An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Ever since Baojuan lost her composure in public that day, Zhen Huan has also noticed that Baojuan's behavior is unusual.

After much thought, he decided to take advantage of the time before An Lingrong returned to Yanxi Palace, and use the excuse of having Baojuan go with Liuzhu to get some snacks made by the small kitchen before leaving. He then earnestly said to An Lingrong, "The inner palace is full of dangers. If you want to live peacefully, the people around you are very important. If you feel that the people around you are not of one mind with you, you should make a plan as soon as possible."

An Lingrong naturally knew that Zhen Huan was always clever, and this matter probably couldn't be kept from her for long.

But perhaps now is not the time to tell Zhen Huan the truth.

After all, the memories of her past life were still in her mind. An Lingrong knew that Zhen Huan had probably also developed genuine feelings for the emperor back then.

Zhen Huan is currently favored by the emperor and will soon have her own child. She has no interest in life in the harem and does not want to get involved in its intrigues and power struggles.

If I were to tell Zhen Huan all the reasons now, would I be accused of being heartless, just like in my previous life?

The genuine interactions they've shared since entering the palace have reassured An Lingrong about her lifelong commitment.

In this harem, if one wants to live peacefully, simply hiding one's head is useless; one can only accompany those who are like-minded and support each other.

Although Zhen Huan's care for her was sometimes a little cautious, it was always genuine and sincere. She was even more considerate to her than her closest relatives who shared the same blood. How could anyone not be moved?

Therefore, although An Lingrong did not have much background to rely on, she carefully planned and tried her best to help Zhen Huan avoid the treacherous tricks in the harem.

Therefore, An Lingrong secretly added honey fragrance to the handkerchiefs that the Empress bestowed upon the young ladies, and then took the opportunity to replace Xia's handkerchief, which made the Emperor pay attention to Xia in advance, allowing the self-confident Xia to gain favor.

On the surface, it was to give the Empress's family an early victory, but in reality, it was to prevent Shen Meizhuang from becoming an isolated target, and to ensure that Zhen Huan's early days in the palace wouldn't be too fraught with anxiety.

However, things were not as simple as she had previously thought.

Although she had returned to the days before entering the palace, she was not actually following the storybook in its entirety. Once things changed at the beginning, the subsequent events might also change.

It's as if Xia Shi is still alive, but Yu Shi never reappears. Instead, there's Yuan Shi, who didn't exist in the previous life.

These were all things that An Lingrong had not anticipated.

After several changes, although she was no longer as constrained as before, there were still some unpredictable aspects that made An Lingrong feel uneasy.

As the days went by, I felt less certain than when I was first reborn. Instead, I felt uneasy and hesitant about what to do next.

Now that Zhen Huan has noticed the subtle changes in Bao Juan's behavior and speech, she no longer dares to speak out directly.

After thinking it over, An Lingrong simply said gently, "Sister, don't worry, Lingrong will be careful."

Seeing Baojuan and Liuzhu approaching from afar, Zhen Huan said nothing more, but gently patted An Lingrong's hand and said, "I'm relieved that you know what you're doing."

---

After returning from Suiyuxuan that day, Baojuan was never by her side for a short while.

Now that she had become suspicious, An Lingrong stopped asking Baojuan where she was. Since she was still out of favor, there was no need to say anything and alert the enemy. She would just let the girl roam freely in the palace for now.

I've just become more attentive to the things I use in my daily life.

---

However, there was never a peaceful day in the inner palace.

As spring warmed, newly cultivated orchids were sent to Suiyu Pavilion from the flower room. Each bloom was delicate and beautiful. Zhen Huan remembered that An Lingrong also liked orchids, so she sent someone to deliver a few.

Unfortunately, Xia happened to see this and became jealous. She then made veiled insults, mocking An Lingrong for coming from a humble family and never having seen anything good.

An Lingrong was already used to Xia Shi. She was very sharp-tongued, but she wasn't very bright and didn't have any great skills other than speaking rudely.

However, on this particular day, Fucha, who was six months pregnant, was stretching her muscles in the courtyard when she saw Xia stretching her neck and bullying An Lingrong. She then decided to take this opportunity to use her status as the head of the household to put pressure on her.

Since Empress Fucha became pregnant, the Emperor frequently visited Yanxi Palace. However, Empress Fucha was anxious to protect her pregnancy in the early stages, and the imperial physicians advised that the pregnancy was unstable and it was not advisable for her to serve the Emperor. Therefore, whenever the Emperor visited Yanxi Palace, he would only take a brief look and leave. This gave Lady Xia an opportunity, and she always tried various methods to bring the Emperor to her palace.

Although it was inconvenient for Lady Fucha to serve the emperor in bed, she was still very unhappy about being taken advantage of by Lady Xia. Now that she had caught Lady Xia in the act, she naturally wouldn't let it go.

"Who do we have here? It's Consort Xia."

I've always heard His Majesty say that Consort Xia is charming and adorable, and seeing her today, I can confirm it's true. But instead of rambling on about these orchids, my sister, she should spend some time studying poetry and literature, learning more about orchids and related poems. Perhaps she could even strike up a conversation with His Majesty.

Otherwise, if she always uses feeling unwell as an excuse to invite the Emperor over, he might eventually suspect that she is feigning illness to gain favor.

When Fucha opened her mouth, she addressed Xia Dongchun as Xia Changzai, intending to use her position of authority to suppress Xia.

He also mocked Xia for being uneducated, saying that she could only pretend to be sick to invite the emperor over, and that she was really not presentable.

Originally, Lady Fucha thought that although Xia Dongchun was impulsive, she valued her position in the harem and usually respected her. Now that she was pregnant with the emperor's child, Lady Xia would not dare to contradict her when she made sarcastic remarks today.

Unexpectedly, the Xia family was quite assertive today.

Not only did she ignore Fucha's sarcasm, but she also replied with a smile, "Sister is deeply favored by the Emperor and is pregnant, which shows how fortunate you are. I live in Yanxi Palace with you, so I naturally benefit from your good fortune and can often see the Emperor. I am here to thank you for your help." Her words showed no regard for Fucha's position as the head of the palace.

Seeing Xia's provocative words, Fucha became even angrier.

She even had her maid Cui'er help her walk over. When An Lingrong saw Lady Fucha approaching, she had no choice but to stand up and bow.

However, Fucha was in a fit of anger and only wanted to argue with Xia, so she didn't care whether An Lingrong was polite or not. She simply held her waist and walked straight toward Xia.

Xia Dongchun smiled slightly and said, "Greetings to Sister Fucha," before rising with a slight curtsy.

Empress Fucha was already displeased, and seeing that Xia had gone so far as to take advantage of her, she laughed instead of getting angry. "Cui'er, tell me, what should be done if a concubine in the palace disrespects her superior and commits insubordination?"

“Your Highness, in the harem, concubines who disobey their superiors are punished with a monthly allowance for minor offenses, and can be flogged for serious offenses. Today, Xia caused trouble in the harem, insulting Consort An and showing disrespect to her superior. According to palace rules, Your Highness, you may first accept Xia’s punishment and then inform Her Majesty the Empress,” Cui’er replied.

Fucha slightly curled the corners of her mouth, her eyes full of disdain.

But today, Xia seemed to have a sudden surge of confidence, completely unconcerned. Upon hearing Cui'er's words, she instead said disdainfully, "Sister Fucha, we both live in Yanxi Palace. Although you were pregnant first, you are currently too heavy-set to serve the Emperor. If I don't find a way to keep the Emperor in Yanxi Palace, I'm afraid that after a while, he will have a new favorite and will forget all the good things you did for me today. Isn't that right, sister?"

Although my sister is angry with me today, we still live in the same palace, and our fates are intertwined. Why is my sister so upset?

At this point, Lady Fucha was so angry that her face turned pale. She really did not expect that Lady Xia could be so shameless.

Not only did he disregard himself, but he also seemed to lack any sense of shame, uttering such shameless words in front of a group of servants.

Moreover, Empress Fucha originally intended to first gain the upper hand by taking the principal position, and then use palace rules and the Empress's authority to intimidate her. However, she never expected that Empress Xia would not care at all. It is clear that she has become arrogant because of the Empress's favor.

“I advise you, sister, to calm down and focus on your pregnancy. Don’t end up like Yuan Shi, it’s such a pity,” Xia Dongchun said, seeing that Fucha Shi couldn’t really do anything to her, she calmed down a bit. Without waiting for Fucha Shi to reply, she swayed her hips and prepared to walk back.

If what was said earlier angered Lady Fucha, then comparing her to Lady Yuan truly enraged her.

The deaths of Lady Yuan and her son were common knowledge in the harem. To compare oneself to Lady Yuan would be to curse them and their son to suffer the same fate.

"Cui'er, stop them! I want to see if I, the master of this place, can handle you, you ungrateful wretch!" Fucha said angrily.

Xia glanced back dismissively, but before she could even stand still, she was suddenly startled and stunned.

"This this……"

Following Xia's gaze, everyone present looked towards Fucha's feet and saw a stream of blood flowing down Fucha's leg, which was now pooling into a pool of blood at her feet.

Lady Fucha was already pale with anger, and when she saw the bloodstains at her feet, she turned even more pale.

Finally, someone realized what was happening and shouted, "Consort Fucha is bleeding! This is bad! Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!"