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

Chapter 222 Showing Weakness

"Although I have been ill these days, I have kept up with what is happening outside. In fact, it is precisely because of the quiet these days that I have been reminded of many things from the past."

Life in the Prince's mansion was not as easy as it seemed to outsiders. At least Chen Yimiao knew that from the moment she entered the mansion, the eyes of the women there had always been on her.

In places where people rely on men for their livelihood, a man's favor is naturally a huge deal, and the appearance of a beautiful woman will inevitably divert some of that favor.

But Chen Yimiao comes from a noble family and is different from ordinary women. Even if she marries into the royal family and becomes a concubine, she can become the principal wife if she wants.

She could have easily married any prince, and given the power of the Duke's mansion at the time, any of those princes vying for the throne would have been willing to divorce their wives for her—but she was unwilling to do so.

She naturally had her own pride and was unwilling to ruin someone else's life because of her existence. Although the Duke's Mansion was not as luxurious and wealthy as the Prince's Mansion, it was not far off. Girls raised by aristocratic families were trained from childhood to be the main wife and mistress. What hadn't she seen?
Therefore, she could completely accept Yao Jinse's seemingly half-hearted behavior. Everyone was just trying to survive better in these places, and apart from a few exceptions, no one genuinely wanted to fight.

Consort Rong used to disdain getting involved in the power struggles within the harem, and now that she has a child, she doesn't want her daughter to be harmed by these struggles.

People say that palace intrigue is an adult matter, and that they would not harm other people's children in order to bring good fortune to their own children. But if things were really that simple, what about the innocent souls who died tragically in the palace over the years, and the children who died young?

Chen Yimiao didn't think that much, nor did she have the energy to think that much. She had never been a meticulous person, which was why she needed so many people around her to give her advice. Kang Mama, Yao Jinse, the former Consort Yi, and even Wanqiu and Nuandong who were by her side now, all played the role of advisors to some extent.

Among them, Yao Jinse has been the most outstanding recently.

"When we first met in the Prince's mansion, you begged me to help you survive there. At that time, you were all alone and helpless, with no one to rely on, and life in the Prince's mansion was not easy."

"I brought you all under my wing for two reasons. First, I wanted to have some suitable people around me to talk to, so I wouldn't be lonely all day. Second, I know that it's easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Having someone by my side means one less enemy. I never expected you to actually contribute much, so over the years, many things have been done by Consort Yi. Fortunately, no matter whether things are good or bad, Consort Yi has done them very well."

It's just a pity... the matter was handled very well, but in the end, it couldn't save one's own life. In fact, the fate of being a pawn is always like this. Once the person sitting in the highest position wants to investigate, it is destined to be abandoned.

Yao Jinse couldn't figure out why Consort Rong was saying all this at this moment. Was she trying to appeal to her emotions and reminisce about the past to pull her back from the Empress's side? Or was she considering that she was about to die and wanted to say some comforting words before dealing with her?

The latter probability is still too low. After all, the current Consort Rong is not the unscrupulous Consort Rong of the past. She has the Duke's Mansion to protect her and her daughter to take care of. It is unlikely that she would act too recklessly.

But precisely because she couldn't figure out Consort Rong's intentions, Yao Jinse could only occasionally respond with a few words, trying to recall the events following Consort Rong's train of thought.

Yao Jinse was actually unfamiliar with many things happening within the Prince's residence. These things weren't recorded in the story; the entire narrative unfolds from Qiao Yanran's perspective, and naturally, these events all occurred within the palace.

After she woke up in the palace, the fragmented memories remaining from the original story only allowed her to better disguise herself. Now that so much time has passed, she no longer needs to pretend as before.

It's unclear which side has been assimilated, but the change has already occurred.

Sometimes, when Yao Jinse thought about these things, she felt a little uncomfortable. In her previous life, she had read a famous quote that said the time travel depicted in stories was nothing more than a kidnapping of the modern soul. At that time, she deeply believed in and agreed with this statement.

But when it actually happened to her, she realized that criticizing the way a story begins is meaningless; in an unfamiliar environment, human instinct will only evoke a belief.

Survival is the only truly useful thing.

So she helped the imperial concubine, took care of the little princess, accepted the original owner's legacy, and continued to build her own power. In the process, she even had several encounters with the emperor.

No one noticed anything unusual about her. In this deep palace, Consort Yao was just an ordinary woman.

The imperial harem was never short of women like this; whether they were intelligent or beautiful was not that important.

Those who could truly exert influence either had an extraordinary romantic relationship with the emperor, thereby gaining power through the supreme ruler, or, like the empress and empress dowager, possessed power in their own hands.

The world is made up of people, and the rules established by nature should serve people.

This may indeed be a fictional dynasty, but it was ultimately based on the real ancient world when it was created. Therefore, even a supreme being like the emperor was still bound by rules and could not do whatever he wanted.

While Yao Jinse was slightly distracted, Consort Rong had already shifted the topic from the warm past of the Prince's mansion to the harsh reality they were facing in the harem.

"Actually, even if I didn't say it, I imagine you've been thinking about it these past few days; however, the reason I called you here today is that I still want to hear the truth, or rather, I still want to hear some advice."

As Consort Rong spoke, her gaze happened to be fixed on Yao Jinse. Her slightly furrowed brows added a touch of sorrow to her already beautiful face, making her truly pitiful.

"You've never said much in front of me these past few years. It was only after Consort Yi passed away that you gradually started offering me advice. I don't want to talk about the past anymore. But as you can see, my situation is not what it used to be, so there are many things I'm willing to do but unable to. But I do want to ask you one question: what should I do next?"