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

Yao Jinse's mind was in turmoil.

People living in the imperial harem often have a thousand meanings in a single sentence. Although this is an exaggeration, it is not untrue when applied to those in high positions.

People who have been in high positions for a long time often like to say things that leave room for speculation, so that they can appear capricious and uncontrollable. This is especially true for concubines in the harem and officials in the court. They have to face the emperor and people who are more noble and powerful than themselves, and they also have to learn how to manage their subordinates.

The inner palace is a place that can alienate people the most. Even though everyone is exactly the same, people are still divided into superior and inferior here. And this superiority and inferiority is based on bloodline. Those born into the royal family are of noble blood, while those born into commoners are only fit to be slaves.

Once reduced to slavery, one's life is no longer in one's own hands.

The thought flashed through Yao Jinse's mind, but a bitter smile rose in her heart: she was now the emperor's concubine, which sounded nice, but in such a position, she was no different from a concubine in an ordinary family. She was respected only because she was the emperor's woman. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she couldn't help but sigh when she thought about the position and situation she had fought hard for in the workplace.

But that's all there is to it.

More than anything else, Yao Jinse dared not think too deeply. These things were buried deep in her memory, things that she absolutely could not easily touch. She did not know, nor could she know, whether she was still alive in the other world when she woke up in this world, whether she had disappeared or was unconscious, or even whether she was simply considered dead.
These thoughts flashed through her mind almost every minute during the days immediately after she awoke from this body. It was only by forcefully cutting off these turbulent thoughts that she managed to save her precarious spirit.

Now that we're here, let's make the best of it.

Humans are not plants or trees, yet they are not free from birth. This palace is surrounded by four walls and four sides, a place of imperial wealth that outsiders envy. Although those who live here enjoy endless comforts, they are ultimately confined here.

The flowers, artificial mountains, and lakes in the Imperial Garden are ultimately inanimate objects that cannot be moved. No matter how beautiful the flowers are, one will eventually tire of them. Once mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas are contained within one's grasp, one loses the desire to explore them.

The same applies to people.

This world is not an era of abundant resources. Beneath the wealth and prosperity that is visible, there are countless people's blood and tears buried. The Duke's Mansion was once so prosperous, but now it has vanished into thin air.
Therefore, Yao Jinse is not sure what Consort Rong means.

In the past, she could have spoken frankly. After all, the Imperial Concubine was known in the harem for being arrogant and domineering, not virtuous and gentle. In addition, her maternal clan held immense power, so continuing to be domineering would only be following her usual habits.

But things are not what they used to be.

Many things happen and end without the understanding of those involved, but those affected often need a major upheaval to come to their senses, as if they have died once. Consort Rong is probably in that state now.

The sudden downfall of the Duke's mansion made her see the true nature of the man beside her, but the demands of reality compelled her to move forward against her will, forcing her to suppress her temper and seek a way out for her family.

Now that she has given birth and narrowly escaped death, she seems to have figured things out a lot, but how far she can actually go is still unknown.

We should give it a try. "Since Your Majesty has asked this question, you must already have some ideas in mind. Currently, the Empress is managing the inner palace on the Emperor's orders, with Consort Zhuang and others assisting her. However, with the First Prince about to establish his own residence, it seems that many things in the palace are not so easy lately."

Recently, Yao Jinse has had little to do. People in the palace are known for their sycophancy and opportunism. Although they may not do anything openly, there has been much less information being reported to her privately.

She has always had an excellent reputation among the servants, so this phenomenon is definitely not due to the servants' opinions of her. It can only be because she used to rely on the Imperial Concubine and was able to have such a favor of managing the palace, which was only granted by the Emperor because of the Imperial Concubine.

But the Imperial Concubine is now in dire straits, and she may not be able to protect herself. The people of the Imperial Household Department will eventually have to test the intentions of the higher-ups.

After a while, Yao Jinse became the breakthrough point.

If Consort Lin felt wronged about this matter, she would naturally report it to the Imperial Concubine. However, what the people below could not have imagined was that Yao Jinse herself did not have much of an opinion on handling the various affairs of the harem. These trivial and fragmented matters were never a manifestation of power.

The true embodiment of power is that what one says casually is taken seriously, and one or two thoughts can determine the life or death of others. That is what Yao Jinse truly desires.

Unfortunately, she can't do those things in her current position.

"Her Majesty the Empress was known for her wisdom and competence when she was in the Prince's residence, which goes without saying."

Consort Rong didn't have much of a problem with the Empress. Although one was the principal wife and the other was a concubine, they were not like ordinary people.

The Empress had never been able to take the Emperor's heart away from her. Now, times have changed, and her situation is not as good as before, but this has only made the Emperor feel more sorry for her.

Just as she had said to the Emperor when she pleaded for the Duke's mansion, the Duke's mansion had fallen to such a state that she, as the daughter of the Duke's mansion, had no one to rely on and could only depend on the Emperor for survival from now on.

This statement is of course only half true. At that time, or rather at this moment, Consort Rong still had some feelings for the Emperor. However, the contradiction was that she had the inertia of liking Xie Yun'an, but at the same time, she was heartbroken by the scheming of the past. This contradiction led to the closure of Chengqian Palace for such a long time.

"In the harem, the Empress is the most respected, and I know this. So these days, I haven't said anything about your comings and goings to Kunning Palace. Now that I have lost my maternal family, I am no longer the same as before. If the Empress takes a liking to you, I naturally have no power to stop her."

This statement is both subtle and clear.

Yao Jinse understood Consort Rong's implied meaning and rose from her seat to curtsy: "If it weren't for Your Highness's support back in the Prince's mansion, I wouldn't be where I am today. Please, Your Highness, don't say such discouraging things. The little princess has just been born, and she will still need Your Highness's help in the future, won't she? Your Highness, let's look to the future; there's plenty of time ahead!" (End of Chapter)