Lin Wan just smiled: "There are many virtuous and moral people in the harem, how dare concubines be arrogant."

  The empress dowager thought about the troubles in the palace these days and frowned without speaking.

  She had long known that Shen Yunrong was unvirtuous and the Empress was not wise, but they had been making a fuss about it, causing her poor unborn grandson to be miscarried. This was something she could not tolerate.

  The emperor's eldest son, although not outstanding, is still a passable child. The emperor only has this one son, but unfortunately, he was born to that kind of empress... If the child wasn't born from her womb, it would be much better. If he were born to Lin Shi in front of him, what's wrong with making him the crown prince? Nothing is going as desired...

  Lin Yan carefully observed the Empress Dowager's expression and obediently poured her a cup of soothing Yangxian Hongcha tea.

  The empress's expression slightly cleared up.

  Lin Wan stayed in the Chang Le Palace for two hours, and Empress Dowager finally played enough to throw down the chessboard. Lin Wan saw that Empress Dowager's eyebrows were tired, so she didn't dare to stay longer, poured a pot of tea for Empress Dowager, and tactfully retreated.

  When she came out of the Changle Palace, she met Wang Shurong. This encounter was not accidental, and Wang Shurong almost treated the Changle Palace as her second home. Lin Yin and others had to wait for the transmission to serve the empress dowager, while Wang Shurong could enter and exit the palace at will. As a result, Lin Yin and Wang Shurong gradually became familiar with each other, and Wang Shurong's attitude towards her changed from being cold and unfamiliar to someone who could exchange greetings.

  Lin Wan was very satisfied with her relationship with Wang Shu Rong. She had been worried that Wang Shu Rong would be unhappy about the new people serving the Empress Dowager, but it turned out that Wang Shu Rong was capable of maintaining her own position. Lin Wan and others were favored by the Empress Dowager again, but in the Empress Dowager's heart, they were not on the same level as Wang Shu Rong. In other words, Wang Shu Rong had long established her position in front of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was different from the Emperor and would not stop protecting her just because she lost her youthful beauty.

  At this time, Wang Shurong smiled lightly and asked her: "Are you going back to the palace?" Just like asking if she had eaten.

  "Is." Lin Wan habitually showed respect: "Shu Rong Niangniang has come again to brew flower tea for Empress Dowager?"

  Wang Shurong's smile stiffened for a moment, and she glanced back and said: "No, it's the Emperor's daughter who wants to come and pay respects to the Empress Dowager..."

  "Your Highness, the Princess?" Lin Wan looked back at Wang Shu Rong's body in surprise. She knew both Zhao Chun Emperor and Chang Ning Emperor, but they were still young and would be accompanied by their mothers when visiting the palace. Why would Wang Shu Rong, who didn't get along with Xiang Fei and Zhao Shu Yu, help bring the princesses over?

  Soon, Lin Wan saw a slender figure. It was a girl of about six or seven years old, standing under the shadow of Wang Shurong. If it weren't for Wang Shurong mentioning her, Lin Wan would have overlooked her.

  This is not the Princess Changning...

  Inside the palace, nothing is impossible. Since Wang Shu Rong said it was the Emperor's daughter, Lin Wan would not lose her manners no matter how puzzled she felt in her heart. She paid her respects to this slender and simply dressed young girl.

  A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then she pursed her lips, nodded to Lin Yuen according to the etiquette of the palace. After doing all this, she seemed very unaccustomed, and hurriedly turned her head to the side again.

  Wang Shurong said in a low voice, "The people in the palace do not recognize this princess either. Fortunately, you still observe etiquette..." She explained softly, "You entered the palace late and don't know many things. This princess has been living in the Da Jue Temple outside the palace to pray for the country's fortune. Because she was born with a serious illness, she could only be sent to the temple to become a nun and prolong her life through Buddhist practice. Today, she wants to come to Empress Dowager's place to pay respects, and I received Empress Dowager's entrustment, so I had no choice but to bring her over..."

  Wang Shurong's words were mysterious and subtle, and anyone could hear the hidden meaning. The girl behind her was slender and weak, but she didn't look like someone with a serious illness. Lin Yuan didn't mind or ask further, immediately putting on an understanding expression: "Oh! So that's how it is, no wonder I've never seen the princess."

  Wang Shurong nodded and smiled, taking a step forward.

  Lin Wan also didn't want to stay here for long and soon found her waiting palace maid, Chu Tao. With Chu Tao's support, she returned.

  ***

  Lin Wan returned to the palace and ordered someone to prepare hot water for bathing.

  Chu Tao and the others had left the house, so she reached out to grab Lin Wan's sleeve and whispered: "Just now in Chang Le Palace, that... Imperial Princess, she said something to me."

  "Who?" Lin Yan suddenly turned around.

  Lin Wan didn't understand that little girl who had never met before. But from Wang Shurong's attitude, she also knew that the child was not well received by the people in the palace. Wang Shurong was not a person with a bad temper, but when talking about her, it seemed like she was a troublemaker and wanted to avoid her. It can be seen that the little girl was not someone who could be easily befriended.

  So Lin Wan didn't want to have anything to do with her at all.

  But she actually pulled me onto the first peach blossom?

  Lin Yan was somewhat displeased: "What did she say."

  "She told me her name was Shan Yu." Chū Táo understood the master's displeasure and felt ashamed for the trouble she had brought upon herself.

  "Fan Yu." Lin Yan said to herself, then burst out laughing: "She wanted to implicate me so badly that she revealed her name at our first meeting. How reckless. Never mind, she's just a kid after all."

  Chū Táo's head hung even lower: "Young Master, won't she be unfavorable to us......"

  "It's not that serious." Lin Wan wasn't too worried: "She's just a daughter, not the crown prince, even if there is trouble it won't be a big deal. Go and call in Chu Xue."

  Chu Tao was young and wouldn't know much about the secrets of the palace, but Chu Xue had an advantage in this area.

  Lin Wan and Chu Xue said about today's events: "...... I actually guessed that she was the Emperor's first daughter. Chang Ning Di Ji is only the second princess, and it's unknown where that Chang Di Ji is."

  Chu Xue wasn't too shocked after hearing the news. She let out a light sigh and said, "The title of Empress is not something that child can enjoy. Her story is unknown to many people. I've been serving in the palace for ten years, and it just so happened that I was there at that time... That's when I found out. She was born in the year the Emperor ascended to the throne, which makes her eight years old now. As soon as she was born, they said she had a weak body and could only be kept alive in front of Buddha, so she was sent out of the palace..."

  "Is it then? Is it time for the fight for the throne?"

  "Yes, I was originally a palace maid in the embroidery department of the Shangfu Bureau. My status was the lowest, but it was also the safest. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get to someone like me." Chu Xue said with a bitter smile. The difference between the rough laborers in the Sixth Bureau and those who served the masters and mistresses was like heaven and earth. Those humble days were also very difficult.

  "At first, there were rumors that the Crown Prince would be deposed and Muwu Wang would take his place, resulting in many deaths. However, our wise Emperor is indeed a true dragon among men..." Xue usually never dared to discuss such matters, but today she wanted to talk about the Imperial Princess: "The Imperial Princess's birth mother was...", Xue's voice stopped, and then she whispered into Lin Yuen's ear, "...Gan Shi". Although they were in their own palace, with all doors and windows tightly closed.

  Lin Yan was really surprised this time: "It's actually her! No wonder..."

  The crime of regicide! The Gans' family, Lin Yuan knew, was finally exterminated, but unfortunately, they couldn't bring out the mastermind behind the scenes, Mu Wu Wang. But what Lin Yuan really didn't expect was that the Gans' family still left behind a daughter!

  No wonder as a princess, she had to grow up outside the palace, no one would see her or show respect, it was even difficult for her to meet the empress dowager. If she were to encounter an emperor with a brutal personality, there have been cases where he would execute his own daughter due to her mother's crimes.

  She's lucky to be alive.

  Chu Xue sighed and shook her head, saying: "The palace has all sorts of pitiful people... This princess's situation is serious, but not that serious. It's just that whenever the emperor thinks of her, he remembers her birth mother and becomes displeased. The people in the palace are afraid of offending the emperor, so they don't want to have anything to do with her. Although the emperor hasn't issued a decree to erase her existence, everyone keeps quiet about it, and over time, it's as if she doesn't exist. For someone like you who entered the palace late, you wouldn't know about her."

  "The young master saw her in the Changle Palace today, it was really a coincidence. She lives in the temple and the emperor doesn't like her, she won't enter the palace even once a year or half a year. Only Empress Dowager pitied her and allowed her to come and pay respects occasionally. As for Shu Rong, I heard that she is also very impatient with her, but because it was the Empress Dowager's matter, she went to handle it with great care, and while doing so, she was nervous and afraid of being scolded by the empress."

  "You know about the miscarriage of the Empress, right? It was because... Alas, the Empress can never give birth again, and she's so resentful that she could kill the child of her enemy. To say something irreverent, if this child were really raised in the palace, how could he possibly survive under the eyes of the Empress? Sending him to the temple is for his own good..."

  After finishing speaking, Chu Xue couldn't help but sigh and say: "After all, she is a dignified princess."

  Lin Yan's face was calm and unruffled. She had seen too many pitiful people and wouldn't be overly sentimental.

  Originally, Lin Yin was not interested in paying attention to this imperial princess, and did not even want to ask more about her background. This child, from the moment she was born, did not have the qualifications to live in the palace, just like a deposed empress who had been banished to the cold palace, she had already "withdrawn from the game". She posed no threat to Lin Yin and had no value either.

  But today's experience made Lin Yan look at her in a different way.

  That girl is so young and yet has such an unyielding spirit, truly worthy of being the daughter of Tuoba Hong!

  Lin Wan didn't know why she chose to pull herself in on their first meeting, and even gave her name so sincerely. Was it that she was desperate and would cling to anyone with a good status as soon as she entered the palace?

  Lin Yan smiled, it's impossible to be like this. The child who had experienced the misfortune of being expelled understood the cruelty of the palace and the heartlessness of her father, the emperor. The empress dowager also held a grudge against her, but she was able to survive in the Dajue Temple until she was eight years old, which means she must have had some ability to protect herself. She knew the dangers of the palace and would not rashly find someone to rely on.

  She chose Lin Wan in a chance encounter, and for her, this was not an adventure. What if Lin Wan was the power of the empress, secretly poisoning her, and the emperor would not even seek justice for her? Again, what if Lin Wan had a cruel personality, taking advantage of the opportunity to humiliate her or even give her unbearable harm, how would that be?