After being reborn, the empress only wanted to seduce the emperor and seize the empress's posit

Chapter 3 Entering the Palace
As the carriage pulled up, she arrived at the palace. Chun'er and Xia'er helped her down from the sedan chair and into the palace.

Lu Jingning looked at the towering, majestic vermilion palace walls that separated this place from the outside world.

Indeed, once you enter the palace gates, it's like entering a deep sea; flowers fall in the palace, and time slips away.

Lu Jingning was taken to a palace that had been arranged in advance; her residence was called Chengqian Palace.

The head of the palace was Consort Shu, and she lived in the East Palace.

After entering the palace, Chun'er and Xia'er couldn't help but exclaim, "This palace is truly magnificent!"

Looking at them, Lu Jingning felt as if they were the same people he had been when he entered the palace in his previous life.

This Consort Shu is known for being straightforward and doesn't resort to underhanded tactics.

After Lu Jingning settled in, all the servants and eunuchs assigned by the Imperial Household Department came to pay their respects to her.

"This servant greets Consort Lu, may Consort Lu enjoy boundless blessings."

Lu Jingning sat in the main seat, his eyes carrying a hint of authority.

"You all serve in my palace, and I have always disliked those who cause trouble for no reason. You must be careful with your words and actions in my palace, and you must not be arrogant or domineering. If you violate this rule, you will not be let off lightly."

The servants were shocked upon hearing this. The girl in the main seat was clearly only sixteen or seventeen years old, yet her words carried an air of authority without anger.

"Did you hear me clearly?"

"You lackeys, listen carefully!"

Lu Jingning glanced at it, and Chun'er, who was standing next to him, immediately understood and distributed the silver that had been prepared in advance to the people below.

The servants were pleasantly surprised to see Lu Jingning being so generous.

"If you are loyal and do a good job, you will be well rewarded."

Lu Jingning knew that only by using both kindness and severity could he keep them in check.

This was experience she had accumulated in her previous life.

"Go and get to work."

"Yes"

After the servants left, Lu Jingning had Chun'er and Xia'er stand on either side of him.

Lu Jingning whispered in their ears, "Just do this in a moment... understand?"

“Yes, we understand,” Chun’er and Xia’er said in unison.

"Go ahead," Lu Jingning waved his hand.

Chun'er and Xia'er went to find the palace maids and eunuchs respectively.

Chun'er came out of the warm pavilion and saw Xiao Linzi sweeping. She called to him, "Xiao Linzi, come here."

"Sister Chun'er, does Consort Lu have any instructions?"

Chun'er told her mysteriously, "Consort Lu thinks you are honest and kind, and plans to promote you."

"Really?" Xiao Linzi was overjoyed. He had only recently entered the palace and it was the perfect time for him to prove himself. He was thrilled to hear that he had gained Consort Lu's favor.

"Of course, but you must be loyal to your master. Don't let anyone else know about this; I'm telling you this in secret."

"I understand, Sister Chun'er, you can rest assured," Xiao Linzi assured Chun'er.

"You get back to work, I still have to go help the young master with his tasks."

"Yes, yes, yes, take care, Sister Chun'er."

Chun'er and Xia'er also told the same thing to Siyu, Sifeng, and Xiao Wuzi.

Lu Jingning was a newcomer to the palace and had not yet served the emperor, so the head of the Imperial Household Department simply assigned him a few servants.

Moreover, all four of them had only recently entered the palace and were not easily bribed by the other concubines.

The other two are elderly people who have been in the palace for a long time, and we need to be extra careful with them.

Sure enough, after they said that, the four of them worked even harder.

After completing the tasks assigned by Lu Jingning, they returned to the palace.

"You must keep a close eye on them. My bedchamber is to be cleaned by you and your men; don't let them clean it alone," Lu Jingning instructed from the side. One should not harbor malicious intentions, but one must be wary of others.

She needs to be on guard at all times.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Tomorrow is the day to pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress," Chun'er said with some worry.

Lu Jingning remained calm and reassured her, "It's alright, don't worry."

"Miss, no, Consort Lu, how can I not worry? I heard that the Imperial Concubine is..." Xiao Chun looked worried.

Compared to Chun'er, Xia'er was much more composed: "With our intelligence and wisdom, we'll definitely be able to turn danger into safety."

Lu Jingning nodded and told Chun'er, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

The next morning

Sunlight shone on Lu Jingning's delicate face as she softly instructed Chun'er, "Today, when I go to the Empress's palace to pay my respects, I must dress simply and not steal the spotlight."

Although Chun'er was full of doubts, she dared not ask too many questions. She could only carefully choose an elegant plain-colored long dress for Lu Jingning. The hem of the dress swayed lightly, as hazy as the morning mist.

She deftly styled Lu Jingning's hair into a simple bun, adorned only with a few delicate white flowers.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Lu Jingning smiled faintly: "Let's go."

After she took Xia'er to Jingren Palace, the Empress, who had caught a cold, was pale and weak, leaning against the couch. She gently parted her lips, excused everyone from paying their respects, and told them to disperse.

Just as Lu Jingning was about to turn and leave, she suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Fifth Sister, wait a moment."

"Younger sister, you're new here and may not be familiar with many things in the palace. Let's talk when we get there, so you can adapt more quickly."

Her elder sister, Lu Shiwei, said with a hint of disdain.

"Yes," Lu Jingning said respectfully.

Zhongcuigong

After returning to her palace, Consort Xian deliberately made Lu Jingning wait outside.

After a while, they let her in.

When Lu Jingning entered, he saw Consort Xian reclining on the chaise longue, with a maid fanning her from behind.

"This humble concubine greets Your Highness, the Virtuous Consort. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings."

The virtuous concubine looked at her with a sharp gaze, and said with a hint of jealousy, "My sister is becoming more and more beautiful."

Lu Jingning saw that Consort Xian was still just like in his previous life, unable to keep her composure.

"How could I, a mere concubine, compare to Consort Xian?"

Consort Xian snorted coldly, showing no intention of letting her get up.

At this moment, her maid Yunlu, seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense, gently tugged at Consort Xian's sleeve and whispered a word of advice.

“Your Highness, Consort Lu is new here and may not know the rules. Why should you get angry with her and ruin the harmony?”

Upon hearing this, Consort Xian's brows relaxed slightly, but she still kept a cold expression and reluctantly waved her hand: "Alright, get up."

Lu Jingning slowly stood up, his back straight, his eyes neither humble nor arrogant.

Consort Xian glanced at her, a cold smile playing on her lips, and began to admonish her: "You've just entered the palace, so learn the rules properly. Don't bring shame to the Lu family, and don't try to seduce the Emperor with those despicable tricks."

"This humble servant will humbly obey Your Majesty's teachings."

Lu Jingning was already used to her behavior; if she couldn't win favor herself, she wouldn't let others do so.

Seeing that she couldn't find fault with him, Consort Xian waved her hand impatiently, signaling Lu Jingning to leave.

"Yes, this concubine takes her leave."

After leaving Zhongcui Palace, Lu Jingning took Xia'er to the Imperial Garden.

In her previous life, she clearly remembered that a concubine had angered the emperor in the Imperial Garden and was confined to her quarters.

Therefore, the Emperor will definitely go to the Imperial Garden today. What she needs to do is to create a clever chance encounter so that the Emperor will remember her.

(End of this chapter)