RWNEFE -Chapter 204 Sixth Senior Sister Enters the Palace as a Palace Maid!

Early the next morning, Shen Yuanxin and a few other younger sons came to see Shen Lanxi.

She glanced at the waist badges neatly laid out on the table and asked calmly, “Are you sure about this?”

Shen Yuanxin replied, “Big sister, before we started training, I said that if the chance ever came, I’d want to study for the imperial exams!”

Shen Lanxi smiled faintly. “Good. I’ll take your waist badges. From now on, you’re no longer soldiers under me. Stay home and focus on your studies!”

“Thank you for allowing this, big sister!”

After speaking, Shen Yuanxin and the others hurriedly took their leave.

“Chunxue, collect their badges. When we return to camp, make sure their names are removed from the troop roster.”

“Yes!”

Before long, a letter was delivered to the gatehouse.

Shen Lanxi read it and called out, “Come out!”

Ban Sicao jumped down from the beam and caught the letter she tossed to him.

After reading its contents, he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Who sent this to you?”

Shen Lanxi replied, “No name was given, and they must have disguised themselves. They gave the gatekeeper ten taels of silver to deliver this letter.”

Ban Sicao frowned. “It says someone at the welcome banquet plans to harm you, even specifying the poison to be used—but it doesn’t say who. Could it be a trick?”

Shen Lanxi: “Have you heard of Hehuan Powder?”

Ban Sicao froze and stammered, “Of course. That was a concoction made by the previous emperor for pleasure. Its potency is several times that of ordinary spring medicines. The previous emperor died from overdosing on it in a woman’s body.”

Saying this to a woman was slightly awkward.

Unexpectedly, Shen Lanxi didn’t even frown—not surprising at all for her!

She looked at Ban Sicao. “I have no intention of prying into your Wandu Sect’s affairs, but since you are so certain that the person who wants to harm you is in the palace, I guess your sect must have very deep connections inside the palace.”

Ban Sicao hesitated but still didn’t reveal the secrets of the Wandu Sect.

“I definitely won’t harm you!”

Shen Lanxi: “Even if you wanted to harm me, you wouldn’t get the chance!”

Ban Sicao, annoyed, said, “Then why did you call me out?”

Shen Lanxi: “Is something like Hehuan Powder easy to make?”

Ban Sicao was taken aback and immediately objected, “Impossible. This is a palace secret poison. It’s extremely difficult to concoct.”

Shen Lanxi’s eyes glinted. “Then tell me, is it possible that the person who made Hehuan Powder is the same person who made the Beauty Sickness poison?”

It was as if Ban Sicao suddenly saw through a fog—his eyes lit up!

He knew all the top poison masters in the entire Great Zhou. He had been relentlessly hunted before and could never trace their identities. Hidden so well, the only possible place had to be inside the palace!

If someone in the palace really wants to kill him, who could it be?

The line of the former empress—weren’t they all dead?

“What are you thinking?” Shen Lanxi asked suddenly, making Ban Sicao nearly spill what he was thinking.

“I’m thinking what you said makes sense. Tomorrow, at the welcome banquet, I’ll stick right by your side!”

Shen Lanxi felt that the circumstances of her death in her previous life were becoming even more mysterious.

At the welcome banquet, other Shen family members were also invited. In the past two days, the Shen family had been constantly moving in and out of silver shops, tailoring shops, and other stores delivering gifts.

Seeing the Shen family rising again, those who had kept their distance before were now sending formal invitations and gifts, hoping to restore old relations!
When these gifts arrived before the matriarch returned, Shen Congwen had handled them and returned everything.

Now that the matriarch was back, she took charge of the household.

For those delivering gifts, most were cataloged and recorded. The few remaining either weren’t liked or had previously been at odds with the matriarch.

“Mother, the silver shop brought jewelry. Should we let Lanxi pick something too?” Madam Liu suggested.

The matriarch immediately frowned.

Madam Miao: “Second sister-in-law, Lanxi got so many rare treasures from His Majesty and didn’t share anything with us!”

Madam Tian sneered, “She probably doesn’t even care about our things.”

The matriarch glared at Madam Liu, thinking her comment spoiled the mood.

“Mother, I just wanted to give big sister some face,” Madam Liu muttered.

The matriarch lowered her head for a moment, then ordered that Shen Lanxi be summoned in a grand manner.

Unexpectedly, Shen Lanxi wasn’t in the mansion.

The matriarch was furious, clutching her chest. If she wasn’t in the mansion, who was all that effort for?

The careless girl, returning to the capital but not staying at home properly, was showing herself off elsewhere. If anyone saw her, who knew what they would say about the Shen family!

…

Shen Lanxi, in disguise, went to the Apricot Blossom Pavilion.

“Sixth Senior Sister!”

Liu Shao, dressed as a waiter, emerged from behind a screen with a smile.

“Third Senior Brother said your martial arts are amazing now. I didn’t believe him, but it’s true.”

“I used Turtle Breathing to hide behind. Ordinary people couldn’t hear my breathing. How did you notice?” Shen Lanxi pointed at her nose.

“You smell like Sixth Senior Sister. I can tell just by sniffing!”

Liu Shao twitched at the corner of her mouth and hurried to smell herself.

“What smell? I don’t smell anything.”

Shen Lanxi laughed. “Sixth Senior Sister, don’t bother. Only I can smell it—no one else can.”

Liu Shao didn’t believe it. Could her nose really be the only one sharp enough in the world?

“Sixth Senior Sister, has the cause of the former empress’s death been discovered?”

Seeing Shen Lanxi’s serious expression, Liu Shao hurriedly put down her sleeve and shared what she had learned.

“The former empress died from Silkworm Green Poison, unique to the Wandu Sect. After it happened, the court used the incident as an excuse to try to wipe out the Wandu Sect. A few key members escaped to the Western Regions.”

“In the past fifteen years, I’ve never heard of any poison masters in the capital. I investigated everywhere in the civilian world, except one place I didn’t check!”

Shen Lanxi: “The palace.”

Liu Shao nodded. “Exactly. Throughout history, the imperial harem has been a den of corruption. Many vicious methods spread to the civilian world from there. If you had come a few days later, I would have snuck into the palace myself.”

Shen Lanxi: “Senior Sister, you wouldn’t become a palace maid, would you?”

Liu Shao: “Being a maid is less noticeable! Small roles are easiest to gather information from.”

“Senior Sister, today I received a letter like this!” Shen Lanxi explained how she got it and what it said.

Liu Shao: “Then I must enter the palace sooner. The palace isn’t large, but there are many people inside. Everyone is as tricky as a sieve; if we don’t have someone on the inside, we’d be at a disadvantage!”

She spoke seriously, but—

“Senior Sister, be careful!”

Liu Shao smiled: “Look at my face. If I throw myself into a crowd, no one will recognize me. Even if I go in, I probably won’t be assigned a good position. I’ll try to be placed somewhere remote so I can act freely!”