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

Yunxi's throat hasn't fully recovered these past few days, but the scratches on her hands have faded considerably.

The radish chunks I forced down that day cut my throat, and it won't heal quickly.

Fortunately, she didn't need to say much, so no one noticed her.

On the day of the birthday banquet, she couldn't reveal the slightest clue, including her voice, which had to be completely unrecognizable.

The quickest way was to get the medicine from the Imperial Hospital.

But the current Imperial Hospital...

Yunxi carefully recalled her past memories, trying to remember something.

In her previous life, the connections within the Imperial Hospital were arranged by the Li family. She simply followed the instructions of Li Ruolan and Granny Gui, and didn't pay much attention to the affairs of the Imperial Hospital.

No, it should be said that she was afraid of the imperial physician.

She was terrified that the imperial physician would discover she was the mother of two children, and even more afraid that her surrogacy would be exposed.

Now, she must change the status quo.

She still needed to carefully consider how to select suitable teammates from the Imperial Hospital.

As luck would have it, they ran into Consort Wei and Consort Qiu, who were on their way to visit Yaoguang Palace.

These two concubines were of low rank, and their fathers held relatively low official positions; they were practically ignored in the harem.

Their father, like the Li family, was a modernist, and his entry into the palace was also due to circumstances.

Unfortunately, the Emperor has been preoccupied with the war and has not visited the inner palace for a long time, so they have no chance to see him.

Since entering the palace, she has never been the emperor's concubine.

Upon encountering her on the palace road, Yunxi dared not pretend not to know her, and immediately stopped, bowing her head in greeting.

"Consort Wei, Qiu Changzai."

Consort Wei was also a proud woman; she didn't even glance at her from beginning to end.

Only Qiu Changzai nodded to her and called her "Yunxi".

Upon hearing that familiar name, Wei Cai Ren finally glanced at Yun Xi. "So it's Yun Xi. I hadn't noticed before. Why are you out here? Did Sister Lan have some other instructions?"

Consort Wei is now eager to make her presence felt in front of Li Ruolan. Most of the concubines in the harem don't like them, and their maternal families are also unfavorable, so they can only rely on the Li family to survive.

Now, if one wants to gain the Emperor's attention, the only option is to try and get closer to Li Ruolan.

After all, they didn't even have the chance to enter the venue for this birthday celebration.

The emperor had three thousand concubines in his harem, but only those concubines of high rank were allowed to attend the real family banquets.

They came today precisely because of this worry, hoping that Li Ruolan could come up with a suggestion so that they could gain some exposure in front of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

Yunxi was aware of their purpose, but she couldn't reveal where she was going.

"Your Majesty is preparing your attire for today's banquet. I was thinking of looking in the Imperial Garden to see if I could pick some flowers for Your Majesty to use for bathing."

"So this is Sister Lan's beauty secret? She bathes with fresh flower petals every day?"

"Not often, fresh milk is available only occasionally..."

Yunxi kept her head down, clearly unwilling to reveal any more information.

But Consort Wei acted as if she couldn't see it, and moved even closer, "Fresh milk? Such a rare thing, only concubines of this rank can receive it in the palace, right?"

"After the last time Your Majesty served the Emperor, he bestowed many rewards upon you. During those days, whatever Your Majesty desired, the Imperial Household Department would arrange it for you."

But ever since the Emperor had not stepped into the inner palace for a long time, the Imperial Household Department's enthusiasm for them had waned.

Fortunately, the Li family provided enough silver. Li Ruolan was not short of money, and the rewards she gave were generous, so naturally some people were eager to curry favor with her.

As far as she knew, Wei Cai's family was quite well-off.

She slightly raised her eyes and looked at Consort Wei.

"If you would like to know what Your Highness uses on a daily basis, I can prepare a set and send it to Your Highness in the future."

Consort Wei finally heard what she wanted to hear, and beamed with joy. She handed Yunxi some silver coins, saying, "Then I'll trouble you. I'm close to Sister Lan, so you don't need to tell her about this, lest she think that we've developed feelings for each other."

These people like to beat around the bush when they talk.

The implication was that Yunxi should not speak out of turn, and especially not tell Li Ruolan about this matter.

Li Ruolan's jealousy was obvious to everyone, including Consort Wei.

She didn't want to anger Li Ruolan at this time; she only thought about the day she would be favored and no longer depend on the Li family. Only then would she want to be the one who had others fawn over her.

Many of the concubines in the harem had this idea, and Yunxi herself was also scheming for herself.

On this point, she didn't think there was anything wrong with what Consort Wei said.

"I will obey Your Majesty."

She nodded in agreement, and even glanced at Qiu Changzai beside her, noticing that she was still as sullen as ever.

—It's like my past life.

The thought flashed through Yunxi's mind, and she didn't want to dwell on it. After saying goodbye, she took the flower basket and continued walking towards the Imperial Hospital.

Whether inside or outside the palace, money can make the devil turn the millstone.

She brought money with her to get medicine today.

The people in the Imperial Medical Academy also spoke according to status. Knowing that she came from Yaoguang Palace, they weren't particularly polite to her.

"I need some herbal medicine to treat her throat, preferably something that works quickly. The Empress has a sore throat, and the Emperor loves to hear her sing."

In the past, she certainly wouldn't have dared to lie like that.

But now, these words just come out of his mouth.

Sure enough, upon hearing the words "Emperor," even the young apprentice who was preparing her medicine became much more gentle.

The price was exorbitant; it was only a packet of medicinal herbs, yet it cost a gold ingot.

Yunxi lost the gold and turned to leave, not intending to stay any longer.

Just before she was about to leave, a person dressed as an imperial physician stopped her.

"Um, it's you who's sick, not your master, right?"

Yunxi narrowed her eyes as she looked at the person in front of her, feeling a bit more wary.

"What urgent matter is it?"

"Your voice sounds a bit hoarse, but unfortunately it's too soft. It's hard to hear clearly from a distance. There are several types of sore throats, with wind-cold and damp-heat being the two most common, but neither applies to you. It seems your hoarseness is caused by external factors, so you don't need to take these medications. They only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."

The person opposite also had their head down, but their speech was completely at odds with their appearance; they talked non-stop without ever stopping.

This was the first time Yunxi had ever heard someone speak such a long string of words without taking a breath. She didn't like the person and just wanted to get away from them, but the person handed her a new medicine packet.

"This is the medicine I just prepared for you. You should take some throat lozenges instead of the ones in my hand that are for cooling down. That way you'll recover faster."

"Are you a physician in the Imperial Medical Academy?" Yunxi looked up and began to question him.

She seemed to have never seen the person before. There were many skilled physicians in the Imperial Hospital, and she could even name a few of the most outstanding imperial physicians, but she had no recollection of the person in front of her.

Not only did she have no recollection of it, but she also dared not use the medicine that the other party prescribed for her based on just a few words.

She didn't want to be taken advantage of without knowing anything, so she was even more careful.

"You're quite cautious, hahaha, being cautious is a good thing."

The other person unfolded the medicine packet that Yunxi hadn't taken, picked up one of the herbs, and chewed it.

"Don't worry, it's not poisonous. These are just some herbs to relieve your symptoms. Just talk less, and eat some of this to soothe your throat. Hold it in your mouth whenever you have time, and your throat will be better in less than three days."

After saying that, he re-bandaged the medicine bag and tossed it to Yunxi.

"Let's go. Anyway, you gave us so much silver, we're bound to find some good medicine, right?"

Before Yunxi could answer, the other person turned and left, quite nonchalantly.

Yunxi held the medicine packet in her hands and looked at him, unsure whether to believe him or not.

But she had no time to hesitate. There wasn't much time left before Li Ruolan's bath, and she still needed to pick all the flower petals back. The longer she lingered outside, the harder it would be for Granny Gui to dispel her suspicions.

Fortunately, she knew a few shortcuts and finally returned to Yaoguang Palace. She immediately went to the side hall to serve Li Ruolan during her bath.

"Yunxi, you're finally back! But what happened?"

Li Ruolan was wearing her inner garments and had clearly been waiting for a long time.

Yunxi didn't dare to delay. Holding the flower petals she had just picked, she stepped forward and knelt down in front of her.

"It's almost autumn now, and many flowers have withered. I apologize for my incompetence, Your Majesty."

"Alright, sister, hurry up and prepare that most fragrant petal bath. I have to see the Emperor tonight."

Li Ruolan was too lazy to investigate these things; her mind was now filled with thoughts of the banquet that evening.

Having not seen the Emperor for a long time, Li Ruolan was already getting impatient.

Last time, the Emperor didn't say how long the confinement would last, and these days Consort Wan hasn't allowed her to go out either.

If she hadn't been invited to today's banquet, she probably would have had to wait until the Emperor remembered her before she could go out for some fresh air.

All she wants now is to see the Emperor, pour out her troubles to him, and hopefully make him remember her again.

More importantly, it is favor.

It takes one or two months to detect pregnancy pulse, so she couldn't be sure if Yunxi was pregnant and could only wait.

But as time went on, these things remained elusive.

Favor is what you need to survive in the harem, and it's something you must hold onto.

Li Ruolan only had eyes for the Emperor; everything else was just fleeting clouds.

She didn't even care about Yunxi.

That "sister" came out of her mouth without thinking; the so-called sisterly affection she spoke of was nothing but an act, and she only ever thought of herself.

Fortunately, Yunxi didn't have much hope for her either, and even hearing the words "younger sister" didn't stir any emotion in her heart.

Yunxi also had an impression of how the banquet went today.

Li Ruolan couldn't find the Emperor, and neither could anyone else in the harem.

The Empress Dowager's birthday is also the anniversary of the Emperor's birth mother's death.

While it may seem like a celebration for the Empress Dowager, isn't it also a way of commemorating one's own mother?

This secret is now known only to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. In her past life, she had to use a lot of effort to pry it out of the mouth of the nanny who served the Empress Dowager.

Yunxi had no intention of sharing the information, nor did she intend to make things too smooth for Li Ruolan at tonight's banquet.

Even as a personal maid, she couldn't stay by the side of the concubine she was serving all the time.

She also wanted to find the Emperor to see if he would actually appear in that place.

Will they still remember that sweet night when they went to Wushan together?