Want to win the palace fight? Better to be crazy than to be idiotic!

Although there was no danger in the imperial city, Qin Feng'an didn't want to let the girl go back overnight, so he asked Su Feiran to stay overnight in Yongning Palace, while Eunuch Zhang, Han She and others waited outside the palace.

Since there was no sofa in Yongning Hall, the two of them ended up sleeping on the same bed. They searched all over Yongning Hall and found a dozen soft pillows, and built a pillow wall in the middle of the small bed.

The two of them slept back to back with a wall of pillows between them, in a very awkward posture.

Outside the palace, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse. In front of the palace, there is tight guarding. No one in the world can disturb the two people's good dreams... or bad dreams.

The back garden was not as peaceful as the Yongning Palace at this time. Although it was already past midnight, many people were still awake.

In Chitang Garden, Ling'er was tapping Concubine Jia's shoulder when she heard a series of trivial footsteps outside.

"You're taking so long." Concubine Jia slightly opened her squinting eyes.

As soon as he finished speaking, another palace maid, Luo'er, came to report: "Empress Xian is waiting outside the garden."

"Pass it in."

"Yes."

Luo'er bowed and left obediently. After a while, Lin Xiuqing and Yu Liu followed Luo'er in. Although Concubine Jia was still sitting on the heavily cushioned armchair enjoying Ling'er's massage and did not look directly at the two people who had just entered, Lin Xiuqing still bowed respectfully and stood there waiting for Concubine Jia's instructions.

It was unknown how long it had been, but the candlelight in the garden flickered. Without waiting for Concubine Jia to speak, Rao'er went to light another red candle. Concubine Jia seemed to have noticed that there were two more people in the room, so she asked Ling'er to stop squeezing Lin Xiuqing's shoulders and offered him a seat.

Luo'er brought Lin Xiuqing a bowl of clear-colored Bitan Piaoxue tea. Anyone who knew the quality of the tea would know that the tea was made of top-quality jasmine flowers. If it was placed outside the palace, it would be hard to find a market for. Lin Xiuqing lowered his eyes and took the tea bowl respectfully. He found that the tea had been brewed for a long time and had already cooled down, so he did not drink it. He put it on the tea table beside him on the grounds of "feeling unwell".

"The Imperial Concubine summoned me late at night and gave me tea. I wonder what important matter is there to discuss?"

Lin Xiuqing's tone was neither humble nor arrogant, as if she had never been neglected by Concubine Jia.

Everyone in the palace knew that Concubine Jia Wu Jiayan had a strong background, and her mother's family was more powerful than other concubines, so her position had risen since she entered the palace. No one dared to show disrespect to Concubine Jia, even the concubines who didn't like her way of doing things were no exception.

Even though Lin Xiuqing was treated coldly, he remained polite on the surface and there was no sign of grievance on his face. This was the way to survive in the palace.

"You have a unique vision, and the people you choose can catch the emperor's eye. Therefore, I would like to ask you to help me identify which piece of brocade just delivered by the eunuchs is the best material and suitable for making new autumn clothes."

Wu Jiayan only glanced to the side, and Rao'er understood what he meant. She brought a thick stack of brocade from the warehouse and wanted to give it to Yu Liu behind Lin Xiuqing.

However, Yuliu did not take the brocade, and left Rao'er standing there holding the brocade, waiting helplessly for Concubine Jia's instructions.

Lin Xiuqing stood up and bowed to apologize: "The Purple Palace can only use ordinary brocade. I have never seen such good quality before, so I am afraid I can't recognize the exquisite material. I am not afraid of being laughed at, but I don't want Your Majesty to be hindered by my poor eyesight."

Wu Jiayan stroked his sleeves, still not looking at Lin Xiuqing: "You mean, you are unwilling to help me with this?"

"If Your Majesty urgently needs to pick out some good fabrics for making clothes, I can bring these embroidered satins back to the Zichen Palace and ask someone to identify them. I will be able to give Your Majesty an accurate answer within two days." Lin Xiuqing said.

After hearing this, Wu Jiayan sneered and finally set his gaze on Lin Xiuqing, who lowered her brows and looked pleasing to the eye.

"When you first entered the palace, the Queen Mother praised you for your embroidery and weaving skills, saying that your stitches were much finer than those of others. Since you can tell that this is embroidered satin, it proves that what the Queen Mother said is true. If that's the case, why are you trying to shirk your responsibility?"

Wu Jiayan raised his eyebrows slightly, and did not go down the steps Lin Xiuqing gave him, but climbed up instead.

"You also know that I need this batch of materials urgently, so how can you delay for several days? Are you trying to find an excuse to get away with it?"

Lin Xiuqing's eyes sank slightly. It seemed that Concubine Jia would definitely not let her sleep peacefully today.

"In that case..." Lin Xiuqing bit her lip and leaned forward, "I will help the Imperial Concubine to take a look."

After saying that, Lin Xiuqing sat back down and let Yuliu take over dozens of pieces of brocade. Yuliu half-knelt on the ground and presented the brocade to Lin Xiuqing, allowing her to choose one by one.

The texture of the embroidered satin was delicate and the pattern was compact. After just looking at it for a while, Lin Xiuqing felt her eyes dry. But as the Queen Mother said, she was indeed very skilled in weaving and embroidery, and she quickly discarded two pieces of material that were a bit mediocre.

"Yes, it's worth it for me to invite you here." Concubine Jia's eyes showed a hint of complex meaning, and she called out, "Rao'er, hold the lamp for Concubine Xian."

Rao'er responded and brought a palace lantern. However, the wick of the lantern seemed to have burned down, the candlelight flickered, and the pattern on the brocade was even harder to discern than before.

Even though Lin Xiuqing knew that Concubine Jia was deliberately making things difficult for her, she could not say anything. She could only swallow her anger and spread out each piece of fabric, carefully examining every stitch on the brocade.

By the time Lin Xiuqing finished inspecting all the materials, it was already midnight.

Lin Xiuqing sighed lightly and walked forward with three pieces of high-quality brocade that she had folded herself in her hands.

Wu Jiayan was sitting on the armchair, dozing off with her chin resting on her hand. Ling'er called her softly, and she came back to her senses and casually looked through the materials selected by Lin Xiuqing.

Lin Xiuqing could not see any emotion on Wu Jiayan's face. Although she was confident that she had a keen eye, she felt a little uneasy after not getting any feedback for a long time.

"What time is it now?" Wu Jiayan asked Ling'er beside him after reading it.

Ling'er immediately replied, "It's already midnight."

"Empress Xian spent three hours carefully selecting these three pieces of fabric?" Wu Jiayan asked coldly, "Not only are the embroidery patterns messy, but the colors are not what I usually like. For example, when has Empress Xian ever seen me wearing such a dull dark blue? I'm afraid Empress Xian thinks I'm frivolous and wants to suppress me with this old-fashioned color!"

Lin Xiuqing knelt down hurriedly and explained, "I dare not! The embroidered satin is best with delicate patterns. If we talk about the exquisite embroidery, these three pieces are the best materials that are hard to find in the whole country! The material that the imperial concubine pointed out, although the base color is dark blue, it is embroidered with pink and dark blue lotus flowers. Not only does it make the clothes look luxurious, but it also has excellent meaning. I am terrified and dare not have any disrespectful thoughts!"

"Boring."

Wu Jiayan yawned and threw the brocade in his hand, and it fell back into Lin Xiuqing's wrist.

"I will not keep any of these materials. I will give them all to you."

Lin Xiuqing lowered her head even deeper: "I...thank you, Your Majesty."

"I am tired, please go back."

Wu Jiayan no longer looked at Lin Xiuqing and waved his hands as if to shoo away mosquitoes and flies.

"Although it is a material that cannot be used in Chitang Garden, it is still better than ordinary brocade. Don't forget that the newcomer will move into Zichen Palace, and Concubine Xian must treat him well. Don't be the only one wearing luxurious clothes, making others look like maids."

After saying that, Rao'er stepped forward, bowed, and asked Lin Xiuqing to follow her out of Chitang Garden.

After leaving Chitang Garden, Yu Liu watched Luo Er go back, and only dared to show some anger on her face when she could no longer see her figure. She was about to say something when Lin Xiuqing interrupted her.

"No need to say it, let's go back."

Lin Xiuqing looked at the sky in the distance and said lightly,

"All these things will eventually become a sin. If I don't repay it now, I will wait until another time."