The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

After a period of darkness, I opened my eyes to find the city brightly lit.

Han Cuiyin was still a little unaccustomed to suddenly shrinking.

These spirit butterflies of Qingyun are indeed magical.

If it weren't for her powerful soul, she probably wouldn't have been able to possess the spirit butterfly in the palace.

The palace servants of the past had become enormous figures in her eyes.

Han Cuiyin fluttered her emerald wings and, taking advantage of the palace servants' inattention, landed on a vase on a wooden shelf to the side.

This is an excellent vantage point; you can see everyone's expressions and movements clearly.

Consort Xu's behavior today is quite different from that at the palace banquet.

On the day of the palace banquet, perhaps in order to compete with Empress Yang, she dressed dignifiedly and composedly, and did not look like a favored concubine.

Tonight, Consort Xu wore only a moon-white long dress, which made her look elegant and graceful.

Her beauty was unmatched in the palace, no wonder she remained the emperor's favorite for over twenty years.

Everyone knew that Consort Xu and Consort Rui were the Emperor's favorite concubines, and it was only now that Han Cuiyin truly appreciated Consort Xu's beauty.

The man was in his forties, but his appearance and figure were no different from those of a young woman in her late teens.

This is not a land of immortality; people who can maintain their youth forever are not common.

Yan Shunhua's youthful appearance is due to the carefree king, who gave her a youth-preserving pill.

Consort Xu's approach to skincare was purely self-care.

While Han Cuiyin was still staring blankly at Consort Xu, a palace servant hurriedly entered.

The palace maid was none other than Granny Xu, the nanny who had served Consort Xu since she came to the palace.

Xu Mama tentatively said, "Your Highness, the people and things have been brought. Shall I ask you something? You should go and rest, so as not to offend your ears."

Seven days ago, only two palace maids who were close to the Crown Prince's wife were found. With their help, the remaining survivors were also successfully found.

"I've seen it all these years, bring them up here!" Consort Xu said, her face expressionless.

The emerald green butterfly shifted its position, waiting to hear the earth-shattering secret.

Meanwhile, Consort Rui, who had just given birth to the imperial heir, was restless.

"Go and bring the Fifth Prince over, I want to see him."

Consort Rui had a light pink headscarf wrapped around her head and was completely covered up. Apart from her slightly pale complexion, she looked perfectly fine.

She suffered a postpartum hemorrhage that day, but thanks to the miraculous medicine sent by her younger brother and the superb medical skills of the imperial physician, she was ultimately saved.

Emperor Chuyuan has been visiting Qinyu Palace frequently these past few days, ostensibly to see the mother and son, but Consort Rui knows perfectly well why he is here.

She knew that her half-brother was secretly helping Emperor Chu Yuan with some matters; otherwise, she wouldn't have remained in the emperor's favor.

Her appearance was not outstanding in the palace; she only had a good figure and was willing to go along with the emperor's antics, which is why she received his favor.

Miracle medicines are rare and hard to come by.

Her third brother was incredibly lucky to have gotten two plants.

One plant was given to Emperor Chu Yuan, and the other was secretly kept at home and made into medicinal pills.

On the day she gave birth, Lady Hou gave her one.

Later, she suffered a hemorrhage, and another one was sent in.

This one belongs to the Lady of the Marquis.

At this point, no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't afford to go against the Lady of the Marquis for the sake of her good-for-nothing brother. Whoever held the title wouldn't treat her unfairly. If her third brother inherited it, that would be even better.

Their branch of the family had a feud with the second branch.

Before her mother passed away, her second wife's mother had an affair with her father.

She didn't care as long as it wasn't the second wife who inherited the title.

Having survived this near-death experience, Consort Rui cherishes her life even more now.

Emperor Chu Yuan benefited from the elixir; his withered tree was rejuvenated, and he looked much younger.

It is said that in that aspect it is even more intense than before, with palace maids and female officials in the imperial study coming in droves every night, several at a time.

Consort Rui knew that she didn't know when she would regain favor, so she only wanted to live a low-key life.

However, if the secret of her son, whom she had gone through so much trouble to have, were to be exposed, he would probably not have a good end.

The people in Qinyu Palace were already used to it.

Ever since that day of postpartum hemorrhage, Consort Rui has been doing this frequently, completely disregarding the Fifth Prince's well-being. She checks on him many times a day.

The fifth prince's face was still flushed, and his eyes were not fully open, so his face could not be seen clearly for the time being.

Consort Rui stared at her sleeping son and said softly, "Do you think the Fifth Prince looks more like me or the Emperor?"

"The young prince naturally resembles his father. The Emperor has visited so many times, which shows that he cares about our young prince." The palace servant said, picking out flattering words.

Little did she know that as soon as she finished speaking, Consort Rui's heart skipped a beat.

"Father Xiao?"

Consort Rui began to feel uneasy. Did he really look like the Emperor? That nemesis also looked like the Emperor. She didn't want people to force a connection between the two of them.

Unlike Consort Rui's anxiety, Consort Xu reaped considerable rewards.

"You mean that on the day of the winter hunt, Consort Rui didn't return home all night, and the absence of anyone in her tent aroused suspicion? I remember that the Emperor summoned her to his bedchamber that day, how did she manage to avoid it?"

Consort Xu remembered very clearly that at the time, there were only two concubines accompanying them, either Consort Rui or herself.

She had thought she would be the first to be summoned by the Emperor, but Consort Rui beat her to it.

As a result, she broke her favorite jade bracelet.

Later, she went to the emperor's tent.

She was summoned only when Consort Rui fell ill, and she felt resentful that day.

"That day, a palace maid by the Crown Prince's side was skilled in disguise and switched Consort Rui with her. That night, the Crown Prince and Consort Rui did not return home."

The old woman kneeling on the ground spoke the truth without holding back.

She was the wet nurse of the Crown Prince's wife. Her daughter died under suspicious circumstances, and the Crown Prince quickly sent them out of the palace.

After leaving the palace, the escorts wanted to kill them, but she was prepared and put some croton residue into their food, which allowed them to escape.

"Disguise? That palace maid is still by the Crown Prince's side?" Consort Xu had already guessed what would happen next. These were not enough to serve as witnesses unless the palace servants around the two of them stepped forward.

"She is!"

A plump palace maid knelt down in front of her, not daring to look directly at her.

"Hmm, no wonder you were able to deceive Consort Rui's palace servants," Consort Xu sighed. "Were you possessed by the First Prince?"

The eldest prince actually liked Consort Rui, perhaps because he liked her voluptuous figure, and this palace maid was a substitute.

"Yes!" The palace maid said with grief and indignation, "I had a fiancé, but I was tortured to death by the eldest prince. He and Consort Rui were having an affair. Besides me, the eunuch Li Xu who was with him also knew about it."

The palace maid's name was Yue Ling, and she would be able to leave the palace and get married in a year.

"Li Xu? Where is that person? Do you know?" After learning about this person, Consort Xu had a plan in mind. "Send a message outside to bring this eunuch to the Crown Prince's residence for me."

"After that day, the First Prince left behind Consort Rui's undergarment, which was kept in a hidden compartment on the right side of his bed in his room. He often took it out to play with it. The undergarment was light red, with the character 'Rui' embroidered on it..."

Yue Ling knew a lot; she exposed all of the Crown Prince's dirty deeds.

"Yueling, you will stay here with me from now on. The rest of you will be sent to the Xu family, and I will guarantee your safety."

These people's families had long been killed by the eldest prince, and now they were all alone, with no one to fear.

Han Cuiyin had no interest in what happened next. She flapped her wings and disappeared from the house.