Harem Daily Life

Shu Cairen was indeed trying her best to win people over, but the only ones who could really talk to her were Concubine Liang, Concubine Li and Concubine Qin.

She used to look down upon these three people, but now almost all the forces in the palace have sided with the Queen. These people, headed by Concubine Xian and Concubine Xu, are all on the Queen's side. Since she returned to the palace, they have been avoiding her.

Of course, she also knew that she was indeed inferior to others in every way now, and it was only because she came from the Shu family that she was of some use. Otherwise, with her status, everyone would come to step on her. The reason why she could still live such a standard now was all thanks to her status as a member of the Shu family.

When talking about the Shu family, Shu Cairen thought of the empress dowager.

The Queen Mother became increasingly cold towards her.

"Has there been no news from Changchun Palace these days? Haven't you gone to His Majesty to ask him to lift my house arrest?" Shu Cairen asked Cuicui, the palace maid beside her.

Cuicui replied, "Master, there is no news at all. I followed your instructions and went to the palace to spread the news, but there is still no movement."

Cuicui was afraid that Shu Cairen would blame her for not doing her job carefully. You know, the last maid who followed Shu Cairen was beaten with a stick by Shu Cairen because she didn't do things well.

But she really had no choice. She had done everything she should have done, but Changchun Palace remained motionless, as if it was completely unaware that Shu Cairen was under house arrest.

Shu Cairen frowned deeply, and after a long pause she said, "Forget it. Since she was so cruel as to imprison me in the temporary palace, she will surely be so cruel as to see Your Majesty confine me to Yongning Palace. Humph, since she doesn't care about me, then I am happy and free. From now on, I will take whatever I want myself."

Cuicui concealed the disdain in her eyes, lowered her head and retreated.

"Go and take whatever you want. Don't you see your own worth? Do you think you are still the Shu Fei who was protected by the Empress Dowager?" Cuicui complained when no one was around.

Cuicui was originally a little maid sweeping the outer courtyard. After Concubine Shu was brought back to the palace, she had to be alone. Ziling and Fuxin, who had followed her at the beginning, were dealt with by the empress dowager, so Chief Steward Li selected a few new faces to take care of Concubine Shu.

After coming to Shu Cairen's side, Cuicui finally realized the helplessness of being pushed down by everyone. Some of the palace maids she knew before now stopped talking when they saw her, fearing that if they came close, they would anger the queen.

The queen is now the most favored person in the palace. She has far more children than any other concubine. How can such a queen lose?

Shu Cairen overestimates her own abilities and wants to fight with the Queen. Where does she get the courage and confidence from?

Cuicui went to the bedroom where the servants rested. She was not on duty tonight, so there was no need to watch over Concubine Shu. It would be better for her to rest early, get enough rest, and be nicer to herself.

As for Concubine Liang, she had been interacting more frequently with Concubine Shu since she returned to the palace. Although she was wary of Empress Tao, Concubine Shu was, after all, backed by the Empress Dowager and the Shu family. After some consideration, she finally decided to keep her distance from her. There was nothing wrong with just ordinary social interactions. If the Empress asked about it one day, she could just answer with a few words and it would be over.

But what she didn't expect was that the queen didn't ask about it, nor did she send anyone to call her, as if she didn't care at all.

"Tell me, does the Queen know about the relationship between me and Concubine Shu?" Concubine Liang was unsure and couldn't help but ask Xiaoru beside her.

Xiao Ru thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "In my opinion, the Queen may not have time to manage the harem. Her belly is already very big and she may give birth at any time. She won't be able to pay attention to other things at this time."

Princess Liang pondered for a moment and felt that Xiaoru's words made some sense.

Queen Tao didn't pay any attention to it, but someone was watching her closely.

In Yongxing Palace, the eldest prince returned from school and called the eunuch Wang who was in charge to ask about the major events that had happened in the palace in the past few days.

Eunuch Wang then explained the story of Concubine Liang and Concubine Shu: "It seems like they are trying to win over each other, each taking what they need, and banding together to take advantage of the situation."

The eldest prince's eyes flickered, revealing a sneer. "She harmed my mother. After her death, I was left helpless and unable to protect my maternal family. I lost my greatest support. After harming me to this extent, she still wants to win over others and make a comeback. How can I let her do that?"

The eldest prince closed his eyes and rested: "You go out, I need to think carefully about how to punish her."

A few days later, the fourth princess, He Qian, was playing in the imperial garden when she inexplicably fell into a pond. It was freezing cold in December, and even if a two-year-old child was quickly pulled out by palace servants, she would still be frozen to death. Soon she developed a high fever. Concubine Liang was anxious and angry. She summoned the imperial physician and sent someone to report to the emperor.

He Linzhang arrived very quickly, almost at the same time as the imperial physician.

As soon as Concubine Liang saw the emperor, she couldn't hold back her tears. While the imperial physician was treating her, she told him what happened in the imperial garden: "Your Majesty, I was taking the Fourth Princess to Yongning Palace to see Concubine Shu. Unexpectedly, as soon as we arrived at the imperial garden, the Fourth Princess said she wanted to see the fish, so I took her to see them. She hasn't been walking very steadily lately, and she fell without paying attention."

He Linzhang looked at her speechlessly: "It's so cold outside, why did you bring her to Yongning Palace? I have already ordered Shu Cairen to be confined to her house, and she can't come out, so you want to go see her? Are you two really that close?"

He Linzhang may not know whether the relationship between others is good or not, but Shu Cairen is his cousin. With her arrogant personality, it would be strange for her to make friends with Concubine Liang. Therefore, the fact that the two of them have a good relationship so that she can bring her children to visit the other during the period of house arrest is a bit suspicious.

Concubine Liang choked and said, "I and Concubine Shu entered the palace in the same year, so we have some friendship. Plus, she's been away from the palace for over a year and has been under house arrest since returning, so I thought of going to visit her and offer her some words of comfort."

He Linzhang was displeased: "Even if you want to see her and comfort her, you must first take good care of the Fourth Princess. She was already weak when she was born, and now she has caught a cold and has a high fever. She is in great danger. If you can't take good care of the child, I will choose someone else to be her adoptive mother."

Concubine Liang quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please have mercy on me. I will never treat the princess badly again and will never let her fall into the pond again."

Just as he finished speaking, the imperial physician came out of the inner chamber and reported, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess has inhaled dirty water from the pond. Her condition is critical. If the high fever persists for a few days, I'm afraid..."

The imperial physician did not dare to utter the word "died young" for fear of offending His Majesty and Concubine Liang and leading to reprimands.

He Linzhang asked the imperial physician to try his best to save the fourth princess. Although her biological mother was not favored, the child was innocent after all and was his own flesh and blood. He could not bear to see her die at such a young age.

As for Concubine Shu, she had originally made an appointment with Concubine Liang, but she waited and waited but no one showed up. She was so angry that she almost smashed things, but was stopped by Cuicui.

"Talented lady, perhaps Concubine Liang is stuck in something. You might as well wait a little longer and let me go and find out."

Cuicui was still somewhat rational. The main thing was that the decorations in the palace were valuable and beautiful. If they were smashed, it would be very heartbreaking.

If you don't ask, you won't know. Once you ask, you will find out that when Concubine Liang was on her way here, the Fourth Princess fell into the pond and still has a high fever.

When Shu Cairen heard the news, he immediately thought of his son He Kang.

The past scenes flooded back to her mind, and Shu Cairen gritted her teeth and said, "It seems that this Concubine Liang and I are indeed destined to be together. Our children are all gone like this."

Cuicui's heart skipped a beat, remembering how Concubine Shu had been sent to the temporary palace because of illness. They said she missed her son so much. She didn't want the Fourth Princess to get sick again and then send her away again.

What no one knew was that the pond where the fourth princess fell into had been doused with oil. It was wet and slippery, a deadly trap for a baby with unsteady gait.

The eldest prince listened to the eunuch's report without a smile on his face. "I didn't expect it to succeed on the first try. I don't know whether to say that the child was unlucky or that I was lucky."

Eunuch Wang asked, "The fourth princess is still young, and I don't know if she can make it?" Eunuch Wang still had a trace of conscience, and he was very worried.

The eldest prince sneered: "The child born to the Lu family does not deserve sympathy. The death of my mother was also caused by Li Cairen."

Eunuch Wang shuddered. He really didn't expect that the ten-year-old prince could be so intimidating.