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

In the current harem, no one family dominates.

The queen's favor is mediocre, and she occupies the throne in vain.

But with the protection of ancestral rules and a group of old civil officials, and as long as she herself does not make any big mistakes, she can still sit firmly on the throne.

Concubine Qing had an exclusive status and did not need to form cliques. She had the emperor's love and loyalty to protect her, and she herself did not get involved in disputes between families.

Therefore, before Yu Tingjin came to the throne, the only one who could compete with the Queen was Concubine Xian.

Behind the virtuous concubine stood the nobles and relatives.

Very heavy.

They have always been an existence that the royal family has to rely on and guard against.

The current emperor is able to inherit the throne thanks to their help.

But after they secured the throne, they became an obstacle to governing the country.

Arrogant, extravagant, tyrannical, and disregarding the law, these noble relatives have always been the thorn in the eyes of the civil officials who have gained power through the imperial examinations.

Fei Wan saw it clearly.

The fights among the women in the harem are not just about vying for favor.

Behind the game between the Queen and the Concubine Xian was actually the struggle for power and interests between the civil officials and the noble relatives.

They are just flags and targets in front!

Isn’t the emperor aware of this?

He knew too much about it and was even taking advantage of it.

If any group of people acted too recklessly, the emperor would give them some sweet treats to express his imperial will and give them a warning.

The recent flood in the south of the Yangtze River is a major event. The flood control and disaster relief efforts have been a complete mess, and the group of civil officials in the court, headed by the Prime Minister and the Censor, has made the emperor very angry.

So how could she have too much patience for the Empress and Yu Tingjin's family, who had a background as a civil official?

Fei Wan deliberately showed up at this time.

He used himself as bait to provoke Concubine Xian into taking action and stir up a fight between the two factions.

They were fighting fiercely, and the emperor was overwhelmed, so she had the opportunity to take advantage of it!

The virtuous concubine did not disappoint her.

The move was brilliant.

Yu Tingjin did not disappoint her.

It was a stupid move.

Compared to them, she now looked like a breath of fresh air in the emperor's eyes.

Beautiful, gentle, humble, sensible, helpless, weak and pitiful...

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to accompany you."

She walked to the imperial desk, spoke softly, and bowed gently.

"Get up, come here, let me take a closer look."

When Xiao Yu looked up from the memorial, he saw Fei Wan standing there in a light green smoke-colored silk dress, looking frail.

The hair is delicate.

He couldn't help but slow down his tone.

I was afraid that any louder sound would scare the already frightened person.

"His Majesty……"

Fei Wanying walked to the desk.

She raised her eyes slightly to glance at the emperor, then lowered them shyly.

This natural expression of shyness was just right, evoking the emperor's memories of last night.

The house was dark and water was splashing everywhere.

That is an extremely rare experience.

"Why are you wearing a veil?"

Xiao Yu reached out and stroked her cheek.

Fei Wan quickly dodged, "Your Majesty, don't look!"

But Xiao Yu pulled the veil off.

A face with finger marks and clear redness and swelling appeared suddenly.

Xiao Yu was surprised: "Who hit you?"

"No one hit me. I was just swatting a mosquito by mistake..."

"Who are you covering up for? Do you think I don't know?"

Xiao Yu said in a deep voice.

Fei Wan was so scared that she immediately fell to her knees.

"Your Majesty, it's not what Your Majesty thinks..."

Fei Wan's explanation was interrupted by Xiao Yu because he saw her fingers hidden in her sleeves. There was no splint and her fingers were crooked.

Xiao Yu's face turned grim: "Are there any other injuries?"

The old wounds haven’t healed yet, and new wounds have appeared?

Fei Wan shook her head with tears in her eyes and denied it incoherently.

Xiao Yu called over the palace maid who had just helped Fei Wan to wash and groom herself.

Fei Wan came to see the emperor without dressing up properly. Before entering the imperial study, she bathed and changed her clothes in a side hall.

In front of the emperor, there was an aunt named Ruochu who brought two young palace maids to serve her.

Ruo Chu answered truthfully after entering the palace:

"Young Master Zhou's face is covered in scars from multiple beatings, both old and new. It seems she was slapped at least three times in ten days, and the most obvious injuries are no more than six hours old.

There were more than forty wounds on his body from being hit with sticks, of varying depths, and they were caused no more than six hours ago.

The kick injury on the waist left half a footprint and lasted for a shorter time.

The scratches on his arms had not yet scabbed over, and there were three fresh bleeding wounds on his legs.

My knees are swollen from kneeling.

The hands were most seriously injured.

There are hidden pinholes in the nails of all ten fingers, some new and some old..."

Speaking of this, Xiao Yu frowned tightly.

He asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

Aunt Ruochu said, "It's acupuncture."

"Needle punishment?"

"It is a form of punishment that originated in the Wu Dynasty 800 years ago. Initially, wooden sticks were used to poke the body, but later it developed into iron nails. Depending on the prisoner's crime, different nailing locations were used.

Later, this type of punishment was abolished in the criminal law, and acupuncture became just private punishment, and gradually it became just poking the nails, inserting the steel needle deep into the nail bed, rotating and rubbing it to intensify the pain..."

"enough!"

Xiao Yu was furious.

My grandfather, Emperor Zhenzong, had been lenient and had reduced sentences since the beginning. After he ascended the throne, he was even more lenient to his subjects, and was praised by his subjects.

I didn't expect that there would be someone in his harem who would commit such lynching!

"Cao Bin, investigate thoroughly for me!"

Fei Wan burst into tears in fear, and was so shocked by the emperor's majesty that she couldn't speak a complete word, and could only kowtow.

Then there is naturally no need to plead for the old master.

That night, Fei Wan stayed in Chen Qian Palace.

The emperor kept her here to recuperate.

"Your Majesty, I am bruised and swollen, and I dare not serve you in bed. Your Majesty, please turn over the name of another lady, and I will take my leave."

When it was time to rest, she made a gesture to leave.

Xiao Yu grabbed him.

He carefully held her newly splinted hand and said gently, "I don't want to summon anyone tonight."

"But I can't..."

"Can't we just spend the night peacefully with you? Do I have to sleep with you?" Xiao Yu teased her, seeing her shyness, "Or do you really want it?"

"His Majesty!"

Fei Wan was too embarrassed to look up.

Turning sideways, he said, "Your Majesty, how can you do this... this..."

"how?"

Fei Wan was so embarrassed that she broke free from him and ran away quickly.

But suddenly he cried out, stumbled and fell.

Xiao Yu rushed over to support her and held her in his arms.

"Where did you fall? Does it hurt?"

"His Majesty……"

Fei Wan's eyes suddenly became wet with tears.

"Your Majesty, why are you so kind to me..."

Xiao Yu was stunned.

Asking her if it hurts is being nice to her?

Fei Wan sobbed softly.

"When I was young, my family was poor and it was difficult to make a living, so I was sold to someone else as a maid. For more than ten years, I was a slave and a servant, and was beaten and scolded. No one ever cared whether I was in pain or sad."

"Your Majesty, please don't be too kind to me. Otherwise, if one day you dislike me and throw me aside, all your kindness will make me extremely painful."

"It would be fine if I never had it, but the thing I'm afraid of is having it and then losing it..."

Xiao Yu held Fei Wan in his arms.

Sigh and pity.

His chin caressed the top of her soft black hair and he softly assured her, "Don't worry, I will always treat you the same way as before."

Other concubines competed for jewelry, positions, honor and glory.

But this weak woman was the only one who cared about his concern. She wanted so little that even a casual word of concern made her burst into tears of gratitude and anxious.

How could such a woman not deserve his kindness?

Two people entered the account.

There was no intense struggle that night.

Just a peaceful sleep.

Fei Wan snuggled gently in the emperor's arms, feeling attached but not daring to be presumptuous.

Her cautious look made the emperor hug her tighter.

After the emperor fell asleep, Fei Wan gently opened her eyes which were pretending to be asleep.

Very good, another step forward.

The man's inability to control himself towards her was just the beginning.

This night of restraint proved that she had truly begun to approach the man's heart.