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

Chapter 212 Thinking Back and Forth

With the thought in mind, Yao Jinse felt more and more that her current solitary lifestyle was not the right thing to do.

Yao's father was not a shrewd figure in officialdom; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained a minor official for so many years. Even after getting involved with the Duke's mansion in the last two years, he couldn't advance further by leveraging that connection. Although Yao Jinse's restraint and control played a part, Yao's father's own "ability" was also a significant factor.

Since waking up again, Yao Jinse has carefully considered everything she could use around her.

In the palace, she had been following the Imperial Concubine from the very beginning; it was already destined.

Outside the palace... the situation at the time really didn't give Yao Jinse any chance.

After all, at that time, the Yao family was a completely unfamiliar place to Yao Jinse.

The connection between the palace and the outside world was not very convenient to begin with. Even though the original owner of this body had worked hard in this regard, there were very few connections that could be made. It was only when Yao Jinse woke up here and came up with the idea of ​​the Night Fragrance Bureau that she benefited from having the advantage of being in the best of God's eye.

After she had more contact with the Yao family and met her mother in the palace, she gradually began to feel at ease letting the Yao family do some things for her outside, but that was all.

Being able to bring people into the palace for the Imperial Concubine is already a huge problem. The fact that the Yao family didn't use the power of the Duke's Mansion to elevate their own status might seem useless to outsiders, but those who understand now realize that such connections are never truly secure.

Putting aside other matters, the first to suffer from the downfall of the Duke's Mansion and the collapse of its great edifice are those connected to it. As the saying goes, when the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? Given the Emperor's current control over the court, crushing the Yao family would be no more difficult than crushing an ant.

By then, Yao Jinse herself will be finished.

Consort Rong was able to use her long-standing friendship to obtain an extraordinary favor from the Emperor, but Consort Jieyu, who rarely even saw the Emperor throughout the year, did not have such ability. She could only share the fate of her family, whether it prospered or suffered.

Fortunately, things are developing in the direction expected. Consort Rong has been saved and has even successfully conceived a child. Her future will depend on the birth of the child.

Anyway, the people in the palace have always been obsequious to the powerful and domineering towards the weak. Yao Jinse had long seen through this, but she was powerless to change it and had no intention of doing so.

Even if Consort Rong's status remains unchanged, what difference does it make?

Without the support of the Duke's Mansion, the Duke's Mansion now has to rely on the favor of the Imperial Concubine to maintain its reputation among the powerful and influential in the capital.

After this relationship was reversed, Consort Rong would no longer be in a position where no one dared to offend her. With her child and the emperor's favor, Consort Rong could still live a life of luxury as before, but the power in the palace would have to say goodbye to her completely.

The current situation was something Yao Jinse had anticipated from the day she woke up.

Having come this far, she couldn't really say what the future held. After all, the ending that belonged to this character in the original story had already arrived. How she walked the road ahead, and what it would become, was entirely up to Yao Jinse.

The night outside was already deep. Yao Jinse tapped her finger in the air and instructed Bai Tan to call the other three in as well.

Surviving in the deep palace is never easy for one person to fight alone. It is important to win over the concubines around you, but it is even more important to have people you can rely on and trust. These people do not necessarily have to be clever, but they must be loyal.

The four maids currently by Yao Jinse's side are the ones she has the most faith in and the ones she can rely on the most these days.

Bai Tao is lively, while Bai Tan is meticulous. These two head maids, one handling internal affairs and the other external affairs, always work together exceptionally well.

The other two are younger, with Bailu being even younger and not usually getting involved in important matters.
Bai Shuang was more mature, so she was responsible for connecting Bai Tao and Bai Tan, relaying messages, and handling small matters independently, all of which she was capable of.

"Now that I've summoned the four of you here, I suppose you're all aware of what's been going on in the palace lately."

Yao Jinse trusted the people she employed, especially since she had been observing them for so long, so she spoke frankly. She first briefly explained the things she had just been considering, and then asked, "What are your thoughts now? Tell me so I can make arrangements for your future."

Her words were clear and direct, but ultimately they revealed a sense of pity that shouldn't exist in the palace.

The four girls in front of her, even if Bai Tan and Bai Tao were a little older, were only in their early twenties. In Yao Jinse's eyes, the other two were still children. She herself had lived two lives and her mind was far beyond her actual age, but the four girls in front of her were not.

No matter what era it is, girls' lives are always more difficult. In this small area of ​​Yuxiu Palace, she is temporarily in charge, so she is willing to be more lenient and let these girls do less physical work.

But serving others is never easy, especially in a place as strict as the palace. She asked this question because she thought that one day when these girls reached a certain age, they might be able to go out and live their own lives instead of being stuck in these bottomless palace walls and wasting their lives.

But when she asked this question, the servants couldn't help but have doubts. Bai Tan and Bai Tao were people she brought from her maiden home. After leaving the palace, the Yao family would naturally make good plans for them, but the other two wouldn't have such good fortune.

Bai Lu was younger and didn't usually deal with such petty matters. She did light work in the palace. Bai Shuang, on the other hand, was more clever and immediately knelt down to express her loyalty.

When she was sold into the palace, she was about the same age as Miao'er and the others. She was no longer an innocent and naive little girl. The cannibalistic world always makes people mature faster, and she had long understood many principles.

“This servant was sold into the palace. In the past few years, I have served in various places, and only under Your Highness have I had a good life. Although life in the palace is difficult, I can still survive. Since entering the palace, this servant has been prepared to grow old alone in the palace. Your Highness is kind and benevolent. This servant is willing to follow Your Highness for the rest of my life and do anything for you. I beg Your Highness to grant my request.”

After she knelt on the ground and spoke these heartfelt words, Bai Lu naturally realized that she had been through something similar. At this point, she didn't need to say anything more and knelt down with Bai Shuang, begging Yao Jinse to grant her wish.

Looking at the two small heads, Yao Jinse's eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.