Where prosperity ends, flowers never end

Baili Yong's brows furrowed. The concubine she was talking about was so bold.

"Why is she so fierce?"

"She said...she said I didn't know the rules, and said I was using my status to pressure her, and asked me why I was so arrogant!"

Diepin said three sentences in total, but none of them should have been said.

"Which concubine?"

Ran Qianxi thought for a moment...

"Anyway, just embroider a butterfly on your clothes."

Baili Yong's eyes darkened, and he might even have the intention to kill.

"Someone! Bring Diepin here!"

Manager Sun bowed.

"The slave obeys the order."

Ran Qianxi stood there silently, not expecting Baili Yong to be so serious.

"Take the Imperial Concubine to rest first."

Yuqing bowed.

"Yes."

Yifeng Palace was easily taken over by Ran Qianxi. Concubine Wan was very dissatisfied. As soon as she was taken out of the palace, she hurriedly spoke to persuade Ran Qianxi.

"His Majesty....."

Baili Yong was already angry after uttering just two words.

"Why didn't you bow just now?"

Concubine Wan knelt down in fear.

"I know I was wrong..."

Baili Yong's eyes moved slightly, without any attachment to Ran Qianxi at all.

"You should kneel. From today on, you must kneel in front of the Yifeng Palace for two hours every day at noon, regardless of whether Xi'er is in the palace or not, until she begs for mercy for you."

"Yes…"

Concubine Wan walked out of the palace tremblingly, and Concubine Die walked in.

"Meet the Concubine Wan."

Concubine Wan looked embarrassed, but Concubine Die had already guessed half of it and made a show of force before she even entered the palace.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Baili Yong glanced at her.

"Drag him out and slap him in the face."

Before Diepin could figure out what was happening, she was slapped in the face for no reason and immediately fell to the ground.

"I don't know what I did wrong..."

Baili Yong didn't even raise his head, nor did he tell the reason. He knew that his excessive doting would make Ran Qianxi a target of public criticism.

"What? Can't I beat you?"

Diepin was powerless to refute.

"I know I was wrong."

Afternoon -

Concubine He came to the Yifeng Palace to pay her respects. Ran Qianxi was drinking and eating, humming a tune happily.

"My Lady Imperial Concubine, Lady He is here."

"Let her in."

Lady He walked in cautiously and was relieved when she saw Ran Qianxi.

"I pay my respects to the Imperial Concubine."

Ran Qianxi looked up at her.

"Ah...are you Miss He?"

"The Imperial Concubine doesn't recognize me?"

Ran Qianxi raised her eyebrows and put the quail down guiltily.

"Did I offend you somewhere?"

"No, when I was in Jizhou, the Imperial Concubine always stood up for me."

Ran Qianxi's brain was working frantically. She was young at that time and she had indeed protected a girl.

The girl was timid and was always bullied by her female classmates. She was the leader of the kids and she bullied them every day.

"If you dare to bully her again, I will throw you into the mountains."

Ran Qianxi suddenly remembered the domineering lines. When she was young, she really liked to show off.

"Ahhh, I remember now... her name is He Xiaomeng..."

Lady He's face was filled with joy.

"That's my Imperial Concubine."

After she finished speaking, she knelt on the ground and bowed.

"Thank you, Imperial Concubine, for your protection many times."

Ran Qianxi happily helped her up.

"How did you get into the palace? Does the emperor favor you?"

"I am fortunate to have received the grace of His Majesty for several generations..."

Ran Qianxi still had a smile on her face and had no intention of hating her.

"How come you are the beauty? Didn't you compete for favor?"

Lady He was obviously a little nervous.

"I am not talented..."

Ran Qianxi smiled and patted her.

"It's okay, take your time~"

"Thank you, Imperial Concubine."

Ran Qianxi pulled her to the dining table.

"This quail is delicious, try it."

Lady He was obviously feeling a little uncomfortable sitting there.

"I dare not..."

Ran Qianxi handed her a quail leg.

"It's alright. Just tell me who he favors and some interesting anecdotes in the palace."

Lady He took the quail leg respectfully.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. His Majesty doesn't favor any of the concubines very much. It's just that Concubine Wan is summoned more often."

Ran Qianxi frowned.

"Which one is Concubine Wan? Is she pretty? Why does Baili Yong summon her so often?"

"Your Majesty, Concubine Wan is the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She is very gentle, well-educated, and can write poetry, so Your Majesty summons her more often."

"Oh...then it should be easy to get along with..."

Lady He shook her head to deny it.

"Concubine Wan is not a good person either. She behaves one way in front of His Majesty and another way in front of the concubines."

"Ah? Are you so good at pretending? Is there no one in the palace who is as easy to get along with as you?"

Miss He's look clearly showed some regret.

"There are no good men and women in this palace. They are all... sinister."

Ran Qianxi fell into deep thought. It seemed that the palace was more evil than she thought.

"But don't worry, madam. You are so smart that you can turn any danger into a safe one."

"Who is the most annoying one?"

Lady He was silent for a moment.

"The Concubine Xie is the most difficult to get along with, and the Queen is also... a little stingy..."

Ran Qianxi rubbed his chin and began to think.

"Isn't it said that the Queen is very kind?"

Lady He looked at her, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.

"A kind person...cannot be a queen..."

Ran Qianxi understood instantly.

"It seems like they are both very good at pretending... By the way, how many sons does he have?"

"Your Majesty, your Majesty has two sons and three daughters. One was born to Consort Xie, and one was born to the Queen. The son born to the Queen is now the Crown Prince."

Ran Qianxi also picked up a quail leg.

"Ah~ I respect my uncle~"

The two chatted and ate, and almost two hours had passed.

"My lady, why don't you let Concubine Wan get up?"

Ran Qianxi was completely confused and had no idea that Concubine Wan was kneeling in front of the palace gate.

"What happened to Concubine Wan?"

"I don't know. She has been kneeling in front of your door for a long time."

"what?"

Ran Qianxi had no idea and walked out quickly, deciding to stay for one night to avoid any more trouble.

Concubine He followed behind and met the Queen as soon as she walked out of the palace. She had to pay her respects no matter how reluctant she was. This was one of the reasons why she didn't want to be a concubine.

"To the Queen."

Seeing the queen's condescending look, she wanted to go back home as soon as possible.

"No gift."

"It's really frustrating..."

She whispered, forcing a smile before standing up.

"Thank you, Queen."

"What did Concubine Wan do wrong? Why did the Imperial Concubine make her kneel for so long?"

"I don't know either. I didn't ask him to kneel."

Although she replied, she did not use honorifics and was rude, which made the queen unusually gloomy.

"I know that His Majesty favors you, but you must not take advantage of your favor and become arrogant. Don't suppress the concubines because of some trivial matters, okay?"

Ran Qianxi had never heard such a harsh tone in her life. Her parents were reluctant to scold her, and others didn't dare to provoke her. This conceited and stingy queen immediately pissed her off.

"You...order me?"

The queen's face was frozen. She could never have imagined that any concubine would dare to disobey her.

"As the Imperial Consort, is this the tone you use when talking to the Empress?"

Ran Qianxi burst into laughter. The women in the harem were indeed petty and narrow-minded.

"Eh? You're right, Imperial Concubine! I really don't want to be the Imperial Concubine... How about this, if you don't like me, just go back to His Majesty and ask him to let me go?"

"You... really don't know etiquette!"