My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

Qiu Ning: "Even though Your Majesty is exceptionally talented and beautiful, she could lose her former favor and honor at any time due to various unpredictable factors."

The master and servant fell silent again.

After a while, Wan Rongyue raised her head, staring intently at Qiu Ning, and asked, "Then, in your opinion, how can I ensure that my favor will continue to flourish?"

Do we really want to pursue supreme power as described in the book "The Biography of the Female Emperor of Daqian"?

Qiu Ning smiled slowly, looking at Wan Rongyue, and said word by word, "As the poem says: 'Your temperament is as beautiful as an orchid, and your talent is more fragrant than a fairy. Your Majesty has both beauty and talent. If you also have wisdom, you will have the ability to survive in the harem. Then, you will be invincible!"

"Wisdom?" There was a momentary crack on Wan Rongyue's beautiful face.

"Ahem, please don't misunderstand me, Your Majesty. What I mean is that there are so many concubines in the harem, and they are closely related to the previous dynasty. If I don't have the corresponding strategies and means, relying solely on Your Majesty's favor will not be able to prevent the inevitable frame-up."

After these words were spoken, Wan Rongyue and Qingye fell silent.

Both of them knew in their hearts that what Qiu Ning said was right, but Wan Rongyue had just been unwilling to face themselves.

She had been the apple of everyone's eye before, and had been blinded by the prosperity. How could she calm down and understand the secrets and tactics of the harem? That's why she fell.

After a long while, Wan Rongyue suddenly stood up, bowed half-way toward Qiu Ning, and said sincerely, "Young lady, your words have enlightened me. I deserve this courtesy."

Seeing this, Qiu Ning hurriedly supported Wan Rongyue and said, "Your Majesty is a noble person. How can you pay your respects to a person who has been convicted?"

Wan Rongyue stood up and took Qiu Ning's hand. Her beautiful eyes looked into hers and she said softly, "I'm a few years older than you. If you don't mind, how about we call each other sisters in private from now on?"

Ah this...

"This... Your Majesty, please don't do this. Please don't embarrass me." Qiu Ning was stunned for a moment, then instinctively refused.

She didn't have the courage to address the imperial concubines of the current dynasty as sisters.

Wan Rongyue's beautiful eyes were slightly dejected. She thought of something and said, "Well, anyway, in my heart, I already consider you one of my own. In private, I'll call you Aning. How about that?"

Qiu Ning secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "As long as the queen doesn't despise my identity, that's good."

Next, the two of them made a detailed plan on how to regain favor.

Firstly, Wan Rongyue's greatest advantage is her beauty, which she must continue to maintain in order to give the emperor the greatest visual impact;

Secondly, a year has passed, and no matter how angry the emperor was, his anger should have almost subsided. At this time, it is necessary to create opportunities to stimulate the emperor's guilt and pity, and it would be best to let him recall the details of his first meeting with the imperial concubine.

At this time, the imperial concubine can show her best side appropriately to attract the emperor and reawaken his feelings. The emperor will feel that the imperial concubine is still deeply in love with him, which will greatly satisfy his vanity and give him a way out.

After formulating the plan, Qiu Ning planned to buy some skincare products for Wan Rongyue when she left the palace to maintain her appearance and skin, such as powder, balm, hair oil, and soap nuts for bathing.

At the same time, he also rented some poetry books from the shop so that Wan Rongyue could read them to improve his culture and temperament, and also learn some political skills and tactics.

Fortunately, Qiu Ning had been well-read since childhood, and there was a huge library in the prime minister's mansion before it was confiscated. She drew up a list of books and asked the bookstore owner to help collect them. After finding them, she would give them to Wan Rongyue to read.

In this way, with Qiu Ning's help, after a period of time, Wan Rongyue was reborn. Not only did her appearance become more beautiful than before, but her temperament also changed drastically. She was like a piece of polished high-quality jade, exuding a sense of elegance from the inside out.

At the same time, the day for Prince Yong to return to the court arrived. The emperor held a grand celebration banquet in the palace, and all officials above the third rank and their families attended.

Wan Rongyue plans to use this day to get back into the emperor's sight.

In order to deal with the guards in the cold palace, Qiu Ning specially brought back a few bottles of good wine from outside the palace, and packed a few delicious dishes from the restaurant. While the two guards were drunk, he took Wan Rongyue and Qingye out of the cold palace.

Prince Yong was previously the late emperor's favorite second son and held a large army. This time, he led a large army to the border to drive out the barbarians, and successively recovered twelve cities, driving the barbarians out of Yumen Pass.

This time when he returned to the court, his popularity and prestige were greater than before.

The celebration banquet was held in the palace's largest square. Prince Yong led dozens of his officers and soldiers, flanked by civil and military officials and their families. The Emperor and Empress sat at the top, drinking from afar with Prince Yong. The banquet was filled with the sounds of music, singing, and dancing.

However, at this moment, someone was the first to exclaim:

"Everyone, look, what is that?"

Everyone looked up at the direction the man pointed, and found that suddenly, several Kongming lanterns appeared in the sky and were rising slowly with the evening breeze.

"Come here, protect the emperor!"

As the chief eunuch of the emperor, Su Qinian immediately ordered the surrounding imperial guards to move closer to the emperor and form a protective posture.

Just as the imperial guards were pulling their bows tight to shoot down the sky lanterns, they suddenly saw the emperor raise his hand to stop them.

"Wait!" Su Qinian ordered everyone to pause again, then bowed to Emperor Shengjing and waited for instructions.

Emperor Shengjing pointed at the nearest one and ordered, "Go, have someone shoot this one down."

Su Qinian quickly gave a wink to one of the Royal Guards. After receiving the order, the Royal Guard aimed at the lamp in the front and pulled the longbow in his hand.

With a "whoosh" sound!

After a while, the Kongming lantern was seen being shot down and landed on the nearby grass.

Soon, the lantern was picked up and presented to the emperor.

As usual, Su Qinian went forward to check it out, but when he saw the calligraphy and painting on the lantern, his eyes trembled and he almost lost his composure on the spot.

Isn’t this... isn’t the picture above the scene where His Majesty and the girl in the cold palace met back then?

For some reason, Su Qinian suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

"What? Is there something wrong with this lantern?"

Seeing that Su Qi had not spoken for a long time, Emperor Shengjing urged him.

Su Qinian was startled, quickly came to his senses, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and reported: "Your Majesty, this lantern... this..."

Seeing this, the empress beside her also had a bad feeling in her heart. She spoke before the emperor did, "It's just a lantern, what else can it possibly carry? Why don't you bring it up quickly?"

Su Qinian had no choice but to lower his head even lower, raised his hands above his head, and presented the lantern cover.