"Fan Yu Emperor, why do you want to disobey the imperial edict of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?" Mu Chun's tone was cold and detached, her face devoid of even a hint of the respect due to one's sovereign.

  The two palace maids holding Fan Yu had great strength, and Fan Yu felt that her arms were almost broken. She endured the pain, raised her head, and stared at the eunuchs of Changsheng Palace in front of her: "I disobeyed the imperial edict, and Her Majesty the Empress can deal with me as she pleases. You are palace maids, and you do not dare to pay respects to me; what crime is this?"

  "You... " Mu Chun's face was twisted in anger, thinking that this Zhen Yu Emperor's daughter was just the daughter of a guilty woman, how could she be mentioned in the same breath as Chang Ning Emperor's daughter and Zhao Chun Emperor's daughter? Her status wasn't even comparable to that of a palace servant who had some face, yet she still dared to put on airs in front of people in the Changxin Palace.

  When Mochun came out, she had already received the imperial edict from the Empress, ordering her to send Fan Yu back and confine her for two months. At this time, she didn't care about breaking the rules between master and servant, but instead said to those around her: "Although the Emperor's daughter is our mistress, it is the Empress who is the birth mother of the Emperor's daughter. The Empress has given orders, what are you waiting for..."

  She hadn't finished speaking when a cold voice suddenly rang out from behind her: "All of you, stop for the sake of this prince."

  Everyone suddenly knelt down, and Fan Yu also knelt down. The Empress Dowager's voice was old and stern, but it revealed a very rare anger, Mu Chun felt the cold sweat dripping from her forehead, however, she, who had been favored by the Empress for many years and had been domineering in the palace, now had the courage to raise her head and hastily explained: "Empress Dowager, please be aware that I followed the order of Her Majesty the Empress to send Princess Di back to the palace. The Xiandi Temple does not allow unauthorized entry, but Fan Yu, the Princess...".

  "That's enough." The Empress Dowager was too lazy to speak again, and it was Zhen Cong, the imperial nurse beside her, who spoke: "The Emperor's birthday is a grand occasion, yet you dare to make a ruckus at the gate of Jiaotai Temple, disturbing even the Empress Dowager. This is truly against the great order." Zhen Cong glanced sideways at the people from Changxin Palace and supported the Empress Dowager with one hand: "The Empress Dowager is advanced in years and wanted to spend a peaceful festival, but listening to your commotion outside, she couldn't even eat her birthday banquet. Moreover, I find this situation strange - even if Fan Yu Emperor had erred, where did we, as servants, get the audacity to offend her? Look, Empress Dowager, those two palace maids from Changxin Palace actually dared to pin back Fan Yu Emperor's sleeves, which is truly unacceptable..."

  Zhi Ning was also an old lady in her fifties, speaking weakly and hoarsely, but to Mu Chun's ears it was like a thunderclap. Mu Chun knew that although she was a powerful female official in the Longxin Palace, in front of Zhi Ning she was nothing, just like how the Empress was cautious and didn't dare say anything wrong in front of the Dowager Empress. She quickly understood that the Dowager Empress was helping Fan Yu, so she hastily knelt down in front of Fan Yu to apologize: "It's this slave's fault, this slave was too hasty and only thought about the Empress's orders, and ended up violating the rules..."

  Mu Chun's voice lingered, reluctant to leave the Empress, but the Dowager Empress had already lost her patience. She waved her hand and said: "The servants in Changxin Palace are so muddled, they can't even serve the Empress properly. Send them all back to the Imperial Harem."

  Today is the day of Wan Shou, not suitable for killing, and the empress's handling of this matter would surely be praised by others as benevolent. However, to Mu Chun, this was undoubtedly a disaster. Being sent back to the Yu Ting meant being abandoned, and such palace maids could no longer serve their masters. According to the rules, the female officials in the Yu Ting would reassign these "returned goods" to new places, but as punishment, they could only go to the laundry department or the storage warehouse... Mu Chun thought about it and shuddered, she and the many palace maids behind her were afraid that they wouldn't last three months in the storage warehouse.

  A group of palace maids suddenly cried out in unison, some shouting "Empress Dowager, spare our lives!" and others crying "Empress, save us!", but they were quickly gagged and dragged away by the eunuchs rushing up from all sides. As Mochou's hair became disheveled and she scratched at the threshold of the grand palace gate, she felt a sense of desperation that refused to die down. She really didn't understand why Empress Dowager would help Yu, that child was completely worthless, how could she have caught the empress dowager's eye...

  The bustle inside the Jiaotai Temple continued until dusk. At that time, in the Jingyue Pavilion, Lin Yuan was lazily resting her head on Tuoba Hong's arm, opening her mouth to receive an orange peel he had personally peeled, and speaking with a slightly weak tone: "It's Empress Dowager who has a kind heart and loves that child dearly. Fan Yu Emperor's daughter grew up outside the palace and is not familiar with us, and she also has a mother who bears heavy guilt, yet Empress Dowager still dares to deal with the slaves of Changxin Palace for her sake."

  Lin Wan was not surprised, she had expected that Fan Yu's journey would be fraught with difficulties, but she did not think that the Empress Dowager would lend a helping hand.

  After the Empress Dowager disposed of Mu Chun and others to rescue Shan Yu, she exceptionally allowed Shan Yu to attend the banquet. Shan Yu is a clever child, guessing that she must have learned from her own words to coax the Empress Dowager into happiness, but it's not right for the Empress Dowager to do so...

  The Empress Dowager has always been indifferent to matters and would never get involved in the disputes between the Queen, Sheng Fei, and Shen Zhaoyuan. Why did she suddenly intervene this time and slap the Queen's face? The Empress Dowager and Tuoba Hong both struggled under the previous Emperor for many years and had become ruthless in their pursuit of power and profit. They wouldn't care about emotions. Lin Yan didn't believe that the Empress Dowager would help her so much just because she cherished their familial relationship.

  Tuoba Hong smiled and tucked Lin Yu's scattered hair behind her ear, indulgently saying: "The Empress Dowager now likes you the most, Shan Yu is the daughter of a sinner, she just has some pity for her." As he spoke, he carefully peeled an orange: "You also know that the Empress Dowager is cold in nature, but this time she actually praised you in front of me, saying that you are the lucky star of our imperial family..."

  Lin Yan listened with a faint smile. The empress dowager would certainly like her, a tool that could bring out such great value. Who wouldn't like that?

  "Empress Dowager, you are too kind to the concubines." Lin Wan was very modest: "It's because Your Majesty has a deep blessing and is protected by the gods, so those petty people can't harm you in any way. As for the concubines..." She said, tilting her small head: "The concubine was walking behind you at that time, and by chance turned back to see two evil-looking men standing on the balcony of the rear building, setting up their bows and arrows. The concubine thought that she must have received the Buddha's will to protect Your Majesty, yes, it must be so..."

  Tuoba Hong burst out laughing after hearing this, his expression even more loving. He held Lin Yuan's face in both hands and said: "Yuan'er, you're absolutely right, you must be a treasure bestowed upon me by heaven. I won't go anywhere today, how about I just stay here with you?"

  Lin Wan's face didn't look so good after hearing this. Today was the Emperor's birthday, and according to custom, he should have gone to the Changxin Palace on such a grand day.

  The incident of being trapped in the dense forest had already caused a rift between Lin Wan and the Empress, now that she was favored by the Emperor and stood shoulder to shoulder with Consort Xiang, the Empress was even more wary. And yet, this mouthful of words still needed to be left overnight...

  Lin Yan's heart didn't know what kind of taste it was. These days, Tuoba Hong gave her unprecedented favoritism, making her think that things might develop in the most impossible direction... But now everything can finally prove that Lin Yan was purely daydreaming.

  A man who truly loves a woman will go all out to protect her, rather than just doting on her appearance without loving her. Emperor Taizong of Tang did not consider her feelings carefully, so he followed his nature and would not worry about how the Empress would treat her. Lin Yuan let out a soft sigh, alas, wasn't this expected? A man like Emperor Taizong, hoping him to love you with all his heart is no different from hoping that you can become the Empress yourself.

  Lin Wan has no right to blame him. As an emperor, he really did a romantic deed, and the miserable appearance of the people at that time is the best anti-educational material. Moreover, Lin Wan is not a pure and innocent girl who cannot live without love. The current situation is already a blessing from heaven, Tuoba Hong treats her not as well as the previous emperor treated Li Guifei, but better than all other women in the palace, isn't this enough?

  Tuoba Hong wanted to stay, but Lin Yuncan was too lazy to go and persuade him as a virtuous concubine. She enjoyed the eighty-one dishes prepared for Tuoba Hong's arrival, imagining the desolation of the empress guarding an empty room, feeling pleased in her heart.

  Alas, it will take a long time to shake the empress... Lin Yin is a vengeful person, she was almost burned to death in the imperial hunting grounds and then was bothered by the Mongolian king, this matter she will sooner or later settle accounts with the empress.

  When night fell, Tuoba Hong and Lin Wan were both lying quietly. Tuoba Hong was sleeping soundly, while Lin Wan lay awake with her eyes fixed on the bed curtains, lost in thought. She really felt that the current situation in the palace was a bit strange. The Empress Dowager's attitude towards Fan Yu seemed to Lin Wan more like suppression of the Empress; the Emperor's actions on the day of the Longevity Festival, abandoning the Empress for the concubine's palace, were even more severe disdain. Over the years, Tuoba Hong had done many things in order to eliminate Mu Wu Wang, including granting his ministers excessive power beyond their station. Now that this great calamity was eliminated, many things would undergo fundamental changes. Lin Wan had been prepared for this, but she couldn't fathom the thoughts of the Emperor and Empress Dowager.

  On the second day, Tuoba Hong hurriedly got up early for court, while Lin Wan was still sleeping soundly. By the time Lin Wan woke up, the sun had already risen to the top of the mountain. Chu Tao smiled and brought a copper basin in front of the bed, saying: "When the emperor got up, he didn't dare to wake up the young master, and also said that tonight's dinner will be held at Jingyue Pavilion, asking the young master to instruct people to prepare."

  As she had not yet performed the ritual of receiving her official title, the palace staff beside Lin Wan still addressed her as "Young Mistress", although sometimes adding "Consort Young Mistress".

  Lin Wan lazily stretched out her arm to let the palace maid change her clothes, and smiled: "Alright, if the emperor is coming, you all should tidy up properly. We're not going to follow Xian Fei's example anymore. I saved the emperor and got injured, so no matter how hard the officials in the imperial court work, they won't dare criticize me. And as for the women in the harem, they'll be even less likely to say anything."

  "The young master almost lost his life, can he be like others?" Chun Tao also felt quite justified.

  "I wonder how things are going on the side of Shang Fei." Lin Yan asked casually. Shang Fei was a tyrannical and overbearing person, seeing that a woman from a humble background like hers was about to surpass her own favored status, how could she remain unaffected?