After rebirth, His Highness Xinshu was pampered by me.

See Chapter 473

The emperor frowned upon hearing this, then waved his hand and said, "I'm not asking about the fifth prince; I'm asking about the others on the empress's side."

Not the Fifth Prince?
Jinse slowly shook her head.

To be honest, she couldn't think of anyone from Empress Li's side that she had met recently.

It was the twelfth prince who suddenly spoke up: "Sister Jinse, you should have only seen that former imperial tea room maid named Chalan recently? I heard that she is now in the harem of the Prince of Ankang?"

The twelfth prince did not say that Chalan was Empress Li's person.

However, it was emphasized that Cha Lan was once a palace maid in the Imperial Tea Room, but now she is in the backyard of the Prince of Ankang.

Everyone knows that the Princess Consort of Ankang and Empress Li are very close.

The emperor frowned upon hearing this, looked in the direction of the twelfth prince, and asked in a serious tone, "Is what you said true?"

The twelfth prince feigned ignorance of the emperor's serious expression, nodded, and said, "It is said that the palace maid who entered the harem of the Prince of Ankang has visited my twelfth prince's residence several times to speak with Sister Jinse. Is it Sister Jinse?"

Jinse was taken aback.

After hesitating for a moment, he nodded.

It wasn't a secret that Cha Lan often came to see her. She hadn't thought about it before, but since the Twelfth Prince had brought it up, she naturally wouldn't lie or refute his words.

He honestly and simply recounted how Cha Lan had contacted him several times.

After she finished explaining, Jinse said hesitantly, "Actually, she didn't say anything particularly important several times, and this servant didn't know she was on the Empress's side..."

After all, Cha Lan never mentioned that she was now on the Empress's side...

Well, even if Chalan is on the Empress's side, she definitely won't tell me.

Thinking of this, Jinse sighed.

The emperor nodded after listening, indicating that he understood.

I didn't say much about this matter.

After keeping Jinse and the others for a while, the twelfth prince and Jinse withdrew.

Then he instructed Eunuch Yang to thoroughly investigate Empress Li, the Prince of Ankang's residence, and the matter of that person named Cha Lan.

Even Eunuch Yang was surprised that the palace maid from the Imperial Tea Room would end up in the Prince of Ankang's residence after leaving the palace. Tsk tsk, this is quite something...

Cha Lan's matter is easy to investigate, since her whereabouts are not particularly well hidden.

So it just depends on whether others want to investigate him or not.

But that's something for later.

At that moment, Jinse followed the twelfth prince out of the palace. After getting into the carriage, Jinse couldn't help but take out the small seal again.

Jinse couldn't help but look closely, her mind filled with questions.

After looking at it for a while, she couldn't help but ask the twelfth prince, "Your Highness, why did the Emperor suddenly bestow this seal upon me?"

As Eunuch Yang said, very few female officials had ever been able to obtain their own rank seals in the past, so why did she have one now?

The twelfth prince reached out and took the seal from Jinse's hand, glanced at it twice, and then put it back into Jinse's hand.

"It's just a seal of a seventh-rank female official. At least it's on file at the seal-making office. It's not very useful on a daily basis. It can only make things easier for you when you need it. It's not that important, just keep it and use it, Sister Jinse."

It was specially given to me by my father, so it's naturally usable.

However, this is the capital city. If you walk down the street, you can probably pick out an official or an official's wife from among three or five people.

The seventh rank is somewhere in between, neither high nor low, and not particularly important.

Of course, although this seal is only a seventh-rank minor seal, it is still a unique item and can be useful in certain situations. Jinse nodded, seemingly understanding.

For the time being, she couldn't figure out what use this little seal could be.

But since the twelfth prince said that she could use it for daily tasks, she naturally planned to carry it with her at all times.

Whether or not you need it is another matter, but it's better to carry it with you just in case.

Upon returning to the Twelfth Prince's residence, Jinse indeed found some silk thread, made a necklace, and hung the seal around her neck.

The days that followed...

On the day the emperor summoned Jinse, although Jinse entered the palace with the twelfth prince, she thus minimized her presence.

But this matter was still noticed by those who were interested.

The matter of the marriage alliance was already the subject of much discussion, and Empress Li's lineage often mentioned Jinse's name.

Now, Jinse has been summoned by the emperor at this time.

Immediately, some people speculated whether the emperor was about to make a statement on the marriage alliance.

Perhaps the emperor is about to agree to the marriage alliance? Perhaps the chosen bride is that palace maid named Jinse?
For a time, the matter of the marriage alliance was once again the subject of much discussion.

The imperial court was in an uproar.

But the emperor remained indifferent and made no comment.

Over time, wise people gradually discerned the emperor's attitude towards the marriage alliance from his silence.

For a while, many people quieted down.

Of course, there were also some clever people who saw through something and did not want to give up easily, such as the people of Empress Li's lineage.

However, at times, most of Empress Li's relatives didn't understand why she disliked that little palace maid so much and insisted on sending her to Daliang.

Don't say that the new emperor of Liang just took a fancy to that little palace maid.

Would an emperor go to such great lengths for a mere palace maid he takes a fancy to?

This is clearly Empress Li's own selfish motive!
But what exactly is the purpose of this selfish motive?

It seems that few people can understand this reason.

The emperor, however, felt that he was gradually beginning to understand.

So, one morning after the court session, with not much to do, the Emperor suddenly arrived at Fengzhao Palace.

This was the first time the emperor had appeared since the Fengzhao Palace had been closed for so long.

In Fengzhao Palace, Empress Li, impeccably dressed, sat on her phoenix throne with the same majesty as ever.

From a distance, she still seemed to be the Empress who held power in the palace.

However, upon closer inspection, one can see that her expression no longer possesses the invincible air she once had; instead, it exudes a cold and ruthless aura at all times.

Upon seeing the Emperor, Empress Li stared at him for a moment before slowly rising and performing a proper curtsy: "Your Majesty, I greet you."

The emperor ignored her and didn't even go any further after entering the room.

He simply stood there, staring intently at Empress Li.

After watching for a while, the emperor said, "Recently, it seems that many people in the Li family are curious about why the empress is so fixated on a little palace maid. Even I was quite curious at first..."

Upon hearing this, Empress Li paused for a moment, and then, without waiting for the emperor to dispense with the formalities, she slowly stood up on her own.

She said coldly, "What's so curious about that? I am His Majesty's Empress, and I have the responsibility to supervise. That little palace maid has repeatedly caused His Majesty to make exceptions, which is heresy. Naturally, I cannot keep her!"