Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

They were just two palace maids. Yin Yin was willing to protect them, as long as they weren't allowed to talk nonsense outside, the emperor would let her be.

The two palace maids were assigned to Yin Yin's side, and Eunuch Wu personally led the new maids to be selected by Consort Shu. The imperial decree for their investiture was also sent to Yao Guang Palace.

Consort Shu was puzzled: "Why did His Majesty specifically ask for these two to give to Yin Yin?"

Eunuch Wu laughed and said, "It was also the luck of these two palace maids. When His Majesty sent someone to invite Princess Shou Kang over, the two of them happened to be serving nearby."

"His Majesty knew they were from the Empress's side and said that the people around the Empress were well-trained, so there was no need to choose another. He ordered them to lead people to guard the house of Princess Shou Kang. When the princess enters the palace later, he also ordered them to continue to serve her."

"So that's how it is," Consort Shu said, her face dignified as she received the praise, but she couldn't suppress the smile in her eyes and brows, and the corners of her lips almost flew to the sky.

After the short delay, Yin Yin also picked up the Sixth Prince who had just finished school.

As soon as Consort Shu saw her son, she smiled and said to him, "Your cousin has now been adopted as His Majesty's goddaughter."

"Really?" The Sixth Prince was surprised for a moment, then became happy. "Then can my cousin stay in the palace permanently from now on? I can come and play with you often."

"I see that the other older sisters are also going to school in the palace. Cousin, are you going to go too?"

After the Sixth Prince finished speaking, he changed his mind and said, "Let's not. I heard that what the older sisters are learning is very difficult. Why don't you come to Hongwen Hall with me, cousin? We can walk together every day."

The sixth prince kept pestering Yin Yin with questions, but it was getting late, and it was not appropriate for Old Madam Qi to stay in the palace any longer.

Looking at Yin Yin, who had just become a county princess, Old Madam Qi hesitated for a moment, but decided to keep her in the palace for the time being.

Consort Shu also meant the same thing: "On Yinyin's big day, your aunt must prepare a few tables to celebrate."

The sixth prince suddenly spoke up from the side: "Mother, my cousin is Father's adopted daughter, so shouldn't she call you 'Mother' like the other sisters?"

The niece instantly transformed into a daughter. Consort Shu looked at Yin Yin carefully, gathered the two children together, and said to Old Madam Qi, "Mother, look, your daughter now has both a son and a daughter."

After Madam Qi left the palace, Consort Shu let Yin Yin and the other girl go on their own. Seeing how close they were to each other than ordinary siblings, she couldn't help but say to the nanny, "Speaking of which, it was Yin Yin who recruited Xiao Liu for me when she was still in the palace."

The old woman also said, "It's clear that Princess Shou Kang and the Empress are destined to be together."

Consort Shu believed this wholeheartedly and specially summoned the two palace maids that the Emperor had placed under Yin Yin's name to give them a good talking-to.

The two palace maids had first helped Yin Yin stop people, then were threatened by the Emperor's men, and now they had been reprimanded by Consort Shu. Despite their fear, they also breathed a sigh of relief.

Thanks to Yin Yin, their lives were completely saved.

The imperial decree bestowing the title of County Princess upon Yin Yin came suddenly, naturally causing some in the court to feel puzzled.

However, the emperor's favor towards Yin Yin over the years is obvious to all, and many ministers are also aware of the emperor's longing for Yin Yin's father, so at this moment, it is a matter of doubt, but not particularly surprising.

Although some people felt that bestowing the title of county princess upon Yin Yin was too high, the emperor was pleased, and others naturally did not want to offend the emperor over this matter.

The official decree conferring the title upon Yin Yin was thus established, and the emperor even specially ordered a investiture ceremony for her.

Because the emperor was so solemn, the concubines in the palace also sent gifts. Before long, half of the storeroom in Qingshu Palace, which had just been assigned to Yinyin, was filled with gifts.

Not long after Yin Yin's investiture ceremony, the weather changed and the Empress fell ill again.

This time, the Empress was clearly not well, and she even missed the New Year's banquet due to illness.

Unable to outmaneuver Yin Yin, the Empress had no choice but to tie her own family to the Crown Prince's side and give him all the resources she had accumulated in the palace over the years.

As for the emperor, the empress took advantage of the saying "a dying man's words are good" to give a good cry and presented a military tally, hoping to protect the crown prince.

However, Yin Yin felt that the Empress had definitely not achieved her desired outcome.

Because from beginning to end, the emperor had no expression, and it was impossible to say whether he was happy or not, as if the person who died was not his wife, but some insignificant person.

After the empress died, her coffin was kept in the palace for a month before being moved to a temporary palace in the suburbs of Beijing.

The emperor's mausoleum was not yet completed, and it was impossible to move the empress in first.

The crown prince cried several times in front of the emperor, and the emperor's attitude towards him improved considerably. However, the emperor repeatedly hinted to the crown prince to study hard and not let trivial matters distract him, but it is unknown whether the crown prince understood.

But based on what Yin Yin saw, the Crown Prince was probably pretending not to know.

When the emperor ordered Eunuch Wu to thoroughly purge the empress's remaining influence in the palace, the crown prince insisted on opposing him and tried to save many people.

When the emperor learned of this, his relationship with the crown prince cooled further, and he then selected and sent the individuals identified to the Eastern Palace.

At the end of the year the Empress passed away, news spread throughout the palace that several concubines were pregnant, and the following year, several princes and princesses were born into the palace.

Yinyin also overheard some young noblewomen muttering that perhaps the Empress's fate was hindering things, since so many more children were born safely in the palace after she passed away.

Actually, it wasn't just them who had doubts; all the high-ranking concubines felt the same way, but no matter how much they understood, they wouldn't say it out loud.

With more people in the palace, there are more things to do. Without an empress, there has to be someone to lead.

In matters involving their own interests, all four concubines were very enthusiastic, putting in their best efforts to become the Empress, or at the very least, to become a Noble Consort or Imperial Noble Consort.

The emperor instructed Yin Yin not to enter the palace these days, and then coldly watched them fight.

Only when they caused such a ruckus did the emperor decide on the successor.

She was not any of the concubines in the palace, but the only daughter of the great general, who had lost two fiancés in succession and was still unmarried in her twenties.

This general held military power no less than that of the Empress's family, so when the new empress entered the palace, she was not afraid of the concubines at all, nor did she care about their so-called unspoken rules.

After a flurry of punches, the concubines in the palace had no choice but to submit, since when they had conflicts, the emperor would never side with the concubines to undermine the empress's dignity.

The new empress managed the harem well, and the princes and princesses were born safely, with many growing up to adulthood. The emperor instructed Eunuch Wu to pay close attention to them, and then devoted himself to political affairs.

Within just two or three years, the imperial territory had gained several more cities, and the surrounding countries were so frightened that they planned to send princesses or hostages to the capital.

The emperor, who also intended to allow the people to recuperate, agreed to their request.

That year, Yin Yin turned sixteen, a time when she was as delicate as a flower.

Looking at her eldest granddaughter, Madam Qi was both happy and worried: "Yinyin, you often go to the palace. Does His Majesty have any plans regarding your marriage?"