Entering the palace means entering a high position; I'm His Majesty's cousin, who am I afr

After the concubines left, Empress Luo's original dignified and graceful demeanor vanished, replaced by a somewhat melancholy expression.

Seeing this, Caiwei, a lady-in-waiting from Fengyi Palace, offered hot tea: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Don't get angry and harm your health."

Empress Luo waved her hand, indicating that she would not drink, "Consort Hui is increasingly disregarding me."

Caiwei put down her teacup and gently massaged her shoulder. "Every time Your Highness mentions the Second Prince, Consort Hui always gets a little presumptuous."

Empress Luo smiled coldly and remained silent.

What happened at the palace banquet yesterday was already enough to annoy her, and now, just by expressing her concern, Consort Hui has added to her troubles.

It's really unpleasant.

Caiwei sighed, "Speaking of which, Consort Cen's move has backfired. What does Your Majesty plan to do next?"

Empress Luo was also quite troubled by this and remained silent for a moment.

Her original plan was to support one of the selected women from a good family to rise to the top.

Cen Xiaoyi comes from a good family, is obedient, and is indeed capable.

She was originally the best candidate for surrogacy.

Unexpectedly, Madam Ruan went mad and perished together with Cen Xiaoyi, catching her completely off guard.

All the effort I put in during this period was wasted.

A shadow flashed in Empress Luo's phoenix eyes. She ordered in a deep voice, "Gag the imperial physician who prescribed the sedative for Lady Ruan."

Caiwei lowered her voice: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I have already made the arrangements."

Empress Luo sighed deeply: "Now that the Cen family's move has failed, it seems we can only turn our attention to others."

Now, the three imperial concubines are either fathers or hold power, and below them is Consort Shen.

Her position is becoming increasingly unstable.

If he doesn't find an adopted son, it will be even more difficult for him to control the concubines in the palace.

However, she also looked down on her adopted son, who came from a less privileged background.

Otherwise, she would have brought Lady Ruan under her control much earlier, instead of letting Consort Li win her over.

Of the newly entered concubines, apart from the one in Yihua Palace, there are two others: Consort Ji and Consort Bai.

Both were neither favored nor from particularly distinguished families, and neither was as favored as the previously chosen Cen family.

Thinking of this, Empress Luo became quite troubled: "There is no one I can use."

Caiwei pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, why bother seeking out those lower-ranking concubines? Isn't there an excellent choice within the palace?"

Empress Luo raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly understanding what she meant. "You mean Qi Rui?"

Caiwei nodded gently: "Although Consort Hui is a concubine's daughter in the household, our Luo family is a century-old prestigious family, and the Second Prince's background is not bad. Moreover, in terms of bloodline, the Second Prince and Consort Hui are of the same lineage, with similar blood flowing in their veins, making them more intimate and reliable than those adopted sons with no blood relation."

Empress Luo sighed, "How could I not want that? It's just... His Majesty favors Consort Hui and doesn't want them to be separated. Over the years, I've hinted at it many times, but His Majesty has always given me a cold shoulder. What can I do?"

Caiwei said, "His Majesty is kind and compassionate. Seeing Consort Hui's deep love for her son and the Second Prince's young age and pitiful state, it is understandable that he cannot bear to be separated from his flesh and blood. However, if Consort Hui becomes the most suitable person to raise the Second Prince, then the situation will be different."

Empress Luo pondered for a moment, then asked in a cryptic tone, "Have I become the most suitable person to raise Qi Rui?"

That's an interesting statement.

Now her half-sister has risen to the rank of imperial concubine, and her methods and scheming are different from before; she is not easy to deal with.

However, she is patient no matter how long it takes, as long as she can achieve her goal.

*

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Empress Luo quickly investigated the matter of the palace banquet thoroughly.

According to the palace servants who attended to Lady Nguyen, she had gone mad from the grief of losing her child over the past month.

That night, it turned out that Lady Ruan had secretly run away from the palace, and took the opportunity to knock out the palace maids of the Six Bureaus, change her clothes and sneak into the palace banquet.

It's just a pity for Cen Xiaoyi, who lost her life for no reason.

Because the Nguyen family had been pregnant with the emperor's child, and this was a royal secret that should not be publicized, the subsequent matters were handled very gracefully.

The official statement was that Ruan died from postpartum hemorrhage, while Cen Xiaoyi died from an accidental fall.

In reality, both of them were buried hastily. Ruan was buried casually without even a tombstone, while Cen Xiaoyi was at least buried in the imperial concubine mausoleum.

The entire palace sighed for several days, and the matter gradually subsided, with no one mentioning it again by tacit agreement.

After her injury, Shen Jiayu's life was barely comfortable.

Yihua Palace only told the public that it was closed to recuperate, and also asked the Empress for leave.

No need for greetings, Shen Jiayu slept until she naturally woke up every day, then leisurely washed up and ate her meals, spending her days in various ways to pass the time.

The biggest challenge for Shen Jiayu was the medication she needed to take morning and evening.

Even though the Imperial Kitchen sent her plenty of sweet fruits and candied fruits, it still took her quite a while to take her medicine each time.

The wound on her palm gradually scabbed over and healed, leaving a crooked and ugly scar.

Every time Pei Yan applied medicine to her, he could see tears welling up in her eyes.

Upon seeing this, Pei Yan frowned slightly: "I have consulted the imperial physician, and this scar can be faded or eliminated."

Shen Jiayu felt a pang of sadness: "What if it can't be removed?"

She has always been quite vain.

She was pretty as a child, but there was still a flaw. The place, Kitahara, was harsh and dry, and her hair was always dry, brittle, and frizzy.

Some of the general's children mocked her, saying she looked like a poodle.

She almost hit him when she heard that. When she got home, she quickly washed her hair and asked the Duchess for some essential oil to apply.

When the Duchess learned of this, she was both amused and exasperated, but she still went along with her and took meticulous care of her every day.

Over the years, she finally developed a head of flowing, black hair, smooth and silky like clouds and cotton.

Now that there's such an ugly scar on her palm, Shen Jiayu feels depressed just looking at it.

Seeing her dejected appearance, Pei Yan returned to Xuanzheng Hall and ordered Qing'an to go to the imperial treasury to retrieve precious tribute items such as white jade ointment, spring complexion ointment, gelling ointment, and skin-regenerating powder, and send them to Yihua Palace.

Shen Jiayu applied the ointment many times a day until the scars faded, which made her feel better.

That evening, after having dinner, Shen Jiayu sat on the soft couch looking at blueprints to aid digestion.

Now that she holds the rank of second grade, she is rightfully the head of the palace and can have her own small kitchen.

Moreover, she lived alone in Yihua Palace.

They simply cleaned up the entire east side hall and converted it into a small kitchen.

The female official from the Imperial Household Department brought her the renovation plans for review.

Shen Jiayu looked at it carefully for a while under the candlelight and thought it was quite good. It would be convenient to eat whatever she wanted in the future, without having to go to the Imperial Kitchen to make orders.

Just as I was about to send someone to the Sixth Bureau to relay the message, I heard the announcement.

Shen Jiayu rolled her eyes, got off the bed, and went to the door to greet people.

Pei Yan was dressed in a dark blue-black brocade robe today, with silver threads embroidered with water patterns on the lapel. He wore a jade belt around his waist, exuding an air of nobility and majesty.

Upon seeing the woman gracefully bowing at the entrance of the palace, he paused slightly before entering the palace as usual.

Shen Jiayu quickly followed.