Secrets of Yuqing Palace

After listening to Nanny Sun’s description of the harem structure, Wanlin left Qiyun Courtyard in a daze and returned to her Jinglan Courtyard with her maid.

After everyone left, Wanyu lay down in bed before going to sleep at night, and Nanny Sun quietly told Wanyu the reason why Depin was demoted.

"During the day, because the Second Lady was here, this was a scandal that the palace master had ordered to be kept secret, so I dared not speak out."

"This is also the specific reason that I learned through some connections when I was in the palace."

When Wanyu heard that it was a scandal, her curiosity got the better of her.

She immediately sat up and asked excitedly, "What's going on?"

"Mammy, please tell me now, don't keep me hanging."

"I'm worried I'll be unable to sleep at night thinking about it."

Seeing the princess's anxious look, Nanny Sun immediately stepped forward and spoke in a low voice.

"I brought this up to you, Princess, just to make you be careful when you enter the palace."

"The plots in the palace are hard to guard against. Even with the closest people, one must be extremely careful."

"Gege is a kind-hearted person and can be easily taken advantage of, so Gege should not trust others easily in the future."

Wanyu only wanted to listen to gossip at this time, and treated Nanny Sun's advice as a passing cloud, without thinking deeply about the deeper meaning of the other party's words.

After all, with her second sister, the future Crown Princess, her entry into the palace for the selection was just a formality.

There is no need to have too much contact with other concubines, let alone the masters and concubines in the harem.

As long as she stayed by her second sister's side, her second sister would keep her safe.

So she just nodded obediently, "Yeah, I know, Mammy, tell me quickly."

"It was Concubine De who was dissatisfied with the Fourth Lady, so she secretly made trouble when the Ministry of Internal Affairs was preparing for the Fourth Prince's wedding."

Wanyu was shocked and said, "The Fourth Prince is also her biological son. Why would she do this?"

"And will the other ladies in the palace let her succeed?"

Nanny Sun said in a low voice with a complicated look in her eyes, "So what if it's my biological son? People in the palace are very complicated. Princess, please take this to heart."

"Depin was still Defei at the time, in charge of some of the palace power."

"She has her own power that she has built up over the years, so this won't be a difficult task for her."

"Although it is said that Concubine De is dissatisfied with the Fourth Lady, everyone knows that the Fourth Lady has a good family background and her mother is also a red belt."

"As the biological mother of a prince, how could she possibly be dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law of noble birth?"

In response to Wanyu's doubts, Nanny Sun gave the answer.

"In fact, it was not the Fourth Lady that Depin was dissatisfied with at the time, but Empress Xiaoyi."

"Empress Xiaoyi? How is she related to Empress Xiaoyi?" Wanyu sat in front of the bed and asked, "Then how did the emperor know about this?"

Nanny Sun nodded, "This Fourth Concubine is the one that Empress Xiaoyi favored for the Fourth Prince, so Concubine De is not satisfied."

"Speaking of this, it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who, out of concern for his brother, reported it to the Emperor."

"Prince?!" Wanyu was shocked. How could she be related to the prince again?

"Well, Gege also knows that the prince has an extraordinary status in the palace."

"The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince have a very close brotherly relationship, and he takes good care of his younger brother."

"Especially after Empress Xiaoyi passed away, although the Fourth Prince returned to be raised by Concubine De, Concubine De did not like the Fourth Prince."

"Princess De pretends to love the Fourth Prince in front of the Emperor, but in private she is often negligent."

"Even those villains in the Imperial Household Department are not as respectful to the Fourth Prince as before, and they even deduct a lot from him."

"Being tortured by his own mother, the Fourth Prince had no choice but to endure it."

"It was only after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could no longer bear the repeated beatings and exposed Concubine De's true face in front of the Emperor that the Fourth Prince's life became much easier."

Wanyu asked anxiously, "Then why did the emperor demote Depin?"

Nanny Sun sighed and then continued.

"Although the Emperor knows that Depin has been very negligent towards the Fourth Prince, he feels that since he is at least his own son, Depin should not go too far."

"So the Emperor just gave Concubine Leng the cold shoulder before, just a warning and that was it."

"But I didn't expect Depin to go too far and even interfere with the Fourth Prince's marriage."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince then took advantage of the situation and made Concubine De reveal her true identity to the Emperor."

"Let the Emperor know that Concubine De resents Empress Xiaoyi and resents the Fourth Prince's filial piety and mourning for her."

"Especially since the Fourth Prince was taken away and raised by Empress Xiaoyi since childhood, she regards the Fourth Prince as a stain on her."

"Who is the emperor? He is the only one who blames others, so how can others blame him?"

"Empress Xiaoyi is not only the emperor's wife, but also his cousin. How could she tolerate Concubine De's disrespect?"

"In addition, the Emperor has approved the decision to have Empress Xiaoyi raise the Fourth Prince."

"If Concubine De is dissatisfied with this matter and even resents Empress Xiaoyi, isn't that a disguised form of resentment towards the Emperor?"

"Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, and his words are final. How could he tolerate Concubine De being so presumptuous?"

Wanyu was indeed shocked. She didn't expect that the prince was involved.

It also directly hit Depin's soft spot and Kangxi's taboo.

With this stain on his face, the Emperor will definitely not continue to favor Concubine De as he did in history!

"This Defei has really fallen flat on her face."

Nanny Sun continued, "Although it's a bit pitiful that the Fourth Prince met such a biological mother."

"But with the help of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and now that I'm married, my life has gotten better."

"Not to mention that in a few years, when the Emperor orders me to leave the palace and start my own residence, I won't have to be constrained by Concubine De anymore."

"When I was in the palace, I heard that although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't have a very harmonious relationship with the eldest prince, he was very caring towards his younger brothers and sisters."

"Not only the Fourth Prince, but also the Seventh Prince who has a leg disease, and other unhappy princes are all taken care of."

"I usually teach my younger brothers martial arts, horse riding, archery, and other aspects of the classics, history, and literature. I am also a younger brother who often helps me."

"Not only in study, but also in life."

Nanny Sun said with a sigh.

"If it weren't for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's carefulness regarding the Fourth Prince's matter, he would have had to suffer the consequences of his mother's inaction."

Wanyu was surprised and asked, "Madam, do you think so highly of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Nanny Sun smiled faintly, "Princess, you don't know, this palace is a place where people are eaten."

“Sometimes even if you don’t offend anyone, someone will take the initiative to harm you, even if you haven’t offended them.”

"Especially for servants like us, once our masters are in a bad mood, we become the perfect punching bags."

"If the master makes a mistake and commits a crime, we servants will be the scapegoats."

"So we like gentle and easy-going masters the most. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not only kind to his brothers, but also very gentle to us servants."

"To put it bluntly, a gentle and high-ranking master like the Crown Prince is the one the servants in the palace most want to serve."

"It's a pity that this servant doesn't have that blessing."

Then Nanny Sun changed the subject and expressed her loyalty very sincerely.

"But I am also lucky to have met such a good master like Gege. Now I will just serve you wholeheartedly and feel at ease."

Wanyu smiled brightly and said, "Madam, just focus on your work at home. There are very few people in our house who would torture others."

"When you are old, I will arrange for you to live in my dowry farm and give you two maids to take care of you in your old age."

Nanny Sun said gratefully, "Thank you, Master."

After listening to the gossip, Wanyu's biological clock hit the time and she began to feel sleepy.

"It's getting late. I need to rest now. Madam, please go down and rest as well."

"Yes."

After covering Wanyu with a quilt and lowering the bed curtain, Nanny Sun gave some instructions to the maid who was on night watch outside before returning to her own yard.

Originally, the night watch maid was supposed to sleep next to her master's footstool so that she could serve her master at any time and pay attention to her needs.

But Wanyu doesn't like having someone next to her when she sleeps. She always feels it's scary to be stared at at night.

So her night watch maid usually waits outside.