The Changchun Palace team travels back in time to Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

Currently, due to the coexistence of two palaces, and the delicate situation arising from the differences between the late emperor's will and ancestral rules, all parties are at a stalemate.

Since discovering that the Empress Dowager was showing signs of ruling from behind the curtain, Yingluo was worried that the old lady's reckless actions would cause trouble for the Empress, Rongyin was worried that the Empress Dowager would repeat the mistakes of Lü and Huo, and Mingyu was worried that the Empress Dowager's strong personality would make things difficult for the Empress in the future. Therefore, the three of them were not at ease and watched the video about the struggle between the two empresses every day.

After watching the two days' worth of VCRs, Yingluo roughly understood the various factions involved.

She analyzed to Rongyin and Mingyu: "Empress Ulanara was disliked and imprisoned by the late emperor for many years before her death. Now that the late emperor has passed away, any love or hatred she may have had has been taken to the head of the office. Instead of thinking about quickly earning herself real things like status, freedom, and treatment, she still wants to continue her feud with the Empress Dowager. This back-and-forth is clearly a mess, showing how stupid and clueless she is. The current Empress Dowager is only half-baked; she didn't have enough power in the previous dynasty, and she doesn't have much of a mother-son bond with the emperor. So even though she clearly has the advantage of the late emperor's golden words, 'We will never see each other again,' she still..." He couldn't even handle a long-disliked, defeated subordinate, which shows he's muddle-headed; bestowing the title of Empress Dowager is a family matter for the emperor, not a matter of national importance, yet the court is arguing about it endlessly, showing these ministers are just wasting their time; the emperor not only can't silence these ministers and get them to work, but he's actually troubled by their suggestions, showing he's controlled by them, and his imperial authority is insufficient; Consort Qing suggested bringing Empress Ulanara to Shengjing to be treated as Empress Dowager, and the emperor agreed, although this result is clearly undeserved and could have endless consequences. It seems this is how the matter will ultimately end.

Rongyin also said, "During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jiajing initiated the Great Rites Controversy because he was not the late emperor's younger brother, but rather born to a collateral branch. In order to ensure the legitimacy of his succession, he had to honor his parents as the 'Huang Kao Bi' (a title of honor for the deceased emperor), which led to opposition from the court officials. Now, Your Majesty is the late emperor's own son. Whether Your Majesty bestows the title of Empress Dowager or not will not affect your legitimacy of succession. Moreover, Emperor Jiajing was able to suppress the court officials. The emperors of our Great Qing Dynasty have always been decisive and absolute. Would the officials really go to the Zuoshun Gate to pressure Your Majesty over matters concerning the late emperor's palace?"

When news of Empress Ulanara's death arrived, Yingluo immediately felt as if she had been slapped in the face.

To her surprise, Yingluo realized that Empress Ulanara had just died, which suddenly broke the stalemate.

The biggest beneficiary of Empress Ulanara's death was naturally the Empress Dowager.

But murder in the palace, especially murder of the Empress... Yingluo felt that with the Empress Dowager's overconfident and reckless personality, she was capable of doing it, but once she did, the situation would likely become complicated.

Since things have come to this, let's just watch the video.

Yuan Yi turned on the VCR.

In the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager reprimanded Qingying, but Qingying, just like at lunchtime before, stubbornly defended herself.

The Empress Dowager sneered, saying bluntly that with Qingying as her support, how could Empress Ulanara be at peace? As she spoke, she gave Qingying a bottle of arsenic.

Rongyin was shocked: "Does the Empress Dowager dare to plot against the Emperor's concubines?" Then she suddenly remembered something and said, "I was mourning these past two days, and once I saw Qingying being asked to leave by Eunuch Li, who is by the Emperor's side, halfway through her mourning period. Could it be that the Emperor also knows about this?"

The scene shifts, and Qingying arrives at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The Emperor said, "I had already made almost all the arrangements for Jingren Palace, but word got out. In order to take care of the Empress Dowager and your aunt, we should proceed slowly."

Yingluo was speechless: How did you manage this? How could an emperor arrange things in the harem and let word get out? You're worried about the Empress Dowager? Are you worried about her distant relatives or about the fact that you two barely have any mother-son relationship?

As Qingying and Hongli talked, the conversation drifted back to the Fragrance Soup, Qingying's love for plum blossoms, and their youthful affection. Then Qingying began to recite, "We gaze at each other from afar, one glance and I know my heart is broken."

Mingyu panicked: "Why is she making scallop, mushroom, and egg sausage again? Quickly, beg the Emperor for help and tell him the Empress Dowager wants to kill her!"

Qingying suddenly stood up and said to the emperor, "Even if Qingying can never see Your Majesty again, she will pray for Your Majesty's good health and that everything goes smoothly." She then bowed solemnly.

The emperor quickly helped her up: "Get up, get up, what's wrong with you today?"

Yingluo: "Don't be in such a hurry, Mingyu. Look, this is about to arouse the emperor's suspicion, and he'll take the opportunity to complain!"

The emperor then comforted her, saying, "I understand that your aunt is too lonely and miserable. I also pity your aunt."

Qingying remained silent, tears streaming down her face, as the two embraced. The screen went black.

Mingyu: "I didn't complain at all! You've gotten it wrong twice, Yingluo!"

Yingluo remained silent, then turned and covered her face.

This isn't her fault; the blame lies with the fact that there isn't a single normal person in this palace!

The screen lit up again, this time the scene shifted to Jingren Palace.

Empress Ulanara, dressed in her imperial court robes, was leisurely sipping a cup of tea.

Qingying said, "Aunt, the Emperor has granted you permission to go to the imperial palace to live out your remaining years in peace."

Empress Ulanara said, “How can I live out my days in peace? I will not be recorded in history, nor will I be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Next year, I will be buried as an unnamed and unranked concubine of the late emperor, and I will never be able to sleep in the same grave as the late emperor again.”

Qingying said, "As long as you stay in the palace in peace, you will enjoy a peaceful and honorable death and be buried with the late emperor."

Empress Ulanara chuckled: "What price did you pay for this arrangement?"

Qingying said firmly, "His Majesty cherishes me, which is why he made this arrangement."

Empress Ulanara said, "Without Niohuru's authorization, would the Emperor have agreed to your request? Come here, Qingying." Qingying stepped forward, and she took Qingying's hand.

Qingying asked, "Did the Empress Dowager also come to see you?"

Upon seeing this, Rongyin said, "What? Does the Empress Dowager intend to murder the Emperor's concubines and even the late Emperor's Empress? Is there no one to stop her from treating human life so lightly in the palace?"

Ulanara said, "Your aunt knows your temperament. You will definitely risk your life to protect my status. But Niohuru has always wanted me dead. What use is your death?" Then she instructed Qingying to make good use of the emperor's affection for her, gain favor, and become empress.

Qingying said, "But Qingying never coveted the position of empress; she only wished to be loving and affectionate with the emperor for a long time."

Empress Ulanara said, "Only by becoming Empress can you live and die alongside the Emperor!"

Qingying lowered her eyes and said in a weak voice, "But Lady Fucha is a good consort, and she can be a good empress in the future."

Yingluo and Mingyu: This statement still makes the most sense!

Empress Ulanara, in a fit of anger, cursed, "How could the Ulanara clan produce a daughter like you!" Before she could finish speaking, she coughed painfully, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Qingying panicked and supported Empress Ulanara. Empress Ulanara weakly said, "This poison from the Empress Dowager is not meant to poison the body, but to poison the heart. Qingying, you must watch me die to prove that I was not forced to commit suicide, but died of resentment and anger, and that I have no one to blame!"

Qingying: "But you were clearly forced to your death by the Empress Dowager!"

Empress Ulanara said, "Now neither of us has the strength to fight back. If you want to live, you must not even have hatred. You must make sure that Niohuru doesn't kill you, and you must make her your ally. You must become empress to avenge me..." As she spoke, she gradually fell silent. Her eyes were still open, but they had lost their light.

Qingying's eyes widened, her mouth gaped open, and two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks as she cried out, "Aunt!"

Upon seeing this, Rong Yin abruptly stood up and angrily shouted into the team's communication channel: "The late emperor's coffin has not yet been placed in the mausoleum, yet the Empress Dowager is forcing the still-respecting Empress to commit suicide by taking poison! Since the founding emperor of our Great Qing Dynasty, there has never been a tyrannical ruler like Emperors Huan and Ling. Does the Empress Dowager intend to be such a cruel mistress of the harem as Dou Miao? Such matters must be thoroughly investigated to rectify the atmosphere of the harem!"

Yuan Yi: "Uh... Actually, the Qing Dynasty did have emperors like that, but you passed away many years ago, so you don't know... Anyway, Ms. Rong, please calm down, please stay calm and don't do anything rash."

Mingyu also advised, "Yes, Your Majesty, even if we had evidence, it wouldn't be worth it for us to stand up for them! Didn't you hear that the Empress wants Qingfu to become Empress? Isn't that just to replace you? Why bother speaking up for those two people who are so thankless!"

Rongyin said solemnly, “Mingyu, that’s not how it works. What they plot is their business. If I have not committed any immoral acts, no matter how others scheme, they cannot truly replace me. But the Empress Dowager’s actions are utterly reckless, cruel, and disruptive to the law and order, corrupting the atmosphere of the harem. If she can kill Empress Ulanara today, she may very well cause others to suffer undeserved calamities in the future. As long as I am Empress, I should protect the harem and prevent anyone from being harmed without cause. The three of us are originally wandering souls, and power is like fleeting clouds to us. But we are using other people’s bodies to act in order to restore order and protect the beings of this world. If it is within our power, we certainly cannot allow such lawless things to happen.”

Mingyu said with shame, "Your Majesty is right, I understand." At the same time, she sent a blushing emoji.

Yuan Yidao said, “I am now reminding you as a ghost messenger that although your duty is to change the course of the world and bring the Heavenly Dao back to its original way, you do not necessarily have to change every course. Especially when you encounter a complex and dangerous situation like this, you must put your own safety first.”

Yingluo said, "Yuanyi is right. We can see these things through the magical artifact Weixi'a, but the Emperor and the others cannot. The Empress Dowager is currently in power, and we have no evidence. If we rashly ask the Emperor to conduct a thorough investigation, it will inevitably be suspected of framing us. Moreover, the current Emperor's foster mother killed his legal mother. Such a major matter, if we get involved, we might end up getting ourselves involved. Your Highness should also consider your own safety, as well as the eldest princess and the second prince!"

Rongyin was initially furious, but after hearing this, she gradually calmed down and asked, "Yingluo, what do you think we should do?"

Yingluo said, “Think about the conversation between the Emperor and Consort Qing earlier. As the ruler of the country, if the Emperor wanted to do something secretly, word would get out. This shows that in this world, the palace must be leaky on all sides. The Empress Dowager's high-profile act of directly poisoning two people to commit suicide, and actually killing them, will surely spread the news faster and wider. Those ministers in the court are just idle and have nothing better to do. Once they hear about this, won't they start arguing endlessly? Empress Ulanara's death was so coincidental that the Emperor won't be completely skeptical. The Emperor is now an adult and independent, and he won't be satisfied with the Empress Dowager's autocracy. He probably also wants to crack down on the Empress Dowager's faction. You could try, as the Empress, to raise the question of what should be done about Empress Ulanara's funeral, and also mention whether Empress Ulanara's sudden death was due to excessive grief and following the late Emperor. If the Emperor has suspicions, he can request an imperial decree to investigate. Maybe that will work. If not, we can only take it one step at a time.”

The three of them had already made their decision, and the next day, after the mourning ceremony, Rongyin and Yingluo went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to request an audience with the Emperor.