“Little Master, Little Master! You guessed it right—today, His Majesty picked An Xiaozhu’s card!”

As soon as Liu Zhu received the news, she rushed over to inform Zhen Huan.

Hearing this, Zhen Huan felt genuinely happy for An Lingrong.

She hoped that An Lingrong could win His Majesty’s favor in one fell swoop tonight.

Thinking back to her previous life, when Shen Meizhuang was falsely accused of “faking a pregnancy to compete for favor” and was confined to Xianyue Pavilion, Zhen Huan, worried about being left without allies in the future, followed Shen Meizhuang’s suggestion to support An Lingrong.

But when she saw An Lingrong being favored, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow in her heart.

In her past life, she had been unable to see reality clearly, wishing for the Emperor to be hers alone.

In this life, however, she could view everything with reason and clarity—

The Emperor was never meant to belong to just one person.

He belonged to her, but he also belonged to others.

So now, she felt that this was how things should be.

To gain status and glory from the Emperor, one must abide by the palace rules.

It was naive to hope that the rules could change just for her. That was unrealistic.

After experiencing her past life, Zhen Huan understood one thing clearly—

If what she truly longed for was “a man who loves me and only me,” she should have chosen Wen Shichu from the start.

But why, even after two lifetimes, hadn’t she chosen him?

The only reasonable explanation was this: That wasn’t what she truly wanted deep down.

From the day she entered the palace, she should have known that the Emperor could never belong solely to her.

It was just her competitiveness clouding her judgment.

She wanted the best man in the world, yet also wanted him to belong to her alone.

This kind of thinking was a beautiful wish that everyone might have, but a wish was all it could ever be.

If the Emperor expected Zhen Huan to be both herself and someone else,

to excel at everything, she wouldn’t have been able to meet those demands either.

No one is perfect. It is impossible for one person to meet all of another’s desires.

If the Zhen Huan of her past life was all about “I am the center of the world,”

then the Zhen Huan of this life had learned to “see things clearly, let go, step outside herself, and view her relationship with the Emperor from a realistic perspective.”

---

In Yanxi Palace, after her bath, An Lingrong sat down as Fang Ruo combed her hair. As she worked, Fang Ruo explained everything An Lingrong needed to pay attention to when serving the Emperor and how to win his favor.

An Lingrong listened intently to every word Fang Ruo said.

She thought that in terms of techniques, Sister Mei wasn’t as thorough as Fang Ruo.

But in terms of reassuring her, Sister Mei’s advice was far more comforting.

Although she was still nervous, she wasn’t as afraid anymore.

If I want to stay with my sisters, I must be braver.

Otherwise, I would waste all the effort my two sisters have put into helping me.

With this thought, An Lingrong felt a sudden surge of confidence.

She asked Fang Ruo a few more questions and then waited for the eunuchs to carry her to Yangxin Hall.

---

At Yangxin Hall, seeing that the Emperor hadn’t arrived yet, An Lingrong quietly opened her eyes.

She turned her head slightly to glance around—

This was her first time serving the Emperor, and her first time in Yangxin Hall. She wanted to remember this feeling and everything about this place.

Soon, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Emperor rubbing his hands as he walked in—

It must have been because of the cold!

Startled, she quickly lay down properly.

“Thump-thump-thump…” At that moment, An Lingrong could clearly hear her own heartbeat, completely beyond her control.

The Emperor was already seated by the bedside.

“Thump-thump-thump-thump…” Her heartbeat grew even more frantic.

Without needing a mirror, she could feel her cheeks flushing red from nervousness.

The Emperor is gentle, not scary… An Lingrong repeated Shen Meizhuang’s words over and over in her heart.

It seemed to work; she wasn’t as scared anymore!

The Emperor is gentle, not scary… She repeated it again and again.

At that moment, she felt a force gently pulling her quilt open.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and softly called out, “Your Majesty…”

“Guan Guiren wasn’t wrong; Rong’er’s voice truly is lively and lovely.”

Hearing the Emperor’s praise, An Lingrong surprisingly felt less nervous. She softly called out again, “Your Majesty…”

And so, a beautiful night unfolded.

---

The next morning, the Emperor sent a large number of rewards to Yanxi Palace.

An Lingrong was overjoyed.

She carefully picked out some of the finest items and personally delivered them to Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang.

To An Lingrong, her successful night with the Emperor was thanks to their help, and she was genuinely grateful.

However, with Shen Meizhuang, Zhen Huan, and An Lingrong being favored one after another, the harem became rife with dissatisfaction. Many began to harbor jealousy and caution against them.

Due to An Lingrong’s favor, the Emperor had spent far less time in Lady Fucha’s palace.

Naturally, Lady Fucha was displeased and often made things difficult for An Lingrong, both openly and subtly.

But An Lingrong, always adhering to the principle of avoiding unnecessary trouble, chose not to confront her.

---

One day, the consorts and concubines gathered at Jingren Palace to pay their respects to the Empress.

After the formalities, the Empress began her usual remarks.

She first congratulated An Lingrong:

“An Daying, you’ve finally made it. This palace is truly happy for you.”

Then she brought up Shen Meizhuang:

“Noble Lady Shen and An Daying are like sisters. Now that they both have His Majesty’s favor, they must serve him well and strive to bear him children to continue the royal lineage.”

These words caused a stir in the hall.

Hua Fei scoffed and rolled her eyes at the Empress, full of disdain:

“Well, that depends on having the fortune for it. Otherwise, if someone gives birth to a dull and foolish child who can’t win His Majesty’s favor, what’s the point?”

Hearing this, Consort Qi couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

It sounded as though Hua Fei was insinuating something about her Third Prince!

But when faced with Hua Fei, she dared not voice her anger.

At that moment, the Empress spoke up again:

“Whether dull and foolish or clever and bright, at least they’ll have someone to rely on in old age. That’s better than having no one at all.”

Hua Fei gritted her teeth in anger and said no more.

Lady Li, however, interjected with a sour tone:

“Isn’t it just because of a few songs that she’s gained His Majesty’s favor? What’s so special about that?”

The Empress, always looking for opportunities to showcase her fairness, seized the moment.

Adopting an air of authority, she said, “Lady Li, you’ve been in the palace for many years. How can you still speak so carelessly?”

“This palace remembers that His Majesty used to favor your palace the most. What changed? Perhaps you should reflect on that.”