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

Even Yunxi was amazed by Li Ruolan's actions today.

She never expected this woman to be this crazy!

Who is Granny Li? How dare she treat the other party so disrespectfully?

In her previous life, Yunxi obtained some information about the Emperor's mother from Granny Li. Even Granny Li dared not use torture, but instead repeatedly tried to win her over before finally prying some useful information out of her.

Even if such an elderly person leaves the palace, no one will neglect them.

Li Ruolan was just a newly promoted concubine, yet she pretended to be important to the Empress Dowager!

Yunxi didn't know many things from her past life. She was probably initially hostile towards Li Mama because Li Ruolan had humiliated her.

No wonder Granny Li said "it's not worth it" to her at the end; it turns out that Granny Li was reminding her that following Li Ruolan wasn't worth her risking her life for...

Now we know everything.

Yunxi kept her head down and remained silent, inwardly cursing Li Ruolan's stupidity a thousand times over.

But Li Ruolan doesn't care about any of that now. She feels that since she is pregnant, the people around the Empress Dowager must give her full respect.

In her mind, the palace belonged to the emperor, and even the empress dowager didn't have much power.

She's just an old, undead woman; she should leave the scene sooner rather than later to protect herself.

As for the palace servants around her, it's no big deal to order them around now.

After only a moment's hesitation, Granny Li quickly understood Li Ruolan's meaning and stepped forward to help her into the hall.

"Your Majesty, please be careful. This is Shou Kang Palace. This is your second time here, so you may not be familiar with the way."

This sound was both a warning and a wake-up call.

It was just a one-time favor, and Li Mama could tolerate this, but that didn't mean the Empress Dowager could.

Li Ruolan has only just been promoted to the rank of Consort, yet she dares to be so arrogant. I wonder what gives her the confidence?

With so many women in the harem, there will be many children in the future; it's only a matter of time. As for Li Ruolan, she probably just wants to die.

To everyone's surprise, such a warning was no threat to Li Ruolan, and her smile deepened.

"The old lady is so kind. Not only did she help me into the palace, but she also said those words, which really made me feel safe."

After she finished speaking, she took the old woman's hand and handed her a heavy gold ingot.

"Granny, you must think I'm a bit spoiled, but if you knew that I'm just a pitiful woman in the harem, you would feel sorry for me."

The weight of the gold in her palm was impossible to ignore; even Granny Li's eyes trembled.

"Your Majesty, this is..."

"Of course, I thank Granny Li for her help. I have come here sincerely to see the Empress Dowager, so I would be grateful if you could put in a good word for me with her."

Li Ruolan bowed slightly, the movement was not large.

Normally, one would definitely think she was being perfunctory, but she deliberately covered her abdomen with her hands, making one think that she was already pregnant.

Granny Li took a deep breath, her opinion of her changed somewhat, and she carefully put away the gold in her hand.

"This old servant will take his leave now. The Empress Dowager still needs this old servant's attention."

As someone close to the Empress Dowager, she spoke with neither servility nor arrogance when she stepped down, unlike other palace servants who fawned over her after receiving money.

Li Ruolan nodded and slowly sat down.

She looked around and carefully examined the decorations in the hall. Sure enough, she saw the birthday gift she had given to the Empress Dowager not far away.

It was placed in a perfectly balanced position, neither at the very back nor in the very center.

It seems that the Empress Dowager does indeed know the ways of the inner palace, yet she still foolishly tries to treat everyone equally.

But this is the imperial harem; no matter what, she is just one of the women in the harem.

This bowl of water cannot be held level.

Li Ruolan knew that the Empress Dowager disliked her, and that trying to please her in the conventional way would only make the Empress Dowager look down on her even more, so she had to find another way.

It may seem like an insult to Granny Li, but in reality, it was just another way to test her to see if she was a calm and composed person.

I've tested it; it's a calm and collected person.

Yes, he's someone who can be won over.

The Empress Dowager is naive and inexperienced, but now that the Emperor has entrusted her with the power to manage the six palaces, it means that in the future, Consort Su, like herself, will have to come here to pay her respects.

However, the handover ceremony has not yet begun, so she needs to seize the initiative.

As for her feelings towards the Empress Dowager...

Li Ruolan rolled her eyes. In this harem, she really looked down on everyone, including the Empress Dowager and that sickly Empress.

Despite holding power, they willingly relinquish it; Li Ruolan despises these kinds of people the most.

If it were her, she would hold onto everything she could use and would never allow anyone to disobey her.

People without ambition are easily bullied, and Li Ruolan saw this clearly.

Everything we're doing now is simply to climb higher.

After leaving, Granny Li immediately went to find the Empress Dowager and also mentioned that Li Ruolan had given her gold.

The Empress Dowager had just stood up when she heard this, and without even raising an eyebrow, she let out a cold laugh.

"It's more like the behavior of a nouveau riche."

"Your Majesty, what exactly does Consort Lan intend to do?"

"Naturally, she felt that I had humiliated her yesterday, and she was looking for an opportunity to regain face."

"She's newly pregnant and has been promoted to the rank of concubine, why is she still so dissatisfied?" Granny Li's tone was somewhat resentful.

In this imperial harem, what Li Ruolan obtained was something many concubines could never achieve in their entire lives.

Even worse, some have never been able to meet the emperor since entering the palace.

As for her, aside from her pregnancy, it is said that she was favored by the emperor before, and the emperor even visited her palace several times. Even if he did not stay overnight, he never neglected her.

After returning to the palace, the Empress Dowager inquired about many new developments in the inner palace and learned about Li Ruolan's character. Now, she was even able to discern what this woman was thinking.

"For an ambitious woman, she wants more than just this. I'm afraid the Emperor has given me the authority to manage the six palaces, just to curry favor with me."

The Empress Dowager is old and no longer interested in these internal power struggles. She also despises Li Ruolan's attempts to curry favor.

However, this Consort Lan today is far too blind, trying to bribe the palace maid beside her with a single ingot of gold.

At this moment, it was Li Mama who didn't understand the Empress Dowager's thoughts. She lowered her head and asked, "Does the Empress Dowager intend to see Consort Lan?"

"No rush, come and help me with my hair and makeup. I haven't offered incense yet today."

The Empress Dowager was deliberately trying to temper Li Ruolan's temperament.

Even though he knew she was easily angered, especially after giving her gold, he still hoped the other party would treat her better.

After all, gold was a hard currency in the imperial harem. As long as there was a need, there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished with gold.

In the imperial harem, gold was the one thing that was never lacking.

Li Ruolan waited even longer this time than last time. She had no idea how much time had passed.

All I knew was that my tea was almost finished, but no palace servant came to refill it.

This shows that she encountered a setback here.

But she wasn't in a hurry and continued to wait patiently.

She was no ordinary concubine now; she was pregnant. Since the Empress Dowager was being negligent, she would let her be negligent. If something really went wrong later, the Empress Dowager would have a hard time handling the situation.

This is a game between two women, and the first bet is on who will concede first.

After an unknown amount of time, Granny Li finally appeared and told Li Ruolan that the Empress Dowager had woken up.

"Granny Li, what time is it now? The imperial physician said I'm not feeling well and I need to take my medicine at Chen Shi (7-9 AM)."

Li Ruolan feigned weakness, listlessly propping herself up as if she were truly ill.

At this moment, Li Mama's eyes held a hint of ruthlessness as she looked at her.

Sure enough, the quiet one was definitely up to no good; the Empress Dowager guessed right again.

The Empress Dowager knew Li Ruolan's temperament, of course. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed, the Empress Dowager said that when she came to pay her respects, Li Ruolan would definitely find someone to complain that she had been neglected.

Now, his words have come true; the other party is indeed no pushover and is now waiting for him here.

Granny Li smiled and stepped forward.

"If Consort Lan feels unwell, this old servant will go and summon the imperial physician to take her pulse, so that you can rest assured."

"There's no need to trouble Granny Li with that. Just have one of my maids outside fetch the medicine for me. No matter how urgent it is, once I'm at Shou Kang Palace, I must first pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Anyone who is faking a pregnancy will definitely panic when they hear this.

But Li Ruolan remained calm and composed, even handling the situation with ease, diverting attention with other means before heading straight for the Empress Dowager.

"The Empress Dowager has just finished her breakfast and is still reciting scriptures, so I'm afraid she won't have time to see Consort Lan."

"Then I will wait. Granny Li, could you please prepare some writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone for me, so that I can copy some Buddhist scriptures and receive guidance from the Empress Dowager?"

This means refusing to leave.

Instead of mentioning her own discomfort, Li Ruolan used it to force the Empress Dowager to see her.

The more the Empress Dowager didn't want to see her, the more she would do the opposite.

There's a saying, isn't there?

Go ahead to dangers.

She needed to let the Empress Dowager know that while her temper was indeed somewhat unpleasant, she was also intelligent.

Compared to Consort Su, who had conflicts with the Empress Dowager, disdained her, and refused to flatter her, all of Consort Su's shortcomings could be turned into advantages.

After all, who would want to be attacked from both sides in the harem?

Consort Su will surely beg the Emperor for mercy before handing over power to the six palaces. If she is unwilling to hand it over or leaves the Empress Dowager with a mess, someone will definitely step in to play the bad cop.

Li Ruolan was giving the Empress Dowager a chance; she felt she was the perfect person to play the villain.

After all, she didn't even give the Empress Dowager any face today.

This tactic, though crude, still had some effect.

Yunxi only realized what was happening later. She carried Li Ruolan's medicine into the palace and saw that Li Ruolan was already talking to the Empress Dowager with a smile.

Li Ruolan's move of putting herself in a do-or-die situation made her look at her in a new light.

But she also realized that the Empress Dowager seemed unhappy about being blackmailed...

Shou Kang Palace is indeed lively today. Consort Wan has also come, saying that she came specifically to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.

I forgot to mention that Consort Wan and the Empress Dowager were related by blood.

If you really want to figure it out, she is the Empress Dowager's cousin.

However, the relationship was far removed from reality, not to mention that the Empress Dowager might not even want to acknowledge her.