The Rebirth of Li Fei: The Strongest Palace Fighting System

Xiao Tao continued to report the "changes" in the palace in the past few days with a smile:

"My lady, do you know? The index has fluctuated somewhat in the past few days. The Emperor's favor index has climbed to 55% of the imperial concubine's level. Xia Dongchun is not far behind, reaching 50%. And Huanbi's index has also increased by 6%..."

Just as I was listening intently to Xiaotao's "intelligence", Cui Jinxi suddenly pushed the door open and her arrival interrupted Xiaotao's unfinished words.

"Good luck to the young master."

After Cui Jinxi paid her respects, she presented the gentle and delicate Hetian jade hairpin as she had done before.

Cui Jinxi smiled and said:

"This servant has one more thing to tell you, my lady: Concubine Chun is young and naive. If anything she says is inappropriate, please bear with me, Concubine An."

"This is natural."

Then, Cui Jinxi left.

If it weren't for Chun'er's consideration, Zhen Huan might not have given me these items at all.

Looking back, she was a noble lady, and I was just a concubine, my status and position far inferior to hers. But now, times have changed, she has been demoted to a concubine, and I have been promoted to a concubine, and my status in this palace is no longer what it used to be.

Yet, even so, she still gave me these items, which seemed like a gift, but was actually a reflection of her inner arrogance.

My family background is far less prominent than hers, so she uses this method to show her nobility and my humbleness.

In her eyes, even though I was a concubine, I was still not equal to her. Her gift-giving was just out of a condescending mentality, and she didn't take me, the "Concubine An", seriously at all.

At this moment, Baojuan gently pushed the door open and walked in, holding a stack of banknotes tightly in her hand. With a look of joy on her face, she reported to me:

"My lady, this is the money I earned from embroidery these days."

I took the banknote and gently stroked the delicate paper surface, feeling a sense of relief in my heart.

As before, I took out 5,000 taels of silver notes and kept them safely. As for the remaining notes, I told Baojuan to distribute them to the eunuchs and palace maids under her command as a reward for their hard work and to encourage them to continue purchasing high-quality fabrics, improve their embroidery skills, and bring us more profits.

Since I was promoted to the position of concubine, the number of attendants around me has been increasing.

According to the palace rules, I already have two chief eunuchs, twelve ordinary eunuchs, and six palace maids under my command. They are careful and considerate.

With more people under her, the embroidery work naturally proceeds more quickly and orderly.

"Then Miss Zhen only cares about Concubine Chun. It's true. When Miss Shen was in favor, she didn't even care about our lives."

Baojuan muttered.

Baojuan's words and actions always contain the implication of sowing discord.

I now know that she is the Queen's spy placed by my side.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a chill. Keeping Baojuan by my side was like burying a time bomb that could trigger an unpredictable crisis at any time.

As the Queen's confidant, she must be delivering messages to the Queen at all times, and the "puppet" in the Queen's hand is like a tight hoop that keeps me under her threat at all times.

The queen is ambitious. She wants to use me to get rid of the baby in Huanbi's belly in order to achieve her ulterior motive.

However, as is often the case, the two tasks entrusted to me by the oleander elf ran counter to the queen's wishes.

One is to "restore Zhen Huan to the throne", which is undoubtedly a challenge to the Queen's authority; the other is to "let Huanbi's child stay in Suiyuxuan", which directly violates the Queen's bottom line.

Huanbi's child must be born. However, how to protect Huanbi and her unborn child under the Queen's close surveillance is the biggest problem I face now.

I stared at the banknotes in my hand and couldn't help wondering whether Baojuan would tell the Queen about the sale of my embroidery.

But on second thought, this might not be a big deal. Firstly, selling embroidery to supplement palace expenses is not uncommon in the palace. It is practiced in all palaces, and the Queen must be well aware of it. Secondly, the silver I always give to the servants is quite generous, far exceeding the monthly allowance of ordinary palace maids. I don't think Baojuan would be so foolish as to steal the money.

I frowned slightly, found an excuse, and whispered to Baojuan:

"Baojuan, go and help me see how the flowers in the imperial garden are blooming. I want to pick some to decorate the palace."

Baojuan retreated immediately.

After Baojuan disappeared outside the door, I turned to look at Xiaotao beside me. Xiaotao blinked her big eyes and said playfully:

"My lady, Xiao Tao hadn't finished speaking when Aunt Cui Jinxi came in."

I smiled slightly and motioned her to continue. Xiao Tao then spoke in a flurry of words:

"My lady, do you know what? With the Hetian jade hairpin that Aunt Cui Jinxi just sent me, the five thousand taels of silver I earned from embroidery, and your share after being promoted to concubine, we now have quite a bit of savings!"

When I heard this, my heart moved and I asked:

"Oh? Then tell me about it."

Xiao Tao counted on her fingers, looking very serious:

"As for silver, there are a total of 23113 taels and 500 wen. The value of the items is 11963 taels and 391 wen!"

After hearing this, I couldn't help but feel secretly happy.

Although these silver and items cannot allow me to do whatever I want in this palace, they can give me enough capital to deal with various emergencies at critical moments.

I patted Xiaotao's head gently and said with a smile:

"Xiao Tao, you are really my right-hand man. You calculated these accounts clearly, making it easy for me to understand them at a glance."

Xiao Tao chuckled, scratched his head, and said:

"My lady, this is what I should do. As long as you need me, Xiaotao will be at your service at any time!"

......

Today, Concubine Hua invited all the other concubines from the six palaces to Qingyin Pavilion to enjoy a play. All the concubines had arrived early, with only the Empress and Concubine Hua still missing. Inside Qingyin Pavilion, groups of people gathered, some chatting quietly, others enjoying tea and the view. The atmosphere was quite relaxed.

My eyes inadvertently swept over Huanbi. I saw that she was wearing loose clothes and her belly was bulging like a small hill about to mature. It was obvious that she was eight months pregnant.

I thought to myself, yes, time flies, and in the blink of an eye she has entered the late stage of pregnancy. Although it is not full-term, premature births among women are common in this palace.

So, I approached Huanbi gently, stroked her round belly with my hand, and said softly:

"Look at your belly, it's getting bigger. This theater is so crowded, don't disturb our little baby."

Huanbi heard this and a gentle smile spread across her face. She gently held my hand, her eyes gleaming with maternal radiance:

"Don't worry, sister. I know my limits. But there are so many rules in this palace. Today is a rare opportunity to enjoy the fun with my sisters, so I wanted to join in the fun."