After being expelled from the mansion, I changed the dynasty by writing novels.

The princess gestured to a palace maid to fetch the box. The box looked plain on the outside, but inside was a pink pearl from the South China Sea.

"Of course, besides this, there is another ceremony to present to the Empress Dowager."

These words piqued the Empress Dowager's curiosity. "Oh, Yanran has even prepared a ceremonial itinerary for me. I must take a good look at it."

After saying this, they prepared to move to Changyin Pavilion, but the emperor had state affairs to attend to and did not go with them. The ministers also left after the banquet, leaving only the concubines, princes and princesses in the harem.

Changyin Pavilion is a four-story building. The magnificent pavilion is surrounded by a pool. Upon entering the pavilion, the huge hall is bright and spacious. Outside, it is pitch black with a few stars and no light shining on the ground, but the interior of the pavilion is extremely bright.

Sitting on the staggered seat, an amber cup was placed on the side table next to the wooden chair, and next to the cup, a clear jade plate was filled with delicate pastries.

The crowd took their seats one by one, and soon after, the sound of a pipa and the beating of drums filled the air as the opera singers, carrying their costumes, slowly entered.

The play had just begun, and everyone quieted down. At first, they didn't think there was anything special about it; it was just accompanying the Empress Dowager to watch a play.

However, this play is still different from those in the palace, and after watching the beginning, everyone found it quite interesting.

But as they watched, they suddenly felt something was amiss. This play actually involved the royal family, including not only the sons of the prime minister and generals, but also princes, and of course, the imperial concubine.

If this play hadn't been a birthday gift from the eldest princess to the Empress Dowager, they certainly wouldn't have believed that someone would dare to perform it in the palace, and that the Empress Dowager hadn't said anything about it.

Some of the concubines secretly observed the Empress Dowager's expression. She didn't seem very angry; she was smiling and looked very kind. They just didn't know if she was faking it.

As for the Imperial Concubine's expression, she didn't seem angry. Perhaps it was because the Empress Dowager and the Empress were both present today.

It has to be said that these people are very good at acting.

The Imperial Concubine was indeed very angry, but she didn't show it on her face. She wondered if she had somehow offended the Princess, who had deliberately staged this play to subtly mock her.

On the surface, the imperial concubine appeared to be in no discomfort, but she gripped the armrests of the wooden chair tightly with both hands.

Just then, the Empress Dowager and the Eldest Princess said, "This play is quite good." Their voices were just loud enough for her to hear.

"I knew Mother would like it; this is the most popular drama in Bianjing right now."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Concubine's carefully maintained composure turned sour.

If that's the case, wouldn't everyone think that the Imperial Concubine is like that? Then the reputation she's worked so hard to maintain will slowly disappear.

"Sister, this is just a play. I'm sure the Imperial Concubine won't mind!" The Princess Consort kindly explained to the Imperial Concubine, seemingly noticing her unusual expression. However, the explanation did not make the Imperial Concubine's expression much better. But she was good at pretending and calmly returned to her approachable demeanor.

"Of course not. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday, so it's best for everyone to be happy."

The Empress, who was standing to the side, secretly sneered when she saw the Consort's appearance.

The fact that the Eldest Princess allowed this play to be performed during her birthday celebration was not just unintentional; it was to give the Consort a warning and to set an example for others.

Her good nephew, the long-lost crown prince, was also involved in the scheme; otherwise, this whole thing wouldn't have happened.

Moreover, some details in the palace drama were deliberately changed, and the concubine in the drama is more ruthless.

Of course, this play was not enough to shake the Imperial Concubine's position.

At first, everyone was hesitant to watch closely, but the play was so captivating that they found themselves engrossed in it.

The Imperial Concubine's initially unpleasant expression had returned to normal. Apart from the occasional appearance of the Imperial Concubine who "interfered in the love affair," which made her expression somewhat abnormal, the plot was quite interesting.

When the heartbreaking parts came to mind, such as Nangong Fengyao losing his mind and not recognizing Wu Qingzi, the concubines who were easily moved to tears secretly wiped away their tears with handkerchiefs.

And so, everyone watched the opera with great interest.

"I've heard that this play is very popular among the people."

"No wonder this play is so captivating, no wonder it's so popular among the common people, but won't this tarnish the image of the Imperial Concubine...?"

After the meeting, the eldest princess helped the empress dowager back to the palace. Before leaving, she glanced at the expression on the imperial concubine's face.

As expected, once the imperial concubine returned to her palace and closed the door, she revealed her true colors, frantically smashing things off the table.

"Damn it, damn it, Yanran, why don't these people just die!"

"Your Highness, don't get so angry that you'll harm your health; it's not worth it," a nanny quickly stepped forward to advise her.

Once the Imperial Concubine had caught her breath and calmed down, she asked the nanny, "How is it? Has the Crown Prince been found?"

"Not yet." After saying this, the old woman knelt on the ground, not daring to raise her head.

"Hmph, they're quite good at hiding. Keep searching, and don't leave any survivors!" Now that we have this opportunity, we must make the most of it; otherwise, how can we rise to the top?

The concubines in the palace unexpectedly took a liking to the Southern opera "Starfall Rain" that was performed at the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration last time.

However, there were no Southern operas performed in the palace, and they could not freely leave the palace to watch operas. They somehow found out that there were storybooks, so they sent people out of the palace to buy them.

At first, none of the concubines in the palace looked up to this storybook, and they were also afraid of displeasing the Imperial Concubine.

However, life in the palace was also very boring. The emperor never came to their palaces, and they were tired of admiring flowers in order to pass the time.

The first person to read this book was the Empress.

No one expected that the usually composed and dignified Empress would read storybooks.

Actually, the Empress didn't really like reading it; it was Princess Yanran who gave the storybook to the Empress.

In fact, the eldest princess felt that the empress had nothing to do in the harem except manage the concubines.

The emperor was not keen on expanding his harem, so there were not many concubines. The harem was harmonious, except for the concubine who liked to cause trouble from time to time. Life was quite leisurely.

So she gave the storybook to her sister-in-law.

After escorting the Empress Dowager back to her palace, the eldest princess went to the Empress's palace.

The Empress did not refuse the book that Yanran brought, but instead took it and secretly inquired about the Crown Prince's current situation.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is safe for the time being and is in a very safe place."

As the princess sipped her tea, a scene suddenly flashed into her mind: the crown prince dressed as a woman coming to the Tianxia Tea House to find her. She was drinking tea at the time, and when she saw him in women's clothing, she almost spat out her fine tea. However, she did not intend to tell the empress about this.

Only after receiving Yanran's assurance did the Empress breathe a sigh of relief.

"This story is quite good, and the heroine in the book is very capable. It gave me a little inspiration. Your Highness, you usually keep too many things on your mind. Sometimes you can learn to let go of some of your worries." The Princess tried to comfort her, without mentioning the concubine in the story, for fear of upsetting her.

In fact, the concubine in the story doesn't occupy much space; her existence is only to separate the male and female protagonists.

The Empress noticed something different about her from her words and her behavior today. "It seems you've finally resolved your inner conflict."

"Not entirely. It's just that too much disappointment accumulated and then exploded. But I will try to slowly untangle my knots in my heart." The princess lost her composure.