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

Li Ruolan's expression was not good, but now that she was with the Empress Dowager, how could she dare to show any temper?

She remained silent, and Consort Wei dared not utter a single word.

The two of them waited there, awaiting the Empress Dowager's summons.

While the master rested inside, the palace maids could not, especially those of Yunxi's status. They were not even allowed to step into Shou Kang Palace and could only wait outside.

As it was the Empress Dowager's residence, its scale was many times larger than that of Yaoguang Palace.

The scent of sandalwood could be smelled even outside the palace, suggesting that when the Empress Dowager was not present, the palace servants would devoutly offer incense every day without daring to slack off.

Yunxi remained silent. The palace maid beside Consort Wei, who had originally wanted to complain to her, also shut her mouth when she saw that Yunxi seemed difficult to deal with.

Well, this is the Empress Dowager's residence after all, and everyone wants to avoid trouble.

It was estimated that it was around 9 AM when the Empress Dowager summoned Li Ruolan and Consort Wei.

The Empress Dowager had indeed just woken up, and her clothes and attire were simple. Compared to the banquet that day, her attire was much more casual now.

However, his expression wasn't good; in fact, one could say he was a little angry.

Li Ruolan had seen all sorts of storms and waves, and by now she had guessed what was going on, so she took the blame upon herself.

"It is all my fault for coming here so abruptly and disturbing the Empress Dowager. I hope the Empress Dowager will forgive me."

She lowered her posture as much as possible, not daring to show even a trace of her usual domineering manner.

After a long period of self-reproach, he even let Yunxi in to present the gifts he had given to the Empress Dowager that day.

"I knew beforehand that the Empress Dowager was a Buddhist. This is a Buddhist text that I found before I entered the palace. I heard that it was written by Master Huikong of Baima Temple. I specially presented it to the Empress Dowager for her review."

Use a strategy of first criticizing and then praising, admitting your mistakes and then presenting the valuable gift you've prepared.

As expected of a member of the Li family, Li Ruolan handles social interactions with remarkable skill and is willing to spend lavishly, leaving even the Empress Dowager at a loss for words.

Given the situation, the Empress Dowager could no longer refuse them, so she simply told them to get up with a cold face.

"I appreciate your kindness, but my Shou Kang Palace does not welcome outsiders, and I especially dislike being disturbed by them."

These words were even harsher than those of Consort Su, directly referring to Li Ruolan and Consort Wei, two of the Emperor's concubines, as outsiders.

In common society, concubines were indeed not respected and were not even treated as family members by the mistress of the house.

Unexpectedly, even though they were already imperial concubines, the Empress Dowager only treated them as concubines and did not regard them as human beings.

Li Ruolan was getting angry, but she could only suppress it and reply "Yes" in front of the Empress Dowager.

Her rank was still too low, and she was easily ordered around by Consort Su. Now, in front of the Empress Dowager, she didn't dare to say a word.

No wonder Consort Su wasn't angry when she was mocked like that before; it turns out she had calculated everything that would happen at the Empress Dowager's place.

Fortunately, there was no one else around, and Li Ruolan felt that she could bear this little grievance.

The First Madam once said that one must be patient in the palace. Once she climbs to a high position, all those women will be like turtles in a jar, none of them a match for her.

The most important thing is to be alive now.

Since the two of them have come, they certainly can't just say hello, drop something, and leave.

Since they were visiting the Empress Dowager, they had to show some sincerity. They also had to follow the Empress Dowager around, doing whatever she did at Shou Kang Palace.

First, he served the Empress Dowager her meals, offered incense and meditated, and finally copied scriptures with her.

Li Ruolan was the least superstitious person here, and she didn't believe that she could gain any benefits from a few sacrifices. She scoffed at the idea and was now even more distressed to have to copy Buddhist scriptures.

The Empress Dowager treated her even more perfunctorily. Despite receiving such precious gifts, she still didn't give her a kind look at all.

Li Ruolan was somewhat angry.

You must understand, these are all treasures that the Li family painstakingly collected, and now they have all been offered to the royal family without a single kind word. No one would be happy in that situation.

In her mind, even the Empress Dowager could not do this after taking something.

She harbored deep resentment, yet she still had to control herself and give him a pleasant expression.

Wei Cairen, who was usually very talkative, didn't dare to say a word. Seeing her dark face, she cautiously poked her.

"Sister, Mo..."

墨？

Li Ruolan was stunned for a while before she realized that the ink on her pen tip had smudged, which meant that the paper she had just copied was now useless.

It's true what they say, what you hate most comes to pass; she was so angry she almost tore the paper in front of her to shreds.

Just then, Granny Li, who was standing nearby, looked over. She felt inexplicably guilty and couldn't even hold the brush steady, getting her clothes dirty in the process.

Today, she is wearing a plain white dress.

The large patch of ink staining her sleeve was a truly appalling sight, causing her to stand up uncontrollably and panic as she looked at it.

The Emperor will be coming soon, and with such a large stain, wouldn't we lose our composure again?

Li Ruolan realized that when a person is unlucky, everything they do is unlucky. Today, all the bad luck seemed to have come together, and she had completely lost face.

Even though she didn't make a sound, the Empress Dowager noticed her.

"Lady Lan, are you unhappy with my decision to have you copy scriptures?"

When that cold yet authoritative voice rang out, Li Ruolan's legs went weak and she knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I have lost my composure today..."

"I still remember you were a highly praised noble lady of the capital before you entered the palace. How come you've become so frivolous after entering the palace..."

"My concubine, my concubine..."

At this moment, Li Ruolan had no way to express her bitterness, nor did she know how to make a good excuse.

If the person opposite her were Consort Su, she could find a hundred reasons to refute them, but the person opposite her was the Empress Dowager.

Filial piety is paramount in everything, and even the emperor would not disobey the Empress Dowager, so what could she do?

The best option right now is to bow your head and admit your mistake. Seeing that her attitude was not bad, the Empress Dowager raised her hand and let Granny Li give her a lecture.

"Your Majesty is merciful. Now that you have behaved improperly in Shou Kang Palace, it is Your Majesty's duty to discipline Consort Lan. Today, you shall carefully copy the virtues, speech, appearance, and work of a woman from the Admonitions for Women three times. You may leave Shou Kang Palace only when you have finished writing them."

"Yes……"

What can Li Ruolan say?

She looked at the stains on her sleeves, and her ears turned red.

Also present was Consort Wei. The previously outspoken Consort Wei was surprisingly steady and cautious here. Following behind her, she made almost no mistakes and even escaped a disaster.

This is the most ironic part: Li Ruolan is now starting to find Wei Cairen displeasing to the eye.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was aware of the importance of harmony within the palace, and since she punished Li Ruolan, she naturally had to punish Consort Wei as well.

"Consort Wei, you came with Consort Lan. She lost her composure, and you were not prepared to help her. Naturally, you should be punished. You should also copy the Inner Rules of the Book of Rites five times to correct your behavior. In the future, the two of you will need to support each other in the harem."

Now that both of them have been punished, Li Ruolan's mood has improved somewhat.

Only Wei Cairen was deathly pale, completely at a loss as to what to do.

She was really terrified.

This is completely different from Consort Su's Zhaoyang Palace. It feels like here, if you say the wrong thing, you could really lose your head.

After Li Mama finished speaking, she had already instructed the palace maids to lay out the Xuan paper for them to copy.

The two women, who were originally considered sisters, suddenly looked at each other and found themselves disliking each other.

Li Ruolan felt that Consort Wei was a burden.

Consort Wei even thought Li Ruolan was a troublemaker.

Just as the stalemate was reaching its conclusion, a palace servant announced that the Emperor had arrived.

Upon hearing this, Li Ruolan, who had been tense, suddenly relaxed and even looked towards the door with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Mu Xiaoci once said that he would come over after the morning court session.

He did it.

In fact, it was perfectly normal for the Emperor to come and pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, but Li Ruolan felt that the other party had come for her sake.

I was deeply moved, and seeing that familiar face made my heart pound even harder.

But when she saw Consort Su behind Mu Xiaoci, her expression froze.

What is Consort Su doing here?

Li Ruolan watched as Mu Xiaoci and Consort Su bowed to the Empress Dowager together. She and Consort Wei also slowly rose and bowed to the Emperor and Consort Su.

This time, as she bowed, she could no longer control her expression, looking at the Emperor with resentment.

Why am I with her?

All the insults I have suffered today are the result of Consort Su's actions!

These words roared in Li Ruolan's heart, and she wished she could run to Mu Xiaoci right now and ask him for an explanation.

But she didn't dare.

Even when he was furious, he could only clench the Xuan paper in his hand and suppress his anger.

Consort Su watched her with great interest.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and the winner and loser of this contest were already clear.

Consort Su stood up and smiled as she looked at the large stain on Li Ruolan's wrist.

"Wasn't my sister previously known as a noble lady? How come you've gotten your sleeves all dirty while copying a book here?"

Every woman knows that dirty clothes are not a good thing; being told that is no different from being publicly ridiculed.

Li Ruolan's eyes immediately reddened, and she looked at Mu Xiaoci with a wronged expression.

Now, even Emperor Mu Xiaoci had no choice but to step forward and take charge of the situation.

"Since you're dirty, go downstairs and change into some clean clothes."

"Yes, sister, you came to Shou Kang Palace dressed in all white. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were performing a sacrifice. You look so somber."

Consort Su's malice was not only intense, but also deadly.

This single sentence pushed Li Ruolan to the brink of disaster and further angered the Empress Dowager.

Only then did Li Ruolan realize why the Empress Dowager was angry when she saw her.

Because she was wearing white.

This is the palace. Even if you don't have such intentions, if someone twists your meaning, you'll be firmly accused and there's no way to escape.

Even though she had just sent over such fine gifts, the Empress Dowager did not give her any face.

Li Ruolan was terrified by these words and broke out in a cold sweat. She dared not imagine what would happen to her if she hadn't brought the Buddhist scripture with her.

Is it to be banished to the cold palace?

Or will he be crippled by the scepter?

Or perhaps, because of insulting the Empress Dowager, he would suffer the fate of having his entire family executed?

...Nobody knows.