The empress is both charming and seductive, rising through the ranks of palace intrigue.

Consort Ying raised her beautiful eyes slightly and smiled faintly: "Sister, you are one of the four consorts, and the Emperor's only child is also yours. Why bother arguing with them over such trivial matters? It's not worth it. Your priority now is to raise the eldest prince well. With the eldest prince pleasing the Emperor, will you still have to worry about the future?"

Consort Rong's expression gradually softened as she listened. Indeed, her only source of pride now was having a prince by her side. Even Consort Zhuang, who was more favored than her, could not compare to her in this respect.

She curled the corners of her lips into a smile as she looked at Consort Ying: "My sister is right; I was a bit confused."

Consort Ying shook her head, a gentle smile playing on her lips, making her serene face appear even more tender. "I'm just a bystander with a clearer perspective. When the Crown Prince grows up and becomes successful, I hope my elder sister can look after me."

Consort Rong's eyes lit up with a hint of smugness as she raised her chin: "Of course."

She raised her hand and gently touched the gilded and kingfisher feather hairpin at her temple: "I should return to the palace now. I need to go back and watch You'er learn to write."

Consort Ying curtsied and said, "Yes, I respectfully see you off, elder sister."

After watching Consort Rong walk away, Shuang'er, a palace maid beside Consort Ying, said, "It's a wonder that Consort Rong has been by the Emperor's side for seven years, yet she is not as composed and understanding of the Emperor's thoughts as Your Highness."

This is a case of different fates for different people. Shuang'er felt that her mistress was only slightly inferior to Consort Rong and Consort Zhuang in appearance. However, her mistress was better than them in both temperament and talent. Yet, she did not receive the Emperor's favor.

Consort Ying's face remained bright and gentle as she smiled faintly, "But she is fortunate to have the First Prince by her side. Even if she goes too far, the Emperor will be more lenient towards her because of the First Prince."

Shuang'er, supporting Consort Ying, sighed softly, "Indeed, Consort Rong treated Consort Xi and Consort Ning so badly, yet the Emperor did not punish them. This servant truly feels sorry for Your Highness; Your Highness is so good, yet the Emperor cannot see it."

Consort Ying chuckled lightly: "So what if he can see it or not? Consort Rong said something wrong just now. She said the Emperor is amorous?" She seemed to have heard a very good joke.

I paused and picked a pure white gardenia beside me. The petals clustered together, surrounding the stamen, just like the women in the palace.

She stroked the flower petals and murmured, "But why do I feel that the Emperor is heartless? He seems to show great respect to the Empress, but that's only because of her position and the fact that she has to manage the six palaces for him. Does the Emperor truly favor Consort Zhuang?"

She muttered to herself as she plucked the largest petal from the gardenia: "The petals are too big; they can't control their growth, they're too bright, and that's not good either. Even if there's some lingering affection, it's not love."

Shuang'er listened, seemingly understanding but not quite, without interrupting.

Consort Ying smiled warmly and gently brought the gardenia to her nose. "Even if this flower smells good now, it's because it was just picked and is very fresh. Will it still smell good after a while? It will just be a dried flower. If you knew it would become a dried flower, why bother joining in the fun? You should have thought of other options."

The women in the imperial harem... are like these flowers. They will eventually wither, but countless new flowers will bloom again.

It would have been better if it had never been driven at all...

When Ning Shuyan returned to Liuyin Palace, she saw that Ziying and Qiule had placed some books on the bookshelf.

There was a box next to it, filled with books.

Curious, he asked, "Where did these books come from?"

Ziying smiled and curtsied: "His Majesty specially sent this with Eunuch Yang, saying that since you enjoy reading, Miss, he specially bought it from the common people."

Ning Shuyan was delighted to see the books, which were mostly storybooks. They included "Meng Jiangnu's Lament at the Great Wall," "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai," "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl," "The Legend of the White Snake," "Chasing the Fish," and some lesser-known collections of stories, as well as some vernacular stories.

"Look how happy you are, Miss. Back in the Marquis's mansion, you wouldn't read unless it was something you were interested in, and Aunt Yun had to coax you. Now you're actually enjoying reading some books."

Ning Shuyan casually picked up a storybook and flipped through it, laughing, "My aunt forced me to read every day, and it was all the Four Books and Five Classics, which was really boring. This is different. Besides, life in the palace is like a year in a day. If I don't pass the time by reading, wouldn't it be even more difficult?"

Aunt Yun was gentle and virtuous by nature. She came from a scholarly family, but her family fell into decline and she was sold to the Marquis's mansion.

In fact, Ning Shuyan was grateful to her aunt, even though her aunt forced her to learn music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and read all kinds of books. But she knew that her aunt was doing it for her own good, and it had worked out last time, at least making Xiao Yu look at her in a different light.

In modern times, she was somewhat willful, impatient, and playful. But having her aunt around for the past six years has tempered her personality considerably, making her more composed.

The neatly arranged rows of books added a touch of scholarly elegance to the room.

After finishing her meal, Ning Shuyan picked up a book of mythology and began reading. It was about a fox spirit who fell in love with a scholar.

Sitting like that for a long time inevitably becomes a bit uncomfortable, but she still didn't want to put the book down. She couldn't help it; she was engrossed in reading and wanted to finish it in one go.

So she picked up the book and started moving around.

When Xiao Yu entered, he saw the woman holding a book in one hand and one leg propped up against the wall. Looking at her strange posture, Xiao Yu thought to himself, "I thought her waist was weak, but her legs are so weak too?"

"Are you working that hard?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Ning Shuyan, who had placed her leg against the wall, curtsied and said, "His Majesty has arrived."

Xiao Yu walked straight to the couch, sat down, picked up a teacup, and said, "Practicing dance while reading? Is it really that interesting?"

Ning Shuyan stepped forward with a smile and said, "They're beautiful. Thank you, Your Majesty, for finding so many books for me."

Looking at her bright smile, Xiao Yu couldn't hide his joy. He then smiled slightly and said, "I'm glad you like them. When you return to the palace, take these books back to Lan Yue Pavilion with you to pass the time when you have nothing to do."

Ning Shuyan smiled sweetly: "That's what I think too. When Your Majesty is not here, I have these books to read, so I won't be so bored."

Xiao Yu looked at the book in her hands, which was already halfway through, and asked, "You've read so much already?"

"I've been reading this book all afternoon, and the story is quite touching." After a pause, she added, "Your Majesty, do you think there really are demons in this world?"

She raised her bright, almond-shaped eyes and looked at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu only felt that she was like a child, somewhat innocent and cute. He laughed and said, "So what if I have one? Demons aren't scary."

Ning Shuyan was slightly surprised, resting her chin on her hand and raising the corners of her eyes slightly, "This is the first time I've heard that demons aren't scary."

Xiao Yu seemed lost in thought, his eyes slightly unfocused, his expression turning solemn as he spoke gently, "Some people are more terrifying than demons. You know she's a demon, you can guard against her, or you can use demon-slaying methods to eliminate her openly and honorably. But with villains, it's often impossible to guard against them, and you may even find yourself helpless against them."

It's like some ministers in the imperial court. You know they have ulterior motives, but you can't find any evidence, and they have many allies, making it impossible for you to do anything about them.

But isn't the harem the same...?

Ning Shuyan said with a charming smile, "The human heart is the most terrifying thing, isn't it? I am but a humble woman with limited knowledge. Your Majesty's words have made great sense to me."

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "I hope you never understand this principle. Once you do, your heart will change a lot." As he spoke, he beckoned Ning Shuyan to sit down beside him.

Ning Shuyan leaned against him, a faint scent of ambergris wafting to her nose, calm and serene.