"Concubine Shu, it's fine to just assign tasks, I still have to take care of the second princess and really don't have much free time to deal with palace affairs. I hope you can give me some lighter work, so I can also sneak in some rest."

  The most ridiculous thing is that the words sound affectionate, but in reality, they are extremely distant. "Shu Gui Fei" and "Niang Niang" had long since sold out her inner self, not even willing to be called sisters.

  "Very well, in that case, I shall allocate the tasks. The six bureaus will be divided as follows: Shu Fei, you will take charge of the Bureau of Ceremonies and the Bureau of Works; Xian Fei, you will take charge of the Bureau of the Inner Chambers and the Bureau of Attire; and the remaining two bureaus, the Bureau of Works and the Bureau of Food, shall be under my direct supervision."

  The Empress had actually planned how to allocate them long ago, and now she just said it out according to her idea. The Shang Palace Bureau, which is in charge of the allocation of palace people, is the best place to put people at ease and pull "nails". She naturally grasped it in her hand.

  As for Shang Shi Ju, the food is often the easiest place to make mistakes. Even if there's a bit more oil and water, she wouldn't be so petty-minded. It's just that she's afraid that if something happens, she can't escape responsibility.

  Xian Fei sneered inwardly, the two most important things she herself didn't avoid at all, tightly grasping them in her hand. It's just that she had just said she wanted to be idle, so it wasn't good for her to say anything now. Fortunately, the Empress was only confined for a month after all.

  "Shu Guifei's arrangement is very reasonable, I can now be lazy," couldn't say it out loud, but hinted that a few stabs were also possible.

  The Empress was completely unopposed to the two bureaus assigned to her, she had long guessed how Consort Shu would allocate them, and now she wasn't disappointed, smiling, "Consort Shu naturally allocated them reasonably, otherwise why would the Emperor be so fond of Consort Shu?"

  "Shu Fei's sister and Shu Gui Fei are truly close sisters, enviable to others," said Xian Fei at the right moment with a fake smile.

  Shu Fei didn't mind her provocation at all, "That's natural, isn't it the same with Xian Fei and the Empress? Perhaps Xian Fei can find an opportunity to plead for mercy, maybe the Emperor will take pity on Xian Fei's sincerity and end the Empress' suffering early, then my sister and Shu Gui Fei won't have to work hard either."

  What Xianfei guessed earlier was wrong. With the heart of a petty person, she measured the abdomen of a noble man. Shufei had spent a long time locking down the black hand behind the scenes after her child died young. From then on, it was a dead-end road with the Empress Dowager's faction, and they would not rest until one side died. Whenever they met, they would stab each other a few times. The more painful they were, the happier she became.

  For Shu Gui Fei, when she was young, she indeed had resentment, jealousy, and unwillingness. However, after experiencing so many things in this ruthless place, struggling for many years, she no longer wanted to dwell on her own favors. The only motivation for her to live until today is to avenge her poor child.

  "Yes, Concubine Xian's sister doesn't have many palace duties anyway. She really should think of a way to go before the Emperor and plead for mercy, just to fulfill her sisterly relationship with Empress Dowager. I'm sure Empress Dowager will remember this great kindness when she comes out," said Consort Shu, picking up the crystal cup on the table and taking a sip before speaking.

  Shu Gui Fei's words were indeed more sophisticated than Shu Fei's, using their sisterly relationship to coerce her. If she had directly refused, the Empress would have found out and wouldn't have let her off easily. But with just these few sentences, she got herself entangled and actually went to beg for mercy from the Emperor, probably soon to be followed by news of her being put under house arrest.

  Neither side is right, and it's hard to advance or retreat.

  Xian Fei was short of breath and couldn't get out, pinched her handkerchief, after all, she had seen the ups and downs. "Shu Gui Fei said that if I, your concubine, had the same favor as you, I would naturally go to beg for mercy. However, the Emperor has not come to my Changchun Palace for a long time. It's hard for Hua'er to see her father even once."

  "Why don't we just bring the Second Princess along, perhaps when His Majesty is in a good mood, he will really agree," said the Empress Dowager, with an expression that seemed to be completely considering her.

  Xian Fei was worried that if she really took Fu Er away, the Emperor would definitely abandon her, and from now on, all hope would be lost.

  "Shu Fei, you're always speaking cold words. The Emperor's dragon-like power is unpredictable, and I don't dare to rashly go forward. We should think of a foolproof plan first, why be in such a hurry at this moment?"

  "She just said it casually, she's just impatient, why bother to calculate with her?" Shu Gui Fei slowly stroked the tea cup and said lightly.

  Too many words can be counterproductive when minds don't meet.

  The virtuous imperial concubine knew that these two were openly trying to bully her, one playing the white face and the other playing the red face, letting them do all the good deeds. At this point, she didn't want to stay any longer either. "I understand, of course I won't mind, I remembered there are still some things in the palace that haven't been dealt with, so I'll go back first."

  Shu Gui Fei nodded and let her go, she didn't really intend to make her plead for mercy in front of the Emperor anyway. If she had really gone, that would be when she should be afraid, after all, with Xian Fei's intelligence, she wouldn't be foolish enough to ruin her own future just to vent her anger.

  The empress also did not say anything, she was also a temporary idea, repeatedly advising, just to show off her eloquence.

  Yanqing Pavilion

  Du Wanru heard the news that the Empress was under house arrest, and in anger, she smashed the teacup on the table, "Why? Why? What's the reason?"

  She was originally the only one among these concubines who became pregnant and successfully kept her pregnancy until now, with a bright future ahead of her. However, the Emperor's attitude towards this child has been lukewarm, without much expectation.

  She kept comforting herself that the emperor was busy with state affairs and couldn't take care of many things, but every day there were reports that the emperor stayed overnight at Zuiyun Pavilion or Chonghua Palace or other places, only forgetting about her who was in a corner of Chuxiu Palace, and she was pregnant with his child.

  Later, despite being extremely cautious, she was still taken advantage of and the imperial physician determined that her child was not healthy. As a result, no one bothered her again. However, she wanted to fight for something for this child and for herself. Regardless of which master she relied on, using and counterusing, betraying and abandoning, after going through several rounds, she also gained some experience.

  It was not easy to climb up to the high branch of the empress, but in just a few days, the news came that the empress had been put under house arrest. It's the empress, the mother of the country, who has been put under house arrest. The emperor must not have much respect for this empress, let alone favor her.

  So she became driftwood again, lonely and helpless.

  "Master Du, be more careful with these things, they are only your allowance and do not belong to you, they must still be returned to the palace treasury..." A nearby palace maid reminded him in a low voice, suppressing her fear.

  Ever since she was assigned to serve this master, she has been restless and irritable, not to mention her own discomfort. She is also unfair to the lower servants and rarely rewards them, with less benefits than before.

  However, the empress repeatedly emphasized the importance of serving this master well, and she did not dare to be careless. She only hoped to give birth as soon as possible, so that she could be remembered for her hard work in serving him, and then be sent back to her original place.

  A tea lid slammed over, three long and short bloodstains quickly slid down the cheek, "You cheap hoof, just a slave, really thought you were something, dared to come and teach me, do you look down on me? I'll tell you, if I don't have a good time, you won't either. I'm still carrying the dragon's seed, if anything happens to me, you'll also die..."

  That palace maid was the one who had been separated from the empress before, and in fact, she was still the empress's person. Although she wasn't as favored by the empress like Huizhu and others, she wouldn't have to suffer such humiliation in Kun Ning Palace.

  But at this moment, she didn't dare to really resist her. As she said, if something happened to her, the first person to be pulled out as a scapegoat would absolutely be her.

  Even if she really looked down on her in her heart, with rough words and deeds, and a petty housewife's air about her everywhere, she was indeed just a young woman from a fifth-grade official's family, who couldn't do anything respectable.

  "What's in her mind, she dare not reveal. She kneels down, 'I deserve to die, I deserve to die, please spare my life, Master.'"

  Du Wanru scolded, and the anger in her heart was finally vented a bit. She took a deep breath and knew that now wasn't the time to dwell on these things. Moreover, she was still the Empress's person, and if the Empress were to settle accounts later, these would be enough for her to drink a pot of wine.

  She couldn't bear her meek and timid attitude, frowning and holding onto her already obvious belly, searching for a place to settle down in this room full of fragments. "Get up, I was just angry, don't take my words to heart, this hairpin is yours as a gift."

  The palace maid did not dare to express her disagreement, the disdain in her eyes could not be concealed, so she lowered her eyelids and took it with a trembling hand, "Slave thanks master for the reward."

  It was just an ordinary butterfly hairpin, with a common color and even some barely visible flaws on it. It could be seen that the owner herself didn't like or want to use it, but she still had to accept this "gift" with gratitude.

  Du Wanru was just a small, unloved daughter of the Du family, and her aunt wasn't favored either. If it weren't for her own initiative, urging her father to send her to participate in the selection, she wouldn't have entered the palace with her innate conditions and efforts.

  When entering the palace, the aunt gave her all her private belongings in exchange for silver, and Father gave her 200 taels of silver to win her over. However, adding up front and back, it was only about 500-600 taels. In this palace, everywhere needs to be bribed, and at all times, rewards need to be given. Except for the clothes and jewelry made by the imperial workshop according to the emperor's orders, everything else requires her own money.

  She was not favored, and it was difficult to get pregnant. The emperor's reward was also mediocre, and she couldn't exchange it for silver. She had no choice but to live a frugal life with the little she had left.

  "Take good care of me and wait for me to give birth to the imperial heir, I will definitely reward you heavily."

  The palace maid did not dare to disobey, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "Your servant will serve the master well."

  Even if she knew, this was just a pie in the sky for her. Not to mention whether she could safely wait until production, even if she really gave birth, an unhealthy prince would not be welcome in the imperial family.