Lin Wan and Bai Xiuyi both bowed down to pay their respects to Rong Fei. Bai Xiuyi almost knelt down to thank Rong Fei, her voice trembling as she said: "Rong Fei is right, that's what the concubine means..."

  Roufei smiled and helped her up, saying: "Sister, you don't have to be like this..."

  Lin Yan even saw a benevolent expression on Rong Fei's face, OMG!!!!! Rong Fei's charm far surpasses that of the former PR department director known as "smiling tiger"!

  Lin Wan silently dragged the name "Rou Fei" into the "Elite Freaks" column in her heart.

  With Rong Fei acting as the mediator, there was nothing more to see in this grand hall. Everyone chatted warmly and munched on melon seeds, presenting a harmonious appearance.

  After waiting for a while, the concubines arrived one after another. The empress, supported by two palace maids, walked in from the rear hall. Everyone hastened to stand up and pay their respects to the empress.

  The empress is no longer young, and in the more than ten years since she married the emperor, she has been childless. It's likely that she won't have any children in the future either. Lin Wan looked at the empress's appearance, which was only dignified, but her demeanor was very noble and elegant. However, she didn't receive the emperor's favor. The empress's life wasn't great either, as she couldn't compare to Consort Xiang in terms of imperial favor, and had lost to Consort Rou in terms of producing an heir. These two consorts were not easy to deal with, and the empress was probably being suppressed quite miserably.

  Fortunately, the emperor thought her management skills were not bad, and she came from a hundred-year-old noble family, Xiao, and couldn't be treated poorly. As a result, he was quite respectful to her. Now that the Empress Dowager holds all the power in the palace, her superficial honor is extremely high.

  The Empress sat down in her main seat, with a gentle smile on her face. She called out to everyone to rise from their bows. She raised her eyes and swept them over the empty seats to her left, asking: "Is Consort Xiang unwell again?"

  Immediately beside her, a palace maid stepped forward and said: "Consort Xiang is fine today, but Princess Zhaochun has caught a cold, and Consort Xiang cannot leave her side."

  Zhao Chunjie is the Emperor's third daughter, who has just turned three years old. Her existence makes Xiangfei, who was already favored, even more arrogant and domineering, and not visiting Changxin Palace to pay respects has become a common occurrence.

  Lin Wan and Xiang Fei have never met, but she has a deep impression of this woman - not only because Xiang Fei is the most favored and attention-grabbing woman in the harem, but also because her predecessor Lin Xuan Shi was punished by Xiang Fei to kneel and eventually died from illness.

  Xiang Fei punished her by making her kneel for an entire night.

  Lin Xuan Shi was not a thorn in the eye of Sheng Fei, she wasn't even worthy of Sheng Fei's attention to get rid of her. But Sheng Fei was just that kind of person, she didn't have her heart set on taking Lin Xuan Shi's life, she just seized an opportunity to make trouble for someone.

  Kneeling for a night would be uncomfortable, but not fatal. Unfortunately, Lin Xuan Shi caught a severe cold after kneeling and the palace maids and eunuchs didn't take care of her, nor did they bring her hot water. The people from Shang Shi Bu, Shang Fu Bu, and Shang Gong Bu also didn't send her food or blankets... In the end, Lin Xuan Shi died. Lin Yin thought she probably died from complications of pneumonia caused by a severe cold.

  No matter what, Consort Xiang added fuel to the fire in Lin Xuan's death. Lin Wan felt that she had occupied someone else's body and should at least fulfill her responsibilities to them. She labeled Consort Xiang as someone who owed a debt.

  As the biggest opponent of Xiang Fei - the Empress, she has also been struggling with Xiang Fei for many years. Just talking about paying respects, if the Empress were to be petty with Xiang Fei, she would have died from anger long ago. She simply took a broad and magnanimous attitude, saying: "The spring chill is severe, children should still be careful. Go to the warehouse and fetch some licorice root to send to Lin Zhi Palace, and see if Zhao Chun is seriously injured."

  The empress was just a qualified stepmother who cared about the children and didn't mention anything bad about Consort Xiang.