An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

It was supposed to be a day to worship the Flower Goddess, but this unexpected event suddenly occurred, leaving all the concubines terrified.

Consort Duan had not stayed outside for so long in a long time and was obviously a little tired, but when she heard the Empress say that she should treat Consort Li first, she was not in a hurry to return to the palace.

The Empress spoke in front of everyone, saying that Consort Li would remain in the west wing of Jingren Palace until the imperial physician came to treat her, and also sent someone to invite the Emperor to come and see her when he had time. Even Kang Luhai, who was used to seeing big scenes, knew that he couldn't force the Emperor at this moment. He could only look at Consort Hua's unpredictable expression and had no choice but to release Consort Li and remove the handkerchief from her mouth.

Consort Li's mouth loosened, and she couldn't stop talking, though she seemed a bit erratic.

Consort Li was escorted to the West Annex by the maids and eunuchs of Jingren Palace. The journey was anything but peaceful; she would shout loudly one moment and mutter incoherently the next. But she was, after all, insane, and though she spoke a great deal, it was all incoherent phrases. Sometimes she would suddenly call out several names, and other times it seemed like she was chanting a spell. But one name drew everyone's attention: Yuan Yueling, the maiden name of "Lady Miaoyin."

Even when serving in the palace, one must remember to avoid using the master's name.

The names of the emperor, empress, and empress dowager were naturally the first to be avoided. However, with so many concubines in the harem, the servants often didn't know the maids' given names. So, they resorted to a clever trick: changing them all to simple and easy-to-pronounce names. Thus, apart from the palace maids who were favored by their masters and had the opportunity to retain their own names or be given good names by their masters, most of the other palace maids had their names given to them by their matrons when they entered the palace.

Yuan was originally a palace maid. Although she was not assigned to any of the palace concubines before, since she was in the palace, she had to remember to avoid using the names of her masters. However, Manchus rarely used the character "Ling" in their names, so when Yuan entered the palace, she was given the name Lingzi.

Later, Lady Yuan was favored by the emperor and was given the title of Changzai. She then became pregnant with the emperor's child and was promoted to Guiren.

Becoming a Noble Lady meant she was no longer in a lowly position; she was someone who had appeared before the Emperor. Promotion to Noble Lady required an imperial edict personally written by the Emperor, which clearly stated the surname and given name of the person being promoted. From that time onward, the palace maid Lingzi was no longer there; instead, there were Lady Miaoyin, Noble Lady Yuan, and Yuan Yueling.

Because of Yuan's humble origins, people inadvertently noticed her name.

The name, coming from Consort Li's mouth, was truly frightening.

Even without knowing the whole story, just by looking at Consort Li's guilty and frightened expression when she mentioned Yuan Yueling's name, everyone could guess what had happened.

The death of Lady Yuan was always handled vaguely in the past. Now it seems that the reason for the vagueness was perhaps because further investigation might have damaged the royal family's reputation. Moreover, it is unknown whether there are more people involved behind the scenes, such as Consort Hua, who has been trying to silence Consort Li.

With such an incident today, the ceremony to worship the Flower Goddess naturally cannot continue.

Seeing that Consort Li had been settled, the Empress led everyone back to the side hall.

However, at this moment, the expressions of the concubines were no longer as relaxed and at ease as when they had just entered Jingren Palace.

Everyone's attention was focused on Consort Li, but An Lingrong actually scanned everyone's faces again and again, afraid of missing even the slightest expression.

Looking at the various expressions on the faces of the concubines, An Lingrong chuckled inwardly, thinking that perhaps each of them had their own little schemes.

Consort Li acted strangely today, and Consort Hua's words and actions were also quite inappropriate. However, Consort Cao, who usually advised Consort Hua, showed no intention of dissuading her.

Consort Duan sat upright at the lower end, her eyes slightly closed, seemingly resting. But what kind of self-control must one have to remain silent and unobservant at such a time?

Consort Jing has always disliked getting involved in palace intrigues. Today, Consort Li was standing beside her before she fell ill, and in the chaos, it seemed that she was also affected. However, she remained calm and simply stood aside, quietly watching everything in front of her.

Consort Xin was outspoken and always said what she thought, but she was not a scheming person. She just sat in her chair, lost in thought.

Before long, a voice from outside the hall announced, "His Majesty has arrived," drawing everyone's attention back to the palace.

The concubines immediately rose and knelt in obeisance.

However, the emperor had barely stepped into the hall and hadn't even had time to tell the concubines to rise when Consort Hua spoke first, "Your Majesty, Consort Li is unwell and has fallen seriously ill again today. Why don't you take her back so I can take care of her?" As she spoke, her eyes were filled with tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

The Emperor gave Consort Hua a deep look and said indifferently, "Consort Hua, you have lost your manners."

Consort Hua could only retreat to the side in a huff and perform the grand ceremony along with the other concubines.

The emperor settled himself in his seat, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below him, and said, "Rise." His tone revealed no emotion whatsoever.

An Lingrong thought that since the emperor always favored Consort Li, he would probably inquire about Consort Li's illness as soon as he came up.

Unexpectedly, the emperor turned his gaze to Consort Duan and asked, "Consort Duan, you've come today too. Are you feeling better?"

Consort Duan, supported by a palace maid, slowly rose and replied softly, "I feel much better now that spring has arrived. Today is the fifteenth of the second month, so I thought I should come and pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress."

The Emperor nodded approvingly, "Consort Duan has always been well-mannered. You are not feeling well, please sit down and talk."

After expressing her gratitude, Consort Duan was helped back to her chair by a palace maid. However, she seemed to have lost her balance and accidentally bumped into the tea beside her, spilling most of the fresh tea and wetting a lot of the snacks next to her.

The emperor's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Has the Empress prepared a Hundred Flowers Banquet today?"

The Empress looked up and chuckled, “It was indeed the Hundred Flowers Banquet that my sister came up with back then. I thought that today is the Flower Goddess Festival, and all the sisters in the palace would come to join in the fun, so I specially brought people to make these pastries, but they are still not as good as the ones my sister and I made back then.”

The emperor raised an eyebrow, and Su Peisheng, with his keen eyes and sharp mind, immediately knew that the emperor wanted to try the pastries from the empress's palace. So he quickly went over and brought over the begonia and hibiscus cake from Consort Duan's side.

After examining it carefully for a moment, the emperor pinched off a small piece, put it in his mouth, and then sighed deeply and nodded, saying, "It's about nine-tenths of what it used to be."

The Empress shook her head and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. The closer it gets to the fifteenth of February, the more I miss my sister. She used to be the most ingenious. When I was pregnant with my first child and had a poor appetite, it was she who went into the kitchen and spent a long time figuring out how to make this crabapple and hibiscus cake to whet my appetite. Later, when she entered the Prince's residence, she came up with the ingenious idea of ​​the Hundred Flowers Banquet for the Flower Goddess Festival. It was truly delightful." As the Empress spoke, her eyes reddened slightly, and her gaze was filled with melancholy.

Upon hearing this, the emperor nodded again and said, "Indeed, Chun Yuan has always been full of ingenuity. With her around, there is never a shortage of these exquisite and interesting gadgets."

Seeing that the emperor was somewhat lost in thought, Consort Duan said softly, "Every dessert in Jingren Palace today was exquisite. I heard that it was all made by the Empress and the palace maids themselves. Would Your Majesty like to try some others?"

"Oh? Did the Empress make all of these herself?" Upon hearing this, the Emperor turned to ask the Empress.

The Empress smiled faintly and replied, "Your Majesty, as you know, every dessert at the Hundred Flowers Banquet was personally prepared by my sister. The ingredients are carefully selected and the steps are intricate. I was worried that the servants, being so clumsy, wouldn't be able to do it well and would ruin my sister's skills. Besides, by making it myself, I've fulfilled my own wish." After saying this, the Empress sighed softly, seemingly filled with regret.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor was moved. He took the Empress's hand, placed it in his palm, and said, "Your Majesty is very kind."

All the concubines assumed that the emperor's arrival would immediately lead to an inquiry into Consort Li's illness, or perhaps a reprimand. Such a tender scene was truly unexpected.

An Lingrong sat at the farthest end of the table, quietly watching the scene before her. Her former envy of Empress Chun Yuan and her admiration for the Emperor were gone. At this moment, she felt neither joy nor sorrow.

Not only that, An Lingrong also secretly cursed herself, realizing that she had been so blind and heartless in her past life.

She knew from her previous life that the emperor could never let go of Empress Chun Yuan, but at that time she never thought about why the current empress could remain in power in the harem for so many years.

So many things happened in the harem, yet the Empress remains the Empress.

That's because the current empress is the younger sister of the late Empress Chun Yuan. Because of this, the empress holds a different position in the emperor's heart than others.

After all, she is gone. In this harem, besides the Empress, who else understands Empress Chun Yuan so well? And who else can reminisce with the Emperor about the past and recall the beauty of Empress Chun Yuan when the Emperor misses her?

Thinking of this, An Lingrong couldn't help but sigh softly.

Zhen Huan, even if we are no longer sisters in this life, and our fates have changed again and again because we have supported each other, you are now truly in love with the Emperor. In the days to come, I'm afraid you will still be heartbroken.