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

Li Sizhen looked around and lowered her voice, saying, "That newly promoted concubine of the Yun family is still not enough."

"One minute she's using her birthday as an excuse, the next she's saying it's the Mid-Autumn Festival next month, and she's clamoring for the Emperor to promote her rank, and then promote her even more!"

“The Yun Clan, Yun Chongyi, Consort Yun…” Fu Luan thought carefully, and realized that there seemed to be such a “Yun Clan” in her past life…

But she was just an ordinary concubine among the thousands of concubines in the harem, and she didn't have much say in front of the emperor.

Fu Luan couldn't even remember what she looked like or her name;

All I remember is that until the Emperor's death, this Lady Yun was only a low-ranking official of the eighth rank.

“Then… what if I told her I could stop her from asking the Six Departments and Twenty-Four Offices for this and that?”

"Could the Shanggong Bureau make an exact replica of the 'Flying Horse of Gansu' for me and my lord?" Fu Luan asked with a light smile.

"This...definitely! As long as the county magistrate can calm this noble lady down, this servant will do anything, even if it means wearing out her lips."

"I will also strongly urge the Palace Attendant to recreate the 'Flying Horse of Gansu' for the County Princess and the Prince of Youbeiping!" Li Sizhen bowed respectfully to Fu Luan.

Fu Luan nodded slightly, sighing inwardly, "It's good that I came in."

"If we just wait foolishly for Yuanjia, who knows when this matter will be resolved!"

After leaving the palace, Fu Luan did not immediately return to the Marquis of Chang'an's residence;

Instead, he waited quietly in the carriage at the palace gate until Fu Ling came out.

"My aunt's information was indeed correct! Li Sizhen's sister is Li Siyao from the Pharmacy..."

“However…” The carriage had already started moving slowly. Fu Ling lifted the curtain and glanced outside before saying:

"That lisi is a clever little devil, and she's very proud! She's nothing like her sister."

"Her sister, the one in charge of jewelry, is down-to-earth and just waiting to leave the palace when she reaches the appropriate age;

"She's not content with just being a lady-in-waiting in the Shanggong Bureau; she wants to be the emperor's concubine!"

"only……"

"It's just that I have no connections, and I'm also being pressured by a group of favored concubines;

"For them, being able to catch a glimpse of the Emperor from afar was already a stroke of luck..."

"What do you think of her looks?" Fu Luan asked, gently waving her silk fan and smiling sweetly.

After thinking for a moment, Fu Ling cautiously said, "What girl of eighteen or nineteen is not pretty?"

"She speaks in a soft, sweet voice, but after chatting with her for a while, you'll find her clever and adorable."

"Plus, she understands pharmacology and takes good care of herself, so she looks quite radiant."

Fu Luan nodded; this matched the information Fu Che had gathered.

Fu Che came from a prestigious family and was handsome, which made him very popular with the palace maids and female officials.

He only needed to ask a couple of questions, and the women would spill everything they knew, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

Even if they didn't know, they would tell him the rumors they had heard, so he wouldn't have to try to trick them into revealing information.

So as soon as he entered the palace that day, Fu Luan instructed Fu Ling to go and find Li Siyao alone.

Fu Ling is a female physician who is well-versed in pharmacology, making her the perfect person to be sent to contact Lisi Pharmaceuticals.

"Does Third Brother know about the Emperor's new favorite, Consort Yun?" As soon as she got home, Fu Luan went to see Fu Che without even changing her clothes and asked with a smile.

"Who doesn't know this? This Consort Yun is only seventeen years old and lives in Chaoyang Palace..." Just as she wished;

Fu Che told his sister everything he knew about the newly appointed noble lady.

One point in particular caught Fu Luan's attention:

Yun was not a palace maid as Li Sizhen claimed, but rather a maidservant from the Longxi Prince's mansion...

Therefore, Fu Luan changed his daily itinerary from going to the Longxi Prince's Mansion to going to the palace to see Yuan Rui.

Her trip wasn't in vain; she brought along some copied Buddhist scriptures every day to help Yuanrui with her worries.

They also went to wander around the vicinity of Chaoyang Palace, where Yun Guiji was located. Even Fu Ling didn't know what she was planning, so she had no choice but to follow along.

"That Shu Deyi is truly wicked! Today he made Princess Chun'an copy the Heart Sutra;"

"Tomorrow it will be changed to the Lotus Sutra, and a few days later it will become something like the Surangama Sutra..."

"So many Buddhist scriptures, I don't know when I'll ever finish copying them!" Hua Luo sighed.

Fu Luan laughed and said, "You used to have a lot of complaints about Princess Chun'an, but recently you've started to speak up for her."

Fu Luan recalled that on the day of the family banquet, it was Hua Luo who was the first to see through Yuan Rui's feelings.

"You lowly maids, how dare you!"

Before Hua Luo could reply, a female historian shouted loudly.

"You insolent wench! Which palace do you belong to? How dare you not bow before Consort Yun!"

"Still hiding far away, do you want to get a beating?" a female official shouted from not far away;

Sitting in the sedan chair beside her was a concubine adorned with pearls and jade; this must be the noble and precious Consort Yun.

Fu Luan said with a forced smile, "So it's Consort Yun..."

"Lady Fu Luan of Yuanshi County pays respects to Consort Yun... Just now we..."

"Slap her in the face..." Before Fu Luan could finish speaking, Consort Yun slowly gave the order.

She lowered her head, admiring her slender fingers that had just been painted with nail polish, without looking at them.

The female historian walked quickly toward Fu Luan, first slightly curtsying her knees, which was considered a gesture of respect.

Then, raising her hand solemnly, she said, "Lady Yuan, this servant has offended you!"

"How dare you!" But before her hand could fall, Fu Luan said sternly.

The lady-in-waiting was stunned and turned to look at her mistress.

Yun Guiji then raised her eyes and looked Fu Luan up and down.

As she sized up Fu Luan, Fu Luan was also sizing her up.

Upon closer inspection, Fu Luan roughly understood why Consort Yun was favored—she also had a peony flower decoration painted on her forehead.

In addition, she was born into the Longxi Prince's Mansion and began to be favored by the emperor from the day he tried to forcibly take Fu Luan but failed.

It's not hard to imagine that the Emperor regarded Lady Yun as a substitute for the "most beautiful woman in the Great Wei," whom he loved but could not have...

"I had heard many things about the County Lady when I was in the Longxi Prince's Mansion; seeing her today, it is indeed no different from the rumors."

"Does the county magistrate think she's still the Crown Princess when she rebukes my lady-in-waiting?" Consort Yun said sarcastically.

Fu Luan replied, "I dare not... but Fu Luan is, after all, a fifth-rank county lady personally appointed by the Emperor."

"Even if there is a mistake, it should be reported to the Emperor. How can you allow your lady-in-waiting to beat me at will?"

"Oh...you're a county princess 'personally appointed' by the Emperor, hehehe..." Consort Yun feigned sudden realization, then burst into laughter:

"Who in this palace wasn't personally appointed by the Emperor? Although you are two ranks higher than me, you must understand this clearly:"

"I am a concubine of the Emperor, let alone a sixth-rank noble lady or a principal wife of a palace."

"Even if today a lowly ninth-rank concubine were standing before you, or even your entire family, you would still have to kneel and pay your respects!"

"What Marquis of Chang'an, the Fu family, the Great General..."

"In the eyes of the palace concubines, they are all just household slaves! Beat them!"

Having received orders from her mistress, the lady-in-waiting raised her wrist once more, looking smug and self-satisfied.

Before the slap could land, Hua Luo stood in front of Fu Luan and took the slap for her...

"The county magistrate has raised a 'good dog,' I am truly ashamed of my own in comparison..." Consort Yun's smile faded, she stepped down from her sedan chair, and walked gracefully toward Fu Luan...