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

Mu Xiaoci also looked at Consort Su.

He remained calm in the face of her questioning.

No, it should be said that he never cared what Consort Su thought from beginning to end; he only wanted to know whether she was involved or not.

Marrying him was her choice; he didn't force her, and even gave her many privileges because of their years of acquaintance.

True feelings are impossible in the harem; he made her realize that fact long ago.

"Your Highness, I believe in you."

He stood up, not wanting to argue about the matter here. "It's late and the dew is heavy. I still have state affairs to attend to. My beloved consort, you should rest early."

His tone was cold, even somewhat ruthless.

Consort Su was naturally aggrieved, but she stubbornly raised her head, refusing to say a single soft word, let alone try to keep him.

This was the first time the two of them had ever argued.

After Mu Xiaoci's figure disappeared through the door, Consort Su slumped into a wooden chair, her former arrogance long gone.

The palace maids who saw this felt sorry for her and went forward to comfort her.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor grew up with you. This time, he may have been misled by the slander of other palaces."

"Ha, I underestimated that bitch."

Consort Su took a deep breath, silently wiped away the tears that were about to spill from her eyes, and tried her best to return to her usual appearance.

"A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years; how could I possibly lose?"

That's how things are in the imperial harem; vying for favor and power is commonplace. Li Ruolan has her methods, so how could Consort Su not?

Only Consort Wan, who had done so many brainless things before, has finally calmed down these days by the Empress Dowager's side, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures.

The Empress Dowager said that as long as she stayed obediently, no matter how much this matter was brought up again, the Empress Dowager could gradually let it go.

But Consort Wan didn't finish her sentence; she still had some reservations.

And what about Consort Su...?

It was Consort Su who reminded her of the fish paste. Although she didn't say it explicitly, she told her that cats are most susceptible to the temptation of food, especially fish paste, and they would almost frantically fight over it.

This "madness" reminded Consort Wan that there were cats in the garden that were constantly raving and acting crazy.

Back then, the late emperor allowed Consort Yu to keep cats in the palace. Now that she is old and sick, she doesn't take as good care of the cats as before. Even the cages can't keep the female cats in heat out of control, and they have run into her Yaoguang Palace several times.

Cats are afraid of people. When they see someone from a distance, they only meow a few times and dare not approach.

What if he really goes mad?

Consort Wan admitted that this was a bold move, but the spare keys to the various palaces were in the hands of Consort Su. If Consort Su hadn't told her when a eunuch would open the palace to feed the cats, Consort Wan would have had no chance to let the cats out.

However, she did all of these things by herself; Consort Su not only did not participate, but also did not explicitly say so.

What Consort Wan feared most was that Consort Su would reveal all of this and betray her in a time of crisis.

Because of this incident, she began to have sleepless nights. Even with the Empress Dowager's verbal promise to protect her, Consort Wan was still afraid.

Because of this, she even lost a lot of weight, and her cheeks became sunken.

However, the Empress Dowager gradually suppressed the matter, and within three days, no one else was gossiping about it.

Mu Xiaoci once went to Shou Kang Palace to ask the Empress Dowager, who only said that the matter was all the cat's fault.

"It's just a beast. Consort Yu is old. The cat ran into the garden and got scared. It's normal for it to be stressed. I've already ordered people to catch that beast. Didn't His Majesty say that Consort Wan is alright now? In my opinion, the fetus is not yet three months along. It's best not to get angry, and even more so, not to bleed."

The royal family keeps saying they resist feudal superstition, but every time they talk about such important matters, they start bringing up feudal superstition again.

Such days are not good for bloodshed, and even less so for punishment.

The cat has already been dealt with, so why should the Empress Dowager lose another nanny, Li?

Mu Xiaoci could easily understand the meaning behind these words, but he simply smiled and said nothing more.

Ultimately, he had to give the Empress Dowager face no matter what.

The Empress Dowager wanted to protect Consort Wan; could he possibly say no?

"Your Majesty, if you don't want this matter to escalate further, you should let Consort Wan return. Otherwise, rumors will surely spread throughout the palace, saying that living together led to jealousy and murderous intent..."

"When did Your Majesty start believing such hearsay and idle gossip?"

The Empress Dowager was somewhat displeased, and even felt that the Emperor was trying to challenge her.

Mu Xiaoci did not answer, but simply bowed slightly and turned away.

He was unwilling to repeat himself, and if the Empress Dowager insisted, he could only accept the outcome.

Richard followed behind him until they were outside the hall, at which point he spoke in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to let this matter pass like this?"

"If you were of any use, you wouldn't be giving me a bunch of false information. Now you can't even get a single useful piece of information."

Mu Xiaoci rolled her eyes at Richard, but she wasn't really angry.

If the Empress Dowager has intervened, then there's a real problem if Richard actually finds any useful information.

He was angry at the Empress Dowager's protective attitude. It seemed that Consort Wan was not innocent, but why would such a big fuss be made over Consort Wan?

She had previously completely ignored her cousin, Consort Wan.

Mu Xiaoci was feeling troubled and just wanted to find a quiet place to walk around and clear his head.

I was just wandering aimlessly when I unconsciously headed towards the pavilion.

That place was one of the most secluded spots in the palace, but unexpectedly, I met another person there.

Judging from the back view, he thought it was Li Ruolan, but Mu Xiaoci knew that it was Yunxi, the palace maid beside Li Ruolan.

Yunxi is picking camellias.

Li Ruolan has been overjoyed with moving into the palace these past few days and keeps wanting to decorate it.

Just then, Granny Gui came with news that the Emperor had gone to Shou Kang Palace, and perhaps there would be an answer to Consort Wan's matter soon.

The rest of the conversation was not for Yunxi to hear, so she curtsied and withdrew.

"I'll go outside and see if there are any new plum blossoms. If there are, I'll pick a few to decorate."

"Go ahead." Li Ruolan raised an eyebrow, granting her permission to act alone. "Good sister, your health is not what it used to be, so don't go to places too far away."

Yunxi responded and turned to walk to the camellia tree not far from the pavilion.

There were only a few scattered camellias here, and they weren't blooming very well, but it was the peak blooming season, so she took a flower basket and waited patiently.

The rabbit is naturally Mu Xiaoci.

Yunxi knew this emperor all too well. He and the Empress Dowager were never on good terms, so she couldn't refute him.

If I run into trouble over there, I'll always subconsciously come to this pavilion to clear my head.

What others don't know, Yunxi knows.

Having not seen Mu Xiaoci for the past few days, she felt it was time to show up and flirt with him again.

Otherwise, how could I make him remember me?

Yunxi arrived while keeping track of time; there was also a plum blossom in the flower basket.

She did put some thought into it, and specially pinned a flower branch with buds in her hair, which made her otherwise plain face look more pure than usual.

Mu Xiaoci likes unique women.

One must be beautiful and talented; only by combining the two can one truly capture a man's heart.

Li Ruolan was beautiful and could occasionally play the piano for fun. When the two of them were together, they always had endless topics to talk about.

After all, as the emperor, one's standards are always somewhat discerning.

Yunxi cannot show her true face, but she can certainly use other methods to woo the emperor's heart.

For example, being unconventional might be considered a kind of uniqueness.

Just seeing her back, Mu Xiaoci couldn't help but walk towards her.

Richard was surprised to see this scene. In addition to his surprise, he dismissed the palace servants behind him, leaving only the Emperor and Yunxi alone in this area.

Yunxi had already noticed his arrival, but she still pretended to be infatuated with admiring the flowers.

When those bright yellow boots appeared, she seemed startled, knocking over the flower basket and kneeling on the ground.

"Long live the Emperor! This servant was unaware of Your Majesty's arrival. Please forgive me!"

If you're going to put on a show, go all the way. As he lowered his head, the plum blossom bud on his head caught Mu Xiaoci's eye.

"Are the plum blossoms blooming now?"

Yunxi didn't answer immediately. She remained silent for a while before hesitantly speaking.

"Your Majesty, winter is approaching, and the plum blossoms have already sprouted, but it is not yet time for them to bloom."

She had already learned Li Ruolan's tone of voice, to be more coquettish and even more gentle.

But she was a palace maid, so she couldn't be too delicate, and she had to act more honest and simple to be liked.

Sure enough, Mu Xiaoci was drawn to her innocent demeanor. Remembering that he had threatened her before, he felt a pang of pity for her for some reason.

Even without seeing her face, as he stood there looking down at her petite figure, he couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness.

For some reason, he even bent down and picked up the plums she had picked.

"Yunxi of Jingyang Palace?"

"I am here..."

Do you know who picked these plum blossoms?

"Ah...this servant doesn't know..."

Why pick plums?

"This servant smelled the subtle fragrance from afar. Your Highness wanted to decorate Jingyang Palace, and this suddenly reminded me of plum blossoms..."

"Do you know the consequences of picking plums without permission?"

"emperor……"

Yunxi knew that the other party was deliberately provoking her. She originally wanted to pretend to be Xiaobaihua, but after a while, she got a little angry, gritted her teeth, and started to say the opposite of what she meant.

"Your Majesty, this servant is acting on the Empress's orders. If Your Majesty wishes to punish someone, then please punish the Empress as well."

"You have some nerve."

Mu Xiaoci still wanted to make her cry, just like last time, wanting to see her look at him with those watery eyes.

Unexpectedly, the other party refused to listen and even threatened them.

When the other person's hand gripped Yunxi's chin, she stubbornly looked up and glared at him.

"Your Majesty, it's not that I'm audacious, but as Your Majesty said, picking plums without permission is wrong. However, I wasn't acting without permission; I was following orders. So what wrong have I done?"

He got too close, and he began to smell the faint fragrance of plum blossoms again.

It's just unclear whether the fragrance comes from the flower buds or from her body.