Your Majesty, please do not disturb, the empress only wants to engage in business

Chapter 181 Sincere Words
Regardless of how much turmoil Consort Zhao felt because of the gifts from Yao Jinse and Consort Chen, Yao Jinse, back in Yuxiu Palace, unsurprisingly received a visiting card from Qiao Yanran on the third day.

Qiao Yanran has always been an extremely intelligent person. In Yao Jinse's eyes, this is perfectly reasonable. No matter how smart a person is, they should at least be intelligent enough to be the female lead, and they should also have the emotional intelligence to handle interpersonal relationships.

This was, in fact, the first time she had met Qiao Yanran in private.

Even though she was very familiar with the other person's habits, Yao Jinse was still a little nervous when it came to actually doing these things.

She was actually wondering to herself. Since Qiao Yanran had made the trip, she must have had her own ideas. But no one could go inside Qiao Yanran's stomach to see what she was up to.

Yao Jinse had secured her position in the harem and had her child to rely on. As long as she didn't intentionally commit suicide, she wouldn't be in any danger to her life or death. However, she still worried about the Yao family outside.

Especially after meeting the biological mother of this body last time, the genuine maternal love she showed eventually touched Yao Jinse.

Once a person has something to worry about, they become hesitant and restrained in their actions. Although Yao Jinse never intended to form an antagonistic stance with Qiao Yanran and the others from the beginning, otherwise she wouldn't have tried to start with Bai Fengping to see if she could reconcile their relationship, things can't always go her way. If the other party doesn't want to reconcile, then even if she comes up with a hundred ways, there's nothing she can do.

Ultimately, she gained many benefits by relying on the Imperial Concubine, and naturally, she also had to bear some responsibilities because of this.

While Xie Yun'an felt this way, Empress Shen Qingyin felt a little better, but it was probably about the same. As for the newly entered concubines, even those who didn't initially think she and the Imperial Concubine were close, after Xie Yun'an's last recruitment of people for the Imperial Concubine, they should know that Yuxiu Palace and Chengqian Palace were very close.

Unfortunately, few of the men chosen for the Imperial Concubine were to her liking.

Fortunately, she has never been one to show her emotions easily. Although she was quite nervous inside, she didn't reveal it at all on the surface, at least Bai Tan and the others didn't notice.

To be honest, Yao Jinse and Qiao Yanran didn't really have much to talk about. After all, they didn't have much contact. They had only met a few times when they first entered the palace, and hadn't seen each other much in private.

The only time was at Consort Zhao's birthday banquet the other day, when Qiao Yanran, as He Yunqing's close friend, appeared at the banquet to make up the numbers and said a few words.

However, communication between intelligent people doesn't need to be so complicated. As long as they touch on things briefly, they can understand each other's thoughts and then get to know each other better later.

Now is the time to gradually get to know them.

"Sister, come on over. I never lack anything here, why do you need to prepare a gift?"

Yao Jinse waved her hand, signaling Bai Lu to take the items from Qiao Yanran's maid and lead the group towards the inner hall. It's natural to be friendly and approachable, and both women wore warm smiles; it was the perfect time to talk.

"They're not anything particularly valuable. I was thinking of bringing some things that children like to play with, since I was thinking of taking care of the princess. It was only because of Consort Zhao's birthday celebration that I remembered that Princess Dongyang will be turning one year old soon. The Emperor will naturally celebrate the princess's birthday properly, so I sent the gifts in advance as a way of showing my appreciation."

“But she’s still just a child, what can she possibly understand?” Yao Jinse glanced at the things Qiao Yanran had brought. They weren’t anything particularly valuable, just some small sandbags and toy tigers. What was more remarkable was that it looked like she had done some needlework recently. She wondered if Qiao Yanran had made them herself. “Usually, I’m busy taking care of the princess, so it’s rare for anyone to come to my Yuxiu Palace. Today, my little sister has come, which brings some life to my place.”

Qiao Yanran naturally echoed her words, and the two entered the inner hall and sat down in the main and secondary seats respectively. Yao Jinse guessed the purpose of Qiao Yanran's visit today, while Qiao Yanran naturally looked at the furnishings in Yuxiu Palace.

The six palaces in the east and west each have their own courtyards, so the layout of this room is naturally much more spacious than the many small courtyards in the Imperial Garden where the lower-ranking concubines lived. With a larger layout, many things can be seen at a glance. As soon as Qiao Yanran sat down, she saw the bookshelf that Yao Jinse had placed between the sleeping quarters and the inner palace.

"Sister, do you usually enjoy reading?"

Qiao Yanran and He Yunqing are both daughters raised by prominent families, and can naturally be considered talented women. They usually compose poems and couplets, which is considered an elegant pursuit. This type of talented woman is exactly the kind of woman Xie Yun'an likes.

When Yao Jinse first transmigrated, she would occasionally think about reading more books. After all, she had learned too much and too varied things in her previous life, and she had long forgotten seven or eight out of ten of them. If she didn't deliberately bring them up, she wouldn't be able to remember them.

Once I started reading the book, I realized that my mind was no longer focused on reading.

At this moment, when Qiao Yanran asked this question, Yao Jinse couldn't help but laugh: "Sister is joking. Although I know a few characters, I am completely ignorant about poetry and books. The books I read are naturally quite different from the books you read, Bai Tao."

Bai Tao turned around upon hearing the sound, picked out two books from the bookshelf, and after Yao Jinse finished reading them, she took the booklet off the shelf and placed it in front of Qiao Yanran.

Qiao Yanran took a closer look and realized it was the kind of storybook that outsiders liked to circulate.

When she was a young lady in her boudoir, she had seen these kinds of things before, but they were never considered respectable. Just like how everyone loves gold and silver, but if you openly say it, you'll be considered vulgar, these love stories circulated among young ladies, but no one dared to openly admit that they liked them.

Some things, once said, can be very damaging to one's reputation.

“Don’t be surprised, sister. I was a girl at home back then. Although it wasn’t as elegant as you learning poetry and classics at home, I still think there are thought-provoking truths in the stories. Everyone has their own preferences. Some people like to watch plays, some like to listen to stories, and naturally some like to read vernacular stories. I have never cared about what others think of me, and I have never hidden these things.”

Yao Jinse's eyes were like a clear spring of water, and when she spoke, she had a clear understanding of the ways of the world. For a moment, Qiao Yanran didn't know what to say.