You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Two rows of palace maids held up palace lanterns, the flickering candlelight reflecting the empress's slightly raised chin.

She smiled, her eyes brimming with undisguised pride and excitement.

Her ferret cloak fluttered in the wind, revealing a moon-white dress embroidered with silver underneath. Her hair, which had just been bathed, was simply tied up in a bun.

Once she sat on the throne of Empress, she became the target of everyone's criticism. Since there was no way to avoid it, there was no need to avoid it any further. In order to conceive a royal heir as soon as possible and secure her position as Empress, she did not hesitate to rely on the Empress Dowager and even left forbidden items in the Emperor's food.

Moreover, the dosage was calculated accurately, and with the help of Imperial Physician Zhang, it wouldn't be fatal. It was also administered in an extremely secretive manner, so even if it were discovered, it would be attributed to the palace maid's negligence, and the cause would absolutely not be traced back to her.

If Your Majesty cannot favor Consort Shu.

They would then have to make a choice between the Grand Commandant's mansion and the Zhenguo Mansion, and if poisoning were to occur at this time...

Even though it was a case of earth-shattering magnitude, she gambled that His Majesty wouldn't take the risk, and she was right.

Chu Nianci watched the Empress stride quickly up the golden steps, a mocking smile appearing on her lips.

No matter how meticulously you plan, you are nothing more than a single piece in Duanmu Qingyu's game.

Now that the young emperor has just firmly established himself on the throne, he will never allow anyone to conceive and disrupt his stable situation.

The so-called "serving the emperor in bed" is nothing but a fleeting dream.

Chu Nianci returned to Nuanqing Pavilion and was helped to sleep peacefully by Tuanyuan.

Before she closed her eyes, the image of that peerless, yet unfathomable young emperor appeared in them.

In this emperor's eyes, the women in the harem were nothing more than three categories: pawns, instruments of reproduction, or decorations to maintain the balance of the court.

She doesn't want to be one of those three types of people.

If you want to truly stand out from the crowd, you have to become the apple of his eye.

She wasn't naive enough to believe that the emperor would have a passionate love affair with her.

This is unrealistic.

Although she possessed some beauty and intelligence, her family background was far too humble.

Moreover, her purpose in entering the palace was not to seek genuine affection, but only wealth and glory; she did not seek a devoted partner, but only to enjoy life to the fullest.

Pampering is enough; love is not involved.

Fortunately, a golden opportunity presented itself, allowing her to serve him personally.

After observing for a while, I found that His Majesty usually spends his time in court revising memorials, and the rest of the time he goes to Meiwu to play polo, cuju, and sand table games.

Fortunately, I had learned all three of these things before. The next step is to find a suitable opportunity to gradually deepen my relationship with him.

As night fell, the emperor did not choose any concubines, but only sent word that the empress was attending to the ailing emperor. The news spread throughout the palace overnight.

While Chu Nianci slept soundly, many others experienced sleepless nights.

Yukun Palace.

Upon hearing Lü Qiao's report, Consort Shu slammed the jade comb down on the table, breaking it in two with a "crack." Still furious, she swept all the items on the dressing table to the ground with a "whoosh."

The palace servants were so frightened that they bowed their heads and dared not utter a sound.

Consort Shu's chest heaved, her voice trembling: "It's not the first or fifteenth of the month, yet that old woman, the Empress, got there first!"

The palace servants inside the main hall were so frightened that they fell silent.

Lü Qiao was a maid who had served her since childhood. She was a little older, mature and steady, and also fair-skinned and pretty. She had some influence, so she knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please calm down. His Majesty only summoned her to attend to his illness..."

"Although I am not yet fully recovered, if it were merely a matter of attending to someone in illness, why not summon me?" Consort Shu sneered. "Clearly, it's a pretext to use attending to someone in bed!"

"His Majesty must have Your Highness in his heart," Green Qiao quickly pointed to the tall amethyst incense burner and the tray full of treasures beside her. "Look, she has only just entered the palace, and His Majesty has already bestowed such treasures upon her, and he often comes to visit her..."

Consort Shu sat before the bronze mirror, gazing at her dignified and noble face reflected there. Gradually, her stern expression softened, and tears welled in her eyes. "Lü Qiao," she said, "aside from the Empress, the others are all younger than me, each one as delicate as a flower… Do you think Brother Qingyu will find me too old?"

"Your Highness is only seventeen, the perfect age for peonies to bloom. How can those wildflowers and weeds compare to you?"

Consort Shu gently stroked her cheek and murmured, "My parents only have one daughter, and they both advised me to marry Prince Yong as his principal wife... But I would rather be his concubine than not enter the palace."

Her voice trailed off, as if she were lost in memories.

"I was only twelve years old when I first met him under the plum blossom tree. I could never forget him. Even though I became the laughingstock of the capital, I begged my parents to send me in. I knew that the current empress was not chosen by him personally. She had been married into the palace for over a month and we had not yet consummated our marriage. As long as I gave birth to a prince, I could drive that old woman down, ascend to the throne, and become his rightful wife. We would hold hands and grow old together..."

She suddenly clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh: "But the Empress has abruptly interrupted my dream... Even if it weren't for the Empress's position, she stole Qingyu's virginity, and I absolutely cannot tolerate her!"

Lü Qiao knew that Consort Shu was deeply in love and hated that the Empress held the title of Empress. She hated even more that the Empress had taken the lead. No matter what she said, it was useless.

I could only silently accompany them as they wept.

After a while, he whispered, "Your Majesty, please be patient for now. After all, the Empress Dowager is backing the Empress..."

"You expect me to just endure this?" Consort Shu gritted her teeth.

"We can't touch the Empress right now, but we can clip her wings first. Once she's weak and vulnerable, it will be easy to deal with her again," Green Bridge said softly, raising her eyes.

"His Majesty summoned her tonight only to save face for the Empress Dowager. In terms of family background and appearance, she is not even worthy of carrying your shoes. The Empress's position will be hers sooner or later."

Consort Shu's expression softened slightly, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, and she said, "So what if she serves the emperor first? We'll have to see if her womb can keep up the good work."

"What is the current situation in each palace?"

Qin Zhenxing respectfully said, "Consort Jia practiced the peach blossom whip in anger, Consort Yue embroidered a fragrant handkerchief, Noble Lady Lan turned off the lights early, and in the palaces of Noble Lady Qiao and Consort Bai, countless porcelain pieces were smashed."

"Bah! They dare to covet my time? My period is so strange. Which vile woman caused me to lose my chance to serve the emperor?" she asked the eunuch beside her.

"Your Majesty," the chief eunuch Qin Zhenxing hurriedly said, "Your irregular menstruation this time is related to the discovery of Consort Bai or Consort Qiao. These two are likely the Empress's henchmen."

"Bang!" Consort Shu slammed her hand on the table and asked, "How's the Plum Blossom Dance going?"

Qin Zhenxing lowered his head and said, "There's been no movement from the Empress and Consort Jia, but in the last two days, I heard Consort Bai's palace servants come to inquire about it."

"We didn't catch the tiger, but we caught a fox instead," Consort Shu slammed her hand on the table and said, "Let's deal with these vixens first."

Taoran Pavilion is located on the left side of Yongfu Palace.

The fire crackled and popped, filling the room with warmth.

Consort Bai Qianrou was dressed in a white inner robe embroidered with silver, and with her fair hands holding golden scissors, she was carefully pruning a bonsai of green pines.

The hand that was pruning the branches trembled slightly, and in one fell swoop, a good branch was cut off.

Standing beside her was Yan Rong, the head palace maid who had served her since childhood... This was a dowry specially selected for her by the Grand Commandant's mansion. She was sturdy, with a long face, narrow eyes, and beautiful appearance, and she was efficient in her actions.

"My lady," Yan Rong said softly, but her long eyebrows were filled with worry, "the whole palace is watching. Whoever wins the emperor's favor first will be resented. Anyway, you are currently under house arrest and cannot serve the emperor. Wouldn't it be perfect to have the empress attend to you while you are ill?"

Bai Qianrou put down the scissors, and a hint of anger had spread across her usually innocent and charming face.

"Consort Shu is temporarily unable to serve the Emperor. My grandfather has already submitted a memorial regarding my situation. I thought His Majesty would let me go out out of respect for him," she said, her tone gradually calming down. "Who would have thought that the Empress would get there first in the end."

"I'm afraid that the master got too anxious about the memorials in court, which made His Majesty wary..." Yan Rong said in a low voice.

"I thought that by putting menstrual-inducing drugs in Consort Shu's medicine, my family background would be enough to get ahead," Consort Bai said coldly. "I didn't expect the Empress to interfere halfway through. But it's fine this way... Consort Shu will naturally hate the Empress to the core."

Yan Rong stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness, there is something else. It came from the spies of the Four Treasurys. I have verified it. His Majesty is indeed ill. The Empress and Consort Shu have both sent people to the Qiyuan Hall to burn incense and pray."

Consort Bai gripped the cup in her hand tightly, remaining silent.

Looking across the harem, the only person she truly considered a rival was Consort Jia from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Although Consort Shu was arrogant, she had never caught her eye, and besides, she was currently unable to serve the emperor.

A letter has recently arrived from home urging him to hurry up and win the emperor's favor before Gu Qingmei does.

After playing with it for a long time, she finally raised her eyes, her expression gradually calming down: "The Imperial Observatory has some pawns that I planted in my early years. Let them calculate for me. If my birth date is not in conflict with His Majesty's, then prepare some prayer items and go to the vicinity of Meiwu to pray for blessings."

"Even if burning paper money is forbidden in the palace, dancing a prayer dance is not prohibited," she said, her tone turning cold. "If there are really no problems, we must go all in this time."

Yan Rong was slightly taken aback: "Your Highness, why must we go to Plum Blossom Grove? Can't we stay in our own palace?"

Consort Bai smiled coldly: "In my own palace, who can see it? What's the use of my prayers? Plum Grove is near the football field. I've heard that His Majesty often plays football. What I want is absolute certainty. I must let His Majesty see it with his own eyes."

Yan Rong lowered her head: "Yes, this servant understands."

"Also, how are the preparations for dealing with Consort Lan going?" Consort Bai asked.

"Everything is ready," Yan Rong said.

"This time, I'm killing two birds with one stone," Consort Bai said with a sinister grip on the scissors, her innocent and childlike face filled with only a chilling aura.

Yan Rong silently withdrew and returned to her room, where she took out a small bottle from deep within the cabinet.

She stared at the bottle, her hands trembling slightly... Inside was a highly venomous tick; once released, it would bite and cause festering sores and disfigurement.

Her encouragement of Master Bai to perform a dance was not solely for the purpose of vying for favor.

The secret order from the manor rang in his ears again: even if Bai Qianrou is killed, the Bai family's reputation must be restored.

The only way now is to make her a victim, preferably a pitiful one, so as to cover up her past disgrace and pave the way for the future legitimate daughter to enter the palace.

But... after serving Master Bai for so long, Yan Rong really couldn't bring herself to be cruel.

Just as she was in a daze, Yanqiu, who had entered the palace with her, pushed open the door and came in, smiling, "Sister, why aren't you resting yet? Did you receive a message from home and are too excited to sleep?"

Yan Rong felt a chill run down her spine.

Yes, at home.

Her parents and brothers were still servants of the Bai family; what choice did she have?

"It's okay, I'm going to sleep now," she replied softly, quietly slipping the bottle into her sleeve.