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

It was already late at night when I came out of Chengqian Palace.

On such a deep and dewy night, even the palace eunuchs who were on watch were unwilling to walk outside for long. After all, the winter night could be deadly. Yao Jinse tightened her cloak and tucked Bai Tan's hand into it as well. The two of them returned to Yuxiu Palace much faster than when they came.

Bai Tao had been waiting at the door with Xiao Tangzi and Xiao Shanzi for a while. Fortunately, there were rooms not far from the side gate of Yuxiu Palace. Although there was no heating, the underfloor heating made it a little warmer. Otherwise, in such cold weather, waiting outside for so long would have really made people freeze.

"My lady, you're finally back. I've warmed up some ginger and chicken porridge in the kitchen. Please have a bowl to warm yourself up."

Seeing Yao Jinse leading Bai Tan in quickly, Bai Tao greeted them and said softly, "While Your Highness was out, everything in the palace was peaceful."

No one else came, and no one else noticed Yao Jinse's departure. Only her trusted confidants knew. The maids and eunuchs who did the menial tasks had already gone back to rest after finishing their work.

"Bring a bowl for Bai Tan as well."

The small kitchen usually doesn't prepare just one bowl of porridge. Anyway, neither she nor Bai Tan have big appetites. After going out for a while, eating something hot when they come back will help them get rid of the chill. As Yao Jinse gave the instructions, she also turned around and instructed the two little eunuchs:

"It's freezing cold, you should hurry back and not stay here. Remember to drink something hot to warm yourself up."

Xiao Tangzi and Xiao Shanzi spent the longest time by Yao Jinse's side, having been with her ever since she entered the palace.

As eunuchs who served Yao Jinse closely, the two of them actually held a high position in Yuxiu Palace. Since there was no head eunuch in Yuxiu Palace, the two of them essentially took on that role.

The simple task of opening and closing the door tonight could have been easily handled by two eunuchs, but because it involved Yao Jinse's private outing, the two of them took on the task together.

Yao Jinse was very satisfied with this; she personally selected and cultivated the people around her, and this was one of the most rare things about them.

The people under her command didn't necessarily have to be very capable, but they were always sensible. The servants also fared well, since they knew what to do and when to do it. By pleasing their mistress, they naturally didn't have to be as restrained as the servants under other concubines.

In this palace, there are still many differences between palace maids and eunuchs. The palace maids enter the palace to work, but in fact, they exist as a reserve of concubines for the emperor.

If one is beautiful enough to catch the emperor's eye, then one's destiny will be different from before. If one is not beautiful or is of average beauty, one can wait until the time comes to leave the palace and marry someone.

Even if palace maids who leave the palace cannot marry into a high-ranking family, they will never easily marry into an ordinary family. Coming from the same palace, this natural sense of belonging has long since led the palace maids to form an alliance, connecting those inside and outside the palace. As long as a woman has money to support herself, she will never be easily sold by her family after leaving the palace.

But these eunuchs would never have such a good outcome. Those who had been stabbed would never have children again, nor would they ever be released from the palace.

Toiling to death in the palace was considered a good ending. Many lowly eunuchs were executed each year for taking the blame for their masters. Only a select few survived the daily grind, and the rest didn't have an easy life. Those above them had to flatter their masters and serve higher-ranking eunuchs and maids, while those below naturally abused their power, using their limited authority to torment those less fortunate than themselves.

Such a twisted personality naturally made the eunuchs value their daily enjoyment and the money in their hands even more. Xiao Tangzi and Xiao Shanzi belonged to the former category—life in Yuxiu Palace was much more comfortable than outside. Although Consort Jieyu was not very generous when it came to rewarding her subordinates, she never shortchanged them, which was already quite rare.

Furthermore, most of the imperial meals that the young lady couldn't finish ended up in the mouths of these eunuchs.

Such a good life is something you can only dream of in other palaces. It's only because they are both lucky that they were able to meet such a good mistress as Yao Jinse.

The palace is a place where human relationships are cold and indifferent, but it is also the place where true sincerity is most rare. When servants encounter a master who treats them sincerely, they naturally pay more attention to him.

Following Yao Jinse, although one wouldn't gain any wealth, the days spent in the shrouded palace, with its high walls and layers of barriers between people, filled with mutual vigilance and wariness, were exhausting. Everyone longed for a moment of respite.

Although Yuxiu Palace is not a large place, once the doors are closed, the master is not strict and is exceptionally considerate to the servants. They, as servants, can actually feel some warmth from human kindness.

These are things that people say are unimportant, but who hasn't secretly envied the warmth and tenderness of normal people?

After closing the door, everyone naturally returned to their own rooms. Bai Tan drank the ginger porridge first, tidied herself up, and then went to serve Yao Jinse.

Bai Tao had already helped Yao Jinse remove her hairpins, cloak, and outer garment. When Bai Tan came in from outside, Yao Jinse was already leaning against the pillows, covered with a quilt, and drinking porridge.

Although it was Bai Tan's turn to keep watch tonight, Bai Tao did not leave. Although she was not as thoughtful as Bai Tan in everything she did, she knew that her mistress and Bai Tan had gone to Chengqian Palace tonight and would have something to say when they returned. Rather than waiting to hear Yao Jinse tell her tomorrow, she might as well listen to it now.

Both of them were brought into the Prince's mansion as part of Yao Jinse's dowry, and their lives, honors, and disgraces were tied to Yao Jinse's; they were the most reliable people by her side.

Yao Jinse drank half a bowl of porridge and felt that the chill in her body had almost subsided. She put the bowl of porridge on the tray and asked Bai Tao to put it aside. She looked at Bai Tan, who was standing to the side, and said softly, "Ask whatever you want. When you came back today, you looked like you were deep in thought."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, but I just feel that the Imperial Concubine's behavior these days is quite puzzling. Since you agreed to the Imperial Concubine's request today, would you like to reconsider?"

"That's not necessary. After such a big event, it would be abnormal if the Imperial Concubine were still the same as before."

Yao Jinse's gaze seemed to be fixed on the void, a hint of contemplation and recollection flashing in her eyes: "Those who can gain a foothold in the harem are not unyielding hard bones. The Consort Rong's situation is different now compared to before. Now that Consort Rong's family background is gone, her methods of governing can no longer be as harsh as before. Only by softening her stance can she accomplish what she wants." (End of this chapter)