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

Bai Ruiji entered Changchun Palace from the Southern Palace the next day.

She was now a woman learning proper etiquette, and her investiture would be held on a chosen day. Therefore, Rongyin treated her with the same respect as a concubine, and had a side hall prepared for her to live in early in the morning. When she arrived at Changchun Palace, she went to pay her respects to Rongyin as required by custom.

Bai Ruiji bowed and said sweetly, "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."

Rongyin smiled and said, "Get up, no need for formalities. Go to your residence and see if there's anything you need. Just tell Mingyu. The Imperial Household Department has sent some teaching matrons. Go and meet them, and you can learn etiquette and manners from them every day from now on."

Bai Ruiji responded with a "yes" and withdrew. Yingluo led her to a side hall.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw Qin Li personally leading the instructor, along with many eunuchs carrying various items.

He was also on his way to Changchun Palace to pay his respects to Empress Rongyin. Upon seeing Bai Ruiji and Yingluo at the entrance, he stepped forward to greet them: "This servant was just on his way to pay his respects to Her Majesty the Empress. What a coincidence! This servant pays his respects to Miss Bai and congratulates her. His Majesty remembers you and has sent some fine gifts this morning."

"Look at this ivory phoenix-necked pipa, it's the one you're used to playing, and I specifically asked that it be kept for you; these headdresses, gilded and inlaid with various gemstones, are also of the finest quality; most precious of all is this warm satin newly presented by the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau. The Emperor ordered the Imperial Household Department to have a garment made for you overnight, it's light, soft, and warm, it will surely accentuate your elegance, unlike us clumsy folk, whose cotton robes are too thick and uncomfortable to walk in during the twelfth lunar month."

He was full of flattery, but he emphasized the words "too thick," while glancing at Yingluo. He always spoke with a certain intonation, and these words were hidden in his usual tone, so others couldn't tell. Yingluo knew that Qin Li had been investigating the Southern Mansion, so she realized something was wrong: Was Bai Ruiji the Empress Dowager's person?

Yingluo smiled and replied, "Who says otherwise? Miss Bai has won the Emperor's favor, so she will naturally have a bright future. Eunuch Qin, I'll take Miss Bai to her residence first. Please go in first. Have the things delivered to the East Annex Hall."

Qin Li quickly agreed, "Hey, Miss Bai, Miss Yingluo, please go first. I'll go and kowtow to Her Majesty the Empress." He then turned and ordered, "Did you hear what Miss Yingluo said? Hurry up and take the things there!"

The two parted ways with Qin Li and arrived at the side hall. The side hall had already been tidied up, with various pieces of furniture arranged in a rather elegant manner. However, due to the Emperor's generous gifts, eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department were constantly going in and out, and the room was soon filled with boxes of various sizes and items.

Bai Ruiji sat down in a round-backed chair, picked up the pipa, casually plucked a few notes, and said casually, "Miss Yingluo, I heard when I was in the Southern Palace that the Empress usually disliked extravagance, and the Emperor even bestowed upon her an imperial plaque, asking the six palaces to take the Empress as a model."

But the Emperor has bestowed upon me so much gold, jade, and jewels, as well as warm satin garments from Jiangnan; he must like me wearing them. Now, in Changchun Palace, Miss Yingluo asks, "Should I listen to the Empress or the Emperor?"

Yingluo: Are you starting to fan the flames already?

Yingluo smiled and replied, "Miss Bai is joking. Her Majesty the Empress prefers simplicity. She is strict with herself and lenient with others. She does not wear gold and jade jewelry or expensive embroidered clothes, but she does not force others to be the same as her. Miss Bai is cautious, but you don't need to be so restrained in everything."

Bai Ruiji gave a faint, almost imperceptible chuckle and waved her hand, saying, "The people around Her Majesty the Empress are indeed all very clever. Well then, I still need to see the Instructor. If Miss Yingluo has nothing else, please return."

Qin Li greeted Rong Yin, and Rong Yin ordered someone to fetch a reward for Qin Li. At this moment, someone came to report that Aunt Fu Jia, who was by the Empress Dowager's side, had come to invite the Empress to Shou Kang Palace.

Rongyin didn't know why the Empress Dowager, who usually gave her a cold shoulder, suddenly wanted to see her again, but as a junior, she had no choice but to go. So she took Yingluo and Mingyu with her and headed to Shou Kang Palace.

On the way, Yingluo relayed the information Qin Li had sent through her mind. Rongyin pondered: If Bai Ruiji was indeed planted by the Empress Dowager, then the Empress Dowager probably sent her today because of Bai Ruiji's matter. She could also use this opportunity to test the waters.

Upon arriving at Shou Kang Palace, the emperor was already waiting at the entrance. The two entered Shou Kang Palace one after the other.

In the Shou Kang Palace, the Empress Dowager held a bowl of milk tea and stirred it.

The Emperor knelt down to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, and Rongyin also knelt down, saying, "Greetings to my Imperial Mother. May my Imperial Mother enjoy good health and a long and blessed life."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she slammed the milk tea down on the table.

She had previously thought that she had ended up in this predicament mostly because Ruyi had instigated the emperor. However, in the past few months, while she was furious with Ruyi who came to attend to her illness, she slowly realized that the emperor had repeatedly defied the wishes of the late emperor and herself to take Ruyi by his side. If he really wanted to imprison her for her sake, why would he send her to Shou Kang Palace, ostensibly to attend to her illness, but in reality to imprison her together?

Judging from Ruyi's behavior, the Emperor was probably annoyed with her and knew that she was annoying, so he deliberately sent her to his side to torment him.

The emperor only had a few influential people around him, and considering the empress's behavior when she went to the emperor to ask about the aftermath of Jingren Palace, the empress dowager was certain that the one instigating this was the gentle and kind empress in front of her!

Now that the Empress has come to pay her respects and said these words, is she implying that she has been under house arrest for several months by the Emperor under the pretext of "recuperating from illness"?

Now that he was about to leave Shou Kang Palace, he still needed to rely on Bai Ruiji as a pawn to whisper in the emperor's ear. However, although Bai Ruiji had shown her face to the emperor, she was not taken in by him, but was intercepted by the empress and sent to Changchun Palace to become a girl learning etiquette. Although a girl learning etiquette was a prospective concubine, her status was somewhere between a palace lady and a palace maid. Bai Ruiji was now practically in the empress's hands.

Were the Empress's actions unintentional or deliberate? If unintentional, how could it be such a coincidence that the pawn he wanted to place was immediately controlled by her? But if deliberate, Bai Ruiji was sent to the palace by the Ulanara family and had no apparent connection to him. Xiaoqi taking in a new concubine was already a pretext for gossip, so it was hard to find fault with the Empress bringing Bai Ruiji into Changchun Palace to learn etiquette in preparation for her future investiture.

The Empress Dowager pondered this over and over, but still couldn't figure it out, so she had to summon the Empress to test her.

Upon seeing the Empress, the Empress Dowager's pent-up frustration—a feeling that she clearly sensed something was wrong with the Empress but couldn't find any evidence against her—exploded with her blessing.

However, after being placed under house arrest, she dared not act rashly, but still wanted to maintain the airs of an empress dowager, so she simply said, "Your Majesty, you may dispense with the formalities."

Without letting Rongyin get up, he made her kneel on the ground and forced out a sentence: "I heard that His Majesty took a fancy to a pipa player from the Southern Palace the other day and even sent her to the Empress's palace to learn etiquette?"

She was about to say the next sentence: "During the mourning period, singing, dancing and sensual pleasures are forbidden, let alone the fact that the Emperor wants to take in a new concubine. Isn't this a bit too hasty?"

Before she could finish speaking, the Empress immediately replied, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has indeed assigned a young woman to learn etiquette to Changchun Palace. However, since Your Majesty has said this, I have a question I must ask: Previously, Your Majesty was grieving and ill because of the late Emperor's passing. His Majesty, being a filial son, did not want to upset the Empress Dowager and disturb her recovery. Therefore, he specifically instructed me not to let anyone speak of anything in the palace in front of the Empress Dowager."

Who is gossiping before the Empress Dowager? For the sake of the Empress Dowager and the peace of the other imperial concubines, I must investigate.

The Empress Dowager was both shocked and furious. Why wasn't the Empress playing by the rules? She couldn't help but say, "Isn't the Empress's reach a bit too far? She's even extending her reach into my own territory!"

Rongyin kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, you flatter me. I am deeply apprehensive."

The emperor, who had been hesitant to speak, suddenly said, "The empress is also concerned about the Empress Dowager's health and is afraid of disturbing her recovery." His tone was extremely cold.

Looking at the Emperor's frosty face, the Empress Dowager barely managed to hold back from shoving the milk tea off the table. Thinking of the Empress's family background, the current political situation, and this suddenly ruthless adopted son, she realized that times had changed.

She could only swallow her anger and say, "Your Majesty, please rise. I only heard rumors, so there's no need to investigate further. I'm not blaming the Emperor or you, but I'm worried about the Emperor's offspring."

Although the emperor is in mourning, the emperor observes mourning for days instead of months. As the emperor is in the royal family, he must consider the well-being of his descendants.

The Emperor currently has only three sons and one daughter, which is rather meager. The Holy Ancestor Emperor had many descendants, how enviable! However, during the mourning period, singing, dancing, and sensual pleasures are forbidden. Although Bai Ruiji was not a concubine of the Emperor during the mourning period, it wouldn't sound good if word got out. Let's forgo the subsequent investiture ceremony and simply bestow more gifts upon her.”

The emperor was displeased, but Bai Ruiji was only a passing fancy to him, and he did not want to say anything more to the Empress Dowager on her behalf, so he said, "I will remember. I will do as my mother says."

Rongyin stood up and said, “Your Majesty’s teachings are correct, and I will follow them. Even when Your Majesty is ill, you still care so much for the Emperor, which truly shows your motherly heart. However, if Your Majesty thinks too much, it will not be good for your recovery. I am willing to go to Shou Kang Palace with the other palace ladies to take care of Your Majesty when you are ill.”

Upon hearing the last sentence, alarm bells rang in the Empress Dowager's mind: Did she want to bring Consort Xian back again?

She quickly replied, "No need, no need! I'm much better now! The Emperor is busy with the affairs of the court, and the Empress is busy with the affairs of the six palaces, so there's no need for them to come all the time!"

The emperor was puzzled as to why the empress dowager's attitude had suddenly changed, but since she had already said so, he had no intention of staying any longer. So he stood up and said, "In that case, the empress and I will take our leave."

After the Emperor and Rongyin left Shou Kang Palace, the Emperor said guiltily, "Empress Dowager's temper has been bad since she fell ill, and I haven't been able to protect you much. I'm sorry for the Empress's grievances."

Rongyin treated this consolation as a passing breeze, and simply smiled as she offered the prepared words: "Your Majesty's illness is also due to the grief and depression caused by the late Emperor's passing. If you can release the pent-up emotions in your heart, perhaps the illness will gradually improve. Your Majesty only wishes for a speedy recovery, how could I possibly feel aggrieved?"

The emperor thought to himself that this so-called illness was just a pretext he came up with to outmaneuver the Empress Dowager. Only someone as naive and kind as the empress would actually believe that the Empress Dowager was ill.

He then spoke as if to himself, "The Empress's words today are quite correct. Where did the Empress Dowager get this information?"

Rongyin then checked the intelligence with Yingluo and Mingyu on the team's frequency: The Empress Dowager's words, seemingly a reprimand, were actually an implication that the Emperor should spend more time with Bai Ruiji, indicating that she was indeed one of the Empress Dowager's people.

The Empress Dowager's arrangement of such a person at this juncture is likely intended to allow her to leave Shou Kang Palace as soon as possible or regain control of the six palaces. In this light, Bai Ruiji should not have any connection with Ruyi for the time being, and it is unlikely that she will be affected by her.

With Bai Ruiji in Changchun Palace, it remains to be seen what she will do next. Is the entire Changchun Palace part of her scheme?

Yingluo said, "Since Bai Ruiji has something to ask for, why don't we give her a chance?"

That very evening, Rongyin sent someone to invite Bai Ruiji, saying, "Miss Bai is a lady who has learned etiquette from me. After the Emperor finishes mourning, she will be officially conferred a title. The concubines of the six palaces will come to pay their respects to me tomorrow. Why don't you take this opportunity to come with me to meet the sisters in the harem?"

Bai Ruiji respectfully replied, "This servant will obey the Empress's command." However, her thoughts were racing.

Ah, what a golden opportunity that's presented to us, might as well take advantage of it.