"What's wrong with me that they can talk about? Chu Huaxin's face was gloomy: "You're not unaware of Shangguan Li's temper, let alone in her own palace, she dares to be arrogant even in front of the Empress! She had a new concubine flogged the other day and the Emperor still went to her palace to show concern, fearing that she would get angry and harm herself. How is it that I'm not allowed to throw things? What mistake have I made that needs correction?"

  "Eldest sister......" Chu Huashang didn't know how to persuade her anymore.

  "Shut up!" Chu Huaxin suddenly slammed the jade vase in her hand to the ground: "That cheap woman, Shangguan Li! She insulted me for being seductive... isn't the most shameless and despicable person in this palace herself?! This cheap woman..."

  "Eldest sister, don't say that!" Chu Huashang hastily closed the door behind her and grabbed Chu Huaxin's arm, holding it very tightly: "Xiang Fei is after all higher in rank than you, Eldest Sister, and now she's pregnant with the imperial heir. The Emperor has always been fond of her. You absolutely cannot let anyone hear you say this!"

  This time, Chu Huaxin finally stopped. She panted heavily and slowly leaned against the palace pillar to sit down: "Why... this palace has exhausted all means, but still can't get anything. Why didn't Emperor punish Hui Guizi? Why is Shengfei still so glorious? This palace... really did its best..."

  "Eldest sister?" Chu Huashang was shocked by these words: "Eldest sister, you're talking about Hui Guizi? She... how could she be punished..."

  Chu Huashang thought of what had happened that morning. Her position was equivalent to Lin Yuan's, and they also sat together during the morning court session. As a result, Lin Shi deliberately pulled her hand when she took her leave, smiling at her and saying: "I think Concubine Xiuyi suffered an injustice today. Concubine Xiuyi didn't commit any great error, yet she was going to be reprimanded by Consort Shao... I wonder how Concubine Xiuyi is doing now..."

  Lin said a lot, and between the lines, she was all about sympathizing with Yunxiu Rong. She even asked if she needed to go back to the palace with her to visit Yunxiu Rong. At that time, Chuhua Shang felt strange, as she had never been close to Lin, and her sister had competed with her for favor, how could she possibly have a sincere concern for her sister!

  Chu Huashang's heart was full of doubts, so she could only perfunctorily say that her sister was probably in a hurry to copy the punishment given by the Empress Dowager and it wasn't convenient for others to take a look. Lin Shi also didn't press the issue, just smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her for two sentences before taking her leave.

  Chu Huashang still can't understand Lin Yuan's approach to this day. But as soon as she heard her own sister say this sentence, her heart inexplicably began to drum up.

  She looked at Chu Hua Xuan's face and carefully said: "Elder sister, are you... towards Hui Gui Ji..."

  "Do you know something?" Chu Huaxin suddenly turned to her, his tone sharp: "Chu Huashang, I'm asking you, what do you know?"

  Chu Huashang was suddenly frightened and hastily said: "I just asked casually, I don't know anything..."

  "It's better if you don't know." Chu Huaxin stood up and took a step closer, staring at her: "This palace's affairs do not need your inquiry. This palace asks you, are you clear about your own identity?"

  "This sentence, when Chuhua Shang first entered the palace, her sister asked her. She closed her eyes and said slowly: 'Yes. I am a chess piece in the hands of the empress, the empress is my master.'"

  "Alright." Chu Hua nodded silently and waved her hand: "You can withdraw now."

  Chu Huashang let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly covered the wound on her knee, limping away.

  She never wanted to see Chu Huaxin's gloating face again, but she understood that she would have to endure it for a long, long time... How much longer? As the same daughter of the Chu family, why did she have to be tortured like this?

  She thought of Hui Guigui Lin again. She shook her head and laughed at herself. No matter how difficult her situation was, it was better than that of Hui Guigui who came from a humble background. Others could live with dignity, why couldn't she?

  Hui Gui Ji, ah, the title bestowed upon her by the Emperor is indeed well-deserved. This woman is too clever! She must have known that Chu Hua Xuan was going to harm her, so she came to test me this morning... not to verify whether it was Chu Hua Xuan's doing, but to probe into her relationship with my sister!

  She and her sister always put on a show of being close in front of outsiders, both of them working hard to maintain this facade, even her sister who had always looked down on her wouldn't lose face in public. But what's the real situation inside, who knows?

  Of course, this relationship still has some loopholes in certain aspects. For example, this time - if she and her sister were really as close as they seemed on the surface, her sister would have told her if she was going to design something harmful. But when Lin Yu tried to probe her, her bewildered expression thoroughly exposed this loophole. It's clear that her good sister didn't treat her like a real younger sister at all and wouldn't tell her about any sinister secrets.

  Lin... Chu Huashang didn't feel any discomfort in her heart from being peeped at. On the contrary, she thought it was a good thing for herself.

  She can't live her whole life as a slave to her sister. One day, she will get rid of Chu Huaxin.

  ***

  That night, the emperor did not summon anyone to attend him in bed.

  On the second day, Ye Liangren was sent to the Qingyan Palace in Jiuzhou. After that night, the emperor promoted her to Cairen, and she is now one of the favored concubines. However, above her are Shengfei, Chu Jia sisters, Lin Yuan and a large number of favored concubines, so even if she gains more favor, it's not noticeable.

  On the third and fourth days, the emperor surprisingly flipped over Tian Shu's card for two consecutive days.

  Lin Wan finally understood that the Chu sisters were not as easy to deal with as they seemed on the surface. The key was not Yu Xiu Rong, who would stop at nothing to compete for favor, but rather her younger sister, Tian Shu Ji, who was normally quiet and reserved, with a gentle and elegant demeanor.

  A woman like Yunxiu Rong, the longer you stay with her, the more annoying she becomes, and it's only a matter of time before she is abandoned by men. But Tian Shu Ji was different - her chastity and maturity made up for her sister's shallowness and impulsiveness. In the stillness and movement between them, she could actually make the emperor linger with Yunxiu Rong for a few more days.

  She is no ordinary woman.

  After Chuhua Shuang was favored for two days in a row, Chuhua Xin got the third day, and then the emperor began to frequently turn over Lin Yu's card.

  Lin Wan was the first person to be favored by Long Chong, but fortunately, there was Chu Hua Xian as a negative example at the beginning. Now Lin Wan, in addition to being favored, also knew how to advise the emperor to visit others, and did not suffer too much resentment. This glorious and peaceful life continued until the end of July.

  Lin Wan and Tuoba Hong spent every night together with great enthusiasm. As a high-ranking official, they were both open-minded and had a perfect match that was hard to come by. Although Tuoba Hong had three thousand concubines in his harem, there were very few women as charming as Lin Wan among them - more than half of the people were timid and fearful in front of the emperor, which greatly discounted their charm; among the remaining ones, more than half were paragons of virtue, who had been taught poetry, books, etiquette, and morality since childhood, and were dignified, virtuous, and noble in character, deeply believing that certain actions in bed were too improper, and when serving Tuoba Hong at night, they were also "proper and decent".

  Emperor Taizong of Tang, as a dignified emperor, could not say "My dear concubine, it's okay to be a bit more flirtatious". He could only despise them in his heart for being too rigid. In fact, this is not the fault of the imperial consorts. The first rule of the ancient harem was that they were not allowed to interfere with politics, and the second rule was that they were not allowed to be seductive. If Lin Yin's way of serving the emperor at night had been known by others, she would have definitely been punished - Yun Xiu Rong and her poem "Huan Ge Xing" are an example.

  The days have quickly arrived at August.

  In order to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, the royal family usually returns to Beijing in early August for their summer retreat, and this year is no exception.

  On the fifth day of August, when the imperial carriage returned to Rong's residence, the scene was slightly different from before. The Chu sisters, who had accompanied the emperor inside the dragon carriage, now had to line up in a dignified manner according to their ranks in the imperial harem, while Lin Huan alone received the emperor's favor and, although she had not served him inside the dragon carriage, was granted an edict to enjoy a horse-drawn carriage as a noble concubine, with imperial favor evident. Moreover, along the way, eunuchs and palace maids continually brought fresh fruits and cooling drinks to her sedan chair on the emperor's orders, revealing his concern and affection without a doubt, which was most enviable.

  The empress and two imperial consorts remained unchanged. These three sedan chairs closely followed the dragon carriage, all of which were magnificent and dazzling, with dignity as before.

  Sitting in the carriage, Lin Yuan occasionally lifted the curtain to look at the scenery outside, while also peeking at the carriages of all the concubines. As they were about to arrive in Kyoto, she quietly whispered a sentence to Chu Xue: "Why did Ye Cai Ren and Rong Ji ride together in one carriage?"

  Chu Xue replied, "The arrangement of the carriages was made by the Empress, and Ye Xiao Zhuang is a cautious and humble person who has no grudges against Bai Xiao Zhuang. It's also proper for them to sit together."

  "Empress?" Lin Wan smiled faintly: "I seem to recall that Ye Shi and Bai Shi had been getting close recently."

  Chu Xue looked at Lin Wan's expression, which was not as usual, and hastily said seriously: "Young Master is right. Bai Shi originally served the Empress with all her heart and did not get along with other concubines, but she didn't get along with you, Young Master, and Ye Shi also had a bad relationship with you on the surface, so the two of them got closer."

  "Bai Shi and she are getting along, probably not to deal with me." Lin Yan slowly shook her head: "Bai Xiuyi has made great progress recently and will no longer argue with me openly. The Empress Dowager must have taught her that if she wants to climb up, she can't waste all her energy on me."

  Lin Wan said, thinking for a moment, and then smiled: "Being close to the White family is just like being close to the Empress. The Empress dominates the six palaces, and others want to curry favor but don't have that good fortune. Ye Shi must have won the favor of the Empress long ago."

  Lin Wan's mind was filled with the image of Ye Xiu Xin. She always remembered the first time she saw this woman, when Ye's situation was still very poor, but because of a word from the Empress Dowager, she went to serve in the Chang Le Palace and was bullied by Jia Gui Ren. Ye's cautious and humble appearance made people feel pitiful, but Lin Wan saw ** in her eyes.

  It's also true that there is no **, so how can we fight for favor? Nor does she know what she will be like in the future. Lin Wan doesn't think she can completely control her either.

  "The Queen Mother began again..." The voice of the first snow became even smaller, as a slave girl she did not dare to be disrespectful to the Queen Mother, and the two words "frame" could not be spoken.