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

"Jin'er, my poor Jin'er, how did you become like this..."

When the birthday banquet was in chaos because Lu Guan had his face burned, Madam Yu had already quietly left the main hall of Xianyue Palace and came to Yanyun Palace.

In the coldest and most remote corner of Yanyun Palace, in a low and damp little house, Madam Yu saw Yu Tingjin's pitiful appearance with disheveled hair and dirty face, and she burst into tears.

"mother……"

"Mom, is that you? Jin'er is not dreaming?"

Yu Tingjin was lying sick on the thatched bed. When he opened his mouth, his hoarse voice startled Madam Yu.

"Your throat?!"

"Water... Mom, I'm thirsty..."

"Hey, hey, Mommy's going to pour you some water... Where's the cup? Where's the teapot? Why is there nothing here? Why? Someone, come! Someone!"

Madam Yu paced around in the small, low room, and ran out to call for help, but no palace maid came.

The Yanyun Palace was deserted, with weeds and rubble everywhere. It was said that many deposed concubines of the past and present generations had lived there, yet not a single person could be seen.

I don’t know where those palace servants went to take a break.

Madam Yu had no choice but to send her maid to look for someone or to find water.

After returning to Yu Tingjin, Mrs. Yu hugged her daughter and cried.

I was overwhelmed by the overly sour smell on Yu Tingjin's body.

Chiliu.

Suddenly a mouse ran across the bed, with a long tail and a pointed mouth.

Madam Yu was so frightened that she stood up immediately.

Yu Tingjin, who was lying in her arms, was caught off guard, half of his body drooped off the bed and rolled on the ground.

"mother……"

She didn't even have the strength to get up.

Madam Yu tried to lift her up tremblingly, but she couldn't. She tried twice, but she hit the ground both times, so she had to give up.

I put the black quilt on her to keep her warm.

The quilt had several holes in it, but it was thin and hard, and small, shiny black beetles crawled out of the cotton.

Madam Yu felt nauseous.

"Mom, Jin'er is feeling really bad, please save her..."

Yu Tingjin had a fever and told her mother in a hoarse voice and choked with sobs that ever since she was sent to the cold palace, she had been beaten and starved all day long, and the palace maids who served her were demons who bullied her.

She never had a good night's sleep, never had a hot meal, couldn't wash or go out.

No one called a doctor when she was sick. She had a high fever and passed out several times last night. She almost thought she was going to die.

"Don't be afraid, Jin'er. Be good, mother will definitely save you..."

Madam Yu had met the Queen Mother privately that morning and firmly expressed her disapproval of Fei Wan's rebellion against the emperor and her concern for her daughter's misfortune. As a result, she received the Queen Mother's tacit consent to visit her daughter in the cold palace during the banquet.

In fact, she was not so determined in her heart.

After all, Fei Wan might be her biological daughter.

If Zen Master Huizhen was not mistaken, the rustic and uncouth Fei Wan was truly her child—even if she found it hard to accept.

Abandoning one's own daughter will always damage one's merits in life.

She entered the cold palace with a glimmer of mercy. She hoped that Yu Tingjin wouldn't have to suffer too much. If Fei Wan admitted her fault, the two sisters would reconcile, and the Queen Mother would allow Yu Tingjin to return to Chunxi Palace...

She could accept this result.

However, after seeing Yu Tingjin in such a miserable state and being bullied, Mrs. Yu completely gave up the idea.

Endless shock, heartache, and anger all turned into hatred towards Fei Wan.

She firmly believed that Fei Wan was definitely not her child and she could never give birth to such a vicious thing!

Look at how badly Jin'er was bullied, and Fei Wan actually dared to write a letter back to the Yu Mansion, saying that she would not bother with Jin'er anymore...

The person who should care about this should be Jin'er!

"Jin'er, I'll go and ask the Queen Mother to get you a doctor and move you to a new room. I swear I won't let anyone who bullies you have an easy time!"

The maid found a bucket of cold water. Madam Yu and the maid worked together to carry Yu Tingjin back to the bed and gave her two sips of water to moisten her throat.

Leaving a maid to take care of Yu Tingjin, Madam Yu left the cold palace and hurried back to the birthday banquet hall.

She was going to ask the Queen Mother for help.

Ask the emperor.

Seeking Concubine Qing, Concubine Xian, Concubine Hui...

Ask everyone you can ask for help.

Save Jin'er.

In front of all the ministers and their wives, she just didn't believe that the emperor could be so ruthless.

However, when Madam Yu returned to the main hall of Xianyue Palace with a feeling of grievance, she found that there seemed to be no chance for her to speak.

The stage in the center of the main hall collapsed. Even after such a long time, no palace servants had cleaned it up, and it was just lying there.

The virtuous concubine stood in front of the throne, her eyes red and she kept sobbing.

All the officials and ladies in the palace were silent, and all the drinking and feasting stopped.

"Drag him away and beat him to death."

The emperor spoke calmly, and two actors and a eunuch who were kneeling beside the stage were quickly dragged out of the hall.

The miserable cry for mercy quickly disappeared outside the hall.

"what happened?"

Madam Yu quietly walked back along the wall, sat down again, and whispered to the concubine next to her.

Because there was no one walking around in the hall, no matter how careful she was, she still stood out.

Her husband Yu Zhong, who was sitting opposite her in the court officials' seat, cast a very dissatisfied look at her from afar.

Fortunately, the emperor, empress dowager and others above ignored her.

"Madam, the collapse of the stage was not an accident. Two people from the Fu family bribed the eunuch guarding the palace while they were testing the stage this morning, and deliberately broke the support under the stage. It's okay to walk on it normally, but if you do a somersault and fall to the ground, you will step through the stage." The concubine Yu Sujin said softly.

Madam Yu was surprised: "The Fu family's own people destroyed their own stage?"

"We've already found out from the interrogation that this is a fight for the succession to the troupe. Senior Brother Jiang Liuhong doesn't want Lu Guan, who plays the goddess, to take over as troupe leader, so he wants to embarrass her in the palace. Not only will she completely lose her chance of succession, but she might even be convicted and killed for misbehaving in front of the emperor."

"But Officer Lu has made a fool of himself, and it has damaged the reputation of the troupe."

Yu Sujin said, "Jiang Liuhong is very famous in Beijing and has many fans. I think she can still restore the reputation of the troupe."

"Where's Jiang Liuhong?"

When Madam Yu saw that the people who were dragged out and beaten to death were ordinary actors from the Fu family troupe, she thought that they were the two people who deliberately broke the stage pillars.

So who is behind this?

"When the truth was revealed, he quietly escaped and threw himself into the Taiye Lake out of fear of punishment. Right now, people in the palace are fishing for his body in the lake, but they haven't found it yet."

Yu Sujin was a little scared, after all, someone had died.

But I also have some expectations.

This is not just internal strife within the Fu family.

She realized that the matter was not simple when Concubine Xian ordered people to inquire about the truth.

It must be related to the infighting among the concubines in the palace!

Just like how the eldest sister Yu Tingjin was injured and unable to bear children, like how Yu Tingjin was sent to the cold palace and Fei Wan was promoted, like how the queen was ill and the virtuous concubine took charge...

These things did not make her feel that the palace was scary at all.

On the contrary, it aroused my fighting spirit even more.

With just a little scheming, the concubine could completely suppress the mistress in the mansion. She was stronger than the concubine, younger and more beautiful...

The palace is where she can show her skills!

Yu Sujin responded to her stepmother's questions in a low voice.

Quietly, he would glance towards the throne from time to time.

Not shy, not curious, just looking at the emperor normally.

Her eyes were open and frank, and she had the gentleness and grace that is unique to women.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I was completely unaware of the plots of these villains. I am guilty of negligence and have disrupted the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

The virtuous concubine cried and admitted her mistake and asked for forgiveness.

When the emperor looked at the virtuous concubine, he also felt a gentle gaze.

So he raised his eyes and glanced around.

He saw a young girl in a goose yellow gauze double-breasted half-sleeved shirt and a bodice with orange sleeves and jade hairpin flowers sitting in the seat for ladies behind Concubine Xian, looking at him gently.