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

Back at Tangdi Palace, it was soon time for dinner.

The exquisite pastries and delicacies from Jiangnan bestowed by the Empress Dowager were indeed quite delicious.

Chu Nianci looked at the jade bracelet and the gemstone mountain that Consort Shu had given him.

I feel that all the nice things I said at Yukun Palace today were really worth it.

Why not get these tangible benefits just by talking?

After dinner, Baozhu sneaked in, knelt on the ground, and took out a blueprint from his pocket.

Chu Nianci took it and looked at it...

The Yin-Yang bottle resembles a narrow-necked wine pot commonly used in the palace.

But the bottle has a hidden secret: a thin, cicada-wing-like partition subtly divides the body of the bottle into two chambers, each leading to a pouring spout.

From the outside, it appears to have only a neck, but in reality, there are two small dots on the lid. Pressing down one side allows you to choose which spout to pour.

It seems ordinary.

The inner walls are winding and shadowy, and the secluded path hides a deadly undercurrent.

"Well done," Chu Nianci said. "To avoid alerting them, you will stay in the Imperial Workshop for a few more days. I will choose the right time to transfer you out."

Baozhu lowered his head, kowtowed, and left.

While helping her wash her hands, Tuanyuan asked, "Your Highness, why did you send Baozhu to find the design of the Yin-Yang Bottle? Are you afraid someone might use it to harm us? Now that we have Consort Shu's protection, who in the palace would dare to provoke us?"

Chu Nianci gently pinched her chubby cheeks.

He shook his head and laughed: "Silly girl, you're thinking too simply. Ever since I thoroughly investigated the Cold Food Powder matter, the Empress and the Grand Commandant's mansion have probably been keeping an eye on me. As for Consort Shu..."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "She only saw me as a handy knife. If the knife is useful, she'll use it; if it's not, she can replace it at any time. Who would bother to protect a knife? Besides, she doesn't fully trust me, after all, I haven't yet pledged my loyalty."

"Huh?" Tuanyuan was confused. "Then why did you pledge allegiance to Consort Shu?"

Chu Nianci remained calm and slowly said, "With the new concubines entering the palace, and me offending the Empress and the Grand Commandant's Mansion, if Consort Shu also attacks me now, we will be caught in a pincer movement and unable to defend ourselves. Only by standing on Consort Shu's side can we avoid being attacked from both sides and gain a chance to catch our breath."

Reunion then suddenly realized, "So that's how it is..."

Chu Nianci said, "However, there are advantages to being someone's scapegoat. At least after the new concubine enters the palace, Consort Shu and her men will not make things difficult for us for the time being."

Just then, a palace maid came to report that Lü Qiao, who served Consort Shu, had arrived.

Chu Nianci thought to herself that the storybook she sent last time should have been read by now, and that this time he was probably waiting for her to present her "pledge of allegiance".

She hurriedly asked someone to lift the curtain and invite her in.

Lu Qiao was dressed in a sky-blue palace gown and looked quite pretty. She bowed respectfully as she entered.

Chu Nian declined to sit in the reunion seat, but Lü Qiao politely declined before finally sitting down.

"Today at Yukun Palace, I am so grateful to you for getting me out of trouble," Chu Nianci said, as she had Tuanyuan hand her a heavy sachet.

Even without Lü Qiao speaking up, she could have easily gotten away with it, but she had to accept the favor.

Green Qiao respectfully declined, saying, "This servant dares not accept such an honor."

Although these words were not warm and even implied a rejection of bribes, Chu Nianci felt that they were better than those who were sweet-talking but treacherous.

Such people are actually more worth getting along with... at least on the surface.

After repeated refusals, Lü Qiao finally accepted the reward money and said respectfully with a slight smile, "My lady, there's no need to overthink it. As long as you sincerely serve Her Majesty, you will surely have a bright future."

"Your Majesty is so dignified and favored by the Emperor. With a master like Your Majesty, I can sleep more soundly now," Chu Nianci said with a smile. Then she lowered her voice and said, "I sincerely follow Your Majesty. I heard that someone secretly made 'that' in the Imperial Workshop. I'm afraid it will cause trouble at the palace banquet and ruin the New Year's Eve banquet, which may be detrimental to Your Majesty."

She didn't mention Consort Yue, since it was only what she had seen.

She would never casually divulge anything based on hearsay or without evidence.

She pushed a folded piece of paper over.

Lu Qiao took it, unfolded it, glanced at it briefly, her expression changed drastically, and she suddenly stood up.

"My lady, this matter is of utmost importance. Please keep it a secret. I will go back and report to Your Majesty immediately." She could no longer sit still. She gave a hasty bow and turned to leave.

Chu Nianci watched her retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Tuanyuan asked with slight surprise, "Your Highness, since Consort Shu is only using us as pawns, discovering the secret of this bottle and telling the Emperor, or exposing it at the banquet, would be another great achievement. Why tell her and let her benefit for nothing?"

"At the New Year's Eve banquet, the Empress Dowager and the Empress will be present. If I am too conspicuous, it will surely bring trouble. In that case, it would be better to give this to Consort Shu as a pledge of loyalty, which can at least dispel her doubts and suspicions."

The Empress Dowager will also attend the family banquet on New Year's Eve.

Since the Empress Dowager has already set her sights on me, it is not the right time to step forward.

This "spotlight" should be given to Consort Shu. If Consort Shu is allowed to rise in status, no force will tolerate it any longer.

In fact, it is also a kind of constraint on her.

The following day, Consort Shu indeed sent over some more rewards in a grand manner.

It seems.

She was quite satisfied with the pledge of loyalty she had given him yesterday.

This demonstrates to everyone in the palace that Chu Nianci is now hers.

Chu Nianci was exactly what he wanted and accepted everything.

After all, with Consort Shu looking after her, many people would have to think twice before trying to harm her.

In the afternoon, she and Aunt Lan arranged to meet Consort Jia to visit Shen Lanbing. On their way back, they passed by the Imperial Garden.

Chu Nianci and Consort Jia were walking together when they suddenly heard someone sneer behind them.

Looking back, it turned out to be Consort Yue.

It turned out that her confinement period had ended and she was released.

She slowly walked forward, her face as cold and disdainful as ever.

Rong Chang's face was full of sarcasm, and his words were barbed: "I thought you still had some backbone, but I didn't expect you to have sided with Consort Shu and gained so much favor by relying on her whims. I wonder how you feel when you're up at night?"

Chu Nianci looked up and saw that Consort Yue's cold face was full of sarcasm.

This Consort Yue still hasn't learned her lesson.

It seems that the Minister of Rites' family is too protective of her, and they speak without thinking.

Unfortunately, although her features were not exceptionally beautiful, she had painstakingly cultivated her skin to be as white and pink as fine porcelain, making her look like a jade beauty from afar. Coupled with the aloof and proud temperament of a well-bred lady, she was indeed a beautiful woman.

Unfortunately, after entering the palace, he was unable to receive the emperor's favor for a long time.

When people become jealous, they become blind to their own eyes and minds.

It's probably because he saw that he had both the Emperor's favor and Consort Shu's goodwill that he jumped out to cause trouble.

Chu Nianci wasn't annoyed, she just smiled slightly: "What do you mean by being subservient to others? Rewards should be shared by sisters. If Sister Yue likes anything, feel free to pick some."

As she spoke, she reached out and pulled a jade hairpin, which Consort Shu had given her, off her head and handed it to Consort Yue.

This woman is extremely proud; how could she possibly accept something that was pulled from her own head?

Sure enough, Consort Yue's face immediately turned cold, and she glanced at her icyly: "Who cares?"

She glanced sideways at Chu Nianci, whose face was as beautiful as a begonia, and could tell at a glance that she had been deeply favored by the Emperor. She thought to herself that she must have used despicable means to gain the Emperor's favor.

She said coolly, "Sister, you really know how to win people over, but there's no need to flatter me or fawn over me. I won't fall for your vixen tricks."

Consort Jia, who came from a military family, was naturally strong-willed and couldn't stand her behavior at all.

Upon hearing this, she coldly retorted: "Consort Yue was chosen to enter the palace because of her excellent character and reputation when she was still young. I never expected her to be a two-faced person who is two-faced, loves to be jealous, and is treacherous."

Consort Yue turned pale upon hearing this.

She had such a cool and noble air about her that she almost lost her composure.

But she dared not casually retort to the high-ranking concubines.

He simply flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

Just then, a carriage carrying water for Consort Shu's palace happened to turn out from the corner of the palace road.

Chu Nianci and Consort Jia quickly moved aside to make way.

Unexpectedly, another palanquin appeared on the other side of the road. The palace servants carrying the palanquin were not paying attention and almost collided with the water cart.

The eunuch driving the carriage was so frightened that he hurriedly reined in his horse, causing the carriage to lurch violently and a half-full water bucket on it to tip over.

With a "splash," most of the bucket of water was poured over Consort Yue...

Consort Yue exclaimed in surprise, as she was soaked from head to toe and became a drowned rat.

The palace maids rushed forward to help him.

The palanquin, startled by the sudden movement, lurched to one side. The person sitting on it leaned to one side, and although the palace servants rushed to support her, the small white dog she was holding was so startled that it struggled and fell straight off.

Chu Nianci reacted quickly, stepping forward and catching the fluffy little thing steadily in her arms.

"Fugui'er!" A middle-aged woman on the palanquin cried out urgently, and suddenly slumped off the palanquin.

Chu Nianci looked up and saw that the woman was in her early forties, with a fair complexion, rosy lips, and bright, dark eyes.

She was tall and elegant, and it was clear that she must have been a beauty in her youth.

At this moment, several palace servants had surrounded her.

"You've met Consort Chun, why aren't you bowing?" said a woman around fifty years old with a round, slightly plump face. She was dressed simply and was clearly a capable steward of the Consort.

Consort Chun?

Chu Nianci suddenly remembered.

She was a concubine of the late emperor and the younger sister of the current empress dowager.

It is said that he was not favored by the late emperor, but thanks to his relationship with the Empress Dowager, he adopted Prince Yong as his son.

Now, as the mother of a prince, her position in the court and the palace is not to be underestimated.

She quickly picked up the puppy and bowed.

Consort Chun, however, disregarded everything else and simply reached out and gently took the puppy from her.

At this moment, Consort Chun suddenly cried out "Ouch!" and swayed to the side: "My hand..."

Chu Nianci hurriedly looked over and saw that Consort Chun's arm was hanging limply. It turned out that she had subconsciously protected the puppy when she was frightened and accidentally twisted her shoulder.

Dislocations are quick to heal and the effects are immediate.

"Your Highness, please bear with it." Chu Nianci said as he got up, put down the puppy, stepped forward, and supported her arm.

"How dare you! Who are you, and how dare you touch the Imperial Concubine?" The aunt immediately tried to stop her.

At this moment, Aunt Lan, who was following Chu Nianci, quickly stepped forward, gave a polite bow to the other aunt, and said with a smile, "Sister Yun, it's been a long time. This is Consort Hui, who has some medical knowledge. She cured my back injury last time. Why don't you let her give it a try?"

Aunt Yun glanced at Aunt Lan, her expression softening somewhat; the two had clearly had a good relationship before.

She glanced at Chu Nianci again, and finally didn't stop him.

Chu Nianci took a deep breath, steadying Consort Chun's shoulder with one hand and supporting her forearm with the other...

Find the right position, gently push upwards, and with a soft "click," the arm will be back in place.

Consort Chun thought her arm was broken and was in excruciating pain, but to her surprise, the little girl made just two light movements and the pain disappeared, and her arm was able to move slowly again.

She breathed a long sigh of relief, and a smile finally appeared on her face: "What a clever girl."

She looked at Chu Nianci and saw that she was bright and beautiful, with intelligent and clever eyes.

It carried with it a mix of appreciation, gratitude, and joy.

So he asked gently and kindly, "What's your name?"