Guifei’s biggest fear—and the one thing she could not afford to lose—was her authority over the harem.

  Though she was the highest-ranking consort beneath the empress, she was still beneath the empress.

  Over the past six months, as the de facto manager of harem affairs, she had found her position much smoother and more secure.

  But now that she was twenty-seven, even with all the nourishment and care she took, she still had not conceived. Deep down, she wasn't entirely confident she ever would.

  And if she couldn’t bear a royal heir, she would have to adopt one.

  This made controlling the harem absolutely crucial—only by holding power could she maneuver events to her advantage.

  So, after thinking it over all afternoon, Guifei decided to go to the emperor.

  "It was my ck of foresight," she admitted. "I truly did not handle this matter well. But I had no idea my cousin would be so foolish as to skip protocol and not visit Her Majesty first. Please, Your Majesty, I implore you—speak to Her Majesty on my behalf and ease her temper."

  Ying Qionglou frowned but, in the end, gave a slight nod.

  It wasn’t that he was favoring his concubine.

  It was just that in the past, the empress had once let a small issue spiral out of control—dragging the Eldest Princess into the conflict.

  And since Guifei was now asking him to intervene, he didn’t think much of it.

  It was simply habit—he still viewed the empress through the same lens as before.

  Regardless, he had already pnned to visit Fengyi Pace that evening.

  After all, what happened st night had been a bit inappropriate.

  Whatever the case, the empress hadn’t done anything wrong recently. He couldn’t continue to ignore her.

  So, as evening fell, the emperor once again arrived at Fengyi Pace.

  At that moment, Wumian was practicing calligraphy.

  She had a habit of keeping her hands busy while thinking—though, to be honest, she was only writing out of muscle memory.

  If she were truly practicing, she wouldn’t be so distracted.

  "Your Majesty, the emperor has arrived."

  Wumian hummed in acknowledgment as she rose to her feet.

  "The emperor?"

  Was it just her, or had he been visiting more frequently these days?

  Setting down her brush, she stepped out of her study just as the emperor entered the rear hall of Fengyi Pace.

  "What was the empress doing?" Ying Qionglou asked.

  Wumian bowed gracefully. "Nothing much—just reading and writing a little."

  Ying Qionglou gnced over, his gaze falling on her attire.

  She wore a simple white pleated ruqun adorned with delicate blue floral patterns, her hairpins modest, her ornaments minimal.

  With her figure now visibly slimmer, she carried a light, almost ethereal presence—as if a gentle breeze could lift her away.

  "It's rare for the Empress to be so studious."

  "Learning is a lifelong pursuit—reading more books is always a good thing," Wumian replied as she walked with him into the main hall.

  "Your words may be pin, but they hold great truth," Ying Qionglou remarked as he took his seat.

  Wumian smiled at him but did not continue the conversation.

  "I heard about today's matter."

  Wumian looked at him in surprise. "What does Your Majesty mean?"

  She wasn’t pretending—she genuinely didn’t understand for a moment.

  "The fact that the Duke An's Manor did not come to pay respects to you was their fault. I am aware of the situation."

  Wumian was speechless.

  "It was a minor issue," she said, unwilling to dwell on it.

  But because she dismissed it so lightly, the Emperor couldn’t quite read her thoughts. So he added, "It is good that you are magnanimous. Guifei was not disrespecting you—this was entirely the fault of Duke An's Manor. You should not hold it against Guifei. She has her own difficulties."

  Just then, Linshui and Zhaohua entered, carrying tea. Wumian didn’t rush to respond; she waited until the maids had set everything in pce before speaking.

  "This matter truly was already over. This morning, I merely spoke a few words to Guifei—not even a harsh expression was given. I did not scold her, nor did I raise my voice. As the Empress, I believe my words were reasonable, were they not? Why would such a small issue warrant Your Majesty personally coming to discuss it?"

  She smiled as she spoke. "I may be a successor empress, but even as a second wife, I am still Your Majesty’s wife. That much is indisputable, correct? Since I was in the right and did not abuse my position, why is Your Majesty so concerned?"

  Her argument was logical and well-founded, leaving Ying Qionglou slightly uncomfortable. "That was not my intention. I simply do not wish to see discord among you all. As Empress, you should have the grace to let these things pass."

  Wumian chuckled softly and shook her head. "Your Majesty’s bias is quite pin to see, but fortunately, I am broad-minded and will not take offense. In this matter, I do not believe I was in the wrong, so it seems Guifei must have been overthinking things, and Your Majesty must have misunderstood. But since Your Majesty is my husband, I will not argue with you about it. You speak of grace—and indeed, a concubine’s ck of propriety should not be something a wife dwells upon. If Your Majesty wishes, let us put this matter behind us."

  That was it? Just like that, she was willing to drop it?

  If this were before, wouldn’t she have sulked for months?

  Naturally, Ying Qionglou was eager to agree. "Of course."

  However, the way she so effortlessly let it go left him with an indescribable feeling.

  "Additionally, Your Majesty misunderstood me the other night as well. Encountering Sun Yunu was not something I arranged—it was purely a coincidence. Naturally, Your Majesty may not believe me, but that is only because you always view me through the lens of the past, which leads to these misunderstandings. In truth, during the past half year of solitude, I have reflected on many things. I realize now that my past behavior was indeed fwed—but haven’t I changed?"

  She would never explicitly list out her past mistakes.

  The original Wumian had been foolish, arrogant, and completely unaware of her own limitations.

  But those were things only she could acknowledge.

  No one else had the right to say them.

  After all, no matter how foolish the original owner had been, she had still lost her life.

  "If the Empress truly thinks this way, then that is for the best," Ying Qionglou said, visibly surprised.

  Wumian, however, shook her head again. "I truly do think this way. But has Your Majesty ever considered whether you have been too harsh on me? Although I was born into a marquis household, our family had long since declined. My mother was merely the daughter of a minor seventh-rank official when she married my father. My grandfather held only a title with no actual position and did not even attend court.

  "When Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager selected me as Empress, I was suddenly elevated from the daughter of a fallen noble house to the daughter of a prestigious duke’s family—an Empress.

  "In a family like ours, who would have dared to dream of me becoming Empress? Naturally, I was never raised with that expectation, nor prepared for such a role. I made mistakes, I was unrefined—did Your Majesty ever once show me any patience?

  "But this is not entirely Your Majesty’s fault either. The te Empress Shen’s family may have fallen, but she herself was quite capable. Though no one dares to mention her now, from the various pace affairs I’ve observed, as well as bits and pieces I’ve heard, it’s clear that Empress Shen was highly competent—astute and efficient. I, on the other hand, cannot compare.

  "Your Majesty must have found me increasingly disappointing in contrast.

  "But people are different. Some are more talented, some are less so. Some are born into high stations, while others are not. The education one receives growing up also varies—doesn’t Your Majesty agree?"

  Ying Qionglou was taken aback.

  He had not expected her to sit there so calmly, speaking about his own shortcomings to his face…

  And yet, somehow, he did not feel offended.

  She even brought up Empress Shen so directly…

  She dared to bring up Shen Shi…

  "In the future, I will certainly learn to be a proper Empress," Wumian continued. "I only ask that Your Majesty give me the opportunity. Instead of condemning me outright, at least hear me out first. Would it not be disheartening otherwise?"

  She pouted slightly, feigning grievance.

  Ying Qionglou took a sip of tea to mask the faint trace of awkwardness on his face.

  "Of course."

  __

  (Transtor Xiaobai: Good job, Wumian. I'm proud of you)