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

This time, the greetings were different from usual. With the New Year approaching, the Empress Dowager made an exception for those who were not usually allowed to appear in the Cining Palace, regardless of whether they were qualified to do so.

Regardless of whether they were new or old concubines, they naturally valued and were interested in such occasions.

As winter days grow shorter and nights grow longer, people don't have many interesting activities to do besides gathering in small groups to enjoy the snow and drink tea. In addition, the cold weather makes it unsuitable to stay outside all the time. Many people have been cooped up in their palaces for too long and naturally want to take advantage of the crowds to come out and experience the lively atmosphere.

Not to mention that today is different from the past. It is said that Consort Rong, who had been recuperating for more than half a month after giving birth, has finally recovered and walked out of Chengqian Palace.

The concubines in the palace have been having a lot of fun lately, so they are naturally looking forward to Consort Rong's return. They wonder who will be unlucky enough to offend Consort Rong today. If they do, then there will be a real show to watch.

Yao Jinse could deeply empathize with this kind of "watching the show" mentality.

When people read storybooks, they are always drawn to the more dramatic and exciting plots. No one likes to read about the protagonist's mundane life. On the contrary, the plots of fighting and plotting against each other are what everyone likes to read the most.

The people in the palace now are still too young. When they stay in the palace longer, suffer more mistreatment and grievances, and Xie Yun'an starts to get tired of the trivial affairs of the previous dynasty and has more time to seek pleasure in the harem, that will be the beginning of a true gladiatorial arena.

Withdrawing her discreet gaze from the surrounding concubines, Yao Jinse turned slightly and sat down in her own seat.

She arrived before the Noble Consort today. According to Noble Consort Rong's instructions, the two of them should not have too close contact in public in the future. It would be best to confirm that Yao Jinse has climbed to a new high position. If the Noble Consort has anything to say, there will naturally be palace servants to pass it on in private.

As for whether this would damage Yao Jinse's image in Xie Yun'an's eyes—Consort Rong didn't care, and Yao Jinse cared even less.

She didn't have much of an image in Xie Yun'an's heart to begin with. Leaving Consort Rong's protection wasn't a betrayal of her former master. She was just fulfilling her duties as a concubine by following the Empress and visiting the Empress Dowager from time to time. These two things would have been perfectly proper under any circumstances.

As for the reduced contact with Consort Rong... Consort Rong will naturally handle this matter well. As long as she doesn't say anything in front of the Emperor, Xie Yun'an won't remember that such a thing happened.

For Xie Yun'an, although Consort Lin Yao had given birth to a princess and had made meritorious suggestions, she was ultimately an insignificant figure and not worth taking to heart.

Unlike the usual morning and evening greetings, today was Consort Rong's first appearance in the palace since giving birth, so she arrived exceptionally punctually, even surprising Shen Qingyin.

When paying respects at Cining Palace, the Empress would sit below the Empress Dowager. Although there was a slight difference in seating position between her and the Consort to show the Empress's nobility, they were still seated roughly to the left and right of each other, and their eyes were still within eye contact.

Therefore, Consort Rong naturally did not miss the probing look in the Empress's eyes, but she did not respond outwardly.

In such a situation, it wouldn't be appropriate to respond with a smile or anything else. Given her past strained relationship with the Empress, anything she did now could easily be interpreted as a provocation.

It would be better to do nothing at all. But to those below, it was a different story. The coldness between the Empress and the Consort was a sign of the rivalry between these two rulers.

Even though the Duke's mansion was in such a state, Consort Rong still didn't seem to respect the Empress much, which shows that the Emperor's favor towards Consort Rong had not completely faded.

Empress Shen and Consort Rong could never have imagined that a brief, fleeting glance between them would cause so much discussion among the concubines below—of course, they wouldn't care even if they knew.

After everyone took their places, a palace maid from Cining Palace went to inform the Empress Dowager to come out. Once the Empress Dowager was seated on the phoenix throne, the Empress and everyone else greeted her in perfect unison.

It must be said that in terms of these etiquettes, the imperial harem truly reflected the strictness of palace rules.

No one dared to be disrespectful in front of the Empress Dowager. Although the Empress Dowager appeared to be magnanimous, she rarely appeared in public and was a more mysterious figure in the palace than the Emperor. Ordinary concubines would only see her a few times a year.

However, this was not the Empress Dowager's fault. Although Empress Dowager Xu liked the liveliness in the palace and was happy to see the young concubines fighting each other, that was all.

She has status and honor, so there's no need for her to be a wicked mother-in-law and share the power of managing the harem with the Empress. After all, the Empress has to listen to and do whatever she says, so why bother to do it herself?

Yao Jinse lowered her eyes slightly, occasionally observing the Empress Dowager who was facing everyone while she was drinking tea.

Today, Empress Dowager Xu looked quite different from her usual self in the Cining Palace, appearing exceptionally dignified and elegant.

Yao Jinse had seen Empress Dowager Xu in private when she was relaxed, so she knew that Empress Dowager Xu was always like this in public. This Empress Dowager, who was just over fifty and not too old, always had many ideas that were different from others. She could not be called eccentric, but in Yao Jinse's opinion, this Empress Dowager had a very strong sense of self-protection deep down. Even Xie Yun'an, her own son, might not be able to break through Empress Dowager Xu's defenses.

As for the reason behind this tight mental defense, Yao Jinse had no idea.

All her previous understanding of Empress Dowager Xu came entirely from the original storyline. In fact, because the Empress Dowager herself had very few scenes in the story, Yao Jinse didn't really understand her.

However, someone who has lived in the palace for so many years is definitely not a simple person. In the past few days, Yao Jinse has been bringing her child in and out of Cining Palace quite often. Besides wanting to befriend the Empress Dowager and have more backers, she also wanted to see just how much power the Empress Dowager really had.

Even now, she still hasn't figured out the Empress Dowager's true strength, and instead has to visit Cining Palace every now and then to avoid offending the Empress Dowager.

"To be honest, I've never been one for much movement, and it's already freezing cold in winter, so you didn't really need to make this trip. However, with the New Year approaching, there are some things that the Empress, being younger, might not be able to explain clearly, so naturally, this old woman will explain them to her." (End of Chapter)