dig three feet into the ground, she will definitely find him!

"Your Majesty, Kang Luhai has arrived."

Qiu Zhu's announcement interrupted Chu Qingyin's thoughts. As soon as she looked up, she saw Qiu Zhu leading Kang Luhai in.

"This servant greets Your Majesty. May I ask what Your Majesty wishes to do for this servant?"

Kang Luhai bowed respectfully to Chu Qingyin. Having survived the ordeal the day before, he dared not be perfunctory towards her in the slightest.

Chu Qingyin nodded in satisfaction, gesturing for him to stand up. At the same time, she waved to Qiu Zhu, signaling her to leave.

Seeing this, Qiu Zhu couldn't help but have a hint of doubt in her eyes. She thought to herself: Recently, the Consort seems to be very wary of her. Could it be that she has discovered something?

But then she immediately dismissed the idea: Impossible. She'd been extremely cautious lately; there was no way she would have given herself away. Perhaps she really did have something important to tell Kang Luhai?

Thinking of this, she lowered her eyes, bowed, and then turned to leave.

Once everyone else was in the room, Kang Luhai immediately stepped forward, his face full of obsequiousness: "What does Your Majesty require of this servant?"

Before Chu Qingyin could answer, Kang Luhai eagerly pledged his loyalty: "Your Majesty, rest assured, as long as it is for you, this servant will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire to die for you!"

Chu Qingyin couldn't help but chuckle: "It doesn't require you to go through fire and water. Besides, if I really wanted you to die, would you really be willing?"

Upon hearing this, Kang Luhai chuckled twice: "Your Majesty must be joking with this servant."

"Alright, I won't waste any more words with you. I did call you here because there's something I need you to do."

As she spoke, Chu Qingyin described the figure and face of the little eunuch from yesterday: "You've been in the palace for quite some time now, have you seen this person?"

"Your Majesty is unaware that the palace eunuchs have had their manhood cut off. Except for the older ones who still have obvious male characteristics, the rest of the eunuchs are all fair-skinned and delicate, with a cold and sinister appearance." Kang Luhai smiled bitterly, as if he were somewhat saddened.

"Your Majesty's description of these characteristics is something I cannot recall from anyone I know. Perhaps Your Majesty could try to recall if there is anything special about that person, or if a portrait could be drawn so that I could take it to someone else to identify them."

"There are no distinctive features, as for appearance..."

Chu Qingyin frowned. The little eunuch had covered his face with a black veil when he fed her the poison, and in her panic she only saw half of his face. As for the part below his eyes, she really knew nothing.

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I will give you the portrait later."

"Yes." Kang Luhai quickly replied, hesitated for a while, and finally seemed unable to resist his curiosity: "This servant dares to ask, what business does Your Majesty have with this person?"

"Could it be that this ignorant creature has offended Her Majesty—"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a cold gaze fall upon him, and Kang Luhai immediately bowed his head and apologized, "This servant misspoke, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"You just need to do the job I give you, and you don't need to ask about anything else."

Chu Qingyin glanced at him, her tone icy, as if devoid of any warmth.

Kang Luhai immediately fawned over her, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, as long as this little eunuch is still in the palace and alive, this servant will search the ground three feet deep to find him for Your Majesty."

"You don't need to make any boasts in front of me. If you handle this matter well, I will naturally reward you handsomely. But if this matter leaks out..."

Chu Qingyin's gaze shifted, and her expression towards Kang Luhai suddenly turned cold and stern: "I will not let you off easily!"

Upon hearing this, Kang Luhai couldn't help but shiver. This time, the sharp aura was even stronger than the day before.

It seems that this Consort Qiao is no ordinary person. If we follow her closely, her future prospects are likely limitless.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will keep my mouth shut."

Hearing Kang Luhai's assurance, Chu Qingyin nodded in satisfaction and waved for him to leave.

An hour later, Xianglan rushed back from outside.

Qiu Zhu was already waiting in the courtyard. Upon seeing this, she immediately reached out to stop her, her expression slightly displeased, and asked with an interrogative tone, "What have you been doing? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Xianglan felt a surge of impatience, but then remembered Chu Qingyin's instructions and put on a smiling face: "Sister Qiuzhu, I didn't do anything. I was just in a hurry to get back and serve Her Majesty, so I left in a bit of a rush."

As she spoke, she took Qiu Zhu's arm and smiled sweetly: "Thank you for reminding me, Sister Qiu Zhu. I thought we were still at the palace residence and forgot the rules for a moment. I hope you can help me keep it a secret and not tell Her Majesty!"

Qiu Zhu's clear eyes swept over Xiang Lan's innocent face, and finding nothing unusual, she didn't think much of it.

He gave her a few more words of advice on how to behave properly in the palace, and then went back to his room to rest.

After Xianglan waited until she was out of sight, she quickly suppressed her smile and went inside to see Chu Qingyin.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I searched along the path you pointed out and couldn't find the earrings." Xianglan's face showed a hint of anxiety: "Could it be that I was too late and some other palace maids and eunuchs picked them up for a bargain?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin's expression also turned serious. That path was originally quiet and rarely passed by people.

Now, only one night has passed, and the earrings have vanished without a trace; they must have been picked up by someone with malicious intent.

"Your Highness, how about I find a craftsman to make one exactly the same for you?" Xianglan suggested from the side.

Chu Qingyin shook her head: "This is a creation of the palace. If ordinary people were to forge it at will, it would be a capital offense. Even if someone were bold enough to do it, it would be extremely difficult to make it indistinguishable from the real thing."

"Forget it, let's put this matter aside for now. A pair of earrings shouldn't have much of an impact."

Although Chu Qingyin said this, she was actually thinking about how she should deal with it if the earring was picked up by someone with ulterior motives.

Just then, Qiuzhu came in from outside.

"Your Majesty, Consort Shu has sent someone to invite you to come and admire the flowers!"

Enjoying the flowers? Consort Shu?

A hint of doubt flickered in Chu Qingyin's eyes, then, as if she had thought of something, her gaze swept lightly over Qiu Zhu.

It seems someone is about to make their move!

"In that case, go and give my reply. Please wait a moment, Consort Shu. I will be there soon after I have freshened up."

"Yes." Qiu Zhu crawled back.