Chu Lian waved her hand, indicating that Li Zhao Ting could leave, while she herself returned to Yi Huan Palace with the support of Si Wei.

  Inside the palace, several maidservants knelt in turn to present the nine-jade-gold crown, hairpins and jade pendants, golden silk embroidered crimson cloud cloak, sleeveless jacket, and other coronation attire surrounding them on all sides. A small eunuch beside them detailed the procedures of this grand ceremony for the empress.

  The intricate fabrics rustled softly, occasionally interspersed with the tinkling of jade pendants and pearl earrings, quietly reverberating deep within the palace. Si Wei was helping Chu Lian Ru adjust her headdress and cloud-patterned, trailing cloak, "Your Highness, it fits perfectly."

  Chu Lian nodded slightly: "Alright, let everyone else go down."

  Only Si Wei and Qingqing were left by her side, it seemed that her hair bun was a bit heavy, Chu Lian slightly twisted her neck: "It's really troublesome."

  Chu Lian'er gazed at her reflection in the mirror, and suddenly thought of the imperial coronation ceremony that year. The entire ceremony lasted for two hours, and she vividly remembered herself standing closely beside Xi Rong, watching as the officials paid their respects. At that time, she felt that only he could bring her peace of mind. However, times had changed, and now she was once again going to stand by his side, but this time, her state of mind was vastly different from before.

  "Mother, the clothes are really beautiful, and they make you look radiant." Si Wei said with a smile as he looked at Chu Lianruo who was now dressed up.

  Chu Lian shook her head, seemingly feeling a bit uncomfortable: "If he hadn't insisted on holding this grand ceremony for the empress, I would have really hoped to rest in this palace. This way, I'm not used to it."

  Xiao Lianzi shouted from outside: "Niang Niang, Bu Lie has arrived, are you ready?"

  She tied the last strip of silk around her waist, and Chu Lian walked out with a straight back, her hair bun not only intricate but also adorned with various pearl pins, which made her entire neck ache.

  The Smoky Rain Pavilion was indeed decorated with lanterns and streamers at this time, looking like a piece of red silk, which really had a bit of New Year's flavor.

  Because Yu Mengdie was pregnant, Xú Róng specially let her rest in the Die Lian Palace and didn't need to come forward. As she was a sealed imperial concubine, only Chū Liǎnrúo sat beside Xú Róng.

  Shi Yu Yin looked at Chu Lian Ruo sitting next to Xi Rong, a surge of hatred in her heart. She couldn't believe that this woman had been in the palace for less than two months and had already risen to the position of fourth concubine. How could she calm the anger in her heart?

  It's supposed to be the grand ceremony of the new year and the coronation of the empress, but it's just the emperor's wife and the princes' wives gathering together, watching some dances that have lost their novelty, exchanging pleasantries, and that's how they spend the new year.

  Because it was New Year's, even though Chu Lian had just been appointed as the imperial concubine, due to ancestral rules, Xi Rong still had to rest in Shi Yu Yin's palace, which made Chu Lian feel slightly relieved after a tiring day.

  Changed into casual clothes, with hair casually tied back, only accompanied by Qing'er, strolling in the palace until stopping at the Clear Wind Lake in the Imperial Garden.

  Gazing quietly at the lake water, she suddenly discovered a person's shadow reflected on the surface of the lake. She didn't know when he appeared there, standing not far behind her.

  The blue shirt was faintly visible, she couldn't see his reflection in the lake, but she could feel his deep gaze quietly watching her back.

  Chu Lian turned around, quietly looking at him. The surrounding snow was faintly glowing in the moonlight, and a pair of clear eyes flowed with autumn water, calmly looking at him who was close by.

  The two of them looked at each other in silence, and after a long while, Xū Yáng gazed at Chǔ Lián Ruò with a faint smile. Qīng Qīng walked to a distance away to keep watch for the two of them. Xū Yáng slowly approached Chǔ Lián Ruò, stretched out his right hand wanting to touch Chǔ Lián Ruò's slightly damp hair, but dropped his hand dejectedly in mid-air.

  "How have you been lately?" Thousands of words, but only this sentence slipped out. It's not that he didn't know her daily situation, it's just that he couldn't help but think of her, wondering why fate had to make things so difficult for him, why they couldn't meet again after everything was settled. Watching her laughing and chatting with Xurong, his heart ached to rush over and tear apart the suffocating scene before him, yet he could only pretend that nothing was wrong, standing by helplessly.

  "Everything is still fine, how about you?" Chu Lian seemed to see the struggle in Xū Yáng's eyes, but was also powerless. She knew that for revenge, she had already given up everything, but couldn't show it in front of him, because she deeply understood the difficulty and determination of all this.

  "Everything is fine, waiting for good news." Fortunately, Xuyang also knew that this was not a good place to talk, and he took a deep look at Chulian, slowly walking away. Chulian looked at Xuyang's back and smiled faintly, wondering when his good news would come. She shook her head and called out to Qingqing, and the two of them strolled leisurely in the Imperial Garden.

  In the Butterfly Palace, Yuan Mengdie sat on the imperial couch with an unhappy face. She had thought that the plague would kill Chu Lianruo, but instead, she not only didn't contract the plague, but also saved everyone in the palace. All the credit was stolen by her, making it impossible for Yuan Mengdie to calm down and rest. Originally, she wanted to get rid of Chu Lianruo, but unexpectedly, she was used by her and promoted to a higher position. The Empress Dowager's words were indeed correct - there wasn't a single simple role in the harem. Yuan Mengdie touched her still flat abdomen and secretly steeled herself. For the sake of future children, it was impossible not to be ruthless. Since Chu Lianruo couldn't be dealt with for now, she would first take care of Shi Yuyin.

  At this time, Xū Yáng was in the Shī Yù Yīn Palace, but what came to mind was the majestic and unparalleled demeanor of Chǔ Lián Ruò during the Imperial Concubine ceremony, her pure and serene aura, her tireless efforts when saving people, and then slowly recalled the enchanting figure she had displayed while attending to him in bed.

  Shi Yu Yin stood beside Xu Rong, looking at his expression and knowing that his mind was not on her. Shi Yu Yin secretly resented him, gritted her silver teeth, put a smile on her face, raised her head and softly called out to him.

  "Your Majesty, it's getting late, time for bed."

  Xu Rong smiled slightly and supported Shi Yuyin as they entered the inner palace to rest.

  The light snow continued to fall for several days, during which Xurong came to Chulianruo's new palace twice after she was sealed as the Evening Concubine. The new palace was named Yexuan Palace. When granting the name, Xurong had said, "The sunset is shy and half red, flowers bloom with colorful butterflies in the flower cluster, the evening sun sets and night is approaching, faces are opposite each other under the hazy moon." The people inside the palace were extremely jealous of Chulianruo's favoritism, but they didn't know that Chulianruo only felt more and more disgust every time she faced Xurong, no longer having the expectation and joy of waiting for Xurong at the gate of Fengmiao Palace.

  The light snow of the past few days finally stopped, and the sky cleared up with no clouds in sight. The atmosphere in the entire palace seemed to have improved a lot. Chu Lianruo saw that today's weather was not bad, so after paying respects in the morning, she brought along Qingqing and Siwei to sit down and take a short rest in a secluded garden within the palace. In a corner of the garden, there was a hidden pavilion that few people knew about. When Chu Lianruo saw someone approaching from afar, she took Qingqing and Siwei into the pavilion.

  "Why must you come here?" Si Wei was very puzzled. Judging by her status, Chu Lian was already one of the four consorts, why did she have to give way?

  "They must have something important to discuss, or they wouldn't come all the way out here. It's not a good idea for us to leave now either, so let's just avoid them. The weather is nice today, and I'd like to relax too." Chulian smiled slightly before falling silent, sitting down behind the pavilion. Qingqing and Siwei exchanged a glance, then reluctantly found a place to sit as well.

  Two ordinary palace maids came, one of whom seemed to be beside Shi Yu Yin, and the other seemed to be a maid beside Yuan Meng Die. The women in the palace were indeed not simple, and she should also speed up her pace to gather people. Those two looked around and walked behind a silver ginkgo tree to whisper secretly.

  Chu Lian, who was standing next to Qing, had learned martial arts and had relatively sharp ears, so she managed to eavesdrop on the two people's conversation. It turned out that Yuan Mengdie and Shi Yuyin had been having more and more disagreements since they started managing the inner palace together, and sometimes they didn't even bother to pretend to be harmonious on the surface. Today, they had another falling out over a trivial matter of a palace maid and eunuch being in a relationship. This wasn't a big deal, as there were many bored and resentful palace maids and eunuchs who sought their master's favor by finding someone to be with, so they wouldn't be lonely in the deep palace. Shi Yuyin thought that since they had come to her, she might as well grant them permission and also win over some people's hearts. However, Yuan Mengdie didn't think this way; she believed that the two were clearly dissatisfied with their current situation, so it was better to make an example out of them by executing them, to let others see the consequences.

  The two had differing opinions, and Shi Yu Yin's intention to bring them together was not out of goodwill, but rather to win people over. As a result, the two got into another argument because of this matter. After returning to the palace, Shi Yu Yin became increasingly angry as she thought about it, so she called her trusted aide Lan Ruo to inform the spy Xiang Wu who was by Yuan Meng Die's side. Shi Yu Yin felt that since Yuan Meng Die entered the palace, her own days had become more and more difficult. Yuan Meng Die looked down on her, thinking her background was humble, and kept setting obstacles for her everywhere. Moreover, after giving birth to the dragon heir, she became even more overbearing.

  Shi Yu Yin planned to make the child in Yuan Meng Die's womb stillborn, just like the former empress. So she called her trusted aide and had them sprinkle a powder made from a western medicine on Yuan Meng Die's pillow. This powder was harmless if inhaled and difficult to detect. Yuan Meng Die particularly liked a type of orchid, and when this powder mixed with the fragrance of the orchid, it would turn into a toxin that would cause the child in her womb to be stillborn.

  After hearing Qing's words, Chu Lianruo's eyes seemed to be filled with icy coldness and hatred, as if they were about to destroy everything. Qing was also frightened and didn't dare to speak more. After a long time, Lanruo and Die Wu discussed and left one after another. Only then did Chu Lianruo slowly recover.

  "I don't know what this powder is, but Shi Yu Yin's plan is really clever. The child in her belly will become a stillbirth, and Yuan Meng Die won't even notice, even if she does, it'll be too late."

  "We can wait until Yuan Mengdie's child is stillborn, and then secretly reveal the matter to her. Let the two of them make a big fuss, and by that time, Yuan Mengdie will be so angry that she'll want to tear Shi Yuyin apart. Then we can drag the prime minister down with them." Qiqi also offered her suggestion, and after thinking for a moment, Chulian agreed, as this was the only way to affect the power behind the prime minister, which would also be beneficial for Xiyang.

  "Later you go back to the Wang Mansion and report to Master Wang, see if he has any plans."

  "Yes, Your Highness. Now, will you return to the palace or continue your stroll? Although the snow has stopped, the weather is still quite cool, so perhaps it's best for you to return and rest." Qiqi suggested, looking at Chulianruo's clothes, and Chulianruo also thought that the good show was about to begin. If she fell ill, she wouldn't be able to see Yuan Mengdie and Shi Yuyin's big show, which would be a great disappointment. So she agreed.

  Shi Yu Yin, you just wait, this is just an appetizer for you, and who knows how many people you've harmed, and who knows if you'll be woken up by nightmares in the middle of the night?

  (

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