The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

Inside the Yilan Palace, in front of the dressing table, Shen Qingruo slowly inserted a pearl hairpin into her hair, facing the bronze mirror.

Within her sea of ​​consciousness, the light sphere Xiao Jiu was jumping around anxiously, her voice cracking as she cried out, "Aruo! Aruo!"

"That wicked Shen Yinian, he's spouting nonsense in court, he's trying to kill you."

Xiao Jiu conjured up the image of Shen Yinian delivering a passionate speech in the imperial court, amidst the uproar of the officials, in Shen Qingruo's mind.

Shen Qingruo looked at Shen Yinian, her lips curving slightly. Instead of being in a hurry, she held the hairpin even more firmly.

"Yes, I saw it." Her voice was soft, without a trace of panic.

"You saw it and you're still not worried?" Xiao Jiu's ball of light spun rapidly around her.

"He has now exposed your identity as the daughter of a remnant of the previous dynasty and has even falsely accused you of colluding with Wei Zheng."

"If this charge is proven true, it could cost you your head."

"Besides, you're all alone now, weak and vulnerable. The Empress and Prince Xiaoyao are eyeing you covetously, and there are so many ministers in the court..."

Shen Qingruo slowly interrupted Xiao Jiu: "Xiao Jiu, I'm not in a hurry."

"Huh?" Xiao Jiu was stunned. The ball of light stopped spinning. "Why?"

Shen Qingruo looked in the mirror, tilted her head slightly, and said calmly, "Because the one who should be anxious right now is not me, but someone else."

"Who?"

Shen Qingruo stood up, walked to the window, and stood there. Her delicate figure swayed in the breeze as she looked towards the Taiji Hall. In her mind, she softly said, "Naturally, it's His Majesty."

She smiled softly, a smile that was both pure and sly.

"He loved me so much that he insisted on elevating me to the position of Imperial Concubine, disregarding what others said."

"Now, his princes dislike me and are targeting me in court, framing me and making him lose face as emperor, and causing the concubine he personally chose to be condemned by everyone."

"Shouldn't this be something he, as the husband, should handle himself?"

"Am I, a weak and pitiful imperial concubine, supposed to argue with the carefree prince and the entire court?"

Xiao Jiu's light sphere flickered a few times, as if she understood something: "Aruo, you mean...?"

Shen Qingruo replied coquettishly, "What I mean is, right now, he should be more anxious than anyone else, figuring out how to coax me, how to quell this storm, and how to prevent me from being wronged."

"I don't need to do anything. I just need to stay here quietly and let him know that his beloved concubine is frightened and heartbroken by his son's foul words and needs his protection and comfort."

She turned to look at Xiao Jiu, who was still processing the information in her mind, her eyebrows curving into a smile with a hint of smugness: "Xiao Jiu, do you think he'll come to Yilan Palace today?"

Little Jiu's sphere of light brightened, and her childlike voice was filled with excitement: "Yes, definitely!"

"Aruo, you're so smart. I was so angry with Shen Yinian that I lost my temper. That's exactly how it should be done."

Shen Qingruo sat back down at her dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror.

She doesn't need to fight back with all her might, nor does she need to scheme and fight back, nor does she need to cultivate her own power.

All she needed to do was make good use of her face, her body, and the man's growing affection for her.

You can easily possess the most powerful weapon in the world.

Why not?

-

Soon after, Shen Qingruo summoned Granny Yan and asked, "Granny Yan..."

Granny Yan immediately bowed: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

Shen Qingruo's voice was light and airy: "Outside, aren't people talking about me right now? Saying that I'm the daughter of a remnant of the previous dynasty, a vixen, unworthy of His Majesty's favor?"

Granny Yan was shocked and knelt down with a thud.

She thought it was some foolish palace servant who had spoken out of turn, bringing the court's turmoil to the Empress's attention first.

Granny Yan dared not hide anything, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and tell the whole story of how Prince Xiaoyao had made trouble at the morning court session.

Finally, she kowtowed heavily, "Your Majesty is wise. His Majesty refuted Prince Xiaoyao on the spot, and ordered that no one should speak ill of Your Majesty, nor should they disturb the tranquility of Yilan Palace. His Majesty trusts Your Majesty."

Shen Qingruo listened quietly, her long eyelashes drooping.

She neither got angry nor cried; she simply waved her hand listlessly and said, "I understand. You may leave."

Granny Yan glanced at her worriedly, dared not say anything more, and silently withdrew.

The palace doors closed.

Shen Qingruo sat on the soft couch, looking at the gray sky outside. Her face was expressionless, but her watery eyes dimmed slightly.

She doesn't need to perform deliberately; she only needs to recall the loneliness of her past life and the hardships of this life, and that sense of desolation will naturally flow out.

At lunchtime, the palace servants laid out a table full of exquisite dishes, but she didn't even glance at them before saying, "Take them away, I have no appetite."

The palace servants looked at each other, not daring to say anything, and could only silently remove the untouched lunch.

Granny Yan paced anxiously as she watched the food being served untouched.

If Her Majesty were to become ill from hunger in her current state, and His Majesty were to blame, all of us who serve her would be in deep trouble.

She gritted her teeth, disregarded the rules, and hurriedly headed to the Taiji Hall.

Outside the Taiji Hall, Wu Tian's expression changed upon hearing Granny Yan's anxious report.

He dared not delay and hurriedly went into the inner hall.

Shen Wangxi was processing memorials when he heard Wu Tian report the situation at Yilan Palace, and his vermilion pen paused.

His brows furrowed immediately, and he stood up. "Didn't you have lunch?"

"What happened?"

Wu Tian lowered his head and repeated what Granny Yan had said: "Your Majesty, Granny Yan said that Her Majesty seems to have heard some rumors outside, and is feeling depressed. She is grieving alone in the palace, which is why she has not even eaten lunch."

Shen Wangxi's face darkened as he thought of the morning court session.

He thought he had suppressed the news for the time being, but he didn't expect the news to spread so quickly that she found out.

"Prepare the carriage for Yilan Palace." He said urgently, striding out.