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

July 16th, another rainy night.

Ye Xin went to bed early, but the pain in her legs and the strange feeling in her heart made it difficult for her to sleep.

She had no choice but to sit up and stare blankly into the darkness.

Memories flashed before my eyes.

She had a secret she hadn't told anyone.

After her serious illness, she not only developed a chronic condition, but also constantly felt that something was wrong with her.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange. She just felt a void in her heart, as if something had been forcibly ripped from her soul. This feeling became even more pronounced around the Ghost Festival.

That day, she saw herself vomit a charred monster's corpse, but everyone said it was just stagnant blood phlegm; she thought of the palace and monster in her dream, as well as Xiangyun's words, but even Shuangxi couldn't say what the dream meant or what Xiangyun's words meant.

By the fifth watch of the night, she was still wide awake, so she got up, put on her clothes, and left the room.

Today I'm going to collect food to feed the crickets.

Yanwan seems to have been busy these past few days and hasn't come to the North Garden to see me often. After all, this is indeed my own work, and I can't keep bothering her.

She walked out of the North Garden and found Yanwan sitting alone in the flower room, dozing off in the corner with her legs drawn up to her chest.

Somewhat puzzled, she entered the greenhouse. Had the manager made Yanwan do extra work again? Had she arrived early, or had she been busy all night and hadn't gone home at all?

Unexpectedly, the sound of his own light footsteps woke Yanwan up. She almost immediately jumped up and looked around warily and bewilderedly.

Ye Xin walked over: "It's me, don't be afraid. Why have you become so timid?"

Yanwan felt relieved when she saw it was her. But before she could say anything, her eyes reddened.

Ye Xin immediately sensed something was wrong: "What's wrong? Who bullied you again?"

Yanwan simply shook her head with tears in her eyes: "Don't ask, Miss Ye Xin."

Ye Xin was anxious and grabbed Yan Wan's arm: "What exactly happened?"

Yanwan winced in pain and let out a soft groan.

Ye Xin was startled. Ignoring Yan Wan's attempts to stop her, she rolled up Yan Wan's sleeve and saw that her arm was covered in bruises, mottled scars, and scattered burn marks.

Ye Xin immediately flew into a rage: "Who? Who did this?!"

Yanwan simply whispered, "Sister Yexin, please don't ask anymore. We can only accept the punishment from above."

Ye Xin spat: "Pah! No matter where she is in charge or which palace she is the mistress of, Her Majesty the Empress has long said that no one is allowed to mistreat palace maids. Her Majesty just went to the Yuanmingyuan, and now someone is trying to turn the world upside down!"

Yanwan was also filled with bitterness and resentment.

These past few days, Consort Jia has been sending flowers to Qixiang Palace, specifically requesting that she be the one to deliver them. Whenever she arrives, Consort Jia instructs the other staff in the flower room to keep her there to serve her.

But that was hardly serving one's mistress! Consort Jia made her kneel motionless, holding up candles or incense burners for hours on end. Her arms ached, and the dripping oil from the candles burned her hands, causing even more pain. But if she moved even slightly, Zhen Shu, Consort Jia's head maid, would beat and scold her. Zhen Shu had a strong grip; she could twist her flesh and leave a large bruise.

Consort Jia also made her serve her foot washing, requiring her to hold a large, heavy basin without moving. Every time she washed her feet, Consort Jia complained that the water was too cold or too hot, and would kick and stomp on herself with her beautiful feet (she would even ask, "Are my feet beautiful?"), soaking half of her body before she was done.

She had considered avoiding it, but Consort Jia seemed to be deliberately provoking her. If she didn't go the first time, Zhen Shu would personally come to summon her, scolding her for being ungrateful. Then, she was tormented until almost midnight one night, and then forced to go to Qixiang Palace before dawn the next day, making it impossible for her to sleep. The people in the flower room dared not offend Consort Jia, who had given birth to a noble son and enjoyed favor, and naturally couldn't protect Wei Yanwan.

Chun Chan and her other friends couldn't help, and Ye Xin had always been in poor health and had a somewhat strange and irritable temperament, so she dared not let Ye Xin know about this. Having no other choice, she swallowed her pride and sought help from Ling Yunche, but Ling Yunche only said that being beaten and scolded by his master was commonplace, and told her to endure it while he thought of a solution, and then there was no further response.

Wei Yanwan had already figured it out. The first time she spoke to the Emperor, she was driven out of Zhongcui Palace. Consort Jia was also there that day. The second time she spoke to the Emperor, she was tormented by Consort Jia. Consort Jia must have thought that she would be favored by the Emperor and deliberately made things difficult for her! But as a lowly palace maid, she had no way to plead for help and could only swallow her anger. Now, having received Ye Xin's care, the grievances she had held for the past few days burst forth, and she cried out, "Everyone is bullying me!"

Ye Xin said angrily, "Let's go! I'll take you to hide for a while, and when Her Majesty the Empress returns to the palace, I'll go and ask Aunt Mingyu and Yingluo for a solution!"

A sinister voice rang out: "Who are you going to see?"

Lixin walked in from outside the greenhouse.

Yanwan hid behind Ye Xin in fear.

Lixin approached and cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! Our mistress is doing you a favor by sending you to serve her, yet you keep making excuses and dare to spout nonsense!"

Yanwan shrank back.

Ye Xin put on a smiling face and said, "Lixin, Consort Jia is perfectly fine, why is she suddenly short of servants and has to find someone from the flower room? And why do you have to come all the way here in the early morning to personally select her? Should I help you find Qin Li and send a few people over?"

Li Xin said disdainfully, "You, a useless person who was banished from the palace by a deposed concubine, still think you have the dignity of a head palace maid? You dare to meddle in the affairs of Qixiang Palace?"

Ye Xin laughed heartily, put one hand behind her back and pointed behind her, indicating that Wei Yanwan should go first. She put the other hand to her mouth and said loudly, "I wonder which empress you are? You've already reached the rank of Consort, but you haven't been taken to the Yuanmingyuan by the Emperor yet? Oh, it's Consort Jia! You finally gave birth to a noble son, but he was given to a Noble Consort to raise. Now you don't even have enough people to serve you. How pitiful!"

Li Xin was furious. Seeing Wei Yanwan turn to run away, she was about to grab her when Wei Yanwan grabbed a handful of soil from a flowerpot and threw it in Li Xin's face.

This was completely unexpected for Li Xin. Her eyes were covered in sand, and after rubbing them a couple of times, she managed to open them. Wei Yanwan had already taken advantage of this opportunity to rush out of the flower room.

Lixin was about to chase after her, but Yexin grabbed her wrist.

Ye Xin shouted, "Everyone come and see! Consort Jia couldn't go to the Yuanmingyuan Garden, so she sent her servants to find palace maids from the flower room to build rafts to vent her anger!"

Wei Yanwan wiped away her tears and fled the flower room.

Now how to do?

She recalled that Ye Xin addressed Chief Steward Qin of the Imperial Household Department by his full name, and thought that perhaps Chief Steward Qin and Ye Xin were old acquaintances.

So she rushed to the Imperial Household Department.

Qin Lifang rubbed his teeth with salt and rinsed his mouth. Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside. The myna bird in the cage was startled and flapped its wings wildly.

He said impatiently, "Last night there were rituals and the princess catching a cold from the wind. After all that commotion last night, what's all this noise this morning!"

A eunuch came to report: "Chief Eunuch Qin, a young palace maid is banging on the door and crying, saying that something happened in the flower room and that Miss Ye Xin sent her. We will drive her out immediately."

Qin Li immediately became alert and said, "No, no, no, let her in."

Yanwan came in, wiping away her tears, and told Qin Li what had happened. Qin Li thought to himself, "This has nothing to do with the Ulanara clan!"

But considering the ghost messenger's words, and the fact that Consort Jia, who had given birth to a noble son, was making things difficult for a palace maid who was just doing odd jobs in the flower room, he decided to go and see for himself.

Seeing Ye Xin start shouting, Li Xin was afraid that if she made a scene, she would look bad, so she had no choice but to angrily return to Qixiang Palace to complain.

Upon hearing this, Jin Yuyan was immediately enraged: "I haven't fallen out of favor yet! These people dare to oppose me! Zhenshu, come with me!"

Zhenshu advised, "My lady, you don't need to torment a palace maid like this. If Ye Xin really spreads this around, people will really think that we are about to fall out of favor and that's why we're losing our temper. Why don't I go and remind Ye Xin to watch her words? Ye Xin is only half alive; a little scare will make her behave."

Zhen Shu knew that Jin Yuyan was tormenting Yan Wan because the emperor had chatted with Yan Wan, which made Jin Yuyan, who was already on edge, even more anxious.

In recent days, Jin Yuyan's schemes have repeatedly failed. Lady Hong gave birth to a newborn son, and the Imperial Concubine no longer allowed her to see the Fourth Prince. In addition, the Emperor did not take her with him when he went to the Yuanmingyuan. All these setbacks have caused Jin Yuyan to lose her composure and calmness.

Zhen Shu even speculated that although Jin Yuyan claimed to hate Wei Yanwan's face, which resembled Ruyi's, she actually hated the Empress, whom she could never climb up to and control, and also hated the Crown Prince's wife, Hong, who had once come from a poor family but had now given birth to a son for the Crown Prince.

Torture of Wei Yanwan, a palace maid from a fallen family, was both a way to vent his jealousy and resentment towards Lady Hong, and a way to take advantage of the Empress's absence to violate the rule that palace maids should not be abused, bringing him a dark and secret pleasure.

Zhenshu originally thought that Jin Yuyan's current state of mind was unstable, so it would be good to let her vent. Anyway, the Empress was not here, and Wei Yanwan, a lowly palace maid with no family background or support, did not have the courage to resist or report.

But now that someone wants to escalate the situation and make further moves, it's possible that the Empress won't be able to keep it a secret when she returns, and that would give them a handle to use against her.

But Jin Yuyan was no longer listening.

Frustrated, she swept the teacup off the table and onto the floor, trembling all over. "No! I can't let anyone trample on me, especially these lowly servants! I must establish my authority today!"

The group from Qixiang Palace arrived at the flower room in a grand procession.

As soon as Lixin entered the flower room, she shouted, "Tell Ye Xin and that wretched maid Wei Yanwan to get out here!"

The old woman stepped forward and asked, "Lixin, what's wrong that you're so angry?"

Li Xin said, "You should rest now, this has nothing to do with you."

The old woman said sternly, "I've served in the palace for decades, and I'm of a certain age and respectable. Even the mistress and the empress have to give me some face. Today, you barged into the flower room and made a scene. How can that be none of my business?"

Jin Yuyan rushed in like a gust of wind and gave Zhenshu a wink. Zhenshu steeled herself and slapped the old woman across the face.

Jin Yuyan pointed at the old woman's nose and cursed, "What kind of old hag is she? Just because she's served me for a long time, she's acting like she's old and arrogant. Get out of here!"

At this moment, Ye Xin's voice rang out: "Consort Jia only wants to teach this servant a lesson, and this servant will accept the punishment. Why embarrass the old nanny here?"

Ye Xin walked slowly over, lifted her skirt, and knelt down heavily, her slender back ramrod straight.

Jin Yuyan was furious. She gave Zhenshu a command, and Zhenshu stepped forward and slapped Ye Xin hard across the face several times.

Ye Xin bled from her mouth and nose, saw stars, and collapsed to the side. Jin Yuyan, still not satisfied, stepped forward and slammed the bottom of a flowerpot into Ye Xin's knees.

Ye Xin's already ailing knees were in even greater pain, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent.

The palace maids and eunuchs in the flower room had long been kneeling on the ground, each one daring to be angry but not daring to speak out.

At this moment, Qin Li and Wei Yanwan arrived. Upon seeing the situation, Wei Yanwan screamed and ran over, kneeling in front of Jin Yuyan and clinging to her flowerpot-shaped embroidered shoes, crying, "Your Highness, Consort Jia, it is all my fault. Please punish me if you must!"

Jin Yuyan laughed angrily, "You said it yourself!" Turning to Zhen Shu, she said, "Drag her out immediately and make her kneel in the sun for two hours with a flowerpot on her head!"

Zhenshu and Lixin pulled Wei Yanwan up and tried to drag her out.

Qin Li hurriedly stepped forward with a fawning smile, blocking Zhen Shu and Li Xin: "Consort Jia, Consort Jia! What have these two lowly maids done to offend you? Tell this servant, and this servant will surely punish them severely to avenge you!" As he spoke, he turned to the palace servants kneeling on the ground and shouted: "Are you all blind? This bloody mess is disturbing the mistress. Quickly take them away!"

Just as the palace servants were about to get up and take Ye Xin away, Jin Yuyan said, "Kneel down before me!" Then she sneered at Qin Li, "What does Eunuch Qin mean by daring to dispose of a servant who has offended me before me?"

Qin Li said, "How dare this servant? But Her Majesty the Empress has ordered that any punishment of palace servants must be carried out according to regulations, and must not be excessive or cruel. If today's events were to spread, others would think that you took advantage of Her Majesty the Empress's absence to disregard her words."

Upon hearing this, Jin Yuyan's brows furrowed even more fiercely: "You dare to use the Empress to intimidate me? You're asking for trouble! Get out of my way!"

Suddenly a voice rang out: "Your Highness Consort Jia, I don't understand what you're saying. Are you implying that Her Majesty the Empress, being the Empress, can't suppress a mere Consort like you? Or are you harboring resentment towards Her Majesty the Empress and have forgotten the proper order of rank?"

Yingluo strode into the greenhouse.

She walked up to Zhenshu and Lixin, who were holding Yanwan captive, and said coldly, "Release them."

Zhenshu and Lixin looked at Yingluo, then at Jin Yuyan, hesitating.

"Slap!" "Slap!" Both of them were slapped across the face. Lixin felt a strong force coming at her, and she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Zhenshu, who was skilled in martial arts, could barely stand, and clear handprints had already appeared on her face.

Jin Yuyan exclaimed in disbelief, "Yingluo! How dare you hit one of my people!"

Yingluo waved her hand, her calm demeanor even carrying a hint of disdain: "Consort Jia, you can have your maids teach the people in the flower room a lesson. I am the Empress's maid, so of course I can also teach your people a lesson, Consort Jia. These two slaps are to tell them that those who bully others by relying on their power will one day be bullied themselves."

Yanwan was no longer being held back, but she didn't dare to get up. She quickly moved to Ye Xin's side and let the swaying Ye Xin lean on her.

Jin Yuyan screamed and was about to pounce on Yingluo, but Yingluo immediately took out an imperial edict and loudly proclaimed, "Imperial edict from Her Majesty the Empress!"

Qin Li whispered a reminder: "Consort Jia, don't just stand there, please bow."

Yingluo handed the imperial edict to Qin Li, who read it aloud: "Hearing that Princess Roushu has caught a cold, His Majesty is very worried and has ordered me to return to the palace to take care of her. I will arrive soon. Until then, I hereby grant Yingluo, the head maid of Changchun Palace, the authority to act on my behalf. Everyone in the palace must strictly abide by the palace rules and not act rashly, so as not to disturb the Empress Dowager and the Princess."

Yingluo smiled and said, "Consort Jia, please listen carefully. This servant will now act on behalf of the Empress."

Then he ordered: "Zhenshu and Lixin, the head maids of Qixiang Palace, failed to advise their mistress and instead allowed her to make a scene. They are to be immediately taken to the Accounting Department of the Imperial Household Department. The two maids who were beaten and the nanny are to be examined and treated by the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Pharmacy. Consort Jia, the other maids of Qixiang Palace are to be escorted back to Qixiang Palace to calm down. We will report back together when Her Majesty the Empress returns."