I was sold when I opened my eyes! My sick and disabled husband comforts me every night after he wake

She looked at the Emperor with pleading eyes again. The Emperor frowned slightly and shook his head gently at her. She knew then that the Emperor did not want anyone to know about her relationship with Lan Zhi.

This is understandable. The Emperor's direct bestowal of the title of Consort already went against the wishes of the Empress Dowager and the Empress. If they were to find out that she was the younger sister of the Emperor's daughter-in-law, the Empress Dowager and the Empress would have even more reason to object.

Thinking of this, she shook her head and replied:

“I left home at a young age and am not familiar with anyone in the village. I will go home and ask my parents when I have time.”

The Empress Dowager seemed satisfied with her answer, but also harbored some doubts.

"Where are your parents? Are they still in the village? And where is your brother?"

If you're going to lie, you should at least make the lie seem more believable.

She nodded in reply:

"Yes, my parents are farmers in the countryside, and my brother works for a wealthy family in town."

The Empress's lips curled into a slightly disdainful smile.

"Your whole family farmed, yet you still had the chance to climb into the emperor's bed. Now you're about to rise to the top and become a phoenix. You're really lucky. But I'm curious, how did you get into the palace?"

This question left Ling Lanhua momentarily speechless, so the Emperor simply interrupted her.

"Lanhua is young and timid. The Empress Dowager and the Empress have questioned her enough. Don't frighten her."

At this point, he turned to look at Qin Shun.

"Send Consort Lan to Zhenlan Garden to rest, and arrange a few diligent maids for her. Send her the rewards that a concubine is entitled to as well."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shun quickly bowed and agreed.

"This old servant understands, this old servant will take care of it immediately."

The Emperor then looked at Ling Lanhua.

"Consort Lan, go pack your things first. You will go to Zhenlan Garden with Qin Shun later. From now on, you will be Consort Lan and the mistress of Zhenlan Garden."

Ling Lanhua looked at the Emperor as if she didn't understand. She couldn't believe that the Emperor had made her a concubine with just one sentence and even granted her a courtyard.

"Didn't you understand what I said?"

The Emperor's gentle reminder jolted Ling Lanhua awake, and she hurriedly kowtowed and bowed.

"This humble woman thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

"From now on, don't refer to yourself as a commoner, but as your concubine, understand?"

Ling Lanhua looked at him with disbelief again, and nodded heavily.

"Your Majesty, I understand. I thank you for your grace."

The Emperor raised his hand. Ling Lanhua secretly glanced at the Empress Dowager and the Empress before getting up from the ground. Qin Shun hurriedly bowed and led her outside.

Only after her figure disappeared did the Emperor turn to the Empress Dowager and solemnly say:

"Since I came to know orchids, I feel like I've become more than ten years younger. Please forgive my impetuousness, Mother."

Now that things had come to this, the Empress Dowager knew that further anger was futile. She sighed softly, her eyes filled with resentment as she offered a gentle reminder.

"I am old and there are some things I shouldn't concern myself with, but I must remind you that if you continue to neglect state affairs because of this woman, I will have to ask Lord Lin to use the imperial sword that the late emperor gave him."

Although her tone was very soft, it made the emperor's heart tremble.

The reason why the Lin family's position in the court was so stable was not only because the Lin family had served three emperors, but also because Lin Chengda held the imperial sword bestowed by the late emperor. When the late emperor bestowed this imperial sword upon Lin Chengda, he said: "The Lin family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. This imperial sword is given to the Lin family in the hope that the descendants of the Lin family can assist the emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty. If any emperor does something disloyal, unfilial, or unjust, this imperial sword can directly cut off his head."

Although the late emperor's words were somewhat harsh, the power of this imperial sword was enough to make the current emperor retreat and hesitate.

The Emperor swallowed hard, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and said:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. From this day forward, I will personally manage state affairs and will never again be negligent. Please supervise me, Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager looked coldly at her son, who had disappointed her, and sighed softly.

"I'm just giving you a heads-up; you'd better watch yourself!"

As she finished speaking, she glanced coldly at the Empress beside her.

"You are the mistress of the harem, so you should be more careful about the affairs of the harem."

The Empress Dowager seemed to be hinting at something, and the Empress nodded knowingly.

"Your subject understands. Your subject will do his best to manage the harem in the future."

"Good that you understand, good that you understand."

As the Empress Dowager muttered these words, she walked towards the main entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The Empress was about to leave when the Emperor called her back.

"wait……"

The Empress raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him.

"What does Your Majesty wish to do for me?"

The Emperor looked at her with a serious expression.

"I have a few words to remind you."

"hehe!"

The Empress gave a disdainful smile.

"Your Majesty is trying to remind me not to go to Zhenlan Garden and not to provoke Consort Lan, isn't he?"

The Emperor was surprised that the Empress had guessed his thoughts.

He simply nodded.

"Yes, I want to remind you not to use the same scheming and backstabbing tactics you use in your harem on Consort Lan. She is different from you. She is with me because she loves me. She is simple-minded and does not seek fame or fortune. You don't need to treat her like a thorn in your side."

The Emperor probably understood all too well how the women in the harem interacted, which is why he specifically reminded the Empress.

Although displeased, the Empress nodded in agreement upon hearing this, then retorted sarcastically:

"I'm too busy trying to curry favor with the newly appointed concubines of the Emperor, how could I dare to offend her?"

Her words were tinged with dissatisfaction and sarcasm. She twisted the handkerchief in her hand, feigned composure, bowed slightly to the Emperor, and then turned and left.

Her steps were light, but her heart was heavy.

She never imagined that among the three thousand beauties in the harem, there was not a single woman who could win the emperor's favor so much. This inconspicuous country woman had actually won the emperor's special favor.

Although the Emperor warned her not to provoke that woman, he did not warn her against other women provoking her.

The women in this harem are all formidable; for a country woman like her to try and get a share of the pie among them is simply overestimating herself.

……

Prince's Mansion

The sudden disappearance of Ling Lanhua threw Ling Jiawei into a panic. Although Lan Zhi disliked her, she was also worried for her older brother.

Ah Qi rushed over, and before he even got close, he said urgently:

"Master, I heard that a woman's body has been pulled from the river in the east of the city. Her clothes and appearance are very similar to Ling Lanhua's. Brother Ling is on his way there to identify the body."

"What?"

Hearing this, her heart clenched painfully, then she frowned and shook her head.

"If that female corpse really is her, then what was she doing in the east of the city? She wouldn't have committed suicide, and she had no reason to do so. Could it be that someone killed her?"

After talking to herself for a while, she suddenly felt a little scared. Could it be that someone wanted to get back at her and was taking their anger out on Ling Lanhua?

Oh my god, this is terrifying.

"Sister, I'm back."

Wei Ming's voice brought Lan Zhi back to reality.

"Sis, I called you several times before you looked at me. What were you thinking about just now?"

Lan Zhi looked at Wei Ming standing in front of her, shook her head and smiled.

"I wasn't thinking about anything. Why didn't you call someone to pick you up? You came back on your own."

Wei Ming pointed outside the main hall.

"Granny Tian accompanied me back."

Granny Tian?

Lan Zhi frowned in displeasure.

"Why is she here again?"