My Prince said he'd break my legs.

Ning Jingqiu nodded in agreement. There were simply too many things to do after the palace coup, and she needed to sort them out one by one: "Consort Xiao has passed away. Your Majesty, who do you think should be entrusted with the care of the Third Princess?"

Pei Yue pondered for a moment, his slender fingers tapping the table slowly and deliberately: "I hereby bestow the title of Consort Shu upon Dongfang Liangdi, and entrust the Third Princess to Consort Shu for upbringing."

Ning Jingqiu was surprised. The Dongfang family followed Pei Yue's lead without question, and Consort Shu was young and had only recently married Pei Yue.

If Pei Yue visits her more often, she'll eventually get pregnant. There's no rush to have a child; the Third Princess shouldn't be given to Consort Shu, no matter who she's with.

Could it be... that Consort Shu is infertile?

Just as she was wondering what was going on, Pei Yue added, "Furthermore, Consort Shu will assist you in managing the affairs of the inner palace."

Ning Jingqiu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. Finally... there was someone to take her place.

As the days dragged on, hope began to emerge.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"explain."

"Feng Liangyuan is pregnant. What should be done?"

Feng Shuyue is currently being held captive in the East Palace. If she weren't pregnant, Pei Yue wouldn't even need to ask her; she would know what to do with her and send her away with a white silk ribbon.

Pei Yue's body radiated coldness: "You traitor, just kill him."

"But she is carrying the emperor's child." It's not that Ning Jingqiu is a worrier, but the emperor has very few children. If the censors find out that she killed a pregnant concubine, they will surely impeach her.

Pei Yue didn't care whether she lived or died: "You know what to do, send someone to deal with her."

Ning Jingqiu rolled her eyes inwardly. What did she know? Her injuries hadn't fully healed yet, and they were already treating her like an ox, not even considering her human.

She thought this in her heart, but dared not show it on her face. She lowered her head and said meekly, "Yes, Your Majesty. If there is nothing else, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave."

Pei Yue waved his hand: "Go ahead."

When the imperial decree conferring the title of imperial concubine was delivered to the Eastern Palace, the women there finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, more than a month has passed since the palace coup, the crown prince has ascended the throne, and the crown princess has already been made empress.

However, some were happy while others were sad. Most of the old servants of the Crown Prince's Palace were dismissed. Those who were dismissed were either of low birth or were singers or dancers who had been sent there by others.

However, Ning Jingqiu still felt sorry for these women and gave them a considerable amount of severance pay, allowing them to settle down after leaving the Eastern Palace.

Of course, Pei Yue paid for it.

In the end, only a dozen or so people were allowed to enter the palace.

After finishing her work, Ning Jingqiu thought she could finally take a break when someone from the Eastern Palace came to deliver a message that Consort Zhang was pregnant.

"Zhang Fengyi is lucky. She got pregnant after only serving the emperor once. Counting the days, the baby in her belly is only about two months old. I guess she was afraid that she couldn't protect the baby in her belly, so she kept it a secret. Now that she is about to be dismissed, she has no choice but to tell the truth."

Rongxin said as she combed Ning Jingqiu's hair.

Ning Jingqiu said, "She's a pitiful person. If she were dismissed and sent back this time, she would definitely not have a good time. But she's lucky that she's pregnant."

"His Majesty certainly doesn't care about Consort Zhang; his heart is with Consort Zhao. What rank does Your Highness intend to give Consort Zhang?" Rongxin asked.

Ning Jingqiu sighed: "Let's give her the rank of Liangren. Her background is too low. According to the rules, she can be promoted after she has a child."

"This is His Majesty's first child since ascending the throne, and many people will surely be watching. Where does Your Majesty plan to arrange for Consort Zhang to live?"

Ning Jingqiu thought for a moment and said, "If His Majesty doesn't allow anyone to live in Yaoguang Palace, then let her stay in Consort Shu's (Dongfang Liangdi) Mingyue Palace. Consort Shu will take good care of her."

Rongxin helped Ning Jingqiu to bed and tucked her in: "Yes, this servant will go and arrange it. Your Highness, please go to bed first. Your injuries haven't fully healed yet."

Princess Rong'an's residence

Lady Cao knelt before Princess Rong'an: "Your Highness, I beg you to save my daughter."

Princess Rong'an said angrily, "Look at what that fool Feng Shuyue has done! I recommended her to the East Palace just to get rid of her, but she almost killed me."

"Haven't you seen what kind of person His Majesty is? He almost wiped out Prince Chen's faction as soon as he ascended the throne. If I hadn't protected the Empress Dowager during the palace coup, would His Majesty have tolerated me?"

Lady Cao kept wiping away her tears: "But she is my only child in this life. How can I bear to watch her die? If she dies, I can't go on living either, Your Highness."

Princess Rong'an's face instantly turned ugly. She reached out and lifted Cao's chin: "I went to great lengths to rescue you from the Feng family, how dare you say such a thing? Can't you even live properly for my sake? Huh!!"

"Your Highness..." Cao cried uncontrollably.

Princess Rong'an looked down at her: "It's already hard enough for women in this world, and it's even more unacceptable for people to have feelings like ours. You know how difficult it has been for us these past twenty-odd years."

Now, all those who could stop us from being together are finally dead, and His Majesty turns a blind eye to our misdeeds, yet you so easily give up.

Princess Rong'an slumped into a chair as if all her strength had been drained: "Ashi, you have changed after all. The only one who will hold on to this relationship is me."

Cao crawled on her knees and hugged Princess Rong'an's legs, tears streaming down her face: "No, my feelings for Your Highness have never changed, but Yue'er was born from my womb, how can I watch her die, Your Highness?"

Princess Rong'an closed her eyes, her voice filled with a deep sense of powerlessness: "Ashi, you must understand that Feng Shuyue's attack on the Eastern Palace with Prince Chen's soldiers and hidden guards is a capital offense, an unforgivable crime. Anyone who pleads for her will be treated as an accomplice."

Upon hearing this, Cao collapsed to the ground and remained silent for a long time.

.........

Because of the recent deaths of the late emperor and empress dowager, and before their funerals, the investiture ceremonies for the imperial concubines were held in a simple manner.

During the year-long mourning period, Pei Yue was not allowed to spend the night in the concubines' palaces. Therefore, after the investiture ceremony, Pei Yue would summon Liang Zhiyi to accompany him every day.

Pei Yue had a lot of memorials to deal with every day, and he also had a lot of people to kill. Liang Zhiyi didn't know if he had killed anyone before, but every day she accompanied him was filled with killing.

Kyoto was about to witness a true bloodbath in the imperial city.

Over the course of several days, the mountain of memorials gradually decreased. With so many people killed, the vacant official positions were naturally filled by replacements.

Pei Yue held Liang Zhiyi close, gently rubbing her fingers: "Zhizhi, don't you want to plead for your father and brothers?"

"Would pleading with His Majesty really get them released?" Liang Zhiyi retorted.

Putting aside the fact that her adoptive father committed a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family,

The story goes that she transmigrated to the modern world because her own father arranged for someone to run her over with a car.

Moreover, in the first six months after she transmigrated, Liang Huaijing's favoritism towards his concubine and neglect of his wife was exactly the same as what she experienced in modern times. However, her father was very good at acting, and she only realized his true colors when she was hit by a car.

Since arriving here, she has been thinking every day about how to get rid of Liang Huaijing and take revenge on him. She has no feelings for the Liang family whatsoever.

It's funny how fate arranged for her to have a "phoenix man" father in both of her lives, and both fathers betrayed her biological mother.

Pei Yue toyed with her earlobe and said slowly, "Zhizhi is so heartless."

Liang Zhiyi didn't respond to him; she didn't want to waste time with him. She changed the subject: "My father is, after all, a member of the Prince Chen's faction. If you were to make me a concubine, wouldn't the court officials object?"

Pei Yue cupped her face in his palm, and with a slight pull, brought their faces close together. As he spoke, his warm breath brushed against her face: "So I need to find Zhizhi a backer."

"Huh?" Liang Zhiyi was puzzled.

Pei Yue released her face: "Liang Shu made great contributions in this palace coup. I plan to promote your uncle and your elder brother Liang Shu. There happens to be a vacancy for the position of Grand Commandant of the Southern Army's Third Battalion. How about letting Liang Shu command the Southern Army's Third Battalion?"