In Yong'an Palace, Cui Xianfei heard that Lin Ye had sent someone to Chao Yang Palace and almost lifted the roof off. Although she was somewhat surprised in her heart, she remained calm and nodded slightly to indicate that she knew.

  Hu Zhaorong of Huayang Palace reacted even more violently than she did, and almost lost her tongue when she heard the news.

  "She can't believe it and says: 'She, she really dares!'"

  She's supposed to be the empress, but on the third day of entering the palace, her feet are still unsteady, yet she dares to replace the servants of the first-rank noble consort who has been in power for many years with a completely new group. How can she have such audacity?

  They said it was killing a chicken to scare the monkey, but she thought she only dared to make He Baolin, a small role, shed some blood. She didn't expect her to directly kill the biggest and fattest chicken.

  Hu Zhaorong's face gradually became serious, and she asked the palace maid again: "What about the Emperor? I heard that the Noble Consort still went to report to the Emperor, what was his reaction?"

  The palace maid replied: "His Majesty scolded Concubine Gui severely and also made her copy the palace rules."

  Hu Zhaorong's face turned serious, and she fell silent, with a hint of fear towards Lin Xiao.

  The queen's power is great, but in the end it all comes from the emperor. The emperor says she has the right and she does, the emperor says she doesn't have the right and she becomes an empty shell. But now it seems that the emperor attaches more importance to this new queen than she imagined.

  Choi Hyun-bi's family background was good, but she had a non-competitive and non-aggressive personality. However, her family's status was not enough to support her as a princess, making it impossible for her to compete with the Empress. After the death of Yuanzong's empress, the harem was dominated by the Empress alone, who seemed like an invisible queen in the palace.

  But now, she suddenly felt that the sky of this harem was about to change.

  Hu Zhaorong thought that in the future she would probably need to be even more respectful to the empress.

  In a side hall of the Zhao Yang Palace, He Baolin was pacing back and forth in the room, coaxing the Fourth Prince who had been crying nonstop.

  The maid who was serving her brought over the egg custard, looking at her and advising: "Bao Lin, I've told you before that it's possible the Empress won't be able to do anything to the Noble Consort, but dealing with you would be as easy as pinching an ant. Why don't you start showing some respect to the Empress? Why must you be disobedient towards her just because of what the Noble Consort said? Look at how she's treating the Noble Consort now, and how could she possibly let you off?"

  The big ghosts are fighting, and He Baolin, this little ghost, rushes forward, essentially serving as cannon fodder for others.

  He Baolin's eyes reddened as he choked out: "I didn't know any of this, but the Imperial Consort ordered me to do so, how could I have refused?"

  She was just a palace maid, and she could only serve the emperor because of the support of the noble consort. In the harem, she had to choose a big tree to rely on in order to survive. She was a person promoted by the noble consort, and the empress was not a tree she could rely on, so what else could she do but cling tightly to Wu Guifei?

  Wu Guifei would make her go through thick and thin, and she could only grit her teeth and charge forward while hoping that the imperial concubine would take pity on her loyalty and lend a hand. If she dared to disobey the imperial concubine's words, there was no need to wait for others in the harem to take action, as the imperial concubine could first tear her and the fourth prince apart.

  At first, she was assigned to serve in the Zhao Yang Palace as a maid for the noble consort. However, the noble consort said that she wanted her to serve the emperor instead. She was overjoyed when she heard this. The emperor looked so handsome, so strong and majestic, and he was so high above everyone else. Normally, she didn't even dare to look up at him, let alone become his woman.

  So when she heard the imperial concubine's promise to her, it was as if she were dreaming.

  But it wasn't until she actually became a palace concubine that she realized being a palace concubine wasn't as simple as she thought. From the moment she agreed to become a concubine of the noble consort, her life was no longer her own, her favors were not hers to give, and even the children she bore were born for the noble consort's sake. In the end, she actually had nothing at all.

  If I could relive it... He Bao Lin lowered his head to look at the Fourth Prince in his arms, and although the child's face was not yet fully formed, he could still see a shadow of the Emperor.

  If she were to come again, she would still choose to agree with Wu Guifei. She has no regrets, even if she is now at the mercy of others, she does not regret serving the emperor.

  In the Yanqing Palace.

  This Eastern Palace is more desolate than any palace in the Imperial Palace.

  Given the recent low pressure on the Crown Prince's body, the palace staff in Yanqing Palace didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

  Someone from the palace finally found out what happened in the Chao Yang Palace and ran over to tell the Crown Prince, wanting to make him laugh.

  The crown prince looked at him and said in a low tone, "What's there to be happy about?" Then he turned his head away.

  The palace maid was stunned for a moment, standing there neither advancing nor retreating.

  The Crown Prince had always disliked the Shao Yang Palace, and Empress Dowager was from the Crown Prince's maternal family. She punished Wu Guifei, thinking that the Crown Prince would be very happy about it.

  The housekeeper glared at him and signaled for him to leave. What's wrong with bringing up the empress dowager?

  The crown prince turned around, and his nose felt a bit sour again.

  He also remembered holding that small hand when he was a child, from the time he could remember, always holding his hand until he was six years old.

  When King Qi plotted a rebellion, King Qi's men broke into the palace of the Crown Prince, but the Emperor was not there. The Empress Dowager was trapped in the palace by Chen Huanghou.

  She took him into the kitchen and hid in a rice jar, he was extremely frightened at that time. Afraid of being killed, afraid of never seeing his mother again. He was so scared that he trembled with fear, but didn't dare to cry out loud for fear of attracting attention, and could only cover his mouth and sob quietly.

  He also remembered that at that time there was a dark rice jar with her clear and bright voice, asking him: "Taier, are you afraid?"

  He didn't dare make a sound, afraid that once he did, he wouldn't be able to hold back his tears, and could only nod repeatedly.

  She said: "Sister is also afraid." Then she said: "This way, you give me your hand, we hold hands, this way it's not so scary."

  Her hand was so soft and smooth and warm, she grasped his hand tightly, just like the winter sun, and then he really felt less afraid.

  Later they were almost found, in order to prevent him from being discovered, she let him continue hiding in the rice jar and went out to distract the pursuers. That time, she was cut by a knife.

  When the little girl was bandaging her wound, she smiled and comforted him, saying: "Tair, sister is not in pain." At that time, he vowed to himself that he would become stronger than his father in the future and protect her from any harm.

  But when did they start to change, when "Father King" became "Father Emperor", after they moved from the palace to the imperial palace, she no longer appeared by his side frequently, nor would she hold his hand, and even called him "Your Highness" politely when seeing him.

  Then, before she could wait for him to grow up and become strong, she married his father emperor and became his "empress dowager".

  Empress Dowager?

  The crown prince smiled sadly, this was truly a ridiculous phrase.

  Then he hugged his own legs and curled up in agony.