The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

Qingluan looked at Yuanrui, then at Fuluan, and sighed, "Your Majesty, I will naturally obey!"

She tugged at Yuan Rui's sleeve and said softly, "How clever is Her Majesty the Empress? We have all witnessed her methods."

"I'm afraid all the concubines in the harem combined can't compare! She must have her reasons for making these arrangements; we should just follow her lead..."

Xue Chen also said, "Your Majesty, I am also willing to help!"

Yuan Rui reluctantly nodded, and she did as Fu Luan said that very day.

As the head of the palace, Li Qingluan, along with the other concubines of her residence "Jade Snow and Rainbow Robes", jointly suggested to the emperor that Anagui be conferred the title of consort.

As for Xue Chen, she even wrote a letter to her father, Xue Lin, the heir of the Marquis of Chengwu, asking him to mention this matter in the imperial court.

The emperor already felt guilty about Yuan Jiu's death, and with the advice of various parties, he finally agreed.

Half a month later, Anagui, due to her status as a "Princess of the Western Regions" and her pregnancy with the posthumous child of Prince Yuan Jiu of Yan, was successfully promoted from "Consort of Prince Yuan Jiu of Yan" to "Queen of Yan". She was the first and only non-Kingdom Queen since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty!

The Emperor was also moved by the deep brother-sister relationship between Yuan Rui and Yuan Jiu, and promoted her from "Princess of Chun'an County" to "Princess of Chengyang County".

Because of her status as the "adoptive mother of the Prince of Yan," Qingluan was promoted from a fourth-rank Xiuyi to a second-rank Guifei.

Xue Chen was also promoted from a fifth-rank concubine (Zhaohua) to a fourth-rank concubine (Guipin) for her "meritorious advice" and was given the title "Zhao".

The other concubines of "Jade Snow and Rainbow Robes" were also promoted in rank. Even some palace maids were promoted to the ninth rank of Cai Nu or the ninth rank of Geng Yi, but most of them were low-ranking concubines.

Only one talented woman named Wei Ling'an was promoted from an eighth-rank talented woman to a sixth-rank noble lady!

According to the rules of the Great Wei, "Noble Consort" is the head of a palace; therefore, on the day Wei Ling'an was promoted, before the investiture ceremony was held, she excitedly moved from Yuxue Nishang to "Ling'an Palace", which shared the same name as her.

"Hmph, I heard that Consort Wei is telling everyone that 'Ling'an Palace' is named after her and is proof of the Emperor's favor towards her. How shameless!"

"That's right! 'Ling'an Palace' existed since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty. When did it become a name given to her?!"

"She was always restless when she was a minor concubine. Relying on her father being the Imperial Physician, she bullied the other concubines and maids quite a bit!"

"Back then, she could only bully the ladies-in-waiting and the concubines, right? After all, the other concubines were all of higher rank than her!"

"Yes! When Yu Xue Ni Chang was in power, there were Consort Ni Chang and Consort Zhao to keep her in check. Now that she has become the head of a palace and no one cares about her, the concubines of Ling An Palace are really in trouble!"

"What 'princess of the palace'? She's just a sixth-rank noble concubine! The investiture ceremony hasn't even been held yet!"

"Relying on her father being the Imperial Physician, she acts arrogantly and domineeringly in the palace. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was some noble lady from a powerful family!"

"Look at the time! She still hasn't arrived! She's so arrogant and doesn't respect the Empress at all!"

"What 'Empress'... We don't even know if the Empress is coming... Ah, Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be blessed with long life and peace!"

The concubines chattered amongst themselves, all believing that Fu Luan would once again feign illness and refuse to see anyone, just as she had done for the past month or so.

But just then, surrounded by the Grand Chamberlain Hua Luo, the physician Fu Ling, and many palace maids, Fu Luan gracefully emerged from behind the beaded curtain. The concubines who were chatting fell silent, those who were drinking tea put down their teacups, and in short, they all knelt on the ground.

"Rise!" Fu Luan sat upright at the head of the table, looking down at everyone.

Hua Luo whispered a reminder: "Wei Guiji, who was recently promoted, is missing."

The ladies-in-waiting of the concubines had all prepared tea to be served to the Empress, but Fu Luan had not yet given the order.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late. The ladies should serve you tea. Why don't we..." Seeing that no one spoke, Zhang Baolin blurted out, startling her lady-in-waiting who hurriedly gave her a meaningful look.

“Yes, it’s getting late for us; but some people haven’t arrived yet!” Fu Luan’s lips parted slightly.

Hua Luo gave the order on behalf of the Empress: "Wei Ling'an, a sixth-rank noble lady, has not yet arrived. When she arrives, all the ladies should serve tea to the Empress!"

"If any of the ladies has something to do in the palace or is unwell, they can speak up now!"

The concubines dared not speak.

Even if there were real matters in the palace, one had to pretend that nothing was wrong; if one was truly unwell, one had to sit up straight, for fear that on this first meeting, one would be accused of "disrespecting the Empress"!

After all, who doesn't know that the Empress is now the Emperor's most beloved person?

The Emperor and Empress got married on the first day of the first lunar month, and now it has been more than a month. Every day after court, the Emperor rushes to Changqiu Palace, treating the concubines in the six palaces as if they don't exist. Even those newly promoted concubines, the Emperor has not favored them!

Women have menstruation every month, and when the female officials of the Imperial Bedchamber arrange for the concubines to serve the emperor, they will avoid the concubines who are menstruating.

Now that the Emperor has been staying in Changqiu Palace for more than 30 days in a row, it shows that even when Fu Luan was menstruating and unable to serve him in bed, he did not think of anyone else!

Such favoritism surpasses even that of Empress Zhaoshen, who was once Emperor's wife! How could the concubines dare to oppose Fuluan?

Not only did they dare not utter a complaint, but they also had to appear happy and joyful, so that the Empress and those around her could find no fault with them...

"Oh dear, I'm late! I hope Your Majesty the Empress and all my sisters will forgive me!" Wei Ling'an finally arrived after a short while.

“Consort Wei, everyone is waiting for you! Not only are you late, but you also don’t kneel down to pay your respects to the Empress. What is the meaning of this?” Qingluan said coldly.

How could Wei Ling'an not see that Qingluan's attitude towards her was different from when the two of them lived together in Yuxue Nishang? But she didn't care and still stood in the hall with a forced smile.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I found something interesting on my way here, which is why I'm late..."

"I've heard that Her Majesty the Empress is known for her lack of jealousy and anger. Surely you won't be angry?" Wei Ling'an took out a book from her sleeve and presented it to the Empress.

"I thought it was something important, but it's just a record from the Imperial Bedchamber Bureau about the concubines' menstrual cycles. Wei Ling'an, your excuse for being late is hardly convincing!" Fu Luan sneered as she threw the record at Wei Ling'an's feet!

Wei Ling'an squatted down, picked it up, dusted it off, and then laughed, "But the 'interesting' thing is that Your Majesty... hasn't had your period for over a month since you entered the palace!"

"Never had your period? Then that means..."

"But... the months don't match, do they?"

The concubines—especially those who had given birth—couldn't help but whisper among themselves, speculating that Fu Luan was pregnant, but...

Wei Ling'an sneered, "You all can tell, can't you? Our Empress has missed her period for over a month, she must be pregnant!"

However, it takes at least two or three months for a woman to become pregnant before her pregnancy can be detected through her pulse; if Fu Luan is pregnant now, the child cannot be the emperor's!

Wei Ling'an's purpose is obvious...