He asked you to serve him in bed and become his concubine, how did you manage to win his heart and s

Li Ruolan could never bring herself to like Yunxi.

It's a good thing to be like yourself, but if someone is too much like yourself, she feels inexplicably uncomfortable.

Yunxi usually keeps her head down, and looks timid and submissive, making her hard to take seriously.

But now, when she thinks back to that woman's face, Li Ruolan realizes she has absolutely no memory of it.

Her face was blurry in my mind, but I felt that her appearance was not to be underestimated.

how so?

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, and she even ran out on the spot, determined to see Yunxi's face.

Yunxi stood quietly at the door, just like usual.

When the door to the bedchamber was opened and she saw Li Ruolan appear in a hurry, her heart skipped a beat.

Having just committed a wrong act, Li Ruolan and Granny Gui talked for a long time inside, and she even heard her elder sister crying, which made her somewhat nervous.

He was afraid they would discover his tricks, and even more afraid his plan would be exposed.

Fortunately, Li Ruolan had a smile on her face.

"Little sister, I told you not to overwork yourself. Now that it's autumn, it's easy to catch a chill at night. Why aren't you being careful?"

When Li Ruolan saw Yunxi's ordinary face, she immediately felt relieved.

Her face was unremarkable, but her eyes had a certain charm. However, when combined with her features, there was an odd feeling that made people not want to look at her a second time.

No wonder she never remembered what Yunxi looked like; she was too ugly and chose to ignore her.

All the previous unease dissipated at this moment, and a fake smile appeared on Li Ruolan's face as she continued to gently care for Yunxi.

"It's rare for the Emperor to come all this way, I almost forgot about you. Why are your hands so cold? Come in and warm them up."

She continued talking to herself, and then pulled Yunxi's hand to go inside.

There was no underfloor heating this season, but the bedchamber was indeed more comfortable than outside. Li Ruolan also liked to burn calming incense, and just entering it gave her a feeling of floating on air.

Yunxi pursed her lips, a faint smile on her face, but remained vigilant.

She was still unsure what Li Ruolan was thinking, and even less clear about what Mu Xiaoci had done or said during his visit.

Before anything became clear, she wasn't sure if her plan had worked.

Upon entering, I saw plum blossom cakes on the table, but one piece was missing.

There were two teacups, and the Emperor's teacup remained in its original place, untouched.

This was originally a side hall, and the sleeping quarters weren't very large; you could easily see the path the emperor would take after entering.

I sat at the table listening to music, ate pastries and drank tea before leaving, so...

Yun Xi calmed herself down and realized that her plan was already more than half successful. Now she just had to see how the Emperor would handle it.

As for Li Ruolan, she would never confront the Emperor directly, and the Emperor, being such an exceptionally intelligent person, would not reveal everything.

Yunxi was so familiar with the temperaments of these two people that she could mimic most of what they were doing standing there.

The ten years she spent with them were like walking on thin ice; she couldn't afford to make the slightest mistake. She had long since etched certain things into her mind, and her servility compelled her to react as quickly as possible.

Li Ruolan probably didn't notice.

She's just a good-for-nothing who's bewitched by Mu Xiaoci's good looks. Every time she sees that man, she loses her mind and only knows how to please him. She does whatever he says.

Obedient and docile, like a puppet.

She becomes a different person every time the emperor leaves, forcing Yunxi to do bad and evil things just to gain the emperor's favor.

She's not that obsessed yet, but judging from today's events, the Emperor's departure was only somewhat hasty, yet she's already become so restless. There must already be signs of something amiss.

Yunxi understood, and then came up with an even better idea.

"This servant wishes to congratulate Your Highness. With His Majesty's visit today, it is likely that Your Highness has already earned a place in His heart. Your Highness will surely enjoy continuous favor in the future."

"What do you mean by that?"

Li Ruolan was stunned when Yun Xi congratulated her, and stood there for a moment, not even able to react.

Upon closer inspection, a simple and honest smile appeared on Yunxi's face.

"Your Majesty, I heard that His Majesty has not visited the inner palace for a long time. Recently, the war in the Northwest has become more intense. The barbarians seem to want to wage a chaotic war before winter. There have been several urgent military orders from the battlefield. His Majesty has stayed in the Dragon Palace for several days in a row, and even discussed things with his ministers all night long one day."

But the first thing he did after finishing all that and came to the inner palace was to see the Empress. Doesn't that mean he has the Empress in his heart?

Besides, none of the concubines in the harem have been able to keep the Emperor overnight these days. The Emperor himself came to see the Consort; what could this be but a special favor?

If Gui Mama's words reassured Li Ruolan, then Yunxi's words truly put her at ease.

After all, Granny Gui was kind to her because the Li family had been kind to her.

However, Li Ruolan felt something different about Yunxi's words, and they calmed her anxious heart.

Perhaps it was because Yunxi had taken her place in the emperor's bedchamber that night, leading her to mistakenly believe that Yunxi also wanted to win the emperor's favor, that she felt less jealous of her now that she heard her say this.

It may be less, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can be completely at ease.

Li Ruolan was still somewhat unhappy about the fact that she was so similar to her.

She could only console herself with this thought, suppressing the urge to kill her until the child was born.

Naturally, the Li family did not intend to keep Yunxi for long.

Once a piece is used up, it has only one fate: to shut up forever.

In this world, there is only one way to make someone shut up forever.

The reason she can still smile at Yunxi now is because, in her heart, she has already regarded the other person as dead.

Yunxi glanced at her elder sister, noticing a hint of mockery, but merely chuckled and continued speaking.

"Your Highness, it's late. Let me help you with your dressing. You must make sure you're well-rested today, as Consort Su will definitely make things difficult for you tomorrow. You should be prepared."

Upon hearing the name "Consort Su," Li Ruolan's expression turned serious, and she indeed transferred her hatred towards Yun Xi.

Unfortunately, Yunxi was still within his control, but Consort Su was a different story.

That woman is not to be underestimated; she is of higher status than me and has many tricks up her sleeve.

Since the banquet, Li Ruolan has missed paying her respects several times, always saying that she is unwell and unable to attend.

Consort Su specially ordered her maid, Aunt Rong, to bring the imperial physician over, forcing her to feign illness in order to escape this predicament.

Today, the Emperor has come to her place, so he can go and see Consort Su and get a better look at her frustrated state of anger that she can't control.

"You're right, I really need to get some rest."

After only a few words from Yunxi, Li Ruolan finally felt relieved and sat in front of the mirror waiting for her to do her makeup.

As Granny Gui watched Yunxi pass by, she vaguely sensed something was amiss, but upon closer examination, she couldn't find any fault in Yunxi's words.

Because Yunxi and she said exactly the same thing to Li Ruolan, expressing the same meaning.

It is a servant's duty to put her master at ease, and in this respect, she cannot find fault with Yunxi.

The doubts in her heart were sown at this moment. Granny Gui looked at Yunxi a few more times and decided to observe her carefully from now on.

Yunxi was unaware that Granny Gui had already noticed her, and at the moment she was only thinking about one thing.

That is what Mu Xiaoci will do next.

Granny Gui is just an old palace maid. How could she be more powerful than the Emperor?

-

The next day, Li Ruolan indeed got up very early. When Yunxi was doing her hair and makeup, she took out the gilded Ruyi pendant that the emperor had given her and put it on.

Ever since her argument with Consort Wan, the entire harem knows that the Emperor gave her such a hairpin.

In folk tradition, hairpins were used to express affection.

When a man gives a woman a hairpin, it signifies a vow of eternal love.

If other concubines received a hairpin with such special meaning, they would naturally show it off, so it's no wonder that Li Ruolan treasured it.

Yunxi ignored it and continued to do her makeup.

Because she knew the hairpin had another meaning.

In her past life, Li Ruolan was neglected and used a hairpin to interrogate Mu Xiaoci, only to receive a cold sneer from him.

He said, "Originally, you would never have conceived my child. This Ruyi is my way of telling you to stop thinking about it and to behave yourself in the harem!"

Li Ruolan remembered those words for the rest of her life, and later even smashed the hairpin to pieces.

However, not long after, the previous dynasty was in turmoil, and Mu Xiaoci had no choice but to rely on the Li family. This allowed Li Ruolan to regain her status as a concubine. To make her happy, he even gave her an even more precious hairpin.

Women are easy to coax, especially women like Li Ruolan who are completely devoted to Mu Xiaoci. She quickly fell into self-pity and believed that the emperor really couldn't live without her.

Yunxi knew then that Mu Xiaoci loved no one.

He only loved the throne and his own power and status.

How could such a man possibly be entangled in love? Li Ruolan's attempt to conquer him is nothing but self-deception.

No, all the women in the harem are deceiving themselves, thinking that they are the most special and therefore naturally able to win the emperor's favor.

Even Consort Su, whose background was better than Li Ruolan's, could not escape it.

Yunxi saw all of this clearly and didn't have any further thoughts.

Since Li Ruolan liked it, they put a Ruyi hairpin on her head and silently followed behind her to Zhaoyang Palace to pay their respects.

Li Ruolan arrived quite early today.

The concubines hadn't all arrived yet, but as soon as they entered, they saw her sitting in her seat with a radiant smile.

Consort Wan arrived later, and Li Ruolan gave her a friendly welcome this time, even standing up to greet her as "Sister."

Consort Wan was so angry that she almost lost her balance, and she gritted her teeth as she sat down in her seat.

Last night she went to stop the Emperor, but unfortunately she didn't even see a shadow of him. Instead, she was blocked by Richard's men.

Richard also said that the Emperor was aware of her actions, and while the Emperor still held some lingering affection for her, he advised her to go back and recuperate.

"His Majesty is considerate of the Empress; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me to remind her, fearing that she might catch a cold and fall ill again."

The eunuch's words angered Consort Wan so much that she couldn't sleep all night.

Finally, Consort Wei arrived.

After greeting everyone upon entering, he immediately walked up to Li Ruolan and happily bowed.

"Congratulations, sister! I heard that the Emperor visited you last night."

At this outburst, Consort Su was so angry that she almost dropped her teacup.

They've become so arrogant and overbearing these days!