Reiwa Palace

  Jiang Xi sat on the couch staring blankly at a twelve-leaf screen opposite him, embroidered with mountains and rivers for thousands of miles, among which were embroidered small half-trunks of wutong trees with similar silk threads, as well as phoenixes on top of the wutong trees. It was a Feng Qi Wu Tong hidden in the mountains and rivers for thousands of miles, and if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't see it at all.

  That was given to her by the Marquess of Zhongshan's wife before she entered the palace, both a subtle hint and a show of kindness. She hoped that in the palace, she could make something of herself.

  Before entering the palace, she was also full of confidence and expectation.

  But now she's suddenly not so sure.

  Her maid slipped quietly in.

  Jiang didn't turn around and directly asked her: "Mingyan, isn't the Emperor coming?"

  Mingyan looked at her and shook his head worriedly, saying: "After the emperor came out of Changkun Palace, he went straight to Qínhéng Hall."

  They all thought that since Jiang had suffered such a great grievance in front of the empress, the emperor would not defend him at the time and would come to comfort him afterwards.

  But...

  Jiang got up from his bed and walked closer to take a look at the phoenix perched on the paulownia tree inside the screen.

  The emperor is indeed calm and rational to the point of being frightening. Among the new palace concubines, she was the most favored, but even so, the emperor's favor towards her was calmly controlled, not a bit thicker than others, not even half as much as that of Changkun Palace.

  Everyone says she looks like the Empress Dowager, and everyone also says that the Emperor has deep feelings for the Empress Dowager. She can clearly feel that when the Emperor looks at her, he sometimes becomes distracted, and his face even shows a hint of guilt. He comes to her palace, but does not often bestow favors on her; instead, he prefers it when she sits quietly by his side, and doesn't even like it when she speaks.

  He seemed to like this quiet atmosphere, perhaps he often did so with Yuán in the past?

  But it was no use, he could not persuade him to stay longer in her palace.

  He often went to the palace of the empress, but not because he liked this woman in his heart, just because she was the empress.

  How could there be an emperor who is so sober and unwilling to indulge himself at all. Her eyes also contained a hint of softness, that high-and-mighty monarch was indeed different from other men.

  She quickly reacted, her eyes lit up. No, if the emperor really only went to Changkun Palace because Lin Yu was the empress, then he just needed to favor them a bit more than the empress, but there was no need for such great favoritism. However, the emperor almost spent half a month resting in Changkun Palace.

  This can only be explained by the fact that, apart from being an empress and having the surname Lin, it is also because the emperor truly loved her. Only a woman he truly liked could make him linger.

  Jiang suddenly felt a dark pressure, as if there was a mountain blocking her way. Not even the imperial concubine had made her feel this way.

  After a while, she suddenly pointed at the screen in front of her and said to Mingyan: "Put away this screen."

  The tea smoke was a bit strange and asked: "Tsai Ren, don't you like this screen?"

  Although she didn't know what was special about this screen, she saw that the talented person would often stare at her with a look of fondness in his eyes.

  Jiang Xi did not respond to her words, and muttered to himself: "Mingyan, I found that I have been wrong all along. I thought I had grasped the pulse of the emperor accurately."

  She used a common approach to deal with the emperor, pretending to be coy and elusive, trying to make him pity her, imitating Lin Xiang's expressions and mannerisms to make the emperor linger, perhaps this way she could get more favor from the emperor than other palace concubines, but it couldn't make the emperor infatuated with her.

  If it were Lin Xiang, how would she attract the emperor in her position?

  Jiang Xi asked Mingyan again: "I let you go and ask about some deeds of Yu Hou, did you hear anything?"

  Mingyan nodded and walked over, beginning to chat with Jiang Xi in a gentle tone.

  Changkun Palace

  After the emperor left, Mu Lan said with some worry: "Your Majesty, you were perhaps too severe on Jiang Cairen just now. I think she knew that the Emperor was here and deliberately did so to provoke the Emperor's sympathy. I think you fell for her trick."

  Mu Zhi Mu Lan had been following her since she was a child, and some words would be more outspoken than other palace girls without fear of Lin Daiyu getting angry.

  Lin Xiang smiled and said: "Was she successful? After the Emperor left Changkun Palace, did he go to her place?"

  Lin Xiang smiled and looked at Mu Qing, saying: "This palace has discovered that no matter how similar this person looks, no matter how well they imitate the eyebrows, eyes, and expression, as soon as they speak, they will reveal their true nature."

  Jiang had originally wanted to dig a pit for her to jump into, but ended up falling in herself. She didn't have Lin Xian's carefree arrogance, nor did she have Lin Xian's magnanimous and generous spirit. The more she did, the more she spoke, the more the emperor would be able to see the differences between her and Lin Xian.

  If Lin Xian had encountered the dispute between Wu Wuniangzi, Ning Yu and Youyu yesterday, she would not have tried to mediate in a gentle tone, but instead would have scolded each of them with one sentence, then ordered the palace maids to take them back to their respective palaces.

  Even if she had been persuaded, and had done something wrong out of good intentions, she would not come to explain herself and apologize, because what she believed in was "the innocent clears themselves". Even if she wanted to explain, she would not come to explain to her, but would go directly to the emperor to explain, because the only person she cared about misunderstanding her was the emperor, not the women of the harem.

  Mu Qing smiled faintly and remained silent, this was where she admired the Empress, she always knew exactly where to hit when striking someone. Whether it was dealing with the Emperor or the women in the harem, different people required different methods.

  Mu Zhi and Mu Lan fell into deep thought.

  They found that the only one who could keep up with the queen's train of thought was Mu. Often, they were still confused, but Mu had already shared a knowing smile with the princess, without needing to say much.

  Lin Xiao asked again: "Are all the other palace wives quiet?"

  Mu Zhi replied, "Cui Xianfei is the same as before, Hu Zhaorong seems to have not changed for a few days, I don't know if she has or not, but Hu Zhaorong didn't make any noise. The new palace maidens, Baolin and Yu Nu are quite lively, often strolling around the Imperial Garden and the Imperial River Bridge, it's still manageable with Wang Zai Ren."

  The six new imperial consorts, Jiang Xi and Wang Shi were both made Baolin, while the remaining four were Zhu Baolin, Sun Yurou, Wen Cairen and Du Cairen. Wang Shi and Du Cairen lived in Xuanhua Palace, while Zhu Baolin, Sun Yurou and Wen Cairen lived in Yuzi Palace.

  Because the newly entered Wang Shi and Jiang Shi were both Cairen, He Baolin, who had given birth to four princes, was not good enough to still be just Baolin. So, taking advantage of this opportunity when the palace concubines entered the palace, Lin Di raised her position as well, becoming He Meiren.

  Lin Xiang smiled and said, "The concubines who have just entered the palace are all eager to gain imperial favor. As long as they don't use underhanded means to compete for favor, these small actions are up to them. Who can finally win the emperor's favor depends on their individual abilities."

  Compared with these new concubines who have not yet established their position in the palace, Lin Yu was more concerned about Hu Zhaorong's side.

  She also said, "Keep a closer eye on Hu Zhaorong's side. Since she didn't make a fuss, we'll just pretend we don't know. Be more careful with food and drink. As for whether it's true or not, we'll find out later. It's always better to be cautious."

  As long as she is really pregnant, she will keep her child safe and sound.

  "Besides, the Empress's side, the Second Prince has been visiting the Rear Palace more frequently lately."