“So tired!” As soon as she entered the hall, Zhen Huan, who had just dropped her guard, stretched lazily.

“Little Mistress, after a whole day’s work, how could you not be tired?” Liu Zhu and Huan Bi, each standing on one side, helped her remove her makeup.

Zhen Huan looked at Liu Zhu with a face full of affection.

“Thankfully, I have you two always by my side. As long as you’re here, even when I’m exhausted, I can quickly recover.”

“Anyway, no matter when, I’ll always stay by your side, Little Mistress.”

“Me too,” Huan Bi added cheerfully, continuing Liu Zhu’s words.

“Little Mistress, why didn’t you reprimand Yu Ying’er, that little scoundrel, for trying to harm you? Instead, you even helped her?”

Liu Zhu was always one to speak her mind, and she couldn’t help but be curious about Zhen Huan’s actions today.

Huan Bi said she was also wondering about it.

Zhen Huan paused for a moment while taking off her earrings.

“Hua Fei sent her to harm me, probably because she’s afraid of someone competing for the Emperor’s favor. If the person who brought her here ends up becoming the Emperor’s new favorite, how do you think she’ll feel?”

“Oh? So that’s how it is!” Liu Zhu, excited, raised a finger and waved it in front of her face.

“Hua Fei really shot herself in the foot this time. If she’s not angry, it would be strange!”

“But it’s not just that. Once Yu Ying’er gains the Emperor’s favor, even if Hua Fei gets upset, she won’t be able to do anything to her.”

“At that point, Hua Fei will probably think of using Yu Ying’er as a pawn, but what she doesn’t realize is that Yu Ying’er is already on our side…”

Liu Zhu’s eyes sparkled after hearing this.

“Little Mistress, you’re just too brilliant to come up with such a plan! If it were me, I would never have thought of that!”

“But don’t you think the risks are quite high?” Huan Bi had been quietly listening to Zhen Huan and Liu Zhu’s conversation. After thinking for a while, she spoke up.

“Risks?”

“What if one day Yu Ying’er and Hua Fei join forces to deal with you?”

“She wouldn’t dare,” Zhen Huan said confidently.

“Yu Ying’er isn’t a fool. She can see the situation clearly, and her parents are in our hands. She knows the stakes.”

Huan Bi nodded. “Since the Little Mistress has thought this through, I won’t say anything more.”

Zhen Huan knew Huan Bi was worried about her, so she turned around and took her hand, saying:

“Don’t worry. Even if things change one day, I’ll figure out a way to resolve it.”

“I trust you, Little Mistress. No matter what happens, I’ll face it with you.”

“And me… and me…” Liu Zhu, excited, stretched out her hand when she heard Huan Bi’s words.

The three of them played around happily for a while, and only then did Zhen Huan finally rest on the bed.

One day, Kang Luhai brought news that Li Pin had gone to Shou Kang Palace to talk with the Empress Dowager. According to the palace maid, Li Pin had said quite a lot of bad things about Zhen Huan.

Zhen Huan thought back to her past life. It was around this time that the Emperor had removed Li Pin’s green plaque. She hadn’t thought much of it back then, but now, she realized it was probably related to this incident.

That said, Li Pin’s mouth really was something. She would say whatever came to mind without understanding anyone else’s feelings.

If you wanted her to offend someone, it was effortless!

Zhen Huan couldn’t help but wonder how Li Pin had managed to survive all these years.

Well, since she loved to talk so much, Zhen Huan decided to help her out. If she wanted to talk, let her talk as much as she wanted.

That night, Zhen Huan and the Emperor had just finished.

Zhen Huan purposely put on a pitiful expression and said, “Receiving all the favor also means bearing all the resentment, and I’m afraid…”

She even expressed her gratitude for the Emperor’s affection, making him feel warm inside. Then she spoke some words to make him believe he treated all his concubines equally…

When the Emperor heard this, he thought that she must have been wronged!

So he asked, “What happened? Did someone make things difficult for you?”

Zhen Huan, with teary eyes, shook her head, then said a few words of advice, and the Emperor agreed.

The next day, word spread that the Emperor had gone to Shou Kang Palace, spoken to the Empress Dowager for a while, and when he came out, he exchanged a few words with the Empress Dowager’s maid, Aunt Zhu Xi.

Later, during the evening’s palace selection, Su Peisheng removed Li Pin’s green plaque, claiming that it had gathered dust. That night, the Emperor chose Qi Fei’s plaque.

Zhen Huan remembered her past life, and from what Xiao Xiazi had told her, Qi Fei was the first to send someone to fetch the Third Prince as soon as she heard the Emperor was coming.

It seemed that she was the first to try and bring her son into the Emperor’s bedchamber!

Xiao Xiazi had even mentioned that Qi Fei specially wore a pink outfit to greet the Emperor, but in the end, the Emperor had dismissed her by saying:

“Pink is delicate, how old are you now?”

Seeing that the Emperor had nothing to say, she turned the conversation to the Third Prince:

“Your Majesty, the Third Prince has grown taller!”

The Emperor didn’t even lift his head, just muttering, “He’s grown up, still growing taller?”

Xiao Xiazi spoke with vivid detail, as if there was nothing in the palace that could escape her ears.

No wonder the Emperor had gone to Sui Yu Xuan that night!

It seemed the Emperor was also puzzled, wondering how Qi Fei always managed to say things that left him speechless.

He remembered that back when Hua Fei hadn’t entered the palace, aside from Chun Yuan and Yi Xiu, who the Emperor loved the most, Qi Fei had been the next in line.

But now, how had she turned into such a nagging person? Time really didn’t spare anyone…

In her previous life, it was also around this time that Hua Fei, under the pretense of teaching Shen Mei Zhuang to look over the accounts, had someone push Shen Mei Zhuang into the pond while she was admiring the fish at Qian Li Pond, nearly drowning her.

Hua Fei, however, acted like nothing had happened, dressing up deliberately and using the excuse of inviting the Emperor to her palace for some Dong E Jiao Longan Soup, successfully luring him away.

Now, when Zhen Huan thought about it, she felt it was truly too easy on Hua Fei.

In this life, she wouldn’t let Mei Zhuang suffer like that again.

After thinking for a while, Zhen Huan decided to send Liu Zhu to Xian Fu Palace to call Shen Mei Zhuang over since the Emperor would be arriving soon.

The two of them chatted for a bit, and not long after, the Emperor arrived. After exchanging good nights, Zhen Huan purposely feigned surprise:

“Your Majesty, weren’t you in Qi Fei’s palace today? Why did you come here?”

The Emperor turned his hand behind his back. “What? You don’t welcome me?”

Zhen Huan lowered her head. “I didn’t mean that, I was just surprised.”

The Emperor flicked his green bead pouch and walked straight to the bed.

“I just came from Qi Fei’s palace and spoke to her. When I passed by Sui Yu Xuan and saw you weren’t asleep, I couldn’t help but be curious and wanted to see what you were doing.”

Only then did the Emperor notice Shen Mei Zhuang standing aside. “Shen Gui Ren is also here?”

Shen Mei Zhuang spoke softly.

“I was free and had nothing to do, so Huan Gui Ren asked me to come and keep her company. We just spoke for a few moments before Your Majesty arrived…”