Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Qiaoyu hesitated. The Empress certainly didn't want to see His Majesty right now. If she woke her up, she probably wouldn't get a good night's sleep either.

They never usually think about their Phoenix Palace, but now they're putting on a show of deep affection.

She forced herself to say, "Your Majesty, since the Empress is already asleep, why don't you move to the dining room? The kitchen has prepared Suzhou cuisine today; Your Majesty may have a taste."

"How dare you! It's not your place to tell me what to do!"

Xiao Heng roared, and all the servants in the courtyard knelt down.

He pointed at Qiaoyu with his finger: "Just do your duty as a servant!"

Then, bypassing Qiaoyu, he pushed open the door himself.

Qiaoyu wasn't lying; Wei Rong was indeed asleep. Incense for calming the nerves was lit in the hall, and only one night candle was left on.

A bed canopy hung down, making the sleeping beauty inside appear serene and gentle, one hand resting on the pillow, her breathing light and shallow.

Xiao Heng had initially suspected that Wei Rong was avoiding him, but upon seeing this scene, he couldn't help but slow his pace and sit down beside her bed.

Wei Rong must have been dreaming; the calming medicine and incense had put her into a deep sleep.

The lights were dim, but you could see that the back of her hand, which was resting on the pillow, was bright red.

Xiao Heng had seen a similar burn on Shen Mingxiu's hand before. It happened during a daytime sacrificial ceremony, when incense ash fell on her hands. A woman's skin is delicate and easily burned.

Xiao Heng remembered that Shen Mingxiu immediately turned red in the eyes and begged him to apply the medicine for her.

But Wei Rong, he never heard her say a word.

Then he remembered that Wei Rong had never complained to him about her injuries.

They had once been involved in a palace coup, during which Wei Rong was taken hostage and narrowly escaped being slashed on the neck. Afterwards, she simply smiled at him and comforted him, telling him not to worry.

Xiao Heng's heart softened, and he took her hand to examine the wound.

Qiaoyu followed her in and knelt by the bed, watching nervously.

"Tomorrow I'll have the Imperial Hospital send over some ointment for your lady to apply. What good stuff could the Phoenix Palace possibly have?"

The medicine applied to Wei Rong was given by Physician Qian. Qiaoyu always thought that Physician Qian was a treasure chest, and he could pull out anything from that small medicine box.

He's much more reliable than His Majesty in front of us.

But he knew that Wei Rong's injury was caused by burning with incense ash: "Take it three times a day, don't get it wet or expose it to the sun, and once it scabs over, it will remain clean and white."

Compared to Xiao Heng's tone, which conveyed a sense of favor, Qiaoyu still trusted Physician Qian more.

But Qiaoyu could only express her gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

A charcoal brazier was still burning in the room, and a quilt was covering her. In her sleep, Wei Rong pulled her hand back, pushed the quilt away, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly.

The undergarment she wore made her shoulders appear thin and flabby.

Xiao Heng patted the top, seemingly lost in thought, and then got up and left the Phoenix Palace.

Qiaoyu breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

On the seventh day of the month, when the court resumed its session, it was heard that the previous court had been in an uproar over the ban on military operations, with several factions arguing heatedly.

Even with such a great opportunity, everyone wants their own people to rise to the top.

They argued about this for many days without reaching a conclusion.

"I heard that the Ministry of War later recommended Lord Yun Sheng. The Yun family has never been involved in factional strife, and he is the grandson of the former commander of the Imperial Guards. Several elders also spoke on his behalf."

Wei Rong was embroidering a handkerchief, but she was never very good at needlework and liked to use rose pink to embroider crabapple blossoms, so the result was a flower that looked like a mess.

"and then?"

"His Majesty actually agreed!" Qiaoyu looked at her with admiration. "How did Your Highness know that the Prime Minister would definitely help us, and that His Majesty would definitely agree?"

"I don't know," Wei Rong said, focused on embroidering her handkerchief. "I just felt he wouldn't lie to me, especially since he'd already offered me all the terms."

As for Xiao Heng, that's easy to guess.

His imperial guards only need his own trusted confidants. The Yun family was wrongly judged by the late emperor, and he will be loyal to whoever reinstates him now.

It's just the art of emperors.

"But Lord Yun Sheng was unaware that you were the one making plans for him."

Wei Rong was tired. She handed the handkerchief to Qiaoyu and shook her sore hands. "I was unable to help the Yun family back then, which led to Grandpa Yun's untimely death. This has always been a knot in my father's heart. This time, let's put his mind at ease."

When Ling Xianru asked her about the conditions, she realized she couldn't fully trust this person.

Therefore, the conditions proposed could not be something he could use against them, so they went along with it and gave it to Yun Sheng.

Wei Xing had just been promoted. As long as he didn't make any mistakes, the Wei family could still maintain a foothold in Yunjing after accumulating military merits over the years.

In the future—even if she's not around, it won't have much of an impact.

That was Wei Rong's plan.

But it was too early for all of this. She tilted her head and asked, "Where's Shen Mingxiu?"

She didn't believe that Xiao Heng had no one to suspect about Caiyue's death; in the end, it was nothing more than a cover-up.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have even bothered to have someone investigate.

He wanted to play dumb to avoid trouble, but Wei Rong remembered this debt clearly.

However, Shen Mingxiu seemed to understand this principle as well. After that day, there was no commotion in Chuxiu Palace. She behaved herself as if she had admitted her mistake.

He also closed his doors to visitors, claiming it was to recuperate.

She didn't know if Xiao Heng had said something to her, or if she herself felt guilty.

This year, while not particularly exciting or turbulent, passed by peacefully and steadily.

Empress Wei Rong couldn't stay ill forever. Wei Xing was granted a title, and the people in the palace, used to opportunistic, rushed over to pay their respects to Wei Rong.

So when spring arrived, Wei Rong simply resumed the daily greetings.

Shen Mingxiu presented an apology gift, a piece of fine silk fabric, which she said was a tribute from the Western Regions and that there was only one of its kind.

Xiao Heng bestowed it upon her, but she felt unworthy of it. Coincidentally, she was unwell and unable to pay her respects, so she gave it to Wei Rong instead.

Wei Rong could tell whether it was an apology or a provocation born of her favor.

The concubines that Xiao Heng took into his harem were all daughters of several court officials whom he had won over when he needed to consolidate his power on the throne.

These men were all of average appearance and skill, which is why the harem remained peaceful and stable.

"It seems we really need a few new faces to steal the limelight from Consort Xian."

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the sky cleared and the snow melted, all things regained their vitality, and the area inside and outside the palace walls was lush and green.

Wei Rong went to pay her respects to Feng Zuyi early in the morning.

She also brought along the piece of silk that Shen Mingxiu had sent: "This silk was sent by Consort Xian. I feel that only Your Majesty is worthy of such a precious material, so I'm just passing it on as a gift."

That's true. She glanced at the silk and waved for Granny Gui to accept it.

The other person was clearly still angry, looking at her with a disdainful expression: "You got the benefit, and now you're trying to act all innocent here."

"I didn't even know I had gotten a good deal," Wei Rong said, trying to pick at the scab on the back of her hand. But Qiaoyu had told her three times a day not to, saying that Physician Qian said picking at it would leave a scar, so she stopped: "Anyway, someone else got a good deal."

News of palace gossip spreads quickly, and Feng Zuyi had already heard about Caiyue's affair: "You really are suffering in silence."

In her eyes, Shen Mingxiu was nothing short of a vixen, who had Xiao Heng completely bewitched and unable to distinguish right from wrong.

A palace maid was murdered in the palace, and he only cared about his own interests.

If things continue like this, wouldn't Shen Mingxiu become a scourge to the country and its people, and would she ruin the Xiao family's empire?

Unfortunately, her foolish son, Xiao Heng, was always going against her!

"It seems Your Majesty has no excuse to refuse this year's imperial concubine selection. I know the Empress Dowager is troubled by this, and I would like to say a few words."

Compared to Shen Mingxiu, Feng Zuyi naturally found Wei Rong more agreeable: "Speak."