Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 31 Are you Shen family members sick?

"It's all the fault of the servants for being so inconsiderate. How could they let Sister Shen wait outside? Please sit down and have a cup of hot tea." Zhou Qianqian warmly stepped forward, took Shen Li's hand, and personally led her to a chair and helped her sit down.

"Why haven't I seen Your Highness?" Shen Li still bowed respectfully, her gaze lingering on Zhou Qianqian's veil.

I heard she was punished by the Empress, and it seems to be true.

"Unfortunately, His Highness has been punished and is not allowed to receive guests, so I'm afraid my sister will have made a wasted trip," Zhou Qianqian explained.

"You misunderstand, Consort. I did not come to see His Highness." Seeing her surprise, Shen Li asked tactfully, "Has Consort had lunch?"

Soon the small kitchen in the East Palace was bustling with activity. Palace maids and eunuchs delivered food boxes into the side hall in a continuous stream, with a variety of dishes comparable to those served during a festival.

At the dining table in the side hall, Shen Li ate with excellent manners. Although she ate quickly, she did so in an orderly manner. Plate after plate of meat was consumed, which made Zhou Qianqian's eyes widen in surprise.

If she remembered correctly, she had already eaten a whole braised pork hock, a whole plate of mushroom and venison, braised beef, a steamer of golden thread shumai, and more than twenty four-happiness dumplings.

She had recently heard Ying'er mention that Shen Li's appetite had improved, but she didn't pay much attention to it. She really didn't expect it to improve so much; if Shen Li were to overeat in her palace and something bad were to happen to her, she wouldn't be able to explain it to anyone.

She ate the meal with bated breath, only breathing a sigh of relief when Shen Li put down his chopsticks.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Consort. I don't know when I'll be able to eat meat again after this meal," Shen Li said, probing the question as she thanked her.

"You've really gone to a lot of trouble, little sister. I will inform Mother about this matter and ask her to find a way to suppress Consort Zheng." Zhou Qianqian used a delaying tactic, hoping that if she could stall for a few days, Shen Li would lose hope.

“Your Highness is in a difficult situation now, so there’s no need to offend Consort Zheng for my sake. Please tell Your Highness that I will endure any hardship for the sake of our great cause,” Shen Li said understandingly.

She knew perfectly well what these people were thinking. They hadn't saved her when things were going well in her previous life, so how could they have changed their minds in this one?

If Li Heng had even a shred of sincerity, he wouldn't have refused to even see me today.

Since it was all just a charade, she decided to do him a favor.

"My silly little sister." Zhou Qianqian seemed to feel pity, but in her heart she was very contemptuous. What's the use of reading so much? It's made her stupid.

"It's rare for my sister to be so considerate of His Highness. His Highness is currently troubled by the Liu Ling case." Zhou Qianqian sighed slightly, intending to get to the point.

Shen Li raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. What did that mean? Not only did they not intend to save her, but they also wanted her help?

Li Heng should be grateful that he was born into the royal family; if he had gone into business, he probably would have been beaten to death long ago.

She remained unmoved upon hearing the names and positions of the officials mentioned by Zhou Qianqian; most of them were the people mentioned in the confession, and they were just being arrested one after another.

These are all corrupt officials who were targeted by Gu Chang'an long ago; none of them can escape.

"Please tell His Highness not to be impatient. The more composed His Highness is now, the better impression he will give to the world. As for this matter of imprisonment, I will find a way." Shen Li spoke sincerely, her eyes filled with righteousness.

Zhou Qianqian almost instantly stopped suspecting anything and nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, sister. I had my servants prepare some loose gold for you. Keep it safe; it might come in handy to appease the little devils in the palace."

A purse was handed over, containing gold coins, gold beans, and gold melon seeds of various sizes, totaling over a hundred taels.

Shen Li accepted the food, and before leaving, she even packed up a table full of dishes and had a palace maid deliver them back.

After seeing Shen Li off, Zhou Qianqian felt as if a hole had been ripped out of her heart. It was real gold, her monthly allowance for several months, and Shen Li hadn't even refused it.

She should have declined; hasn't she always disliked gold and silver? Why has she changed her mind?

Zhou Qianqian was so anxious that not only did she feel sorry for the old wound on her face, but it also started to hurt. It was really too difficult to maintain appearances. She should have just given the money.

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"Miss, why did you send me?" Peony asked in surprise, "Sister Lianqiao is very anxious at home."

"You don't want to come?" Shen Li returned to the side hall and lay down on the bed. She was inevitably a little sleepy after eating.

"How could that be? Of course I'm willing to follow you, Miss. It's just that Sister Lianqiao thinks I'm too impulsive and might cause you trouble," Shaoyao said, sounding a little guilty.

In terms of composure, she is far inferior to Sister Lianqiao.

"That's exactly the kind of personality I want. Don't change it. Is there any news from home?" Shen Li hadn't intended to play it safe when she entered the palace this time.

“Oh right, the lord asked me to pass on a message to you.” Peony looked around before lowering her voice: “The lord said that you don’t need to be too afraid of Consort Zheng, they wouldn’t dare to do anything to you.”

"Ah."

Shen Li remembered that Gu Chang'an had said the same thing in her previous life. She was not unaware of this, but she did not want to cause a scene and put the Crown Prince in a difficult position. Later, she found out that he was not in a difficult position at all.

She went to the East Palace today for two reasons: first, to avoid these people asking her to plead with the emperor on their behalf; and second, because she had her own plans.

Now that we've entered the palace, we can't leave empty-handed.

"The master said he would let you leave the palace as soon as possible, and someone would contact us afterwards. That person would be responsible for passing on the message," Peony continued.

A smile spread across Shen Li's usually indifferent eyes. Her husband was as considerate as ever, but this time she wasn't so keen on leaving.

"I happen to have a message to send; you can pass it on later." The smile in her eyes gradually turned cold.

She wanted to show Consort Zheng what it meant to invite a god but have a hard time sending him away.

"Yes, Miss, please rest. I'll go and do it." Peony couldn't guess her mistress's thoughts, but she would obey orders.

"Oh, right, take that bag of gold." Shen Li said, closing her eyes.

"This little bit of gold isn't enough for bribes, is it? I brought money with me." Peony looked at the hundred taels of gold, her heart unmoved.

"I just brought it back for you." Having spent a lot of time with her fellow inmates in prison, Shen Li had also learned the survival creed of "if you're going to take something, you might as well take it."

"Thank you, Miss." Peony's eyes suddenly lit up: "I'll go back and split it with my sister, and we'll make another small fortune."

In the afternoon, Su Mei arrived at Shen Li's side hall, but was stopped by the peony at the door before she could even enter.

"What can I do for you, sister? My mistress is taking a nap and cannot see you." Peony was quite reasonable and polite.

Su Mei, as Consort Zheng's head maid, was used to being domineering in the palace. She glanced at Shaoyao and said disdainfully, "Who do you think you are? Do you even need to talk to me?"

“This servant is of lowly status and indeed has no right to speak with you, elder sister. Please leave then.” Peony said neither servilely nor arrogantly.

Su Mei was taken aback, and her face immediately turned angry: "You still dare to talk back to me like that? You have some nerve! Do you believe I'll tear your mouth apart?"

"I don't believe you." Peony bluntly rejected the idea and stepped forward, saying, "Sister, you can try. I'll give you a hand and a foot free. If you can touch the hem of my clothes, you win."

"...No, you want to fight back?" Su Mei subconsciously took a few steps back, thinking to herself that this guy was probably a hothead, and if they really started fighting, she would definitely suffer.

"You were the one who said you wanted to fight first, and now you're scared?" Peony pressed closer again, eager to try: "At worst, we won't gamble with our lives. If we lose, we'll just lose a hand or a leg, how about that?"

"...Are you crazy?" Su Mei became increasingly horrified, and could only hurriedly run away, uttering a harsh threat before leaving: "You just wait!"