The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

"Cao Bin."

"The slave is here."

The emperor sat in the sedan chair and did not say a word for a long time. Suddenly, he called out Cao Bin's name, which made Cao Bin tremble and respond quickly.

Just now in the inner hall of Ciyu Palace, the seemingly calm but tense situation had frightened the chief eunuch.

Knowing that the emperor was in a very bad mood, he had to be extremely alert and respond carefully.

"The Empress Dowager is spending the summer in the Western Hills, recuperating. Who disturbed her rest by telling her every detail of the palace affairs?"

"Your Majesty, Madam Shixiang, who serves the Empress Dowager, returns to the palace every ten days or half a month to feed and care for the birds in Ciyun Palace. There are so many species, such as parrots, mynah birds, cranes, peacocks, and so on, that it takes her most of the day to care for them all. I believe she heard some interesting palace anecdotes during this time and would like to share them with the Empress Dowager."

Cao Bin knew that the Queen Mother had an informant in the palace.

The concubines would also find ways to send messages to Xishan to curry favor.

As the person who has felt the most "wronged" recently, the Queen must have told the Queen Mother a lot of things in private.

But he chose the most conventional answer that would not offend anyone.

In fact, these emperors also knew this, and they just said a few words to the servants around them to relieve the depression in their hearts.

Hearing this, he sneered:

"Parrots, mynah birds... animals that mimic speech are somewhat endearing, but when people talk too much, they are detestable."

Cao Bin said, "Your Majesty has vast territories and a vast country within his heart. In my humble opinion, even if a bird can mimic human speech, it is still your Majesty's property and is of no value."

"You, slave, did say something insightful."

The emperor looked at the starry sky and suddenly laughed out loud.

The depression in my chest was swept away.

The emperor's spirit returned to him in an instant.

"Cao Bin, tomorrow morning, I will issue an order to all six palaces. The Empress must concentrate on recuperating. All palace affairs will be jointly handled by Consort Qing and Consort Xian. No one is allowed to enter Fengyi Palace without permission to disturb the Empress's recuperation. I decree this."

"The slave obeys the order!"

The emperor returned to Chenqian Palace and looked up at the night sky, his eyes becoming deeper and colder.

No one, whether it was the censors, the queen, or even Prince Rui and the queen mother, could stop him from ruling the world and controlling the country.

He is the emperor.

No one is allowed to challenge his authority!

"Tohka, when you look at the Emperor, does he look different from before?"

Ciyun Palace.

After the emperor and empress left, the empress dowager did not go to bed immediately, but sat on the soft couch in the inner hall and slowly drank a bowl of calming soup.

She was surprised by the emperor's silent resistance tonight.

She could keenly feel the power that was about to explode beneath the emperor's respectful smile.

The palace maids all left, and Nanny Tohka spoke softly to her master in private.

"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty has become more and more like an emperor in the five years since he ascended the throne."

A subtle reminder that the emperor is no longer a newly crowned ruler, but is already an emperor who is adept at managing the court.

The Queen Mother slowly skimmed off the foam with the lid of the bowl, her expression hard to tell whether she was happy or angry:

"He dared to contradict me to my face.

Two months ago, when I left the palace for the Qingyi Garden, he wasn't like this."

"Empress Dowager, I heard that there has been a lot going on at court recently. I'm afraid His Majesty must be very tired."

"But it didn't stop him from favoring foxy ladies and elevating palace maids!"

These words were so harsh that Tohka didn't dare to respond.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath. "Usually, whenever I mentioned Prince Rui, the Emperor would act respectful and friendly, but his unhappiness was genuine. Just now, I used Prince Rui and his children to criticize him, but he didn't even bother to respond. He directly seized all the power of the Empress to oppose me. He has made great progress!"

Shixiang advised carefully, "Your Majesty... you are the king after all. Look at Prince Rui himself. He seems to be avoiding Your Majesty. He stayed with you for a while, but then, figuring Your Majesty would arrive, he left the palace early. No matter how close the relationship between brothers is, there is a difference between king and subject, and Prince Rui knows the limits."

Shixiang didn't care whether Prince Rui understood the limits or not. She just wanted to subtly remind the Queen Mother that it would be best not to use Prince Rui to provoke the Emperor all the time in order to suppress him.

It’s different in the past.

At the beginning, both of the nominal princes had the hope of ascending the throne. If one of them was slightly promoted, the other would be obedient and try to please him in various ways in order to gain more support from his biological mother.

But now, the emperor has firmly established his throne, and Prince Rui's identity and blood relationship are inherently embarrassing.

The Queen Mother disagreed.

Instead, I feel that Tohka is inconsiderate.

"I was the empress of the late emperor, managing his harem and helping him resolve his problems. I accompanied him through countless crises and dangers. Now, I am the empress dowager of Daliang, single-handedly supporting the emperor's succession to the throne. It is my responsibility to carry on the late emperor's legacy and assist him in protecting Daliang.

If the emperor is wrong, how can I ignore it for the sake of our ancestors' legacy?

You've seen that the Queen is incompetent and doesn't have the slightest respect from him, so how could he listen to her advice? If I don't step in, who will calm the turmoil in the harem? Who will manage the gossip in the court?"

Shixiang was silent.

After a moment, she forced a smile and said, "This servant knows nothing about the affairs of the court, and only knows some superficial principles. The Queen Mother is concerned about the country, and this servant only wants you to live out your life in peace.

Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so don't be a slave to them. When I was little, I often heard the elders say that the older generation should not interfere in other matters, so that the younger generation can support the family business...

But it turns out that these are just rural talk. The Queen Mother is the Queen Mother after all. In your life, you have shouldered the responsibilities of the late emperor's harem and supported the current emperor with one hand. Naturally, you are different from ordinary old women outside. I was mistaken.

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother nodded slightly.

"I really want to let go and enjoy some peace and quiet, but look, after two months in Xishan, this palace is almost in chaos."

Tohka smiled apologetically, "Those who are capable should do more work. The Queen Mother is in good health, and some people are tired!"

After coaxing the Empress Dowager into changing into her pajamas and settling her down to sleep, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

Shixiang walked out of the inner hall, called a trusted young palace maid, and quietly instructed her:

"Pick up two pieces of satin from the storeroom and send them to Miss Zhao of Guanlan Courtyard. Don't alarm anyone else."

The young palace maid asked, "Is it a reward from the Queen Mother?"

"No need to say anything."

"Yes."

The little palace maid went to do her errand quietly.

Tohka exhaled into the night.

The situation in the palace had been changing for a long time, not just the changes in the past two months.

The emperor was firmly in control of the country, so how could Prince Rui replace him? Unfortunately, the empress dowager still couldn't see clearly, or rather, she didn't want to see clearly.

He also used Prince Rui as a bargaining chip to suppress the emperor.

After all, no one wants to lose power easily.

In this respect, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor look quite like real mother and son.

But the world, after all, belongs to the emperor. The queen mother, after all, is old and a woman.

Tohka doesn't want to live a lonely life with the Queen Mother after her defeat.

She also has children and grandchildren outside the palace, a mansion and a family.

She found out everything about Princess Zhao's rise to power.

After decades in the palace, she believed she was pretty good at judging people.

In this round, she is willing to bet on Lady Zhao.

I believe that Concubine Zhao could guess her intention of giving her the satin.

"Madam Shixiang, did you come to give me two pieces of satin?"

In Guanlan Courtyard, Fei Wan, who had received the gift, asked the young palace maid in confusion, "Is this a reward from the Empress Dowager?"

The little palace maid shook her head.

"What did Mammy tell you?"

The little palace maid still shook her head.

Fei Wan lowered her head in thought.

These two pieces of satin are not expensive, nor are they fashionable, and they look like they have been in the warehouse for a long time, neither new nor old.

As the confidant of the Empress Dowager, why did Madam Shixiang suddenly send this thing over for nothing?